2. Identify what diversity awareness and sensitivity
culture is
Diversity management
Diversity issues and challenges
Discuss ways of improvement
Aim and Objectives
Our aim is to express the importance of diversity
awareness and sensitivity culture.
3. Diversity Awareness
Diversity means that people are different from one to another
in many ways. Gaining the diversity advantage means
acknowledging ,understanding ,and appreciating these
differences and developing a workplace that enhances their
values.
Jamieson and O’Mara (1991:3-4)
4. • Age
• Disability
• Gender
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sexual orientation.
Issues of diversity
(http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1363)
5. • The equal pay Act 1970, the sex discrimination Act 1975,
• The Act of race Act 1976
• The Disability Discrimination Act 1995
• The Employment (religion or Belief) Regulations 2003,
• The Employment Equality (Sex Orientation) Regulations
2003,
• the Employment Equality (Age) regulation 2006
[http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/legal-timetables/acts-equality-2010.aspx ]
Acts and Regulations
6. The main benefits of diversity management include:
• Strengthening of cultural values within the organization
• Inspire innovative ideas
• Expanding knowledge , enriching experience and
competence development of employees
• Good Reputation
• Increasing the adaptability to the changing market
environment
• Equal treatment in employment and combating all forms and
manifestations of discrimination
Diversity management
7. Diversity management: policy and
practice
The Figure shows which
diversity issues are most
frequently covered by
organisations .The research
was conducted on 200
employers.
http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/dive
rsbus0606.pdf
9. • Use cultural diversity management policies and practices
• Create awareness and build acceptance
• Reduce stereotypes and biases
• Change behaviours and train people through training
assessments
• Build equal and healthy competition for opportunities
• Aim to develop an open and inclusive working culture.
• Have a workforce that is more creative and innovative
Ways of improvement
10. • Diversity is a fact of contemporary life in any organisation
and it has become an important issue for management .
Diversity should not be a "program" or an "initiative" within a
business organization
• Managing diversity means promoting inclusion, creating an
environment where all differences are valued and
generally break the barriers.
• Diversity awareness has become one of the most
important business tools in almost every industry. Though
generally regarded as a good thing for a workplace,
diversity poses significant challenges for company leaders
Conclusion
12. • Kandola R and Fullerton J .1994 ,Diversity in action ,Great Britain ,The Cromwell Press
• Patrik H., Kumar R. (2012). Managing Workplace Diversity: Issues and Challenges, Sage
Journal Publish by SAGE Open, Available at
http://classic.sgo.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/04/19/2158244012444615
• M,Rice,2005, Diversity and public administration: theory, issues, and perspectives, New
York, Armonk
• Bateson G.(1935).Culture Contact and Schismogenesis, Man, Vol. 35, pp.178-183, Published
by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Stable Available at :
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2789408
• The Tertiary Education Research Database. (2014). Diversity management: benefits,
challenges and strategies, The Tertiary Education Research Database. Available at:
http://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv33255
• Equality Act , 2010, Available at : http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/legal-
timetables/acts-equality-2010.aspx [Accessed 25 December]
• Equality ,2010 ,Available at : http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1363 [Accessed
on 5 January ]
• DIVERSITY IN BUSINESS HOW MUCH PROGRESS HAVE EMPLOYERS MADE? 2006 ,Available at
:http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/diversbus0606.pdf [Accessed on 10 January ]
References
Notas do Editor
Everyone is a unique person. Even though people have things in common with each other they are also different in all sorts of ways. Differences include visible and non-visible factors, for example, personal characteristics such as background, culture, personality, and work-style, size, accent, language and so on.
Diversity covers a wide-range set of individual differences, not just gender and race but other visible and less visible differences that might lead to discrimination in the workplace. A number of personal characteristics are covered by discrimination law to give people protection against being treated unfairly. The ‘protected characteristics’ are race, disability, gender reassignment, sex, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion and belief, sexual orientation and age. (by being flexible enough to meet needs and preferences to create a motivating and rewarding environment )
There are many legislations acts that covers diversity awareness and these are some of them; It is unlawful for a company to discriminate against people based on gender, according to Title VII(7) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Diversity management can be seen as part of the creation of intellectual capital organization, because people are carriers of valuable intangible resources such as knowledge, skills, competencies, experience, which use in their daily work.Benefits:Strengthening of cultural values within the organization (equal opportunities , mutual trust , ethics management ) that influence the creation of a good working atmosphere - people are open , they feel valued and respected , this increase motivation and improve the efficiency of their work .Inspire innovative ideas - diversity of knowledge , skills and experience of workers can overcome clichés of thought , routine operations and procedures . It improve key competences, helping to increase the value of intellectual capital . Expanding knowledge , enriching experience and competence development of employees - working in a diverse environment brings an opportunity to learn from each other and exchange of experience, exploit the potential of employees knowledge , talents and ideas to achieve the objectives of the organization.Good Reputation – satisfied and respected employees which creates the opportunity to work in a friendly atmosphere are valuable asset , because through their attitude , and expressed beliefs affect the positive image of the company among future employees, customers , business partners. Increasing the adaptability to the changing market environment - diverse team allows a better identification of expectations of different groups of customers , and the company can therefore easily meet the changes. Equal treatment in employment and combating all forms and manifestations of discrimination (access to training , professional development opportunities , development in the organization) - which contributes to a reduction in the costs of labour turnover and absenteeism of employees.
Employers are afraid to employ disabled people because they feel that they do not know what to expect from such a person. Not having a reliable set of information the employers rely on stereotypes, because that’s the only thing they know. Like most stereotypes, do not assume the positive qualities of relating disabled people. Hence convince of employers that the disabled person is not independent, worse, poorly trained, less efficient and requires constant care and assistance - which does not encourage their employment. Many employers add to this: * Pursue of trouble, * Uncompetitive compared to non-disabled persons, * Frequent sick leave.Diversity literature explains the inclusive nature of diversity and how this distinguishes it from equal opportunities. However, the results of the survey suggest that the general understanding about diversity isn’t based on such an inclusive approach but on issues covered by law. Diversity strategies need to be designed to support business objectives and strategies to add real value to business performance.
There might be many benefits from the diversity in the workplace ,however there few challenges that have to be addressedResult in confusion, lack of trust ,teamwork Resentment can become a problem !!important to have a system It has to be productive competition and equal sharing Some employees do not want accept the social and cultural changes in the workplace
To progress diversity, organisations should focus on developing inclusive approaches to employment policies and practices and personal behaviours by managing equality and diversity issues in ways that support business contexts and circumstances. Organisations need to understand the broad nature of the business case arguments and ensure actions and initiatives support business goals. They need to move from minimal compliance with legal duties and focus on engaging employees’ understanding in ways that influence personal behaviours and operational activities regarding the delivery of products and services to meet diverse customer and client needs and preferences.