Referat Essay on Diversity in Companies

Essay on Diversity in Companies

In this essay, I will give arguments for my statement that 'diversity in a company leads to a competitive advantage'. I do not write about the statement that 'diversity in a company can foster problems' because my research shows that a company can benefit from diversity in many ways and seeing only negative aspects cannot help to solve the problems. By realizing the positive outcomes of encouraging and practicing diversity, managers and executives of companies might consider to recognize the

need for action-plans in order to establish a positive view on diversity in their company. Like this, problems could be avoided in the first place. Hence I chose this statement to show that it is more productive to embrace differences instead of encouraging conformity.

In literature, many definitions for diversity can be found but all in all it "simply refers to human characteristics that make people different from one another" (Gomez-Mejia et al., ). This can mean age, gender, ethnicity and race as well as education or behaviour. My focus will be on differences in ethnicity and age.

The world changed in the last decades. People are not necessarily bound to their country of origin or borders between countries anymore, as you can see in the concept of the European Union. As a result, more and more people from minority groups are entering the workplace, people from different nationalities as well as more women.

This mix of cultures, gender and experiences can lead to problems but also to an advantage for the companies they work for. That is why I want to show why it is worth to put effort into integrating minority groups into a company and what the positive effects of successfully managing diversity are.

In a world which is becoming more and more flexible every day, it is crucial for a company to be flexible itself, to adapt to changes in the markets, trends and developments concerning customers and a lot of more problems.

In an open and trustworthy atmosphere, where diversity and the individual skills and competencies of employees are embraced, it is more likely that a positive and flexible

environment can be created (Gomez-Mejia et al., ). If different views and values are respected, there is also a higher acceptance for different ways of working. Besides, people are more open about new concepts and ideas, they can be realized faster and therefore save time.

Diversity can also lead to more creativity within a company and therefore to better solutions for problems, as well (Gomez-Mejia et al., ). People in a diverse workplaces have various backgrounds. They have different life experiences and are in different phases of their lives. They might have absolutely different values in life and work and see the world from another perspective. All these dissimilarities make it possible for a company to look at a problem from a lot of angles and to find a solution outside the 'usual' way of doing or thinking. Additionally, a company can use the feedback of their diverse workforce to find solutions for the needs of its diverse customers. So, diversity also means input from many different sources and thinking outside the box.

Another important point is the marketing advantage through diversity (Torington,

). In every western country, the number of minority groups in the workplace is increasing, like women or disabled persons. Furthermore, a lot of people choose or have to live in another country than their country of origin, so society develops to be more and more diverse as well. If a company is seen as treating all their employees the same, regardless of their gender, age, ethnicity or race, then they are also seen as being 'good' to and for all customers and their differences. A multicultural company is able to serve a multicultural population. The diversity of a company can therefore be used to create a positive image which can attract more customers.

A point which differs from the ethnicity issue is the role of older employees, aged 5 or older. In the near future, people will become older and stay in their jobs longer.

Still, many companies prefer to rather employ younger people than older ones.

But despite many prejudices, these people contribute to a great extend to a company's success (Gomez-Mejia et al , ). Older employees are often highly motivated and committed to their jobs. Especially if they worked at a specific company for a longer period, they are loyal to this company. They can be of a great advantage by mentoring

new and young employees and passing on their know-how. In this way, knowledge and experience remain in the company and contribute to the success.

But for me, the most important aspect of diversity can be seen in the advantage of a company in the global markets (Greenberg, ).

Nowadays, companies do not operate in their own countries only anymore, they want to be successful in other countries, too, or even be present worldwide.

For being successful in foreign countries, employees of other nationalities can be of great help, for various reasons. Firstly, if the employee speaks the language of the country in which the company would like to operate, it can lessen the obstacle of the language barrier, which could cause problems otherwise. Secondly, these people have knowledge about the needs and expectations of the population of their country of

origin as well as about how to behave around business partners from this country. This can lead to more success in this country and therefore increase the overall turnover.

To conclude, this essay shows how diversity can help to be more successful as a company. Employees from different age, gender, ethnicity or race can lead to solutions and ways of working which differ from the 'normal' or 'usual' methods of the country in which the company is situated in. It also creates an atmosphere of flexibility and creativity which would probably not exist in a homogenous workplace. The benefits explained make clear why a company should value differences of employees and

make use of them. To see every employee as the individual he or she is, with all the unique experiences, points of views, skills and competencies should be the goal of every company, so it can react to all the different kinds of people who could be potential future clients or customers and therefore be successful in this diverse world.

Reference list:

- Gomez-Mejia, L.R. et al, (2 ). Managing Human Resources, ^th edition, Pearson Education.

- Greenberg, J. (2 ). Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges and Solutions. Retrieved September 1 , , from http:/ www.multiculturaladvantage.com.

-    Torrington, D. (2 . Human Resource Management, ^th edition, Pearson

Education.