The Cultural Diversity Phenomenon In Organisations

Question: A comparison of about 3 corporations to compare, contrast and analyze their Diversity practices? You'd have to cite the sources from our class to support your analysis.? Answer: Introduction The terms of diversity and diversity practices are very important to the sustenance of an organisation. It is the specification that is utilised by the organisations to maintain a highly differentiated group of employees and suppliers. Also, to keep a diverse organisation means to manage and retain people from different background, ethnicity, education, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation. The more diverse a workplace is the more chances of innovation, excellence and new ideas of business being conducted. Hence, the report makes a study of the diversity practices prevalent in the three major corporations of UK. Also, a comparison, contrast and analysis are conducted on the same. The three major companies thus chosen are Sainsbury, British Airways and HSBC. Diversity Practices Today organisations have realized the need and power of diversity. The numerous researchers conducted shows that valuing diversity has led to a higher profits and much larger business success. It is seen that despite some significant and crucial obstacles as well as issues the companies have kept their diversity programs intact to sustain their brand image and ensure business growth and productivity. Sainsbury- It is one of the largest retail chains in the country with a huge customer base. The diversity vision of the company is to be the most inclusive retailer in the country. The inclusion factor means to include a diverse people in the workforce strategically. The company achieves its market goals, by recruiting, training, retaining and developing a very diverse and talented people in its workforce. The four board sponsors lead the diversity strategy of the company. The company has taken active steps to support the women as well as the disabled. The company also enjoys being the champions of race opportunity with a workforce of 10% employees falling in the Black Asian Minority Ethnic group. The You Can segment a new opportunity to discuss the issues and the aspirations of the employees. Finally, the Paralympics commitment undertaken by the company is to include employees with disability. Thus, the diversity practices of the company are nationally as well as internationally acclaimed. There are more than 30,000 people recruited by the company to practice diversity and inclusion. British Airways- The global airline company is known for its efficient services and traditional flights. It carries people from different nationalities, religions, cultures and sexual orientation and hence, it is necessary for the company to promote and understand diversity. For the company, the process of recruiting talent is based on the strong and supportive principles of diversity and inclusion. The company believes in providing fair treatment and equal opportunities to its candidates, and the selection is done only on the basis of merit. The company is also a member of the UK government's Two Ticks Scheme that ensures that the company will effectively employ, retain and develop the disabled people. Also, the company has some LGBT societies among them. The British Airways workforce is highly diverse and is based on a culture of mutual respect. The idea is realised the diverse workforce and create an inclusive environment by providing the customer with a sense of value. Hence, the inclusion is segmented into groups of customers with reduced mobility, Ethnically Diverse Network, Faith groups, gender equality and LGBT community. HSBC- The famous international British bank believes that diversity and inclusion mean strength. The diverse workforce to be the world leading international bank and the needs of the diverse workforce are the driving force behind the competitive advantage and a sustainable and secure future. The contributions of each customer, employee and supplier are considered important by the company. The components of the diversity and inclusion strategy include the values of being dependable, open to new ideas and cultures, connection with customers, community regulators and so on. Hence, the company has embedded the Employee Resource Groups and Diversity Councils to undertake the activities. Thus, the company means to leverage the individual talents to gain unique and distinctive insights into the leading growth . Thus, while comparing the three corporations, it could be seen that Sainsbury is the most successfully and well-integrated company that has already attained many accolades through its diversity practices. HSBC follows behind to succeed in a highly competitive market with certain competitive advantages. Finally, the British Airways has only started implementing those programs and thus must be monitored properly. Diversity in Recruitment and Training Diversity should be included in the leadership scenario of the companies to understand the needs and requirements of the companies. The first and the most important function of an organisation are conducting a proper diverse inclusion program to gather the best talents. Hence while, Sainsbury is more focused on recruiting the disabled and women into their teams, the other two companies of British Airways and HSBC has promoted gender equality and uphold rights for the LGBT community. One of the most negative impacts on the diversity practices of Sainsbury occurred when an employee showed disrespect for homosexual couples. Thus, there is need of proper criteria for the recruitment procedure. Their recruitment procedure is not restricted to the special cases or causes. It is particularly seen that the recruiting and selection procedure at British Airways is focused on individual merit than any other social obligations and thus strictly adheres to the code. The strategic policy of HSBC has been based on a diverse culture. It is the different cultural background that will help the company get access to broad consumer insight. Their strategic priorities are embedding and inclusion of diverse cultural values and practices, changing of the biases and unconscious beliefs and feelings harboured by the people, championing diversity among the employees and the customers, maintain a very sustainable workforce and finally by providing a fair and accessible regulatory body to address the issues. The only segment where it lacks is in the number of women bankers in the corporation. Diversity in training and development The diversity practices will be only successfully when the workforce is on par with the company policies and strategy. Thus, it is most important to train and develop the very diverse workforce according to the corporate strategy. Also, it