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Introduction - Develop and Implement Diversity Policy Assignment Sample

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Part 1

Research Diversity policy

Identifying diversity policy of Apple and Vodafone

Keeping the issue of diversity in the workplace, two companies with successful business designs can be utilised namely Vodafone and Apple. Being one of the most successful companies in the world can be attributed to their adept marketing mix and the overall structure of their organisation. The gender diversity that is prominent in the policy of Vodafone insists their unbiased nature towards hiring equal men and women for the job. The existing policy of Vodafone involves hiring equal number of male candidates as compared to females This is evident from the fact that in September 2014, they hired 45 women and 43 men in their company. They also employ people judging them by their skill and merit only. Moreover, 21% of senior managers in the company were females in 2015 along with 35% of women workforce (Vodafone.com, 2016).

In the context of Apple, being one of the most renowned companies in the world they favour inclusion and diversity in the workforce. As per their recruitment policy is concerned, their female workforce across the globe consists of 32% existing employees and 37% new recruits. Their policies focus on nurturing culture of inclusion in order to eradicate racial and gender bias from the company. Their Diversity Network Associations (DNAs) create a sense of belonging among employees of different ethnicities so that connections can be made quicker (Apple.com, 2016).

Analysing both the policies

The above details suggest to the fact that both organisations have high focus on gender diversity and take the necessary measures to recruit and promote female personnel in their company. If the policies of Vodafone can be assessed, it is clear that their recruitment policies favour a complete balance in the number of male and female employees. The high rate of 35% female employees in the company suggests their initiative to develop a balanced environment so that daily operations can be successfully handled.

On the contrary, if the policy of Apple is evaluated, it can be noticed that they focus on gender diversity as well but have an addition of an inclusive policy that makes sure the employees are free from any unconscious racial or gender bias. The inclusion of a associations such as DNAs allow the company to make every employee belonging to a different nationality to feel free and create a sense of belonging towards the company. If the current reports are looked upon, it is clear that Apple's workforce across the globe consists of 32% women, 23% in technical positions and 28% in leadership positions. The diversity is also clear with 56% White population, 19% Asian, 12% Hispanic and 9% Black. These factors only suggest the level of progress that Apple has made in creating a diverse work atmosphere for its employees so that collectively they work as a team. The issue of gender diversity and unfair pay structure has been carefully addressed by partnering with historical colleges for Black people along with universities and involving scholarships (Theguardian.com, 2016).

Part 2

Drafting Policy

Statement of overall goal

Considering the case study for this assignment, the overall goal that it looks to achieve is the formulation, development and implementation of a draft of the diversity policy for the warehouse of an online mobile retail company. Since the company does not possess a diversity policy in the company, this forms the major criterion to establish a potent diversity policy so that the recruitment process for females can be highly improved. The goal of achieving diversity in the workplace can be achieved by hiring more female employees in the company and add to the staff of 10 people that has only 2 women in the workforce.

Statement of overall objective

The overall objective that the organisation wants to achieve is to possess a diversity policy so that gender inequality in the workplace can be improved. The development and implementation of the policy form the secondary objectives. Keeping in mind the case, the current workforce at present is suffering from gender bias and consists of employees from different countries of origin. The study attempts to look into ways for achieving workplace harmony and in order to achieve this feat, the diversity policy has to be established first.

Drafting the policy

According to Bradley (2015), developing a diversity policy requires the utmost precision in devising rules and regulations that do not conflict with the treatment given to employees. In the present case study, it can be noted that the online retailer has a warehouse that consists of 10 employees. The employees are of different nationality, 5 Australians and 5 Asians to be precise. Among which, the workforce comprises of 8 males and 2 females. The gender inequality in the workplace is a primary concern that needs to be addressed urgently. It can be noted that only 2 female employees comprise of the total workforce. Considering the fact that every workplace must maintain ethical standards and inequality, this factor is a cause of concern.

