Diversity Dimension Differentiate Range Visible Non Visible Differences Business Essay

Diversity Dimension Differentiate Range Visible Non Visible Differences Business Essay Generally, diversity is any dimension that is used to differentiate a range of visible and non-visible differences that exist between groups or people. An inclusive view of diversity means understanding and valuing the characteristics and beliefs of those who demonstrate a wide range of characteristics. Such as, differences in ethnicity, gender, age, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, education, and religion (RBC, 2009). A broad conceptualization of diversity has the capacity to recognize not simply individual diversity, but also the heterogeneous nature of diverse social groups within the workforce (Liff, 1999), for example women, minority ethnic groups and disabled. There are various differences human resource management find when accommodating or integrating diversity and fairness (equal opportunity) into their organisation employment process. Although sometimes used interchangeably, the terms equality and diversity are not the same. When diversity is used in contrast to equality, it is about recognizing individual as well as group differences, treating people as individuals, and placing positive value in the community and workforce. Whereas, equality is about creating a fairer society were everyone can participate and has the opportunity to fulfill their potential, (DH, 2004). Equality is the idea of equal treatment and respect, where as, diversity is more than this as we all bring with us diverse perspectives, work experiences, life styles and cultures. Some use diversity as a descriptive term for an approach intended to provide a certain social environment in which people are not excluded from the activities of society, such as education, employment, or health care, on the basis of immutable traits. According to Paul Ricky (2000), there are two levels of diversity; first level dimensions consist of characteristics that are impossible or difficult for individuals to change. Second level dimensions comprises of characteristics which individuals have a degree of control through choices about their acquisition and modification. Whereas equal opportunities are about ensuring that everyone is entitled to freedom from discrimination. There are two main types of equality encompassed in equal opportunities thus equality of treatment which is concerned with treating everyone the same. In an organizational context this recognizes that institutional discrimination may exist in the form of unfair procedures and practices that favor those with some personal attributes, over others without them. Therefore the task of equal opportunities is concerned with the elimination of these barriers. The second one is equality of outcome which focuses on policies that either have an equal impact on different groups or intent the same outcomes for different groups, (Marjon, 2009). On the other hand when we talk about managing diversity, we are referring to the harnessing of these differences to create a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, talents are fully utilized and organizational goals are met Kandola and Fullerton (1998). Lorbiecki and Jack (2000) highlighted that United Kingdom seem to fix peoples differences into six main groups through legislation and does not allow for change or movement. Legislation is a law that aims to change peoples behavior to conform to a certain standard (rules). Hence why their diversity management limits itself to six main groups and this suggest that someone will always be discriminated against as people do not always fit nicely into one group. Where as equal opportunities focus on creating equality of opportunity, regardless of any differences (Johnstone, 2002). Equal opportunities approach is a legislation that should indicate a state of balance yet legislation itself is about controlling, standardizing and ensuring everyone follows the same rules. The same can be said about managing diversity as it aims to control people through policies and procedures. Managing diversity standardizes people by allocation them into groups, encouraging them to follow certain rules or (legislation) and use this to control them. From this, the term managing diversity could be a more liberal or free thinking word for legislation, as they both have the same agenda which is to conform and set standards that everyone must follow . This portion of the business case, often referred to as inclusion, relates to how an organization utilizes its various relevant diversities. As a source and driver of innovation, diversity is a big idea in business and in society, (RBC, 2009). The business case for diversity, theorizes that in a global marketplace, a company that employs a diverse workforce (both men and women, people of many generations, people from ethnically and racially diverse backgrounds) is better able to understand the demographics of the marketplace it serves and is thus better equipped to thrive in that marketplace. The real benefits of having a diverse workplace of employers and employees who value one another and the different contributions they can make to help a business achieve its potential; that is maximizing profits. Perhaps the most compelling argument underlying the business case for diversity relates to marketing and business development, (Marjon, 2009). Diversity training aims to combat racism, sexism, exclusion, and ethnocentrism. However, todays marketplace offers an additional connotation which is more positive as it gives business a competitive edge in an increasing global community, (DTUI, 2004). The business can benefit from multicultural