Observation methods and applications

Organization

DIVERSITY, CONFLICT Management and POLICIES

Diversity refers to a combination of factors, which gives workforce an identity of its own. In our country, diversity of workforce is grounded in its varied ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientation, gender and age. With workforce composed of such unique factors, there is always an alarming potential for conflicts and discrimination. It is important for a firm to develop HR policies that reflect the changing corporate culture where diversity plays an important role and its management is a critical element in the success of the company.

Organizational policies should reflect a company's desire to treat diverse workforce with due respect and to address its grievances properly. In this connection, it needs to train its human resource management to handle diversity effectively while minimizing the risk of potential conflicts. Everything including recruitment, screening, interviewing and performance appraisal procedures can hinder smooth management of diversity if they do not reflect the diverse needs and aptitude of a highly diverse workforce. Human Resource managers today play a key role in the success of any organization because they help in minimizing risks of conflict and discrimination that arise due to diversity in the workplace. For this reason, it is the responsibility of the organization to provide adequate training to the HR staff, which is assigned the tasks of addressing grievances, facilitating communication and managing change in the organization. Diversity management has thus come to occupy an important place in organizational policies.

Bendick et al. (2001) write:

Starting in the mid-1980s and accelerating throughout the 1990s, many of these efforts have evolved into more ambitious undertakings with a different label -- diversity training -- and a more strategic role in human resource management... For example, a 1995 survey of the 50 largest U.S. industrial firms found that 70% had a formal diversity management program, typically including training, and an additional 8% were developing one... In a 1994 survey of members of the Society for Human Resource Management, 33% reported that their employers provided training on workforce diversity, making it about as common as training in sales techniques (35%) or clerical skills (3-1%)....And in a 1995 survey, 50% of members of the American Management Association reported having formal programs for managing diversity, with training a usual component; this figure had risen from 46% in 1992."

Diversity training is seen as a high effective strategy for elimination of discriminatory practices and risks of conflict in an organization. Apart from providing adequate training to the HR people, such programs also try to educate employees about the changing face of American workforce in order to help them develop tolerance for different viewpoints. Diversity management also helps a company tackle legal challenges that arise from discriminatory practices. With more women and older people entering the workforce, there is increasing risk of discrimination, which can result in lawsuits. To avoid such legal problems, comprehensive diversity training programs must be developed and zero tolerance for discrimination must form the core of organizational policies.

Another important aspect of today's corporate world is conflict. Conflict management has thus come to occupy as important a place in organizational policies as diversity training. In fact we must understand that diversity and conflict are inter-linked since it is usually because of the former that latter arises. When people with diverse viewpoints, cultural and social influences enter the workplace, they are bound to clash with each other resulting in conflicts. R. Roosevelt Thomas Jr. (1996) explains: "With workforce diversity, you have a mixture of people who can vary along an infinite number of lines: age, tenure, lifestyle, sexual orientation, education, experience, geographic origin, race, gender - just to name a few possibilities. If globalism is your immediate concern, you have to deal with a mixture of nations that have differences and similarities in terms of people, history, culture, religion, politics, technology, priorities, and location." (Redefining Diversity, pg.12) it is therefore extremely important for the firm to recognize this risk and change its organizational policies accordingly. The firm must clearly present its views on diversity and conflicts and encourage tolerance. Not only should the policies reflect the company's wishes and stance on the issue, they must also be effectively communicated so there is no doubt left in any person's mind. Apart from diversity, another thing that gives rise to conflicts is change. In today's rapidly changing corporate world, the only consistent and predictable factor is change. However changes are usually not shared with employees or they are kept in the dark till the very last minute when they suddenly find themselves in an unfamiliar territory. It is vital thus to keep the channels of communication open and to inform employees about possible changes in the organization. This helps in minimizing resistance, which leads to conflicts. Plsek and Kilo (1999) explain: "Change is not so much about overcoming resistance, as it is about creating attraction. Viewing the movements of a colony of ants over time reveals a detailed pattern of complex behavior and many cycles of change as the insects build and then move. Paradoxically, the underlying attractors that drive this behavior are quite simple: food and survival."