Business psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business psychology - Essay Example e case at hand involves a large company engaged in the sales business which is offering research opportunities that allow their sales staff to be more productive. One of the better ways to take this opportunity is to use an experimental approach which will allow the company to analyse the effects of performance reviews exactly as they are conducted within their setup. While the company could use research done on companies like GE or any other large organisation, it would not be exactly suitable for them and would offer little more than general guidelines. The actual conduct of the experiment is explained further onwards in the paper but the overview can be given as a set of surveys. The first survey which obtains the opinions and feelings of the employees would be conducted one week before the performance reviews and the second survey would be conducted one week after the employees have had their performance reviews. At the same time, continual monitoring of employee performance levels would let us understand how performance reviews in the company affect anxiety levels, stress levels and employee performance. There are two significant benefits to the company which are expected from this experiment. The first and primary benefit is expert support and knowledgeable consultancy regarding their performance evaluations and the secondary benefit is the accurate analysis concerning the negative or positive effects of performance reviews on salespersons. The time spent on performance reviews is a major investment which must be undertaken quite frequently as many companies have performance reviews every six months if not every quarter. Therefore, it would be wasteful to invest in the process time and again without understanding the effects of the process on the employees. Writing in the American Business Association Journal, Neil (2004) reports that the primary purpose of performance appraisals is not to seek out the people who are underperforming in the company, rather,

Internet Resource Guide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Internet Resource Guide - Essay Example Furthermore, the Civil Engineering discipline attracts very few students due to its technicality. However, once the guide is made public, interested students will feel comfortable to join Penn State University and pursue the degree. The contents of this guide include Electronic indices that include periodical literature in Civil Engineering and professional journals from renowned scholars in the Civil Engineering discipline. The guide gives a summary of the journals and describes in details the relevance of the journals to freshmen students and students in the sophomore year. The scope of this guide further includes enlisted government sites approved by Penn State University whose content is crucial to Civil Engineering students as professionals in the field laid it down. There are other internet sites in the guide that have been proposed for subtends and other individuals with interest in the field of Civil Engineering. It is definite that the information available in this guide wil l be helpful to the freshmen students and those in the sophomore year. The scope is broad and students who have problems in locating the internet resources will now find it easier as the guide is precise and elaborate. Students with interests of pursuing a Bachelors degree in this field and have fears over resources will be highly encouraged to join the course. Whom this guide is for This guide is prepared at Penn State University for students pursuing a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering. It particularly aims at freshmen students and those in the sophomore year. Other students with interests in the field of Civil Engineering will find this guide very useful. Researchers in the Civil Engineering field will make use of this guide as a link to internet sites they deem necessary for use in their research. This being a guide to the internet resources, it will crucial to any other person with problems in searching for the appropriate sites that they need to get information and use. Be ginners in the course who try to find ways of starting the degree in the right way will find this guide an indispensable partner throughout their stay in the course. The guide will be a remedy to their teething problems at the beginning of their research and studies. It should be remembered here that though the guide specifically targets fresh and sophomore students, the civil engineering knowledge is technical therefore, other students including continuing and finalists in the bachelors’ degree will have to use it. Knowledge and skills in technical areas is always interlinked. Information learned at the beginning of the course will remain relevant until the student comes to the end of his or her course. The guide because of this will be important to all the students in the course (Hido and Leon 123). Assumptions of the Guide The guide takes several presumptions among them those students pursuing the bachelors’ degree in Civil Engineering at Penn State University are f ull time learners. The guide assumes that having enrolled in a technical course and at that level; the students already have necessary computer skills to use the interne

Counseling African Americans Essay Example for Free

Counseling African Americans Essay Sue and Sue’s Chapter 14 Counseling African Americans spends a great deal of effort exploring cultural particulars and corresponding clinical implications while working with African Americans; factors such as family dynamics, educational orientation, spirituality, and the pressures and stress of racism and marginalization. This offered me perspective through a lens much broader than my own somewhat narrow, predominantly white, and fairly privileged way of relating to the world. Before understanding culturally appropriate interventions, one must have an understanding of the cultural context or the cultural word of an individual. For me, this first means that differences must be noted, either literally in relationship with the African American client or simply as a clinical observation I make on my own. Of course the difference in the two will depend on the client, context, and general relevancy in the moment. In my own experience, noting racial difference aloud with a client has been most helpful in that it gives permission for the potentially â€Å"taboo† topic of race and differences to be considered, brought into the space at a later time, and even into the forefront of consciousness. Apart from the explicit therapeutic relationship, noting difference is a personal reminder that I am no expert on anyone’s experience but my own, I may make mistakes (and probably will), I should steer clear of assumptions, it’s ok to be curious, and to do my homework. Once a general understanding of differences is established, then one can begin to consider appropriate therapeutic interventions. Let’s take the issue of racism and discrimination; the byproduct of these atrocities oftentimes manifests as defense and survival mechanisms in Black Americans. Which can lead to a general mistrust or as it’s stated (by Sue and Sue) a â€Å"healthy cultural paranoia†, as a way of coping. This mistrust can be of individuals, entire races of people, the government, social service providers†¦ With this in mind, it’s important to determine what the client’s feelings and understandings about therapy are. To touch base and explain what kind of therapy I engage in, how it can be helpful to them, and what can be expected of our time together. Hopefully this will help to assuage uneasy feelings of fear of the unknown or mistrust, as well as set up a foundation for a healthy therapeutic alliance. Although Sue and Sue’s Afrocentric perspective can be helpful it can also simultaneously be viewed as reductive. It’s important not to discount individual differences by universalizing traits of African Americans. Self cannot be defined as a unitary concept evolving from a single defining variable, such as race or gender (Williams, 1999). For instance, not all women are nurturing, caring, and relational. Similarly, not all African Americans possess an African ethos of communalism or spirituality. Race, class, sexual orientation, and gender are all complex interactive components that make up the self. To approach a client through the lens of only one of these variables, means potentially silencing a central component of their identity. Additionally, it is also necessary to consider an internal state without regard to the social demands of each variable. Collectively, these considerations can aide to a more holistic view when working with African American clients. Part Two After spending a year in practicum at the SF county jail, I feel as though I’ve had a fairly decent introduction to working with African American females. When I began practicum I had had very little training in diversity or cross-cultural counseling. Turns out that a year in the jail was one large training in diversity and cross-cultural counseling! Now I’m able to pin my personal experience against the readings and gauge my success as a culturally competent therapist. When assessing my strengths, I find that I possess a keen and tremendously empathic understanding of how the stress of racism, sexism, and oppression can manifest in African American women. Oftentimes the byproduct of this stress is what brings the individual to jail. As a clinician, I can confidently say that I am able to enter the therapeutic relationship with a greater capacity for empathy because of this understanding and build a strong alliance as an ally as well as a therapist. I’m not afraid to make mistakes and have no attachment to being â€Å"right†; these qualities will only support me as a clinician. In addition, my upfront demeanor and willingness to self-disclose have had a remarkable impact on the therapeutic relationship. My empathy is strongly with women and their plight of identifying and addressing all the â€Å"isms† that stand between them and equality, wholeness, and health. Frequently, those â€Å"isms† are at the hands of men and I certainly have a bias towards this, and towards men in general. It’s no accident that I spent an entire year of practicum working solely with women; although it wasn’t a conscious choice, I believe on some level I chose not to work with men. I have incredible biases towards men as perpetrators and oppressors and men and their privilege, African American men as well as Caucasian. These biases keep me terrified at the thought of working with male clients. I imagine heaps and heaps of countertransference between male clients and myself; countertransference that is full of pain and rage. I’m not sure that I have much to offer men inside the therapeutic space. I don’t believe this to be my â€Å"final answer†, I just know that I have some work to do around my relationship with men before I make the leap of working with them in such sacred space. Essentially, it all comes down to two core qualities- and they are humility and flexibility; humility in all that I think I know and the flexibility to shift or discard that knowledge. My experience of working with, knowing, and reading about African American culture, difference, and oppression may or may not serve me as a therapist at any given moment. What works for and makes sense in the context of Client A, may not be so for Client B, and vise versa. Although it is crucial to have fundamental knowledge of the legacy of oppression against African American people and to consider factors such as interdependence, collectivism, and emotional vitality as presumed long- standing black personality traits, I must also be able to draw connections between those factors and the individual experience- much like the womanist techniques mentioned in Carmen Braun Williams’ article African American Women, Afrocentrism and Feminism: Implications for Therapy. As a therapist, I am responsible for guiding and supporting the client in making the shift from object to subject; transferring ownership of self from one whose self is externally determined to one who is self- determining (Freire, 1990). And practice practice practice, with an open heart, ears, and mind. References Braun Williams, C. (1999). African American women, afrocentrism and feminism: Implications for therapy. Women Therapy, Vol. 22(4) 1999. Freire, P. (1990). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum. Sue, D. Sue, D. (2008). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice, Chapter 14.