workforce expertise, for example if a UK company does business in Asia, having British-Asian on your negotiating team would greatly improve your chances of success, (Thiederman, 2002). In addition, recruiting a diverse workforce has tangible benefits as many businesses find it helpful to have a workforce that reflects the community and international market place they trade in. This can help them tailor their goods and services so as to build trust and goodwill among customers and suppliers thereby improving their reputation as a diverse business. Diversity is beneficial to businesses as it brings better decision making and improved problem solving, greater creativity and innovation, which leads to enhanced product development, and more successful marketing to different types of customers, Fine (1980). Other benefits of business building a diverse workforce include: having a wider range of resources, skills and ideas among your employees, improving staff retention, leading to lower recruitment and training costs and increasing employee efficiency and reduced stress due to cross-functional teams, that is employees are capable of a variety of roles due to their different backgrounds and skill sets. It also enables businesses to build a competitive edge in recruitment and retention as you can select from a bigger pool of candidates. By recruiting employees from under-represented businesses avoid claims of unfair discrimination by employing women in a traditionally male environment. An additional corollary suggests that a company that supports the diversity of its workforce can also improve customer satisfaction, productivity and retention. By recruiting employees from under-represented groups, they can avoid alienating potential customers. For example a diverse workforce can also help business understand their customers better by helping to identify: problems that customers may have, such as language barriers and poor access for disabled people and how customers with different religious beliefs or from different backgrounds might react to their business or product (Business Link, 2009). If a workforce is diverse, but the employer takes little or no advantage of that breadth of that experience, then it cannot monetize whatever benefits background diversity might offer. Some organizations believe that simply having diversity and equal opportunities policies is sufficient evidence to tackle discrimination, (see Richards, 2001). However legislation cannot change the way people think, their inner beliefs and feelings therefore they break the law. This is probably due to the fact that equality policies fit disadvantage people into groups, as explored by Kirton and Green (2005) and this focus of difference seem to disadvantage people. In addition to this statistics from ACAS (2008) reported that discrimination claims have increased over the year. This proves that legislation failed to control people or organizations from discriminating and there is still the notion of stigma existing in the midst of our society regardless of the law. The law as suggested by Johnstone (2002) does not promote diversity and does not actually recognize the term diversity but instead compliance with the law is a business case for any organization to adopt a diversity policy as it acts as standard guideline to avoid discrimination. The law, as explored by Kirton and Green (2005, pp.169), does not have mystical powers to change society. Arguably, the social justice and business case arguments for diversity are complementary, because unless people are treated fairly at work they will feel less than fully committed and will therefore under-perform. But diversity takes equality forward, and evidence indicates that organizations that are serious about diversity show better overall financial performance. There are three broad strands supporting the case for going beyond what is required by legislation and introducing diversity policies: people issues, market competitiveness, and corporate reputation. Organizations which follow them are also more likely to find it easier to comply with increasingly complex legal obligations, not least because diversity will be embedded in their cultures. The social justice argument is based on the belief that everyone should have a right to equal access to employment and when employed should have equal pay and equal access to training and development, as well as being free of any direct or indirect discrimination and harassment or bullying. This can be described as the right to be treated fairly, and  the law sets minimum standards. Yet in reality unemployment is twice as high among people from ethnic minorities, although there are relatively more Chinese, Indian and Black African graduates than white graduates. Only 12 per cent of white men are in professional occupations, as opposed to 21 per cent of Chinese and Indian men. A diversity approach understands that our social identity in terms of gender, race, disability, age, social class, sexuality and religion will impact on our life experiences. For example, occupational segregation; women make up almost 75 percent of the NHS workforce but are concentrated in the lower-paid occupational areas: nursing, allied health professionals, administrative workers and ancillary workers (DH, 2005). Also people from black and minority ethnic groups comprise 39.1 percent of hospital medical staff yet they comprise only 22.1 percent of all hospital medical consultants (DH, 2005). Good diversity practice identifies these patterns of experience based on group identity, and the challenging processes that limit individuals potential health and life chances. Historically, employers ignored certain difference. However, individual and group