DIVERSITY

MANAGEMENT USING
HRM PRACTICES
Sambit Rath

Roll 1411262

Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................1
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................1
Definition & Benefits of Diversity.............................................................................................1
Defining Diversity..................................................................................................................1
Dimensions of Diversity.........................................................................................................1
Managing Diversity....................................................................................................................3
Need for Diversity Management in India...............................................................................3
Diversity in Indias Context...................................................................................................3
Managing Diversity via Various HR Practices (Suggestions & Learnings)................................4
Recruitment and selection......................................................................................................4
Training and development......................................................................................................5
Performance appraisal............................................................................................................6
Pay.........................................................................................................................................6
Developing a framework of HR diversity management.............................................................7
Diversity management System in Different MNCs...................................................................8
Accenture...............................................................................................................................8
IBM........................................................................................................................................8
Infosys....................................................................................................................................9
Citibank..................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................9
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................11

Introduction
By workforce diversity we acknowledge the fact that people are different in different
ways. The ways might be visible or invisible. People differ in aspects like gender, race,
marital status, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability and cultural orientation.
(Kossek, Lobel and Brown 2005)
Also, issues related to diversity in each country is different. Gender equality is a grave
issue in the middle east, issues related to migrants is common in china,
multiculturalism related issues are common to Europe where migrants arrive year after
year , Australia & Racial Inequality issues are found more in USA & South Africa
where there exists a discriminatory attitude towards blacks. In this paper I would like
to understand the factors affecting diversity the organizations, present the HRM
strategies needed to tackle the diversity issues at the workplaces, and, study the
different steps taken by different global conglomerates in this regards and would like
to experiment whether increasing diversity increases the efficiency of the organization
or not.

Literature Review
Definition & Benefits of Diversity
Defining Diversity
In various fields and subjects, diversity is describes as the entities with people who
have differences in their backgrounds. These entities are identifiable. Some of the
entities are age, gender, religion, race etc.

Dimensions of Diversity
There are many factors affecting diversity in organizations. Some models featuring
these factors are:
1) Iceberg model
This model depicts two levels of diversity
a) Below water line ( attitude, religion)
b) Above Water line (gender, age etc.)
2) Diversity Wheel (Loden and Rosener, 1991)
This encompasses three dimensions of diversity
a) Primary Dimension(Internal) comprising of race, gender, ethnicity, age
b) Secondary Dimension(external) comprising of religion, location, status,
income

c) Tertiary Dimension comprising of work location, status, work field,

affiliations

Diversity Paradigms
Each and every organization has reasons for implementing diversity. Some paradigms
are
1) Moral Paradigm
This paradigm assumes that discrimination is illegal and immoral. In order to
eliminate the same diversity management is essential.
2) Social Need paradigm
This paradigm assumes that social needs are essential and different groups have
different social needs. In the era of globalization, there is an increase in
diversity in all countries. So, solutions to diversity are also country specific.
This should be taken care of by looking at the society.
3) Competitive Advantage paradigms
This paradigm points out that there is a positive correlation between
competitiveness and diversity. A countrys growth depends upon people from
different strata. It is not only about ratios, it is about giving equal opportunities
to all, so that they give back their best to the nation they reside in.

Benefits of Workforce Diversity

Diversity has many positive outcome. A well-managed diverse
workforce can manage and understand customers in a better
manner. (Allen el al, 2004). A diverse workforce with a richer pool of
people has better thinking, decision making, increased productivity
and can cope well with the changes in the system. Diversity is also
linked with reduction in absenteeism, increased turnover and
retention of best people because it enhances the attractiveness of
the system.
The image of the company is improves, with the increase in
flexibility, creativity and innovation among employees as suggested
by Groschl and Doherty, 1999, & Kaplan, 2006. Also, giving a chance
to DA candidates is good for company because studies have shown

that DA persons are highly loyal and dependable.( Horwitz and

Horwitz 2007). Employees with diverse backgrounds can connect
with customers with diverse background which is a kind of win -win
position for the company.

