Managing Diversity in the Workplace - Essay Example

?Workforce Diversity Contents Assignment 3 Assignment 2 12 Assessment 3 17 Reference 19 Assignment 1. Mostly the diversity policy of Zeus Financial Services includes a diverse workforce and a scope for familiarizing with those diversities by the application of adequate training facilities. The strengths of the policy are discussed below- Respect and dignity for each employee and value for their talents. Equal treatments for all. Supportive environment to help the individuals recognize their maximum potential and apply their talent within the organization, irrespective of their differences. Maintaining a diverse base of customers so that the organization doesn’t get identified as a niche firm, offering products to only a certain set of people. The company follows a recruitment policy that includes people from several regions of the world. This policy helps the organization to address the needs of the customers belonging to the various parts of the international market. The organization puts much emphasis on the welfare of women and the under-privileged section of the society which assigns a social purpose for their functioning. The organization doesn’t support any kind of discrimination and thus considers racism, sexism, ageism etc as problems for both the organization and the society as a whole. The diversity champions of the organization range from the top level positions to the shop floor employees. A diversity committee has been formed by the company that ensures the implementation of the diversity policy in the day to day operations of the business and also in the strategic planning of the organization. Training and development facilities are provided to the employees where they learn to cope with the people belonging to the various diversified backgrounds. The organization offers other services like flexible working hours, employee education assistance, open communication, childcare assistance and the mentor programmes. The weakness of the policy- As we can see that the organization has introduced several policies supporting the diversity within the workplace therefore it is must for them to maintain a conflict resolution system. The organization has to deal with people and it’s very common that where there are individuals coming from diverse backgrounds, there are high chances that conflicts can arise at any time. Different people with different culture and point of views could be confused, threatened or even annoyed by each other in the team, from views and background different from their own. It could create disagreements and disturbed political atmosphere that might slow down project advancements. The organization should create an environment of tolerance and understanding in the team. They should also encourage the employees to adopt this mindset, to challenge their belief system and to be open-minded enough to hear each of the members’ view. It will help members realize that there isn’t only one way of thinking. The managers need to accept that they can’t make everyone think and act like they do. They need to be attentive to verbal and nonverbal cues that might course tension. For example, “Pointing with one finger is considered to be rude in some cultures and Asians typically use their entire hand to point to something.” And In Western culture, eye contact means you’re attentive and honest; yet for a Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, or Native American, eye contact is thought to be disrespectful or rude. Managers should be aware of this kind of things and get people in team to understand different cultures in order to make the team run well without struggles (Universim, 2012). Also the organization lacks proper human resource staffs that will be looking after the employee grievance system, address their personal and professional issues, focus on the employee engagement aspects, and must ensure that the concept of equal treatment of employees must not make the more talented individuals feel de-motivated. The issue that women employees are lesser in number at the organization should also be addressed by evaluating the reasons behind such behavior of the firm. 2. Diversity in the workplace mainly encircles people from diverse cultural backgrounds, language, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious belief and other values. Diversity is also reflected when people belong to variety of educational fields, work experiences, personality, socio-economic context, marital status etc. The diversity in the workplace involves accepting the individual differences and utilizing the diversities in a positive manner for managing the workplace. As we have discussed in the earlier sections that diversity in the workplace need to be handled with care and should be sustained with the introduction of proper human resource management system and conflict resolution system. We have seen that the organization already practices so many different approaches to introduce and sustain diversity within its functioning, but it has not mentioned anything about employee grievance resolving cell or employee engagement structure. However the introduction of the same would offer all the employees some space to discuss their issues and get guidance regarding those. For instance, when a female employee get harassed or when an aged employee becomes the subject of mockery, they can report the issue to the concerned HR department. Moreover people belonging to diverse cultures, would feel comfortable while practicing their own culture as well as while experiencing the diversities across the other religions. 3. For the Training Need Analysis, we are not including the top level employees like The Director of Equity, The Associate Director, Head of Research, Deputy Head of Research and The Chief Executive Officer. However we have included some senior officials for the diversity training needs analysis as it is necessary to provide them with the general level of diversity training for the position they are holding. For these people the training needs vary from the training needs of the middle and bottom level employees. Therefore we are considering a few names for the training needs analysis approach. The training period would be 6 months for all and then it would be extended depending upon the training need of the employees. Major Tasks of Position Training or Skill Development required? Y/N If yes, then identify what training needs exist? How will those be achieved? Who is the Training provider? Alice Wong- Equities Analyst Y Alice has the specialized experience in the Japanese and Asian Markets. However the customer base of Zeus is very diverse in nature and therefore it’s necessary for her