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Diversity and inclusion are important and for more than simply reasons of fairness, obtaining varied skills and viewpoints, and the law. The recent economy has challenged
diversity initiatives, but also stymieing efforts are unclear diversity goals, ongoing struggles with cultural change, and sometimes even a lack of a definition within the
organization of "diversity" itself. What most companies have done is focus on only two components -- recruitment and training, said Shirley Davis, director of diversity and
inclusion initiatives at SHRM. Traditionally, workplace discussions about diversity have focused on African Americans and women, noted diversity consultant and author R.
Roosevelt Thomas Jr., who is based in Decatur, GA. Still, progress is being made in getting executives to see diversity as a bottom-line issue. Another concern that HR leaders in
the US and abroad have mentioned pertains to how to establish clear and measurable results of diversity initiatives to prove their value to organizations, Davis said.
Headnote
HIRING
Diversity and inclusion are important and for more than simply reasons of fairness, obtaining varied skills and viewpoints, and the law.
A diverse workforce can be one that supports a more successful organization - provided that the organization makes the commitment to meshing diversity with business goals.
The recent economy has challenged diversity initiatives, but also stymieing efforts are unclear diversity goals, ongoing struggles with cultural change, and sometimes even a lack
of a definition within the organization of "diversity" itself.
"What most companies have done is focus on only two components - recruiting and training,"said Shirley Davis, di ...
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3. the law.
A diverse workforce can be one that supports a more successful
organization - provided that the organization makes the
commitment to meshing diversity with business goals.
The recent economy has challenged diversity initiatives, but
also stymieing efforts are unclear diversity goals, ongoing
struggles with cultural change, and sometimes even a lack
of a definition within the organization of "diversity" itself.
"What most companies have done is focus on only two
components - recruiting and training,"said Shirley Davis,
director of diversity and inclusion initiatives at SHRM. "That's
not
enough."
Davis supports aligning diversity and inclusion goals with
business strategy. "CEOs, especially ones with consumers, are
interested in diversity because, at the end of the day, it's
about the bottom line and how many customers are buying your
products," she said.
Companies that are leading diversity and inclusion efforts and
that "understand the times" are using diversity as a competitive
advantage, she added.
DIVERSITX DEFINED
Traditionally, workplace discussions about diversity have
focused on African Americans and women, noted diversity
consultant and author R. Roosevelt Thomas Jr., who is based
in Decatur, Ga.
But this is a shortsighted goal. A broader view is required
today, recognizing that "there are all kinds of dimensions of
4. diversity and diverse mixtures," Thomas said.
"Diversity refers to the differences, similarities, and related
tensions that exist in any mixture," Thomas said in his book,
Building on the Promise of Diversity: How We Can Move
to the Next Level in OutWorkplaces, Our Communities, and Our
Society. "Note especially that the term includes differences and
similarities. Diversity is not limited to issues of
race and gender, nor is it confined to the workforce."
Getting the definition right - and getting it to be meaningful to
executives - is an ongoing struggle, Davis noted. "Some terms
have not resonated and created more distance than
they caused support."
Still, progress is being made in getting executives to see
diversity as a bottom-line issue. SHRM 's 2007 State of
Workplace Diversity Management report, which included more
than 1 ,300 responses from HR professionals and diversity
practitioners, indicated that a growing number of organizations
are discussing "the business case for di versify " and
the importance of creating inclusive workplace cultures.
Where this more business-oriented endeavor belongs in the
corporate lineup is also an undecided issue (see the
accompanying sidebar).
BROADER PURPOSES
Diversity as a moneymaker should help to spur action. As noted
by diversity consultant Michael Soon Lee, president of
EthnoConnect (Dublin, Calif.), "If companies can see that
embracing diversity can make them money, they are happy to do
it. Earlier, they said diversity was nice to do. In the 1990s,
5. companies said 'Show us how this can make us
money; A lot of work I do now is helping companies increase
their sales to multicultural customers."
"It's no longer just about getting great employees; it's about
competing globally," agreed Davis. "You have to have people in
your organization that understand different
cultures."
But this enhanced purpose can be at risk by confusion about
what diversity is and where it is headed. The SHRM report
noted that the most frequent concerns respondents
expressed about the diversity and inclusion profession were that
it is not well defined or understood and that it focuses too much
on compliance.
