You are on page 1of 26

Meaning of Group

A collection of two or more interacting individuals who maintain stable


patterns of relationship, share common goals, and perceive them as being a group. A
group is more than a simple collection of people.

Coming together is a beginning.


Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success.
- Henry Ford

Social scientists have formally defined a group as a collection of two or more interacting
individuals with a stable pattern of relationships between them who share common goals
and who perceive themselves as being a group.
A group: Its Defined characteristics
To be a group, four different criteria must be met:
(1) There must be two or more people in a social interaction,
(2) They must have a stable group structure
(3) They must share common goals, and
(4) The individual must perceive themselves as being a group.

There are different types of groups: The most basic way of identifying types of
group is to distinguish between formal group and informal group.
Formal groups: Formal groups are created by the organization and are intentionally
designed to direct members towards some important organizational goals. One type of
formal group is referred to as a Command group.
Informal groups: Groups that develop naturally among people, without any direction
from the organization within which they operate.
Interest groups: A group employees who come together to satisfy a common interest.
Friendship groups: Informal groups that develop because their members are friends,
often seeing each other outside of the organization.
Command group is a group determined by the connections between individuals who are
formal part of the organization.
Task group: A formal organizational group formed around some specific task.

THE NATURE OF GROUPS


The group is widely recognized as an important sociological unit of
analysis in the study of organizational behavior. Studying groups is especially valuable
when the dynamics are analyzed. Group dynamics are the interactions and forces among
group members in social situations. When the concept is applied to the study of
organizational behavior, the focus is on the dynamics of members of both formal or
informal work groups and, now, teams in the organization.
The popularity of work groups and teams is soaring. Although they were
first used in corporate giants such as Toyota, Motorola, General Mills, and General
Electric, recent surveys indicate that the great majority of American Manufacturers now
utilize teams and that they are being widely used in the service sector as well. Yet, as
with many other areas of organizational behavior, the study and application of groups is
undergoing considerable controversy and change. For example, in a commentary about
the status of groups in the field of organizational behavior, Alderfer noted:
Groups and group dynamics are a little like the weather – something that
nearly everyone talks about and only a few do anything about. Research, practice, and
education about group dynamics are currently in a state of ferment. In the world of
practice, we hear leaders speaking out to encourage teamwork, to support empowering
people, and to establish organizational cultures that promote total quality management.
Each of the initiatives depends on understanding groups well and acting effectively with
them.
In additional, today’s social environment surrounding groups is changing.
For example, there is the assumption that Generation Xers are difficult to manage in
groups because they have low needs for group affiliation, high needs for individual
achievement, and “doing their own thing”. The solution may be found in the careful
construction of rewards and performance measures in order to obtain cooperation and
collaboration.
Why Do People Join Groups?
As we know that people often join groups to satisfy their mutual interests
and goals. To the extent that getting together with others allows us to achieve ends that
would not be possible alone, forming groups make a great deal of sense. In fact,
organization can be thought of as collections of groups that are focused towards
achieving the mutual goal of achieving success for the company. There are several
additional reasons to satisfy mutual interest to achieve security, to fill social need, to fill
need for self esteem.
“There’s safety in numbers”, Groups frequently form for purpose of
seeking protection from other groups. For example trade unions such as the AFL/CIO,
the UAW, and the teamsters, have been formed by labor for purposes of seeking
protection against abuses by management. Similarly, professional association, such as the
America Medical Association and the American Bar Association, were created, in large
part, for purposes of protecting people in their respective fields against undesirable
government legislation.
This is not to say that groups are always designed to promote some
instrumental good; indeed, they also exist because they appeal to a basic psychological
need to be social. In the context of Maslow’s need hierarchy theory, people are social
animals; they have a basic need to interact with others. Groups provide good opportunity
for friendships to develop and, hence, for social needs to be fulfilled.
Also as suggested by Maslow, people have a basic desire for their self-
esteem to be fulfilled. Group memberships can be very effective way of nurturing self-
esteem. For example, if a group to which one belongs to is successful (such as sales
group that meets its quota), the self esteem of all members (and supporters) may be
boosted. Similarly, election to membership in an exclusive group (e.g, a national honor
society) surely will raise one’s self-esteem.
Meaning of Team
A group whose members have complementary skills and are committed to a
common purpose or set of performance goals for which they hold themselves mutually
accountable. A team includes few people; same as a small group, because the
interaction and influence processes, vital for a team to function, can only occur when
the number of members is small.
When more people are involved, there will be difficulty in interacting and
influencing each other. Team includes people with mix of skills appropriate to the task to
be done. Team members need technical, problem solving and decision making, and inter-
personal skills. Having a common purpose and common purpose and common
performance goals, sets the tone and direction of the team. A team comes together to take
action to pursue a goal, unlike a group, in which members report to the same superior or
work in the same department. The Purpose becomes the focus of the team.

