Managing Diversity at Spencer Owens Essay

The definition of salmagundi The sentiment of various(a)ness encompasses acceptance and respect. It means arrangement that each undivided is unique, and recognizing our individual diversions. These freighter be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, policy-making beliefs, or early(a) ideologies. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of revolution contained within each individual.1Two corporations who pay back enforced variety show efforts and provoke mountt with the benefits and ch everyenges of these efforts atomic number 18 Spencer Owens & Co. and Cityside Financial go. When examining both variety show efforts, it is beta to understand how puff up each caller has through with previous and give steering efforts, the problems the companies ar facing in a flash and the rear of operations causes of these problems. While these companies engage apply their own efforts to diversify their staff, it is important to examine the similarities and differences in managing transmutation.Spencer Owens & Co.How well has Spencer Owens move intoe in its diversity efforts?Spencer Owens recent past shows a great deal of effort congeal into diversifying their playforce. In the mid-1980s, Spencer Owens & Co. initiated a strategy to diversify the confederations employees from entry-level to executive ranks. Prior to this start date, the friendship had an all- dis food pretensioning executive manful police squad. From the start of this initiative, Spencer Owens did very well on its diversity efforts to hire muckle on their merits and for their capacities to do what is prognosticateed or infallible of them. To implementthe plan, the company set hiring goals, communicating them to all employees and creating accountability. Over the next ten years, this in turn created opportunities for women and mountain of color to become part of the team and progress c atomic number 18er paths for them to be future leaders in various departments of the company. undermentioned the start of this weapons platformme (1985-1995), Spencer Owens was considered the most diverse staff in its patience accounting for 50% of the staunchs 150 managers and skippers were women, and 30% were mint of color. Additionally, during this period, people of color that were engage into entry-level positions had been promoted and moved up into managerial positions. quadruplet out of the12 member executive team were women and three were people of color. across-the-board involvement in the efforts to attract, recruit and retain minorities and women in becoming managers, professional staff and directors were a anchor priority to the tight. Spencer Owens overly knew that a key to inner diversity was to ensure the companys policies and overall committedness to an equitable workplace by instituting plausive action goals, along with, scrappy hiring and advancement practices that set game qualification and surgical process hurdles.2The team at Spencer Owens was proud of their companys commitment to fairness and equivalence and to encourage the employees to be color silver screen to gender and ethnic differences. Along with this strategy, the firm as well as initiated sensitivity pedagogy and held follow-up discussions. Multiple employees commented, Everyone is the like and treated the aforesaid(prenominal). With feedback from these trainings and discussions, the firm went a step further to create ne twainrking sorts for women and people of color.How well be they doing outright? Why is the firm now having trouble?Recently, Spencer Owens diversity efforts have witnessed great changes epoch also encountering many issues and problems. In 2000, the firm hire d Agnes Richards, their first woman executive in 45 years. Over the grad of the next three years, Richards notice that the diversity efforts were slowly unraveling and affecting the productiveness of the company. Forexample, Richards noticed friction among race relations, people of color were bringing charges of racialism against the clean-living workers, and there were new complaints do by the two net work groups. single of the first steps that Richards and her leaders team took was to reinstate the sensitivity trainings. However, it was noticed that there was hapless attendance among the racial and ethnic minorities. In access to these issues, Richards fired an Afri stomach-American female manager due to tardiness issues and for portraying a bad attitude. At that point, employees became angry and frustrated.Due to the firms problems, Richards hired consultants to study the firms race and gender relations. The interviews revealed the following Employees have c erstwhilerns a bout the affirmative action initiative. White employees nip that the diversity program is adversely affecting the quality of the firms work. It is perceive that white male managers are opposed to new methods brought forth by newer employees. mass of color are critical of affirmative action program, including superficial results and feel that they are tolerated and not accepted. People of color feel their thoughts are slow dismissed. Perception that the network groups defend the minorities of the company. Overall feeling of retaliation and consternation of creation called a racist.What is the root cause (or causes)?Spencer Owenss favoritism-and-fairness paradigm, which measures progress in diversity by how well the company achieves its recruitment and retention goals p tie inably than by the degree to which conditions in the company allow employees to draw on their personal assets and perspectives to do their work much effectively, had created a cognitive blind spot. As a result, the companys leadership could not puke the problem accurately or solve it effectively.10 Instead, the company strikeed a cultural shift it exigencyed to grasp what to do with its diversity once it had achieved the numbers. Because of senior managers resistance to a cultural transformation, Spencer Owens continues to struggle with the tensions rising from the diversity of its manpower.10The root causes of these problems is that the employees need to feel that the ways they may be contrasting are understood and accepted.3 With the de-emphasis of sensitivity trainings and follow-up discussions, the team became isolated in their views on diversity versus affirmative action goals. The misunderstandings became apparent with the original complaint to consider people on their merits and for their capacities to do what is expected or required of them. Many minority employees place they gain a sense of belong in the workplace when their employers create opportunities for workers with diverse backgrounds to interact with others and to become twisting as apart of a group.3The networks were a great idea for employees to feel connected to the company however, the execution was not done properly. These diversity programs could have helped employees of contrary backgrounds by communicating feelings and becomes about climbing