Originally Post on: 2020-02-24

What is Diversity?

Diversity will play an important role in my ideal organization. I can see this thing will affect this organization from a different perspective. First of all, diversity is about the characteristic of a group of people where difference exists. The best thing an organization to have is to value them. This is what a multicultural organization is about. Let employees have their own voice, get everyone involved in the discussion of a case.

How do I think?

I found a lot of articles that linked diversity to races. I personally think diversity should address the racial issue, but it should include many things more than race and ethnicity. Gender, idea, culture, way of working, disability, sexual orientation, and many more are a part of the diversity of an organization. The ideal organization welcomes everyone who is willing to work for us and provides and performs their best effort into it. No matter who you are, where you are from, as long as you work, we accept it. We encourage employees from different backgrounds, different age groups to work together, contribute their own idea, attitude, the unique viewpoint for the case they work on.

What to implement?

The organization should provide all employees opportunity to reach their full potential, the feeling of being valued. Equal pay for equal work. Enjoy equal treatment across the organization. There are a lot of benefits that an organization should have diversity built into it. Dr. Carola Leicht from Kent University explains this in her speech on ‘How Diversity Benefits Organization’. She uses an example on Women on Boards, an initiative that more women will be in the leadership position in an organization. Those women in the organization will create a role- model that allows people to have an idea of ‘When you see it, you can be it’. Basically, everyone, especially women, in this case, sees the opportunity to be promoted. This role model can provide benefits in psychological, behavior and reduce negative effects inside the organization.

But building a really good diversity plan is not easy. This plan should be a unique one just fitted to the organization. Because every organization is different just like culture and society. The ideal organization should not make a diversity plan just for having one. It needs a good purpose. A Forbes article talks about their finding on diversity that will help the organization to create that diversity plan in a good way and bring that plan to reality. The article suggests the plan should be fit for the organization, and it better has consensus from employees that they see the benefit for their selves to comply (Check out the Article! ) .

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Source

Leicht, C. (2016, November 8). How Diversity Benefits Organisations | Dr Carola Leicht | Think Kent.

MICHAEL A. HITT, C. C. (2018). Organizational Behavior. Danvers, MA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Shemla, M. (2018, August 22). Why Workplace Diversity Is So Important, And Why It’s So Hard To Achieve.