Managing Diversity in the Workplace

In today's business world managing diversity is one of the biggest challenge faced by organizations. New immigrants and professonals  that come from different countries to work in North America may speak English well, but may have learned it as a second language. Recognizing diversity helps businesses to link variety of talents within the organization. Managers should be educated on the skills and benefits of diversity and should treat all employees as equal. In the business world diversity is visible through how:

• Communication and language are used;
• Reports, Seminars, documents and so on are presented
• Procedures are undertaken;
• Organizations are structured and
• Dress and appearance are given importance.

As stated by By Elizabeth K. McArthur in her article on Managing Diversity for Success, Businesses that fail to successfully manage diversity will suffer economic and social consequences. A workplace culture that allows low morale, employee turnover, harassment, discrimination, absenteeism, and disruption to work teams results in a loss of productivity. When individuals are marginalized or isolated by their co-workers and/or managers because of cultural differences, the outcome is a loss of productivity, business opportunities and the potential for charges of harassment and discrimination.

Want to find more about Managing Diversity in the Workplace? Here are some other resources:

Glenn Llopis (2011, June 13). Diversity Management is the key to growth: Make it authentic. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2011/06/13/diversity-management-is-the-key-to-growth-make-it-authentic/

Glenn Llopis (2013, January 7). Diversity Management is outdated and demands a new approach. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2013/01/07/diversity-management-is-outdated-and-demands-a-new-approach/

How to foster innovation through diverse workgroup. Inc. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/guides/2011/01/how-to-foster-innovation-through-diverse-workgroups.html