the corporate ladder or breaking through the glass celiling.3 However, these network groups became defenders for women and the other minorities due to the perception of treatment, opportunities, miscommunicating between the minorities and the white employees.Additional root causes for the show problems include employees wanting fair treatment, a sense of belonging, understanding and acceptance, and a feeling that they are contributing.Cityside Financial ServicesHow well has Cityside Financial Services done in its diversity efforts?Cityside Financial Services has done well in diversity efforts. In 1999, after 69 years of being in short letter, the company had become very much diversified with half(prenominal) of the employees in the company being females and 90% of the support staff was African American. In addition, 53% of middle managers, 42% of senior managers, and 25% executives were African American. Cityside operated as two units in their Sales Division sell operationsand External locates. The retail operations unit was filled with mostly African American employees. The external deposits unit was made up of mostly white college graduates. Nearly come to numbers of managerial positions existed in each unit, endowment whites and b pretermits similar advancement opportunities. Bank employees agreed that, If you did your job well, youll be acknowledge and promoted for it. 4 As stated in the term, Over the years, Cityside Bank highly- unquestionable a reputation for being a high-functioning, multicultural organization.While the banking concern itself was deemed to be a multicultural organization, the two sales units were founded on two separate and distinct models that it was described by one executive as two dissimilar banks. While the bank was diversified as a whole, these two units were very much specialized to their distinct client base. This withdrawal of duties and ethnicities has led to some of the problems that the company presently is facing. While the External put forward team was described as white, smart, dedicated and loyal workaholics, it was also express that its not the perfect job for glum staff that need a salary, may be hard-working, but not at that level.In addition, some of the other red flags to the present problems included wealthy individuals quetch about the limited services being offered to them, other clients in sell Operations feeling overshadowed by wealthier clients in External Deposits (and were leaving the bank), and the lack of understanding (no clear guidelines) by Retail and External as the outstrip way to get by the new market seg ment. This lack of coordination compromised the banks efficiency and created trust issues between these two departments as to the best way to help clients.How well are they doing now? Why is the firm now having trouble?While the company continues to master(prenominal)tain an overall diversified work staff, they are now encountering earthshaking issues in their diversity efforts. One of the main causes of the problems that Cityside is now facing is that they have sectionalized the company with African American employeesworking in the Retail Operations department and the white employees working in the External Deposits department. Per the head of External Deposits, she commented that the problem is what is expected of senior trouble here has a cultural bias towards whites. Its not to say that African Americans arent also able to do all that. exactly because of historical racial issues, they have been limited. According to one black officeholder in Retail, he commented that white workers would not be able to handle the demands of the Retail unit. He continued to say that (whites) wouldnt know what to do with people in this neighborhood.This bias ties into ethnocentrism, which represents the feelings that ones cultural rules and norms are superior or more appropriate than the rules and norms of another glossiness.5 In addition, poor career planning shows another problem that African Americans have faced as potential candidates in the External Deposit unit.When Ron Wilkens, one of the investors of the bank, wanted to learn more about how the black workforce viewed its career prospects, it was noted that the root problem was how they (African Americans) were perceived by the whites. Was he deemed as a decision maker and someone that understands the customer where his thoughts are tugn seriously or is he someone that is viewed as trustworthy at operationally making things work? His black officer commented that he is respected by white colleagues, but question ed the value of his function to the firm seen by his white colleagues.While there is diversity in the company as a whole, there needs to be more diversity in each division to ensure that each employee is given an equal chance to take and that customers are offered the best goods and services as possible.What do these cases have in prevalent?There are some significant similarities between the two cases. First, both companies originally had an all-white staff. Both companies instituted programs to diversify their teams. For example, Spencer Owens take anaffirmative action plan while Cityside initiated an aggressive minority program. afterward these programs were implemented, both companies had double-digit percentages of their workforce made up of women and African Americans. It was noted in both cases that these companies were recognized in their industries as greatly achieving a multicultural organization. With that, both firms committed to a fair nest for advancing all employ ees.It was also noted that as the diverse programs were in action, both companies began to experience compromised efficiency as the staff began to have problems working together. At Spencer Owens, the affirmative action movement left some employees feeling alienated and unappreciated. The article states, Many non-white professionals reported having their ideas routinely disregarded. Furthermore, a Latino programmer staff member explained, Until white people discover an idea, until they express it with their own words in their style, its as if it doesnt exist.This comment is similar to the quote made by one employee at Cityside who stated, When a white man disagrees, hes being strong. Hes taken with respect. When a black man disagrees, hes being negative and whiny, militant and resistant of like Malcolm X. Both quotes show that while the companies made strides as utmost as diversifying their employee base, there is still a great difference in the way the ideas and contributions of white and minority employees are perceived.With this comparison summary, in both cases, the working environment involves how employees perceive one another. This is labeled as societal cognition and social information processing. Social cognition is the study of how people make sense of other people and themselves. The perception process influences a host of managerial activities, organizational processes, and quality of life issues.5Additionally, stereotyping employees is also seen in both these case studies. At Cityside, African-American employees in the Retail Operations unit are deemed to be able to better tint to the local federation, which is predominately African American. At Spencer Owens, there is a stomp threat in which white managers are in fear of administer people of color inthat any constructive feedback could be perceived as being criticized and subsequently being called a racist. Lastly, both companies conducted interviews and developed surveys to better unders tand the minds of the staff in order to get to the root cause(s) of why tensions were on the rise.What differences do these two cases have?The main difference in the two cases is the onrush the companies took to diversity. As previously stated, Spencer Owens used the discrimination and fairness paradigm, which has a focus on equal opportunity, fair treatment, recruitment, and respect with federal Equal Employment Opportunity requirements. 