diversity needs to be considered in order to ensure that everybodys needs and requirements are understood and responded to within employment practice and service design and delivery. One way in which organizations have responded to the issue of diversity in recent years has been the development of flexibility in working practices and services. For example, an employer may allow an employee to work a flexible working pattern to accommodate child care arrangements, or a GP surgery may offer surgeries at the weekends in accommodate those who work full time during the week. Another example of diversity in practice was shown by Worcestershire County Council in 2002 when they launched, Worcestershire We All Make It Unique. This was a four phase race diversity communication and training programme designed specifically to raise awareness among employees and to improve customer service, particularly in the larger ethnic minority communities that it served. This example shows quite starkly that organizations situated in seemingly ethnically homogenous locations, who claim that diversity is not relevant for them, may need to look more closely at their customers and the sub-regions and divisions of the locality in which they operate because these may have greater diversity and differing requirements CIPD, 2009. Hence why, employer engagement is a vital driver for organizations top and bottom-line performance. Employer engagement can be broadly defined as employers consistently acting in the best interests of the organization and in this context it is linked to raising public awareness. These in turn, inform intersecting relationships between employer skills needs and education (work-based learning), educational and workplace competency, and quality (accreditation of employer based training, and credit accumulation and transfer systems) and vocational competency (fit for practice, and fit for purpose), Springerlink (2009). Human resource managers must be willing to work towards changing the organization in order to implement a culture of diversity and inclusion. There is a compelling business case which should encourage organizations to look beyond legal compliance with anti-discrimination laws to a value-added approach enabling competitive benefits to be gained from developing good practice. Therefore diversity strategies need to be designed to support business objectives and strategies to add real value to business performance. Just doing diversity for cosmetic reasons is misguided and can result in undesirable outcomes such as raising expectations through false promises. When implementing a diversity programme it has to go far beyond the limits of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action. High performing diversity managers recognize that specialized skills are necessary for creating a productive, diverse workforce. They seek out continuous learning opportunities and some go as far as acquiring certification. Assessment skills and diversity education are key elements of culture change. However, the leaderships support of the change cannot be understated. Effective communication is very crucial in implementing a diversity programme. Brownells 2003 article identifies three skills which help to develop effective communication in diverse organizational environments. These skills include self-monitoring, empathy, and strategic decision-making. Self-monitoring refers to the communicators awareness of how his or her behavior affects another person, empathy enables the receiver to go beyond the literal meaning of a message and strategic decision-ma king implies that the sources, channels and substance of the messages conveyed, are mindfully selected, Adam (2007). The key to implementing a diversity approach is increasing individual awareness of and sensitivity to differences of race, gender, social class, sexual orientation, physical ability, and age Page (2007). There are several ways to go about creating the multicultural organization that performs extremely well. For example, Cox mentions language training as a way to promote a multicultural organization. Language training is important for companies hiring foreign nationals. This type of training helps to communicate to employees that languages, other than English, are highly valued. In addition equal opportunity seminars, focus groups, bias-reduction training, research, and task forces are methods that organizations have found useful in reducing culture-group bias and discrimination Fine (1980). While diversity in the workplace brings about many benefits to an organization, it can also lead to many challenges. It is the responsibility of managers within organizations to use diversity as an influential resource in order to enhance organizational effectiveness. Walck (1995) defines managing diversity in the workplace as negotiating interaction across culturally diverse groups, and contriving to get along in an environment characterized by cultural diversity. There are many challenges faced by culturally diverse workplaces, and a major challenge is miscommunication within an organization. In an article by Brownell (2003), she explains that meanings of messages can never be completely shared because no two individuals experience events in exactly the same way. Even when native and non-native speakers are exposed to the same messages, they may interpret the information differently. Cultural bias which includes both prejudice and discrimination is an additional factor which challenges culturally diverse work environments. Prejudice refers to negative attitudes toward an organization member based on his or her culture group identity, and discrimination refers to observable adverse behavior for the same reason, Fine (1980). Another challenge faced by diverse organizational environments is assimilation. According to Fine (1980) assimilation into the dominant organizational culture is a strategy that has had serious negative consequences for individuals in organizations and the organizations themselves. Those who assimilate are denied the ability to express their genuine selves in the workplace; they are forced to repress significant parts of their lives within a social context that frames a large part of their daily encounters with other people. People who spend significant amounts of energy coping with an alien environment have less energy left to do their jobs. Assimilation does not just create a situation in which people who are different are likely to fail; it also decreases the productivity of organizations Page (2007). Other organizational theorists have suggested reasons that work-teams highly diverse in work-relevant characteristics can be difficult to motivate and manage. Pages (2007) mathematical modeling research of team work supports this view. He demonstrated that heterogeneous teams consistently out-performed homogeneous teams on a variety of tasks. He also points out that diversity in teamwork is not so simple in the messy real world. Too often the cultural differences create problems. The goal is to manage diversity to take full advantage of it. Figure 2 below shows how organizations can move from where most are at present to a situation in which diversity successfully enters the mainstream. Figure 2: CIPD (2009). In order for diversity efforts to succeed, organizations must hold everyone; (individual, interpersonal, group and organizational) accountable through a proactive, progressive that is both prospective and retrospective, (Thiederman, 2002). Diverse organizations will be successful as long as there is a sufficient amount of communication within them. Because people from different cultures perceive messages in different ways, communication is vital to the performance of an organization. Miscommunication within a diverse workplace will lead to a great deal of challenges. In addition for diversity management to be successful it should engage with all business processes and stakeholders and not limited to the Human resource function.   Finally for any diversity programme to be successful after its introduction it needs to go beyond legislation compliance (following rules) to ever attempt to treat people the same and avoid discrimination. Never the less, to be inclusive and equal to all, organizations may need to respond differently to individuals or groups. Therefore, a commitment to equality in addition to recognition of diversity means that different can be equal. REFERENCING Brownell, J., 2003. Developing Receiver-Centered Communication in Diverse Organizations. Listening Professional, 2(1), pp.5-25. Business Link. 2009. Widen your choice of employees to improve competitiveness. [Online] Available at: http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCESitemId=1074421939 [Assessed 27 November 2009]. CIPD. 2009. Managing diversity in practice: supporting business goals. [Online] Available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/dvsequl/general/_mngdvprsmy.htm [Assessed 5 December 2009]. Diversity Training University International. 2004. What is the diversity training profession? [Online] Available at: http://www.dtui.com/qapg1.html [Assessed 20 November 2009]. Faculty Development. 2008. What is equality and diversity? [Online] Available at: http://www.faculty.londondeanery.ac.uk/e-learning/diversity-equal-opportunities-and-human-rights/what-is-equality-and-diversity [Accessed 29 September 2009]. Fine, M.G., 1980. Cultural Diversity in the Workplace: The State of the Field. Journal of Business Communication, 33(4), pp.485-502. Heathfield, S.A., 2009. What Is Human Resource Management? [Online] Available at: http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryh/f/hr_management.htm [Accessed 14 October 2009]. Johnstone, S., 2002. IRS Managing Diversity in the workplace. 1st ed. London: LexisNexis. Kirton, G. Green, A., 2005. The Dynamics of Managing Diversity: A Critical Approach. 1st ed. London: Butterworth-Heinemann. Kirton, G. Greene, A., 2000. The dynamics of managing diversity: a critical approach. Butterworth Heinemann: Oxford. Lorbiecki, A. Jack, G., 2000. Critical Turns in the Evolution of Diversity Management: British Journal of Management, 11, pp.18-31. Page, S., 2007. The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Available at: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8353.html [Assessed 1 December 2009].   Price, A. HRM Guide Network. 2007. Organizational HRM. [Online] Available at: http://www.hrmguide.net/hrm/chap4/ch4-links.html [Accessed 14 October 2009]. RBC. 2009. What is Diversity Inclusion? [Online] Available at: http://www.rbc.com/diversity/what-is-diversity.html [Assessed 15 November 2009]. Richards, W., 2001. Evaluating Equal Opportunities Initiatives. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Springerlink. 2009. Competencies and employer engagement. [Online] (Updated 5 February 2008) Available at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/24612303714832jm/ [Assessed 30 November 2009]. Thiederman, S., 2002. Why Diversity Counts -The Business Case. [Online] Available at: http://www.multiculturaladvantage.com/recruit/metrics [Assessed 10 November 2009]. University College Marjon Plymouth. 2009. What is Diversity? [Online] Available at: http://www.marjon.ac.uk/aboutmarjon/diversity/whatisdiversity/ [Accessed 29 September 2009]. Walck, C.L., 1995. Editors introduction: Diverse approaches to managing diversity. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 31, pp.119-123.