to know the other markets where customers of the company exist. The diversity issues can be recognized with the help of several tools like aptitude test, questionnaire, the communication skill, the decisions made by the employees etc. and those can be resolved by organizing an overall training program where all the employees from diverse groups would take part and the trainer would deliver lecture, slides and videos based on several cultures, religions and language. In Every case the training provider should not be a person belonging to the organization and he/she should be hired from an external training agency. Also the staffs can derive valuable insights from Adam Dixon, The Associate Director at Zeus who has knowledge and experience about the markets of Middle East, USA, Europe and Japan and Mohammed Parvez, The Director Equity who has immense knowledge about the diverse markets of the Asia-Pacific, Dubai and Australia. Agnieszcka Damjanovic, Equities Analyst Y She has work experience in the areas like Sydney and Germany (Allianz Dresdner is situated at Germany) (Munich 2008). Therefore she also needs a diversity training to get accustomed with the other markets of the firm. Nicole Honan- Head of Research, Chief Economist Y She has working experience within the Australian markets however she has no idea about the diverse markets served by Zeus. Therefore it is necessary to introduce her with the different markets of the company. Adam Hay- Director, Institutional Managing all the sales and marketing activities of Zeus Y Mr. Hay served most of the time within the boundaries of Australia; Therefore he requires some diversity training. 4. The Action Plan- Actions Timeframes People Involved Resources used Strategies to promote diversity The actions would be related to the improvement of every employee’s perception about his fellow colleague’s culture, language and religion. The action plan would focus on the specific needs of the employees and should teach them to behave as a team. This should occur throughout the year. The people involved would mainly include the employees of the organization. While practicing a particular culture, investing on resources is not necessary. However it’s totally dependent on the magnitude of the celebration. Diversity can be promoted when there would take place increased level of communication among the people working in the organization. Thus, the people should be always kept in a connected network like Skype where they would be able to contact each other through a chat window. Training, meetings and workshops are methods where lots of people gather together for a purpose and these methods also provide the opportunity to the individuals to communicate with each other. 5. The new policy of diversity is included within the following contexts- a) Recruiting a diverse workforce- The recruitment of a diverse workforce can be best done by posting the jobs on the web and by keeping the provision of conducting telephonic interview or online interviews. b) Preventing harassment and bullying- The grievance addressing system discussed earlier could help the employees to get protection from various kinds of harassment and bullying. c) Solving the issues related to harassment/discrimination etc. - An efficient human resource management could prove to be efficient to look after these issues. Assignment 2 1. Summary of the training need analysis Our main focus is to identify the various diversities existing within Zeus and managing those efficiently. We found that the organization comprises of more white people so first of all this issue needs to be resolved. Secondly the gender discrimination issue like involvement of more male employees should also be dealt with efficiently. Thus the training needs analysis would evaluate what are the key skills of the employees and what more are required to make them suitable for the diverse work culture of the organization. For instance, often in the European work culture, people address their seniors by their names without adding any “Sir” at the end of the name and this practice is regarded as friendly and warm by the people of Europe however the person belonging to Asian culture would find it insulting if his junior addresses him by name. Language also creates a major diversity factor, as it is considered to be the primary tool for communication. Therefore, the management should constantly upgrade their training methods and should make the employees accept each other’s differences. 2. Diversity training program Diversity in workforce can be often regarded as a positive force paving the way for the efficient team functioning. Diversity gives rise to variety of ideas, innovation and creativity, thus resulting in enhanced team performance (Knight & et. Al, 1999). Thus, it is evident that a diverse team includes people with different skills and competencies and together they form a creative unit with lots of new and innovative thoughts. At the same time it can’t be denied that a diverse team includes people from different backgrounds and mindsets, which create differences among the members of the team. Therefore for a manager it’s necessary to organize, manage and lead the diverse team and motivate the team members to work towards achieving a common objective. Here we are required to study and review the diversity policy of Zeus financial services and then offer a better diversity policy for the organization. Keeping in line with the diversity policy of the organization, now we can form a diversity training program. The diversity training program would involve all the people of the organization, including the stakeholders like the customers and the dealers. All these people will be provided with a kind of vestibule training where everyone would get a scope to get introduced with the other. Further these people would be assigned to different groups and offered with critical situations (like case study) where they would be asked to solve the case as a team. This method would be fun and interesting; at the same time it would make people work in groups. This type of group work would give the individuals a platform to get mixed-up with the people of different religion, culture and language. Moreover the mutual exchange of thoughts would bring up new ideas and perceptions that would be beneficial for both the society and the organization. In this context we can also say that role playing, storytelling, quiz conduction etc. would prove to be good equipments for enhancing the familiarity with the diversity of the organization. More information can be gathered by the introduction of a questionnaire tool an example of which is shown below- 1. Do you have any idea about the native land of the employee sitting on the desk beside yours? Answers- Yes/No If yes, can you please name the famous place to visit in that country? If No, can you please explain why? (Like I don’t talk to him/her, I am having some conflicting issues with the person etc.) 2. What languages do you know? 3. Which places in the world you have visited? 