• Demographics

  This refers to the characteristics of a population or workforce where the organization is situated. Examples of this include age, gender or social class. This type of trend may have an effect in relation to pension offerings, insurance packages, employee benefits and others.

• Diversity

  The differences within the population/workplace. Recent changes can be seen in the number of women working in the organisations compared to decades ago. With the advent of globalisation, organisations become more culturally diverse and working patterns change to part-time, casual, seasonal positions to be able to handle the societal and the global market changes. Human resource has to make necessary adjustments to be able to take into consideration the different ethic and legal implications of their decisions with regards to HRM policies intended to protect employees. Employers have to contend with various issues that affect its employees such as rise in discrimination, unfair dismissal and sexual/racial harassment cases in recent years. These cases could have negative effects to employees in particular and the organisation in general. Anti-discrimination legislation over the past 30 years has provided a foundation for an increasing interest in diversity at work which is “about creating a working culture that seeks respects and values difference.”

• Skills and Qualifications

  As industries move from manual to more managerial professions in nature, there is a growing shift for more highly skilled graduates. If there are few skilled laborers in the market, employers are forced to compete by offering financial rewards, community investment etc.

Recruitment methods are broad and different, it is important that the job is described correctly and any personal specifications stated. Job recruitment methods can be through job centres, employment agencies/consultants, headhunting, and local/national newspapers. It is important that the correct media is chosen to ensure an appropriate response to the advertised post.

To understand fully what the "business case for diversity management and equal opportunities" really is, it is important to know the meaning of business case. Business case pertains to a planned proposal for business change based on terms of costs and benefits. This is an initial requirement before a huge project is undertaken and is necessary for a number of project management processes.

The business case is expected to address the business need of the project. It must include the reason for undertaking the project, the perceived business advantages, options involved complete with the reasons behind choosing which option to carry out, the projected costs, risks and gap analysis.

Business Case for Diversity Management

The “business case for diversity” simply means that companies believes that employing a diverse workforce allow them to be in a position to understand the demographics of the customers they serve much better making them better able to thrive in the marketplace than companies that hire only a limited group of employee demographics. Also, a company that supports diversity of workforce is better able to address employee satisfaction and retention issues.

It is important to note that diversity in workforce means employing people without discrimination to gender, age and ethnic or racial backgrounds. Since globalization is the current overwhelming trend in business, diversity in the workplace is a better accepted and applied concept now more than ever.

The business case for diversity has been examined by a number of researchers and no research support was found to support the “diversity business case”. Also, in US companies are not allowed to hire on the basis of race or ethnicity for whatever profit reason it may be.

An important requirement of the business case is how a company uses its diversities. This is called inclusion. If the company has a diverse workforce yet the employer does not take advantage of the wide range of experience within his organization then it could not enjoy the advantages offered by background diversity.

Diversity issues change with time. Implementation of diversity is more often than not limited to the Human resources department. UK companies see it as a tool to a good economic case that enables them to reach new markets. Diversity then becomes an extra marketing tool to bring in new customers.

Diversity could either be superficial or deep-level. Superficial diversity refers to differences in gender, race and nationality. Deep-level refers to differences brought about by knowledge and cultural values. It is often noted that in a company setting increase interaction among a diverse workforce lessens the significance of superficial diversity and increases the importance of deep-level as the team learns how to function as a unit. According to studies, in deep level diversity, the informational diversity or the differences in knowledge contributes positive results to the performance while value diversity or differences in cultural views could lead to negative results.

Certain processes could have positive contribution to deep level informational diversity. One is the need to share unique views with others. In a group setting though, members tend to discuss what they have in common rather than their differences. In order to encourage sharing of unique knowledge, it is important to let the group know who has knowledge on certain things.

Also, instead of group information sharing, debate should be encouraged so as to allow members to challenge the ideas of other members. Processing deep information that way could lead to positive results.

Critics of business case for diversity believe that it is not effective because there is currently no published research that shows how surface-level diversity can improve the organization. Also, most research shows surface diversity to have no or even negative results to employees' performance.

Legal Issues Surrounding Diversity

UK employers are cautioned in using “diversity programs” because no court has ever found programs to be enough reason to have hiring preferences. This is in compliance with anti-discrimination laws practised by UK companies. This forces UK companies to comply with diversity laws.