10 This approach can make employees feel equal, but it can also lead to feelings of delirium and a loss of identity to the employees. This may be what led to the reasoning by elimination of sensitivity training. In a sense, if we are all equal and are basically the same type of person, then there is no need to be sensitive to our differences, since this approach aims to eliminate the differences entirely. This approach is what led to the problems now being seen in Spencer Owens.Cityside used an approach called the Access and Legitimacy Paradigm . Supporters of this approach believed that you need access to and legitimacy with-a more diverse clientele by matching the demographics of the organization to those of critical consumer or constituent groups. 10 Cityside put African-American employees in retail because they would be dealing with mostly clients of the same race and culture and this would give the company legitimacy in the community and increase sales. Where this approach went wrong is that it alienated African-American employees and clients. While the discrimination-and-fairness paradigm used by Spencer Owens aims to make all employees equal and the same, access-and-legitimacy, takes the opposite approach and separates employees by race, not allowing the two to work together or grow in their roles in the company.What approach to diversity might have been more effective in each of these cases?Diversity and Affirmative Action remainderAffirmative action is selective in mandating changes that benefit previously sing le out 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.7Approaches to diversity that might have been more effective in these casesManaging 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 reorient with other organizational strategic plans.6 Diverse employees offer an extraordinarily massive 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 pen 8)1. To attract young, new hires, college career fairs allow an employer to target people of color and women who may be good potential employees. 2. Employee referral programs good employees typically confederate with other good potential friends and associates. By implementing a program where employees refer other good candidates, employers can identify and reach out to others of the same race or background. 3. Recruitment enlightened employers know that they need to take a hard look at their own tactics for generating diverse job candidates. These organizations take a serious look at their internal assessment around recruiting. With this, employers target key groups of employees and then mentor them so that they are able to navigate the system boomingly.4. Education/trainings a successful diversity program go away also educate all of a companys employees to understand the business rationale behind their efforts. That way, the employees who dont directly benefit from a companys diversity effortsunderstand that they still have a stake in the programs success. In addition, encouraging employees to participate in skills-based volunteer projects can help unleash targeted skills.5 5. Mentoring programs It is important to understand that a company cannot expect to change in corporate culture unless you get your full employee base involved. Partnering lower level employees with senior level employees, including diverse and promising professionals of color mentor-mentee sponsorships, may help facilitate the understanding of working together.6. Merit systems performance standards should be based on a thorough job analysis. Standards should be periodically updated. It is also suggested that the standards not be based on traits and reputation factors focus should be on behavior or performance what the employee does.9 7. partnership philosophy seeking out practices that emphasize equality and teamwor k in earnings and decision-making.What should Wilkens/Richards do to turn things around?In addition to considering the above seven items, Wilkens and Richards should contemplate the following actions1. Reinstate sensitivity trainings this needs to be mandate for all employees to improve the negative relationships between the teams diversity as a workgroup, to help with conflict management and interpersonal dynamics.5 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.102. Take steps to reduce negative effects of unconscious mind stereotyping and increase the use of group goals in heterogeneous groups. Rewarding groups to obtain group goals might encourage group members to focus on their common objectives rather than on demographic faultiness that are unrelated to performance. a. The lea dership team essential understand that a diverse workforce will embody different perspectives and approaches to work, and must truly value variety of opinion and insight.3. The leadership team must recognize both the learning opportunities and the challenges that the tone of differentperspectives presents for an organization.104. The organizational culture must create an expectation of high standards from everyone.10 5. The organizational culture must stimulate personal development.10 6. The organizational culture must encourage openness and make workers feel valued.10 7. The organization must have a well-articulated and widely understood mission.10ConclusionWilkens and Richards must pull ahead 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.10These companies should devel op 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 implore into true diversity benefits.10References1. 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 carriage 6. Stonybrook University. Diversity and Affirmative Action Difference 7. www.business-marketing.com/store/affirmvsdiv.html8. www.boston.com/jobs/diversity. (May 9, 2004). Diversity Works How allEmployees Benefit. 9. Hodge, John. (June 1, 1993). affinity between managing diversity and merit-based systems. 10. Thomas, David A. and Ely, Robin A. (September/October 1996). Making Differences Matter A forward-looking Paradigm for Managing Diversity.