The Importance of Workforce Diversity in the Organization



The Importance of Workforce Diversity in the Organization

Introduction

The world has become global village and multinational organizations are more emphasizing on expanding their business in almost all the developed countries and developing countries in order to get into those markets and build up their strong portfolios. So in this situation the importance of workforce diversity cannot be overlooked. Now today, in the 21st century, the world has plunged into a broad range of demographic look, having the capability to quickly transform the demographic, ethical and cultural combination of the population in a lot of countries in few decades. Most of the managers in the organizations are determined about their employees that they are the most essential part and asset of their company. Those companies are the winner in the global economy as well as in the job market, who position their people at first place, irrespective of their physical disability, age, gender, race and religion (Dickie & Soldan, 2008). Diversity can offer enormous sources of chances and opportunities but it can also be the source of a big threat.

Many companies have recognized the importance of addressing the issue of diversity and are progressing in the establishment and successful development through it. A primary catalyst responsible for diversity in the workplace is the changing demographics of the U.S. population and therefore the U.S. labor force. Demographic studies show that the composition of the U.S. population is now more diverse than ever (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2001). Considering these changes in the population and in the labor market, there is growing confidence in the use of non-traditional workers and the opportunity for organizations and individuals capitalize on the set of ideas, creativity and potential contributions inherent in a diverse workforce. To attract, recruit, develop and retain a skilled workforce of diverse populations is and will remain crucial to the survival of the industry and organizational success.

Diverse Workplace

Growing socio-cultural diversity of the world of work has made the manager's role more difficult. Due to the mosaic of cultures, beliefs and experiences, some employees may have difficulty working together. To lead a team of people from diverse backgrounds, an organization must first understand why it is essential to establish an inclusive workplace, and recognize that is important to learn about different cultures present in the team, in addition to make the employees aware of the challenges posed by socio-cultural diversity in the workplace (Allen et al, 2004). Diversity is one of the inherent characteristic of the human being. Every person in this world is different from other with respect to something. However, there are certain dimensions of diversity that appears to have deeper meanings and more importance in terms of social relations in our everyday lives. This is mainly due to their ability of influencing the way we see ourselves and the way we have been seen by others. These dimension include, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, physical abilities and culture and sexual orientation. There also some, other dimensions of ...