is difficult to maintain diverse employee, and there are many issues and conflicts of interest as well as preconceived notions that lead to some major obstacles in the functioning of the organisations. After the recruitment and selection of a diverse workforce, the British Airways have been more focused on training the people in a diverse work culture. This can also be due to the reasons that the Airline companies are largely dependent on customer service to customers of diverse backgrounds. The British Airways have put forth their program as putting the people first, and thus it needs the management of people giving the priority. The aim of the company is to build a high performing work culture that offer rewards on great performances. The company has recruited best talents at every level and provided them with a special culture to ensure that the people are feeling comfortable at work. The working strategy is fostered to develop Dignity and reduce harassment helping the people with diverse backgrounds to reach their full potential. The Dignity at Work strategy adopted by the company involves training, communications, and workshops conducted across the business. There are also onl ine courses to help the employees to learn and imbibe the core values. At Sainsbury, the training involves the teaching o the new trainees on organisational culture. The staff development section offers a performance development program that analyses the potential of the employees. The purpose of training at Sainsbury's is increasing the productivity and the profits to increase the profit. Also, this training program will make the workforce flexible and provide job satisfaction. The company also enables the workers to report any discrimination or harassment faced by the individuals. The HSBC culture defines Diversity as the heart of the business. The company also believes in professionalism, entrepreneurial spirit and the ethical business principles as a guide. The core values are the inclusion of the different ideas and cultures and various perspectives. The success of the bank lies within its connection between clients and communities. Thus, the company has developed an e-learning diversity training module to help the employees to understand the diverse information and knowledge. Also, the internal network groups and voluntary training program forms an inclusive environment to provide an unbiased and gender-balanced workforce. Finally with its footprints in eight different countries, the company recruits from around the nation to train and sustain a diverse workforce that it could boast of . Issues identified After a brief study and analysis so conducted on the diversity practices undertaken by the three different companies, the issues faced by the organisations or by the customers are identified and stated below: The diversity practices of the three different companies are not same and not balanced. The balance is lost in the internal structure of the organisation Sainsbury has earned accolades for being champion in the race of diversity but has also faced harsh criticism due to the inadequacies in the programs British Airways does not possess a proper retirement plan, and the selection procedure is not clearly defined. HSBC, despite its wide range of actions regarding diversity practices and the models of approach it has taken, there is a lack of women staff bankers that is raising questions about the Company's practices and the authenticity of the measures it has taken. Finally, there is no clear evaluation program defined to understand and measure the assessment of the extent to which the diversity program has been implemented and how much successful it is. Also, there is a marked difference in the three organisations, regarding the organisational objectives that are to be achieved through the diversity program. These objectives often defined the concentration segment of the Company's diversity practice. Recommendations Firstly, the companies should completely abide by the diversity practises suggested by the governmental structures. This will help the companies to manage easily and monitor their activities Next a code of conduct is to format that will be undertaken by the senior management and all the employees and must be followed strictly. This Code of conduct would be separate from the normal code of conduct and will only focus on diversity issues and diverse work culture Sainsbury must be able to imbibe the values it teaches to the workers and ensure that the value for diverse work culture is strictly followed by the individuals working in the organisation A proper plan, rules and regulations are to be defined by all the three companies so that all the diverse and minor groups are provided with equal opportunities HSBC must make sure their programs are so designed that it provides ample opportunities to recruit women and sustain them. Also, it must be ensured that a safe and appropriate environment is provided for the women employees An evaluation plan is to be formulated that will provide scope for assessing the benefit of the diversity practices and the extent to which the people have accepted it and has earned profit for the organisations Irrespective of the organisational goal and objectives, equal attention, must be given to all the segments of the diversity practices to enjoy a great work culture Conclusion Diversity means the difference in culture, ethnicity and demographics among the people in a workplace. The concept of inclusion is recruiting and maintains a diverse workforce. The concept of diversity is fraught with many implications and is thus paid critical attention by employers around the world. Special attention is given to diversity practices that deal with gender equality, LGBT community and the disabled. These issues are increasingly becoming some major factors that can make or mar and organisation. Hence, it is essential must be handled with proper training and care. This report makes a study of three major UK corporations of Sainsbury, British Airways and HSB. Three completely different industries are thus chosen, and the diversity practices are compared contrasted as well as analyse to understand the issues. Finally, the series of recommendations are suggested that will lead to the success of the companies discussed. References Achievers,. 'Culture Diversity Of HSBC'. N.p., 2015. Web. 25 Aug. 2015. Aytemiz Seymen, Oya. 'The Cultural Diversity Phenomenon In Organisations And Different Approaches For Effective Cultural Diversity Management: A Literary Review'.Cross Cultural Management13.4 (2006): 296-315. Web. Banks, Claretha H. 'Diffusion Of Innovation: Communicating To Improve Training And Employee Development'.IJSCM1.1/2 (2006): 143. Web. Britishairways.com,. 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