Olympics Essay -- essays research papers

The Olympics The Olympics are a huge sporting event that contains many different sports and consists of many different countries from around the world. Back in ancient Greece is where the ancient Olympics originated. It was primarily a part of a religious festival in honor of Zeus the father of Greek Gods and Goddesses. The Olympics where held at the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia, which is in Western Peloponnesos. From 776 BC, the games took place at Olympia every 4 years for almost 12 centuries. In 776 BC the only event was the Stadion Race that was a foot race 600 feet long, Koroibos, a cook from Elis, won it. Additional athletic events were gradually added until; by the 5th century BC it was a 5-day program that consisted of three foot races, the pentathlon, boxing, wrestling, pankration, and the hoplitodromos. The Greeks that came to the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia shared the same religious beliefs and spoke the same language. There where no females in the Olympics at this time so all the athletes where males who came from every corner of the Greek world, as far as Iberia in the West and the Black Sea in the East. Although the ancient games where staged in Olympia, from 776 BC through 393 AD, it took 1503 years for the Olympics to return. The first modern Olympic games took place in Athens Greece in 1896. The man responsible for the rebirth was a Frenchman named Baron Pierre De Coubertin, who presented the idea in 1894. His original idea was to present the modern games in 1900 in his hometown Paris. But others were so enthusiastic with the idea that they convinced him to move it to 1896 and have Athens host it. There were many great athletes throughout the history of the Olympics, But where some of the athletes worthy of earning a prize worth a hefty amount of money. This question has came about a numerous amount of times. But the word Athlete is a Greek word that means â€Å"one who competes for a prize† and is also related to the Greek words athlos meaning â€Å"contest† and athlon meaning â€Å"prize†. According to the Roman author Plutarch, an Olympic victor who was a citizen of Athens could expect to receive in the year 600 BC a cash reward of 500 drachmai, a literal fortune. Later in Hellenistic periods, pensions for athletes became more formalized and could actually be bought and sold. But were the ancient Olympics just for men? Along with the athletic conte... .... Summer Winter 1896-Athens 1924-Chamonix 1900-Paris 1928-St.Moritz 1904-St.Louis 1932-Lake Placid 1908-London 1936-Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1912-Stockholm 1948-St.Moritz 1920-Antwerp 1952-Oslo 1924-Paris 1956-Cortina d’Ampezzo 1928-Amsterdam 1960-Squaw Valley 1932-Los Angeles 1964-Innsbruck 1936-Berlin 1968- Grenoble 1948-London 1972-Sapporo 1952-Helsinki 1976-Innsbruck 1956-Melbourne 1980-Lake Placid 1960-Rome 1984-Sarajevo 1964-Tokyo 1988-Calgary 1968-Mexico City 1992-Albertville 1972-Munich 1994-Lillehammer 1976-Montreal 1998-Nagano 1980-Moscow 2002-Salt Lake City 1984-Los Angeles 1988-Seoul 1992-Barcelona 1996-Atlanta 2000-Sydney 2004-Athens   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is also statues up that are there to commemorate those who had been caught cheating or Bribing at the Olympic games. These were set up on the walkway leading from the heart of the altis to the vault that leads to the stadion, not by accident the path that leads to the entrance of the athletic competition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Olympics are a great tradition and they will last a very long time just like its done in the past.

