People Management Assignment 1

Andrew Jackson Tutor: Thaleia Ashley

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FdA Business & HRM People Management and Development

How far do you agree with the view that diversity is

concerned with treating all people the same?

Student: Andrew Jackson (30039922)

Tutor: Thaleia Ashley

Word Count: 2725 (Including Citations)


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Introduction

The objective of this essay is to critique the hypotheses that diversity is concerned with

treating all people the same. Organisations hire diverse people as long as the job description

and person’s specification fit the employer’s choice (Burke & Mattis 2007). Traditionally,

organisations, especially manufacturing industries that for some reason should be in a

reserve area close to the source of raw materials, were hiring the locals as a way to give

back to the community. Companies in other industries such as the energy industry also gave

priorities to the locals (Burke & Mattis 2007). An example would be the policy that had

previously been adopted by the British Petroleum company that gave employment priorities

to locals. Today such companies have launched diversity initiatives, which aim at ensuring

they employ as diverse workforce as possible (Burke & Mattis 2007). The people that get

hired into an organisation usually introduce a mixture of backgrounds, skills, strengths and

habits. Diversity in an organisation introduces some interesting aspects that in some cases

have led organisations to practise Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunities

(Beardwell & Claydon 2010).

According to Rosenauer et al. (2015), there seems to be a consensus in the human resource

area that the most productive organisations are the most "diversified." Unfortunately, this

concept may not always apply as expected. In research that involved 550 students and forty-

five organisations, the researchers found out that moderate level of ethnic diversity did not

have any impact on the employees’ performance (Hoogendoorn & Praag 2012).


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However, in cases where teams were very diverse, their performance improved indicating

that diversity enhances sharing of knowledge, which improves learning in an organisation. It

is worth noting that most small organisations have moderate diversity. For instance, if a firm

is established in the United Kingdom, one would expect it to have more British people as

opposed to being very diverse. Being diverse would imply that the firm has almost an equal

number of people with different backgrounds (Hoogendoorn & Praag 2012).

As such, the number of Muslims would perhaps be equal to Christians, the number of

women equal to men and so on. This never happens in real life and because of this; diversity

sometimes fails to bear the expected results. Nevertheless, although the research on the

impact of diversity of on performance remains inconclusive, organisations should still

embrace diversity because it might lead to other benefits. In any case, the law requires

employers to offer jobs to a diverse workforce (Lewis & Sargeant 2013). Failure to do so can

make them be sued for discrimination. At the same time, considering that gender is

probably underutilised by human resource professionals to help with productivity, styles of

thinking may be what people mostly support when they think about non-ethnic diversity

(Ariss & Sidani 2016). It is the most widely used statement in diversity mainly because few of

people use real scientific tools to measure what someone's thinking style is.


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Background Information

Diversity in the context of the workplace refers to having a workforce that is composed of

employees with different characteristics which might include gender, education, race,

geographic location, ethnicity, political and religious beliefs and sexual orientation among

others. Bratton and Gold (2012) view diversity in terms of the different capabilities and skills

that employees with diverse backgrounds bring to an organisation. They consider diversity

to be a variety of backgrounds, experiences and networks as well as a means of promoting

heterogeneity in the organisation. Bratton and Gold (2012) further argue that diversity is

about creating a working culture that harnesses, values and respects differences at the

workplace. However, if misguided, the diverse collection of people in one organisation can

be disastrous. Organisations that have visions of expanding provide good examples of the

opportunities that diversity offers as well as the challenges that it can cause (Lewis &

Sargeant 2013). Given that most organisations are embracing diversity, one can say the

opportunities outweigh the challenges and as such, it is a right direction into the future.

Organisational Culture - Individualism and Collectivism

Focus of a company on individualism or collectivism normally depends on different aspects

like the task environment, industry, history and the major countries in which it performs.

Nevertheless, both perspectives are believed to be effective and legitimate approaches of

business performance. These perspectives are supported by different studies in the social

sciences and have been used in the areas of religion, values, financial growth and social

systems (Rosenauer et al. 2015).


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It is essential to understand that no culture is entirely collectivist or individualistic because

elements of both happen in any community.

