WorkforceDiversity Contributes Towards the Progress of a Business Enterprise
WorkforceDiversity Contributes Towards the Progress of a Business Enterprise
Workforcediversity has become an issue of concern for employers in the 21stcentury. This is because people with different demographiccharacteristics (such as race, religion, sexual orientation,disabilities, and age groups) are competing for the same job market(Bedi, Lakra & Gupta, 2014). Although some employers seediversity as an opportunity that will help them enhance thecompetitiveness of their enterprises, there are others who feel thatdiversity is a burden that will cost a lot of resources to manage(Wambui, Wangombe, Muthura & Kamau, 2013). This paper presents anargument that staff diversity increases the organization’s growthby enhancing the productivity, creativity, and the ease of enteringthe international markets.
Argumentsfor workforce diversity
Theworkforce diversity leads to an increase in organization’sproductivity. The diversity of employees reflects different ideasthat are possessed by members of staff from different backgrounds.For example, elderly employees possess a lot of skills that they haveaccumulated through practice while younger employees are moreadvanced in terms of technology (Bedi, Lakra & Gupta, 2014). Anorganization that is able to bring the two categories of employeetogether increases its productivity by developing viable solutions tocustomers. This is because a combination of experience and technologyincreases efficiency as well as effectiveness. However, this dependson the ability of the organization to match the younger and oldermembers of staff and provide them with the support that they need inorder to work in teams. Statistics show that about 90 % of themembers of staff with disabilities perform better than normal personswho occupy similar job positions (Community Foundations of Canada,2016). This implies that members of staff from the minority groupscould even be more productive than those from the majority groups.
Theworkforce diversity increase creativity and innovativeness in theorganization. This helps companies with a diverse workforce toacquire a competitive advantage over employees that reject employeesfrom the marginalized groups, such as the elderly and the AfricanAmericans. The increase in creativity can be attributed to the factthat members of staff from different backgrounds possess differentskills (Henry & Evans, 2007). A combination of these skillsallows the organization to have a wide range of alternative solution.This implies that the organization is able to pick the best out ofthe diverse ideas, thus increase its capacity to address the specificneeds of its target customers. For example, a business enterprisethat employs people from China and America is able to produce goodsthat meet the expectations of the customers from the two countries.
Adiverse workforce increases the capacity of the company to expand itsoperations and grow locally as well as in the international market.By producing goods that meet the needs of people from differentbackgrounds, which is made possible by ideas contributed by membersof staff from various backgrounds, the organization is able toincrease its market share by attracting a diverse clientele (Dalton,D’Netto & Bhanugogopan, 2015). For example, a businessenterprise that is able to produce lotions that can be applied onwhite skins and black skin has the capacity to attract the white aswell as well as the black Americans, thus increasing its marketshare. Similarly, an organization with a diverse workforce finds iteasy to penetrate the international market. This is because membersof staff from different backgrounds increase the diversity oflanguage as well as the knowledge of customer preferences fromvarious groups. For example, an American company that has asubstantial number of the Japanese employees in its workforce canpenetrate the Japanese or the Asian market easily compared to a firmthat employ the Americans only.
Theopponents of the idea that business enterprises can benefit from thediversity of their workforce hold that the recruitment of people fromdifferent backgrounds increases hostility within the company.Employers who hold this perception believe that a peacefulcoexistence of employees is dependent on their demographic and socialcharacteristics, such as sexual orientation, religion, and race. Inaddition, this category of employers argues that members of staff whocome from different backgrounds feel uncomfortable when working inthe same workstations, which tends to reduce their productivity(Oyler & Pryor, 2009). Although these counter arguments arelogical, they reflect the characteristics of employers who are notable to accept and manage diversity. Feeling uncomfortable andhostility among the members of staff are common occurrences, even inorganizations with employees from the same backgrounds. Therefore, itis the role of the employers to manage diversity, take advantage ofthe diverse skills, and to control hostility.
Conclusion
Thepositive contribution that staff diversity makes to an organizationdepends on the capacity of the employers to manage diversity andconvert its challenges into opportunities. A well managed diversityenhances organization`s productivity, creativity, and the ease ofpenetrating the international markets. These benefits can beattributed to the fact that members of staff from differentbackgrounds have varying skills and competencies. Therefore, anemployer should be able to contain potential hostility among theworkforce and organize the diverse workforce into effective teams.
References
Bedi,P., Lakra, P. & Gupta, E. (2014). Workforce diversity management:Biggest challenge or opportunity for 21stcentury organization. Journalof Business and Management,16 (4), 102-107.
CommunityFoundations of Canada (2016). Diversity at work: Why a diverseworkplace matters. CFC.Retrieved May 18, 2016, fromhttp://hrcouncil.ca/hr-toolkit/diversity-workforce-matters.cfm
Dalton,L., D’Netto, B. & Bhanugogopan, R. (2015). Using the diversemanagement competencies model to manage diversity effectively. WorldJournal of Management,6 (1), 75-89.
Henry,O. & Evans, J. (2007). Critical review of literature on workforcediversity. AfricanJournal of Business Management,1, 72-76.
Oyler,D. & Pryor, M. (2009). Workplace diversity in the United States:the perspective of Peter Drucker. Journalof Management History,15 (4), 420-451.
Wambui,T., Wangombe, J., Muthura, M., & Kamau, A. (2013). Managingworkplace diversity: A Kenyan perspective. InternationalJournal of Business and Social Science,4 (16), 199-218.