Invasion of Privacy Essay Example for Free

Invasion of Privacy Essay While straightening your teenagers room, a book falls on the floor. You pick it up and see that it is her diary. As a parent, do you have the right to read it? Would it matter if you found the diary outside her room? Is it okay to read the diary if you suspect there is problem your teen is not telling you about? As a child, did you ever go into your parents room (without permission) and snoop around? Was that an invasion of their privacy? Did you find anything you werent supposed to? Did you learn from it? Did you tell them? You have every right to read your childs diary whether its found in the laundry or their bedroom. There is nothing wrong with knowing what your child is thinking, the changes that they are experiencing, or perhaps any troubling matters they dont feel they can approach one of their parents with. Consider yourself lucky you found it. Invasion of privacy? I dont think so; it could save their life. As long as your child is living at home with you, yes, you should read her diary entries. You are there to protect your child not only from outside influences but also from herself. If it means going through their belongings then so be it. When they move out and establish lives of their own, this is when you give up certain rights as parents, including reading their diaries. I guess my term is not snooping; it is monitoring your children. My parents monitor me. There is nothing in my room that my mother does not have access to. It is unacceptable for anyone to hide anything in our house. And, she monitors which people I hang out with. Granted, I didnt appreciate it for a while, but as some of her NO WAY choices started ending up hurting me, or others, I knew she had my best interest at heart, and wasnt trying to sabotage my life. I agree that its okay to go through your kid’s belongings. What should be done if you are going through it and you find something inappropriate, you find some roundabout way to bring it up to your child and see if they open up about it. By no means do you say, Oh, I was in your room snooping and found this or that. You have to protect your kids. Sometimes they will get into the habit of believing everything their friends say, not thinking that their mom or dad have been through or experienced just about everything theyre going through and have the wisdom to help them out in certain situations. Of course children do not believe that you should be snooping into what they want to call their privacy. They also think they know everything and can make wise decisions. They think it is ok to text and drive, drink and drive and show their private parts while on spring break. Kids think they should not have to go to school or have a bedtime. Do I have to go on? I think you get the picture. Bottom line is, they are not paying for a phone, internet, computers, Ipads and the electricity it takes to keep them running and until they do those items are not theirs. They are the property of the parent or guardian and can be looked at, searched, monitored at anytime they please. My point is, if you’re not doing anything wrong then there should not be a problem with anyone looking at your text messages or emails which by the way are not private anyway. If you feel you should have privacy and you are old enough then get a job, be responsible, and pay for all of your things yourself and you may also want to move out on your own until then, As my mom says â€Å"My house, my rules.† Legally, parents have the right to monitor their childs communications simply because they are legally responsible for the childs actions. Parents are legally responsible for their children. I know of past cases where parents have been arrested for crimes a child has done and they also can be held financially responsible. The trust element also comes into play when both the teen and the parent know they can trust each other that their home is a place free of harmful communication. To do that, the parent has to actively monitor the media that the teen uses and engage in censorship, no matter how awful the word seems. It is simply the act of a responsible society that harmful communication is not displayed to children and that children do their part in respecting the laws of society. I am a teenager. I think parents should be able to monitor my personal life, specifically my texts, because of all the dangerous things in the world. You start to notice on the news teens using drugs more often than they have before. Using a simple text message to one of your friends about drugs or anything can start peer pressure. Youre not talking in person so its easier to text it then actually say it. I was reading a story on CNN about a computer programmer who figured out slang use of words to cover so parents wont get it. He does have a website up with the meaning of the slang use of words. I looked at one and it said â€Å"tdtml†. This means â€Å"talk dirty to me later†. Parents should be able to ask for the phone to see what they are talking about. They should be able to ask for it at random times. My parents also told me that they will check my phone whenever giving me a heads up that I will just hand it over at any time. This has helped me a lot in my life to stay away from peer pressure and many other things as well. Using the website noslang.com can help parents figure out what their kids are texting. Reading the CNN report on what they could code for words was absolutely amazing. Go to cnn.com and in the search bar type in Parents do you know what these texts mean?† Parents you will be stunned at the reports and the type of coding teens use in these days.

Role of Human Resource Managers in Diversity Management

Role of Human Resource Managers in Diversity Management CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the background of the research on â€Å"How can international human resources managers effectively manage diversity in multinational company?†- Case study Tesco. The company overview of Tesco in UK, background of the research, organisation background, rationale statement, research questions, and purpose of the research conducted the aim and objectives of the research identified by researcher. The structure of the dissertation is described at the end of the chapter. 1.1 Background of the Research 1.1.1 Managing Diversity Managing diversity means maximizing diversitys potential benefits such as greater cultural awareness and broader language skills, while minimizing the potential barriers such as prejudices and bias that can undermine the companys performance. Dessler (2008, p.61) referred to diversity as potentially a double-edged sword. Generally diversity refers to the variety or multiplicity of demographic features that characterize a companys workforce, in terms of race, sex, culture, national origin, age and religion. Many organisations have implemented various types of initiatives within the last few decades in an effort to deal with diversity. A possible missing link between how the human resource managers deal with diversity and its impact on the organisation is a diversity strategy that is executed using a planned approach to systemically manage diversity (Leopold Harris 2009). The increasing diversity and changing demographics of the UK workforce, the expansion of anti-discrimination legislation, legal rights for individuals with caring responsibilities and government policy commitment to the work-life balance have created new challenges for employers across employment sectors. This research explores some of the issues that arise for employers, managers and employees in the development and application of multinational organisational human resourcing policies which are intended to promote equality of treatment and recognize diversity in the workforce. The 2004 WERS survey (Kersley et al., 2006) found that 73 percent of workplaces had a final written equal opportunities policy or a policy on managing diversity compared to 64 percent in 1998. This figure increased to 98 percent in the public sector (97 percent in 1998) with the incidence of formal policy being higher in large workplaces which means that most employees work in establishments with a formal poli cy. This was evident in the 2007 CIPD annual recruitment and retention survey which revealed that only half of the 905 participating organisations had a formal diversity strategy although again the public sector is more proactive with 83 percent reporting a strategic approach to diversity (CIPD, 2007 a). Todays business and service organisations are meeting the challenge which demands systematic efforts, as many of them have come to realize. Whether the multi-cultural character of the organisation arises from its international workforce and its local operations in various countries, from the mixed backgrounds of a workforce in a single location, the organisation must address this diversity if it is to be successful. Groups of people see the world through their own set of assumptions, values, beliefs, customs, traditions and attitudes that are shared by an organisations members. Learn about their culture and how it shaped them, and aim to understand how other culture work that can be an effective global manager. 