Diversity Management Essay

The importance of workforce diversity is broadly appreciated in management and organizational behavior literature (Yang & Konrad, 2011). Nonetheless, reaping the benefits of diversity management may not be as straightforward as often thought. Employers must have the right organizational design in place if they are to effectively reap the benefits of workforce diversity. First, it is important to have a broader vision of inclusion. It is often assumed that diversity is just about increasing the number of women and minorities in the workforce. Nonetheless, diversity transcends common demographic attributes -- it also entails acknowledging differences in identity and personality. More fundamentally, diversity management must be a formally implemented initiative (Yang & Konrad, 2011). Initiatives, processes, systems, and/or practices aimed at promoting diversity must be deliberately designed, developed, implemented, and communicated across the organization as a whole. Diversity initiatives are likely to fail if they are undertaken as informal efforts by one or a few individuals in the organization. Formalized diversity practices tend to be long-lived, can easily penetrate throughout the organization, and can be tied to critical organizational outcomes (Yang & Konrad, 2011).

Question 2

The notion of an inclusive workplace essentially denotes a work environment where all individuals are accepted and acknowledged irrespective of their identity and demographic characteristics. Simply, an inclusive workplace welcomes and appreciates diversity at all levels -- from racial and gender background to age, religion, political affiliation, sexual orientation, geographic origin, disability, social status, and personality. The importance of an inclusive workplace is informed by the fact organizations now exist in communities with diverse populations, all which require proportionate representation in the workplace. By creating an inclusive workplace, an organization benefits from diversity of ideas and perspectives (Yang & Konrad, 2011). In a constantly evolving world, organizations must be willing to take advantage of different ideas, skills, capabilities, and experiences. An inclusive workplace provides a valuable way through which this can be achieved. Demonstrating commitment to fairness and inclusion can also be important for mediating performance outcomes. In an inclusive workplace, individuals may be satisfied with their work and interpersonal relationships, ultimately minimizing absenteeism, employee turnover, and other negative performance outcomes. More importantly, workplace inclusiveness may in way or another shape the institutional environment in which organizations operate (Yang & Konrad, 2011). It may provide greater impetus for public policy and affirmative action in the area of workforce diversity.

Question 3

Having a broader vision of diversity management implies recognizing diversity management as an important element of the overall strategy of an organization. Indeed, the notion of strategic human resource management (SHRM) has gained immense popularity in recent times. It has now become important….....