Challenges Faced
Some of the challenges faced are as follows
Diverse groups do not perform well if they cant connect among
themselves. If the groups only interacts within the same community
their commitment towards the organisation becomes somewhat
shallow. If racial and gender diversity is not properly taken care of,
then Groupism can develop between the groups and can exacerbate
the already existing problems.( Miller and Rowney, 1999).
Implementing demographic diversity doesnt necessarily lead to an
improved workplace. There can be linguistic and para linguistic
barriers, (Knippenberg and Schippers. 2007) leading to in-groups and
out-groups.
If there the groups are not properly assimilated into the system, it
has been observed that the minority groups suffer from distrust and
show less commitment and affiliation. This has a negative
consequence on the organisational performance. (Harrison et al.,
1998)

Managing Diversity
Diversity Management (DM) is the need of the hour now. Organisations need to
address the issues manifested in different dimensions such as race, ethnicity, gender,
culture etc. Implementing DM will improve the stakeholder diversity, formal practices
and create a positive work environment. ( Christensen,1993 ; Elmuti, 1993)

Need for Diversity Management in India

A report of National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People states
that Differently abled people are less than 1% of Indias workforce out of which only
0.28% are work in the private sector. It is a known fact that companies in India suffer
from unavailability of talent. Creating inclusive spaces for LGBTs and DA candidates
can address a lot of problems of the company. Companies are starting to put effort in
this direction and it is visible from the recruitment, appraisal and pay revision systems.

Diversity in Indias Context

Table below explains the diversity concerns in India. The table is from the NSSO
report released by government of India.

1 Report: Disabled Persons in India by National Sample Survey Organisation; Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation, Government of India

Managing Diversity via Various HR Practices (Suggestions &

Learnings)
Recruitment and selection
Evidences claim that many employees and managers give importance to diversity in
the form of giving equal opportunity to all persons working in the organisation.
However, despite of legislations and declared commitments, discrimination still exists
in workplaces.
(Morrison (1992)) found that organizations opted for only one facet of equality, may
be gender or race or cultural. So, organizations must go on to manage diversity in all
aspects. They must create policies to provide opportunities for employment, work life
balance and mentoring facilities for disadvantaged groups.
Morrison (1992) proposed that managing diversity and increasing the number of
women and minorities in workforce is quite critical for an organisation. In order to
achieve the required numbers the recruitment and selection procedures should avoid
the A-S-A attraction-selection-attrition) cycle as called by Schneider (1987). The AS-A cycle assumes that the attributes of people Is the sole factor determining
organizational behaviour. Environment has no effect on the same.
Hence, this belief has to be eliminated. Multiple cultures have to be accommodated
within the organization and managers need to be aware of the culture and beliefs of the
employees and how these affect their behaviour.

Training and development

There are many evidences which cite that training programs neglect the women and
other minority groups. Females, LGBT, Blacks etc. have lower rates of participation.
This becomes an obstacle in the career path of the groups.(Powell and Butterfield).
Many Corporations have failed in achieving success in the field of training and
employee retention and promoting women and minority groups (Goodman et al 2003).
Managers have a subjective bias and they give higher ratings & promotions to
employees having similar backgrounds, thus neglecting others.
Hence, a lot has to be done in this regard. Effective Integration is very important as far
as an organization is concerned. Awareness building assumes importance here as well.
People have to assist and build social cohesion which would result in individual and
organizational success. It has been generally observed that people who attend diversity
training leave the same with positive attitudes i.e. Rynes and Rosen (1995) found that
nearly 68% employees are motivated and care for diversity when they go out in
comparison to the 7% sceptical ones who are not still convinced.

