Managing Workplace Diversity A Contemporary Context Nirmal Kumar Betchoo Download free books at Nirmal Kumar Betchoo Managing Workplace Diversity A Contemporary Context Download free eBooks at bookboon.com Managing Workplace Diversity: A Contemporary Context 1st edition © 2015 Nirmal Kumar Betchoo & bookboon.com ISBN 978-87-403-1031-3 Peer reviewed by Mr Krishnah Moortee Saurty, Senior Lecturer, Universite des Mascareignes Download free eBooks at bookboon.com Managing Workplace Diversity: A Contemporary Context Contents Contents Preface Introduction to Management of Workplace Diversity Gender Issues in Workplace Diversity 21 Age Issue in Workplace Diversity 35 Generation Issue in Workplace Diversity 47 Social Class in Workplace Diversity 61 he Impact of Culture on Workplace Diversity 74 he Foreign Worker in Workplace Diversity 87 Race Issues in Workplace Diversity 102 www.sylvania.com We not reinvent the wheel we reinvent light Fascinating lighting offers an ininite spectrum of 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Questions 235 360° thinking Discover the truth at www.deloitte.ca/careers Download free eBooks at bookboon.com © Deloitte & Touche LLP and affiliated entities Click on the ad to read more Managing Workplace Diversity: A Contemporary Context Preface Preface his book titled “Managing Workplace Diversity: A Contemporary context” is based on today’s workplace context regarding diversity focusing on the global environment It is a known fact that diversity is gaining more importance nowadays than ever before given that the world better accommodates people with diferences since it has been transformed into a global village, a term that looked distant in the past but looks more apparent today than ever before his calls for the acceptance of diferences which are, in essence, the elements of diversity Traditionally, diversity could mainly focus on gender, age and ethnicity issues but there are new concepts like HIV/AIDS workers, dual-career couples, mobile workers, etc that have become part of the workplace and have their role to play in society he existing and new diversity paradigms has called the author to consider writing on diversity using a concise approach but which truly represents the context he work has stemmed from the author’s teaching of “Management of Diversity” to students over the past ten years with the inception that texts on diversity are quite rare or simply inadequate both in terms of content and ease of understanding Either issues of diversity form part of broad-based management texts or they are high-level peer-reviewed articles which are research-based duly supported by facts and igures Little has been seen of texts on diversity that are easy to assimilate, simple to understand with facts on today’s context his textbook humbly contributes to understanding diversity based from a management perspective with an inclusion of management and human resource management as elements worth noting in the efective approach to diversity Information has been developed both from journals and textbooks with special reference to internetbased documentation namely from blogs that are written by professionals and whose contributions are widely acknowledged and referenced throughout the texts here is a special chapter that addresses new paradigms in workplace diversity that are likely to impact on today’s workplace To create a good learning experience, case studies have been included in each chapter hey either support the existing literature or simply add on new information through real-life examples in the text hey also highlight how case studies can relate to what is being taught and learnt here are practice questions that help the student and reader focus on the key issues discussed per chapter covered A special section has been allocated to the use and interpretation of statistics relating to diversity In order to support literature, numerical data is important and this is where statistical data sometime help in better gauging a theory and interpreting the information provided in a particular context he contexts chosen vary since they cover both advanced nations and emerging economies with recently-gained information Download free eBooks at bookboon.com Managing Workplace Diversity: A Contemporary Context Preface Objective tests that cover the diferent chapters along with a range of essay-type questions conclude this book with particular reference made to the aspects discussed in this book By doing the diferent exercises, the student is expected to master the diferent concepts of diversity and have a clearer idea of it his is what this book intends to achieve while, once again, assuming that it remains to the point, neither too brief and nor too elaborate he aim was to present diversity in management in an easy-toread and understand approach Download free eBooks at bookboon.com Managing Workplace Diversity: A Contemporary Context Introduction to Management of Workplace Diversity Introduction to Management of Workplace Diversity Introduction Diversity management is an important concept that is universally applied to the workplace Earlier, countries could claim to be ethno-centric in their approach by having a homogeneous race at work with the style of sameness If you just watch a typical American soap, it speaks of burgers, college lifestyle, American stereotype of hero, etc his means that stereotypes tend to give an image of what one society is and how it might difer from others or the s-called rest of the world his image is no truer today especially when one speaks of a globalised world-a concept developed since the 1990s and so-widely accepted today in all communities of the world Marshall McLuhan spoke in the 1960s of a global village with increased speed of communication and the ability of people to read about, spread, and react to global news quickly (Mc Luhan, 1964), while management writers like Ohmae (1999) commented on the borderless world with excellent opportunities to trade without fear hese ideas better illustrate today’s workplace with its high level of diversity It includes irstly people of all races combining their efort to reach the corporate goals of the irm People can then be of diferent gender; male and female, where they contribute more than ever before to their organisation with and without role diferences Next comes the age factor A company is also like a family with people of diferent ages hey work together and collaborate to the wellbeing of their irm In diversity management, one can also come across physically handicapped or disabled workers Although they face a lot of discrimination due to their physical problem, they have nowadays more rights and opportunities to work Engaging them in the work community proves to be beneicial both to them and the business One can also speak of social class diferences that are broadly overcome but can vary in terms of importance among diferent cultures he movements in class might also