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MANAGING A DIVERSE WORKFORCE
Managing a Diverse Workforce
Tiffany Burgi
School of Business, Liberty University
Author Note
By submitting this assignment, I attest this submission represents my own work, and not that of
another student, scholar, or internet source. I understand I am responsible for knowing and
correctly utilizing referencing and bibliographical guidelines.
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MANAGING A DIVERSE WORKFORCE
Abstract
Managing diversity is not a simple thing to do. It is a complex thing to understand. Some
management may not see all the diversity in their workplace. It is not limited to just race. There
is religious, cultural, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, and race. As a manager, we are
not going to know all the things that go with the different kinds of diversity. Training for
management is a good idea but still will not teach everything they need to know. Staff training,
in some cases, can be beneficial. When workplace diversity is managed well, there are benefits to
be had as well. The employee's morale and pride in their work are present. There is also
productivity and potentially increased profits. A company can not ignore diversity any longer.
Employers also need to equip their managers to be successful in managing diversity in the
workplace. Ensuring their management is making it a priority is a benefit to the company.
Keywords: diversity, morale, training, management
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Contents
Introduction.………………………………………………………………….………..…………..?
Diverse Workforce………………………….......………………………...…….…………………?
Identifying Diversity ……………….……..……………………...…….…………………?
Training……….…………………….……..……………………...…….…………………?
Benefits……..…...………………….……..……………………...…….…………………?
Bible and Diversity ….………….….……..……………………...…….…………………?
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..….………………….?
References……………………….……………………………..……………….…………………?
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Managing a Diverse Workforce
Introduction
It is essential to foster and manage workplace diversity. (Flory et al., 2021) There are
things that need to take into account to ensure it is done correctly. Training is something that is
useful for management and sometimes staff. There are benefits to embracing workplace
diversity. It is not a perfect or easy task to take on, but it needs to be done.
Diverse Workforce
Identifying Diversity
One of the first steps of managing a diverse workforce is identifying what diversity is. Diversity
is not just limited to race. One that is often disregarded is religious diversity. Some steps will
need to manage religious accommodations because of beliefs (Grim, 2020). Another kind of
diversity is cultural diversity. You may think this is the same thing as race. It has some ties to
that, but there are other facets to it as well. Like the Deaf community has its own culture.
Depending on where you grew up or currently live, there is a culture. In Minnesota, growing up,
you know what a tater tot hotdish is, and if you grew up in New Orleans, you know what
crawfish etouffee is. One other diversity perspective is gender diversity. "Many employees
embrace gender diversity at work and appreciate the benefits of incorporating both male and
female perspectives into workplace programs and projects" (Fink, 2018, p.2). A few other kinds
of diversity in the workplace are age, sexual orientation, disability, and race. There are countless
life experiences, expertise, and thoughts for everyone to learn from. It is a critical role to
managing diversity. Know the different kinds of diversity is also a critical role.
Training
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If management and the workplace put diversity management, there are benefits to be had.
If this is a priority, then a desire to become culturally competent will be there (Young & Guo,
2020). One of those translates into good organizational culture. Managing workplace diversity is
not always something management is just going to know how to do. Management may need to
take training to learn what steps to take and how to do it effectively (Kapur & Janakiram, 2015).
The reason there may need to be training for management is there are many things that factor
into managing diversity. There are things like religious things like prayers time accommodations
that need to be taken into account, for a Deaf employee, like a flash warning or how a Deaf
person may try to get someone's attention. Sometimes they may pound on a table. If management
is not aware of this kind of cultural thing, they may see a Deaf person pounding on a table as an
angry thing when it is not. Even if management has taken training in managing diversity, they
still will not know everything. The best thing to do is ask the person if there are things to help
them in the workplace. It is never a good idea to make decisions for the individual without their
input. One way to look at diversity training is that in the end, there are no negatives in taking part
in it. This can be done on a managerial level. It is appropriate even providing training to the staff
can be beneficial. This can be utilized with there is an employee with a disability starting at the
company. Staff may not know how to interact or work with them. Suppose this is something a
workplace is considering for its staff again, the employee that the training is about needed to be
in the loop on it. It cold brings embarrassment to them, and then a different course would need to
be taken. When they have an understanding of how to manage it can produce a positive outcome
with workplace morale.
