Managing workforce diversity: A key to organizational success

In the present century, Workforce Diversity has become an essential business concern. In the so-called Information Age, the greatest assets of most companies are now on two feet (or a set of wheels). Undeniably, there is a talent war raging. No company can afford to restrict its ability to attract and retain the very best employees available. Generally speaking, the term “Workforce Diversity” refers to policies and practices that seek to include people within a workforce who are considered to be, in some way, different from those in the prevailing constituency. Globalization, diversification, better customer interface, changing organizational structure and government regulations are all an integral part of the contemporary scenario – each of these also compels companies to recreate themselves – this manifests itself in one major change that is seen – an increasing diversity at the workplace.

This article proposes to explore not only the conceptual approach to people diversity at the workplace but also attempts to create a model for understanding and managing diversity. For this we will analyze why diversity occurs in organizations and then go on to explore the key drivers of workforce diversity and try to know how it is key to organizational success. The phenomenon of diversity is on the increase; so we will try to identify the reasons for this increase. Diversity has a deep impact upon the processes of the organizations. If we manage diversity well, it will result in positive outcomes for the organization, but if we are unable to tackle the diverse workforce, we will not only lose the opportunity to use the advantages of workforce diversity, but it will actually result in a negative impact upon the efficiency and effectiveness indicators of the organization. This compelling fact leads us to make a study of the challenges that a diverse workforce presents before us. Finally, we will construct a model that will help us in identifying all the situational variables that can contribute towards better management of diversity in the workforce that is increasingly being seen in organizations.