An individualist society, as the name refers, is one that focuses on independence and is

presently observed in most traditional businesses. It is apparent that individualistic

perspectives focus to concentrate more on rewards and success that can be defined at a

personal level as opposed to a group level. The social identity theory explains that

individuals tend to focus more on their self-identities (Borman, Ilgen & Klimoski 2003). They

also view things from their own perspectives as opposed to group perspective. On the other

hand, collectivist perspectives include policies which involve diverse work situations. In this

perspective, the concentration is on shared goals, interchangeable intentions and

commonalities among members. The functional theory argues that members in a group

tend to focus on shared values and norms (Borman 2003). In this case, the concept of a

diverse group is highly observable unlike in social identity theory where individuals focus on

themselves and their specific groups without upholding diversity. According to Ariss (2016),

people of this culture are expected to agree on what establishes an appropriate action,

perform according to the values of their culture and experience or provide harsh criticism

for even the slightest differences from various values. Understanding of resemblance as well

as a common chance among members, which is cultivated in this perspective, supports

people to believe more in their co-workers as elements of the "in-group."


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Diversity Creates Innovation

Diversity in business requires creation of a plural environment whereby one looks at those

who are at one’s side and learns from the observed differences. In business, plurality can

bring many positive effects in enriching coexistence between employees, in the design of

products, in the provision of services and experiences, in communication or any kind of

creation that a company proposes to develop (Lewis & Sargeant 2013). From a strategic

point of view, diversity is not only a social policy but the engine for new discoveries that

generates the creativity which enriches the world. It is the one that updates the values as

well as reinventing the models, patterns and ways of doing things. Diversity brings

innovation to the processes, new points of view, solves old problems, expands

communication and creates new languages which are able to touch many diverse

individuals. Good examples of retailers that have used diversity to enhance their innovation

are Tesco and Sainsbury’s. As Armstrong, Masterton and Potts (2013) point out; these

United Kingdom based retailers have used the diversity of their employees to develop

innovative strategies and products that capture different sections of the ethnic market.

Why/how can diversity be Communist?

Ariss and Sidani (2016) visualise of a society in which all humans would be equal with no

economic disparity, exploitation and harassment. This view of making all people equal in an

attempt to promote diversity is not capitalistic in nature but more of communism.

The dreamers of parity and communism, however, were unable to eradicate social disparity

because they failed to find means to do so (Ariss & Sidani 2016).


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Just like in communism, proponents of diversity are trying to force it on people by coercing

people in organisations to embrace their differences. Unfortunately, using coercive means

to protect diversity will make it fail as communism did (Preskar 2007).

How and why do we treat people the same?

Human rights hold the view that all people must be treated in the same manner with dignity

irrespective of their situations. As such, nobody should be tortured or treated in a degrading

manner (Rosenauer et al. 2015). The most important thing when dealing with fellow human

beings is to value and respect humanity. Humans are conscious beings who can think and

have a sense of what is wrong and right. Therefore, nobody should have the power to own

another individual or to force them to work under threat. The Equality Act of 2010 protects

diversity which promotes the treatment of people in the same way irrespective of their

different characteristics (Turner 2013). It outlaws any forms of discrimination against people

based on their age, sex, religion, sexual orientation, beliefs, race and disability among other

characteristics. It is also important to note that having equality does not mean that people

are all the same. Every person is unique in their own way. However, all people share certain

values that are common to all humans. In view of this, each person should be treated with

dignity and respect (Turner 2013).


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Proponent Arguments

As pointed out by the United States Government Accountability Office (USGAO 2015), some

of the leading practices that enable organisations to reap the maximum benefits from

embracing diversity include having top leadership commitment whereby a top-down

approach is exercised by management to enhance diversity. This approach helps

organisation build cohesiveness within the workforce.

In addition, embedding diversity in the organisation’s strategic plan also enables firms to

make the best out of visionary harnessing of diversity within an organisational community.

The strategic plan provides guiding goals for individuals within the organisation to carry out

their duties. Through this, everyone learns to appreciate the other colleagues. It also makes

colleagues to adopt inclusivity rather than discrimination (USGAO 2015).