1.2 Organisation Background In this research, selected company will be Tesco Metro (Whitton, Branch) London outlet where different cultural people working. Tesco is one of the UKs major retail supermarkets. Tesco is an international retailer where there are working different countries and cross-cultural people. This research is a collection of how the Tesco Company has used diversity to support their business goals and valuable learning and what makes good diversity practice. Tesco is the fastest and largest growing retail chain in UK as well as international arena. Tesco started its journey in 1919 in the East End of London. As a result, Tesco came as a national store across the country in 1970. To beat others and to reach top Tesco brings more innovative idea and implemented those from 1992 to 2004 like slogan â€Å"every little help†, Tesco value, Club card, 24 hours service, Online service and so on (A history of Tesco: The rise of Britains biggest supermarket). Tesco is operating in the UK set its position as a market leader with over  £2 billion of profit with total 3728 stores around the world, where in the UK 2,306 stores and employing over 286,394 staff. It provides online services through its subsidiary, Tesco.com. The UK is the companys largest market where it operates under four banners of Extra, Superstore, Metro and Express. The company sells almost 40,000 food products, including clothing and other non-foods lines. The companys own-label products (50 percent of sales) are at three levels; value, normal and finest. As well as convenience produce many stores have gas stations, becoming one of Britains largest independent petrol retailers (Tesco Annual Report Review, 2009). According to market share Tescos positions in number one in UK and third position around the world. Tesco is the market leader with 30.40% (March, 09) of market share though its lost a bit of market share 0.5% in recent year due to credit crunch. Tesco market s hare is nearly two times higher than other retail shop like Asda (17.5%), Sainsbury (16.1%). (Retail Analysis) Tesco has a very friendly and supporting approach in the routine ways that staffs at Tesco behave towards each other, and towards those outside the company that can make up the ways people do things, where at great place to work. The control systems and measurements are constantly under the management review to monitor the efficiency of the staff and managers decisions. On-going meetings and communication at every level of the companys hierarchy represent a strong internal environment (Tescos Value and Strategy). Cultural web theory application (The cultural web theory is also an effective analysis for management in order to represent the underlying assumptions linked to political, symbolic and structural aspect of the company) is a useful tool in considering the cultural context for Tescos business (Tescos Value and Strategy). Culture generally tends to consist of layers of values, beliefs and taken for-granted actions and ways of doing business within and outside the company. Therefore, the concept of cultural web is the representation of these actions taken for granted for understanding how they connect and influence the strategy (Veliyath and Fitzgerald, 2000; Johnson and Scholes, 2003). It is also useful to understand and characterise both the companys culture and the subcultures in adaptation of future strategies. 1.3 Rationale statement Generally, a self assessment for international human resource managers is to evaluate and improve their global management skills. But it also creates a challenge for individual managers who must manage with working across geographic and cultural areas; understand how issues of managing diversity inform and influence human resource strategies and evaluate the respective responsibilities of international human resource managers for managing diversity policies and practices. The key concept of managing diversity accepts that different cultural workforce consists of a diverse population of people. The diversity management can recognize a wide range of individual differences and benefits to the employment relationship to individual needs which can lead to the organisational competitive advantage. This research explores the key principle of diversity in one of UKs leading super market named Tesco Metro (Whitton Branch) London. The researcher intends that how managers mange working with diversity people in workplace in Tesco, whereas equal opportunity focuses on different ethnic groups. 1.4 Research Questions As human resource manager in a multinational company needs to consider the following major issues: 1. How people manage a group of different culture people? 2. What is the communication within work? 3. How do the managers manage diversity and equal opportunity within the service? 4. How can the manager influence teams performance? 5. How can the manager help people learn and develop? 6. How can the manager help people to manage change? 7. How he is motivating people? 8. How can the manager handle equal opportunity? 9. What strategy managers should apply to get a good result from employees? How a human resource manager can handle all those areas and successfully the organisations mission with different countrys people. 1.5 Purpose of the Research 1.5.1 Research Aim The aim of the dissertation is to analyse the competitive advantage of the organization that are managing people as assets which are fundamental. And to examine diversity, equality and discrimination issues in a multinational company, in the particular way of human resource managers to manage work with different culture people. Tesco has been used as a case study in this dissertation. 1.5.2 Research Objectives 1) An international human resource managers needs to know the way of managing people in the organisation. An overview of what a manager needs to do in relations to managing people in a changing environment which will be include at diversity issues and international human resource management policies. 2) To observe a multicultural company from the perspectives of diverse social peoples. 3) For an organisation to succeed on a global scale, radical shifts in business procedures are required. To become a successful global manager is to develop a global outlook. 4) A global manager needs to know what point an organisation has reached in the globalization process, and where it wants to go. Understand the process and recognize the strategies that will give the organisation a global advantage. 5) Understanding people as individuals and recognizing their differences as well as drawing up some general principles for managing them like motivates them, job satisfaction, and job design. 6) Recruiting, and selecting the right people. This research will disclose some essential factors which help organisations to maintain their diversity effectively within the organisation and make a fair working environment of employees within the organisation. 1.6 Structure of the Dissertation The dissertation report has been structured into the following chapters. Chapter 1: This provides an introduction to the research, where justification of the research is presented and the purpose of the research is explained. Chapter 2: The second chapter is the literature review of this dissertation concerned about, the works of various authors who have discussed relevant existing theories and policy of diversity and the different interpretations of diversity management which is based on secondary data. Those relevant theories and policy will help to find out the appropriate analyse of the following research. Chapter 3: The third chapter will discuss the research methodology. Research method presents the research philosophy, approach and sampling, data collection procedures and shows the right direction to achieve an outcome. This chapter also explains the reasons behind the use of selected research method and the advantages by using the research approach. Chapter 4: This chapter contains the analysis and findings. This part of dissertation informed the research findings quantitatively with the help of constructed research model and research hypotheses. It also shows the data gathered in the company through interview and questionnaire of Tescos managers and employees, and analysis the data to provide a productive meaning of the research finding. Chapter 5: This chapter encloses the conclusion of the dissertation within the research questions and objectives, describe limitation of research and recommends opportunity for further research. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction This chapter discusses the works of various authors and scholars who have highlighted theoretical exploration of the existing knowledge that is relevant to the diversity area. This chapter also focuses on similar and contrasting perspectives that researchers have used to approach this research areas. 2.2 What is Diversity Diversity means relating and working with people who hold different perspectives and views and bringing different qualities to the workplace. According to (Kandola Fullerton 1994, p.19) diversity consists of visible and non-visible differences which will include age, background, race, sex, disability, personality and lifestyle. The concept of diversity means respect and acceptance, means understanding each individual is unique and recognizing our individuals differences. It can be the aspects of race, age, gender, ethnicity, sex, disability, religious beliefs, and political views and so on. It is also exploration of these differences in a safe positive and development organizational environment. As the Wall Street Journal (2005) put about diversity, as companies do more and more business around the world, diversity is simple a matter of doing what is fair or good public relations which is a business imperative but diversity is supposed to enrich an organisations human capital, whereas equal opportunity focuses on various ethnic groups. Brewster (2002) defined that managing diversity tries to build specific skills and to create policies that derive the best from each employee and it is based on the assumption that diverse groups will create new ways of working together and have understanding in that group, profit and productivity will increase in the organisation. Where he found, diversity management is fast becoming a management approach that is being applied effectively within the organizations. 2.3 Benefits of Diversity Diversity needs to be seen as an integral part of the business plan, essential to successful products and increased sales. This is especially true in todays global marketplace, as organizations interact with different cultures and people. Kandola Fullerton (1998) identified the possible areas of diversity benefits, these are: a) Creativity increases when people with different ways of solving difficult problems work together towards a common solution and the more ideas can obtain from different people. b) Productivity increases when people are from all cultures pull together towards a single inspiring goal. Increased productivity is an obvious advantage of diversity in the workplace. c) Provide strong leadership they take strong stands on advocating the need for a diverse workforce and can handle effectively different cultural people. d) New attitudes are brought to the business by people from diverse cultures. In most other countries around the world time is for building relationships and an integral part of getting to know that are considering doing business with before starting a transaction. e) Provide diversity training and education are obviously needed in todays increasingly global market and diverse employees often have this ability. Every company needs specific knowledge or language skills where the international job seekers have the advantage. f) New processes when people are with different ideas come together and collaborate. In todays first moving world, employee must bring multiple skills to the working environment and adapt quickly to new situations. (Harris et al. 2003) International human resource manager can make organisations more successful and productive by managing diversity in the work place. Diversity brings real benefits to business environment where employing a diverse workforce enables it to use a wider range of skills and lead to creativity and innovation. 