MANAGING DIVERSITY

according to Cox, 2001 diversity is the variation of social and cultural identities among people existing together in a defined employment or market setting. 

 Groups made up of diverse personnel do a better job of analyzing and attacking problems (ibid). 

VALUING DIFFERENCES:

means recognizing and appreciating that individuals are different, that diversity is an advantage if it is valued and well managed, and that diversity is not to be simply tolerated but encouraged, supported and nurtured (Jamieson and O’Mara 1991). 

diversity management

A way of creating an environment that will enable all people to use full potential to

accomplish the mission. diversity has misunderstandings as:

• communication style
• trust
• accents
• stereotypes
• values and beliefs

http://www.valleywater.org/Careers/DiversityDefined.aspx

Managing Diversity: Contemporary Business Issues

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qusp7A8u3Mw

DEMOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY, CONFLICT AND WORK GROUP OUTCOMES AND INTERVENING PROCESS THEORY:

with respect to members' demographic backgrounds can have a powerful effect on both turnover from the group and on the group's performance on cognitive tasks (i.e., "thinking" tasks that involve generating plans or ideas, solving problems.

according to Lisa Hope Pelled within a work group, diversity

or making decisions). While such diversity tends to increase turnover, its effects on cognitive task performance are more mixed, sometimes enhancing performance and sometimes

impairing it. An understanding of how diversity leads to these outcomes may help managers enhance work group effectiveness.

QUESTION

Since diversity is a source of competitive advantage, what could be the recruitment strategies to effectively target to diverse groups? What would be the consequences of ignoring diversity?

the recruitment strategies to effectively target to diverse groups is to arrange a effective communication style, believe and trust in each opinion and idea, being open-mind talking about regional aspects, evidence stereotypes, determine common experiences strong values and beliefs of each group.

the consequences of ignoring diversity are:

• the organization is missing different perceptions
• in a group task, the members can not develop an effective work
• similar personalities arrange ineffective solutions and problems inside the group
• the same structure of leadership creates lacy workers and non creactive works
• different accents can create misunderstandings in a common task

SOURCES

• 
  

  Cox Jr., T. (2001) Creating the multicultural organization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
• managing diversity figure: http://www.valleywater.org/Careers/DiversityDefined.aspx
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qusp7A8u3Mw
• Demographic Diversity, Conflict, and Work Group Outcomes: An Intervening Process Theory

  Lisa Hope Pelled Organization Science Vol. 7, No. 6 (Nov. - Dec., 1996), pp. 615-631  Published by: INFORMS  Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2635051