EFFECTIVE
ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD PLACE MORE VALUE ON DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE
Lupe
Saucedo
It
is hard to argue against the fact that significant demographic changes have
occurred in the United States during the last half of the twentieth century.
The workforce no longer looks like it did in 1965.
For instance, in 1992 52% of working adults were women, and 11% of men
were minorities, leaving only 37% of working adults as white males—a
percentage that is continuing to decrease.
Diversity in the workplace was a “never talked about” issue back in
the 1960’s. At that time white
middle-class males represented the dominant race, culture, and gender.
That traditional homogenous group shared similar beliefs, values, and
perspectives. The average white
male was about 29 years old, had less than twelve years of education, and was
married with children at home (Rasmussen, 1996).
During
that period in American history diversity was not a major societal issue
because it was practically non-existent.
However, more recently, and especially at the beginning of the
twenty-first century, more and more companies and organizations, both large
and small, are coming to see what diversity really means, and what impact
diversity in the workplace has on organizational effectiveness (Kirby &
Richard, 2000). Many today
believe that in order for companies and organizations to be more effective,
true diversity in the workplace must be put into action.
Diversity
has many different meanings and can easily be mistaken for what it is not.
Diversity is not a destination, but a long-term process that extends
far beyond formal training. Training
does not actually change people. People
must decide to change. It is what people do after the training that really
matters.
Diversity
is not just a buzzword. It is not
a fad that will shortly go away. It
draws strength from the powerful combination of an increasingly diverse and
global marketplace and the human rights movement.
Diversity
is something we hear and read about everyday, yet many know little about it. For organizations to be more effective and
successful, they must value diversity and see diversity as an advantage
rather than a weakness (Lattimer, 1998).
Diversity
should not be thought of only in terms of culture or race.
Thinking of diversity in this way only reinforces stereotypes. An example of this kind of thinking might be expressed in a
statement such as, “That is a characteristic of Hispanics.”
When valuing diversity one does not accept such stereotypes.
Stereotyping
can be viewed as a form of “win-lose” thinking.
In a win lose situation, one is concerned with oneself being on top,
and putting “winning” first. One
achieves success at the exclusion or expense of another’s success (Covey,
1989). This mindset is based on a
“scarcity mentality.” People
with a win-lose mindset have a tendency to be exclusive, not inclusive.
Diversity
is also not the same as equal employment opportunity (EEO) or affirmative
action. While both EEO and
affirmative action are recognized as a part of the human rights movement, they
are distinctly different from valuing diversity.
Laws imposing diversity tend to create an adversarial win-lose
solution. Also, many people
interpret such laws as a means of forcing less qualified people to be hired
over more qualified employees (Austin, 2000).
Valuing
diversity of thought means that people’s differences are regarded as an asset
rather than a burden to be tolerated. However,
unless there is a shared vision of
the future and shared values based
on principles, diversity within an organization can become destructive.
Once there is a shared vision, agreement as to the goals of the
organization, and shared values based on principles, then diversity of thought
and perspective shifts from being a liability to being a tremendous asset to
be celebrated. Stephen Covey says
that valuing differences does not imply that one agrees with the different
views. It means that one should respect
differences and see them as opportunities for learning (Covey, 1996).
This is a key point! A
learning organization needs different perspectives to facilitate learning.
Another
misconception is that diversity results in an absence of standards.
That is to say, “Anything goes.”
People sometimes believe that an organization must give up its
standards for hiring and promoting in order to implement diversity.
In reality, diversity should be just the opposite.
In valuing differences we should remove preconceived ideas about who is
most qualified for a job. We
should create a clearer definition of the actual job requirements.
Finally,
diversity is not about “white male bashing.”
Nurturing a “victim mindset” and blaming others for past injustices
only causes more hostility and separation among diverse groups (Rasmussen,
1996). The goal of diversity
should be to bring together the best and most qualified to create a more
productive workplace and create win-win outcomes.
Mutual benefit is the focus of such thinking.
With such a mindset everyone benefits from valuing differences—employees,
stockholders, consumers, and the community.
A
diversified workplace or group has many advantages.
Valuing diversity is a bottom line issue about increasing productivity
and profitability. Valuing
diversity is profitable because it helps organizations identify and meet the
needs of their customers and clients.
Diversity
also impacts the public sector. For
example, the public sector has realized that in order to better serve the
community, it is beneficial to mirror the community (Yarnold, 2002).
By
understanding and using diversity in innovative ways, many organizations have
found themselves at an advantage in the marketplace.