2.4 Human Resource (HR) Policies HR policies provide guidelines on how key aspects of people management should be handled. The aim is to ensure that any HR issues are dealt with the values of the organisation with certain principles. Armstrong (2009) defined the philosophies and values of the organisation on how people should be treated and all organisations have HR policies. HR policies can be expressed formally as overall statements of the values of the organisation or in specific areas. Kandola Fullerton (1994), these values are espoused by many organizations in one form or another. HR policy on managing diversity recognizes that there are differences among employees and properly managed where will enable work to be more effectively. 2.5 Managing Workforce Diversity Legislation and the high profile of equal opportunities in the UK has had both positive and negative effects on the way people view each other, (Barker, 2000). On the one hand, there is now widespread recognition that discrimination at work on the grounds of gender, race or ability alone is unjust, although the practice still continues. However, the grouping of minorities such as women or ethnic or disabled has produced responses. More recent thinking has moved towards ‘managing diversity-recognizing and valuing differences in people and their unique contributions to the workforce. Managing diversity involves creating an environment that allows all employees to contribute to organizational goals and experience personal growth. This requires the company to develop employees that they are comfortable working with others from a variety of ethnic, racial and religious backgrounds. Noe et al. (2003) found that managing diversity may require changing the company culture. It includes the companys standards and how employees are treated, competitiveness, innovation and risk taking. Where management of diversity has been linked to innovation, improved productivity, lower employee turnover and other costs related to human resources, (Cox, 1993, p.24). Price (1997, p.265) noted that the management of diversity goes beyond equal opportunity instead of allowing a greater range of people the opportunity to ‘fit in the concept of diversity embodies the belief that people should be valued for their differences and variety. Diversity perceived to enrich an organisations human capital. Whereas equal opportunity focuses on various disadvantaged groups, the management of diversity is about individuals and model of resourcing aimed at finding flexible employees. According to Harvard Business Review, managing diversity does not mean controlling or containing diversity, it means enabling every member of workforce to perform to their potential and getting from employees; everything right to expect and if it is well then thing they have to give, (Thomas, 2001). The future success of any organisations relies on the ability to manage a diverse of capacity that can bring innovative ideas, perspectives and views to their work. The challenge and problems faced of workplace diversity can be turned into a strategic organisational asset if an organisation is able to make the most of diverse talents. Especially for multinational companies, who have operations on a global scale and employ people of different countries, ethical and cultural backgrounds. Thus, a HR manager needs to be aware and may utilize a Think Global, Act Local approach in most circumstances, (Jackson, 2002). The goals of diversity training are eliminate values and managerial practices that restrain employees personal development and allow employees to contribute to organisational goals within the cultural background, (Jackson Associates, 1992). It is because of equal opportunity employment laws that companies have focused on ensuring equal access to jobs. With a population attempt towards high technology and knowledge-based economy; foreign ability are tempt to share their expertise in these areas. Thus human resource managers have to undergo cultural-based human resource management training to further their abilities to motivate a group of professional that are highly qualified but culturally diverse. 2.6 Achieving Equality and diversity Approach The diversity approaches argue that diverse workgroups generate wealthier ideas and solutions than homogenous groups where benefits of diversity management include a greater concern for socially responsible behavior in organisations and more flexibility in organizational policies, (Wentling Palma-Rivas, 1998, p.237). Ross Schneider (1992, p.49) discussed the fundamental perspective from equality to diversity that employers will find competitive advantage in encouraging diversity at work. Equal opportunities should become internally driven not externally imposed and focused on individuals where the responsibility of all. Fredman (2001) observes that traditionally equality laws have been informed by neutrality, individualism and promotion of autonomy principles. These principles aim to ensure that people are treated in the same way and appear to be the most consideration in the UK anti-discrimination framework which is an approach to workplace equality based on achieving fairness. Walsh (2007) in her analysis of the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey findings points out that womens representation in senior management in UK workplaces had only marginally improved by 2 percent between 1998 and 2004. So diversity is a concept which recognises the benefits to be gained from differences and equal opportunity has traditionally been a concept, which sought to legislate against discrimination. These two concepts have the following characteristics:. Those characteristics suggest that how organisations can move from where most are at present to a situation in which diversity enters the majority. 2.7 How the Diversity Concept has developed Changes in the social and economic landscape led to legislation covering equal pay, sex and racial discrimination in the 1970s, followed by disability laws in the 1990s, (Daniels Macdonald, 2005). More recently discrimination of sexual orientation and religion has been added by the law. By 1990s, it was being recognised that they had limited success in achieving their goals. At around the same time, researchers were also finding that culturally diverse teams were more creative than homogenous teams and contributed more effectively to meeting organisational goals. Three separate commissions have promoted equality and particular aspects of the legislation: the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Disability Rights Commission. From October 2007, a new Equality and Human Rights Commission has been established to cover all equality issues as well as of human rights, from (CIPD, 2007). From the recent survey, unemployment is twice as high among people from ethnic minorities, although in UK relatively more Asian and Black African graduates than white graduates where only 12 percent of white men are in professional occupations. Statistical survey found that 41 percent of white women in employment work part-time but only 7 percent of white men and as opposed to 38 percent of Bangladeshi men, (http://www.cipd.co.uk/surveys). 2.8 Diversity Policy Changing workforce demographics and new organisational forms are increasing the diversity of work teams in general and decision-making teams in particular. The perspectives of diversity policy may lead to a variety of different consequences for decision-making teams in the organisation. 2.8.1 The Business Issues Equal opportunities are often seen as meaning treating everyone in exactly the same way. Kandola (2006) argued that the social justice and business issues for diversity are complementary because unless people are treated fairly at work they will therefore under-perform. But diversity takes equality forward and evidence indicates that organisations that are serious about diversity show better overall financial performance. Diversity policies also help organisations to create an environment in which people from all backgrounds can work together. 2.8.2 People Issues People are aspiring to work for employers with good employment practices and feel valued at work place. Dowling et al. (1999, p.262) states that to be competitive organisations need to derive the best contributions from everyone and need to create an inclusive workplace culture in which everyone feels valued. The HRM aspects are operating different countries as a way of illustrating the situation that may confront multinationals attempting to penetrate developing markets. 2.9 The Nature of Diversity in Decision-Making Teams Many organisations use the term diversity to refer only to demographic differences among employees, with gender, ethnicity and age being the dimensions of greatest concern. Changing workforce demographics and new organisational forms are increasing the diversity of work teams in general and decision-making teams in particular. Diversity may lead to a variety of different consequences for decision-making teams. 2.9.1 Gender Diversity Gender diversity in teams may indicate the extent to which team members form same gender relationships outside the team. Studies on social networks suggest that employees form relationships with each other based on their gender. In a study of male and female managers in an advertising firm, Ibarra (1995) found that men and women formed same gender networks that served both social and instrumental goals. 2.9.2 Ethnicity Diversity Social identity and organisational demography suggests that people are preferred to interact with members of their own identity group rather than with members of other groups. Where white males tend to perform in higher positions, (Chow Crawford, 2004) females and ethnic minorities tend to occupy more junior positions. Experiences of racism shared by women and members of different ethnic groups affect their attitudes and behaviours in the workplace. 