Diversity in the Workplace (Essay Sample)
Write a 1050- to 1200-word paper in which you examine the relevance of diversity within a team environment. In your paper:
1.)Describe the advantages of team diversity. How does diversity in a team advance team goals? How does it positively influence the direction, behavior, and attitudes of the team? How does diversity in age, gender, ethnicity, etc., promote team performance?
2.)Describe the challenges of team diversity. When might team diversity be an obstacle or hinderance to team performance? How do factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, etc., impede team performance?
3.)Explain how a leader should manage a diverse team. What strategies should be employed? What should the leader keep in mind to be successful?
4.)Identify 1-2 specific issues that can occur on a diverse team. How should a leader address them?
Diversity in the Workplace
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Diversity in the Workplace
Introduction
The world’s increasing globalization has made it necessary for people from different cultures, ethnic backgrounds and nationality to interact. People have traveled the world in search of employment and no longer work at their birthplaces. They have joined the rest of the world and are now part of a global economy that competes generally. As a result, both profit and nonprofit companies have welcomed diversity to stay and become competitive. Workplace diversity according to Khanna & Mishra (nd.) is becoming increasingly important for managers to optimize and profit on, necessitating the need for executives and managers to be aware of how the workplace is growing and expanding. Management teams must conform to and accommodate the many cultures present in the workplace. Corporations must foster diversity to remain competitive and reap the rewards of enhanced workforce performance and a competitive edge over their rivals in today's environment.
Discussion
Today's workplace is vastly different from that of 50 years ago. There are regulations to ensure that businesses do not discriminate against people based on their age, gender, religious views, or other factors. Although many people still experience these problems in the workplace, they have gone a long way. Organizations, on the other hand, can employ assimilation and pluralism to establish a varied workplace according to Triana (2017). A diverse workforce is made up of all the characteristics that distinguish one individual from another. The objective of this combination is to attract a common goal in the best possible way without eliminating any thought, regardless of who it comes from.
Having a diversified staff has never been more vital in today's world of heightened competition and a fast-paced business environment. In general, even though employees and workplaces are interconnected, diversity benefits both employees and companies. Diversity lowers complaints from coworkers, boosts creativity and innovation, expands opportunities, improves recruiting, and improves the company's image (Brown, 2017). Furthermore, fresh views will emerge due to numerous ideas brought to the table by people from varied backgrounds. Because many ideas will originate from experience and a verified outcome with evidence, this will often lead to better solutions to issues. Increased profitability, improved employee performance, a larger talent pool, and new views that may lead to thinking breakthroughs are just a few of the other advantages. In general, workplace diversity brings a plethora of benefits, both internally and outside.
Whether it's a military unit, a corporate group, or another sort of organization, the composition of a team is critical to its success. Over time, diverse teams tend to do better. Having a diverse group of employees in terms of age, gender, and ethnicity allows organizations to provide services to clients worldwide. Furthermore, because it allows for an atmosphere where workers see a representation of various cultures and backgrounds, this encourages employee inclusiveness. As a result, employees' performance improves because they are encouraged to work in an environment that prioritizes inclusion.
On the other hand, diversity can help teams achieve their goals by unlocking creativity and driving market development. According to research, diverse team members may also affect the team's behavior, attitude, and direction, potentially due to the prospect of having to explain and back up one's viewpoints if a disagreement arises on the team. According to Griffith & Dunham (2014), people from various backgrounds may influence a group's social majority's behavior, attitude, and direction, resulting in better and more accurate collective thinking. In other words, when like-minded teammates surround people, they are prone to groupthink and may be hesitant to consider alternative ideas because everyone is on the same track.
Even if diversity benefits a company, it also has some drawbacks that must be considered. Diversity in the workplace requires a significant investment, and there is no handbook that one can "borrow" from another company. It can be challenging to link diversity and inclusion with corporate goals when adopting diversity in the workplace (Khanna & Mishra, nd.). However, for diversity to be successful, every firm has its own set of goals, which must be aligned with the organization's diverse standards. This entails taking into account the unique culture in place as well as determining the organization's goals.
Furthermore, in a much diversified company, transitioning from design to execution might be difficult. The most thorough and detail-oriented diversity program may be created. However, if no one is available to carry them out, they are useless. Furthermore, research shows that most human judgments are influenced by prejudices, religion, and intuition rather than facts. As a result, overcoming discrimination in the workplace can be difficult because humans are biased naturally, which may be an obstacle to team performance.
Nevertheless, managers may address these issues that may develop due to workplace diversity immediately once the organization's diversity and inclusion policy are established. For example, the problem of biases can be handled by adopting a routine training program that addresses typical workplace prejudices. Besides, the manager can come up with a diversity-focused survey that may be used to address issues that may develop due to aligning corporate goals with diversity according to Brown (2017). This may aid in identifying the organization's unique gaps and determining where resources should be focused.
Effective managers and supervisors acknowledge that unique attributes are necessary to set up a diversified and productive workforce. Thus, leaders must first understand prejudice and its consequences. Moreover, they must be conscious of their own cultural biases and assumptions (Bucher, nd.). Typically, the source of diversity is individual traits rather than group differences, and each individual is unique and does not represent or advocate for a specific group. Nevertheless, leaders must be willing to change the company if necessary. To be successful in the future, businesses must understand how to deal with diversity in the workplace.
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all strategy for success. The ability of the manager to acknowledge what is best for the corporation in terms of teamwork and organizational dynamics is crucial. Managers must remember that c
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