Spencer Owens & Co.

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People were trained to be sensitive to racial issues and prejudices and so this lead to the fear of being called a racist if you confront a colleague. For this reason, valuable and constructive feedback opportunities were missed out. We agree that, this approach of equality that was taken by Spencer Owens lead to the employees of colour quickly charging whites against racism in the organization. By creating two networking groups protecting the rights of women and employees of color, this lead to a distinctive treatment of employees and the minorities felt encouraged to complain about the whites. There was a fear of saying something that would appear to be a racist comment and so this obligation of being political correct lead to misunderstandings and a lack of communication. People were “walking on egg shells” trying to be sensitive to others. We believe that instead of trying to treat people in a equal way, Spencer Owens should try to acknowledge that there are differences and take benefit of those differences. People of colour believe that the minorities are tolerated but not fully accepted, to respond to this claim, the company should try to create programs where instead of ignoring the differences, this differences are used to increase the profits of the company. This is, they should use this different backgrounds, perspectives and skills, to better respond to the market and to create better practices. A diverse workforce results in more creativity, more flexibility and better solutions and decisions. The consumers are also different and for this reason, a diverse workforce can understand better which are there demands and needs. There shouldn’t be a friction between races or a fear of exposing feedback and critical comments, by acknowledging that there are differences and improving the communication between groups, this fear disappears and people can be truthful and not be repressed, and so be able to confront others.

Affirmative action is selective in mandating changes that benefit previously disadvantaged groups. It is an outgrowth of Equal Employment Opportunity legislation.5 Diversity is inclusive, encompassing everyone in the workplace. It seeks to create a working environment in which everyone and every group fits, feels accepted, has value, and contributes.6 Managing diversity, while based on cultural change, is a pragmatic business strategy that focuses on maximizing the productivity, creativity and commitment of the workforce while meeting the needs of diverse groups.7

Approaches to diversity that might have been more effective in these cases:

Managing diversity entails recognition of the unique contribution every employee can make.5 Managing diversity also moves beyond valuing diversity in that it is a way in which to do business and should be aligned with other organizational strategic plans.6 Diverse employees offer an extraordinarily wide range of proficiencies for doing business in any marketplace. The following are different approaches that Wilkens and Richards could have taken to be more effective in their efforts (see footnote 8):

1 The organizational culture must stimulate personal development and The organizational culture must encourage openness and make workers feel valued. 2. To attract young, new hires, college career fairs allow an employer to target people of color and women who may be good potential employees. 3. Education/trainings: a successful diversity program will also educate all of a company’s employees to understand the business rationale behind their efforts. That way, the employees who don’t directly benefit from a company’s diversity efforts understand that they still have a stake in the program’s success. In addition, encouraging employees to participate in skills-based volunteer projects can help unleash targeted skills. 4 The leadership team must recognize both the learning opportunities and the challenges that the expression of different perspectives presents for an organization. 5. The organizational culture must create an expectation of high standards from everyone. 6 The organizational culture must encourage openness and make workers feel valued.6. The organization must have a well-articulated and widely understood mission. 7 Reinstate sensitivity trainings: this needs to be mandatory for all employees to improve the negative relationships between the team’s diversity as a workgroup, to help with conflict management and interpersonal dynamics. This training will help to encourage collaborative behavior and improve communication efforts amongst the groups. a. Diversity should be understood as the varied perspectives and approaches to work that members of different identity groups bring.

Conclusion:

Wilkens and Richards must realize that increasing demographic variation does not in itself increase organizational effectiveness. They need to realize that it is how a company defines diversity –and what it does with the experiences of being a diverse organization – that delivers on the promise.10

These companies should develop an outlook on diversity that enables them to incorporate employees’ perspectives into the main work of the organization and to enhance work by rethinking primary tasks and redefining markets, products, strategies, missions, business practices, and even cultures. By instituting this learning-and-effectiveness paradigm for managing diversity, Wilkens and Richards will tap into true diversity benefits.10

References:

1. http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~asuomca/diversityinit/definition.html 2. Ely, Robin. (April 17, 2006). “Managing Diversity at Spencer Owens & Co.” 3. Grensing-Pophal, Lin, (May 2002). “Reaching for Diversity Efforts in the Workplace.” 4. Ely, Robin. (April 17, 2006). “Managing Diversity at Cityside Financial Services” 5. Kreitner, Robert & Knicki, Angelo. (9th Edition/2010). “Organizational Behavior” 6. Stonybrook University. “Diversity and Affirmative Action: Difference” 7. www.business-marketing.com/store/affirmvsdiv.html

8. www.boston.com/jobs/diversity. (May 9, 2004). “DiversityWorks: How all Employees Benefit.” 9. Hodge, John. (June 1, 1993). “Relationship between managing diversity and merit-based systems.” 10. Thomas, David A. and Ely, Robin A. (September/October 1996). “Making Differences Matter: A New Paradigm for Managing Diversity.