The diversity policy that needs to be devised should focus highly on having more female employees in the organisation. Various areas need to be regulated and reinforced so that equal opportunities can be given to female workers as well. The diversity policy that is proposed for the company should include:

  • Training
  • Policies for recruitment
  • Employee inputs
  • Harmonised management

Figure 1: Diversity policy to be implemented

The diversity policy will include in-house training facilities for both men and women employees. Tasks will be based on equal terms and training will be provided accordingly. There will also be a diversity training session that will focus entirely on explaining the ill effects of discrimination or harassment. Strict rules will be decided for avoiding such issues while training. As per De Anca and Vega (2016), the major issue in a diverse working environment is the chances of discrimination on various levels. The training will highlight the extreme benefits of working together and helping each other to complete daily tasks. Silaet al. (2016) argued that the major experiences and differences of people in a group can bring out collective ideas. Specific training regarding machinery, accounts, package assimilation, tracking and loading must be given to its employees irrespective of their gender.

The policy of recruitment will be kept free of any inequality. The staff will be given strict orders to interview all candidates as per merit and not based on gender. Special attention must be given by the Human resource department so that they do not select resumes based on nationality or gender, but on the work experiences and personality of the individual. The managers who are in charge of conducting the interview must keep away any bias towards applicants based on their gender. This feature will be the most prominent among all the rules and regulations of the diversity policy to be developed.

Thirdly, the factor of employee inputs will be encouraged. There will be no gender bias regarding feedback and input collection from employees. In fact, the development of the feature to gather necessary feedback can actually create a harmonious working environment. Huber (2015) argued that it is extremely vital that the organisation utilises the power of feedback to gain knowledge of the internal factors that are affecting a company. The constant feedback will help in understanding whether any discrimination is being made in the office or not. The sense of involvement that employees perceive after being asked for inputs, develops loyalty towards the organisation. This can develop a close bond between workers as well.

The last factor that should be present in the diversity policy includes the active participation of the management. The policy will include managerial posts for candidates on the basis of merit and not based on gender. As per Kirton and Greene (2015), the management of an organisation should take care of the sentiments of its employees by making non-biased decisions based on race or gender. This way the company can achieve a cohesive working unit and tasks can be completed quicker. Roth and Ritter (2015) argued that the management's job is to ensure no friction or any groups are formed in the company. This can increase the chance of non-cooperation and harm the operations of the company. Since the warehouse task of order packaging is mostly manual in nature, the management will make sure that each employee is treated as an individual in order to abolish groupism.

Each policy will be emphasised upon by developing certain action plans and strategizing the ways to implement the policy successfully. A potent communication plan is the next step that must be immediately resorted upon along with development of feedback forms that can be used for gathering employee satisfaction. Another factor that must be kept in mind before implementation of the policy is the key responsibility to stakeholders of the company.

Part 3

Implementation of plan

Action plan

The major objectives and goals that the company wishes to achieve reflect upon the point of developing an action plan that can constructively build upon proper implementation of the diversity policy. The major priority that is present in this case is the low rate of female employees and most importantly the lack of any actual diversity policy. The responsibility of the key stakeholders is also to help in the development of the policy and procedures so that a better working environment can be established.

Keeping this factor in mind, it is important that decisive plans should be taken to implement the diversity policy in the warehouse of the company. Ashikali and Groeneveld (2015) argued that it is absolutely important to properly chalk out the implementation plans for any policy so that it is easier to delegate chores to employees and the work flow is smoother. Every policy will be implemented in phases and as per the sudden requirements by the company. The first plan of implementation should involve increasing knowledge of management about the diversity issues especially gender diversity issues in the company. Baixauli-Soleret al. (2015) suggested that if the management itself is unsure of the problems, how they can implement a proper plan of action. This will allow the management to conduct recruitment, training and other features very instinctively and avoid any inequalities. . Since new machinery and software implementation will be made, the existing employees should help out the new employees to understand the surrounding and give them first-hand experience of the manner in which the work is conducted. The managers will supervise every aspect of the training process so they can help in explaining and guiding the new recruits to the various technical aspects of the job. Another aspect that will be implemented is the diversity training.

According to Byounet al. (2016), recruitment is an extremely important phase for any company, the selection of correct candidates can give the company another individual that can help in attaining the collective goals. Perrault (2015) opined that the diversity policy is devised so that it can be used in the future as well. The plan for its implementation must include monitoring and recording of the data related to employee workforce. A consolidated database can be devised to record and analyse trends regarding recruitment, performance and the promotions of employees especially women. This can give the company solid records of the happenings and allow better recruitment procedures. Further improvements in recruitment can be made so that female employees feel encouraged to vie for the reputable post for which they applied.

