Human Resource Management of Xerox - Essay Example

? Management Case Study of Xerox Xerox Xerox is a multinational document management company based in America. The companyis so synonymous with employing workers from diverse backgrounds, which include women and minorities, among others (Xerox-Company Facts, 2012). My paper seeks to discuss how human resource professionals can ensure that top organizational leaders encourage managers and employees to follow laws and guidelines. It will also discuss how hiring women and minorities improved Xerox’s profitability. In addition, it will identify the changes that Xerox made to become a more attractive employer for women and minorities. Eventually, it will evaluate whether or not hiring and promoting women and minorities has been unfair to white men. Human resource professionals are at a good position to help in ensuring that top organizational leaders encourage managers and employees to follow laws and guidelines. They can do this through a number of ways. For instance, they may organize various trainings so as to teach top leaders on how to protect the profits of the organization, a step that may encourage the top leaders to abide by the laws, and go on to encourage other employees to do the same. In addition, the federal government supervises the recruitment of workers as well as the protection of their rights, especially if the workers happen to come from organizations that do business with the government. This prevents such organizations from manipulating the implementation of laws and guideline due to the fear of a contract cancellation that may reduce the organization’s profits. A clear understanding of this motivates the leaders to introduce programs and policies that openly show such organizations are protecting the rights of all employees. Top leaders can also be involved in safety promotion campaigns within the work environments. Their priority should be to influence managers and employees, since workers who have safety in mind always look forward to abiding by safety laws when at work (Stuart, 2011). Human resource professionals can also establish monthly rendezvous with the top leaders concerning the laws and guidelines. They may use such opportunities to show the leaders the best ways of helping employees to abide to laws. Responsibilities attached to organizational legal matters should be taken seriously on a “daily basis,” and as such, the human resource professionals will use the meetings to sensitize organizational leaders on the seriousness of such responsibilities. It is after this that the leaders will pass such knowledge to not only their management staff but also other employees. Also, employees always tend to “follow their leaders.” Therefore, compliance to laws and guidelines can be encouraged more when organizational leaders also demonstrate a high sense of commitment to complying with the laws and guidelines. The leaders have to be committed to complying with laws that promote diversity and safety in the work place (Stuart, 2011). Organizational leaders also need to be made aware of the importance of not only effective communication but also awareness and training. Leaders need to effectively communicate the importance of not only safety but also diversity, to managerial staff and other employees. It can be done by making available awareness posters at the work environment, trainings on-line and conducting small “work-group seminars.” The human resource professionals should also encourage the organizational leaders to monitor as well as measure the “key results of the hiring process, to include hiring and recruiting minorities.” By keeping track of such things, it will be a pure proof that the organization complies with federal provisions. Leaders also need to found incentive programs for not only managers but also other junior employees. If the rates of accidents is relatively low and “no diversity issues are brought up” then the groups deserve to be rewarded for complying with the given safety and diversity guidelines. The human resource professionals can also go as far as advising the top leaders on the consequences of not complying with the federal laws, and also show them the kind of effects it has on the “bottom line” This will make the leaders to reconsider noncompliance with the rules and regulations. This awareness of what is required of them will work as a motivation to the leaders so that they put in place appropriate programs and policies that clearly demonstrate the organization’s commitment to protect workers’ rights (Daly, 2011). Hiring women and minorities significantly improved Xerox’s profitability. David Kearns, the CEO of Xerox understood clearly well that by employing women and minorities, the company would gain a lot of advantages against its competitors. This better competing position is one of the major things that improved profitability for the organization. Xerox also won handsome contracts from the federal government because of its intentions to recruit women and minorities. These contracts helped Xerox to build a firm base for itself, a factor which has been very influential in boosting its profitability. There is also a lot of evidence that many women and minorities found Xerox a not only friendly place but also a family-like working environment. This actually helped in the retention of competent employees that helped the organization in making more profits (Stuart, 2011). Many experts in the marketing field have argued that a business stands a good chance of making more profits when it capitalizes on diversity. And when it comes to the “war for talent,” companies need to use every resource without considering the fact that some people may be treated as outside when it comes to matters of race, religion, sex or even nationality, among others. What a company needs is the best workforce, irrespective of the workers’ backgrounds. Diverse management teams contribute to greater innovation than a homogeneous workforce. There seems to be a sense of flexibility within a heterogeneous workforce simply because “homogeneous decision-making structures,” which tend to be under immense pressure to “conform” always inflexibly respond to external changes. Businesses that effectively utilize their diversity also tend to effectively utilize their markets, a factor that makes them not only productive but also very profitable. They utilize what we call “diversity marketing.” Moreover, A corporate culture that embraces diversity tends to effectively bring together the desired quality of employees, and also leads to a decrease in internal “friction losses” and “fluctuation and opportunity costs. Also, “social and ethical correctness” in handling a diverse population contributes a great deal to the building of a corporate image, and can be consequently utilized to increase the sales of an organization, thereby improving its profitability (University of Michigan, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2000). To become a more attractive employer for both women and minorities, Xerox had to put in place certain crucial changes. For example, it established a diverse workforce due to the fact that it does not support employee-discrimination of any kind, and as such gives priority to women and minorities when looking for talents to incorporate in its workforce. It also introduced leadership programs as well as performance review systems that “rate managers on their ability to recruit, mentor, and promote” the underprivileged groups. It is done in such a way that if they do not “hit the mark” their payments and/or chances of promotion are minimized. It also started giving employees freedom to carry their work home, thereby giving them an opportunity to take dinner with their respective families. This encouraged the workers since they would be sure of completing their assignments without necessarily sitting in the office, and this gave them the opportunity top take care of their families while doing job at the comfort of their homes. It also helped mothers with handling childcare, especially when there is an appointment with the child’s doctor. It went as far as rescheduling meetings for mothers to take their children to pediatrician. This is a clear indication of how the organization gives priority to and is sensitive to the needs of its women workers. Xerox also shows its commitment to improve the lives of black workers when it employs them in increasing numbers even in the current “downturn economy.” Xerox actually supported a group of black employees so that they would come together “as a network to talk about their issues.” It is because of such supports that many talented women and minorities found Xerox attractive (Xerox-Company Facts, 2012). The Civil Rights Act of 1964, and especially Title (vii), provide that employers should not discriminate against the marginalized groups while giving employment opportunities. The marginalized groups include, among others, women and minorities (Daly, 2011). By giving priority to women and minorities, the organization is only trying to comply with the Act, and as such it is not discriminating against the white men. However, if the organization may drop a white candidate for a less qualified or less competent worker from the protected groups, then it may be accused of being unfair to white men. From the above discussion it is now obvious that human resource professionals can actually help top management leaders to make managers and other junior employees to comply with rules and guidelines. A close scrutiny of Xerox has also revealed to us that the organization has actually put in place various changes to make it more attractive to women workers and those workers from minority groups. This has, no doubt, improved the organization’s image which in turn has worked to boost its profitability. References Daly, John L. (2011). Human Resource Management in the Public Sector: Policies and Practices. New York: M.E. Sharpe. Stuart, Spencer. (2011). “diversity-En.pdf.” Retrieved Jan 23, 2012 from . University of Michigan, Graduate School of Business Administration. (2000). Personnel Management Abstracts. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press, pp.263-264. “Xerox-Company Facts.” Retrieved January 23, 2011 from www.xerox.com/about-xerox/company-facts/enus.html. Read More