Nature / Characteristics of Teams:


A Team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are
committed to a common purpose, common performance goals, and an approach for which
they hold themselves mutually accountable.
Teams include people with mix of skills appropriate to the task to be done. Team
members need technical, problems solving and decision making, and inter-personal skills.
Not all members will have all the required skills; differently members will have different
skills. However, as the team grows, develops and matures, team members will come to
have more of the necessary skills.
Finally, the definition states that team hold themselves mutually accountable for
results, rather than merely meeting a manager’s demands for results, as in the traditional
approach. If the members translate accountability to an external manager into internal, or
mutual accountability, the group moves towards acting like a team. Mutual accountability
is essentially a promise that members make to each others to do everything possible to
achieve their goals, and it requires commitment and trust of all members
Clear purpose: It should be defined and accepted vision, mission, goal or task, and an
action plan.
Informality: Informal, comfortable and relaxed.
Participation: much discussion with everyone encourages participating.
Listening: Use of effective listening techniques such as questioning, paraphrasing, and
summarizing.
Civilized disagreement: Team is comfortable with disagreement; Does not avoid,
smooth over, or suppress conflict.
Consensus decision making: substantial agreement through thorough discussion,
avoidance of voting.
Open communications: feelings seen as legitimate, few hidden agendas.
Clear roles and work assignments: Clear expectations and work evenly divided.
Shared leadership: in addition to a formal leader, everyone shares in effective
leadership behaviors.
External relations: The team pays attention to developing outside relationships,
resources, credibility.
Style diversity: Team has broad spectrum of group process and task skills.
Self-assessment: periodic examination of how well the team is functioning.

• They are empowering to share various management and leadership functions.

• They plan, control and improve their own work processes

• They set their own goals and inspect their own work

• They often create their own schedule an review their performance as a group

• They may prepare their own budget and coordinate their work with other
department

• They usually order materials keep inventories and deal with suppliers

• They are frequently responsible for acquiring any new training they might need
• They may hire their own replacement or assume responsibility for disciplining
their own members

• They, and not others outside the team, take responsibility for the quality of the
quality of their product or services

Teams are also known by other team such as empowered teams, self directed
teams and self management teams.

Group vs. Teams


Groups may be distinguished from teams in terms of the variation characteristics
summarized here

GROUPS TEAMS

Individual Contributions Performance Individual contributions and


depends on….. collective work product

Individual outcomes Accountability Mutual outcomes


for outcomes
rests on ….

Common goals Members are Common goals and


interested in… commitment to purpose

Demands of management Responsive Self-imposed demands


to….
Team differs from groups. Group members possess diverse skills but teams possess
complimentary skills.
• In groups performance typically depends on the work of individual members. The
performance of a team, however, depends on both individual contributions and
collective work products- the join outcome of team members working in concert.

• Typically, members of groups pool their resources to attain a goal, although it is


individual performance that is taken into consideration when it comes to issuing
rewards. Members of groups usually do not take responsibility for any results
other than their own. By contrast, teams focus on both individual and mutual
accountability- that is they work together to produce an outcome (e.g., product,
services, or decision) that represents their joint contribution, and each member
shares responsibility for that outcome.

• Whereas group members may share a common interest in attaining a goal, team
members also share a common commitment to purpose. Moreover, these purposes
typically are concerned with winning in some way, such as being first or best at
something. For example, a work team in a manufacturing plant of a financially
troubled company may be highly committed to making the company the top one
in its industry. Another team, won in a public high school, may be committed to
preparing in a graduate for the challenges of the world better than any other
school in the district. In fact, teams are said to establish “Ownership” of their
purposes and usually spend a great deal of time establishing their purpose. Like
groups, teams use goals to monitor their progress. Teams, however, also have a
broader purpose that supplies a source of meaning and emotional energy to the
activities performed.

