Diversity in the Workplace. The importance of profitability

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Diversity in the Workplace

Introduction

The importance of profitability cannot be gainsaid as far as the long term sustainability or strength of an organization or business institution is concerned. However, it goes without saying that the profitability of an organization is always threatened by competition from other organizations within the same field or offering substitute goods and services. This has pushed organization to come up with various strategies through which they can enhance their competitiveness. Of course, there have been numerous strategies through which the organizations maintain or enhance their competitiveness. These may include expanding to other regions, marketing and expanding to other fields. Nevertheless, recent times have seen an increase or rise in the interest of organizations on workforce diversification as one of the ways in which organizations could increase their competitiveness. Diversity refers to the acknowledgement, acceptance, understanding, valuing, as well as a celebration of the differences that exist among individuals as concerning their age, ethnic backgrounds, social class, gender, sexual orientation, race, intellectual and physical aptitude, public assistance status and spiritual practice among other features. Workplace diversity not only encompass the ways in which individuals view themselves, but also their perceptions about other people. It goes without saying that the perceptions affect people’s interactions with other people. The effectiveness of the functioning of organizations with a wide variety of employees is pegged on the capacity of human resource professionals to deal effectively with matters such as adaptability, change and communication. Question, however, have arisen as to the effectiveness of diversity of the workforce in enhancing the competitiveness of organizations.

Thesis statement: Diversity enhances the competitiveness of an organization in its field, provided it is handled appropriately.

The competitiveness and success of an organization is pegged on its capacity to embrace diversity, as well as realize the benefits with which it comes. When business entities actively asses the manner in which they handle issues pertaining to workplace diversity, as well as establish and implement diversity plans, they experience a number of benefits. Diversity management may be composed of the development of affirmative action programs, provision of support to the minority group in the organization’s workforce, as well as resolution of employee conflicts on the basis of traits and characteristics that are not associated to the job. Small business enterprises may not have issues to do with workforce diversity, until such a time when the workforce grows to various employees from different cultures and with differences in their sexual orientations or age. However, forward-thinking companies acknowledge the incredible results that come with workforce diversity.

One of the key or fundamental benefits that come with diversity is the enhanced adaptability (Greenberg, 4). Scholars opine that organizations that employ a diverse workforce have the capacity to offer an enhanced variety of solutions pertaining to problems that the organization faces in sourcing, resource allocation, as well as service. It goes without saying that the capacity of an organization to come up with solutions that are applicable in different situations has a bearing on the sustainability of that organization, especially in the long term. Research shows that individuals who have diverse backgrounds incorporate different experiences and talents that would be applicable in diverse fields. This means that the organization would be flexible as far as adapting to the changing demands of customers and markets is concerned, which enhances its competitiveness.

In addition, diversity of employees or in the workplace comes as one of the ways of enhancing creativity within the organization (Ferrier, 2). This is because heterogeneous groups always cross-fertilize each other in the organization. It is worth noting that employees who have diverse backgrounds incorporate diverse solutions and ideas, which would be channeled towards the attainment of a single goal. As diverse ideas and solutions are suggested, there are enhanced chances of coming up with an effective and workable answer to a certain issue (Greenberg, 6). Research shows that, in environments where brainstorming is a necessity, an increased number of ideas are formed because the team members come from diverse cultural backgrounds. This is especially considering that individuals from diverse backgrounds will incorporate different ways of tackling a certain issue. Some institutions have effectively established processes of innovation through the incorporation of ideas from diverse backgrounds. A diverse workforce that is comfortable communicating different points of views offers a larger pool of experiences and ideas from which organizations may draw in an effort to meet its needs as far as a business strategy is concerned, as well as meet the demands of customers in an effective manner. This, ultimately, enhances the overall competitiveness of the organization or business entity both in the short term, as well as the long term.

Moreover, an organization that has a diverse workforce has a lot to reap from the diverse language skills. Companies and business entities that plan to expand to global markets can reap immensely from the language diversity incorporated in workforce derived from different backgrounds. This is especially considering that people from diverse backgrounds would offer enhanced insights into their backgrounds and even aid in setting base or expanding to those areas (Ferrier, 2). Expansion into other areas means that the company or business entity has a wider market, which means increased strength and competitiveness. This underlines the crucial role that workforce diversity would play in enhancing competitiveness of the company even on a global and international scale. Increased presence, more often than not, means that the company or business entity has a wider market and enhanced sales.

On the same note, a diverse workforce enables the company or business entity to offer a broader range of services. This is because the workers have a diverse set of experiences and skills that allow the company to offer services to clients on a global scale (Greenberg, 5). It goes without saying that the increased range of services or products for a company means increased stability and competitiveness. This, in fact, is what has propelled Coca-Cola Company to the global phenomenon that it is today. The company is known for its beverage Coke, which even though it is popular it does not fit every person’s tastes and preferences. In essence, the company maximized its market share by offering a broad range of soft drinks ranging from diet versions of coke to orange. This has enhanced the competitiveness of the company, not only in the native areas, but also on the global scale.

