By Raju Lama

18 June, 2014

HOW DOES DIVERSITY AFFECT

GROUP AND THEIR

EFFECTIVENESS OVER TIME ?

DEFINITION :

DIVERSITY"The variety of experiences and perspective which arise from differences in

race, culture, religion, mental or physical abilities, age, gender, sexual

orientation, gender identity and other characteristics."

Diversity represents the individual differences and similarities that exist

among people.

Diversity is a group characteristic, not an individual characteristic.

Surface level diversity : Gender, age, race, religion, culture etc.

Deep Level diversity : Values, personality, ability, attitude, work

preferences.

These dimensions directly or indirectly affect performance, motivation,

success, and interactions with others.

1. PERSONALITY

2. ABILITY

3. VALUE

4. ATTITUDE

1. PERSONALITY

Set of distinctive personal characteristics, including motives, emotions, values, interests, attitudes and competencies.

“Big Five” personality dimensions. Extraversion

Being outgoing, sociable, assertive.

Agreeableness. Being good-natured, trusting, cooperative.

Conscientiousness. Being responsible, dependable, persistent.

Emotional stability. Being unworried, secure, relaxed.

Openness to experience. Being imaginative, curious, broad-minded.

2.

Ability

Individual capacity to perform various tasks in a job.

Two types of abilities

Intellectual : Needed to perform mental activities.

Such as : Number aptitude(accountant), verbal

comprehension(plant manager), perceptual

speed(CBI), inductive reasoning (Researcher),

deductive reasoning (Supervisor), spatial

visualization(interior designer), memory (scientist,

sales person).

etc.

Physical : Capacity to do task demanding stamina.

Such as : dynamic strength, Body coordination,

balance, stamina etc.

Area : Teaching(long standing), labor(stamina,

strength) driving (balance), security (strength, power)

3. VALUES

- Basic principles and factor that guide persons

belief, attitudes & behaviors.

- Values can influence beliefs about money, social

interaction, importance of work etc.

For eg : people who demonstrate work ethic,

believes that they should “do a good day’s work

for a good day’s pay” and live simple life.

4. ATTITUDE- Evaluative statements or judgment concerning objects, people or situation.

- It is person statements about their beliefs and feelings, what they say, what they do, and how they react.

- For eg :Situation : promotion to less deserve employee. Supervisor is unfair. Attitude : I dislike my supervisor, I am quitting my job. I am complaining to anyone who would listen.

ADVANTAGE OF DIVERSITY Diverse Experience

Co-workers with diverse cultural backgrounds brings unique

experiences and perceptions in group, strengthening teams'

productivity and responsiveness to changing conditions.

Learning And Growth

Being exposed to new ideas, cultures and perspectives can help

individuals to be intellectual and gain a clearer view of future

providing opportunity for employees' personal growth.

Improves

Corporate culture

Relationships with clients and customers

Builds competitive advantage

Understand and serve diverse customer base

More commitment to organization’s mission

DISADVANTAGE OF

DIVERSITY- Conflicts: people often feel confused or even annoyed

by individuals with views and backgrounds from different from their own.

- Bureaucracy: decision-making can be delayed due to diverging views and opinions, thus corporate decisions and actions take time.

- Un-productivity: Dis-similar cultural identities, values lacks things in common and could negatively affect the overall team spirit hindering productivity.

- Disunity: Different opinion from different background effects unity. The company might have people doing their own thing, especially if there is no protocol and authority to ensure common practices.

Communication Problems

Different languages

Different levels of fluency in the dominant

language

Excluding those who don’t speak the language

Consequences of Ignoring

Diversity

- Costs time, money, and efficiency.

- include unhealthy tensions; loss of productivity

because of increased conflict.

- inability to attract and retain talented people of all

kinds.

- inability to retain valuable employees, resulting in

lost investments in recruitment and training.

MANAGING DIVERSITY

“Planning and implementing organizational

systems and practices to manage people so

that the potential advantages of diversity are

maximized while its potential disadvantages

are minimized." - Taylor Cox

MANAGING

DIVERSITY Golden rule:

“Treat others as you want to be treated.”It is assumption that how you want to be treated is how others want to be treated.

Respect for individual and cultural differences.

a legal system that values equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in the workplace.

realize that flexibility is a competitive issue and management tool.flexible work arrangements (part time), parental leaves(maternity), dependent care services (day care), work family stress management(private counseling).

measure performance based on value added, not hours worked.

meet business objectives by helping employees meet personal needs.

focus on results, rather than rules and procedures;

CONCLUSION

Each employee in a diverse workplace possesses

unique strengths and weaknesses derived from

their culture in addition to their individuality.

When managed properly, diversity in the

workplace can influence the strengths and

complement the weaknesses of each worker to

make the impact of the workforce greater than the

sum of its parts.