• Teams differ from groups with respect to the nature of their connection to
management. Work group are typically required to be responsive to demands
regularly placed on them by management. By contrast, once management
establishes the mission for a team and sets the challenge for it to achive, it
typically give the team enough flexibility to do its job without any further
interference. Thus, many teams are described as being autonomous or
semiautonomous in nature. This is not to say that teams are completely
independent of corporate management and supervision. They still must be
responsive to demands from higher levels ( often higher-level teams, known as
top-management teams).
SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE OF TEAM WORK
Complex task cannot be performed by a single person. Hence people prefer to do work
in groups but there arise a lot of problems in working in groups, thus there is necessity for
team work. The scope of team work can be studies under two heads.
a) With in business
b) Outside business
a) With in business there is lot of scope for teamwork within business organization, each
and every aspect of business uses teamwork, it is proved that difficult can be performed
better in teams
1) Scope in human resource
Team wok is mostly used in getting better result of human resource. It includes in
aspects like change management, diversity management, training process etc
2) Scope in marketing
Team work helps marketing people in connecting to different areas and people. A single
sale of product is joint effort of advertisement and salesman thus team work can be used
in areas like sales, customer satisfaction etc
3) Scope in finance

The world of finance is an ever-changing maze. New lenders, new deals,


comparing the products, negotiating with Lenders. team work can match our clients with
a lender likely to view their circumstances most favorably. It includes in areas like fund
collection, financial analysis etc

b) Outside business teamwork is not only used in business but also in our day to day
activities like church, medical, elections, parties, sports etc.
1) Medical field
Previous investigations have identified the teamwork is essential to effective team
performance in a number of complex settings thus
Medical team training must be instilled and reiterated at every stage of a care provider's
career, if it is to fully exert its potential positive impact on patient safety. Medical field
like surgery were different experts come together to get one end result.
2) Sport
All team sports have similarities. Understand that everyone wants to be both valued
and a part of something bigger. Spot like football were team which uses tam work is most
likely to succeed than team with the best player and no team work.

Significance
The requirements of the organization is changing management is expected to take quick
and complex decisions and employees are expected to implicate it, through teamwork

organizations have achieved new heights of success. “Teamwork divides the task and
multiplies the success”. Some of the importance of team work is
• More input leads to better ideas and decisions
• Higher quality output
• Involvement of everyone in the process
• Increased ownership and buy-in by members
• Higher likelihood of implementation of new ideas
• Widens the circle of communication
• Shared information means increased learning
• Increased understanding of other peoples perspectives
• Increased opportunity to draw on individual strengths
• Ability to compensate for individual weaknesses
• Provides a sense of security
• Develops personal relationships
• Complementary skills
• It leads to Employee satisfaction
• Strategic focus (inspiring vision)

Conclusion
Doing teamwork is never easy. Different people of various backgrounds come
together, frictions are inevitable and conflicts are bound to happen. Through the effective
use of team work, team members will be able to establish trust, have mutual support
among members, and will be able to identify when a problem or conflict within the group
arises, thus being able to arrive at an adequate solution. With the proper implementation
of team skills, any team involved towards achieving the goals of the organization will be
successful.

SYNERGY
Synergy comes from the Greek word synergia, meaning joint work and
cooperative action. Synergy means The interaction of two or more agents or forces so
that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects. Synergy can
be negative or positive. For instance social loafing in a negative synergy, on the other
hand research teams, they combine talents of different individuals to produce more
meaningful research, this is positive synergy.

Social loafing
It is the phenomenon of people making less effort to achieve a goal when they
work in a group than when they work alone. This is seen as one of the main reasons
groups are sometimes less productive than the combined performance of their members
working as individuals. This becomes negative synergy.
Social facilitation
The tendency for performance to improve or decline in response to the
presence of others. The research on social facilitation tells us that the performance of
simple and routine tasks tends to speed up and is made more accurate by the presence of
others which is positive synergy. While when the work is more complex the presents of
others is likely to have negative effect on the performance.

Corporate synergy
A corporate synergy refers to a financial benefit that a corporation expects to
realize when it merges with or acquires another corporation. There are three distinct types
of corporate synergies
Revenue

A revenue synergy refers to the opportunity of a combined corporate entity to generate


more revenue than its two predecessor stand alone companies would be able to generate.
For example, if company A sells product X through its sales force, company B sells
product Y, and company A decides to buy company B then the new company could use
each sales person to sell products X and Y thereby increasing the revenue that each sales
person generates for the company.

Management

Synergy in terms of management and in relation to team working refers to the combined
effort of individuals as participants of the team. Positive or negative synergy can exist.

Cost

A cost synergy refers to the opportunity of a combined corporate entity to reduce or


eliminate expenses associated with running a business.