Respondents also said, however, that the field's two strengths
were "a greater awareness of diversity" and "more emphasis
being placed on the strategic benefits of diversity."
Some diversity challenges remain the same. " Part of the main
concerns I continue to hear is: 'How do we make sure we are
integrating our diversity strategy into the overall
business, and how do we get senior leadership to buy into
this?'" Davis said.
The report noted that " [diversity practitioners were more likely
to report that lack of buy-in and suppoñ from management and
lack of a clear business case 1 inking diversity to
the financial bottom line were hindering the field's success."
MEASURING DIVERSITY
Another concern that HR leaders in the United States and
abroad have mentioned pertains to how to establish clear and
measurable results of diversity initiatives to prove their
6. value to organizations, Davis said.
"Many diversity initiatives are not strategic but are more
aspirational, such as "creating a diverse and inclusive
environment,'" said Lee. "This is a nice vision statement but it
is
not a measurable initiative because there is no rubric for
determining when it has been accomplished."
Lee said another challenge is that some diversity initiatives are
only funded for one or two quarters when a long-term
commitment is needed to bring real results.
"There's still a wait-and-see attitude in corporate America,
rather than a long-term commitment," when it comes to
diversity and inclusion, he said.
A key component in obtaining buy-in is whether diversity
practitioners can show the connection between an organization's
commitment to inclusion and its profitability, Davis
said.
The separation that still exists between diversity strategy and
business strategy to some extent echoes the challenges that HR
as a whole has faced, she said.
"In HR and other departments, strategies are created somewhat
in a silo and they are not aligned with the overall business
strategy," she said.
Another challenge HR leaders and others face in building more
inclusive organizations is that in some companies, the cultures
are ingrained with behaviors and practices that tend
to sabotage the work. "So if you talk about bringing in more
diverse talent, they don't want to hear of it," Davis said, adding
that "a major culture change won't happen
7. overnight."
The economic downturn also has been a major challenge for HR
and diversity practitioners in the past year or so. "Organizations
have cut HR to the bone," said Mauricio
Velasquez, president and chief executive officer of the
Diversity Training Group, a consulting firm in Herndon, Va.
"Outsourcing diversity [programs] has always been a trend but
it's being exacerbated by the economy."
Despite the cuts, Lee predicted that as the economy gets
stronger diversity initiatives will again begin to become a
priority as companies seek strategies to increase their
productivity and revenue streams.
Lee cited four diversity-related challenges facing U.S.
employers. As you can see, these challenges also overlap with
various other challenges now facing HR professionals and
human capital initiatives:
* "Realizing the promise of diversity," Lee said. "It's widely
acknowledged that diversity helps companies increase
productivity, reach diverse consumers, and make better
decisions," he said. "What's less known is that there are
challenges that must be overcome before those goals can be
realized." Employers often are reluctant to discuss these
challenges, which can include a lack of communication, tension
in the workplace, and misunderstandings, all of which can lead
to a reduction in productivity and an increase in
costs.
* Building an environment that embraces differences, Lee said.
"For too long, we have simply tolerated differences but not
fully embraced them as a benefit," Lee said. "It takes
education and hard work to get people to let go of the natural
fear of those who may be different from themselves."
8. * The lack of understanding and communication among the
generations in the workplace is another diversity challenge.
This can lead to a loss of productivity, Lee warned.
* The failure on the part of most companies to develop a
systematic and strategic knowledge-transfer program so that
information gathered over decades by older workers who
are retiring can be shared with younger workers who are taking
their place is still another diversity issue. "Some companies use
seasoned workers to mentor younger workers,"
Lee said. "But very few companies do that and the information
walks out of the door when people retire."
Additional ideas for diversity and inclusion improvement are in
the accompanying sidebar.
Sidebar
Should Diversity Be Part of HR?
Whether diversity should report to the HR department or to the
chief executive officer is a question that has no clear answer.
Atfirst glance, itwould seem that so human-capital-intensive an
initiative belongs in the HR department. However, there can be
benefits to having diversity professionals report
directly to the chief executive officer.
"Much more can be accomplished around implementing
diversity initiatives when they have the blessings of the chief
executive officer," said diversity consultant Michael Soon
Lee, president of EthnoConnect, a consulting firm in Dublin,
Calif.
