StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Capabilities and Limitations of Workforce Diversity - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper “Capabilities and Limitations of Workforce Diversity” using the example of P & G illustrates that the global company's corporate message should take into account the mentality of the local audiences. And employees brought up in this environment as no one else can convey this message. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93% of users find it useful
Capabilities and Limitations of Workforce Diversity
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Capabilities and Limitations of Workforce Diversity"

Workforce DiversityWorkforce diversity is an important issue for business, particularly multi-national companies that offer a wide variety of consumer products. In their article on the subject, Patrick Schueffel and Cristina Istria use Proctor and Gamble (P/G) as a case study in diversity and discusses the elements relative to constructively implementing the concept; benefits, resource assessment, capability and limitations (“Winning Through Diversity,” 2005/6).The first area of development is that of “dynamic capability” (p. 41). This is a set of processes that can help management understand and increase competitive advantage by focusing on the study of an organization’s “capacity to deploy resources.

relate a firm to its environment.[and the] importance of systems and structures” (p. 42). From this concept, the article moves into a discussion of the importance of workforce diversity. Using P/G’s European headquarters in Geneva, it addresses the fact that some employers see diversity primarily to comply with governmental requirements while P/G sees it as “a quality that provides a range of benefits to the firm” (p.42). The article then moves on to apply the concept to the primary organizational areas of administration, human resources, and product development.

Further, it avers that diversity also has an important function in procurement, operations, and logistics. These concepts distill into the recognition that P/G, as a consumer goods company, needs to win what is known as “the first moment of truth” (p. 43). This is the point in time when a consumer decides to purchase one company’s product over its competitors’. The idea is that the corporate message needs to be tailored to a particular set of people and that workforce diversity informs this process very well.

Schueffel, and others cited in the article, employ four criteria for assessing sustained resource efficiency in terms of diversity, and then move on to articulate ideas on building diversity capability (p. 43). These include leadership accountability to target and employ diverse hiring strategies, awareness of issues by the use of internal diversity workshops, empowerment opportunities through educational efforts, and boss-subordinate relationships where supervisors are urged to consider their function as role models for workers (p 43).

Finally, the article sets forth some of the limitations of taking such a proactive stance. The point is that diversity is an investment which, like all investments, has a front-end cost in both currency and time. It requires addressing issues such as excellence, stereotypes, and clashes among employees whose cultures are inherently opposed to each other.The conclusion is that P/G serves a widely diverse customer base on a “global scale” and that it is in the company’s interest to aggressively pursue diversity for the benefits it provides (p. 44). Diversity can offer long-term competitive advantages to multi-national firms, but it is hard work.

The payoff, however, is well worth the effort for P/G and other global companies. ReferencesSchueffel, P., & Istria, C. (Winter 2005/6). Winning Through Diversity. European Business Forum, 23, 41-44.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Capabilities and Limitations of Workforce Diversity Essay”, n.d.)
Capabilities and Limitations of Workforce Diversity Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/management/1531147-workforce-diversity-essay
(Capabilities and Limitations of Workforce Diversity Essay)
Capabilities and Limitations of Workforce Diversity Essay. https://studentshare.org/management/1531147-workforce-diversity-essay.
“Capabilities and Limitations of Workforce Diversity Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/management/1531147-workforce-diversity-essay.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Capabilities and Limitations of Workforce Diversity

Diversity in the Workplace

In the paper “diversity in the Workplace” the author analyzes how to manage the diverse workforce in multinational organizations.... diversity helps both the organization and the people working in it.... Getting the full advantage out of diversity is one of the primary aims of this multinational firm as it believes that diversity leads to obtaining competitive edge over rivals.... One of the main functions of this organization's focus on diversity in workforce is its promise to provide the same opportunities to all individuals (IBM, 2012)....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

Skills Development for Business and Management

Such processes would enable them to accrue an understanding of their individual capabilities, and ideologies of the perceptions that may be shown by their potential employers on the event of seeking employment opportunities.... The study “Skills Development for Business and Management” aims to revamp the ability of students to acquire employment opportunities after completion of their learning processes....
7 Pages (1750 words) Assignment

The Organizations Restructuring Programs and HRD Practices

This paper identifies a set of closely related endogenous and exogenous variables affecting the dynamic growth of the business organization against the evolving backdrop of competition related training & development needs, methods, training manager's role, organizational issues and HRD problems....
11 Pages (2750 words) Research Paper

Engineering Ethics

he diversity of the workforce and uniqueness of each individual should be appreciated.... ngineers should be fair to the people working around them respecting other colleagues' contributions and capabilities.... In the paper “Engineering Ethics” the author looks at engineering ethics, which are moral principals than an engineer is expected to apply during his practice....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

The Role, Skills and Competencies of the UK Line Managers

It is in this context that the HRD model can also be defined as an effective approach of empowering workforce by nurturing the contributory capabilities possessed by the employees which further leads towards the complete development of their intellectual skills and thereby enables them to contribute largely in the growth of organisational productivity (United Nations, 2012).... In the current day context, owing to the rapidly increasing competition among global organisations, it has often been argued that the HRD model possesses major role towards empowering employees and developing their capabilities by keeping them motivated and satisfied with regard to their ambitions along with their potentials....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

Managing Diversity in the Workplace

According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2012), capability approach in managing diversity is a theory that revolves around two weighty issues, which include the claim that each individual has the moral right to achieve their potential as they see best and that this… According to Kumra and Manfredi, 2012, p.... abilities approach in managing diversity revolves around the ability to measure people's abilities and what they can achieve as well as what they can become, in order to allocate the right amount and the right kind of resources in their development or welfare (Comim, et al, 2008, p....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Open System Model of Management, What Is SWOT Analysis

From the paper "Open System Model of Management, What Is SWOT Analysis" it is clear that the limitations of the SWOT analysis can be decreased by developing an overarching vision that incorporates both the tangible and intangible strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats....
8 Pages (2000 words) Assignment

Breaking the Code of Change by Beer and Nohria

… The paper “Breaking the Code of Change by Beer & Nohria” is an outstanding example of book review on management.... The most effective change should begin at the top because senior executives, as well as top management in an organization, are better positions to lead organizational reinvention....
6 Pages (1500 words) Book Report/Review
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us