KR Corporation
13 Bell Drive
Beavercreek, Ohio 45432
(937)902-3516
April 12, 2018
TO: English 1131 Class
FROM: Zhuonan Pan
SUBJECT: The Role of Human Resource Professionals in Managing Workplace Diversity
Introduction
The importance of workplace diversity is a well-researched topic, and many academics have reached a consensus so far. Locker and Kaczmarek state that most organizations acknowledge that workplace diversity improves organizational performance because shared talents by employees from various identity groups lead to innovation hence giving a company a competitive advantage. In essence, when employees from diverse backgrounds come together, organizations tend to maximize their potential benefits and minimize their potential disadvantages, which requires proper diversity management by the organization's human resource (HR) professionals (Saxena). Most companies do not fully maximize the potential advantages of their employees because of some HR misunderstandings (Saxena).
The aim of this research report is to unearth the origins of these misunderstandings and how they can be fixed at the organizational level.
Problem
The International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), a US-based computer manufacturing company has utilized workplace diversity to improve its performance since the 1990s, and it is one of the most recognized organizations that have been used by most HRM authors as a role model for other companies. Most companies have tried to model it, but they often make mistakes leading to undesirable outcomes among them conflict between employees due to self-stereotyping hence resulting in loss of personnel and productivity. In other words, personnel can be lost from a company because employees may start discriminating and pigeonholing themselves based on their racial backgrounds, and due to some legal acts in place, some of them, including the most productive, may end up being fired. This is a significant loss for any company hence raising the need for proper diversity management in the workplace by HR professionals.
Even though there is limited evidence on how these mistakes can be eliminated, many authors have published the lessons that can be learned from IBM to rectify this problem. Besides, some authors have made an effort to come up with strategies that can be used for proper workplace diversity management. The companies that are not successful in managing their workforce heterogeneity should reconsider their plans and policies as detailed in the next section of this report.
Solution
Workforce diversity management is not a mandate for HR professionals only as most companies assume, but a shared responsibility. Every executive in the company has a role in managing diversity. It is only that HR professionals have a greater deal in diversity management than any other professional in the business. However, the solution to curbing racial discrimination and stereotyping among employees is to offer them diversity training (Childs Jr.). Diversity training should exclusively be planned and strategized by HR practitioners of the company. Childs Jr. stated that HR professionals often fail to come up with effective strategies for workforce diversity training because they are not held responsible and accountable when malice happens. Thus, high-ranking executives should also come up with policies for holding responsible and accountable HR professionals who fail in their duty of managing workforce diversity (Childs Jr.).
When the employees also receive workforce diversity training, they should also be punished when they discriminate and stereotype one another based on racial grounds. This solution has worked excellently at IBM (Childs Jr.). Overall, the HR professionals of the organization have a greater part in managing diversity starting from recruitment and selection. They should hire and nominate a diverse workforce because this is the starting point. As such, they need to come up with effective strategies starting from employment and selection to retention.
Conclusion
Racial discrimination and stereotyping not only among employees but also during recruitment and selection and worker retention is a major challenge facing diversity management in the workplace. One reason this is an issue is the fact that most organizations have a misunderstanding of how they should go along with the problem. Most companies suppose that diversity management is a mandate for HR professionals only, which is wrong. This is a shared responsibility. However, the core solution to this problem is to train employees on workforce diversity, which should be planned and strategized by HR practitioners. The high-ranking executives in the company should ensure that the HR professionals carry out their mandate appropriately and those found cultivating malice should be held accountable and responsible. Also, when employees have received the training, they should be punished once found discriminating and stereotyping one another. Performance appraisals done without any form of bias are also important in motivating employees hence increasing the overall productivity of the organization.
Work Cited
Childs Jr., J. T. Ted. "Managing Workforce Diversity At IBM: A Global HR Topic That Has Arrived." Human Resource Management 44.1 (2005): 73-77. Web. 12 July 2017.
Locker, Kitty O, and Stephen Kyo Kaczmarek. Business Communication: Building Critical Skills. 6th ed. New York: McGraw Hill Irwin, 2013. Print.
Saxena, Ankita. "Workforce Diversity: A Key To Improve Productivity." Procedia Economics and Finance 11 (2014): 76-85. Web. 12 July 2017.