Www.aaaa.com.au



[pic]

|RETENTION TOOLKIT |

|PART C: PEOPLE CONNECTION |

| |

|Managing Diversity in the Workplace |

|Considering cultural differences |

|Basic Steps for Effective diversity management |

| |

|FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT THE |

|AAAA HR HOTLINE: 1300 735 306 |

| |

[pic]

Managing Diversity in the Workplace

2.1 Considering cultural differences

The following are some common problems encountered when considering cultural differences:

|generalisations about different cultures |resulting in stereotyping |

|the notion of "other" cultures |"other" implies comparison with a cultural "norm" |

|common language does not necessarily |while a common language facilitates communication, cultural sensitivities may still be |

|produce cultural congruence |concealed, and |

|developmental stages in cross-cultural |The early stages of cross-cultural relationships are the most difficult. Failure to recognise|

|relationships. |this may lead to lost opportunities. Cultural differences fall away as relationships develop |

| |into friendships and individuals relate to each other as people rather than members of a |

| |particular culture. |

|2.2 BASIC STEPS FOR EFFECTIVE DIVERSIT Y MANAGEMENT | |

|Step 1: Know the current (and likely |Three areas will need to be included: official demographic status, including national, state| |

|future) workforce. |and local statistics; the organisation; and individual employees. | |

|Step 2: Assess the current internal |Identify restrictive policies, procedures and systemic assumptions. Study labour turnover to| |

|situation. |see who is leaving the organisation and why. | |

|Step 3: Analyse the marketplace. |New niches may be available. | |

|Step 4: Strategic planning. |Assess both short- and long-term goals and human resources requirements and review them as | |

| |appropriate. | |

|Step 5: Create a policy |Set realistic short- and long-term goals. Design appropriate programs to meet them. Obtain | |

| |senior management support for diversity issues | |

|Step 6: Implement the programs |Set deadlines, ensure managers are accountable. Deliver appropriate training programs. Offer| |

| |them on a regular basis. | |

|Step 7: Evaluate the strategy |Remedy problems and set target dates for reassessment of the composition of the workforce, | |

| |the workplace, environment, career development programs and the marketplace. | |

-----------------------

Summary:

• The term "diversity" recognises that individuals within the workforce differ from each other. As a result, they have a wide range of different needs, skills and experiences. The shifting demographic features of workplaces are forcing employers to pay greater attention to management of diversity at work. To have a strong people connection an organisation needs to ensure that it embraces diversity.

• Differences between employees are both observable (such as race, gender and age) and not immediately apparent (such as marital status, family/parental status, sexual orientation, political affiliation, religious affiliation, education level, socio-economic status and physical or intellectual impairments).

• Diversity training may be necessary to address particular workplace problems encountered by these designated groups, for example, discrimination or intolerance. Training may also be necessary to support organisation goals such as the search for potential market or business opportunities within diverse populations.

• Understanding diversity involves understanding the concept of culture — that is the way of life comprising the set of values, beliefs and behaviours which makes one particular way of life distinguishable from another. Variations occur within cultures, as groups of subcultures and on an individual basis. It is also important to recognise that cultures are dynamic and subject to change. All cultures resist change, as it is easier to choose to stay with the status quo.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download