2.9.3 Age Diversity People within age groups share common experiences, attitudes and values (Lawrence, 1988), a persons age can act as an indication that triggers social categorization processes and promotes communication among group members. Descriptions of workforce demographics usually emphasize the fact that the average age of the work force is increasing but the distribution of ages represented in the workforce is also changing. Following figure showing age distribution where non-white groups are younger: White groups have an older age structure where the mixed group had the youngest age structure 50 percent were under the aged of 16. The Bangladeshi, other Black and Pakistani groups also had young age structures of 38 percent were aged 16. This was almost double the proportion of the White British group, where 20 percent were under the age of 16. 2.10 Managing Diversity is Different from Affirmative Action Managing diversity focuses on maximizing the ability of all employees to contribute to organisational goals. Affirmative action focuses on specific groups because of historical discrimination, such as people of colour and women, (Kravitz Klineberg, 2000). Affirmative action emphasizes legal necessity and social responsibility where managing diversity emphasizes business necessity. So it is much more inclusive and acknowledges that diversity must work for everyone. Affirmative actions having the employer take actions in recruitment, hiring, promotions and compensation to eliminate the present effects of past discrimination. Affirmative action is still a significant workplace issue today. The incidence of major court-mandated affirmative action is down, but courts still use them. Furthermore, many employers must still engage in voluntary programs. For example, executive order 11246 (issued in 1965) requires federal contractors to take affirmative action to improve employment opportunities for groups such as women and racial minorities. EEO 11246 covers about 26 million workers about 22 percent of the US workforce, (Dessler 2008, p.63). 2.11 Organisational Context Managerial approaches to diversity will inevitably be informed by the specific organisational context. Attracting different types of people to an organisation will be determined by peoples perceptions of the industry in which the organisation operates. The image and reputation of the organisation as an employer will affect the types of people attracted to the organisation, (Markwick Fill, 1997). The maternity and children specialist retailer who came 18th in the 2008 Sunday Times 20 Best Big Companies to Work For list attribute their ranking to a number of factors to their employer brand. These include an emphasis on work-life balance, flexible working, better than average maternity pay and leave. These argue helps to attract and retain staff especially female employees, (Leopold Harris, 2009). If an organisation is able to employ a diverse workforce, the extent to which these individual differences are recognised in employment practices will be significantly affected by the size and structure of the organisation. 2.12 Diversity in Multinational Companies As more and more organisations become global and people of different cultures and ethnic backgrounds work together, the need for multicultural understanding becoming obvious to many organisation. Harris et al. (2003, p.25) referred that a multinational team would be much stronger in communication which is vital aspect in business. Most of the multinational company gives priority to work with diversity people as a result they are success in international market. Ansari Jackson (1995, p.12) described, multicultural teams led to more people from different culture and ethnic intermarrying. Globalisation and advances in communication and technology have reduced trade barriers and increased interaction among people. Companies and leaders who recognise the cultural diversity and find the right cultural mixture among the team can achieve comparative advantages. To understand how diversity is managed in multinational company, in that case need to understand the concept of corporate culture which describe the organisational diversity programs and how to minimize conflict between employees. 2.13 Why Culture Counts According to Mattock (1999) organisations have moved on from international to multinational to global. Multicultural teams have become very common in recent years. With cross border mobility becoming much easier the number of people moving from one country to another has grown significantly. As a manager need to successful interaction with others like sharing ideas, their needs and helping to improve performance, where need to consider cultural context. A diverse multi cultural work place enables a company to handle diverse projects. Erlenkamp (2007, p.7) found, in the last decades many scientist tried to define intercultural difference to enhance the communication between different cultures. ‘The most important studies were conducted by Geert Hofstede, Edward Hall and Fons Trompenaars, that shows the importance of multicultural workforce and HRM of many organisations do study these theories to implement it in their employee training. 2.14 Understanding Cross-Cultural Communication Language issues can develop into a source of conflict and inequality within culturally diverse organisations becomes more and more multicultural, (Ansari Jackson 1995). In the international business environment of today and tomorrow communication is a business necessity Role of Human Resource Managers in Diversity Management Role of Human Resource Managers in Diversity Management CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the background of the research on â€Å"How can international human resources managers effectively manage diversity in multinational company?†- Case study Tesco. The company overview of Tesco in UK, background of the research, organisation background, rationale statement, research questions, and purpose of the research conducted the aim and objectives of the research identified by researcher. The structure of the dissertation is described at the end of the chapter. 1.1 Background of the Research 1.1.1 Managing Diversity Managing diversity means maximizing diversitys potential benefits such as greater cultural awareness and broader language skills, while minimizing the potential barriers such as prejudices and bias that can undermine the companys performance. Dessler (2008, p.61) referred to diversity as potentially a double-edged sword. Generally diversity refers to the variety or multiplicity of demographic features that characterize a companys workforce, in terms of race, sex, culture, national origin, age and religion. Many organisations have implemented various types of initiatives within the last few decades in an effort to deal with diversity. A possible missing link between how the human resource managers deal with diversity and its impact on the organisation is a diversity strategy that is executed using a planned approach to systemically manage diversity (Leopold Harris 2009). The increasing diversity and changing demographics of the UK workforce, the expansion of anti-discrimination legislation, legal rights for individuals with caring responsibilities and government policy commitment to the work-life balance have created new challenges for employers across employment sectors. This research explores some of the issues that arise for employers, managers and employees in the development and application of multinational organisational human resourcing policies which are intended to promote equality of treatment and recognize diversity in the workforce. The 2004 WERS survey (Kersley et al., 2006) found that 73 percent of workplaces had a final written equal opportunities policy or a policy on managing diversity compared to 64 percent in 1998. This figure increased to 98 percent in the public sector (97 percent in 1998) with the incidence of formal policy being higher in large workplaces which means that most employees work in establishments with a formal poli cy. This was evident in the 2007 CIPD annual recruitment and retention survey which revealed that only half of the 905 participating organisations had a formal diversity strategy although again the public sector is more proactive with 83 percent reporting a strategic approach to diversity (CIPD, 2007 a). Todays business and service organisations are meeting the challenge which demands systematic efforts, as many of them have come to realize. Whether the multi-cultural character of the organisation arises from its international workforce and its local operations in various countries, from the mixed backgrounds of a workforce in a single location, the organisation must address this diversity if it is to be successful. Groups of people see the world through their own set of assumptions, values, beliefs, customs, traditions and attitudes that are shared by an organisations members. Learn about their culture and how it shaped them, and aim to understand how other culture work that can be an effective global manager. 1.2 Organisation Background In this research, selected company will be Tesco Metro (Whitton, Branch) London outlet where different cultural people working. Tesco is one of the UKs major retail supermarkets. Tesco is an international retailer where there are working different countries and cross-cultural people. This research is a collection of how the Tesco Company has used diversity to support their business goals and valuable learning and what makes good diversity practice. Tesco is the fastest and largest growing retail chain in UK as well as international arena. Tesco started its journey in 1919 in the East End of London. As a result, Tesco came as a national store across the country in 1970. To beat others and to reach top Tesco brings more innovative idea and implemented those from 1992 to 2004 like slogan â€Å"every little help†, Tesco value, Club card, 24 hours service, Online service and so on (A history of Tesco: The rise of Britains biggest supermarket). Tesco is operating in the UK set its position as a market leader with over  £2 billion of profit with total 3728 stores around the world, where in the UK 2,306 stores and employing over 286,394 staff. It provides online services through its subsidiary, Tesco.com. The UK is the companys largest market where it operates under four banners of Extra, Superstore, Metro and Express. The company sells almost 40,000 food products, including clothing and other non-foods lines. The companys own-label products (50 percent of sales) are at three levels; value, normal and finest. As well as convenience produce many stores have gas stations, becoming one of Britains largest independent petrol retailers (Tesco Annual Report Review, 2009). According to market share Tescos positions