Managing Diversity at Workplace: The Hewlett-Packard Case Study

ASA University Review, Vol. 3 No. 2, July–December, 2009

Managing Diversity at Workplace: A Case Study of hp
Yousuf Kamal*
Most. Moriom Ferdousi**
Abstract
Diversity and diversity management in multicultural workforce is increasingly becoming an important issue for the business in the era of globalization. It affects the productivity and efficiency of the workforce in general. The purpose of the study is to encompass the dimensions of diversity management in a practical company. Particularly, the study shed light on the diversity management issue of a multinational organization. We have analysed the diversity management journey of Hp from the beginning till now giving particular focus on diversity dimensions and strategies. The paper also highlights the theoretical aspect of ‘paradigms of diversity management’ and its application to Hp. We have analysed Hp’s diversity inclusion model and its own way of managing diversity in multicultural workforce. The findings of the study will be beneficial for the Bangladeshi organisation as it provides some guidelines and recommendations of diversity management. We find strong multicultural workforce diversity in the Hp operation and a variety of workforce diversity within the company.

Key Words: Diversity management, Cultural synergy, Paradigms of Diversity Management,
Multicultural Work force, Inclusion Model.

Introduction
In recent years, diversity has come to play a central role in organizational life, due to increased globalization, greater workforce diversity, and the increasing complexity of jobs (Williams and
O’ Reilly, 1998). The term diversity has many interpretations. Different scholars have defined it in different way. Cox (2001) defined diversity as the variation of social and cultural identities among people existing together in a defined employment or marketing setting. While, William and O’Reilly (1998) defined diversity as the degree of heterogeneity among team members on

References: Adler, N. J. (1980). Cultural Synergy: The Management of Cross Cultural Organizations, in W.W. Burke and L.D Alder, N. J. (2002). International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour, Fourth Edition, McGill University, South –Western, Thomson Learning, pp.105-131. Barak, M. E. (2005). Managing Diversity Towards a Globally Inclusive Workplace, Sage Publications, London Berry, J. W. (1980). Acculturation as Varieties of Adaptation. In A.M. Padilla (ed.), Acculturation: Theory, Models, and Some New Findings, Boulder: Westview, pp Cox, T. H. Jr., and Blake, S. (1991). Managing cultural diversity: Implications for organizational competitiveness Cox, Jr. T. (2001). Creating the Multicultural Organization: A strategy for Capturing the Power of Diversity, Jossey-Bass, San Fransisco, pp Connolly, M., & Burnett, S. (2003). Hewlett-Packard Takes the Waste Out of Leadership, Journal of Organizational Excellence / Autumn 2003, Wiley Periodicals, Inc Interscience, Retrieved form Www.Interscience.Wiley.Com from 25th October, 2008. Dong, J. (2002). The rise and fall of the HP Way, Palo Alto Weekly, Online edition, April 10, 2002. Ely, R. J., and Roberts, L. M. (2008). Shifting frames in team – diversity research: From difference to relationships. In A Ely, R. J., and Thomas, D. A. (2001). Cultural Diversity at work: The effects of diversity perspectives on work group processes and outcomes, Administrative Science Quarterly, 46, pp.229-273. Fiske, S. T. and Lee, T. L. (2008). Stereotypes and prejudice create workplace discrimination. In A. P. Fredrickson, G. M. (1999). Models of American ethnic relations: A historical perspective. In D.A. Prentice and D Fisher, K. (2008). Five Blue Chips, Forbes, 9/1/2008, 182( 3), p110-110, Retrieved from Academic Search Premier, September 5, 2008 Groeger, M. (2008). The HP Way - an example of corporate culture for a whole industry Retrieved from, http://www.silicon-valley-story.de/sv/hp_way.html on 20th of October,2008. Hp (2008). Web site www.hp.com, http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/timeline/hist_00s.html Hayles and Robert (1982) Johnson, W. B., and Packer, A. E. (1987). Workforce 2000: Work and Workers for the 21st Century. Kulik, C. T., and Roberson, L. (2008). Diversity initiative effectiveness: what organizations can (and can not) expect from diversity recruitment, diversity training, and formal mentoring program Konrad, A. M. (2003). Defining the domain of workplace diversity scholarship. Group and Organizational Management, 28, pp.4-17. Laroche, L. (2003). Managing Cultural Diversity in Technical Professions, Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier Science, USA, pp.18. Menke, M., Xu, Q., & Gu, L. (2006). An analysis of the universality, flexibility, and agility of total innovation management: a case study of Hewlett–Packard, Journal of Technology Transfer, 32, pp 39-62. Plaut, V.C. (2002). Cultural models of diversity in America: The psychology of difference and inclusion. In R.A Ruffino, N. C. (2005). Making Diversity Work, Net Effect Series, Pearson, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, pp.23. Rijamampianina, R. and Carmichael, T. (2005). General Issues in Management; A Pragmatic and Holistic Approach to Managing Diversity, Problems and Perspectives in Management, Chapter 3, Pp.109117 October, 2008. Seltzer, D., (1997). Federal Income Tax Compliance Costs: A Case Study of Hewlett-Packard Company, National Tax Journal, Vol Thomas, D. A., and Ely, R. J. (1996). Making differences matter: A new paradigm for managing diversity. Thomas, D. A., and Ely, R. J. (1998). Making differences matter: A new paradigm for managing diversity, In Francesco, A.M Williams, K., and O’ Reilly, C. A. (1998). Demography and diversity in organizations, A review of 40 years of research Ziller, R. C. (1972). Homogenity and Heterogenity of Group Membership, In C.G. McClintock, (ed.), Experimental Social Psychology, New York, pp