Assignment 3 sum20

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Assignment 2 – SWOT Analysis of Managing Diversity

Introduction

Diversity at the workplace refers to the range of differences amongst people. This includes race, gender, age, cognitive style, education and other differences amongst the employees. The connection between diversity at the workplace and the success of the organization has been researched and confirmed by many scholars. This is because a successful team at the workplace comprises of different people with unique abilities coming from different cultures that are able to bring different ideas to the table increasing the problem solving and decision making in the organization. It is therefore crucial for the employees and the management to understand accepts and respect diversity at the workplace. The management should create awareness where the people are able to accept and respect the differences amongst themselves.

Diversity management is defined as the process that is expected to build and manage a positive work environment that values the similarities and differences amongst the staff in order to optimize their contribution towards the goals and objectives of the organization (Patrick & Kumar, 2012). Diversity management is a practice being employed with organizations in order to rear on the benefits of diversity. Chin and Trimble (2015), explain that managing diversity starts with the development of an organizational strategy that is inclusive of diversity. Diversity should also be included as part of the cultural value of the organization in order for it to maximize on the benefits of diversity. The 3C’s of managing diversity Composition-Core-Climate should therefore be part of the strategic plan for change of the organization. This ensures the leadership and employees are able to understand the benefits of diversity to the business as it can be used to increase the market share through increasing the number of customers, promoting a climate that encourages input from everybody and having an all-inclusive workforce that makes diverse employees feel valued.

Table of contents

Introduction 2

Analysis of the 3C’s of Managing Diversity 5

Background on Organization 7

Workforce composition 7

Policies and procedures …………………………………………………………………………………….8

Assessing Climate ………………………………………………………………………………...9

Marketing Strategies …………………………………………………………………………….10

Organizational Goals ……………………………………………………………………………11

SWOT analysis ………………………………………………………………………………….11

Recommendations ……………………………………………………………………………….13

References ……………………………………………………………………………………….15

Analysis of The 3C’s of Diversity

Diversity is about balancing the dimensions of diversity. It is about acceptance and respect as the organization is able to understand the unique while recognizing the different dimensions of diversity. Managing diversity is about maximizing the contributions of the dimensions of diversity at the workplace. Diversity management is an ongoing process within the organization ensures an environment is created which is able to value all the similarities and differences amongst the employees. This is done in order to ensure maximized inclusion of all the employees from diverse backgrounds into all the organizational programs. This can be done through hiring a diverse workforce, creation of policies and procedures that support diversity, encouraging interaction at the workplace and through training.

The first step of managing diversity at the workplace begins with including diversity as part of its strategy for change. According to Chin and Trimble (2015), diversity is good for business therefore implementing a strategy that includes diversity is good for the growth of the organization. This will ensure that the leadership of the organization is able to accept diversity as part of the change needed in the organization. The business plan should therefore include diversity and how the business will be able to manage diversity. Chin and Trimble (2015), offer seven ways to manage diversity and they include; commitment from the management, assessment of the state of diversity, creation of a diversity council, changing the operational practices and systems, training, measurement and evaluation and integration.

The three C’s of managing diversity are Composition, Climate and Core. This literally means that the composition of the workforce should include a diverse workforce. This means that recruitment of talent should embrace diversity. This is can only be achieved by having a diverse interview panel which will be able to overcome any bias during interviews. The HR is tasked with ensuring that the organization gets the right talent as part of its strategy for growth. Talent is usually attracted to organizations which have similar values to their own (Barak, 2011). An organization that embraces diversity will also show in its hiring and retaining procedures and is therefore likely to attract more talent. The HR should therefore ensure the policies within the organization create room that embraces diversity and this is shown in its hiring procedures. The composition of the workforce should include people from different backgrounds. Diversity also affects the clientele as the business also requires diverse client base in order to minimize its revenue streams. A diverse client base ensures that the business has customers from different regions with different backgrounds instead of depending on one area.

The climate within the organization should be inclusive of everyone (Chin and Trimble, 2015). This requires all the policies and procedures within the organization do not discriminate on any employee. The environment within the organization should be positive and inclusive which ensures that all the employees and their contributions are valued. The organization should therefore encourage feedback on its policies and procedures in order to make any necessary changes from any perceived barriers to diversity. A cultural audit should be conducted within the organization which will be used in the identification of any obstacles that employees from different backgrounds may be facing and the company may implement any procedures to change the practices. Employees should also be made to understand the rules including the unwritten rules as they understand all employees should be accepted and respected. This climate is good for breeding diversity within the workplace as it increases sensitivity to the differences among the employees.

As part of the 3C’s of managing diversity, the core products and services of the business should be delivered in a cultural competent way (Chin and Trimble, 2015). Cultural competency involves being able to interact effectively with people from diverse backgrounds. It is more than respecting other people’s culture and having the knowledge about their practices. This is essential for the business whose products and services have to respect the different diverse cultures. The organization should be able to understand and respect the customers’ culture as it has a major impact on how the customer interacts with the products and services. Understanding the customers’ culture makes it easier to market culturally sensitive products. The customers are likely to respond positively to products and services that respect their culture. The organization should be able to adopt a multi-cultural paradigm.