in number one in UK and third position around the world. Tesco is the market leader with 30.40% (March, 09) of market share though its lost a bit of market share 0.5% in recent year due to credit crunch. Tesco market s hare is nearly two times higher than other retail shop like Asda (17.5%), Sainsbury (16.1%). (Retail Analysis) Tesco has a very friendly and supporting approach in the routine ways that staffs at Tesco behave towards each other, and towards those outside the company that can make up the ways people do things, where at great place to work. The control systems and measurements are constantly under the management review to monitor the efficiency of the staff and managers decisions. On-going meetings and communication at every level of the companys hierarchy represent a strong internal environment (Tescos Value and Strategy). Cultural web theory application (The cultural web theory is also an effective analysis for management in order to represent the underlying assumptions linked to political, symbolic and structural aspect of the company) is a useful tool in considering the cultural context for Tescos business (Tescos Value and Strategy). Culture generally tends to consist of layers of values, beliefs and taken for-granted actions and ways of doing business within and outside the company. Therefore, the concept of cultural web is the representation of these actions taken for granted for understanding how they connect and influence the strategy (Veliyath and Fitzgerald, 2000; Johnson and Scholes, 2003). It is also useful to understand and characterise both the companys culture and the subcultures in adaptation of future strategies. 1.3 Rationale statement Generally, a self assessment for international human resource managers is to evaluate and improve their global management skills. But it also creates a challenge for individual managers who must manage with working across geographic and cultural areas; understand how issues of managing diversity inform and influence human resource strategies and evaluate the respective responsibilities of international human resource managers for managing diversity policies and practices. The key concept of managing diversity accepts that different cultural workforce consists of a diverse population of people. The diversity management can recognize a wide range of individual differences and benefits to the employment relationship to individual needs which can lead to the organisational competitive advantage. This research explores the key principle of diversity in one of UKs leading super market named Tesco Metro (Whitton Branch) London. The researcher intends that how managers mange working with diversity people in workplace in Tesco, whereas equal opportunity focuses on different ethnic groups. 1.4 Research Questions As human resource manager in a multinational company needs to consider the following major issues: 1. How people manage a group of different culture people? 2. What is the communication within work? 3. How do the managers manage diversity and equal opportunity within the service? 4. How can the manager influence teams performance? 5. How can the manager help people learn and develop? 6. How can the manager help people to manage change? 7. How he is motivating people? 8. How can the manager handle equal opportunity? 9. What strategy managers should apply to get a good result from employees? How a human resource manager can handle all those areas and successfully the organisations mission with different countrys people. 1.5 Purpose of the Research 1.5.1 Research Aim The aim of the dissertation is to analyse the competitive advantage of the organization that are managing people as assets which are fundamental. And to examine diversity, equality and discrimination issues in a multinational company, in the particular way of human resource managers to manage work with different culture people. Tesco has been used as a case study in this dissertation. 1.5.2 Research Objectives 1) An international human resource managers needs to know the way of managing people in the organisation. An overview of what a manager needs to do in relations to managing people in a changing environment which will be include at diversity issues and international human resource management policies. 2) To observe a multicultural company from the perspectives of diverse social peoples. 3) For an organisation to succeed on a global scale, radical shifts in business procedures are required. To become a successful global manager is to develop a global outlook. 4) A global manager needs to know what point an organisation has reached in the globalization process, and where it wants to go. Understand the process and recognize the strategies that will give the organisation a global advantage. 5) Understanding people as individuals and recognizing their differences as well as drawing up some general principles for managing them like motivates them, job satisfaction, and job design. 6) Recruiting, and selecting the right people. This research will disclose some essential factors which help organisations to maintain their diversity effectively within the organisation and make a fair working environment of employees within the organisation. 1.6 Structure of the Dissertation The dissertation report has been structured into the following chapters. Chapter 1: This provides an introduction to the research, where justification of the research is presented and the purpose of the research is explained. Chapter 2: The second chapter is the literature review of this dissertation concerned about, the works of various authors who have discussed relevant existing theories and policy of diversity and the different interpretations of diversity management which is based on secondary data. Those relevant theories and policy will help to find out the appropriate analyse of the following research. Chapter 3: The third chapter will discuss the research methodology. Research method presents the research philosophy, approach and sampling, data collection procedures and shows the right direction to achieve an outcome. This chapter also explains the reasons behind the use of selected research method and the advantages by using the research approach. Chapter 4: This chapter contains the analysis and findings. This part of dissertation informed the research findings quantitatively with the help of constructed research model and research hypotheses. It also shows the data gathered in the company through interview and questionnaire of Tescos managers and employees, and analysis the data to provide a productive meaning of the research finding. Chapter 5: This chapter encloses the conclusion of the dissertation within the research questions and objectives, describe limitation of research and recommends opportunity for further research. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction This chapter discusses the works of various authors and scholars who have highlighted theoretical exploration of the existing knowledge that is relevant to the diversity area. This chapter also focuses on similar and contrasting perspectives that researchers have used to approach this research areas. 2.2 What is Diversity Diversity means relating and working with people who hold different perspectives and views and bringing different qualities to the workplace. According to (Kandola Fullerton 1994, p.19) diversity consists of visible and non-visible differences which will include age, background, race, sex, disability, personality and lifestyle. The concept of diversity means respect and acceptance, means understanding each individual is unique and recognizing our individuals differences. It can be the aspects of race, age, gender, ethnicity, sex, disability, religious beliefs, and political views and so on. It is also exploration of these differences in a safe positive and development organizational environment. As the Wall Street Journal (2005) put about diversity, as companies do more and more business around the world, diversity is simple a matter of doing what is fair or good public relations which is a business imperative but diversity is supposed to enrich an organisations human capital, whereas equal opportunity focuses on various ethnic groups. Brewster (2002) defined that managing diversity tries to build specific skills and to create policies that derive the best from each employee and it is based on the assumption that diverse groups will create new ways of working together and have understanding in that group, profit and productivity will increase in the organisation. Where he found, diversity management is fast becoming a management approach that is being applied effectively within the organizations. 2.3 Benefits of Diversity Diversity needs to be seen as an integral part of the business plan, essential to successful products and increased sales. This is especially true in todays global marketplace, as organizations interact with different cultures and people. Kandola Fullerton (1998) identified the possible areas of diversity benefits, these are: a) Creativity increases when people with different ways of solving difficult problems work together towards a common solution and the more ideas can obtain from different people. b) Productivity increases when people are from all cultures pull together towards a single inspiring goal. Increased productivity is an obvious advantage of diversity in the workplace. c) Provide strong leadership they take strong stands on advocating the need for a diverse workforce and can handle effectively different cultural people. d) New attitudes are brought to the business by people from diverse cultures. In most other countries around the world time is for building relationships and an integral part of getting to know that are considering doing business with before starting a transaction. e) Provide diversity training and education are obviously needed in todays increasingly global market and diverse employees often have this ability. Every company needs specific knowledge or language skills where the international job seekers have the advantage. f) New processes when people are with different ideas come together and collaborate. In todays first moving world, employee must bring multiple skills to the working environment and adapt quickly to new situations. (Harris et al. 2003) International human resource manager can make organisations more successful and productive by managing diversity in the work place. Diversity brings real benefits to business environment where employing a diverse workforce enables it to use a wider range of skills and lead to creativity and innovation. 