Hrm - Equal Opportunities Approaches & Managing Diversity
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to analyze the similarities and the differences between two popular approaches in today’s human resource management: equal opportunities approach and managing diversity approach. While the managing diversity approach focuses more on business efficiency, the equal opportunities approach concentrates on equal treatment of employees in a bureaucratic sense. The paper begins with definitions of both approaches; continues with explaining differences and similarities of both approaches comparatively. The relative superiority of the managing diversity approach for business organisations with respect to equal opportunities approach is gone through followed by a conclusive part.
There have been considerable positive developments against discrimination of employees recently through legislation, while initiatives for equality and affirmative action programs were developed as well (Zafree, 2010). These steps have served to take unemployment levels and workplace discrimination of the disadvantaged groups that are discriminated due to their races, ages, religions, gender, down. The equal opportunities approach, concentrates on equality and justice at workplaces (Zafree, 2010). The equal opportunities approach can be said to be a liberal school of thought usually supported by legally binding regulations, which influences actions and behaviours at workplace through legislation with formalised procedures and policies. Through policies applied through equal opportunities approach, employees and potential employees are able to exist and compete on equal terms with respect to race, gender, disability, religion etc. In other words, equal opportunities approach assumes that discrimination stems from unequal treatment of individuals. It can therefore be said that, the equal opportunities approach analyses employee and employer relationships directly from viewpoint of public, state and employees; while the focus is less for employers' situation.
The aim of this paper is to analyze the similarities and the differences between two popular approaches in today’s human resource management: equal opportunities approach and managing diversity approach. While the managing diversity approach focuses more on business efficiency, the equal opportunities approach concentrates on equal treatment of employees in a bureaucratic sense. The paper begins with definitions of both approaches; continues with explaining differences and similarities of both approaches comparatively. The relative superiority of the managing diversity approach for business organisations with respect to equal opportunities approach is gone through followed by a conclusive part.
There have been considerable positive developments against discrimination of employees recently through legislation, while initiatives for equality and affirmative action programs were developed as well (Zafree, 2010). These steps have served to take unemployment levels and workplace discrimination of the disadvantaged groups that are discriminated due to their races, ages, religions, gender, down. The equal opportunities approach, concentrates on equality and justice at workplaces (Zafree, 2010). The equal opportunities approach can be said to be a liberal school of thought usually supported by legally binding regulations, which influences actions and behaviours at workplace through legislation with formalised procedures and policies. Through policies applied through equal opportunities approach, employees and potential employees are able to exist and compete on equal terms with respect to race, gender, disability, religion etc. In other words, equal opportunities approach assumes that discrimination stems from unequal treatment of individuals. It can therefore be said that, the equal opportunities approach analyses employee and employer relationships directly from viewpoint of public, state and employees; while the focus is less for employers' situation.