Introduction
In the contemporary world, diversity is a very important aspect of human resource management. Organizations that value diversity have high employee retaining capacities, and they attract potential candidates (Klie, 2009). It is evident that physical, cultural, and social economic factors play a major role in bringing disparities; however, offering equal employment opportunities to all people regardless of their gender, age, ethnicity or religion embraces diversity.
All organizations ought to find a way to embrace and manage diversity in the work place. Diversity management comprises of all practices that aim at creating and maintaining a favorable work environment. In such an environment, employees will not experience any form of discrimination regarding their similarities or differences. This paper will give a stringent analysis of the best organizational practices related to diversity in two private-sector companies.
Direct support from the top executives of the organization
The CEO and other top executives play a major role in encouraging employees to adopt diverse practices. Whenever the top executives portray their efforts in encouraging diversity, other employees are obligated to follow their footsteps. Shigematsu Kensetsu Co., Ltd is a construction company where one would not expect to find female employees. However, the executives of Shigematsu Kensetsu Co., Ltd have recruited women graduates from science and engineering faculties.
The women perform supervisory roles, and the executives of the company admit that women are great communicators (Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, 2013). They have the sensitivity trait that plays a great role in attracting customers to the company. Shigematsu Kensetsu Co., Ltd’s commitment to diversity is unique, and the sincere commitment encourages employees to embrace diversity.
Direct communication for diversity
An organization that is committed to diversity should make its stand clear to every new or existing employee. The managers of the organization should clearly state the benefits that the organization experiences because of embracing diversity. The message of diversity should be available on the company’s website, newsletters, notice boards, and all major media outlets. Whenever a company appoints a disabled person, an elderly person, or a woman into an executive position, the employees should be able to celebrate the achievement of diversity.
Winnac Manufacturing Company’s practices of providing stable employment to people with disability are commendable. The company obligates other employees to embrace the disabled into their daily routines. The company realized that disabled people have excellent concentration skills, thus, they can serve excellently in managerial roles. Winnac Manufacturing Company has publicized its diversity and inclusion efforts, and all physically disabled people find the workplace to be very welcoming.
Adoption of specific and measurable goals
Once a company has publicized its diversity mission statement, it needs to develop measurable goals. From one time to another, the organization should evaluate its practices to determine if it has successfully met the set goals (Owens, 2011). A company may indicate that is needs to have some percentage of its executives comprising of a certain minority group after a given number of years.
It is very crucial to evaluate and determine if the company was able to meet its goals after the stated period. Shigematsu Kensetsu Co., Ltd aimed at having women supervising construction sites in eight years, and indeed, it was able to achieve its goals after the eight years. Women were able to learn the supervisory roles with the help of other supervisors, and after some time, they could carry out the roles independently.
Incorporating diversity goals and objectives
Other than publicizing the diversity message, employers are obligated to make the diversity inclusion exercise realistic. They ought to evaluate and compensate employees who have vested efforts in embracing diversity in the workplace. Shigematsu Kensetsu Co., Ltd has tried its best to incorporate diversity goals and objectives into practice. Its employers are encouraged to embrace diversity, as it has become part of the tradition of the company.
Provision of training and guidance to management and staff
Any company that intends to go to a higher level of encouraging diversity has to invest in enlightenment programs. Training and guiding the staff and the management group to embrace diversity is very important. The HRM ought to ensure that all employees know the diversity goals of the company, and they know the various ways of accomplishing the goals. One of the HRM functions is planning for training and development of its employees (Shen, Chanda, D’Netto, & Monga, 2009).
The HRM should consider outsourcing professionals to train their employees about diversity and inclusion. The executives of the company and all employees should obtain the training under similar conditions to avoid discrimination. The trainings should emphasize on understanding and respecting individual differences, assertiveness, and learning to embrace change.
Conclusion
From the discussions, it is evident that diversity is an indispensable aspect in any organization that intends to prosper. Diversity is all about being assertive and handling others in a desirable manner. It requires people to communicate effectively without hurting others’ feelings (Bendick, Egan, & Lanier, 2010). Therefore, every person in the workplace has a role to play in embracing diversity. It is upon the HRM to communicate effectively and give clear feedback about all the appraisals. The HRM should confront prejudice in hiring, developing, retaining, compensating, and maintaining employees to embrace diversity.
References
Bendick, M., Egan, M.L., & Lanier, L. (2010).The business case for diversity and the perverse practice of matching employees to customers. Personnel Review, 39(4), 468-486.
Klie, S. (2009). Diversity makes employers more attractive to candidates. Canadian HR Reporter, 22(8), 20.
Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. (2013). Diversity management selection 100 collection of best practices. Web.
Owens, D. (2011). Bank on diverse talent. HR Magazine, 56(5), 32-33.
Shen, J., Chanda, A., D’Netto, B., & Monga, M. (2009). Managing diversity through human resource management: An international perspective and conceptual framework. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(2), 235-251.