Another practice is linking performance to diversity. Organisations that embrace diversity

have an optimum mix of personalities (USGAO 2015). This leads to a situation where the

organisation becomes a beehive of employees who strive to compete with each other in

harmony (USGAO 2015).

To add to the above, diversity leads to a successful succession planning in organisations.

Succession planning refers to the art of identifying and nurturing future leadership within an

organisation (USGAO 2015). It is worth noting that in a significant number of organisations,

succession planning is often characterised by intense political competition.

When a fair consideration for promotions is made, the performing employees who qualify as

candidates for top management jobs are likely to feel more appreciated.

This makes all employees to collectively develop their career paths with the motivation that

they would one day make candidates for the top job (USGAO 2015).


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A similar situation also occurs during the recruitment where many employers make diversity

one of the factors that are considered during the selection of new employees. Enforcing

diversity approaches enables organisations to source for employees regardless of their

backgrounds. As such, the recruiters do not just focus on the specified qualifications of a

job. Organisations that embrace diversity and treat all potential candidates in the same way

tend to become employers of choice. Knowing that they would not be disenfranchised

based on their diverse backgrounds; individual prospective employees are then left with

striving to prove they are the best fit for the advertised jobs (USGAO 2015).

Organisations that offer diversity training also do so with the view of ensuring that all

employees are able to treat others in a similar way irrespective of their positions and

backgrounds (USGAO 2015). Training courses that are crafted for induction, as well as

subsequent trainings that offer education to employees and management, play an

important role in strengthening diversity within an organisation. Such courses introduce and

remind new and old employees of the individual benefits they are likely to get by embracing

diversity in the workplace. Collectively, such courses bring about an understanding of

diversity among employees and customers, which enables employees to meet the needs of

different stakeholders by treating them the same way.

This breeds a healthy work environment (USGAO 2015). Organisations that take up these

approaches to embrace diversity often find it to be a rewarding resource that helps them to

achieve their organisational goals. As Ariss and Sidani (2016) point out, diversity and

inclusion are actually inseparable. In harnessing diversity to better the individual and the

organisation, inclusion must be upheld.


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On the other hand, the opponents of diversity argue that it is likely to produce unfavourable

results due to internal resistance. In every organisation, a culture is developed, upheld and

transferred to newcomers. If diversity efforts are to be successful at the recruitment level, a

lot should be done to change the culture of that organisation (Bratton & Gold 2012). Middle

management also tends to resist such changes because they tend to disrupt the completion

of tasks and team building efforts might need to be redone in order to induct the

newcomers (Bratton & Gold 2012). Such resistance may make some employees start

treating others differently with the aim of sabotaging the idea of diversity at work.

Opportunities in Diversity

For the minority businesses, diversity is about fairness and justice, which involves the

provision of an equal opportunity for everyone. Majority of organisations view it as a way to

guarantee a large talent pool in the future. Another group will evaluate diversity from within

to mirror the customer base and better their service delivery. A fourth group will cite legal

compliance (Lewis & Sargeant 2013). In view of this, there are several arguments which

explain why organisations embrace diversity.

The first argument is the moral argument. In this case, an organisation employs a diverse

workforce because of the moral obligation to do so (Lewis & Sargeant 2013).

This is an approach that seeks to uphold diversity within the organisation just as a formality.

However, an organisation that takes keen consideration of opportunities presented by

diversity stands to reap many benefits irrespective of the fact that implementation was

done for meeting moral obligations (Lewis & Sargeant 2013).


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Secondly, organisations hire a diverse workforce to combine different talents and

backgrounds that employees bring into organisations for achievement of organisational

goals. Organisations can learn much from diverse employees and more importantly, it

enables them to maximise the competency levels in the workforce by getting the best from

varied backgrounds (Marchington & Wilkinson 2012).

Thirdly, the business outcomes argument holds that diversity produces better decision

making as it widens the scope of constraints to be considered. Diversity improves the

business image in the market. Many hired employees from diverse areas bring with them

the tastes, preferences, sensibilities and interests of a broad range of customers

(Marchington & Wilkinson 2012).