Human synergy

Human synergy relates to interacting humans. For example, say person A alone is too
short to reach an apple on a tree and person B is too short as well. Once person B sits on
the shoulders of person A, they are more than tall enough to reach the apple. In this
example, the product of their synergy would be one apple. A song is also a good example
of human synergy, taking more than one musical part and putting them together to create
a song that has a much more dramatic effect than each of the parts when played
individually.

A third form of human synergy is when one person is able to complete two separate tasks
by doing one action. For example, if a person was asked by a teacher and his boss at work
to write an essay on how he could improve his work that would be considered synergy.
In business, cooperation of people with organizational and technical skills happens very
often. In general, the most common reason why people cooperate is it brings a synergy.

Example: Two teams in System Admin working together to combine technical and
organizational skills in order to better the client experience, thus creating synergy.

Case study - Tri-Synergy

Tri-Synergy Ltd is a marketing and business development company based in Hampshire.


It specializes in marketing, internet marketing and PR.

Implemented a work experience scheme to combine the practical experience of the


workforce in the company with fresh, innovative ideas brought in by the placement
student. The result was

• increased Tri-Synergy's product/service offering;


• developed a new training manual used with all employees;
• Significantly increased clients' businesses and hence secured the client on an
ongoing basis for the company.

New Web Portal Boosts Efficiency at the Reject Shop


The Challenge
Decrease costs, improve productivity and enhance customer service through a centralized
communication system. Provide more effective staff and inventory management. Make a
complicated back-office environment easier to support and manage.
The Solution
Using IBM WebSphere® Portal – Express, The Reject Shop worked with IBM and
business partner Synergy Plus to make applications available through a portal that can be
managed centrally.
The Benefits
Dramatically improved decision-making, resulting in reduced costs, increased
productivity, better relationships with customers, partners and suppliers and more
uniform customer service and store presentation

Leaders ► Synergy ◄ Managers

Provide vision ► Employee Empowerment ◄ Provide resources

Pursue opportunities ► Strategic Achievement ◄ Reduce risks

Inspire ► Teamwork ◄ Coordinate

Lead improvisation ► Jazz of Innovation ◄ Provide structure

Do right things ► Effectiveness ◄ Do things right


TEAM AND WORKFORCE DIVERSITY

What is workforce Diversity?

Workforce diversity is the similarities between and differences in such characteristics as


age, gender, ethnic heritage, physical abilities and disabilities, race, and sexual
orientation, among the employees of organizations.3M Corporation defines its goals
regarding workforce diversity as “valuing uniqueness, while respecting differences,
maximizing individual potentials, and synergizing collective talents and experiences for
the growth and success of 3M.

Workplace diversity refers to the extent to which an organization is culturally diverse.


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
organization’s culture tends to determine the extent to which it is culturally diverse.
Diversity Management

Diversity Management is a comprehensive managerial process for developing an


environment that works for all employees.

DIMENSION OF DIVERSITY

There are two types of workforce dimensions

 Primary dimension
 Secondary dimension

 Primary dimension: The primary dimensions of diversity are factors that are
either inborn or exert extraordinary influence on early socialization: age,
ethnicity, gender, physical abilities, race and sexual orientation.

Age : Changing demographics in the workforce will require differences in benefit


packages, compensation systems, training programs, equipment, physical facilities, and
other organizational processes and characteristic
Race and Ethnicity : Racial and ethnic cultural differences may be more important than
most managers initially realize, because critical differences exist addition of women,
cross cultures in attitudes to, beliefs about, and values surrounding work.

Gender: Sixty-one percent of the expected growth of the workforce by the year 2005 will
be due to the addition of women. Women’s were the one of the first groups to be
emphasized in the early attempts at providing equal employment opportunity and
affirmative action.

Sexual orientation : It is estimated that 10% of the workforce is homosexual:


homosexual works in all type of industries including finance, insurance, science
engineering, and computers.

 Secondary dimension of diversity : Secondary dimensions of factors diversity


include factors that are important to us individuals and to some extent define us to
others but are less permanent and can be adapted or changed: educational
background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience,
parental status, religious beliefs, and work experience.

Benefits of Workplace Diversity


An organization’s success and competitiveness depends upon its ability to embrace
diversity and realize the benefits. When organizations actively assess their handling of
workplace
Diversity issues develop and implement diversity plans, multiple benefits are reported
such as:
Increased adaptability –
Organizations employing a diverse workforce can supply a greater variety of solutions to
problems in service, sourcing, and allocation of resources. Employees from diverse
backgrounds bring individual talents and experiences in suggesting ideas that are flexible
in adapting to fluctuating markets and customer demands.

