Valuing Diversity Policy - Assignment Example

?Home Hunters Policy Writing Assignment 2: Valuing Diversity Policy of the of the Submitted Valuing Diversity RATIONALE FOR THE DIVERSITY POLICY: The modern workplace of today consists of a wide variety of people from a number of different backgrounds and nationalities. This is a reflection of the multiculturalism and open environment that are hallmarks of the Australian way of life. Not only do people have different perceptions about things, they also have differing work attitudes, come from diverse cultures and can often have very refreshing standpoints about how things should or should not be done. All said, this can make for an interesting work experience, where anyone with an open mind, eyes and ears can learn from each other (Thiederman, 2008, 45). The variety of experiences and inputs that people bring to an organization like Home Hunters enriches its culture. As such, there is clearly a need for a policy that encourages and values, rather than stifles diversity in the workplace. This is the business imperative for diversity in the workplace. Though some regard diversity as a stumbling block, modern and expanding organizations like ours have to recognize, embrace and value diversity for what it means. A multicultural workforce working together can do so much more than another all coming from the same background, having the same beliefs and ideas and wanting to do things in the same manner from beginning to end, day in and day out. An organization is bound to stagnate and disintegrate in the absence of new ideas and new ways of doing things. Diversity also means that we look inward and outward of ourselves with a new perspective, be ready to face new challenges and create and harness new opportunities, in line with the ever-changing business scenario. We have our strengths and weaknesses, and will develop and choose strategies that give us the best chances of surviving and prospering in the marketplace. Now that Home Hunters has progressed to a national entity and the name of our company and its products and services are rapidly gaining acceptance and familiarity in a number of communities, it is imperative that we create and adopt a well considered diversity policy. Diversity is a cornerstone of equality at work, and encourages equal opportunity for all. It is anti-discriminatory because no one would be disqualified from seeking employment at Home Hunters because of his or her ethnicity, color of skin, language, religious or even sexual preferences. Diversity encourages affirmative action and equal opportunity for all. Encouraging diversity at Home Hunters would also help build and maintain competitive advantage, as problems, opportunities and strategies can be examined and evaluated from a variety of perspectives before implementation. This is the value of diversity contributing to the richness of ideas. For a prospective home owner, nothing can be sweeter than to hear a sales representative explain to him or her, the pros and cons of buying a house in a certain locality in the native language. This creates a bond between buyer and seller and can be used to sell more houses to similar ethnic groups. All this is possible with diversity, and will certainly reflect favorably on profits and revenues. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DIVERSITY POLICY: It is one thing to value diversity, but it is another thing to successfully implement a diversity policy across an organization. It takes a lot of thought and effort to consider which aspects of company policy need to be included or excluded from the diversity initiative (Barak, 2010, 6). Other policies made earlier may also have to be revamped in the light of the diversity initiative. Once the changes have been made and the new policy created, it would have to be evaluated by Human Resources and the Policy Committee comprising of the CEO and department heads in our organization. The need for a diversity policy has also been pointed out by the Good Governance Committee as one of the hallmarks of good and efficient governance in an organization. The anti-discrimination policy will aid and may form part of the diversity policy or vice versa, since both cover similar ground. The policy once finalized will be signed off by the CEO, HR Director and the Senior Management Committee. Human Resources will then have the responsibility to update both the electronic copy on the company Intranet and the written policy in the Employee Handbook and Policy Manual. Employees will also be communicated the new Diversity Policy through a memo sent to everyone throughout the organization. Sending it electronically will save the need for written acknowledgement. A copy of the policy will be retained by each of the Departmental Heads for ready reference. A Disciplinary Committee will be set up comprising members from HR, senior management and different departments. It will be entrusted with determining whether instances of abuse of the diversity, anti-discriminatory or other policies have occurred and prescribe corrective actions. Depending on the severity and number of abuses of policy, these can result in temporary suspension, fines, stalled promotions, stoppage of bonuses, stock option grants and even forced resignations or termination from service. A reporting procedure will be implemented whereby any prospective employee, present