Managing Diverse Workplaces

Managing Diverse Workplaces

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Managing Diverse Workplaces

In the current environment, organizations have embraced increased diversity. The employment of talented individuals from all the races across geographic and religious backgrounds has since become standard practice. The notion of inclusion and diversity is also reflected in the Bible, specifically Galatians 3:28. In the scripture, Paul wrote, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you all are all one in Christ Jesus.” While embracing this level of diversity is effective, a multitude of challenges accompanies it. Adopting effective strategies for dealing with these modern challenges in the workplace is necessary. Failing to acknowledge and address these issues will generate conflict and affect productivity levels (Kinicki & Fugate, 2016). Using two concepts, organizational commitment, and employee character traits, it is possible to analyze the workplace issues surrounding workplace diversity.

The reshaping of the organizational culture to ensure that it implements workplace diversity involves a proper understanding of organizational commitment and components of attitudes. Handling diversity in the workplace lacks a clear approach. The numerous dimensions of diversity complicate the applied strategies. Consequently, solutions that work in one situation cannot necessarily be replicated across the board to fix other diversity problems (Kinicki & Fugate, 2016). It is imperative for the manager to acknowledge individual differences and understand that they are valuable to the organization (Bryson, & Ryan, 2012).

Organizational commitment refers to the connection that employees have with their company. In a general sense, committed employees feel a connection with the leadership, the culture, and even the building itself. They feel that they are a perfect fit and have a full comprehension of the organizational goals. The benefit of this category of workers is that they possess an impressive sense of determination in their work, display excellent productivity levels, and are more practical in lending support. Various categories of commitment exist within the workplace environment, and this indicates the extent to which the feeling of commitment is present in the hearts of the employees (Bryson, & Ryan, 2012).

The significance of employee commitment in the discussion of workplace diversity is massive. The level of commitment determines the length that employees stick to one organization. This aspect of dedication will ensure that diverse employees can stay with the same organization. Making all the employees comfortable and taking care of individual needs is a step in the right direction towards keeping the employees contented (Kinicki, & Fugate, 2016). Managers need to understand that keeping employees within the organization is paramount in ensuring that the right proportions of international and local employees are maintained. In a diverse workplace, the employees have different interests and preferences that need to be observed (Hodulak, 2017). Most common preferences include religious and cultural beliefs that need to be respected by the managers as well as the rest of the staff.

Conversely, attitudes refer to the manifestations of the extent to which people prefer different things. Attitudes stand for the assessments, preferences, and objections based on the information available in the environment. Attitudes are generalized tendencies that guide peoples’ behavior and are closely attached to emotions (Kinicki, & Fugate, 2016). Lastly, attitudes are learned over time as people repeat their reactions to different situations. Within the workplace, the reigning attitudes of the diverse workforce are important emotions that need to be addressed with urgency. The ABC model of attitudes categorizes attitudes as affective, behavioral, and cognitive. The affective aspect refers to the emotional reaction individuals have towards an attitude object. The behavior part of an attitude comprises of an individual’s tendencies to act in a particular way toward an object. Lastly, the cognitive component is the section of the attitude, which displays a person’s intention. Employee attitudes can be very complicated and can affect the decisions of individuals to stay or leave the organization (Hodulak, 2017).

Replies to Peer Questions

            This section covers the response to my peers on the discussion on workplace diversity. One has to concur that executives are increasingly being challenged with employee diversity problems. This is an implication of the changing perspectives on ethnic composition, gender, and other issues. Most of the behavior that was acceptable several decades in the workplace is currently prohibited and holds great implications (Kinicki, & Fugate, 2016). A simple thing such as commenting on a female colleague’s dressing can translate into a classic sexual harassment case that can end one’s career. Therefore, the peer notes were accurate in noting that organizations need to invest more in training that can alter the attitudes of employees.

It is possible for the employees to embrace change in their attitudes concerning diversity by exposing them to suitable environments. An excellent alternative would be to involve the employees in public settings through volunteer work (Kinicki, & Fugate, 2016). This allows them to meet with people from different religions, races, and countries. After all, “God does not show favoritism” (Romans 2:11). Through the activities, employees can learn to experience how it feels to be treated differently (Hodulak, 2017). For instance, the employees can participate in training programs that teach about segregation and tolerance (Rahim, 2017). In this way, the employees will learn the best way to treat colleagues from international locations. Academic literature indicates that after sensitization, employees display lower negative perceptions toward colleagues from diverse cultures and backgrounds. In conclusion, the discussion has proven that managing the diverse workplace is a difficult task. Managers need to learn the best way to deal with employees that originate from different cultural backgrounds.

References

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Bryson, J., & Ryan, R. (2012). Human resource management in the workplace. Auckland, N.Z: Pearson.

Hodulak, M. (2017). Global corporate workplaces: Implementing new global workplace standards in a local context. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Vieweg.

Kinicki, A., & Fugate, M. (2016). Organizational behavior: A practical, problem-solving approach. New York, NY McGraw-Hill Education.

Rahim, M. A. (2017). Managing diverse situations in organizations. In Diversity, Conflict, and Leadership (pp. 9-18). New York, NY: Routledge.

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