Diversity in Work and Organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Diversity in Work and Organisation - Essay Example It must change to reflect the said diversity and in so doing, partially contribute towards the amelioration of cross-cultural, transnational and cross-linguistic paradigms (Hon and Brunner, 2000; Grin and Korth, 2005; Morrison, 2006). If they are to effectively perform within the bounds of multicultural societies and ethnically diverse markets, organizations must hire a diverse pool of talented people who bring skills such as language and cultural expertise to the equation. Changing demographic realties, whether on the local or the global level, have brought a plethora of challenges and opportunities to the fore. As regards opportunities, people who previously have been denied the opportunity for full development of their talents may achieve greater opportunities. However, these opportunities to minorities and diversity have been created through struggle, particularly opposition from the dominant majority. To alleviate these issues, organisations commonly talk about implementing diversity programs and other initiatives to increase understanding of different cultures and to help acclimate foreign individuals into society and, herein, lies the greatest challenge (Hon and Brunner, 2000; Grin and Korth, 2005; Morrison, 2006). The challenge to the positive and constructive exploitation of the opportunities which diversity promises lies in the management of diversity through the adoption of employee diversity training programmes, ultimately lending to the de velopment of an organisation's human resources. While the majority of Western companies have openly expressed their commitment to diversity management within an HRD context, Morrison (2006) argues that commitment has been largely limited to rhetoric, as opposed to action and HR training. Diversity rhetoric, as opposed to action, abounds. This does not imply, however, that the rhetoric is without value or does not have the potentially to constructively inform the design of diversity training programmes. As Edelman, Riggs, and Drita (2001) point out, the diversity rhetoric which pervades management and HR journals positively directs organisations towards the management of diversity, the value of diversity and the real-time benefits which organisations may accrue from adopting flexible management styles which are willing to defer to the interests of individuals, and able to resolve new types of conflicts that arise from various cultural backgrounds. Moreover, this new management style needs to be supportive of various lifestyles, able to match different types of people to appropriate jobs, and willing to accommodate different methods of accomplishing work and evaluating people (Edelman, Riggs and Drita, 2001). Diversity rhetoric has, in some cases, translated into a recipe for action. Companies have begun providing diversity training, particularly to managers. As early as 1991, a study of 406 organizations showed that 63% provided diversity training for managers, 50% provided a statement on diversity from top management, 39% provided diversity training for employees, and 31% had a diversity task force (Winterle, 1992). According to Gilbert and Ivancevich (2000), as organisations and societies have become