"Diversity initiatives will be taken more seriously and receive
higher priority since everyone knows the chief diversity officer
9. has a direct link to the CEO."
When the chief diversity officer reports to human resources,
diversity initiatives tend to "fall off the radar because HR is
primarily concerned about compliance, benefits, and
complaints," Lee said. Lee also noted that other key
deliverables can take precedence for HR department resources.
However, there are also good reasons for diversity to report to
HR. Shirley Davis,director of diversity and inclusion initiatives
at the Society for Human Resource Management in
Alexandria, Va., is based in the human resources department
and believes this is beneficial.
Details
Subject Workplace diversity;
Skills;
African Americans;
Corporate objectives;
Hiring
Location United States--US
Classification 9190: United States
6100: Human resource planning
2310: Planning
Title Link Diversity to Business Goals for Best Results
Author Anonymous
Publication title HR Focus; Washington, DC
10. Volume 87
Issue 1
Pages 5-7,10
Number of pages 4
Publication year 2010
By being part of HR, Davis said, she is able to make sure that
diversity policies and practices are in place. In addition, she
works with the marketing department to identify ways
to position the organization as inclusive, and she collaborates
with the procurement and supply division to extend
opportunities to minority-owned businesses. She also works
with community affairs to make sure SHRM is positioned in the
community at large.
"Diversity works across the entire organization and needs that
kind of visibility," she said.
According to the findings of SHRM's Global Diversity and
Inclusion study, HR is responsible for diversity among 59
percent of the global companies surveyed. In about the same
proportion of companies (60 percent), top management is the
principal advocate for workplace diversity, followed by HR (42
percent).
Sidebar
Best Practices for Developing Diversity & Inclusion
Although diversity programs can vary from company to
company, these principles should be part of all programs,
according to diversity experts:
11. * Implement a really good development program that includes
ongoing coaching and feedback, not just training.
* Make a concerted effort to locate and hire diverse workers
who either are recent college graduates or qualified employees
at other companies.
* Let employees and the public know details about the
organization's diversity strategy.
* Be realistic about the organization's diversity achievements
and setbacks.
* Involve business unit or line managers in the organization's
diversity initiatives.
*With global initiatives, prepare for national variation in
implementing diversity and inclusion programs.
* Make sure the right person is leading the organization's
diversity effort.
* Implement a system to measure the effectiveness of the
organization's diversity efforts.
* Diversity initiatives can be measured when employers gather
complete and consistent data throughout the process.
* Because diversity efforts must be tracked against known
benchmarks, look at competitors in your industry and see what
benchmarks they use. Some common benchmarks are
the establishment and involvement of employee resource
groups, a specific percentage of business done with diverse
suppliers, and an atmosphere that welcomes differences.
*When hiring, remember that people from different cultures do
12. not all communicate in the same way.The interview process
must also be adjusted for cultural differences.
* Invite members of the company's affinity or employee
resource groups to help with multicultural marketing plans,
product development, and recruitment and retention efforts.
* Be specific and realistic in developing the company's
diversity and inclusion goals.
* Embrace an attitude that diversity is a benefit.
Copyright Institute of Management & Administration Jan 2010
Publication date Jan 2010
Publisher Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
Place of publication Washington, DC
Country of publication United States, Washington, DC
Publication subject Business And Economics--Management,
Business And Economics--Labor And Industrial Relations
ISSN 10596038
Source type Trade Journals
Language of publication English
Document type Feature
ProQuest document ID 206811911
14. Sections 3: Conclusions 100-300 words,
Summary and Complete List of References (5-15 references-
that depends on your topic).
Topic: Stakeholder Relationship Management and its influence
on Management Decision Making
General Framework Relationship management is one of the
highest level managerial functions. Use an example to illustrate
poor relationship management and the outcome that resulted
from it. Outline the four step approach to stakeholder
relationship management recommended in your textbook.
STEP1: Identification of stake holder
Step 2: determination of interest or concern
Step 3: Deciding critical stake holder
Step 4: Formulate specific approaches to manage relationship
Individual Components Construct an example to illustrate good
stakeholder relationship management. Using your example:
Define the general external environment of your example,
identifying stakeholders within it
Define the specific external environment of your example,
identifying stakeholders within it
Discuss how the multi-advocacy approach to stakeholder
relationship management would assist managers in decision
making which is sensitive to managing stakeholder relationships
