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In this week's discussion the topic is discrimination. People are so different in so many ways that there are numerous identifiers to describe a person. Now this becomes a problem when it becomes hatred and no equality involved. So explained will be the questions specified in the curriculum.
Gender discrimination is when an employee is treated different by their gender (Collins, 2012, p.208) This is more common in women because in earlier times because it was common for women not to work and stay back at home. More recently women were allowed to work but paid less because of gender and not skill level. The law that governed this issue is the Equal pay act which prohibits pay discrimination based solely on gender (Collins, 2012, p.209)
Age Discrimination is treating an employee differently because of his or her age (Collins, 2012, p.212) Initially when I seen this, I assumed that age discrimination was geared towards the younger employees. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1697 prohibits dismissing, or not promoting, anyone age 40 or older because the individual is considered "too old" for the job (Collins, 2012 p.212).
Disability discrimination is prohibited by the Americans with Disability Act of 1990 (ADA) which states it is prohibited to discriminate against a qualified worker with a disability who can perform the job task with or without reasonable accommodation (Collins, 213, p.213).
The Employment Non-discrimination Act (ENDA) protects LGBT people from job discrimination due to sexual orientation (Collins, 2012, p.214).
Competitive Advantages of Diversity Management
1. To attract and retain diverse customers (Collins, 2012, p.217)
2. To attract and retain diverse employees (Collins, 2012, p.217)
3. To achieve cost reductions (Collins, 2012, p.218)
4. To enhance decision making, problem solving, and creativity (Collins, 2012, p.218)
5. To increase stakeholder goodwill (Collins, 2012, p.218)
You should understand the competitive advantages of diversity management because a diverse workplace makes the business more marketable, the five advantages are self- explanatory and all need to be included for a successful business.
An article titled "Diversity as a Strategic Advantage" by Alaina Love on businessweek.com has an amazing breakdown of why diversity is effective and the link is in the citation below.
Collins, D. (2012). Respecing Employee Diversity. Business Ethics: How to Design and Manage Ethical Organizations (). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Love, A. (2010, May 14). Diversity as a Strategic Advantage. Bloomberg Business Week. Retrieved May 8, 2014, from http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/may2010/ca20100513_748402.htm
There are several workplace discrimination issues amongst organizations. Some of them include; gender, race, religion, age, disability, and sexual orientation. The ADEA Age Discrimination act prohibits an organization from judging two qualified candidates and choosing the one that is younger. If the decision was solely based on age of the candidate they organization could be facing legal issues. There are several topics that can be discussed when talking about gender discrimination; pregnancy, reverse gender discrimination, and equal pay. The Equal Pay Act prohibits organizations from paying men more money than women for doing the exact same job. Pregnancy Discrimination Act prohibits an organization from hiring, firing, or relinquishing benefits from a female due to being pregnant. Reverse discrimination can come into play when the government puts certain restrictions on hiring minorities. If an organization wanted to hire someone fully qualified but cannot because they have to meet a certain quota, the organization could be set up for failure. Being able to hire an individual based on credentials and qualifications should be the only way an individual is hired. If resumes were not overly exaggerated it could be the only piece of document needed to compare to candidates for a job hire. The American Disability Act of 1990 covers individuals with disabilities cannot be decimated against because they have an ailment. An organization also needs to purchase certain equipment; ramp, desk, or chair, necessary for the qualified applicant to be able to work there. Is it reverse discrimination when a Veteran gets 10 points or is added to the top of a list for correction officers, fire fighter, and police officer waiting lists? Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 covers most of the above discrimination issues, but it does not cover Sexual Orientation. Sexual orientation can be covered under Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). The laws are set up to give equal and fair treatment to all qualified candidates. An individual should be able to prove themselves without the hiring manager stereotyping or pre-judging a candidate based on age, gender, sexual orientation, race, disability, or religion.
Five competitive advantages that would be good to know as a manager is to attract diverse customers attract diverse employees, to enhance problem solving, achieve cost reduction, and increase stakeholder goodwill. Attracting a well diverse staff opens the door for different backgrounds, which can give an organization fresh thoughts and ideas on to make the organization best for all. Along with all employees coming from different backgrounds they will all have different ways of problem solving and making decision, which could be beneficial for an organization to adapt. The competitive advantage of having well diverse staff is that it cuts down on legal costs, it will eliminate the need for being sued for discrimination, opens the door for different experience and ideas, and can teach employees to step out of their comfort zone and learn something from someone they might not have associated with in the past.
Herdman and Mcmillan-capehart (2010) conducted a study on diversity in an organization and they defined it as, “Diversity, defined as the degree of intra-organizational representation of people with different group affiliations of cultural significance, is purported to expand the plurality of perspectives and experiences within an organization and can serve as a strategic resource to the organization in securing a competitive advantage ( pg. 40). The conclusion of their study was that having diverse employees was more important than any other competitive advantage. Having motivated and diverse employees would set the stage for everything else to fall in place to create the competitive advantage.
Reference
Collins, D. (2012). Business Ethics: How to design and manage ethical organizations. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.
Herdman, A. O., & Mcmillan-capehart, A. (2010). Establishing a diversity program is not enough: Exploring the determinants of diversity climate. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25(1), 39-53. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10869-009-9133-1
