Student: Mariana Rangel Moraes

Essay 2:
Select a company, public sector organization (e.g. city council, NGO) or a culture/ arts
organization with a Diversity Management strategy (either own research or on AULIS).
Explain a little bit of the organization's background and their Diversity Management
strategy.
Identify which diversity areas the organization is paying particular attention to.
Take 2 of those areas and explain in more detail, what kind of measures and activities the
organization is planning around those areas.
Conclude with a personal critical reflection on how you think the strategy is working and if
the measures are effective and successful.

Over the past years, the topic Diversity Management has been gaining
recognition among studies due to globalization effects in big companies and
organizations around the world. The concern about diversity and its impact in the work
environment had finally been identified for managers. Some companies, e.g. Johnson &
Johnson, are well-known for its Diversity Management strategies.
Johnson & Johnson is a highly successful American company which operates in
60 countries and sells its products in more than 175 countries. This multinational was
founded in 1886 in New Jersey and nowadays concentrates its activities in the
production of pharmaceuticals, medical utensils and personal hygiene products. Johnson
& Johnson controls about 97% of the global hygiene market. Some of its brands are
highly consumed and well-known, e.g. Band-Aid, Tylenol, Johnson’s baby line,
Neutrogena and Clean & Clear.
Behind all this worldwide success, Johnson & Johnson has one of the most
praiseworthy Diversity Management strategy. In 2016, the multinational took the eighth
position at DiversityInc, an index that measures how well the companies manage their
diversity. Johnson & Johnson not just embrace diversity, they value it. They want to
make sure that every uniqueness will be valued. Johnson & Johnson sees their
workforce singularities as a strength. They want their employees to feel that they belong
to that environment, that their beliefs and their cultures will be not just respected, but
embraced so they can feel comfortable to work in the best way possible and contribute
to the most. Johnson & Johnson’s vision tells a lot about their diversity mindset
commitment: “Be yourself, change the world”. They truly support the idea that a better
and a healthier world could be created if everyone uses their unique knowledge and
experience in order to achieve it.
Johnson & Johnson’s Diversity Management strategy is guided by the inclusion.
Their mission “Make diversity and inclusion how we work every day” clearly stands for
their culture of belonging, only possible with inclusive practices. Therefore, Johnson &
Johnson manages their diversity strategy by three pillars that allow the company to put
into practice their vision and mission. The first is about the implementation of
programs, policies and processes that stimulate the belonging feeling among Johnson &
Johnson’s personnel. The second pillar to support the strategy is the concern about
having a workforce that reflects diversity as a way of being more successful in attending
the needs of their diverse customers. The last pillar stands for the commitment of
keeping supplying customers as an innovative and sustainable business. To manage
diversity, Johnson & Johnson’s staff counts with an Office of Diversity & Inclusion in
the Human Resources department.
Johnson & Johnson’s Global Labor and Employment Guidelines strictly prohibit
discrimination against any employee or applicant because of the individuals’s race,
color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin,
ethnicity, age, disability (physical or mental), marital status or any other characteristic.
The company also established a document called Responsibility Standards for
Suppliers, which extend these management policies and practices to their suppliers.
Regarding to gender, Johnson & Johnson has above average women in senior
leadership. Actually, the company has been pointed out as an example of women in
leadership roles, promoting women into management roles and having great amount pf
women in management positions at all levels. These facts results of an active role that
Johnson & Johnson has been playing in developing women as leaders and also investing
in their education, e.g. the great emphasis that the company puts on programs that seek
increasing female representation in fields such as Science, Technology, Engineering,
Math, Manufacturing and Design.
Another fact that shows how Johnson & Johnson’s commitments are taken
seriously is the percentage of latinos in Senior Leadership which is also above most of
the other global corporations. This is a result of fair policies of workforce development
around the world instead of focusing on more developed nations. All employment
decisions, including recruitment, hiring, promotion, training, compensation, benefits,
transfer, discipline, demotions, suspensions, discharge, recall from layoff,
reemployment, education, tuition assistance and Company-sponsored social and
recreational activities, prohibit any kind of discrimination. In order to avoid
discrimination the Office of Diversity & Inclusion has developed relations with the
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). Together they created an open forum to exchange
ideas between company and diverse communities. ERGs also have been helping
Johnson & Johnson to provide leadership development opportunities to employees.
A well-developed Diversity Management strategy is extremely necessary in
order to any company achieve success nowadays. When an organization manages well
their diversity issues, it becomes possible not just to avoid problems but also to take
advantage of their employees’ unique potentials. Thus, Johnson & Johnson is one of the
greatest admirable examples of how a company should deal with diversity. Especially
regarding to gender and ethnicities, the multinational has developed leadership
programs that turned minorities, e.g. women and Latinos, into a good percentage of the
manager leadership roles, reassuring that the company really takes diversity issues
seriously.