The Importance of Diversity Training in the Workforce Throughout a persons life there are certain characteristics that affect them. These characteristics cannot be chosen, they are given from the moment of birth: Race, Class, and Gender. These characteristics are determined by the parents and have a major input on an individuals life. Race, class and gender is what makes a person who they are and who they will become. Of course, in our days a person can change any one of these variables, but this change will turn his life 360 degrees in another direction. In the contemporary society exists a great need for the successful interaction of representatives of different classes, genders, races, and sexual orientations. These facts have made it necessary to conduct the literature analysis in the field of diversity training in workplace and the importance of this topic.
In order to complete the set goal this topic was researched in different literary sources such as books, Internet cites, journal articles, magazine articles and others that deal with the issue of diversity training. Upon conducting the research it was found that this problem is given a lot of discussion in different media and this problem is one of the important ones for in the society. Upon reviewing numerous sources it had been found out that there is no single definition of the term diversity training. Currently, and over the past few years, diversity has become a favorite discussion topic in business, academia, and government. Moreover, diversity has become a buzzword in the media when focusing on the future of America. Wherever one looks, diversity is becoming more and more popular when describing the American workforce. Diversity is one of the greatest concern and one of the top ten legal issues that face HR professionals today. The Hudson Institute’s report Workforce 2000 made diversity a household word in companies across the United States, and enlightened organizations have became even more concerned with fairness in the workplace.
The Essay on Diversity Training
Research diversity training programs and their effectiveness. Discuss the purpose of diversity training and review the types of programs that are most effective in meeting goals for improving diversity within organizations. Diversity training is recommended to provide employees with the knowledge and skills to effectively communicate and relate to shareholders of different ethnicity, gender, ...
(7) In this article the significance of the meaning of the diversity training is highlighted very vividly. This problem is one of great importance. Today there are numerous trainings conducted in the field of diversity training. Some of these trainings prove to be effective, while others do not seem to reach the goals that were set for them. In spite of diversity training’s well-intended efforts to eliminate discrimination and harassment in the workplace, they continue. In the past decade alone, American businesses have spent billions of dollars on diversity training in an effort to eliminate extensive discrimination and harassment practices in the workplace.
Hundreds of millions of dollars more have been spent on legal fees. (6) This book has greatly dealt with the fact that many alleged professional claim to be great in conducting the trainings, but actually they do not know the first thing about them: We hired what we thought was the best diversity trainer in the country. She led this program where everyone was asked to share their stereotypes about gays, women, blacks, and others. People were extremely upset! Many of them went away traumatized, not talking to each other for months. I even got calls at home. Some of those stereotypes were used in a discrimination lawsuit against the company.
It cost our company millions of dollars.(3) This is only one case, but there are millions of cases of this misconduct happening around the country. This whole process leads to the only fact that now people are afraid to conduct such trainings although, in most cases if the correct program is chosen, than the trainings come out to be a success. The process of diversity training has undergone many during its evolution. In the first decades following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, anti-discrimination training in the American workplace primarily provided straightforward rules to employees about behavior required or forbidden under federal and state laws. Training in this style remains common, now frequently focusing on such topics as sexual harassment and the Americans with Disabilities Act. (1) When a Workforce 2000 Report used the term diversity in 1987, it soon became a buzzword. The report predicted that before the turn of the century, 84 percent of the entry-level workforce would be made up of females and minorities.
The Term Paper on Corporate Diversity Program Employees Company Diverse
CORPORATE DIVERSITY PROGRAM My company is one of the leading suppliers and distributors of HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning). We are a rather large company, with approximately one hundred employees, somewhat diverse, and also quite profitable. Recently, I received a memo stating that a diversity program was to be established. Diversity is certain qualities in other people that are ...
Among the startling projections were the following: White males would account for only 15 percent of the 25 million people who joined the workforce between the years 1985 and 2000. The remaining 85 percent would consist of white females, immigrants, and minorities (of both genders) of black, Hispanic, and Asian origins. (8) Experts say that notion is already coming to pass since nearly half of employees are women one-quarter are minorities. African Americans are now the largest minority group and steadily growing. But according to Workforce Economic Trends, by 2006, Hispanics will represent the largest minority segment in the U.S. workforce and Asians and African Americans will represent 17% of the workforce.
These statistics indicate that American businesses will have to adjust accordingly to employees’ needs. (5) These two completely different sources cite the same problem that is occurring in the workforce division today. All of the literature that was reviewed cites these changes as a common trait in the developing society, in the society that became more mature and understanding to the problem of diversity. The diversity training are not only important because they make the working environment more stable, they also play great importance because they save money for the companies, the money that would have to be paid in the lawsuits. Many companies, which are being highly successful in the market today, have conducted the diversity training programs and have reached absolutely high goals. As it had been stated in one article mostly the diversity training are conducted in large companies with a great number of staff. Although nowadays even the smaller companies began to adopt the practices of conducting the diversity training, because they began to understand the actual importance of these trainings.
The Research paper on The Cultural Diversity Training Program
This case study involved a human resource teacher by the name of Dr. Jennifer Barnes and her University’s Cultural Diversity Training. While looking forward to attending an ongoing educational class on diversity training, she was very disappointed with her University only giving knowledge on ethnic group of people. Dr. Barnes was gratified with the poor education being taught on Cultural Diversity ...