Benefits
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The benefits of managing a diverse workplace are many. As already mentioned before, morale is
a benefit of managing a diverse workplace. There have been studies that show that when there is
a supportive environment of diversity, there are positive outcomes (Rawat & Basergekar, 2016).
When employees feel like they are being heard and seen, they will feel more comfortable in the
workplace. When it is not something that is addressed, there will be employee turnover. This
does not just happen at the entry-level positions, but it also affects the chief executive officer
level (Kim et al., 2021). When the staff feels heard, they will be more inclined to be more
creative and innovative in their positions. They will want to give back more to their job other
than the bare minimum. One challenge to keep the morale up in the workplace is if all are not on
board with embracing diversity. When this happens, management will need to step in and
address the issue before it becomes toxic. It can also help the company and bring in customers or
clients of diverse backgrounds (Mazibuko & Govender 2017). When you have a diverse
workplace, there is a pool of life experiences and perspectives to use.
Bible and Diversity
The Bible throughout out supports diversity. "There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or
free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28, New Living
Translation). If God wants us to see that there is not a division by diversity at that, we are all the
same. We need to do so in the workplace. This does not mean we don't see our differences. It
means that we need to embrace all despite those differences. When you look at the book of
Revelations, we see that God wants all represented even in the end times. "After this I saw a vast
crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front
of the throne and before the Lamb" (Revelation 7:9, New Living Translation). God wanted all
represented at his throne. There should be a representation of all in the workplace as well. How
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can we not embrace diversity in the workplace and, as managers, figure out the best way to do
so?
Conclusion
Managing the diversity in the workforce is something management needs to take head-
on. The research has shown the benefits if it is done well. There are many kinds of diversity that
need to be addressed nowadays. There may need to be training for managers to learn how to
manage it to benefit the company. Ultimately if management is equipped well and employees
and upper management are receptive, diversity in the workplace is beneficial to the workplace in
many ways.
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References
Fink, J. (2018). Gender Sidelining and the Problem of Unactionable Discrimination.GStanford
Law & Policy Review,G29(1), 57–106.G
Flory, bio), J. A., Leibbrandt, bio), A., Rott, bio), C., & Stoddard, bio), O. (2021). Increasing
Workplace Diversity: Evidence from a Recruiting Experiment at a Fortune 500
Company.GJournal of Human Resources,G56(1), 73–N.PAG.
https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.56.1.0518-9489R1
Grim, B. J. (2020). Bringing God to Work: The Benefits of Embracing Religious Diversity in the
Workplace.GEvangelical Review of Theology,G44(3), 228–233.G
Holy bible new living translation. (2021). DaySpring; Candace Cameron Bure
Kapur, N., & Janakiram, B. (2015). Comparative analysis of corporate cross cultural
management in IT vs non IT organizations.GCross-Cultural Management Journal,G17(2),
99–114. https://doi.org/http://cmj.bxb.ro
Kim, Y., Jeong, S. S., Yiu, D. W., & Moon, J. (2021). Frequent CEO turnover and firm
performance: The resilience effect of workforce diversity.GJournal of Business
Ethics,G173(1), 185–203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04534-0
Mazibuko, J. V., & Govender, K. K. (2017). Exploring workplace diversity and organisational
effectiveness: A South African exploratory case study.GSouth African Journal of Human
Resource Management,G15(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v15i0.865
Rawat, P. S., & Basergekar, P. (2016). Managing workplace diversity: Performance of minority
employees.GIndian Journal of Industrial Relations,G51(3), 488–501.
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Young, S., & Guo, K. L. (2020). Cultural diversity training.GThe Health Care Manager,G39(2),
100–108. https://doi.org/10.1097/hcm.0000000000000294
Flory, bio), J. A., Leibbrandt, bio), A., Rott, bio), C., & Stoddard, bio), O. (2021). Increasing
Workplace Diversity: Evidence from a Recruiting Experiment at a Fortune 500
Company.GJournal of Human Resources,G56(1), 73–N.PAG.
https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.56.1.0518-9489R1
