Scenario Statement
Vibe Trend (VT) is a music production company that faced the issue of inadequate diversity and inclusion efforts. VT has a monolithic workforce structure — the company seemingly has only white males in its staff. Meanwhile, the issue of diversity has shifted from the ethical to business sphere, as VT had already lost a significant market share to competitors with a more diverse workforce. Given these circumstances, the task of the human resources director lies in increasing workforce diversity without losing in quality of content and causing an internal backlash against diversity and inclusion efforts.
How does Diversity & Competitiveness Relate?
Workforce diversity can directly affect the organization’s competitiveness, especially in the case of a global company such as VT. Bateman et al. (2020) provided three ways in which diversity improves competitiveness. Firstly, the companies with well-shaped diversity and inclusion policies attract motivated employees and succeed in talent retention. Secondly, diverse management has a competitive advantage in understanding diverse markets. Lastly, diversity boosts flexibility, creativity, and innovation in problem-solving, because it increases the number of ways in which the company thinks and operates.
What are the Implications of Competitiveness & Collaboration?
The current monolithic condition of the VT’s workforce has at least three negative implications of competitiveness and collaboration. Most importantly, VT is a global company, so the number of client complaints on cultural insensitivity is expected to grow unless the HR policy is adjusted. In addition, the loss of market share to competitors will continue. According to Bateman et al. (2020), a diverse workforce is a competitive advantage in understanding diverse markets. Since VT does not currently have it, the organization effectively handicaps itself. Finally, VT appears to be in a vicious circle, where the problems which stem from the lack of diversity in the workforce cannot be solved due to the lack of such diversity.
Creating a Diverse Workforce: Securing Top Managers’ Commitment
In the case of diversity and inclusion in the workforce, meaningful changes start from the top. As such, a CEO must not only make statements about the value of diversity but also exhibit corresponding public behaviors to ensure the necessary employee commitment (Ng & Sears, 2020). In this regard, an HR manager plays a critical role since their expertise can influence top management into the adoption of diversity and inclusion policies.
Creating a Diverse Workforce: Conducting Organizational Assessment
Diversity and inclusion efforts should be undertaken after an organizational assessment in order to mitigate the potential backlash. In the case of VT, it is essential to conduct an assessment to ensure that white males do not perceive changes in the workforce as arbitrary or discriminatory. Dover et al. (2019) suggest justifying diversity initiatives on moral and rational grounds. For example, one can point at diversity’s role in increasing profits, improving problem-solving, or promoting fair treatment of all members of society (Dover et al., 2019). In this regard, an organizational assessment would reveal white male employees, who can be replaced on professional grounds.
Creating a Diverse Workforce: Attracting Diverse Qualified Employees
Replacement of some of the white males with diverse employees is a logical step after the organizational assessment. However, it is crucial to follow the principle of attracting qualified employees (Bateman et al., 2020). Diverse employees should be comparable to the white males who they will replace in terms of professional competence. Otherwise, diversity and inclusion policy would be undermined by mistrust, tension, and negative stereotyping.
Creating a Diverse Workforce: Training Employees in Diversity
Diversity and inclusion policies may struggle in adoption due to misleading assumptions in employees. Bateman et al. (2020) provide a list of diversity dimensions and corresponding misleading and accurate assumptions about them. For example, diversity does not mean that people are all the same (Bateman et al., 2020). More precisely, diversity means that people are different, and there are many distinct ways of working and living. An HR manager must promote accurate assumptions among the employees if they want to increase workforce diversity successfully.
Creating a Diverse Workforce: Retaining Talented Employees
Finally, a reshaped, more diverse workforce still requires effective talent retention mechanisms. Bateman et al. (2020) suggest establishing peer support groups in the workplace, providing mentoring, creating opportunities for career development, and ensuring accountability. Overall, these measures serve to set and maintain a healthy workplace environment, where diversity is effectively combined with merit.
References
Bateman, T. S., Snell, S., & Konopaske, R. (2020). Management. McGraw-Hill Education.
Dover, T. L., Kaiser, C. R., & Major, B. (2019). Mixed signals: The unintended effects of diversity initiatives. Social Issues and Policy Review, 14(1), 152-181. Web.
Ng, E. S., & Sears, G. J. (2020). Walking the talk on diversity: CEO beliefs, moral values, and the implementation of workplace diversity practices. Journal of Business Ethics, 164(3), 437-450. Web.