Companies have to clarify objectives of the training and assess the same as well.
Participants should know what is expected out of them i.e. whether the programme is
all about raise awareness about diversity or build multicultural skills. A top down
strategy might be suitable here, i.e. senior managers must be trained first and then the
awareness can trickle down to the bottom. Training can be customized depending on
the needs of organization, or at the team level or at the individual level.
It has to be kept in mind that Career Planning and Professional Development is a
sensitive area and discrimination can be easily visible. Hence, it needs more attention.
Organizations must frame equal opportunity providing policies, personal development
programs etc. Minorities should be a part of the evaluating panel as well and have a
say in matters like promotion, evaluation, selection and retention. Direct Intervention
from the Top can be exercised to increase diversity in the company. Diversity goals
have to be achieved.
Candidates must not only be selected but also be prepared for future taking up
managerial roles. Hence mentoring assumes an important role here. Successful
mentoring must be provided to minority people i.e. they should be matched with
similar people who would train them. This would help not only them, but also the
whole underrepresented minority group to move forward by breaking all invisible
barriers.

Performance appraisal
It has been observed that companies draft fair and objective criteria in the appraisal
process but it has been also seen that appraisal & performance related severances are
against women and are gendered. (Rubert 1995) studied and observed that higher pay
or better ratings at work depended on whether age, race, gender etc. were positively
correlated with that of the supervisor. If these were unfavourable, the outcome was
bias, conflicts, hatred, discrimination, role ambiguity and it was also observed that
women got lower ratings than their male counterparts.
So, in order that performance appraisal process and practices manage diversity, the
processes must be objective in nature and not subjective. The practices must be fair,
unbiased with no special treatment. Non-traditional managers or counsellors can be
brought into the system who would evaluate both managers and the employees.
Appraisal must focus on candidates performance alone and not on his race, age,
gender etc. It should be a neutral one. Also, managers must be evaluated on the basis
of their Diversity management skills i.e. how successful they are in promoting the
cause of women and minorities in their group. This would bring in an era of neutrality
and fairness in the organisation.

Pay
Inequality in severances, salaries etc. is one of the major causes and a HR diversity
issue. Equal Pay policies have been implemented in many organizations to address
these issues. The policies have reduced the differences to some extent, but still it has
been observed that gender income equality is rampant in most organizations and
globally women have 20%-30% lesser pay than men.( Kossek et al. 2005).
In order to address this issue we have to look at some facts. Pay equality is an essential
feature of diversity management. In fact, a proper implementation entails the
application of equal pay system and a performance based pay system. The
compensation, wages, benefits etc. must be structured not only on common grounds
but system must consider individuals, evaluate their abilities, knowledge and skill. The
remuneration system must also take individual lifestyles into account. Employees must
understand their responsibilities.
Work life balance is a major factor here. To address work life balance issues many
organizations have to come up with employee flexible schemes. These schemes must
provide choices to individuals to choose working hours, schedules based on their
convenience. They can prioritise between work and life. Diverse workforce has many
issues related to race, religion and family and all this can be addressed by flexibility
option.
Not maintain work life balance creates grave issues and would affect individual and
organizational performance. Hence, it is advocated to mitigate the issues related with
work life balance which would help build a culture of diversity in the organization.

Developing a framework of HR diversity management

As per the discussions, the HRM practices related to diversity can be applied at all
levels of an organization, namely Strategic and Tactical and operational levels as
shown in the diagram. It has to be a Top-down approach. There must be a
management philosophy which is critical for success. Top management must be
committed to manage diversity and organzation culture must reflect the same. There
should be mutual respect for all employees.
Here EEO stands for Employee Equality Opportunity and AA stands for Afirmative
Action.
At the tactical level, the policies can be implemented i.e. in staffing, training, appraisal
systems, At the operational level policies can be implemented at the ground level, at
the workplace and employees can be educated regarding the same. Here, managers
have to play an important role.
This model takes into account a range of activities and and shows HRM policy
implemenation at all levels of an organization to implement diversity principles.
.

