Diversity in the Workplace
Missouri State University: PSY 527Diversity in the Workplace
A Measurement of Diversity
Holly Letterman
2/27/2012
Defining Diversity
When doing research on diversity, I found many different definitions of the word. The American Heritage Dictionary defines diversity as “the fact or quality of being diverse, difference; variety.” The Merriam Webster Dictionary says diversity is “the condition of having or being composed of differing elements”. When I asked my co-workers how they defined diversity, they all immediately thought of gender, race and religion. What we tend to forget are the aspects of a person that really makes them stand out. As my research progressed I began to look at diversity as an even larger issue including things like personality traits, work function, work style, education, skill set, language and many other qualities. Dr. Edward E. Hubbard says “It’s not about just representation; it’s about utilization because that’s how you get to the measurement piece. The impact isn’t so much in the diversity as much as it is in the context of how you utilize people in the environment (Hubbard, 2002).” He maps out diversity using four ‘layers’ including workforce diversity (race, gender, age, ethnicity or sexual orientation), behavioral diversity (differences in working styles, thinking styles, and belief systems), structural diversity (teams, organization), and business diversity (customer markets, community representation and supplier diversity). These four ‘layers’ obviously make it hard to measure diversity but can make it much more meaningful (Prokopeak, 2012).
The company Universum conducted a study in 2010 that included 23 alternatives for diversity and asked college students how they defined diversity. They were offered the opportunity to write in more definitions if they did not like the options given to them. The options given included the following: age, citizen of a foreign country, disability, dual/multi citizenship, education, ethnicity, gender, international work experience, language skills, life experience, marital status, multicultural/multiethnic background, nationality, parenting experience, personality, physical disability, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, veteran/military experience, work experience in different industries, work function and work style. Diversity, in all its forms, has been recognized as an absolute necessity for any organization that wants to stay competitive in today’s workforce (Campellone, 2011). “The reason why people have been somewhat disappointed with diversity is that they have focused primarily on just race and gender. Unless you have a clear definition of diversity and you can see it beyond race and gender, you may be stuck!” says Dr. Hubbard (Hubbard, 2002).
Measuring Diversity
In October 2000, the United States Department of Commerce defined diversity in the workforce as “all characteristics and experiences that define each of us as individuals” (Best Practices, 2000). It was under Vice President Al Gore that the “Best Practices in Achieving Workforce Diversity” was written. In this study, there are many ways of measuring diversity in the workforce. According to the partners (major organizations that participated) of the study there were five straightforward measures of diversity in the workforce: 1) employee attrition rates 2) workforce satisfaction 3) market share within new customer bases 4) external rewards and recognition for diversity efforts and 5) workplace climate satisfaction. Each partner had its own strategies for measuring diversity within their organization. One created a “Managing Diversity Diagnostic Tool” which was a checklist that measured the effectiveness of their actions and implemented organizational commitment to achieving diversity. Another organization implemented a “scorecard” for each department head in which they were able to discuss at monthly meetings and evaluate each department’s progress. The study itself created a telephone survey which they used to interview organizations about their diversity plan, this survey included five sections. Section one was organizational diversity goals and objectives, section two was strategy and processes, section three was for management commitment, section four was employee involvement and section five included diversity indicators. After completing the survey, a scorecard was then issued so that each organization could evaluate their plan and implement the changes necessary to progress toward diversity (Best Practices, 2000).
In order for an organization to be successful at implementing any plan, they must first assess where they currently stand. An initial assessment should include the company’s assumptions, norms, practices and systems in regards to diversity. This will allow them to determine if they will be successful in implementing the plan. The collected data should be used to determine what things need to be changed. This comprehensive assessment should be conducted prior to initiating a diversity plan and then re-evaluated throughout the implementation of that plan. Occasional focus groups and shorter surveys can be used to assess progress this current data will keep managers/leaders apprised of progress. It is also important to communicate this progress to all employees, this will help boost morale and generate greater support for long-term commitment to change.
Conclusion
Working in the medical field in an age where our country is more diverse than ever, I feel it is an enormous responsibility of medical organizations to be diverse enough to adequately treat such a diverse population. There are increasingly more Spanish-speaking Americans and as ‘disabled’ children are being mainstreamed in our schools so are they being mainstreamed in our hospitals. Being adequately staffed to translate to the deaf, being able to successfully meet the religious needs of those who are sick and possibly dying, being able to communicate with people of all educational backgrounds, and being sensitive enough to treat the whole person and not just the illness are just a few of the issues that are present in our current society. Diversity is not just about race, religion, gender and age. There are many definitions of diversity and measuring diversity can be difficult in any organization but we need to recognize the importance of doing so. Whether it is done statistically with numbers or with surveys and interviews the issue is only getting more complicated with time.
References
Best Practices in Achieving Workplace Diversity: A Benchmarking Study. U. S. Department
Of Commerce and Vice President Al Gore. Published October 2000.
Campellone, C., (2011). Diversity in the Workplace: The times they are a-changin’. Retrieved
February 26, 2012, from http://www.diversityemployers.com/index.php/upcoming/48-workplace-diversity.
Hubbard, Edward E. (2002). Measuring Diversity Results (K. Supinsky, Ed.). Petaluma, CA:
Global Insights Publishing.
Measuring diversity Part 1: get the definition right and it is easy to measure! (n.d.) Retrieved
February 24, 2012, from http://www.workinfo.com/free/downloads/40.htm.
Prokopeak, Mike. Measuring Diversity. Retrieved February 24, 2012 from
http://www.workforcediversitynetwork.com/res_articles_measurediversity_
prokopeak.aspx.
Van Eron, Ann. (1995). Ways to assess diversity success. Retrieved February 27, 2012 from
http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/laws-government-regulations-employment/515042-1.html.