The Business Case for Equal Opportunity

The "business case for equal opportunity” strives to eliminate discrimination and harassment in the workplace in order to reap the following benefits: more productivity among employees, higher moral in the workplace, higher staff retention, reducing complaints and the time involve in resolving them and to make the company more appealing to employees.

According to Guy Russo, McDonald"s CEO, “commitment to Equal Opportunity makes good business sense because it ensures a company attracts and retains the best people. EO policy also provides confidence to employees that they will be treated fairly and receives equal access to opportunities."

The business case for equal opportunity intends to create an environment where people are not excluded from activities on the basis of permanent traits such as race, disabilities, creed, religion, gender and others. The "business case for equal opportunity" must enable employees' similar access to education, employment and health care. Also, employers are required to implement action plans that allow participation of minorities and women in the workplace. The "business case for equal opportunity" must provide an equal opportunity policy statement, analysis of the current work force, recognition of problem areas, creating goals and timetables for employment opportunities, particular action programs to address problem areas, promote community action programs, and creating an effective internal audit and reporting system.

To indicate that an employer practices equal employment opportunity, abbreviations such EOE or MFDV (or Male, Female, Disabled, Veteran) are added in job advertisements.

Critics of the "business case for equal opportunities" pointed out that methods of finding out if equal opportunity is carried out is not complete. Opportunity as a matter of fact is difficult to measure. In reality, equal opportunity in employment is considered to be present if people of similar abilities achieve similar results after doing similar amount of work.

Similarities of Business Case for Diversity Management and Equal Opportunities

Both "business case for diversity management and equal opportunities" aim to employ people without discrimination as to age, sex, race, creed and others. These thrusts are intended to maximize opportunities within the organization.

Business cases for both diversity management and equal opportunities must comply with the legal frameworks of the country like the anti-discrimination laws in the UK.

Both "business case for diversity management and equal opportunities" rely on the results of the implementation of business cases. A company that does not take advantage of its diversity or in the implementation of equal opportunities will not most likely reap its desired benefits in the end.

Both business case diversity and equal opportunity aims to promote positive results in employees' performance.

Culture is an important emphasis to both business cases.

Emphasis in differences in cultural or informational views is considered important in business case diversity. While, business case for equal opportunities would much rather emphasize employee similarities.

Employee satisfaction and retention are important to both.

Differences

Diversity business case is sometimes used as a marketing tool to penetrate new market shares. Equal opportunity is a tool to achieve the best employees by providing a safe and equal social environment.

Business case diversity is more concerned of managing diversity to the company's advantage. Business case equal opportunity is aimed to promote employees' well-being.

Cooperation among employees is strongly encouraged in business case for equal opportunities. In business case diversity management, there is more to be gained if employees do not focus on common grounds but in their diversity of knowledge especially in informational diversity.

Business case for equal opportunities is more concerned with employee relations rather than contributions as practiced in business case diversity. Maintaining or promoting high morale among employees is an important tool to achieve equal opportunities for employees.

Leena worked as an associate editor. When Edward, her colleague quit the job, she approached the Chief Editor. “I’ve got the perfect person to fill the job,” she said. “My friend Eunice and I used to work together before I came here. She is good and is looking for a change of scene.” The Chief Editor, Ram, agreed to interview Eunice along with other candidates. After several interviews, Ram was convinced that Eunice was the right candidate. Leena was thrilled. “We’ll be a great team,” she told Eunice.

But while Leena and Eunice had worked together some years back, much water had passed under the bridge since then. Later, they had worked for different publications. Their work styles were less than compatible. Leena tended to be cautious while Eunice was more of a risk-taker.This created problems. Instead of learning from each other, Leena and Eunice let friction develop to the point that after a month they weren'’t on speaking terms. Work flow was beginning to slip. Phone messages got lost or garbled. Ram began to receive angry calls from advertisers. Checking ads was the responsibility of associate editors. Now Ram had to review his recruitment policies and team building techniques.

