Workforce Diversity
Workforce Diversity and the impact SHRM has towards Competitive Advantage
Workforce Diversity covers a wide variety of differences, which include race, gender, age, culture, nationality, religion, sexuality, interests, needs and desires (Hartel & Fujimoto, 2000). In order to explain workforce diversity in depth, this essay will utilise Race/Ethnicity as the key diversity characteristic, discussing the various theories and practices used in Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) to develop and manage diversity. In order to achieve increased organisational performance, a strategic plan must be implemented to position people throughout the organisation; and to manage these diverse cultures and ethnic backgrounds, and nurture their creativity and innovation, diverse recruitment and training is undertaken. Through the use of the diverse labour pool available when recruiting, an organisation can benefit from the different skills and knowledge obtained by the diverse employees. Secondly, their creativity, innovation network range, uniqueness and rarity, serve as a means of giving the organisation unique resources and processes that competitors are unable to produce or replicate, resulting in the organisation benefiting from a human capital based competitive advantage.This essay discusses workforce diversity, competitive advantage, diversity orientation, diversity openness, and effects of diversity on team and individual performance, and diversity management.
Due to the effects globalisation has on the organisations today, organisations must diversify the methods in which they manage their human resources and establish a competitive advantage to compete in the current global market. By defining the presence of differences among members of social units (Jackson et al., 1995, as cited in D’Netto & Sohal, 1999), different types of diversity can be identified and the groups can be categorised in order to manage them effective and efficiently. According to Hȁrtel
Workforce Diversity covers a wide variety of differences, which include race, gender, age, culture, nationality, religion, sexuality, interests, needs and desires (Hartel & Fujimoto, 2000). In order to explain workforce diversity in depth, this essay will utilise Race/Ethnicity as the key diversity characteristic, discussing the various theories and practices used in Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) to develop and manage diversity. In order to achieve increased organisational performance, a strategic plan must be implemented to position people throughout the organisation; and to manage these diverse cultures and ethnic backgrounds, and nurture their creativity and innovation, diverse recruitment and training is undertaken. Through the use of the diverse labour pool available when recruiting, an organisation can benefit from the different skills and knowledge obtained by the diverse employees. Secondly, their creativity, innovation network range, uniqueness and rarity, serve as a means of giving the organisation unique resources and processes that competitors are unable to produce or replicate, resulting in the organisation benefiting from a human capital based competitive advantage.This essay discusses workforce diversity, competitive advantage, diversity orientation, diversity openness, and effects of diversity on team and individual performance, and diversity management.
Due to the effects globalisation has on the organisations today, organisations must diversify the methods in which they manage their human resources and establish a competitive advantage to compete in the current global market. By defining the presence of differences among members of social units (Jackson et al., 1995, as cited in D’Netto & Sohal, 1999), different types of diversity can be identified and the groups can be categorised in order to manage them effective and efficiently. According to Hȁrtel
References: Alder, N.J. (1991), International Dimensions of Organizational behaviour (2nd ed.), Boston, PWS-Kent Publishing Company. Allen, R.S., Dawson, G., Wheatley, K. & White, C.S. (2006), Perceived diversity and organizational performance: Employee Relations, 30(1), pp. 20-33. Bantel, K.A., & Jackson, S.E. (1989). Top management and innovations in banking: Strategic Management Journal, 10, pp.107-129. Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage: Journal of Management, 17, pp.99–129. Barry, B. & Bateman, T. S. (1996). A Social Trap Analysis of the Management of Diversity. Academy of Management Review , 21, pp.757-790. Byrne, D. (1971), The Attraction Paradigm, Academic Press, New York, NY/London. Carlozzi, C.L. (1999), Diversity is good for business: Journal of Accountancy, 188 (3), pp. 81-6. Cornelius, N. (1999), Human Resource Management: A Managerial Perspective, Cornwall, Thomson Business Press. Cox, T. (1991), The multicultural organization: Academy of Management Executive, 5(2), pp. 34-47. Cox, T. (1993), Cultural Diversity in Organizations: Theory, Research, and Practice, San Francisco, Berrett-Koehler. Cox, T. (1994), Cultural Diversity in organizations: Theory, research, and practice. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler . Cox, T.H. and Blake, S. (1991), Managing cultural diversity: implications for organizational competitiveness: Academy of Management Executive, 5(3), pp. 45-56. D’Netto, B. & Sohal, A. S. (1999), Human resource practises: an empirical assessment: International Journal of Manpower, 20(8), p.530. Denton, W. (1992), Workforce 2000, Credit World, 81(1), pp.14-18. Deresky, H. (1994), International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures, New York, Harper Collins College Publishers. Fernandez, J.P. (1993), The Diversity Advantage, New York, Lexington Books. Festinger, L. (1954), ‘‘A theory of social comparison processes’’, Human Relation, 7(2), pp. 117-40. Florida, R. (2004) The Rise of the Creative Class, rev. edn. New York: Basic Books. Florida, R. (2005) Cities and the Creative Class. London: Routledge. Griscombe, K. and Mattis, M.C. (2002), Levelling the playing field for women of color in corporate management: is the business case enough?: Journal of Business Ethics, 37, pp.103-109. Hambrick, D.C. (1994), Top management groups: a conceptual integration and reconsideration of the team label: Research in Organizational Behaviour, pp. 171-213, Greenwich, JAI Press. Hartel, C. E. J. & Fujimoto, Y. (2000), Diversity is not a problem to be managed by organisations but openness to perceived dissimilarity is: Journal of Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management, 6(1), pp. 14-27. Hartel, C.E.J. & Fujimoto, Y. (2010), Human Resource Management 2nd ed., Frenchs forest, NSW: Pearson Australia. Jackson, S. (1992). Consequences of group composition for the interpersonal dynamics of strategic issue processing: Advances in Strategic Management, 8 , pp.345-382. Jackson, S.E., May, K.E. & Whitney, K. (1995), Understanding the dynamics of diversity in decision-making teams: Team Effectiveness in Decision Making in Organizations, pp. 204-61, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. Jehn, K. (1995). A multi-method examination of the benefits and detriments of intragroup conflict. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, pp.256-282. Lee, S.Y., Florida, R. & Acs, Z. (2004) Creativity and entrepreneurship: A regional analysis of new firm formation. Regional Studies 38(8): pp.879–891. Lepak, D.P. & Snell, S.A. (2002),Examining the human resource architecture: The relationships among human capital, employment, and human resource configurations: Journal of Management, 28(4), pp.517–543. Loden, M. (1996), Implementing Diversity, Chicago, Irwin Professional Publishing. McAllister, M. (1997), Profiting from diversity, Equal Opportunities International, 16 (5), pp. 23-33. Milliken, F.J. & Martins, L.L. (1996), Searching for common threads: understanding the multiple effects of diversity in organizational groups: Academy of Management Review, 21, pp. 402-33. Morrison, A.M. (1992), The New Leaders: Guidelines on Leadership Diversity in America, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers. Nemeth, C. J. (1992), Minority dissent as a stimulant to group performance: Group processes and productivity, pp.95-111.Newbury Park, CA: Sage. O’Reilly, C., Caldwell, D. & Barnett, W. (1989), Work group demography, social interaction, and turnover: Administrative Science Quarterly, 34, pp. 21-37. Pelled, L. (1996). Demographic Diversity, conflict, and work outcomes: An interviewing process theory. Organization Science, 7, pp.615-631. Pfeffer, J. (1994). Competitive advantage through people: Unleashing the power of the work force. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Richard, O.C. and Johnson, N.B. (2001), Understanding the impact of human resource diversity practices on firm performance: Journal of Managerial Issues, 13(2), pp.177-95. Richard, O.C., Kochan, T.A. & McMillan-Capehart, A. (2002), The impact of visible diversity on organizational Effectiveness: Disclosing the contents in pandora’s box: Journal of Business and Management, 8(3), pp.265-283. Richard, O.C., McMillian, A., Chadwick, K. & Dwyer, S. (2003), Employing an innovation strategy in racially diverse workforces: effects on firm performance, Group & Organization Management, 28(1), pp.107-26. Robinson, G. & Dechant, K. (1997), Building a business case for diversity: Academy of Management Executive, 11(3), pp. 21-31. Rosen, B. & Lovelace, K. (1991), Piecing together the diversity puzzle, HRMagazine, 36(9): pp.78-84. Tajfel, H. (1982). Social Identity and Inter-Group Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tsui, A., Egan, T. & O’Reilly, C. (1992), Being different: relational demography and organizational attachment: Administrative Science Quarterly, 37, pp. 549-79. Ulrich, D. & Lake, D. (1991). Organizational capability. Creating competitive advantage, Academy of Management Executive?: 7 : pp77–92. Watson, W., Kumar, K. & Michaelson, L. (1993), Cultural diversity’s impact on process and performance: Comparing homogeneous and diverse task group: Academy of Management Journal, 36, pp. 590-602. Zenger, T.R. & Lawrence, B.S. (1989), Organizational demography: the differential effects of age and tenure distributions on technical communication: Academy of Management Journal, 32, pp. 353-76.