The twenty-first century business arena exhibits major alterations in almost all its aspects. In the present-day, businesses have to broaden the scope of their competitive endeavors to continue reaping from the increasingly sophisticated marketplace. Organizations have taken cognizance of human capital as the most fundamental asset at their disposal. Consequently, effective human resource management (HR) almost passes as the panacea for the organizational challenges of the twenty-first century. However, there are several issues that make HR complex. Global standards demand workplace diversity. As a result, organizations’ workforces consist of people with divergent views, different values, as well as a myriad of conflicting beliefs and attitudes. The current essay explores the bearing personal values have on the well-being of organizations, especially considering that diversity is essential for any organization that seeks to thrive in this century.
Personal Values and their Influence on Diversity in the Workplace
According to Gordon (2001), personal values are the tenets that define an individual’s belief and behavior systems. Personal values influence an individual’s perception of social interaction, work, and other aspects of life. Their influence on workplace behavior is what makes them of concern to organizations as workplace diversity becomes entrenched. Diversity brings together people with a variety of personal values. As a result, the workplace is a potential conflict ground (Gordon, 2001). Employees can easily fail to deliver the organization’s objectives if they are left to pay too much attention to their differences. Additionally, a misalignment between organizational goals and employees’ values can easily place the management and the workforce at loggerheads (Langton & Robbins, 2006). Therefore, the management must strike a balance between employees’ values and organizational values to reap the benefits of diversity.
Balancing Personal Values and Responsibility
The task of striking this balance is tough, but the management has no option, but to accomplish it. Organizations can only reap the benefits of diversity if every employee is treated equally. To make this idea of equality successful, it is essential to communicate the organization’s values and national values or laws to the workforce explicitly (Langton & Robbins, 2006). The moment every employee understands the importance of these values in relation to their job, balancing between their personal values and the organizational values becomes possible. In a nutshell, employees should be brought to the understanding that although their personal values are respected, priority must be given to organizational values and national laws.
How Employers can Ensure Compliance
Although bringing employees to this level is difficult, it can be achieved with commitment from the leadership. Employee development programs such as training, seminars, and workshops can effectively ensure that employees understand the position of their personal values in relation to organizational values (Gordon, 2001). Additionally, through the establishment of an elaborate communication system, every member of the organization can be reached with the desired information whenever necessary. Finally, building a responsible workforce can ensure that every employee strives to understand and meet their obligations.
Ways of Managing Diversity
However, despite the importance of diversity, there is a need for caution to avoid its pitfalls. First, HR personnel should ensure that in the process of diversifying the workforce, only the best talent is brought on-board (Gordon, 2001). Second, there is a need for diversity training so that all the members of the organization understand the need for diversity and its value. Third, pro-diversity structures must be established to make it a permanent part of the organization rather than an idea that goes with the leader who initiated it (Gordon, 2001).
Conclusion
In conclusion, diversity is essential for the success of twenty-first century organizations. As such, they should strive to understand its tenets to make it work for them. In the process, challenges are inevitable, but like any other worthy endeavor, the challenges that come with diversity can be overcome or avoided by adopting the best practices of diversity management.
References
Gordon, J. R. (2001). Organizational Behavior: A Diagnostic Approach (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Langton, N., & Robbins, S. P. (2006). Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior (3rd ed.). Ontario: Pearson Education Canada.