Chapter 7 Case Study Essay

Alliant Energy Puts Spark into Diversity 1. Why is Alliant so committed to diversity of its human resources? How will this benefit the company? a) Alliant Energy is an organization which provides over 1 million consumers with both electrical power and natural gas in the states of Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois.
Alliant is a medium­sized company which has put a good amount of effort into the diversity of their workforce due to the fact that they are committed to creating a culture in their workplace which encourages all different talents, perspectives and ideals. In the grand scheme of things, having a diverse talent pool not only gives the organization a better understanding of the marketplace and perhaps even their target audience but it can also maximize their capability to succeed because of all of the different skills their employees have. b) Having diversity in the workforce at Alliant Energy is of great benefit to the company because as an organization integrates different types of employees from varied backgrounds, it strengthens the business as a whole. In a diverse workplace, there is a lot more creativity and different types of skills, intellect and talent to improve upon products, services, processes and more. Different ideas being generated by such a diverse group encourages managers and employees alike to work together to think bigger and do better. Alliant Energy also has the ability to grow internationally due to the amount of resources and information each diverse group can offer about different cultures. 2. Do you believe the company is forcing the issue of diversity? Is it necessary to make diversity training mandatory for all employees? Explain your answer. a. It is not my belief that Alliant Energy is forcing the issue of diversity. While they are putting a lot of concerted effort into making a diverse workplace, that is certainly not a bad thing. b. It should be the goal of every company that has a diverse workforce to make diversity training mandatory. Not all types of employees or people have been around such a varied number of different cultures and as sad as it is in today's society, bias and racism and prejudice do still exist. Often not even on purpose, someone may lack the correct information and end up insulting another employee. Diversity training is a great benefit to the company and its employees to prevent any misunderstandings and to encourage teamwork.