2.4 Human Resource (HR) Policies HR policies provide guidelines on how key aspects of people management should be handled. The aim is to ensure that any HR issues are dealt with the values of the organisation with certain principles. Armstrong (2009) defined the philosophies and values of the organisation on how people should be treated and all organisations have HR policies. HR policies can be expressed formally as overall statements of the values of the organisation or in specific areas. Kandola Fullerton (1994), these values are espoused by many organizations in one form or another. HR policy on managing diversity recognizes that there are differences among employees and properly managed where will enable work to be more effectively. 2.5 Managing Workforce Diversity Legislation and the high profile of equal opportunities in the UK has had both positive and negative effects on the way people view each other, (Barker, 2000). On the one hand, there is now widespread recognition that discrimination at work on the grounds of gender, race or ability alone is unjust, although the practice still continues. However, the grouping of minorities such as women or ethnic or disabled has produced responses. More recent thinking has moved towards ‘managing diversity-recognizing and valuing differences in people and their unique contributions to the workforce. Managing diversity involves creating an environment that allows all employees to contribute to organizational goals and experience personal growth. This requires the company to develop employees that they are comfortable working with others from a variety of ethnic, racial and religious backgrounds. Noe et al. (2003) found that managing diversity may require changing the company culture. It includes the companys standards and how employees are treated, competitiveness, innovation and risk taking. Where management of diversity has been linked to innovation, improved productivity, lower employee turnover and other costs related to human resources, (Cox, 1993, p.24). Price (1997, p.265) noted that the management of diversity goes beyond equal opportunity instead of allowing a greater range of people the opportunity to ‘fit in the concept of diversity embodies the belief that people should be valued for their differences and variety. Diversity perceived to enrich an organisations human capital. Whereas equal opportunity focuses on various disadvantaged groups, the management of diversity is about individuals and model of resourcing aimed at finding flexible employees. According to Harvard Business Review, managing diversity does not mean controlling or containing diversity, it means enabling every member of workforce to perform to their potential and getting from employees; everything right to expect and if it is well then thing they have to give, (Thomas, 2001). The future success of any organisations relies on the ability to manage a diverse of capacity that can bring innovative ideas, perspectives and views to their work. The challenge and problems faced of workplace diversity can be turned into a strategic organisational asset if an organisation is able to make the most of diverse talents. Especially for multinational companies, who have operations on a global scale and employ people of different countries, ethical and cultural backgrounds. Thus, a HR manager needs to be aware and may utilize a Think Global, Act Local approach in most circumstances, (Jackson, 2002). The goals of diversity training are eliminate values and managerial practices that restrain employees personal development and allow employees to contribute to organisational goals within the cultural background, (Jackson Associates, 1992). It is because of equal opportunity employment laws that companies have focused on ensuring equal access to jobs. With a population attempt towards high technology and knowledge-based economy; foreign ability are tempt to share their expertise in these areas. Thus human resource managers have to undergo cultural-based human resource management training to further their abilities to motivate a group of professional that are highly qualified but culturally diverse. 2.6 Achieving Equality and diversity Approach The diversity approaches argue that diverse workgroups generate wealthier ideas and solutions than homogenous groups where benefits of diversity management include a greater concern for socially responsible behavior in organisations and more flexibility in organizational policies, (Wentling Palma-Rivas, 1998, p.237). Ross Schneider (1992, p.49) discussed the fundamental perspective from equality to diversity that employers will find competitive advantage in encouraging diversity at work. Equal opportunities should become internally driven not externally imposed and focused on individuals where the responsibility of all. Fredman (2001) observes that traditionally equality laws have been informed by neutrality, individualism and promotion of autonomy principles. These principles aim to ensure that people are treated in the same way and appear to be the most consideration in the UK anti-discrimination framework which is an approach to workplace equality based on achieving fairness. Walsh (2007) in her analysis of the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey findings points out that womens representation in senior management in UK workplaces had only marginally improved by 2 percent between 1998 and 2004. So diversity is a concept which recognises the benefits to be gained from differences and equal opportunity has traditionally been a concept, which sought to legislate against discrimination. These two concepts have the following characteristics:. Those characteristics suggest that how organisations can move from where most are at present to a situation in which diversity enters the majority. 2.7 How the Diversity Concept has developed Changes in the social and economic landscape led to legislation covering equal pay, sex and racial discrimination in the 1970s, followed by disability laws in the 1990s, (Daniels Macdonald, 2005). More recently discrimination of sexual orientation and religion has been added by the law. By 1990s, it was being recognised that they had limited success in achieving their goals. At around the same time, researchers were also finding that culturally diverse teams were more creative than homogenous teams and contributed more effectively to meeting organisational goals. Three separate commissions have promoted equality and particular aspects of the legislation: the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Disability Rights Commission. From October 2007, a new Equality and Human Rights Commission has been established to cover all equality issues as well as of human rights, from (CIPD, 2007). From the recent survey, unemployment is twice as high among people from ethnic minorities, although in UK relatively more Asian and Black African graduates than white graduates where only 12 percent of white men are in professional occupations. Statistical survey found that 41 percent of white women in employment work part-time but only 7 percent of white men and as opposed to 38 percent of Bangladeshi men, (http://www.cipd.co.uk/surveys). 2.8 Diversity Policy Changing workforce demographics and new organisational forms are increasing the diversity of work teams in general and decision-making teams in particular. The perspectives of diversity policy may lead to a variety of different consequences for decision-making teams in the organisation. 2.8.1 The Business Issues Equal opportunities are often seen as meaning treating everyone in exactly the same way. Kandola (2006) argued that the social justice and business issues for diversity are complementary because unless people are treated fairly at work they will therefore under-perform. But diversity takes equality forward and evidence indicates that organisations that are serious about diversity show better overall financial performance. Diversity policies also help organisations to create an environment in which people from all backgrounds can work together. 2.8.2 People Issues People are aspiring to work for employers with good employment practices and feel valued at work place. Dowling et al. (1999, p.262) states that to be competitive organisations need to derive the best contributions from everyone and need to create an inclusive workplace culture in which everyone feels valued. The HRM aspects are operating different countries as a way of illustrating the situation that may confront multinationals attempting to penetrate developing markets. 2.9 The Nature of Diversity in Decision-Making Teams Many organisations use the term diversity to refer only to demographic differences among employees, with gender, ethnicity and age being the dimensions of greatest concern. Changing workforce demographics and new organisational forms are increasing the diversity of work teams in general and decision-making teams in particular. Diversity may lead to a variety of different consequences for decision-making teams. 2.9.1 Gender Diversity Gender diversity in teams may indicate the extent to which team members form same gender relationships outside the team. Studies on social networks suggest that employees form relationships with each other based on their gender. In a study of male and female managers in an advertising firm, Ibarra (1995) found that men and women formed same gender networks that served both social and instrumental goals. 2.9.2 Ethnicity Diversity Social identity and organisational demography suggests that people are preferred to interact with members of their own identity group rather than with members of other groups. Where white males tend to perform in higher positions, (Chow Crawford, 2004) females and ethnic minorities tend to occupy more junior positions. Experiences of racism shared by women and members of different ethnic groups affect their attitudes and behaviours in the workplace. 2.9.3 Age Diversity People within age groups share common experiences, attitudes and values (Lawrence, 1988), a persons age can act as an indication that triggers social categorization processes and promotes communication among group members. Descriptions of workforce demographics usually emphasize the fact that the average age of the work force is increasing but the distribution of ages represented in the workforce is also changing. Following figure showing age distribution where non-white groups are younger: White groups have an older age structure where the mixed group had the youngest age structure 50 percent were under the aged of 16. The Bangladeshi, other Black and Pakistani groups also had young age structures of 38 percent were aged 16. This was almost double the proportion of the White British group, where 20 percent were under the age of 16. 