employee or leaving employee will be allowed to post feedback regarding the abuse of the hiring and promotion guidelines. An online forum will be created for hiring feedback, an employee satisfaction survey for current employees and an exit interview form for leaving employees in which they are free to comment on violations of policy. These documents and forms will be accessible only by the CEO and the HR director. Where thought prudent, investigations will be launched into reported abuses of the diversity, anti-discrimination and any other policies as outlined in the grievance by the complainant. The confidentiality of all complaints and investigations needs to be ensured at all times. This will be done by keeping the access of all records only with the Human Resources Department. All employees at all levels are already bound by the terms and conditions of the Confidentiality Policy regarding disclosure of information and the diversity policy issues will also fall under its purview. It would be better than the services of an independent consultant be used to administer and collect the results of the Employee Satisfaction Survey. Employees would be more truthful if they know that all responses are secure. It is estimated that the present budget of $50,000 will be put to the following uses regarding the creation and dissemination of the diversity policy throughout Home Hunters: For the purpose of creating a forum for hiring process feedback: $ 10,000 For the purpose of administering an Employee Satisfaction Survey: $ 30,000 For the purpose of holding disciplinary meetings: $ 10,000 Total Expected Yearly Expenditure: $ 50,000 EVALUATION OF THE DIVERSITY POLICY: The impact of the diversity policy will be immense and will be felt throughout the organization. Diversity is encouraged not only because it helps create employment and engages resources from all sections of the community, but it also helps in social awareness and recognition of people from all ethnic groups and all walks of life. In fact, the diversity policy can be said to be part of Home Hunters social responsibility towards the neighborhood and the community. Smart and conscientious organizations always take into account their immediate environment and Home Hunters should consider the implementation of a diversity policy a very worthy goal. As far as evaluating the suitability of the diversity policy and its effectiveness, we have only to follow the results of the feedback through the hiring forum, the employee satisfaction survey and the comments on the Exit Interview Forms to evaluate how successfully or not the diversity initiatives have been implemented in practice. Clear and transparent policies should be created so that there are no impediments to progress on the basis of color, caste, creed or any other such circumstance involving possible discrimination. Gender discrimination that is so rampant in some organizations needs to be curtailed and the glass ceiling on promotions and emoluments needs to be abolished and severely dealt with. Such unspoken discrimination should never be tolerated or supported in a forward looking national organization such as Home Hunters. Regarding the methods to judge the success or failure of implementing the diversity policy in Home Hunters, one key measure is that the employee hiring and promotion mix should be a good indicator of various communities and ethnicities. The success of the diversity initiative is clear from the mix of ethnicities that form the employee ranks of most multinational and multicultural institutions. Some organizations even have to resort to affirmative action in this regard. But it is also important that merits, talents and skills needed should never be overlooked. In fact, the best organizations always believe in setting goals and objectives with timelines for achievement with every employee and then evaluating them at the end of the stated period, say a calendar year, to see how they had performed against the set objectives. Of course, the goals are always open to change in the light of the changing business scenario. It is up to the supervisor to decide if the goals are realistic in the light of his experience in thar particular field of work. Some challenges or conflicts are bound to arise, as employees tend to bring in their friends and relatives to join the organization. However we at Home Hunters should continue to believe in merit and skills and recruit only the best talent into the organization. If there are any cases of perceived discrimination, this will be brought to the attention of the Disciplinary Committee by Human Resources or the CEO. Any employee or general complainant can also write to the Good Governance Committee in confidence using their published email address. As Home Hunters continues to learn from the diversity policy, its implementation and cases of perceived or actual discrimination and abuse, it is highly possible that the policies and procedures connected in any way with the diversity policy would need to be corrected, revamped or changed to incorporate needed and pertinent issues. These are the expected future or ongoing costs associated with the diversity policy. References Barak, M.E. (2010): Managing Diversity: Towards a Globally Inclusive Workplace, 2nd ed. Sage Publications. Thiederman, S. (2008): 7 Steps for Defeating Bias in the Workplace, 2nd ed. Kaplan Publishers. Read More