Does this situation sound familiar to you? Remember, the trick is not just in selecting talented people but in creating the required work culture. To make this possible, you must:

• • Mold a cohesive work group.
• • Inspire enthusiasm among subordinates
• • Budget time to allow for sufficient direct contact with subordinates.
• • Hold regular briefing sessions.
• • Understand the work attitudes of different employees.
• • Use a scientific approach to solve interpersonal problems (observe, analyze, evaluate decide, implement, follow up).

If Making Decisions is Tough, Changing them is Even Tougher

When confronted with a problem you should be able to act on your own even when others are hesitant to do so. Using good judgment in difficult situations along with the ability to take risks are the hallmarks of decision-making capabilities. The irony is that no one wants to risk changing an already made decision even if there is a risk in not changing it. However, it is perfectly fine to change your mind and decision under certain circumstances. Ask yourself, “Did I have all the facts before the decision was made, or has new information been given to me?” If the answers are “No” and “Yes” in that order, you are definitely justified in changing your mind.

Thomas had recommended a raise for Karan on the basis of performance appraisals given by his predecessor, Salim. Later, on interacting more closely with Karan’'s immediate supervisor, he noted certain skill deficiencies and rated his performance as substandard.

• Create the right work culture.
• •Mould a cohesive work group.
• •Inspire enthusiasm among subordinates.
• •Make time to allow for sufficient direct contact with subordinates.
• •Have regular briefing sessions.
• Understand the work attitudes of different employees.
• •Develop a scientific approach to solve interpersonal problems (observe, analyze, evaluate, decide, implement, follow-up).

•Don’t forget the fact that the more competent the people you hire, the more individualistic they will be. • To draw the line between individualism and pluralism is not a pleasant job, but remember it is in your lot.

Salim confessed that he had never taken time to discuss Karan’'s performance with his immediate supervisors. Thomas decided that he would withdraw the recommendations made for Karan and that he would talk to him and establish a formal plan to help him succeed at this job. Thomas, to his credit, did not let the "what-will-others-say" syndrome” interfere with his action. To be fair to ourselves, to our organization and the general work climate, isn’'t it necessary to do so?

Remember that you must:

• •Not rush into decisions but set a time frame for taking each decision.
• •List and collect all the information needed systematically.
• •Follow up on work assignments given to others to be able to take correct decisions.
• •Take action when you observe errors –whether it is your decision or that of others.
• •Be enthusiastic in carrying out the changes in your decision, the moment you are convinced of their need.
• •Never forget the fact that you have to draw the line between consistency and rigidity; between being flexible and being wishy-washy.

Strike at the Root of Penury in Thy Heart: Empowerment vs. Assignment

Empower your subordinates. Don’t feel threatened of losing control over the scheme of things. Only if you empower others, can you stretch your sights to distant dreams. Empowering the employees is not the same as assigning responsibilities.

When Gupta asked Paul to arrange a staff picnic to Esselworld for a day, and allotted budgetary provisions, he gave him little scope for creativity, innovation or satisfaction. When Mishra, on the other hand, requested Paul to explore the employee morale of the firm and give his recommendations, he empowered him.

Wouldn'’t you rather have your employee’s `grow’ to meet your needs rather than `size them down to your requirements’? For proper empowering you have to:

• •Select and employ qualified employees in key posts.
• •Involve them in the decision making process.
• •Define short-term goals and establish priorities clearly and candidly.

Never forget the fact that empowerment is giving someone the opportunity to express himself, the opportunity for job enlargement and job enrichment. Empowerment lets the employee suggest, experiment, explore, decide. He learns to rise to the need of the hour. When you assign a job to an employee you limit, control, dictate and define his contribution. He shrinks to fit into your expectations. Draw the line between empowering and assigning an employee very clearly on the basis of your judgment regarding whom and when.

According to an article in the American Banker Journal the Government Accountability office released a report stating that there are 53 people in this country that don't use banks. This group consists of immigrants and other people of non-white descent. Such people take their money and hide it in their house, a safe or some other traditional method of storing their money. By doing this, these people continually lose a larger portion of their money every year due to inflation.

Even though the country is made of up of nearly 40% of minorities, the banking industry has only 2% of its upper management from minority descents (Corralejo & Cooper, 2007). This means people like Hispanics, Asians, African Americans, etc. are not given the opportunity to make it to the top. Failure to provide avenues of growth means that the banking industry will continue to be owned and controlled by a select few.