Background on Organization

The organization is an Internet Service Provider (ISP) operating in three continents where it provides services like internet access, web hosting, cloud services, wireless services, cable services, DSL, colocation and domain registration. The organization has a workforce of over 300 employees who work from the 16 countries the company operates from. The company usually looks for local small ISP’s and buys them before entering the foreign market. This mode of entering the foreign market works for the company as it is able to find the necessary infrastructure before launching its services. The company employs the locals from the different countries it operates from which makes it easy for the transition.

Workforce Composition

The company enters every foreign market through acquisition and mergers. This enables the company to retain the old staffs who are mostly the citizens and locals of the foreign nation. The composition of the workforce of the organization includes people from different nations where the organization has its offices. This is because the company is able to maintain the old staff whenever it mergers or acquires a company. Apart from maintaining the old staff who is usually locals, the company employs mostly from the country where it is making an investment. This ensures that 90% of the staff is from the country or from within the community the organization is operating from. The executives are usually from the head office that is usually sent to the foreign offices to implement the organization’s policies and culture.

Policies and Procedures

The hiring procedures for the company involve performing background and reference checks on the proposed talent. This is able to ensure that the organization does not hire criminals or to confirm any omissions by the candidate. The policy allows for hiring locals apart from executive positions where the organization hires from the head office. Executives are usually from the country where the head office is located with very few locals being hired as executives. The organization allows for growth as it mostly hires internally and also provides training and education which facilitate the growth of the employee. Training and education involves travelling to the head office in order to gain experience on some of the company procedures, systems and tools that will facilitate growth.

The policy of hiring executives from the home country of the organization is a major barrier to promotion within the organization. This has made it difficult for the organization to acquire the best talent in these foreign nations as most candidates see no room for growth if opportunities to become executives are not available. This has also made it difficult for the executives who are posted in the different nations as they experience hostility from the locals. The organization has a policy that requires experience of up to five years for certain positions within the organization. This locks out candidates who have just completed school especially graduates. This is reflected in the average age of the staff which is 40 years as the organization misses on young and fresh talent with new ideas and skills. The organization has a strict policy of any form of criminal record as background checks are performed on all candidates and most candidates are dismissed even if they had minor offenses on their record. The organization offers training and development opportunities. However, these opportunities are available for senior staff with the junior staff being sidelined. The junior staff mostly feels discriminated as they are never considered for these opportunities reducing their chances of growth in the organization. Promotions are based on experience within the organization and are usually at the discretion of the HR manager. Biased promotions have been reported due to favoring by the HR.

Assessing Climate

The workforce is inclusive with the organization hiring people from all backgrounds. The policies and procedures within the organization do not discriminate when it comes to hiring. The only form of discrimination on the policies and procedures is on age and education background. The organization has a policy that only university graduates can be hired which ends up locking other candidates from lucrative jobs. These are inflated job requirements for some positions that do not necessarily require the candidate to have a degree. When assessing the experience requirement which is part of the policies and procedures, there are certain jobs that can be considered starter jobs and they do not necessarily require experience. This locks out young people from these jobs due to the policy and procedures on experience.

Marketing Strategies

The organization sells products and services that are tailored to meet the demands of the specific markets. As an international organization with offices in various countries the different customers have different demands and needs. The marketing strategy for the organization is to ensure that there is differentiation of products and services. This takes into account the different cultures and practices of the customers. This marketing strategy ensures that the organization recognizes and respects the different cultures of the customers and therefore products and services are tailored to meet the specific needs of the customers.

The organization also uses the marketing mix strategy to gain competitive advantage over its competition. A marketing strategy allows a company to remain competitive while becoming stronger than the competition (Bahador, 2019). Therefore, the marketing mix strategy allows the company to stay ahead of the competition. The products and services are tailored to meet the needs of the customers. This involves communication with the customer on what they specifically require or what problems they are facing and solutions which are the products and services are created to solve the problems the customer is experiencing. The price is competitive enough with the customer being offered discounts and flexible terms. Communication with customers is easy as the language used is the local language thus encouraging more customers. The organization ensures that the all their offices globally are able to offer the products and services that they are selling making distribution of the product to the customer easy. All the offices are able to promote their products and services to attract more customers. Feedback is usually encouraged with customers as the organization uses the feedback to improve its products and services. This marketing mix strategy ensures that the organization remains competitive in all the nations that the company has a base.

