Management - Research Paper Example

Management [N a m e] INTRODUCTION Because of globalization, today people in the organization have to interact with different people belonging from diverse beliefs, values, cultures and backgrounds than ever before. People are now a part of world wide economy with competition coming from different parts of the world so for this reason diversity is needed to become more innovative and open to change (Barkema, Baum and Mannix, 930). Managing divesting in an organization means to acknowledge, understand and accept the differences in values among the people.

Organizations that do not deal with diversity efficiently are not able to use full potential of their workforce, and these organizations are not able to survive long under complex business environment which is becoming more complicated day by day. Exploiting and maximizing on organization’s diversity is one of the most important issues that the management has to address today. It is important for managers to learn how to manage diversified workforce in order to create an innovative culture in the organization.

This paper analyzes how managers efficiently manage diversified workforce and different kinds of challenges managers face at the workplace because of diversified workforce. Also the paper includes strategies for effectively managing diverse workforce and benefits of diversity in the organizations. DIVERSITY CHALLENGES AT THE WORKPLACE Organizations that are operating internationally have more diversified workforce than organizations that are operating locally (Roberts, Kossek and Ozeki, 106).

Managers need to deal with cultural differences such as differences in beliefs, values and behavior of people belonging from diversified background and culture. Acknowledging differences in people can help in managing diversity. Organizations hire people from different backgrounds. This may increase the tension between the newly hired individual and management because it is difficult for the individuals to learn the organizational norms and accept the cultural diversity. Miscommunication within work teams is a major challenge which sometimes leads to disaster.

Highly diverse work-teams can be difficult to motivate and manage for managers. So managers need to take following actions: Make the heterogeneous workforce to work together towards organization’s common goals. Ensure fair treatment for everyone in the team (Ellis, 109) Maximize the input of each individual When working with teams, there are higher chances of misunderstanding and conflicts therefore it is important for managers to manage when people are working in teams. People bring different values, behavior, assumptions, prospects and expectations in an organization as a result of their different backgrounds.

Therefore, handling cultural diversity means taking these differences as opportunities to strengthen the organization through better communication, collective learning, improved productivity and new perspective. Managers face more problems when they do not know how to handle people with different background or lack skills to manage diverse workforce. Diverse body of talent brings creative ideas, views and perspective to their work so future success of organization depends on the ability to manage them effectively (Cox and Blake, 55).

Diversify in the organization can be capitalized by an organization to achieve organizational advantage but for this, the diversified workforce has to be managed efficiently as people from diverse culture brings different concepts, new ideas and thus organization can use diversity effectively in achieving competitive advantage. STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH DIVERSITY: It is a key task for managers to identify and acknowledge the kinds of diversity and develop different policies and practices that reflect their commitment to managing diversity.

An organization should train managers so that they can learn the skills of managing diversified workforce. It is important that managers recognize and understand the differences in culture and are willing to work with a diversified team to achieve organizational objectives. Diversity is about the differences among the people. Organizations need to train its employees including managers so that they can better understand the diverse work environment. Some strategies for dealing with diversity include: Training sessions Coaching and mentoring programs Equal and fair organizational policies No discrimination Lectures and planning programs Support from the top management Not only it is important for managers to understand the diversity in workforce but they should also educate their subordinates to accept the differences in culture, this would allow an organizational culture that would foster productivity and care for everyone.

Organizational assessment on different issues including promotional opportunities, discrimination should be conducted on a regular basis to evaluate the progress of managers (Dass, and Parker, 80). Organization needs to have proper measuring tools in order to determine the impact of diversity and for this the organization should conduct surveys and feedback from everyone. Managing a diversified team of employees is a difficult task and requires involvement of everyone in the organization. Managers as well as subordinates must be trained on how to deal with diversified cultures and people with diversified values.

Training sessions should be conducted to promote communication among the team members. In addition to this, social gatherings should also be promoted so that these people can interact a lot more and overcome the barriers. The support from top management is an important aspect in promoting diversified workforce to work efficiently. BENEFITS OF DIVERSITY IN THE ORGANIZATION There are several benefits of managing diversity in an organization as well and these benefits are Organization is able to attract and retain talented individuals Employee turnover is reduced thus cost is saved.

Absenteeism is reduced. Diversity encourages innovation and creativity in an organization Diversity helps in building morale of employees It increases organizational productivity and performance It improves the organizational image and reputation The act of recognizing the diversity helps individuals to have a sense of belonging which in turn increase their commitment and allows each individual to contribute to the organization in a unique way. CONCLUSION Managing diversity is not as simple as it looks.

Managers have to value everyone regardless of what the cultural background of the individual is, what his values are, what his beliefs are. Also such a culture promotes innovation and productivity thus it helps in improving the performance of the organization and in gaining competitive advantage. Works Cited Barkema, Harry, Joel Baum and Elizabeth Mannix. “Management Challenges in a New Time,” The Academy of Management Journal, 45.5 (Oct. 2002): 916-930. Cox, Taylor and Stacy Blake. “Managing Cultural Diversity: Implications for Organizational Competitiveness,” The Executive, 5.3 (Aug. 1991): 45-56.

Dass, Parshotam and Barbara Parker. “Strategies for Managing Human Resource Diversity: From Resistance to Learning,” The Academy of Management Executive, 13. 2 (May. 1999): 68-80. Ellis, Catherine. “Diverse approaches to managing diversity.” Human Resource Management, 33.1 (Nov. 2006): 79–109. Roberts, Karen, Ellen Kossek and Cynthia Ozeki. “Managing the Global Workforce: Challenges and Strategies,” The Academy of Management Executive, 12.4 (Nov. 1998): 93- 106.