One may ask, “So what if the banks don't have minorities?” While it is true that many of us wouldn't know the difference in the short-run if minorities weren't allowed into the executive management, we would eventually feel its affects in the long-run. Consider the following key points:

Less Innovation: There is a good possibility that the financial capital of New York for investments may be changed to London UK. That means they are doing a better job at offering financial services than we are in the United States. Diversity allows for more innovative solutions because people of different backgrounds have different perspectives. These different perspectives contribute to finding a more holistic solution that please customers needs.

Segmentation of Society: When minorities don't have equal opportunity to move up the social ladder, we will have a society of the “right class” and the “wrong class”. The “wrong class” will become more agitated and angry about not having access to resources and this can cause all types of problems such as riots, crime, social upheaval, segregation, etc. Nearly every civil war and revolt has been started because the “wrong class” didn't have access to prosperity.

The banking industry should consider the long-term ramifications of decreasing their ability to compete in the future and their overall responsibility in maintaining a happy and productive society. By allowing for more minority representation it is hoped that the 53 million people who are not engaged in utilizing banking services will be brought into the fold earning more capital, newer products will be developed and the U.S. will maintain its authority as a banking leader.

In addition I will discuss the challenges the company will face in developing a cross-cultural organization based on current cultural issues affecting organization on a theoretical and empirical basis. In addition I will discuss how cultural issues in Thailand will affect the phase of change and how to overcome resistance to change using effective strategies in Thailand in a cross-cultural context and building an organizational culture, which is inclusive of diverse cultural perspectives and accepts diversity and minimize conflict and intolerance.

Pros and cons of different organizational structure and the most suitable organizational structure given the cultural dimensions of Thailand:

The organizational structure is the means to combine tasks, technology and human resources to achieve organizational objectives. There are two opposing forces in designing organizational structure. They are grouping similar tasks together to enable specialization so that people can focus on what they do best and the need to integrate functions so that they work as a system and not optimizing a sectional objectives, which is conflicting with the organizational objectives as different grouping may have different interests and values. That is in all organizations there is a need to balance these opposing forces so that it is suitable given the nature of technology, human resources, and products.

The traditional organizational structure can be a hierarchical functional to be done centrally and line of communication are top down and there is upper level management; middle level management and lower level management and the employees and they may have different functions like marketing, production, human resources, administration, finance, information technology purchasing and stores etc.

As well managers make decisions mostly individually or in a group regarding the operations of the organization and employees mostly do not participate in the decision-making process and they accept formal authority of the management and they like specific instructions in doing their tasks and the company produces less variety of different products.

The advantages of this organizational structure is enhanced co-ordination and control, efficient use of managerial and technical talent, improves organizational perspective within the organization, centralized decision making which enhances control of activities and reduce discretion of middle and lower level and employees to make decisions which is not compatible with organizational objectives as well it enables career paths in specialized areas.

The disadvantages are as there are specialized units they may have different values and interests and pursue short-term goals and also reduce communication and co-ordination. In addition it is difficult to establish uniform performance standards because sub unit objectives may differ and conflict with each other and there fore difficult to establish uniform performance standards.

Another organizational structure also can be a matrix organizational structure where a combination of functional and divisional structures is used where the individuals have to be responsible for project manager and functional manager. The advantages of matrix organizational structure is that it utilized specialized personnel and equipment effectively and also make mangers to have a broader range of experience and responsibility. The disadvantage is that it causes uncertainty and intense power struggle and work relationship becomes more complex as well decision make take longer time than in other organizational structure.

As one can see from traditional organizations they have vertical boundaries, horizontal boundaries external boundaries such as suppliers, customers and regulators and boundaries of location, culture and markets. So an international organization can also have a boundary less organizational structure if there is high trust and have a common shared interests.

These organizations can have flexible organizational boundaries, use of teams, and build mutually beneficial relationship and communication flows with internal and external parties. The advantages of this organizational structure are it uses the talents of all employees, enables co-operations between functions and divisions, faster response to changes in external market conditions, it enables to coordinate key suppliers, customers and other partners as it benefits all parties.

