Abstract
Diversity is indelible, so are the inherent challenges for leaders. Leadership skills are duly put to test when it comes to dealing with a diverse workforce or diverse marketplace. This paper is a tableau on diversity management and leadership that highlights the importance of diversity, its educational value, leadership challenge and recommendations. The paper has been divided into different sections for the convenience of readers.
Having briefly reviewed the literature, the author identifies that most of the nations and organizations are failing in their diversity endeavors. Their initiatives are just limited to adhering legal laws and hardly go beyond that to optimize the skills of individuals, that is one of the tenets of diversity management.
Taking a cue from the opinions of various scholars, the author finds the situational model as suitable in managing the diverse workforce. However, proper initiatives must be taken to represent the varying beliefs and opinions. As studies have revealed, not embracing diversity is one of the significant reasons of leadership failure in the 21st century.
Last but not the least, the paper concludes that diversity, as of now, is not properly managed in political and organizational spheres, and leaders need to assume proactive roles. Apart from leaders, the governments of the respective nations must check their on-going initiatives and suitable later them in they are proving counterproductive( reference: Jats reservation issue in India).
Introduction
Globalization has shortened the distance among countries and workforce diversity is one of the important outcomes of it. With increasing intermingling of cultures and mobility of the workforce across nations, leaders may find themselves in limbo when it comes to managing employees. Various pre-suppositions, biases, and natural inclinations interplay to make it difficult for leaders to act judiciously. While a manager may be considered hard working and energetic in one culture, the same person can be taken as egoistic, pushy, and self-centered in another cultures.
Thus, choosing the right direction of working is a hard haul for managers in a diverse workforce. It is important to note that diversity is not only cultural, it also entails generational, financial, professional, and personal differences. For example, while a leader finds it easier to motivate Gen X, he/she may feel beleaguered when it comes to encouraging the younger workforce of the organization. Succinctly, diversity is an open leadership challenge and its management is crucial for the success of the business.
Purpose of the Study
This paper aims to discuss the leadership challenges in managing the diversity and recommends leadership styles that are best suited for the purpose of diversity management. Furthermore, the author intends to brief the readers on various diversity issues existing in different countries. It has enabled him to do a comparative analysis of U.S. and other nations. Relevant examples have been cited to impart a holistic understanding of the readers.
Educational Value
While diversity is colossally significant, most of the HR policies in many companies are designed to suit to the majority of the workforce. There still exists glass ceilings and discrimination on racial and religious grounds. Around 73 percent admitting the existence of such barriers, the experience of leaders in handling diversity issues is obviously put under scanner.
The primary reason leaders are failing in 21st century is the inability to recognize and embrace diversity. They are reeling under identity crisis and skeptic about leading in a diverse and multigenerational work ambiance. Leaders' failure to encourage diversity destroys the systems' capabilities to adapt to the changing scenarios. With increasing focus on team work, it is imperative that they learn the art of diversity management and much of the educational value of the topic stems from this requirement.
Literature
While the organizations are waking to the significance of diversity management, appropriate leadership techniques is a moot question. Though the paradigm of leadership has changed colossally from autocratic to participative, transformative, and democratic approaches, leaders carry an indelible role in a diverse workforce and the suitability of their leading approach may make or break the organization. A study by Federal Reserve reveals that salaries for CEO's in the United States are around 170 times greater than the pay of an average worker. The multiple is 22 times in UK and 11 times in Japan. The differences in compensation do entail several issues related to equality, fairness, diversity, and effective management of the workforce. Overall, diversity is about optimizing the productivity in an interdependent society where each workplace is a microcosm of the world's demographics.
In this vein, scholars have vindicated that leaders can play a substantial role in enhancing the productivity by being role models, imparting adequate diversity training, and assuring the fair treatment of each employee. The literature unanimously endorses that a leader must be culturally competent to comprehend the needs and desires of each person beyond the prism of his/her personal background. He/she must be able to empower the workforce to perform beyond the potential. Existing stereotypes must be dangled to make the workplace a living example of diversity management.
As far as appropriate styles are concerned, Dr. Paul Hersey's situational model seems quite fit. As diversity puts forward different beliefs, opinions, perceptions, and values, a single leadership model is not bankable. While participative and transformative leadership styles are cynosures of HR policy makers these days, they cannot reap expected fruits if 'situations' are not perfect to apply the same, i.e., there are gaps in employees' capabilities and readiness levels. Furthermore, diversity issues and challenges vary from place to place and it is not feasible for authors to recommend a fool-proof leadership style. As such, authors have banked on the situational model that can be applied across different cultures with the same effectiveness. Another reason for relying on the situation model is, probably, the variations in diversity management in various nations, i.e., legal compliance and actual implementation. While the substance of diversity management is optimizing individuals' potential, most of the nations and organizations are still struggling with legal compliance.