explain how diversity can address organisational issues hen comes the foreign employee here are two trends that are identiiable Firstly, people from the developing world moved in large numbers to rich countries that were their former colonists Secondly, top executives are moving to developing nations to sell their managerial expertise Foreign employees might also invoke the issue of cultural diversity and tolerance here are part-timers to consider in diversity management When economies are in dire diiculties, new forms of employment arise and part-timers have a key role to play in it heir expertise and contribution plays a key role in addressing the work problem through their diversity Download free eBooks at bookboon.com Managing Workplace Diversity: A Contemporary Context Introduction to Management of Workplace Diversity his book also covers the aspect of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual workers (LGBT) as an inherent part of diversity Being in the irm while facing the risk of stigmatisation, LGBT should have their role to play within the business hey are crucial to the irm’s success Acceptance of diversity also covers the issue of race relations which are easy tough to manage despite struggles won in many parts of the world here are also wider issues of diversity discussed in this book and they have been addressed within today’s evolving environment of workplace diversity he Concept of Workplace Diversity Diversity is generally deined as acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing, and celebrating diferences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and public assistance status (Esty, et al., 1995) Managing diversity means acknowledging people’s diferences and recognising these diferences as valuable It enhances good management practices by preventing discrimination and promoting inclusiveness Good management alone will not necessarily help an individual work efectively with a diverse workforce While the traditional notion of workplace diversity may refer to representations of various races, genders and religious backgrounds, today’s concept of workplace diversity is broad-based Besides these classical variables, considerations are also made on personality, age, style, skills, education, background, etc he focus of workplace diversity now lies on the promotion of individuality within an organisation, acknowledging that every person can bring something diferent to the business An organisation that is committed to a diverse workforce is one that aims to harness a pool of individuals with unique qualities, seeing this combination of diferences as a potential for growth rather than opportunities for conlict Attached to this commitment is also an intention to nurture and develop the potential of each individual Organisations must understand that managing diversity is much more than gaining knowledge on race and gender issues Managing diversity should be viewed as providing a perspective that can enhance creativity and growth he discipline provides a way of thinking that allows us to view our organisational activities through a more objective eye he need for businesses to embrace diversity Diversity means empowering people It makes an organisation efective by capitalising on all the strengths of each employee Diversity is also understanding, valuing, and using the diferences in every person Simply enforcing government regulations is not the best way to embrace diversity To obtain that competitive edge companies need to create great work teams by using the full potential of every individual Download free eBooks at bookboon.com Managing Workplace Diversity: A Contemporary Context Introduction to Management of Workplace Diversity Embracing diversity is the irst item for building teams Every team building theory states that to build a great team, there must be a diverse group of people on the team Choosing people like oneself to be on teams is similar to inbreeding – it multiplies the laws While on the other end of the continuum is having an assorted group of individuals which diminishes the laws of others Internally, organisations promote diversity and manage increasingly heterogeneous workforces, accommodate and integrate employees with diferent value and belief systems and combat a range of diferent forms of discrimination with both organisational and societal consequences (Groschl, 2011) Externally, organisations have to manage demands from governmental, consumer and lobbying sources for the implementation of anti-discrimination policies and laws, and for attracting and integrating employees from minority or historically disadvantaged groups (Groschl, 2011) hese demands and activities afect the review and revision of organisational culture, HR policies and practices and ethical standards Diversity: A fad or a reality today? Is managing diversity another fad such as teamwork, downsizing, or re-engineering? Ideally, organisations are interested in Diversity because it represents a new problem for them to deal with? One thing is certain: diversity, especially workforce diversity is an issue most organisations have already or will need to address in the very near future here are some reasons to explain why irms are interested in managing diversity Firstly, the workforce in many nations is becoming more diverse Kerby and Burns (2012) state that our nation and our workforce are both becoming more diverse he share of people of colour in the United States is increasing; more women are entering the labour force; and gay and transgender individuals are making vital contributions to our economy, while being increasingly open about who they are To that end, businesses that embrace diversity have a more solid footing in the marketplace than others Secondly, the fertility rate in the traditional industrial powers is not great enough to replace their existing populations his means that immigration is going to be a factor in those societies and a key issue that organisations within those societies will need to deal with hirdly, organisations are also beginning to emphasise the importance of cross-functional teams his is important because diferent work functions and diferent departments can have diferent cultures Hence, the ability to adapt to diferent cultures has an advantage for organisational activities 10 Download free eBooks at bookboon.com ... more Managing Workplace Diversity: A Contemporary Context Preface Preface his book titled Managing Workplace Diversity: A Contemporary context is based on today’s workplace context regarding diversity. ..Nirmal Kumar Betchoo Managing Workplace Diversity A Contemporary Context Download free eBooks at bookboon.com Managing Workplace Diversity: A Contemporary Context 1st edition © 2015 Nirmal Kumar... approach Download free eBooks at bookboon.com Managing Workplace Diversity: A Contemporary Context Introduction to Management of Workplace Diversity Introduction to Management of Workplace Diversity