Global And China Ethylene Carbonate Industry

The report firstly introduced Ethylene Carbonate basic information included Ethylene Carbonate definition classification application industry chain structure industry overview; international market analysis, China domestic market analysis, Macroeconomic environment and economic situation analysis, Ethylene Carbonate industry policy and plan, Ethylene Carbonate product specification, manufacturing process, cost structure etc. Browse Complete report with TOC : http://www. qyresearchreports. com/report/global- and-china-ethylene-carbonate-industry 2013-market- research- report. htmThen statistics Global and China key manufacturers Ethylene Carbonate capacity production cost price profit production value gross margin etc information, and Global and China Ethylene Carbonate capacity production market share supply demand shortage import export consumption etc data statistics, and Ethylene Carbonate Industry 2009-2014 capacity production price cost profit production value gross margin etc i nformation. To Get Sample Copy of Report Visit @ http://www. qyresearchreports. com/sample/ Table of Contents Chapter One Ethylene Carbonate Industry Overview 1. 1 Ethylene Carbonate Definition 1.Ethylene Carbonate Classification and Application 1. 3 Ethylene Carbonate Industry Chain Structure 1. 4 Ethylene Carbonate Industry Overview Chapter Two Ethylene Carbonate International and China Market Analysis 2. 1 Ethylene Carbonate Industry International Market Analysis 2. 1. 1 Ethylene Carbonate International Market Development History 2. 1. 2 Ethylene Carbonate Product and Technology Developments 2. 1. 3 Ethylene Carbonate Competitive Landscape Analysis 2. 1. 4 Ethylene Carbonate International Key Countries Development Status 2. 1. 5 Ethylene Carbonate International Market Development Trend 2.Ethylene Carbonate Industry China Market Analysis 2. 2. 1 Ethylene Carbonate China Market Development History 2. 2. 2 Ethylene Carbonate Product and Technology Developments 2. 2. 3 Ethylene Carbo nate Competitive Landscape Analysis 2 2 4 Ethylene Carbonate China Key Regions Carbonate China Market Development Trend lopment S 5 Ethylene 2. 3 Ethylene Carbonate International and China Market Comparison Analysis Chapter Three Ethylene Carbonate Development Environmental Analysis 3. 1 China Macroeconomic Environment Analysis 3. 1. 1 China GDP Analysts 3. 1. 2 China CPI Analysts 3.

Persecution of Hispanics Exposed in David Hernandez’s...

Persecution of Hispanics Exposed in David Hernandez’s Pigeons The word â€Å"outsider† is typically used when describing someone or something that just does not fit in. An outsider is different and distinct, but not always valued or appreciated for its diversities. Quite the opposite of being appreciated, the outsider is usually castrated from whatever society it might have appeared in, and looked down upon for its differences. Sadly, outsiders are frequent in humanity. Whether the purpose for their outsider status relates to gender, race, religion or even economical standing, the fact is that there are outsiders in today’s society. When one is made into an outsider, the bias they experience is terrible and unjust, and they†¦show more content†¦Pigeons don’t look the same as doves. â€Å"Pigeons have feathers of a different color / [†¦] so they are not accepted anywhere† (Hernandez 1023). Pigeons could never pass as doves, because even if â€Å"they bleach[ed] their feathers white / [†¦] their acc ents [would] give them away / when they start to coo† (Hernandez 1023-24). Because of mere aesthetic differences, pigeons instantly become known as outsiders and are stereotyped to fit into society’s generically created cage that they will have difficulty escaping from. As a result of such shallow prejudice, pigeons then tend to be economically poorer, because â€Å"Nobody wants to give pigeons a job.† All of the good jobs go to the more socially acceptable, and the outsiders are cast aside in favor of the insiders. Hernandez says,â€Å"[Pigeons] can’t afford to fly south / or a Florida winter home,† describing how outsiders are poorer and unable to have the funds for the luxuries that others are able to afford because they are not given the opportunity to prosper and make a living for themselves (1023). Because of their poverty, the pigeons are also forced to live in â€Å"wooden cages / on rooftops that look like huge / pigeon housing projects / where they freeze during the winters / and get their little claws stuck in tar / on hot summer days† (Hernandez 1024). Their living arrangements are hardly acceptable, but it is all they have. Perhaps if they were given