Is Diversity Training Effective Within Organizations?

Is Diversity Training Effective Within Organizations?

Patricia L. McBroom

UWF MAN3301

Human Resource Management

Mini-Paper # 2

Navy Federal Credit Union

Management Certificate Program

petrie_1963@yahoo.com

Diversity is a reality in today’s organizations and is an issue that affects or will affect virtually all human resource professionals at some point in their careers (Cocchiara, Connerly, & Bell, 2010). Workforce diversity refers to changes in America’s labor force and in the ways we work together. Managing workforce diversity effectively is about creating a climate in which everyone’s unique qualities are viewed as assets that can help move an organization closer toward its business goals and vision. As the workplace becomes more diverse, employers must embrace diversity or lose their competitive edge by alienating a large portion of the workforce. Given the potential of the business case of diversity and the fact that organizations must cope with diversity regardless of whether it offers an opportunity for competitive advantage or not, organizations are developing systems and practices to manage the contemporary diverse workplace more effectively (Yang & Konrad, 2011).

Diversity training is training for the purpose of increasing participants’ cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills, which is based on the assumption that the training will benefit an organization by protecting against civil rights violations, increasing the inclusion of different identity groups, and promoting better teamwork (Yang et al., 2011). Diversity training has been a controversial issue, due to moral considerations as well as questioned efficiency or even counter-productivity. However, diversity training programs are effective in that they bring greater awareness to the distinct advantages, and potential challenges, of operating in a heterogeneous workplace. Diversity is not a way to lower standards or an excuse for treating anyone unfairly. Rather, diversity is about...