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- 1200 +/ - 10 - : Description i ii iii iv v vi A brief introduction of employee diversity. An analysis of 3 advantages of employee diversity to organization.

o organization. 3 An analysis of 2 types of problems when an organization has diverse employees. 2 An evaluation on how these diversity problems can be solved. Layout of report, professionalism, English grammar & spelling. Referencing (In text citations & Reference List). At least 5 references are required for this entire report. Max % 10 % 30 % 20 % 20 % 10 % 10 %

http://www.gsk.com/about/diversity_employees.htm http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/diversity-in-the-workplace-1595.html http://www.eridlc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=textbook.chpt20 http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/small/Mail-Op/Multicultural-WorkForce.html http://ezinearticles.com/?Diversity-in-the-Workplace:-Benefits,-Challenges-andSolutions&id=11053 http://www.speedupcareer.com/articles/workplace-problems.html

Among the advantages of diversity in the workplace are: increased creativity, increased productivity, new attitudes, new language skills, global understanding, new processes, and new solutions to difficult problems. 1. Creativity increases when people with different ways of solving difficult problems work together towards a common solution. There is no one best answer to any question--the more ideas you can

obtain from different people, the more likely you are to develop a workable answer. Other cultures can offer insightful alternatives Americans might not have considered. This is a tremendous advantage of diversity in the workplace. 2. Productivity increases exponentially when people of all cultures pull together towards a single inspiring goal. Foreign executives are extremely successful in the American corporate world because of globalization and internationalization. People from China and India benefit U.S. firms with their stellar quantitative skills. And European citizens--Swiss, Germans, British, and French--do well here in high-level jobs. Increased productivity is an obvious advantage of diversity in the workplace. 3. New attitudes are brought to the business table by people from diverse cultures. For instance, Americans may want to consider adopting the perspective other cultures have about time. Our culture believes that time is money and getting to the bottom line is paramount in business. However, in most other countries around the world time is for building relationships and an integral part of getting to know the other party you are considering doing business with before starting a transaction. How much of an advantage would workplace diversity be if we followed this practice more closely? 4. Language skills are obviously needed in todays increasingly global economy--and diverse workers often have this proficiency. If a company needs specific knowledge or language skills, it may hire foreign nationals for help. In some markets, international job seekers have the advantage. For example, companies breaking into European, Asian or Latin American markets will need foreign expertise. High-tech firms in particular are expanding into countries abroad. In the United States, we like to believe that English is the language of the world. While that may be true for business, our native tongue ranks second in the world behind Chinese and just slightly ahead of Hindustani. To truly build relationships with the other people of the world, we must speak their language. It is a tremendous advantage of workplace diversity if we enable people from other cultures can help us understand not just their words, but also the meaning behind what they are saying. 5. Understanding how the United States fits into the world picture is crucial. By relating to people of all backgrounds, Americans will gain a greater perspective on how different cultures operate and experience greater success in global business as a result.The average American believes that this countrys residents account for about 25 percent of the worlds population. People from outside our borders are not surprised to learn that the figure is actually less than five percent. 6. New processes can result when people with different ideas come together and collaborate. In todays fast-moving world, there is no longer room for thinking, We have always done things this way and cannot change. American workers must bring multiple skills to the environment, think cross culturally, and adapt quickly to new situations. Those who meet these criteria are likely to do well, regardless of culture--even in tough economic times. Workplace diversity can make American companies more productive and profitable. They also bring differences that we must understand and embrace for those benefits to be realized.

When employees come from diverse backgrounds, they bring individual talents and experiences with them. This invariably contributes to an organizations overall growth. Diversities in a working environment add a unique richness to the workplace. There is a special kind of challenge - every individual within the organization feels like putting in extra effort to overcome these individual differences. Such united opinions, in fact, work for the betterment of the company or the institution. Embracing employees with different skills and cultural viewpoints helps in understanding the needs and requirements of the customers, on a global scale. Diversity in workplace leads to a wide variety of viewpoints and business ideas. This helps an organization formulate the best business strategy, with its large pool of different ideas and solutions. Before discussing the first approach, it is necessary to define workforce diversity. First, diversity can be visible. Visible diversity consists of differences in gender, age, ethnicity, race, and physical or mental ability. Second, diversity can also be more or less invisible. Examples include national origin, religious beliefs or the absence of such beliefs, and various differences in personality and life style.

Employee diversity
Our commitment to diversity includes a range of initiatives that help our employees to work in an understanding, flexible and creative environment. The first of these types, called the monolithic organization, is characterized by a homogeneous work force composed primarily of while males with few women or minority men in management positions (although he contended that this type of organization can exist in any situation where one "identity group"blacks, Hispanics, etc.is dominant). Moreover, many of these organizations feature high levels of occupational segregation, with women and minority men concentrated in lower-paying occupations. This environment, noted Cox, makes it a practical necessity for women, minority men, and foreign nationals who do enter the organization to accept the organizational norms already in place (which of course were put together by white males). Cox pointed out that, ironically, "one positive note [of the monolithic organization] is that intergroup conflict based on culture-group identity is minimized by the relative

homogeneity of the work force." But he also noted that since this organization type generally places little importance on the integration of cultural minorities, discrimination and prejudice is likely to be prevalent: "Aside from the rather obvious downside implications of the monolithic model in terms of under-utilization of human resources and social equality, the monolithic organization is not a realistic option for most large employers in the 1990s." But Barbara Jorgensen observed in Electronic Business Buyer that it can be difficult for owners and managers to turn such organizations around, especially if they are big and their work force is entrenched: "Managing diversity is a lot like implementing quality: it's tough to define and it requires a massive culture change. You can't even apply statistical process control to it." Cox, Taylor, Jr. "The Multicultural Organization." Academy of Management Executive.Vol. 5, no. 2, 1991.

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