Diversity issues in US have experienced a boost-up because of migration and outsourcing to low-cost nations. The 2000 census highlighted the shifting ethnic makeup of the nation. While Hispanics are the second-biggest minority groups in the US, organizations, for the first time, have four-generations( matures, baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y ) assimilated in the staff. Medical and technological interventions have paved the way for the disabled to enter in the workforce in increasing numbers.
This mélange makes diversity management an issue of legal compliance in the nation and many cases of discrimination are indicated by media annually. While the State outlaws discrimination on the basis of sex, color, religion, age, disability, pregnancy, and other such features, employers find covert ways to defy the legal routes. American has a long way to go when it comes to diversity management and representation of minorities in the workforce. Whites hold a whopping 88 percent of management positions relative to Hispanics' 5.9 percent and Blacks 5.7 percent.
Research has revealed that different nations are on different trajectories when it comes to managing diversity and imparting equal opportunities. For example, while the concepts of diversity management are well-established in Austria, implementation is still patchy. Diversity initiatives have been done only by a few large companies listed on the Stock Exchange. Furthermore, gender and age-related measures rule the roost in diversity initiatives.
Authors have identified that the notion of diversity is not well imbibed in the work culture of Belgium, but aging population, and a shortage of labor in technology and service oriented Flanders has led the organizations to attract employees with diverse profiles.
Canada, in this sense, takes a shift from U.S. and other nations as diversity management is not just restricted to legal compliance. The emphasis on diversity is business-driven, transversal, and more consensual. The nations' diversity management practices extend beyond the legal compliance to engulf a broader meaning of inclusiveness.
The case of India is unique from other nations. While it focus on numerical reservations and quotas to scheduled caste(SC), schedules tribes(ST), and other backward classes(OBC) have aimed to protect these sections, other sections have vied for the benefits by their inclusion in OBC category. The recent agitation by Jat community well testifies the lacuna behind this Indian approach. This approach has further created a gulf between private and public sectors as private sector is not governed by affirmative action policies. It has attracted people towards government jobs thereby putting a pressure on the government in managing job creation while maintaining the sentiments of other communication.
South Africa has come a long way since its historical times of Apartheid, but Blacks are still under-represented in professional and managerial roles. The research reveals that while most of the companies prefer to comply with the law, the nation needs to go beyond that to propagate other paradigms of diversity.
Leadership and management challenges are, thus, apparent from the examples of different nations. Thus, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has been propagating the idea of diversity-aware leaders. In sync with the available literature, SHRM has admitted diversity training as one of the most crucial interventions on an individual level.
Analysis
The literature is a pointer to some significant themes. First of all, the situation of different countries is similar in the sense that a few move beyond legal compliance to adopt other paradigms of inclusiveness and potential maximization as entailed in diversity management. Though equal opportunities act have been enacted in most of the nations that outlaw discrimination on certain grounds, diversity is a more broader concept. Unfortunately, leaders have failed to internalize the gist of the concept that has led to discrimination in overt and covert forms.
As the literature has mentioned, while legal compliance is also an issue in U.S., other nations as Austria, Belgium, India, are reeling under other problems in addition to the legal compliance. For instance, numerical reservation in India has proved counterproductive that has not only deteriorated the harmony of the nation but also the composite culture. With this type of reservation process in place, people have started identifying themselves by a particular cast and national identity is put on the back burner. Recently, Jats agitation stirred the nation as they demanded reservation under OBC category. While Jats community is a well-to-do section in Haryana, their demands seem totally unjustified. U.S., Austria, Belgium, and other nations have also drafted policies and procedures but organizations hardly look beyond to adapt the essence of diversity management.
Apparently, leadership is at fault. Leaders are the one who draft the whole organizational culture, and the existence of any tinge of discrimination makes the leadership a failure. Renowned organizations as Twitter management in the U.S. comprises 78 percent males and 72 percent Whites. The role of minorities and women is almost negligible here thereby questioning the diversity initiatives of the organization.
Literature has also vindicated the growing role of leadership in diversity initiatives. Authors are apt in stating that situational model is the best-preferred one. For, every nation has a different scenario and ever workplace has burdened leaders with different roles. As such, one size cannot fit all. Leaders must be competent enough to identify the subtle possibilities of discrimination and have the required courage to counter that.
Clearly, the role of leaders is not phenomenal only in adhering to prevailing legal customs, but they also need to be sensitive to backgrounds and values of all individuals. Giving recruitment to women or minorities does not solve the purpose; leaders need to be proactive in acknowledging and addressing personal differences.
Recommendations
Diversity training to leaders and employees
Practicing situation leadership approach in diverse workplaces
Addressing legal lacuna in laws and policies
Conclusion
Managing diverse workforce involves respecting individual beliefs, opinions, and perceptions so that each employee gets equal chances of growth and development. Unfortunately, national and organizational policies regarding diversity management are restricted to complying with legal laws thereby defying the very essence of it. As statistics has revealed, there are even issues in following legal requirements making diversity handling a real challenge for leaders. Literature has aptly endorsed a proactive role of leaders and application of situational leadership models in embracing and encouraging the diversity.
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