The training policy that has been developed must incorporate active participation from employees and managers alike. On-the-job training and induction facilities will be encouraged by the managers so that they can supervise and allow the existing employees to teach the trade to the newly selected candidates. This is bound to improve interaction and proper communication will lead to better bonding and quick learning by the individuals. The managers will make sure that the existing employees do not employ discrimination among the new candidates based on gender bias. The employees will be properly trained to deal with orders so that packaging, recording and dispatching the orders is done quickly and efficiently.

Terjesenet al. (2015) suggested that communication is a major factor that can help in implementing the policy of diversity in the workplace. In order to ensure that proper feedback and inputs are gathered by the company, a trained professional must be hired so that they can identify employee needs and monitor the level of discrimination that is occurring based on gender in the company. As per Clausetet al. (2015), feedback and inputs from employees help in monitoring the satisfaction levels that they are experiencing within the company and fellow employees. Strict rules must be established so that managers or employees who fail to enact the policy can be disciplined and work efficiently.

The employee's sense of involvement will definitely speed up the work process and targets can be achieved quicker. The skills of managers and supervisors will definitely improve and smooth communication flow can be achieved, thus making transmission of ideas faster. A Gantt chart can explain the timeline that will be used for implementation of the policy.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Identifying and devising features of diversity policy

Conduct training of existing employees

On-the job training modules

Mock recruitment tests

Actual recruitment

Monitoring recruitment data

Devising feedback form

Gathering feedback

Table 1: Timeline for implementing diversity policy

Communication plan

The communication plan that needs to be implemented is of direct nature. The first phase of communication must involve the HR team and the managers responsible for conducting interview. Before hiring any candidates, the Human Resource management will deliver the selected resumes to the various departmental managers so that they can be shortlisted for the interview. It will be kept in mind that the HR team selects resumes without any bias and considers the pedigree of the employee as a selection criterion. Even the managers will make sure they do not involve questions that question the ethnicity and gender of the candidate. The next phase will be communication of employees with the managers using feedback forms that will include potential detail about the level of job satisfaction of employees and to monitor if they are facing any discrimination in the workplace.

Feedback form

The best way to gather necessary feedback from employees is the adoption of feedback forms that can assist in getting a quick review of the issues surrounding the employees so that development measures can be installed. The feedback that will be utilised for gathering data can be seen in Appendix 1.

Part 4

Review of policy

Policy implementation review

The development and planning of the implementation for diversity policy gives a blueprint for the radical implementation of policies and regulations that will allow the company to operate with more accuracy and freedom. In this context it can be suggested that reviewing the policies before implementation may help in finding out certain loopholes that can affect the company after actual implementation. According to Cumming et al. (2015), policies are never guaranteed to be accurate since a section of doubt still remains, it is imperative to make a thorough review so that changes or additions can be quickly made.

If the current diversity policy is to be evaluated it can help in determining the extent in which the problem of gender diversity can be averted. Looking at the policy, it can be stated that it is specifically meant to improve the recruitment and skills of female employees in the company. The first policy to provide training and development of skills of employees is definitely worth improving the skills since in-house training will give them exposure of the work conditions and other technical aspects of the business. The input of diversity training will definitely help the business to make employees feel involved and work together as a group. Donnelly (2015) opined that minor additions in the policies can generally improve the final outcome of the results that can be measured by employee involvement.

The second policy that facilitates recruitment facilities is a good step forward in order to eradicate the gender and racial inequality that employees face. By introducing hiring and recruitment facilities and policies, emphasis can be given to hire female workers more often and select the best candidate based on their merit and experience. The fact that the Human resource department will be given strict rules regarding selecting efficient resumes makes the possibility of removing gender inequality even more. The policies to take strict action if they were found to partake in any activities related to discrimination, makes the company ethical in nature. The same criteria on managers and supervisors will prevent any such cases of inequality and give rise to the level of female employees in the company.

Another feature in the policy that is bound to be successful is the introduction of feedback and inputs of the employees. According to Homan et al. (2015), ability to state perceptions and opinions usually helps a company break the ice with its employees to enhance collaboration in the workplace. The inputs gained will only help the company to develop its management policies and erase any kind of discrimination that is unhealthy for the workplace. The inputs will also help employers understand the level of performance of the staff so that they can initiate training modules if they were found to be under-trained. It will allow positive inter-communication between employer and employee and with no gender inequality, the company can carry out its daily activities.

