By :- Akanksha Ranjan Roll No.

9004

As we enter the 21st century, workforce diversity has become an essential business concern. Definitely, there is a talent war. No company can afford to unnecessarily restrict its ability to attract and retain the very best employees available. Cultural diversity includes the range of ways in which people experience a unique group identity, which includes gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnic and age. An organizations culture tends to determine the extent to which it is culturally diverse.

SOURCES OF DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE

BENEFITS OF DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE

Diversity is beneficial to both the organization and the members.
Diversity brings substantial potential benefits such as better decision making and improved problem solving, greater creativity and innovation, which leads to enhanced product development, and more successful marketing to different types of customers.

Diversity is not only about preventing unfair discrimination and improving equality but also valuing differences and inclusion, spanning such areas as ethnicity, age, race, culture, sexual orientation, physical disability and religious belief.
Diversity also provides organizations with the ability to compete in global markets

CHALLENGES OF DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE

Communication - Perceptual, cultural and language barriers need to be overcome for diversity programs to succeed. Ineffective communication of key objectives results in confusion, lack of teamwork, and low morale. Resistance to change - There are always employees who will refuse to accept the fact that the social and cultural makeup of their workplace is changing. The "we've always done it this way" mentality silences new ideas and inhibits progress. Implementation of diversity in the workplace policies - This can be the overriding challenge to all diversity advocates. Armed with the results of employee assessments and research data, they must build and implement a customized strategy to maximize the effects of diversity in the workplace for their particular organization. Successful Management of Diversity in the Workplace - Diversity training alone is not sufficient for your organization's diversity management plan. A strategy must be created and implemented to create a culture of diversity that permeates every department and function of the organization.

Barriers in Dealing with Diversity

Stereotyping
Attributing specific behavioral traits to individuals on the basis of their apparent membership in a group.

Prejudice
A bias that results from prejudging someone on the basis of the latters particular trait or traits.

Ethnocentrism
A tendency to view members of ones own group as the center of the universe and to view other social groups less favorably than ones own.

Barriers in Dealing with Diversity (contd)

Discrimination
A behavioral bias toward or against a person based on the group to which the person belongs.

Tokenism
Appointing a small number of minority-group members to high-profile positions instead of more aggressively achieving full group representation.

Gender-Role Stereotyping
Usually, the association of women with certain behaviors and possibly (often lower-level) jobs.

Thank you !