The disadvantages are it is difficult in practice to overcome political boundaries, lack of common vision and leadership, which may cause coordination problems, democratic processes may be time-consuming, trust is not at high level may affect organizational performance.

The cultural dimensions as per Geert Hofstede are power-distance, uncertainty avoidance, Individualism Vs collectivism, masculinity, long-term orientation Vs short-term orientation. Power distance means the inequality in society accepted by the social structure. Thailand is more unequal compared to US.

According to Geert Hofstede rank of 64, which is very high and shows a high level of inequality in wealth and power, which is due to the acceptance of Thai society because of their cultural heritage rather, inequality forced upon the population. Thai society also is a society, which avoids uncertainty by rules, regulations, and religious practices and by laws. They like certainty and they tend to be risk averse. For example the Geert Hofstede ranking for Uncertainty avoidance is very high for Thailand like the power distance ranking.

In US individualism is encouraged compared to Thailand. That is in Thailand relationships are valued than anything else compared to US. Thai values collectivist norms than individualism because of their society encourages strong relationships where everyone take responsibility of the group than every body to themselves and to stand on their own feet like in US.

The masculinity refers to the assertiveness and competitiveness of societal members. According to Geert Hofstede the masculinity ranking is 20, which is very low. This shows the Thai culture is not very masculine and the males and females have traditional roles in society and the society reinforces these roles.

As discussed above as Thai culture more readily accepts authority and like certainty and not like ambiguity and risk averse modern organizational structures like matrix and team organizational structures are not suitable to Thailand because the Thai culture like rules, regulations and safety and like to avoid uncertainty.

In this cultural and religious context the traditional bureaucratic organizational structure with group decision-making is more appropriate to the Plastic company at least in the initial stages to become established in Thailand. However as all cultures are dynamic and after they expose their culture and overcome resistance effectively they can move to a more modern organizational structure with an incremental change process rather than a rapid change process which is not viable in Thailand cultural context.

The challenges the Plastic company faces to build a cross-cultural organization in Thailand:

Challenge of change power dynamics

When the company introduces new employees who are different from the traditional cultural background the existing players will perceive or experience an erosion of power.

This may reduce commitment to the organization. As well they also increase power struggles because they compete for scarce resources and with this the inclusion of new employees and the dynamics of this interact with unstable power structures and can lead to poor performance due to high labor turnover, absenteeism and perceived procedural injustice. At the initial stages of intolerance and tolerance stages the managers must mange the power struggles within bounds by appropriate strategies and inter personnel skills to move the organization where the diversity is valued by all employees and by all levels of management.

Challenge of diversity of opinion

As discussed above the introduction of new employees may increase the diversity of opinion in any issue in the workplace. This increases the possibility of mis interpreting communication and can leas to more conflict in the organization and in some circumstances if the conflict is excessive if not managed well by the managers and leaders in the organization may lead to poor performance. Lack of political skills and conflict resolution skill and real concern for tolerance than lip service may inhibit the use of skills and talents of new employees from different cultures if the diversity opinion and the resulting conflict are not managed effectively.

Challenge of perceived lack of empathy

The diversity of opinion is linked to the lack of empathy. Perception that managers and leaders do not have the capacity for empathy with followers may lead to most disruptive in organizations where it is characterized as intolerant. Many may have a lack of empathy to people from other cultures. This may place the leader or manager in the middle of a political battle between different factions. If managers in deeds and words do not show the followers that all are respected and their needs and concerns are appreciated and manger perceptions and anticipate to misperceptions and situations then this may lead to poor performance and organization and will not move towards a more appreciative of diversity and genuine cultural tolerance within the organization.

Challenge of perceived and real tokenism

If new employees are hired under a quota system to fill vacancies from different cultural background or from different face may be perceived that they are hired not because of their talent but they are from a different background. This may produce mistreatment of the newly recruited member and the employee may become uncomfortable and may become alienated because of mistreatment by the other staff and peers.

There fore quota system must be not a method to increase diversity in the organization. However even if recruited on merit a person from a culturally different background the existing staff may perceive tokenism because they attribute they are recruited because of race, age or gender.

