Final presentation, you will create a diversity awareness initiative for an orga

Question

Final presentation, you will create a diversity awareness initiative for an organization of your choosing withing the Information Technology Industry.

You will be creating a presentation outline for this project. Your assignment is to submit an outline of the presentation While you may organize the outline however you choose, be sure to address the following:

I. Introduction: Examine the role of the individual in a global society and how issues of diversity influence aspects of culture and the individual. Explore topics that have been discussed in this course (sociology of diversity, biological diversity, cultural identity, diversity through socioeconomic status, etc.) to help guide your analysis

. A. How have social practices been shaped by issues of diversity in modern culture?

B. From an interdisciplinary approach, how has a topic discussed in the course influenced or not influenced modern society?

C. How have issues of diversity influenced social change? In other words, how have problems associated with diversity necessitated or encouraged some sort of change in society?

D. How have issues of diversity influenced the behaviors and operations of individuals in your discipline of study? In other words, look at the influence of issues of diversity through the lens of your discipline.

E. From an interdisciplinary approach, how have issues of diversity and a topic discussed in the course affected modern society? In other words, how has modern society changed or been impacted by issues of diversity? How does the topic relate to issues of diversity?

F. Using relevant research or diverse perspectives, describe the benefits and challenges of overcoming issues of diversity.

II. Issue: Introduce the issue and describe how it relates to diversity and any of the topics that were addressed in the course.

A. Using appropriate research strategies, describe a social or global issue that is related to issues of diversity.

i. What is the origin of the issue?

ii. What is the issue about?

B. Using appropriate research strategies, describe the target population of the issue.

i. Who is impacted by the issue?

ii. What is important to know about them?

C. Using appropriate research strategies, explain how the chosen issue relates to a topic discussed in this course.

i. In other words, how can you connect the social or global issue you have chosen with a topic discussed in this course?

ii. How does the topic inform your understanding of the issue?

D. Using relevant research or diverse perspectives, describe how the chosen issue is impacting the target population.

E. Utilizing interdisciplinary approaches, predict how the chosen issue will or will not change in the future.

III. Plan: Offer recommendations and a plan to improve the issue, as well as strategies for implementing your plan.

A. Make recommendations for how the current issue could be addressed so that it no longer adversely affects the target population.

B. Describe the strategies that could be utilized to address the issue

. C. Imagine you are in charge of addressing your chosen issue. Utilizing interdisciplinary approaches, explain how you would implement your plan.

D. Explain the benefits of your plan and justify why your plan would be preferable. Be sure to support your justification with relevant research or diverse perspectives.

Explanation / Answer

Organizations that promote and achieve a diverse workplace will attract and retain quality employees and increase customer loyalty. Leaders and managers within organizations are primarily responsible for the success of diversity policies because they must ensure that the policies are effective. Frequently, diversity is viewed in a limited fashion, primarily addressing issues of race, ethnic or gender differences, and linked to the laws providing protected status to certain groups. We have used a very broad definition of diversity, to encompass most characteristics that individuals possess that affect the way they think and do things. This is critical. The changing demographics of our nation also affect the nation’s businesses and in turn the nation’s economy. For our government and businesses to continue to be effective and motivate citizens to contribute to building these institutions, our leaders must recognize and capitalize upon the diversity of the nation.

Despite the legitimate criticisms of a broad diversity definition, inclusiveness remains politically useful. To make it organizationally useful, HR directors and managers must define the motive(s) behind their interest in diversity and identify the specific ways diversity will benefit their organizations. Framing workplace diversity initiatives affects the outcomes an organization achieves. Diversity outcomes derived from these definitions vary, but generally can be classified into five broad categories:

-Obeying with federal and state requirements,

-Supposing and rewarding homogeneity,

-Classifying diversity as a broad goal without accompanying changes,

-Recognizing discrete diversity goals and creating selective organizational changes to achieve them,

-Chasing systemic and planned organizational change to take optimum strategic advantage of diversity.

This variety of approaches shows that organizations vary both in the degree to which they define diversity as valuable and in the amount of change they engage in to support workplace diversity. If organizations and the people who comprise them worked in foxholes, this approach to surviving dropping homogeneity as a criterion for full participation would be compelling. In life-or-death situations, many people will suspend beliefs, change behaviors, and embrace new solutions. However, the current business and organizational climate is not sufficiently dire that most employees would quickly and completely commit to the broad and deep changes required to sustain genuinely diverse workplaces. Successful diversity is built out of the often small, everyday actions taken by people at all levels of an organization. Organizations may start diversity initiatives motivated by laws and regulations.