Organization Goals

The organization has set both performance and process goals that guide the organization towards success. Part of the process goals is embracing diversity. This starts with the executives who are trained on the benefits of diversity and how to promote diversity within the organization. As a global organization, executives usually come from the home country or the headquarters of the organization. They have to adapt to the different cultures of the foreign nations they are sent to. The executives are trained to create awareness on diversity making them embrace employees from all backgrounds

SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is carried to out to analyze the potential success of managing diversity within the organization. The SWOT analysis is carried out to develop a plan for change regarding the management of diversity within the organization. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

Strengths

One of the biggest strengths in the organization is that 90% of the employees are locals of where the office is based. This promotes cultural diversity which can inspire creativity and innovation within the organization. Employing people from different backgrounds allows teams within the organization to comprise of people if divergent ideas that will benefit the organization in decision making. The cultural sensitivity also ensures that the organization can target its specific markets improving the revenue streams. The composition of the workforce and client is diverse as it consists of people from different backgrounds. A diverse client base is beneficial to the organization as the organization has a presence in more geographical locations. This expands the distribution of revenue within the organization as the organization cannot depend on few clients.

Weaknesses

The policies and procedures in the organization act as a barrier to hiring and promotion of talent. The policy on education which requires the candidates to have a degree even in startup positions that necessarily do not require degrees locks up potential candidates who can thrive in the organization. This can be considered as discrimination on matters of education as the organization does not give equal opportunities to all the potential candidates. The policy on hiring and promotion that requires a level of experience also denies younger candidates the opportunity to work in the organization. This denies the organization fresh skills and knowledge that the candidates can bring to the organization. The executives being hired from a specific country which is the home country of the organization has made the organization loose on acquiring local talent. The local talent wants to see room for growth where opportunities are offered to everyone and when executives are only hired from one nation then there is no room for growth within the organization.

Opportunities

There are opportunities for market expansion as the organization has a diverse clientele. The climate within the organization allows for inclusion of people from different backgrounds. This includes both the employees and the customers. Diversity is about inclusion, respect and understanding and the organization promotes diversity as it is able to employ people from different backgrounds and it is also able to interact with diverse cultures. The marketing strategy offers opportunities for the organization in different geographical regions as marketing mix allows the organization to develop products and services that meet the different demands and needs of the customers. The strategy provides for a good use of allocating resources in the organization and improves on the communication process between customers and customers. The business process and performance goals promote inclusion as the organization offers training to executives in embracing diversity. This allows the executives to handle talent from diverse backgrounds efficiently.

Threats

The major threat to the organizations involves the acquisition of talent who would rather work for the competitor due to lack of growth and opportunities. The competition offers better employment opportunities making it easy for them to acquire talent or poach staff working for the organization. These opportunities include room for growth and development which the organization does not offer due to its policy on employing executives from the home country. Biasness by the HR where training and education opportunities are offered to very few people poses a threat to retaining talent.

Recommendations

There are policies and procedures within the organization that should be changed for it to be all inclusive. Job requirements on experience and education level should be loosened in order to attract more talents. The jobs that do not necessarily require experience or degree should be made available to everyone who meets the other requirements. This will ensure there is a youthful and vibrant workforce and also represents the future of the organization. The policy of hiring executives should be amended with candidates from local communities where the offices are placed given a chance. Local executives usually receive a lot of support from the staff which is good for business. This will also guarantee customers that they are in business with a local organization increasing the number of customers for the company. Cultural audit should be conducted to establish any barriers or problems employees from different backgrounds are facing. The necessary measures can then be implemented in the organization that will remove the barriers and problems. Finally Chin and Trimble (2015), suggest that diversity is good for the business as it can lead to increased number of customers and the organization can capture talent from different backgrounds increasing its human capital. It is therefore recommended that the organization includes diversity as a cultural value. This will ensure that the management and employees embrace diversity with its benefits to the organization.

References

Barak Mor Michalle. (2011). Managing Diversity Towards a Globally Inclusive Workforce. Chapter 10. Diversity Management Paradigms Rationale and Key Elements. Sage Publications

Bahador, Muhammad Hasbullah. (2019). THE EFFECT OF MARKETING MIX ON ORGANIZATIONS PERFORMANCE.

Cletus, Helen & Mahmood, Nor & Umar, Abubakar & Ibrahim, Ahmed. (2018). Prospects and Challenges of Workplace Diversity in Modern Day Organizations: A Critical Review. Holistica. 9. 35-52. 10.2478/hjbpa-2018-0011.

Chin, J. L. & Trimble, J. E. (2015). Diversity and leadership. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.

Griffith, J.N., Rade, C.B. and Anazodo, K.S. (2019), "Criminal history and employment: an interdisciplinary literature synthesis",  Equality, Diversity and Inclusion , Vol. 38 No. 5, pp. 505-528. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-10-2018-0185

Jackson, Susan. (2003). Recent Research on Team and Organizational Diversity: SWOT Analysis and Implications. Journal of Management. 29. 801-830. 10.1016/S0149-2063(03)00080-1.

Patrick, H. A., & Kumar, V. R. (2012). Managing Workplace Diversity: Issues and Challenges. SAGE Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244012444615

Samuel, Ajiri & Odor, Hillary. (2018). Managing Diversity at Work: Key to Organisational Survival. European Journal of International Management. 10.