As well if tokenism is perceived the failure is attributed to race, age and gender and if success happens they attribute to the benevolence of the organization or to happenstance. This may affect the self-esteem of the employees and lead to poor performance if these perceived perceptions are not managed effectively.

Challenge of participation

Participation is an essential process in a diverse workforce organization. However at an initial stage participation is difficult to achieve because the voice of different groups are not heard and implemented. If participative processes are not adequate and every one has a voice then he organization will not move from an intolerant organization to a more appreciating organization which value tolerance and diversity of opinion and creativity in an organization and genuinely value the possible benefit of diversity.

Challenge of overcoming inertia

If leaders are familiar with rapid agreement and implementation from a more homogeneous culture and have to spend much time resolving diversity issues in a diverse organization particularly in a tolerant stage where the leader has to resolve all diversity issues and may have problems of inertia as these sap lot of energy. If they don't take steps to address this challenge effectively as diverse organization can become dysfunctional if they loose their vision and their inertia.

Cultural and other issues affecting the phase of change in Thailand and how to overcome resistance to change in Thailand by the plastic company:

As discussed above Thailand's culture avoids risks. That is it needs certainty and likes stability. In addition it's not a masculine society and it lacks assertiveness and competitiveness. These cultural characteristics are not conducive to a dynamic change process and like a planned change with limited disruptions to its social and religious system. As well in Thailand is a Buddhist country and it affects its economic system to a greater degree and most of the people are short-term oriented and not long-term oriented.

These characteristics do not allow for a fast changing business world in Thailand. There fore given the risk averse character of most Thailand people the change process must be slower and the phase of change must be slower. However all societies change and evolve over time. If the Thailand economy grows in the future due to global economic influences the cultural climate also change.

However as Thailand is a strongly a traditional conservative country the changes in culture may take a long time compared to other Asian countries like Malaysia, Korea, Vietnam and Singapore. The US plastic company must understand this in the phase of change and the strategies they adopt to manage change effectively.

As well the challenges to make the organization as a cross-cultural organization as discussed above will take a lot of time and it also retards the phase of change in Thailand. To overcome resistance to change the top management must support a new organizational culture and must re define its vision and values and communicate all levels of management and also enhance the managers cross-cultural knowledge by appropriate training if they require training in this field and also give opportunities to work and pair with Thai employees and also improve their ability to resolve conflict and enhance cooperation.

In addition they also can address the issue of acquiring language skills, which may increase their acceptance in the Thailand work place. By appointing managers who are skilled in resolving conflict and have a tolerant approach to a variety of opinion also may increase the use of talents of all employees including the Thailand employees at all levels. The managers must have good leadership skills and other cultural and political and perceptive skills so that they can anticipate misinterpretation and misperception and situation they can arise and minimize damaging conflict or erosion of self-esteem of Thailand employees at the initial stages when the organization is intolerant to a new organizational culture.

In addition the managers can be a role model for US employees and The Thai employees and must be mentor and facilitator to resolve any work problem and also be a person to resolve inter personal dispute and perceive by the employees that they are objective in all deliberations and show empathy and are not biased to any group. This is vital for the organization to change to become more productive and take acceptable risk in new market opportunities in time as well also increase the organizational performance.

The human resource policies also can be reformed so that its pay structure and other human resource policies help to reinforce diversity and the benefits of diversity and cross-cultural understanding so that it minimizes the damaging conflicts and to forge integration and find common ground other than parochialism or ethnocentrism which may alienate some employees and not enable to use their talents fully to achieve the organizational goals.

I remember when working with our on site clients.I think there was a diversity of thinking even for the so mentioned diversity above.While I could see some treating other people equally,while I could see others showing lot of discriminations.

Well, diversity is one of the greatest strengths of any company. Unless you have say for example, people with diversity of knowledge,how will a company become successful in executing projects if all of its employees are equally qualified or say qualified in only a single technology. How will the company make any business?

Workplace diversity helps to build the organization's relationship with the community, enhance the contribution of its employees and improve the quality of its products and services, hence increase the turnover which is the ultimate goal of any business/company.

So most companies have come up with diversity training programs where in people are trained in their soft skills for accepting and coming up with diversity.

Major benefits of diversity is increased innovation ,improved service to clients ,better employee relationships with clients as well as co workers.