Charles Schwab & Company and IBM have robust leadership development initiatives to recruit, develop, and promote women and minority managers for advancement. Schwab’s program–Build a Culture: No Ceilings, No Barriers, No Limits–has been a key part of its operating philosophy for more than 20 years. Schwab tracks hiring, retention, turnover, time in grade, and participation rates by gender and race to ensure that women and minorities have equal promotional and development opportunities. (4) As it had been noted, the diversity training systems have evolved greatly over time. In the article Meeting the Leadership Challenge of a Diverse and Pluralistic Workplace: Implications of Self-Efficacy for Diversity Training the diversity training programs before were mainly facing such issues as racial discrimination and sexual harassment. Although these problems still remain very much of importance today, there are others.
Today, the following problems are addressed more and more often: the religious discrimination, gender discrimination, and the discrimination in accordance with the sexual orientation. There are numerous articles and books that are based on the ways of improving the ways of conducting diversity trainings. One of the articles that emphasized greatly on this point talked about using prejudice in the training process. Although the content of cultural-diversity training will vary depending on the unique requirements of the organization and the creativity of the trainer, certain strategies and topics are likely to be common across most, if not all, training programs. One of these strategies is to discuss the conditions under which a given comment or behavior is seen as racist, sexist, or discriminatory. (9) It was noted in all of the literary sources that were reviewed that one of the biggest problems of the cultural diversity trainings in the workplace is the fact that many times unified systems of training is used.
The Term Paper on Managing Diversity Programs Through Communications
Managing Diversity Programs Through Communication Jackqueline Raho May 31, 2000 Abstract "Organizations must look at diversity now as a critical factor in their future success, not just a social imperative… A diverse workforce is now an important competitive advantage." (Jose De Anda, assistant human resources director for the Southern California Region of Kaiser Permanente) Every ten years ...
This practice is very wrong, because you cannot unify one system that will be applied to numerous organizations with different goals and activities. One of the most important steps that have to be made, is creating different training programs for each organization, with taking into consideration all the factors that are taking place in this organization. The actual fact of importance of then diversity training cannot be underestimated. Keeping in mind that the United States in a melting-pot for many cultures, for people of all genders and sexual orientations, there has to be designed a strong system that will enable all these people to work together in order to strive their goals. If the working environment is happy within the organization, all the people feel comfortable working with each other, than the profits of the organization will grow, thus the company will pay more taxes and the country as a whole will grow. This concept shows that the happiness of each individual is extremely important for the whole nation to grow effectively.
This literature review can be concluded with a quote of a famous writer of the past that describes the current situation with the diversity training very well: It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, or doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who would gain by the new ones. Machiavelli, The Prince, 1513 (2) The diversity training in the workplace is very important because more and more woman start working, people come out in the open with there sexual orientations, people have different races and religious beliefs, but all them primarily are people and they have to learn to work together. Children do not notice racial differences, so now adults have to learn not to notice them as well, children are not the only ones who have to learn. Works Used Bendick, Marc. Workforce Diversity Training: From Anti-Discrimination Compliance to Organizational Development. Human Resource Planning.
Vol. 24. Is. 2., 2001. p 10. Combs, Gwendolyn. Meeting the Leadership Challenge of a Diverse and Pluralistic Workplace: Implications of Self-Efficacy for Diversity Training.
The Research paper on Equal Employment Diversity Training And Inclusion
Successful management of a diverse workforce poses many challenges in the confusing aspects of diversity that exist in today's workplace. Equal employment opportunity is an attempt to pay retribution for past errors and many say it was a good beginning but more is needed. We commonly read and hear the increasingly popular term diversity training. The new catchphrase to be found gaining popularity ...
Journal of Leadership Studies. Vol. 8. Is. 4. 2002. Cross, Elsie Y.
Managing Diversity–The Courage to Lead. Publisher: Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 2000. Diversity or Diversion? Experts Express Their Views about the Effectiveness of Diversity Programs and Offer Suggestions on How to Improve Them. Black Enterprise. Vol. 32.
Is. 12. July 2002. Foley, Griff. Dimensions of Adult Learning: Adult Education and Training in a Global Era. Crows Nest, N.S.W: Allen & Unwin.
2004. Hemphill, Hellen; Haines, Ray. Discrimination, Harassment, and the Failure of Diversity Training: What to Do Now. Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 1997. Karp, Hael. Workforce Diversity: Choices in Diversity Training Programs & Dealing with Resistance to Diversity. Alabama: College Student Journal. Vol.
34. Is. 3. 2000.p. 45 Koonce, Richard. Redefining Diversity: It’s Not Just the Right Thing to Do. It Also Makes Good Business Sense.
T&D. Vol. 55. Is. 12. December 2001. Sussman, Lyle.
Prejudice and Behavioral Archetypes: A New Model for Cultural-Diversity Training. Business Communication Quarterly. Vol. 60. Is. 1., 1997. York, Darlene Eleanor Cross-Cultural Training Programs.
Westport: Bergin & Garvey CT 1994.
