Workplace Diversity

Workplace Diversity

Introduction

Diversity could be defined as understanding, valuing, acknowledging, accepting and celebrating various differences among different kinds of people with respect to their class, age, gender, mental or physical ability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, race, public assistance status and their spiritual practices (Esty, et al., 2005). The purpose of this essay is to explain what diversity issues in the work place could be and how could they be resolved. It basically highlights the need to manage the diverse workplace within an organization. As the world keeps changing and becoming more complex, people tend to switch places and even countries to look for better opportunities. This is increasingly becoming a reality in this modern world. The major issues that have to be faced regarding diversity is in a work place where people from different areas, backgrounds and cultures work together to achieve their set goals. This is what triggers the need to manage a diverse workforce.

Discussion

Literature Review

Diversity is a term which is used to describe al the characteristics that would make every individual unique and different, whether these features may be social or individual. For ethical reasons, all the organizations are supposed to consider diversity within their work place. It is a matter of principle. Organizations have an ethical and a moral obligation to the entire workforce, respecting everyone's background, culture and identity and treating everyone with fairness and respect. Organizations may not only be morally and ethically responsible for their employees, they are also legally responsible which forces them to act in a way that satisfies the law as far as discrimination within their work place is concerned (Cope, 2010).

However, apart from all these concerns, an organization may also look to manage its diversification within the workplace due to the fact that it satisfies their own interests and benefits. For example: A good HR managed organization enjoys a good reputation and image with in the society. Such an organization is very likely to enjoy an increase its productivity of Human Resources as well as financial profits. All the employees in an organization, including the managerial staff need to be well informed regarding the diversity in the place of work and how it benefits or hurts the organization as a whole. As more organizations become diverse daily, employees need to be trained on how employees from various backgrounds and cultures could co-exist, while maintaining a healthy professional relationship. This would help the supervisor as well as the managerial level in an organization (Aurthur, 2010).

In the modern world today, people from different backgrounds know how to proclaim their rights. Whereas at the same time, the need for all employees to work together as to achieve the organization's goal is constantly increasing. If an organization is not successful in handling its diverse workforce, it may well lead to disastrous situations, arguments, regular absences and even to the point of resignations. This would further lead to a reduction in the overall productivity of the company. Thus in order to help them, ...