That world, increasingly, is disappearing. Today, just as national boundaries are eroding in the “global village,” so are cultural and gender barriers weakening in the global workforce. The concept of workforce Diversity is no longer an abstraction; it is part of everyday life in many countries in the developed world. Driven by a need to compensate for talent shortages and compete in an increasingly diverse marketplace companies are extending their recruiting and promotion efforts to groups that traditionally were under-represented or not present at all. Yet in many ways the journey has only begun. Even in countries with diverse workforces, the members of demographically dominant groups tend to have more influence and face fewer barriers to recruitment and advancement than the newcomers. There are still countries in which the idea of workforce Diversity has made few inroads, either because of cultural barriers or the lack of a critical mass of representatives of diverse groups. Companies have come to understand that different demographic groups think and communicate differently, and that these cultural differences must be understood by all concerned before newcomers from diverse backgrounds can be truly integrated and included in a company’s workforce.

Global Diversity and Inclusion looks at the advantages that Diversity and Inclusion bring to a company, as well as the challenges inherent in creating and managing an integrated workforce. Since the nature of the journey and the degree of progress to date differ in each region, the study focuses on regional and cultural differences to managing and valuing Diversity, as well as the best practices that tend to promote Diversity and Inclusion everywhere. Considering differing regional interpretations of Diversity and the variety of cultural sensibilities involved, multinationals tend to leave much of the implementation of Diversity programs to managers at the local and national levels. The degree of decentralization tends to vary with the parent company’s nationality. In most parts of the world, the main focus of Diversity efforts is on hiring and promoting women. The major reason for this is that women, who make up 50% of the population, represent a large, untapped (or under-tapped) resource, which companies will need in the future as Baby Boomers begin to retire. Women are also comparatively easy to integrate into organizations, since gender issues aside they typically have grown up in the same country as their male colleagues, and hence tend to share the prevailing cultural norms. Employees from minority ethnic, national or religious groups may present more complex issues such as cultural background and styles of thought.

This new way of thinking about Diversity and Inclusion focuses on meeting the needs of the individual and not so much on an HR-centered initiative. Today, it is not only about having diversity within a company but leveraging that diversity to produce better products and services. It is crucial to hire and maintain a diverse workforce, so gender and racial/ethnic initiatives will be launched and maintained into the foreseeable future. There is much to learn from leaders in diversity and inclusion, but it is important to remember that every company’s D&I initiatives will look different. It is wise to remember that diversity means different things to different people, and organizations will apply those definitions to their companies respectively. This implies that global business leaders should strive to create an atmosphere where multiple voices are heard, and their opinions are valued and considered. This fact should be engrained in the company culture. In the example scenario, David and Jason realized the importance of an inclusive global workplace, but were frustrated with the focus on a single group of workers – and frustrated that the company culture lacked a focus on global talent.

Few senior executives have realized the importance of a diverse workforce powered with voices of people from different backgrounds, personalities and thinking styles across the global workplace. It has become important to create environments where all people are encouraged to draw upon their unique experiences, perspectives and backgrounds to advance business goals. To achieve this in a global work setting, it’s crucial to employ effective global communication and training efforts. It’s clear that some of the top organizations around the world have set an example for diverse and inclusive global work environments. As these organizations continue their efforts and others follow. The takeaway is that your global company should have solutions in place to monitor and retain a talented and diverse workforce, such as any of the following:

-Global mentoring programs

-Employee resource groups

-Multicultural talent management

-Strategic partnership development

-e-Learning modules

It is critical that senior leadership model diversity and inclusion. When senior leaders own D&I and make themselves a part of the diversity and inclusion management process. The ability to listen and learn can only be valuable if employees are encouraged to speak their minds, even when they are expressing an unpopular opinion or suggesting a new idea. Smart, successful global teams understand that differing opinions spark innovation and that it is a crucial part of high performance. Without recognizing bias and considering different viewpoints, growth will likely be slow moving. They would likely experience fewer workplace frustrations as employees are encouraged to voice their opinions and multiple solutions are considered. With so many considerations, it can be difficult to know where to start or where to focus your efforts. Learning to leverage global workplace diversity is far from simple, and learning to manage, maintain and measure your efforts will take time. Leaders in diversity and inclusion have taught us that it is an ongoing process, and it might require the help of an outside source one that specializes in global diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

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