In the current marketplace, a lack of diversity is not good for business. The most progressive companies will be successful because they recognize and harness the power of diversity to their work forces and in their products and services, thereby appealing to an increasingly diverse customer base.
Benjamin Akande, dean of George Herbert Walker School of Business, says that “organizations which are sufficiently bold and astute to recognize the strategic value and competitive advantage of diversity and inclusion will own the marketplace in the 21st century.”
The markets of tomorrow will be characterized by diversity, not uniformity. Having a diverse workforce will bring diversity of thought that will give you a competitive advantage. Today we will focus on what is diversity and what are the advantages of diversity. On next post we will discover how to make diversity work.
What is Diversity
At the most basic level, diversity can be explained as differences that exist among people, and tolerance for others with different backgrounds. According to C.V. Harquail of Authentic Organizations, diversity can be broken down into four categories:
- Identity: Social and Demographic Diversity. Encompasses your social-physical features such as race, physical ability, gender, sexual orientation, generation, and ethnicity.
- Cognitive: Informational Diversity. What we know and how we know it. Includes work experience, judgment, categorization, learning styles, perception and intelligence.
- Values: Relates to our belief systems. Includes value preferences, speculation about what’s “right” or “good,” and attitudes toward the organization and the world.
- Behavioral: Personality styles, working methods, and interactions with others are examples of behavioral diversity.
Benefits of a Diverse and Inclusive Work Environment
According to a study by Langdon, McMenamin, and Krolik, the workforce of the 21st century will most likely be characterized by an increase in the number of women, minorities, intergenerational workers, and persons with different lifestyles and ethnic backgrounds.
When businesses embrace diversity and inclusion, several positive outcomes can occur:
- Increased adaptability to fluctuating market conditions due to diverse experiences of employees.
- Increased creativity and innovation.
- Cross pollination of ideas and perspectives results in larger pool of ideas to meet business strategy needs.
- Diverse viewpoints that facilitates effective decision making.
- Understanding of different national and foreign markets.
- Broader service range through diverse skills and experiences (languages, cultural understanding).
- Attraction and retention of best employees.
- New attitudes that can be advantageous.
- New processes that can result in more profitability.
- Improved understanding of cultural sensitive needs of customers in different cultures.
Remember. . .
America is a diverse country that has learned to garner diverse cultures and bring them together in a common purpose. If you use the power of diversity in the right way, there is nothing you can’t do. If you don’t, you cripple yourself.
Hire for differences and don’t expect everyone to be the same. Conversations about differences can get messy and create friction – but it’s the kind of friction that sparks new thinking and moves organizations forward.
Photo by: n!ck