Individual Assignment:
Organizational Analysis - Diversity Management Think back to an organization where you enjoyed working. What were the top three reasons that you enjoyed working there?
For many, one of those responses is the people. Now, think about the people that were at that organization. Was everyone the same, or were they a diverse group of people.
Within a diverse group, do you think team members would complement or detract from your skills and abilities? As innovation processes depend on harnessing creativity, and while dynamic as well as supportive systems of management can elicit the best from staff, like-minded people will usually produce like-minded results.
Diversity in the workforce can, however, help companies to break this mould and the cycle of limited unilateral thinking and, in so doing, set them free to discover new products, markets, and ways of doing or leading business. (European Community, n.d.:4) Although you may understand the reasoning behind diversity within an organization, it may be more difficult to explain to others who have primarily worked with like-minded people.
As a manager, you may be called upon to train others about the purpose of diversity management within an organization. Consider how you would explain the benefits and costs of diversity management to your assigned organization, as well the potential issues that may arise from your organization building a more diverse workforce. In this Individual Assignment, you will analyze approaches to diversity management within your scenario organization. References European Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity (2007-2013), (n.d.)
Important: To prepare for this Individual Assignment: Review the Unit Introduction and the Learning Resources. Support your Individual Assignment with current academic literature beyond your Learning Resources. Reflect on Edgar H. Schein's Model of Organizational Culture and the artefacts, values and deep-rooted beliefs that can play a role in diversity management.
- Refer to your scenario organization and assess any issues related to diversity management that may arise during the upcoming transition in the scenario.
To complete this Individual Assignment: Develop an outline for a training session for managers about diversity management in your scenario organization. Identify what approaches to diversity management you would recommend to build a more diverse workforce. Explain the impact that a diverse workforce may have on your scenario organization.
Explain how to manage potential issues that may arise while building your diverse workforce and propose solutions to ease the transition within your scenario organization.
- Submit your training session as a PowerPoint Presentation, with presenter notes for each slide. Your outline of the training session should be at least 10 slides.
- An acquisition Akbar and Sons, launched and headquartered in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is a family-owned oil company with a rich tradition of social responsibility.
BP Oil acquires Akbar and Sons. BP will send senior managers to the UAE Akbar headquarters for 3-6 months. After that, current Akbar managers will need to travel frequently to the UK where BP will oversee operations.
The average age of Akbar employees is 46. Through working together for several years, they have become a very close team and all share a common Islamic faith. BP retains all Akbar employees and Mr. Akbar and his son have the option to leave or to fulfill senior management roles within the BP organization, frequently travelling or relocating to the UK.