2 http://business.kingston.ac.uk/sites/default/files/BH4702%20Introduction%20to%20HRM%20-%20article%203%20for
%20Problem%20Based%20Report.pdf

Diversity management System in Different MNCs

Accenture
Accenture has been one of the front runners in implementing the diversity inclusion
concept. The core values of Accenture are Stewardship, client value creation, one
global network, best people and individual integrity. It vouches for a discrimination
& harassment free environment within its premises. It has established Global
Inclusion & Diversity corporate function to look after its diversity practices around
the world. It has also promoted a harassment free environment for its employees. It has
specific executives in different regions of the world to look after its diversity
programs. Accenture has formed Accenture Diversity Council and Diversity
Advisory Forum for the same. This council is responsible for providing training to
employees in order to enable them understand different diversity factors including
LGBT & gender equality issues.
Accenture has a workforce comprising of 35% women. 16% or more of the senior
executives belong to the fairer sex. It also recognises International Womens Day
and celebrates it in multiple locations in 40+ countries.

IBM
IBM has been promoting diversity since its inception. There are two groups in IBM to
manage diversity. Global Workforce Council to focus on issues like, advancement
of women, multilingualism, cultural awareness, flexibility at work etc. The second
group, in fact consists of eight task forces i.e. task groups related to Asians, Hispanics,
Afro-Americans, Gay-Lesbians, White Males, Differently Abled Workers, and females,
Native American etc. Each task group has the objective to take care of group, and form
strategy for IBMs people management so that the workplace efficiency can be
increased.
IBM has well-structured plan for recruiting people from diverse backgrounds
including the DA candidates. Each Business Unit has a Line Champion who works
with educational institutes to recruit the DA students. For LGBTs, IBM has a special
group called EAGLE which stands for Employee Alliance for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,
and Transgender Empowerment. This group encourages people to learn about LGBTs
and develop empathy towards them

Infosys
Infosys set up a diversity office in India for facilitating equal opportunity employment.
It brought in ESOP into the indian Scenario. It has a global advisory council which
consist of members to look after the diversity related programs. The workforce has
32.4% women and about 75% of senior management positions in foreign countries are
local people. 5% of Infosys BPO consists of DA people. It has people from 70+
countries and 42% of people are from tier II or tier III cities. 3Diversity is an important
issue and is a part of INFOSYS corporate score card. Infosys also has a program
INFOSYS Women Inclusivity Network to create a gender inclusive workplace. They
also have multiple training programs in place for training candidates about the
diversity issues.

Citibank
Citibank is 98% local4, i.e. it hires local personnel in all of the regions it operates in. Diversity
is an important matter in Citibank. It has a Global Flexible Work Strategies (FWS) program in
order to promote workplace flexibility. Also, it has launched Womene diversity program in
Nigeria and rolling the same in other countries as well.

Conclusion
We primarily get three broad conclusions in this case.
a) First, despite passing legislations and implementing rules, EEO (equal
employment opportunity) is not prevalent in most organisations. There is wide
discrimination in employment as far as minorities are concerned. Pay
inequality still remains an important issue and needs to be addressed.
b) HR diversity is centred on hiring and just showing & maintaining ratios i.e.
showing the percentage of women, DA, Hispanics etc. Often minorities are
hired for lower positions and have few promotion opportunities. Diversity must
also be reflected in the culture itself, in the pay, training, appraisals etc. It must
take individual differences into account.
c) Most organisations have no diversity programs at all. They are still in the path
of devising the same. It should be made mandatory for all to implement EEO
and AA(affirmative actions) practices which would encourage ethnic minority
customers as well.
Hence, there is a need for effective diversity management and in order to do so the
HRM framework discussed can be utilised. The practices must be implemented in a
3 http://www.ijbmi.org/papers/Vol%284%291/Version-3/A041301011.pdf
4 http://www.ijbmi.org/papers/Vol%284%291/Version-3/A041301011.pdf

top-down approach and should be implemented in strategic, operational and tactical

levels while keeping in mind the fact that at all levels, participation of managers is
essential.

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