Lastly, a diverse workforce allows for efficient execution of its plans and strategies (Greenberg, 7). Business entities, that incorporate the concept of diversity in their workforce, have an automatic effect of inspiring their employees to do their best or put their best foot forward in the execution of plans. It goes without saying that the effectiveness of plans does not lie in making them, rather it is in the capacity to execute them effectively. In essence, the diverse workforce efficiently executes all the company’s strategies and plans. This leads in increased return on investment, higher revenue and enhanced productivity of the company. It goes without saying that these go a long way in enhancing the long term sustainability, as well as competitiveness of the business entity. It is also noteworthy that when a business entity embraces employees from diverse cultural backgrounds, skills and experiences, they enhance their capacity to understand the desires, needs, likes and preferences of their customers in different parts of the globe. This results in enhanced customer satisfaction, which increases the competitiveness of the company.

However, some people feel that diversity is detrimental to the success of a business entity. The key claim, in this case, is that employees get tired of persistently being reminded about their diversity. They also argue that in instances where diversity is the key concern, individuals who belong to the nonminority groups may feel as if they have been excluded or even that minority groups are being accorded preferential treatment (Mayhew et al, 4). However, it is worth noting that workforce diversity does not revolve around affirmative action or quotas. It fundamentally involves the conscious recognition of the fluctuations and modification in the face of the nation and the economy at large. It involves tapping into the different talents that come with individuals from diverse backgrounds and channeling them to the attainment of the company’s overall goal (Green, 11). In addition, workforce diversity involves the recognition of the fundamental value that comes with differences, the promotion of inclusiveness of all people, as well as combating discrimination (Green, 11). These would go a long way in enhancing the overall productivity and competitiveness of the business entity. It goes without saying that managers are challenged with losses in work productivity and personnel loss, thanks to discrimination, legal action and complaints against the organization (Green, 12). Negative behaviors and attitudes may hinder the competitiveness of an organization as they destroy the working relationship, lower the morale and reduce the work productivity. These attitudes may include stereotyping, prejudice, as well as discrimination, which the management should at no time use for hiring of workers, their retention, or even termination of services. It is worth noting that such practices also form ground for litigation and legal action against the company, which would impede its competitiveness. This underlines the importance of embracing diversity in the workplace as the ultimate strategy for enhancing the competitive edge of a business entity in the nation and international scale.

In conclusion, the profitability of any business entity is extremely crucial as far as the long term and short term stability and sustainability is concerned. However, the profitability of a business entity lies in the ability to wade off competition. Many companies have acknowledged the role of workforce diversity in enhancing the overall competitiveness of a business entity. Workforce diversity enhances the competitiveness of any business entity. It allows the company to have ideas and experiences from a wide pool of skills. This enhances the chances of coming up with a workable solution. In addition, it enhances the capacity of a company to diversify or expand to other parts of the globe, as well as increase its range of services. These come in handy in enhancing the competitiveness of a business entity. As much as some people may view diversity management as a way of excluding individuals from the majority groups, it is worth noting that diversity goes beyond acknowledgement and conscious recognition of the fluctuating and modifying face of the nation and the economy at large. It involves tapping into the different talents that come with individuals from diverse backgrounds and channeling them to the attainment of the company’s overall goal. In any case, the company would be severely disadvantaged in instances where it acts in another way as it creates an image that it promotes discrimination, thereby opening itself for litigation and inappropriate reputation.

Works cited

Ferrier, Susan. The Importance of Diversity in 2008 and Beyond, Workforce diversity network. 2011 Web retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://www.workforcediversitynetwork.com/news_0806_impt.aspx” http://www.workforcediversitynetwork.com/news_0806_impt.aspx

Greenberg, Josh. Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges and Solutions. Ezine articles, 2005, web retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://ezinearticles.com/?Diversity-in-the-Workplace:-Benefits,-Challenges-and-Solutions&id=11053” http://ezinearticles.com/?Diversity-in-the-Workplace:-Benefits,-Challenges-and-Solutions&id=11053

Green, Kelli, A., López, Mayra., Wysocki, Allen., and Kepner, Karl. Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges, and the Required Managerial Tools. University of Florida 2012. Web retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hr022” http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hr022

Mayhew, Ruth and Demand Media. Pros & Cons of Diversity Management in the Workplace. Chron, 2012. Web retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-diversity-management-workplace-3028.html” http://smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-diversity-management-workplace-3028.html