4. What are your favorite cuisines? (Ward, 2008) The answers thus received must be reviewed by one of the fellow employees and in this way people would interact with one another more often. Some monthly occasions like picnics or parties would also be helpful to make the people of diverse group to get accustomed with others. The entire office can include several things related to particular countries and it can also include several photographs of various employees at their homeland, to be shared on the notice board of the office. Additionally the training program might also include teaching several languages and that too by the means of the employees. It would make each employee’s mother tongue to be familiar with the entire office and in this way people would get to know each other’s diverse backgrounds. The training program should be as follows- Title of Training Venue of Training Audience who participated Resources (handouts and questionnaires) Items delivered 1. Knowing your colleague Conference Room at Office The employees and the stakeholders of the organization Questionnaires Legal Framework and the organization’s diversity policy 2. Knowing a different language Conference Room at Office All the stakeholders of the company (excluding customers) Handouts Organization’s diversity policy 3. Participating in various group activities Conference Room at Office Employees Only Both questionnaires and handouts Knowing the meaning of Diversity, the legal framework and the company’s diversity policy 4. A session on the company approaches towards resolving various diversity issues of the organization Conference Room at Office Employees and employers Handouts Knowing the meaning of Diversity, the legal framework and the company’s diversity policy Items to be delivered i. The legal framework must include The Fair Work Ombudsman gateway to introduce the country’s law to all the employees and employers so that they become aware of the law and they can take proper actions in case of issues arising at the workplace (Australian Government, n.d.) ii. The diversity policy of Zeus iii. The employees must be provided with the details about diversity. It should be made clear to them that a diverse team includes people with different skills and competencies and together they form a creative unit with lots of new and innovative thoughts. At the same time it can’t be denied that a diverse team includes people from different backgrounds and mindsets, which create differences among the members of the team. Therefore for a firm it’s necessary to organize, manage and lead the diverse team and motivate the team members to work towards achieving a common objective. 3. Format of the Handouts The handout should be as follows- The Objective of the Training The legal framework of the country emphasizing only the employment factors The diversity Policy of Zeus What is Diversity? Feedback To include diversity as a significant factor for introducing growth and improvement at Zeus. The employer’s law The contexts of diversity in the organization Definition of Diversity Employer’s Feedback on the training session and any suggestions/views they would like to share with all. Letting the employees know the impacts of globalization and technology advancement which help the firms to consider the whole world as their customer. The employee’s law Factors that influence the policies Pros & Cons of Diversity Employee’s Feedback on the training session and any suggestions/views they would like to share with all. Assessment 3 Case 1 a) Yes Mr. Tuck was actively involved in the sexual harassment behavior. He admitted that he was attracted towards Ms. Shepherd and therefore her to be in a relationship with him. As she refused it, she was terminated from her service. b) To avoid this kind of situation in the near future, the company can introduce a department which would be there to handle issues relating to the employees. c) For my company, I would have immediately discussed the matter with other managers and then I would have shifted either the victim or the accused to another branch of my organization. Case 2 a) The referred problem is a very common scenario and can be often found in most of the organizations where aged people are terminated due to their old age. However people tend to forget that these people could be used by the firm as trainers/guides as they possess lots of practical experience. We can relate this with the Employee’s Act and Old Worker’s Benefit Protection Act of the legislation which states that irrespective of the age, caste, gender etc. the employees should be offered fair treatment throughout the organization and there are some special benefits for the old employees which should be exploited efficiently by the organization (Alexander Hamilton Institute, 2011). b) This issue could be resolved by the recruitment of an equal number of aged as well as new employees. The aged people would be encouraged to learn new technologies from the new joiners while in return the new employees would be encouraged to derive knowledge, expertise and tactics from the aged group of employees. Hence through this process of mixed culture, both the section of employees would get equally treated. Reference Alexander Hamilton Institute, 2011. Older Workers Benefit Protection Act: Compliance tips. [Online] Available at < http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/19744/older-workers-benefit-protection-act-compliance-tips> Knight & et. Al. 1999. TOP MANAGEMENT TEAM DIVERSITY, GROUP PROCESS, AND STRATEGIC CONSENSUS [Pdf] Available at < http://web.cgu.edu/faculty/pearcec/TMT_diversity.pdf> Morgan Stanley, 2013. EQUITY RESEARCH: FULL-TIME ANALYST. [Pdf] Available at < http://www.morganstanley.com/about/careers/pdf/FTA_ER_EMEA.pdf> Munich, 2008. Allianz sells Dresdner Bank to Commerzbank and will become the largest shareholder of the new bank. [Online] Available at < https://www.allianz.com/en/investor_relations/announcements/ir_announcements/archive_2008/page10.html> Universim. 2012, the pros and cons to diversity [Online] available at Ward, G. 2008. What Kind of Diversity Training Really Works? [Pdf] Available at < http://www.workforcediversitynetwork.com/docs/Articles/Article_WhatKindofDiversityTrainingWorks_Ward_8.08.pdf> Australian Government, n.d. Employment and workplace. [Online] Available at < http://australia.gov.au/topics/employment-and-workplace> Read More