MANAGING WORKPLACE DIVERSITY

Managing Workplace Diversity

Managing Workplace Diversity

Introduction

As organisations expand their area of operations globally, they are confronted with a variety of human capital strategic challenges. The ability to operate across geopolitical and cultural boundaries impacts an organisation's ability to grow and maintain marketable prestige that transforms organisational effort into value while maintaining a transformational organisational culture. Globalisation creates human capital requirements for interaction among a variety of cultural paradigms and the creation of socio-cultural alliances that support global business plans. One of the outcomes of globalisation is the expansion of the use of information technology in ways that create knowledge throughout the various organisational subcultures. Harnessing information technology to benefit organisational workplace diversity programs supports organisational learning (Pollitt, 2005).

Organisations that wish to embed workplace diversity practices into their human capital strategies should come to an understanding of the differences between the theory and vision of workplace diversity and the practical application of workplace diversity practices. The debate concerning the concept of managing diversity in the workplace includes a number of points of view that range from a defining workplace diversity as a pseudonym for affirmative action, to the concept of moving beyond legal compliance to embrace the concept of the totality of human attribute inclusion. These points of view often conflict with each other as organisations attempt to implement management processes that are a part of the leadership paradigm (Korte, 2007). The implementation of workplace diversity policies and practices can become part of an organisational paradigm that organises information into the organisational knowledge management system so that the process of organisational learning supports official structures and are continually validating the pool of knowledge collected. The success of workplace diversity programs should be viewed as one of the criteria for the evaluation of organisational well-being (McMillian-Capehart et al., 2009). The emphasis placed on organisational globalisation as a methodology for expanding of the organisation's operational paradigm has brought the need for the development of contemporary views concerning the implementation of workplace diversity policy and programs that reflect organisational folkways and cultural imperatives.

Discussion

Workplace Diversity Compliance

When an employer advertises support of equal opportunity and affirmative action for underrepresented individuals, this exemplifies tolerance for legislative compliance and different cultural backgrounds. One of the problems related to the study of diversity is the lack of an organisational, clear, and consistent definition for diversity (Anand & Winters, 2008). Some organisations define diversity as regularly monitoring compliance as a social justice component of human resource management responsibilities (Kreitz, 2008). The compliance perceptions is not about engaging in strategies of diversity or inclusion because it was the right thing to do, but doing something because it had to be done due to legislative directives. When affirmative action programs were first introduced there was an exclusion of majority group members, especially European American men. Diversity and inclusion programs seek to leverage the contributions of all individuals even though they are different (McMillian-Capehart et al., 2009). In addition, managers are able to advance diversity initiatives because the discourse focuses on business ...