Broader service range –


A diverse collection of skills and experiences (languages, cultural understanding)
Allows a company to provide service to customers on a global basis. It will lead to
access new segments.

Variety of viewpoints –
A diverse workforce that feels comfortable communicating varying points of view
Provides a larger pool of ideas and experiences. The organization can draw
From that pool to meet business strategy needs and the needs of customers more
Effectively. It will help in Creativity problem solving and productivity.

More effective execution –


Companies that encourage diversity in the workplace inspire all of their employees to
perform to their highest ability. Company-wide strategies can then be executed;
resulting in higher productivity, profit, and return on investment.

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.

Better image towards public and authority:


Providing equal opportunity to all the employees in an organization. Respects the
employees' unique attitudes and promotes a shared sense of corporate identity.

NEGATIVE IMPACT ON WORKFORCE DIVERSITY


Diversity also increases errors and misunderstandings –
Group members may assume they interpret things similarly when in fact they do not, or
they may disagree because of their different frames of references.

Mistrust and tension –


People prefer to associate with others who are like themselves. This tendency often leads
to mistrust and misunderstanding of those who are different because of lack of contact
and low familiarity. it also causes stress and tension ,and reaching agreement on
problems can be difficult.

Stereotyping –
We learn to see the world in a certain way based on our backgrounds and Experiences.
Our interests, values and cultures act as filters and distort, block and select what we
see and hear. We see and hear what we expect to see and hear. Group members often
inappropriately stereotype their “different” colleagues rather than accurately perceiving
and evaluating those individual’s contributions, capabilities aspirations and motivations.
Such stereotypes affect how people employee stereotyped as unmotivated or emotional
will be given less -stress – provoking jobs than their co-workers. Those job assignments
will create frustrated employees, perhaps resulting in low commitment, higher turnover,
and underused skills.

Challenges of Diversity in the Workplace


Taking full advantage of the benefits of diversity in the workplace is not without its
challenges. Some of those challenges are:
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 plan –


The personal commitment of executive and managerial teams is a must. Leaders and
Managers within organizations must incorporate diversity policies into every aspect of
the organization’s function and purpose. Attitudes toward diversity originate at the top
and filter downward. Management cooperation and participation is required to create a
culture conducive to the success of your organization’s plan.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommended steps that have been proven successful in world-class organizations are:
Assessment of diversity in the workplace –
Top companies make assessing and evaluating their diversity process an integral part of
their
Management system. A customizable employee satisfaction survey can accomplish this
assessment for your company efficiently and conveniently. It can help your management
team determine which challenges and obstacles to diversity are present in your workplace
and which policies need to be added or eliminated. Reassessment can then determine the
success of you diversity in the workplace plan implementation.
Development of diversity in the workplace plan –
Choosing a survey provider that provides comprehensive reporting is a key decision.
That report will be the beginning structure of your diversity in the workplace plan. The
plan must be comprehensive, attainable and measurable.

Recommended diversity in the workplace solutions include:

Ward off change resistance with inclusion –


Involve every employee possible in formulating and executing diversity initiatives in
your workplace.
Foster an attitude of openness in your organization –
Encourage employees to express their ideas and opinions and attribute a sense of equal
value to all.

Promote diversity in leadership positions –


This practice provides visibility and realizes the benefits of diversity in the workplace.

Utilize diversity training –


Use it as a tool to shape your diversity policy. Launch a customizable employee
satisfaction survey that provides

Comprehensive reporting. - Use the results to build and implement successful diversity
in the workplace policies. As the economy becomes increasingly global, our workforce
becomes increasingly diverse. Organizational success and competitiveness will depend
on the ability to manage diversity in the workplace effectively. Evaluate your
organization’s diversity policies and plan for the future, starting today.

HOFSTEDE MODEL:

Geert Hofstede's research gives us insights into other cultures so that we can be more
effective when interacting with people in other countries. Information will reduce level
of frustration, anxiety, and concern

HOSTEDE’S FIVE CULTURAL DIMENSION

Power Distance Index (PDI): This represents inequality (more versus less), but
defined from below, not from above. It suggests that a society's level of inequality is
endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders.
Individualism (IDV): Individuals are inte-grated into groups. On the individualist side
we find societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to
look after him/herself and his/her immediate family. On the collectivist side, we find
societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-
groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts and grandparents) which continue
protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty

Masculinity (MAS): It refers to the distribution of roles between the genders which is
another fundamental issue for any society to which a range of solutions are found. The
IBM studies revealed that (a) women's values differ less among societies than men's
values; (b) men's values from one country to another contain a dimension from very
assertive and competitive and maximally different from women's values on the one side.

Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI): Deals with a society's tolerance for uncertainty
and ambiguity; it ultimately refers to man's search for Truth. It indicates to what extent a
culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in
unstructured situations

Long-Term Orientation (LTO): Long Term Orientation are thrift and perseverance;
values associated with Short Term Orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling social
obligations, and protecting one's 'face'. Both the positively and the negatively rated values
of this dimension are found in the teachings of Confucius.

GLOBAL EXAMPLE FOR WORKFORCE DIVERSITY:

DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AT HYATT HOTELS

RECOGNITIONS

 Fortune lists Hyatt No. 19 on its list of the “50 Best Companies for Minorities.”
 Hispanic Magazine in its February2007 issue rates Hyatt as having one of the
“Top 25 Recruitment Programs.”
 The Black Collegian in its March 2006 issue ranks Hyatt No. 42 in its “Top 100
Employers Survey.”
 Savoy Professional Magazine in its Spring 2007 issue includes Hyatt as one of 10
select profiles for its feature, “Mixed Company A Short Hard Look At Corporate
Diversity.”
 DiversityInc.com listed Hyatt in its annual “Top 50 Companies for Diversity”.
 Child Magazine in its May 2007 issue ranked Hyatt among the “Best Hotels for
Families.

HYATT DIVERSITY PLAN

COMMITEMENT:

 Formation of diversity councils at the corporate and hotel levels


 Provide scholarships for minority students pursuing degrees in hospitality
management
 Partnerships with national minority organizations.

ACCONTABILITY

 Create action plans to increase women and minority representation at all


management levels.
 Creating a diverse workforce is visible in the faces of the total workforce.

MEASURABLE

 Hyatt Mumbai has 46% females


 At managerial position 37% are females

TRAINING

 Training allows the employees to work more efficiently by developing effective


management practices to include treating others with dignity and respect.

COMMUNICATION

 Communication through the Mélange newsletter and online at

www.hyttdiversity.com

THE BUSINESS OF DIVERSITY

 Helping people connect with each other furthers the goals of an organization,
strengthens its business partnerships and creates positive change within the
community.
 While the impetus for diversity programs begins with desirable social and
political goals, the strategic commitment needed to make it a part of the
company’s business strategy can come only from the highest levels of an
organization

DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AT RELIANCE ENERGY LIMITED

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

 Reliance Energy Management Institute (REMI) looks after the training of the
managerial staff
 Versova Technical Training Centre (VTTC) looks after the training of the
technical staff Managers can also have special training programs arranged if
required by the employees

LABOUR UNIONS

 It forms a connecting link between the regular workers and the upper
management. The contract labours have unorganized labour unions to solve their
problems.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF LABOUR UNIONS

 Responsible for the protection of the workers who are not locals.
 To improve the working conditions of contract labors.
 Responsible for the promotion of the temporary labors.
 To determine proper wage rate for the employees.

APPRAISAL SYSTEM

 For non management cadre:


• Years of service.
• Looking into Domestic Enquiry initiated/Misconduct (if any).

 For management cadre:


• Yearly appraisal system
• Promotion generally happens once in two years

CRITICAL EVALUATION

Reliance

 Very limited diversity management practices


 More responsibility on labor union than management
 Many unorganized labor unions instead of a single authority.
 A positive aspect- clearly defined criteria for promotion.

Hyatt Hotels

 Dedicated council for diversity management.


 Proper channelization of efforts.
 Equal opportunities presented to all (Ex: Hotel in Saudi Arabia) a country-
specific council could be an improvement over the existing practices

CONCLUSION
A diverse workforce is a reflection of a changing world and marketplace. Diverse work
teams bring high value to organizations. Respecting individual differences will benefit
the workplace by creating a competitive edge and increasing work productivity. Diversity
management benefits associates by creating a fair and safe environment where everyone
has access to opportunities and challenges. Management tools in a diverse workforce
should be used to educate everyone about diversity and its issues, including laws and
regulations. Most
Workplaces are made up of diverse cultures, so organizations need to learn how to adapt
to be successful practice.

You might also like