Diversity in the Workplace

Cultural Diversity in the Workplace

Human resources has a big job when it comes to working with people from all backgrounds. Managing diversity is to plan and implement the organizational system and practices to manage people. Cultural diversity involves the differences in the composition of members of an organization in terms of nationality, race, color, gender, creed, religion, or age (Merchant, 2012). The organization has the responsibility to keep a positive influence when it comes to cultural diversity. Members of the company especially those in the human resource department have the responsibility to ensure that each member acknowledges each other regardless of their differences of background.

Managing diversity is to value the differences and to encourage the employee’s potential within the organization and for the employees in terms of the organizational objectives. Every organization has a range of diverse employees. When a organization acknowledges diverse cultures this enables the organization to positively influence the organizational behavior, which will enhance the performance and the image of the organization (Merchant, 2012). The cultural aspect of the organization should also be in the mission statement so all the customers and employees know what is expected. It is the responsibility of human resources to stress the rights of the diverse groups.

Cultural diversity provides strength and challenges to the organizations of today and America is made up of a diverse population. It has been estimated that at least 60% of the workforce consists of people with diverse cultures, minorities, and women. According to studies that have been made that in the next 20 years this percentage will rise to at least 90%. Management has the challenge of effectively managing the workforce as the diverse lines of ethnicity, physical abilities, race, gender and sexual preference and age increase. The human resource department has the responsibility of...