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Managing diverse workforce

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Managing diverse workforce
Modern Management
MGT500- 2012
Managing Diverse Workforce

Workforce diversity includes the obvious differences we see when we look around: race, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, age, religion and ethnicity. But it’s also the less obvious traits, the subtle differences that often register with us unconsciously, such as socioeconomic status, marital status, educational background, language, accent and appearance. We all have something that makes us unique, some special talent or ability that we bring to the table that differentiates us from our colleagues. That’s diversity at its best.
Sourcing and managing people from a diverse background have become a critical part of an employment and management strategy. Workers who vary in age, gender, ability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background or culture, ethnicity and language, make a positive contribution to an organization’s workforce — they’re an asset to organization culture and the bottom line as companies and managers are realizing every day that passes. There is a common belief that a diverse workforce brings innovative and creative solutions to an organization from ‘outside the box’. An effective corporate diversity program is a powerful way to gain a competitive advantage and stand apart from competition. It can’t be overstated that diverse workforce brings real bottom-line value to any organization.
Diverse workforce allows organizations to break barriers, attract new customers and build customer-base and help form strategic alliances with partners across the globe by having better knowledge of the target markets and establishing better communication capabilities and having ability to communicate in a variety of languages including understanding of cultural differences.
Just over half of the employers polled in Canada said they anticipate a shortage of qualified workers in the next five years and approximately 67% believe they currently have a more diverse workforce



References: Chatman, J. A. and Spataro, S. E. (2005). Using Self-Categorization Theory to Understand Relational Demography-Based Variations in People’s Responsiveness to Organizational Culture. Academy of Management Journal, vol. 48, pp 321-331. Cox, T. H., & Blake, S. (1991). Managing cultural diversity: implications for organizational competitiveness. Academy of Management Executive, 5(2), 45-46. Galagan, Patricia A. (1999, April), Navigating the differences. Training & Development, 47(4), 28-30. Hill, C. W. L. and Jones, G. R. (2001). Strategic Management. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Jenner, Lisa (19949 January). Diversity Management: What does it mean? HR Focus, page 11. Jorgensen, B. (1993) "Diversity: Managing a Multicultural Workforce", Electronic Business Buyer, September Managing Diversity (1999, July) Miller, G. E., & A. Rowney, J. I. (1999). Workplace diversity management in a multicultural society. Women in Management Review, 14(8), 307-315. Nelton, Sharon (2000, September). Winning with diversity. Nation 's Business, 80(9), 18-24. Thomas, R. (1992). Managing Diversity: A Conceptual Framework. In Jackson, S. E. (Ed) Diversity in the Workplace: Human Resource Initiatives. New York, NY: Guilford, pp. 306-318. Tjosvold, D. (1985). Power and Social context in Superior-Subordinate Interaction. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 35, 281-293. Fernandez, J.P. (1993) 1he Diversity Advantage: How American Business Can Out-perform Japanese and Companies in the Global Marketplace, New York: Lexington Books. Goffee, R. (1997) "Cultural Diversity", “The Complete MBA Companion”, Pitman Publishing

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