Recent studies have repeatedly revealed the business benefits of
diversity. In 1992, Ann Morrison
published The New Leaders. In this book, twelve companies were selected as models
of diversity. Of these twelve,
eleven were later found to be included in Fortune magazine’s list of most
admired companies and three won the Malcom Baldridge award for quality. The companies on Fortune magazine’s list of the top 50
companies with good working environments for minorities outperformed the
general market place (Miller, 2002).
In
a study by Rosabeth Kanter, a well known management expert, differences in
perspectives and assumptions was noted as one of the most important factors
for team success. It also
concluded that diverse groups made sounder decisions than homogenous groups.
Innovative companies that have more women and minorities are also more
financially successful (Rasmussen, 1996).
According
to Robert Lattimer, diverse groups and teams significantly outperform their
homogenous counterparts, especially in problem solving and decision-making.
Diverse teams also bring a variety of perspectives and a level of
creativity to bear in problem analysis, alternative idea generation, and idea
selection which is impossible to duplicate when diversity is non existent (Lattimer,
1998).
There
are several diversity related trends that will affect competitiveness in the
twenty-first century. One such
trend is slow growth in the labor force.
This will result in an increased need for older workers.
With many baby-boomers retiring in the twenty-first century, the
replacement workforce may lack the level of education and skills of their
predecessors. This will create a demand for older workers to stay in the
workforce longer.
Another
trend will involve immigrant labor. Immigration policy will be critical for
many employers and for the nation as a whole.
New immigrants will be a major part of the U.S. labor force growth over
the next twenty years. Large
numbers of new immigrants will allow the U.S. economy to grow faster than it
would otherwise. However, most
new immigrants will have low levels of education, little or no English skills,
and comprise an increasing share of all minimum wage workers.
Other
trends include rapid technological change.
New technology poses a strong, “high-skill” bias which has led to
an increase in earnings for the best educated and most highly skilled workers. This is a major cause of the earnings and income gap between
upper and lower income workers and their families. With the ever-increasing technology in information and
communication, the world of work will continue to be reshaped.
Valuing,
recognizing, and knowing about diversity is only a part of the solution to the
problems organizations will face in the twenty-first century.
A key to dealing successfully with diversity is how diversity will
relate to a company’s mission and purpose.
For diversity to be effective, it must be aligned with the organization’s
mission. People must agree to
synergistically come together for the accomplishment of the mission (Covey,
1989). A mission statement is a
very important document that must be created by a synergistic process that is
inclusive and values the contribution of every person within the organization.
In
summary, the most effective organizations will be those that place more
emphasis on valuing diversity in the workplace.
The most obvious sign that a company has begun to value diversity is
when non-traditional employees are actively recruited, hired and promoted into
positions of authority and leadership (Rasmussen, 1996).
Diversity is not something to be tolerated or accepted, but valued
and celebrated. An
organization will reap tremendous benefits from diversity when such diversity
is aligned with the organization’s goals and values.
References
Austin,
A. ( 2000). How Cultural Diversity Will Shape Your Career. Career World.
Apr/May 2000,
Vol. 28 Issue 6,
p16, 4p, 3c.1bw
Covey, S. R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Kirby, S. L. & Richard, O. C. ( 2000). Impact of Marketing Work-Place Diversity on Employee Job Involvement and Organizational Commitment. Journal of Social Psychology, Jun 2000, Vol. 140 Issue 3, p367, 11p.
Lattimer, R. L. (1998). The Case for Diversity in Global Business, and the Impact of Diversity on Team Performance. Connections Magazine. CR Vol 8 (2).
Miller, R. G. (2002). Diversity Gives Employers a Competitive Edge. The Black Collegian, First
Semester Super Issue, www.black-collegian.com
Rasmussen, T.(1996). The ASTD Trainer’s Sourcebook: Diversity. Washington D.C.: McGraw-Hill.
Yarnold, D. (2002, Spring). Why Diversity? More Voices Make for More Accurate Stories. San Jose Mercury News, 55.
About the Author
Lupe
Saucedo graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from
the University of Texas at Tyler in 2000.
He is currently working toward a master’s degree in technology with
an emphasis in human resource development.
Lupe has been employed with Smith County Community Supervision and Corrections Department as a Community Supervision Officer since his graduation. He recently completed the Franklin Covey 7 Habits of Highly Effective People seminar as part of a graduate leadership class at UT Tyler. In Lupe’s words, “This leadership course was the course that gave my life purpose and direction and thereby changed me.“
Lupe Saucedo can be contacted at Saucdo13@msn.com