2.10 Managing Diversity is Different from Affirmative Action Managing diversity focuses on maximizing the ability of all employees to contribute to organisational goals. Affirmative action focuses on specific groups because of historical discrimination, such as people of colour and women, (Kravitz Klineberg, 2000). Affirmative action emphasizes legal necessity and social responsibility where managing diversity emphasizes business necessity. So it is much more inclusive and acknowledges that diversity must work for everyone. Affirmative actions having the employer take actions in recruitment, hiring, promotions and compensation to eliminate the present effects of past discrimination. Affirmative action is still a significant workplace issue today. The incidence of major court-mandated affirmative action is down, but courts still use them. Furthermore, many employers must still engage in voluntary programs. For example, executive order 11246 (issued in 1965) requires federal contractors to take affirmative action to improve employment opportunities for groups such as women and racial minorities. EEO 11246 covers about 26 million workers about 22 percent of the US workforce, (Dessler 2008, p.63). 2.11 Organisational Context Managerial approaches to diversity will inevitably be informed by the specific organisational context. Attracting different types of people to an organisation will be determined by peoples perceptions of the industry in which the organisation operates. The image and reputation of the organisation as an employer will affect the types of people attracted to the organisation, (Markwick Fill, 1997). The maternity and children specialist retailer who came 18th in the 2008 Sunday Times 20 Best Big Companies to Work For list attribute their ranking to a number of factors to their employer brand. These include an emphasis on work-life balance, flexible working, better than average maternity pay and leave. These argue helps to attract and retain staff especially female employees, (Leopold Harris, 2009). If an organisation is able to employ a diverse workforce, the extent to which these individual differences are recognised in employment practices will be significantly affected by the size and structure of the organisation. 2.12 Diversity in Multinational Companies As more and more organisations become global and people of different cultures and ethnic backgrounds work together, the need for multicultural understanding becoming obvious to many organisation. Harris et al. (2003, p.25) referred that a multinational team would be much stronger in communication which is vital aspect in business. Most of the multinational company gives priority to work with diversity people as a result they are success in international market. Ansari Jackson (1995, p.12) described, multicultural teams led to more people from different culture and ethnic intermarrying. Globalisation and advances in communication and technology have reduced trade barriers and increased interaction among people. Companies and leaders who recognise the cultural diversity and find the right cultural mixture among the team can achieve comparative advantages. To understand how diversity is managed in multinational company, in that case need to understand the concept of corporate culture which describe the organisational diversity programs and how to minimize conflict between employees. 2.13 Why Culture Counts According to Mattock (1999) organisations have moved on from international to multinational to global. Multicultural teams have become very common in recent years. With cross border mobility becoming much easier the number of people moving from one country to another has grown significantly. As a manager need to successful interaction with others like sharing ideas, their needs and helping to improve performance, where need to consider cultural context. A diverse multi cultural work place enables a company to handle diverse projects. Erlenkamp (2007, p.7) found, in the last decades many scientist tried to define intercultural difference to enhance the communication between different cultures. ‘The most important studies were conducted by Geert Hofstede, Edward Hall and Fons Trompenaars, that shows the importance of multicultural workforce and HRM of many organisations do study these theories to implement it in their employee training. 2.14 Understanding Cross-Cultural Communication Language issues can develop into a source of conflict and inequality within culturally diverse organisations becomes more and more multicultural, (Ansari Jackson 1995). In the international business environment of today and tomorrow communication is a business necessity

Difficult People Essay -- essays research papers

Difficult People Analysis 1. In the beginning-part plot outline, Pyotr is a frustrated youth who strives to balance his financial expenditures to that of the amount of his father's low income. The effort to consume father's pension for Pyotr's schooling creates a serious doubt to the financial security of every member in household. Pyotr's father is a disappointment to the family, his anti-social behavior has subdued the family into a state of fear and panic at the harsh tone of his voice. In the middle-part plot outline, Pyotr now fantasizes about the possibility's of leaving the farm and walking the eighty miles North to Moscow. He would establish a capacity for impunity to the family's grief of a missing son. Pyotr will be inspired by a sole motivation, the relentless three day walk to Moscow. The journey will submit a stream of inevitable consequences as a cause of starvation, frostbite and fatigue, the ability to overcome this torment to the physical appearance would only better saturate the mental ability for perseverance and determination to reach the destination. The final logic of plot that must be explained at the end of the story is Pyotr's confrontation with his guilt-ridden, contemptuous father before he leaves for Moscow. The intent to reconcile father's financial loss is expressed through Pyotr's coaxing rhetoric and judgemental approach to his father's daily attitude at the table. Finally, the room is brightly lit, not by the family's ability to regroup--their affections were a bonfire now--but by a single, dazzling beam of sympathy to Pyotr, when his father says "Good-bye...the money is on the round table." 2. The main conflict of this story is a result of the family's financial status. Father's greed, low income, and Pyotr's frustration are key points to the main conflict. The conflict has plagued Pyotr most, the hallucination of abandoning his family is the main conflict in the story. 3. The nature of conflict is most likely the man vs self "setting". As oppose to a man vs man/machine/nature alternative, man striving ag... ...her's abuse. Pyotr adds depth and perception to the story, he has nothing but contempt for his father's attitude. Stagnation in a family built to destruct, Pyotr must leave the house. 10. The tone of voice is eqaully balanced between Pyotr and his father. The mother has little or nothing to say during a mealtime argument. When Pyotr's mother tells her husband "(Pyotr)... must have money for the journey" the argument sets place and very soon Pyotr's father is screaming "Take everything!...Take it all!...Strangle me!" The ability to immediately subdue the conflict by acknowledging the personal fault of sparking the financial debate goes unnoticed. 11. The dialogue delivers reality to the domestic situation. Pyotr begins "I used to be able to put up with such scenes...but now I have got out of the way of it!" Pyotr's father retorts "...Do you know what you cost me, you scoundrel? I'll turn you out!" This is the most effective scene in the story because Pyotr's father delivers the threat, his wife and daughter bear witness to the intimidation that is aroused by Pyotr's need for money.

Promotion and Pricing Analysis Paper :: essays research papers

Dodge Chrysler The Dodge brothers (John and Horace) got their start making parts for Ford and other automobile makers. From the first Dodge Brothers automobile in 1914, the Dodge brothers' durability and quality have earned the Dodge Company a strong reputation and good sales. After the death of both Dodge brothers, the company started selling 1.5 ton trucks. The postwar Dodge trucks were introduced at the same time as GM and Ford trucks, Dodge managed to beat both those larger companies in sales. In 1971, dodge introduced its "Lifestyle" trucks, designed to meet the needs of families who used them mainly for towing trailers on vacations but also for harsh towing jobs in general. It was rugged, yet comfortable to ride in and not too hard to drive. Recently Daimler Benz, maker of the Mercedes Benz, buys Chrysler. Chrysler customers are not sure whether they should remain loyal to the vehicles they grew up with, or buy another car not manufactured by the German. When the new better looking, better handling, more reliable models come out, they got over it pretty quick. Promotion Dodge has revamped their marketing strategy and tactics since Daimler Benz bought the company. Dodge use to promote family vehicles that were reliable, affordable and mainly workhorses with not much style or class. Dodge now provides the exact same image with increased reliability and much more style and class than other brands for the same affordable price. Dodge conducts the majority of their promotions threw television but have also done radio, print, Internet and publicity. An example of a television promotion would be when a middle class couple are leaving their average family home with children and are very well dressed on their way to a fabulous night out on the town in style and luxury. They arrive at an obviously expensive restaurant and valet park their Dodge Ram Quad Cab. This promotion portrays the image that even a family and work vehicle can still be classy or sporty enough to take part in luxurious night life and still be affordable. This promotion is directed toward all families including the higher class of financial standing. An example of how Dodge used publicity as a form of promotion would be when the Dodge Ram won Truck of the Year four times consecutively. This award was not only widely promoted threw publicity but threw print as well. Billboards have shown a sporty Dodge Ram SRT with the Truck of the Year trophy.