WHY ARE COMMUNICATION AND FEEDBACK IMPORTANT

Why are Communication and Feedback Important to Human Resource Diversity Management?

Why are Communication and Feedback Important to Human Resource Diversity Management?

Introduction

The workforce of the United States continues to grow more diverse? Employment equity legislation has made organizational diversity an issue of legal? ethical? and strategic interest. Data reported in 2005 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) indicate an increase in the percentage of people of color in the private sector from 27% in 1998 to 30% in 2003. In 2005 the Department of Labor reported that while foreign-born workers currently account for 15% of the workforce? up from 11% in 1998? they have also accounted for 46% of the net increase in the labor force since 2000. The percentage of women in the workforce has also risen The workforce of the United States continues to grow more diverse? In 2004? 59% of all women were in the workforce? up from 43% in 1998? as compared to 75% and 73% of men in the workforce in 2004 and 1998? respectively. Additionally? the Bureau of Labor Statistics projections for 2004-2014 predict the number of workers over 55 years old will grow by 49.1%? outpacing growth in the entire workforce by five times. The number of disabled Americans in the workforce increased from 29% in 1998 to 35% in 2004? according to the National Organization on Disability. These trends indicate that the workforce continues to become more heterogeneous on multiple dimensions.

Communication & Feedback & Human Resource Diversity Management

Communication and feedback are important to human resource diversity management because they play remarkable role in uplifting the organization productivity and its image internally and externally.

Jackson? Joshi and Erhardt (2003) mentions that feedback is a subset of the available information in the work environment that indicates how well individuals are meeting their goals. Thus feedback guides? motivates? and reinforces effective behaviors while simultaneously discouraging ineffective ones. Feedback is a complex stimulus entailing a process in which a sender conveys a message to a recipient regarding personal behavior at work. The presence of feedback triggers psychological processes that precede behavioral responses. Daniel R. Ilgen and colleagues outlined how psychological processes? such as recipients' perceptions of feedback? acceptance of feedback? desire to respond to feedback? and intended responses are influenced by such factors as the recipient's own characteristics (Jackson? Joshi and Erhardt? 2003)? such as individual differences; characteristics of the source? including credibility; and characteristics of the feedback message? for example positive or negative sign.

Feedback has three primary uses in organizations. First? it can be used for employee development. Feedback can be used to communicate information to employees regarding their performance strengths and weaknesses so that they can be recognized for what they are doing well and can focus their efforts on areas that need improvement. A second use of feedback is for personnel decisions. For example? data from formal feedback sessions such as performance appraisals can be used to make decisions regarding who gets promoted? fired? or laid ...