Brandon Beaver - Essay Example

The effect of the ERG in any firm can only be secondary, compared to the situations in the workplace which principally defines employee sentiment towards the corporate leadership. Therefore, where the underlying working relationship is essentially adversarial, any management-sponsored ERG initiative will be perceived with suspicion as a ploy by management to take advantage of the employees (Ashton & Sung, 2002). The post’s identification of possible drawbacks to the ERG is perceptive. Because the ERG, in order to be effective, will tend to focus on particular minority groups or their specific situations, their members tend to stand out more distinctly rather than blend in with the majority.

This is, I think, the paradox of most diversity and inclusion efforts. The effort to more effectively create inclusion tends to deepen the demarcations. The challenge to management is how to sponsor the creation of ERGs in such a manner that employees come to view the ERG as more closely identified with the needs and aspirations of the employees, rather than with the desires of management. If the ERG is identified more closely with management than it is with the workers, it may be seen as just another means of manipulating and controlling the work force to comply with managerial designs against their better interests.

References Ashton, D N & Sung, J (2002) Supporting Workplace Learning for High Performance Working. Geneva: International Labour Organization Catalyst (2008). Employee resource groups: valuable to employees; valuable to business. www.catalyst.org. Response to post of student 2: Christopher Gilbert The post mentions, strangely enough, the matter of the Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day. I believe this has little bearing on the matter of diversity and inclusion in the workplace towards its employees, or in the company’s dealings with its customers and the public at large.

The Chick-Fil-A issue was more about the inclusion working the other way around, that of the right of a person to express an opinion and the guarantee attached to that right. The ERG cannot be empowered to dictate changes from above, or from external movements and elements that have little relevance to what happens in the workplace. Diversity and inclusion involves unity of action and goals, not necessarily unity of beliefs and the core principles of individuals (Herek, 2000). The ERG’s goal is to pave the way for tolerance and respect for the diversity of beliefs and opinions that are present in any group at any time.

There is a difference between inclusion and uniformity. Inclusion allows for variety and amiable co-existence while retaining people’s innate individuality. Uniformity is intolerant of differences, and wishes to create a single likeness among people, therefore denying them their individuality. The use of employee reference groups should be clear on its objectives, which is to address the diversity and inclusion needs of the employee group while maintaining strategic relevance to the firm’s business goals and objectives (Catalyst, 2008).

The Chic-Fil-A issue does not have anything to do with the acceptance of people with different sexual orientations at the workplace and among consumers, it is about the political issue of the legalization of same-sex marriage. In actuality, ERGs should avoid getting themselves embroiled n political contests because they are divisive and have little bearing upon the form’s operations. For ERGs to be effective as tools of the organization, they must be careful not