Lastly, the impact that better management can have on the promotion of gender diversity in the workplace makes the policy even more fruitful. According to Lindsey et al. (2015), management must adapt itself in accordance to the necessity of bringing balance in the work atmosphere. The policy adjudges that the management must ensure that all the managers and executive staff are properly given an update on the situation so that their actions do not collide with common interests of the employees.Mousa and Alas (2016) argued that the required flow of information with the introduction of new and effective systems can allow the company to handle its staff efficiently and employees can work freely.

These factors suggest the level of success that the company can enjoy after successful implementation of the diversity policy. It can be assured that their recruitment process for female employees will also get a boost and their overall goal can be achieved.

References

Books

Bradley, H., (2015). Fractured identities: Changing patterns of inequality. John Wiley & Sons.

De Anca, C. and Vega, A.V., (2016). Managing diversity in the global organization: Creating new Business values. Springer.

Huber, J., (2015). On the origins of gender inequality. Routledge.

Kirton, G. and Greene, A.M., (2015). The dynamics of managing diversity: A critical approach. Routledge.

Journals

Ashikali, T. and Groeneveld, S., (2015). Diversity Management in Public Organizations and Its Effect on Employees' Affective Commitment The Role of Transformational Leadership and the Inclusiveness of the Organizational Culture. Review of Public Personnel Administration35(2), pp.146-168.

Baixauli-Soler, J.S., Belda-Ruiz, M. and Sanchez-Marin, G., (2015). Executive stock options, gender diversity in the top management team, and firm risk taking. Journal of Business Research68(2), pp.451-463.

Byoun, S., Chang, K. and Kim, Y.S., (2016). Does corporate board diversity affect corporate payout policy?. Asia‐Pacific Journal of Financial Studies45(1), pp.48-101.

Clauset, A., Arbesman, S. and Larremore, D.B., (2015). Systematic inequality and hierarchy in faculty hiring networks. Science Advances1(1), pp.45-55.

Cumming, D., Leung, T.Y. and Rui, O., (2015). Gender diversity and securities fraud. Academy of Management Journal58(5), pp.1572-1593.

Donnelly, R., (2015). Tensions and challenges in the management of diversity and inclusion in IT services multinationals in India. Human Resource Management54(2), pp.199-215.

Homan, A.C., Buengeler, C., Eckhoff, R.A., van Ginkel, W.P. and Voelpel, S.C., (2015). The interplay of diversity training and diversity beliefs on team creativity in nationality diverse teams. Journal of Applied Psychology100(5), pp.1456-1460.

Lindsey, A., King, E., Hebl, M. and Levine, N., (2015). The impact of method, motivation, and empathy on diversity training effectiveness. Journal of Business and Psychology30(3), pp.605-617.

Mousa, M. and Alas, R., (2016). Cultural Diversity and Organizational Commitment: A Study on Teachers of Primary Public Schools in Menoufia (Egypt). International Business Research9(7), pp.154-158.

Perrault, E., (2015). Why does board gender diversity matter and how do we get there? The role of shareholder activism in deinstitutionalizing Old Boys' Networks. Journal of Business Ethics128(1), pp.149-165.

Roth, K.R. and Ritter, Z.S., (2015). Diversity and the Need for Cross-Cultural Leadership and Collaboration. Cross-Cultural Collaboration and Leadership in Modern Organizations, 12(2), pp.196-198.

Sila, V., Gonzalez, A. and Hagendorff, J., (2016). Women on board: Does boardroom gender diversity affect firm risk?. Journal of Corporate Finance36, pp.26-53.

Terjesen, S., Aguilera, R.V. and Lorenz, R., (2015). Legislating a woman's seat on the board: Institutional factors driving gender quotas for boards of directors. Journal of Business Ethics128(2), pp.233-251.

Websites

Apple.com (2016). Inclusion & Diversity. [online] Available at: http://www.apple.com/diversity.

Theguardian.com (2016). Apple reports improving racial and gender diversity among employees. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/03/apple-diversity-report-race-gender-facebook-google.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Feedback form

Employee Feedback Form

Employee name:

Designation:

Date:

Feedback Details

Any issues in job profile?

Details about job satisfaction/Dissatisfaction

Any issues with employees?

Any suggestions to management?

To be completed by manager in charge

Actions taken:

Signature and Date:

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