Workforce Diversity Management: Biggest Challenge For 21st Century Organizations

Workforce Diversity Management: Biggest Challenge For 21st Century Organizations

 

In changing world, we all are live in an increasingly multicultural society. In order to adopt with competitor world, organizations realize the need of immediate action to establish and manage diverse workforce in their work place. According to  Bedi (2014) Workplace diversity is the issue of people, focus on the differences and similarities that people bring to an organization.

Today, in 21 st century Organizations realize that, diversity of work force is not just something to deal with. It creates stronger and more competitive enterprise. Workforce diversity is basically described with differences and similarities in various characteristics, such as gender, age, heritage, ethnic, disabilities and physical abilities, race and sexual orientation among the employees of the organization.

Workforce diversity is a pragmatic business strategy that focuses on maximizing the productivity, creativity, and commitment of the employees, while meeting the needs of diverse consumer groups (Green et al, 2001)

According to Joseph & Selvaraj (2015) Workforce diversity is one of the strategic capabilities and add value to the organizations over their competition. As an example Singapore is one of the most globally competitive country, which attracts highly skilled and innovative diversified people to work.

Diversified workforce create multiple benefits to the organization, such as greater understanding of global market place, higher productivity, increase of profit due to company culture,  exchange of varieties of ideas and Team work, learning and growth, effective communication and diverse experience. It encourage employees to perform their highest ability.

Barriers for Accepting Work Force Diversity

o   Prejudice: an unfair and unreasonable opinion or feeling

o  Discrimination: barring an individual from membership in an organization or from a job because of  his or her membership of a particular group. Discriminating behavior of work force restrict them to adopt new environment

  

o Backlash: negative reaction to members of previously underrepresented groups gaining power and influence

o Harassment: consciously shunning verbally or physically abusing an individual because of membership in a particular group

o   Ethnocentrism: a tendency to regard one’s own group, culture, or nation as superior to others this tendency of the work force prove a big barrier in accepting a policy of diverse work force

Companies which are good at respecting and valuing diversity are able to attract, hire and retain the best employees in the market (Wambui et al, 2013). Further, Ogbo & Ukpere (2014) profound that well managed workforce diversity is positively related to financial performance in terms of sales, market share and corporate profits.

References

bedi, P, (2014). Workforce Diversity Management: Biggest Challenge Or Opportunity For 21st Century Organizations. IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM), Volume 16(Issue 4. Ver. III), pp. 102-106.

Green, K., Rundy, J. and Morcy, (2001). Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges, and the Required Managerial Tools. Intelligent Leagal Information, Volume Volume 31. NBR 112.

Joseph, D. & Selvaraj, P. (2015). The Effects of Work Force Diversity on Employee Performance in Singapore Organisations. International Journal of Business Administration , Volume volume 6, No 2, pp. 17-23.

Ogbo & Ukpere, (2014). The Effect of work force diversity on organizational performance. Journal of social science , Volume volume 2, pp. 231-236.

Wambui, Wangombe & Kamau, (2013). Managing Work Place Diversity. International Journal Of Business and Social Science, volume 1(issue 2), pp. 56-65.