Lastly, the regulatory compliance argument suggests that the legal requirements to avoid

discrimination play a great role in influencing diversity within an organisation. However, the

business benefits that have tagged along diversity surpass the notion that it is often upheld

as a legal requirement (Lewis & Sargeant 2013). When embracing diversity as a legal

requirement, organisations should also ensure they hire and promote employees based on

meritocracy. This means that the selected employees should have met specific job

requirements before diversity can be considered (Robinson 2009).


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Conclusion

Diversity is a broad singularity in business and it has major opportunities. It involves treating

all the people equally irrespective of their backgrounds. It makes it possible for individuals

to be able to relate with one another and learn from each other. Collectively, a diverse

workforce represents the global nature of the business and helps the management in

setting and reaching targets. It also improves decision making at the workplace by

incorporating people of all walks of life and from all regions in a single place. Organisations

that hire a diverse workforce are likely to benefit from many ideas that employees with

different backgrounds bring to the organisation. As such, organisations that want to reap

benefits from diversity should ensure all their major practices uphold diversity. This starts at

the recruitment level. However, there is need to ensure that meritocracy is also upheld.

Diversity is only applied after the candidates meet the set requirements. This ensures that a

diverse workforce is hired on merit. Lastly, as organisations try to treat all their employees

and other stakeholders in the same way, they should be aware of the expected resistance

by a section of management that opposes diversity. If this challenge is not resolved,

diversity could lead to more discrimination at the workplace.


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References

Ariss, A & Sidani, Y. (2016). ‘Divergence, Convergence, or Crossvergence in International

Human Resource Management,’ Human Resource Development Review, vol.2, no. 4, pp.283-

284

Armstrong, F, Masterton, M & Potts, P. (2013). Equality and Diversity in Education 1:

Experiences of Learning, Teaching and Managing Schools, Routledge, London.

Beardwell, J & Claydon, T. (2010). Human Resource Management – A Contemporary

Approach, 6th edition, Pearson Education, Harlow.

Borman, W, Ilgen, D & Klimoski, R. (eds) (2003). Handbook of Psychology, Industrial and

Organisational Psychology, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken.

Bou-Llusar J. Martin, I. Puig, V. Tena, A. (2016). Single and Multiple Informant Research

Designs to Examine the Human Resource Management−Performance Relationship,’ British

Journal of Management. vol. 27, no. 3, pp.646–668.

Bratton, J & Gold, J (2012). Human Resource Management, Theory and Practice, 5th edition,

Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.

Burke, R & Mattis, M. (2007). Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering,

and Mathematics: upping the numbers, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham.

Hoogendoorn, S & Praag, M (2012). ‘Ethnic Diversity and Team Performance: a field

experiment,’ IZA DP No. 6731, Available from: http://ftp.iza.org/dp6731.pdf [Accessed on

November 4, 2016]

Lewis, D & Sargeant, M. (2013). The Essentials of Employment Law, 12th edition, CIPD,

London.

Marchington, M & Wilkinson, A. (2012). Human Resource Management at Work, 5th edition,

CIPD, London.

Preskar, G. (2007). Diversity Addiction: The Cause and The Cure, Author House, Bloomington.

Robinson, L. (2009). Diversity Management Pantheons: a regime of truths, Fultus

Corporation, Palo Alto.

Rosenauer, D. Homan, A. Horstmeier, C. and Voelpel, S. (2015). ‘Managing Nationality

Diversity: The Interactive Effect of Leaders’ Cultural Intelligence and Task Interdependence,’

British Journal of Management, vol.27, no.3, pp. 628–645.

Schuler, R & Jackson, S. (2007), Strategic Human Resource Management, 2nd edition, Oxford

Blackwell, Oxford.

http://ftp.iza.org/dp6731.pdf


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Torrington, D, Hall, L, Taylor, S & Atkinson, C. (2014). Human Resource Management, 9th

edition, Pearson Education, Harlow.

Turner, C. (2013). Unlocking Employment Law, Routledge, London.

United States Government Accountability Office. (2005). Diversity Management: Expert-

Identified Leading Practices and Agency Examples, USGAO, Washington, D.C.

Winstanley, D & Woodall, J (eds.) (2000). Ethical Issues in Contemporary Human Resource

Management, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.

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