Diversity At Workplace – Synopsis

A report submitted for internal assessment of

Work Psychology

Under the guidance of

Prof. Brinda Balakrishnan

PREPARED BY
Roll No. Name Section
02 Abhik Ghosh HR 2
44 Ranjit Singh HR 2
59 Tanul Trivedy HR 2

21 Kalyan Veernala HR 2
Sushant Bejroi HR 2
55
Alem Temjen Jamir HR 2
05

IIPM
Satbari Campus

New Delhi

Synopsis
Introduction

Diversity Issues: Psychology at workplace

Workplace diversity refers to the variety of differences between people in an organization. That
sounds simple, but diversity encompasses race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive
style, tenure, organizational function, education, background and more.

Diversity not only involves how people perceive themselves, but how they perceive others.
Those perceptions affect their interactions. For a wide assortment of employees to function
effectively as an organization, human resource professionals need to deal effectively with issues
such as communication, adaptability and change. Diversity will increase significantly in the
coming years. Successful organizations recognize the need for immediate action and are ready
and willing to spend resources on managing diversity in the workplace now.

Recession and diversity

Leading diversity professionals believe that there are untapped opportunities for smart
organisations to gain market advantage through good diversity practices in an economically
challenging environment. There are of course risks, and it is very likely that the recession could
have significant negative short and long term impacts.
The recession gives those responsible for delivering business results through diversity a variety
of opportunities to improve performance.

The opportunities can be summarized as:

• Re-aligning the diversity business plan with the new business imperatives
• Innovation in delivery mechanisms and techniques
• Using diversity to increase business revenue and / or save money
• Attracting and retaining talent

Globalization and its impact

Globalization has changed the lives of millions of people around the world to the better.
Globalization has made fast amount of resources available to the masses; millions of people
around the world now can afford air-travel, clean water, better education and better health care.
But Globalization brought with it diversity and new culture that many societies are not willing to
accept. To be part of the global village, communities must be willing to accept new ideas, new
faces, and new ways of doing things.
Globalization brought with it global work force, today, people not only change their job
frequently, but also change the country they work in. Global work force bring with it experience
that otherwise was not available to many communities, but unfortunately, we still see resistance
to diversity, we still see people who are not willing to work with people from other race, color,
or religious background

Women in the Workplace

Gender diversity, more than anything else, is driven by a business need today.

A look at the sheer number of people required by the services sector—whether IT, financial
services or retail—in the next few years will tell you why gender diversity has become a rallying
cry for companies. And the numbers, mind you, are not in lakhs but in millions.
Companies have no other option but to look at a wider pool of talent, and women happen to be
one of the most untapped talent reservoirs, not just in India, but globally, as well.
They are, therefore, looking at ways and means to include an increasing number of women in the
workforce.
While companies need to cast a wider net to bring in this largely untapped talent pool, they ought
to do it without any preconceived notions that men are better suited for certain roles, or that
women are only good at certain functions.
This would be bad for business in the sense that companies would deprive themselves of skills
and values that a woman could have brought to that particular function.
However, if a company’s only consideration is merit, it would end up hiring as many good
women as men. Once this happens, employees of both sexes should be put through the same
rigorous training, set on the same career development path, given the same compensation, etc.
This would ensure that only the best person wins.
In this way, organizations can be far more successful in bringing gender diversity to the
workplace rather than a system which is patronizing and, therefore, demeaning or looking to
recruit a certain number from each gender to bring parity.

Aim

a) Identification of the policy that is most effective with reference to diversity.

b) Challenges which emerges from diversity issues at workplace
.

Hypothesis

a) Diversity has been more effective with regards to religion.

b) Diversity Issues can be handled by Organizational policies.
Questionnaire

Name of your Organization ______________________________________________

Years With Organization ________________________________________________

Male Female
Age

18-23 24-30 31-39 40 and above

Question 1) in what areas do you think your organization has been effective in promoting
diversity at workplace?

a) Race
b) Age
c) Gender
d) Nationality
e) People with special needs

Question 2) What (would be/are) the key features of a diversity policy in your organization?

a) Encourage the effective use of diverse workforce.

b) Equal Employment Opportunity
c) Anti-Discrimination
 d) Equal opportunities for people with special needs.
e) All of the above

Any other (Please Specify)

_____________________________________________________________________________
_

Question 3) Have you ever felt mistreated by co-workers or any other person within your
organization because of factors related to diversity?

a) Yes
b) No

If yes, then which are the factor which affected the most-

I. Harassment
II. Discrimination
III. Alienation

Any other (please specify) ________________________________________________________

Question 4) Do you think if your organization has a diversity policy (e.g. regarding hiring,
promotion, retention)? If so do you think your organization adheres to its diversity policy?

a) Yes
b) No

If No it is because of –

1) Policy framing needs to be revised.

2) Policy does not exist
3) Ombudsperson is not acting in a right manner
4) A game of politics

Any other (please specify)________________________________________________________

Question 5) Do you support the creation of a committee to address diversity related issues at
workplace?

a) Yes
b) No

Question 6) Rank the following challenges (where 1 is on the highest priority and 4 is the lowest)
that are faced in your organization with reference to diversity at workplace?

a) ___ Communication
b) ___ Resistance to change
c) ___ Implementation of diversity in the workplace
d) ___ Successful Management of Diversity in the workplace

Question 7) What are the recommended steps that Recommended diversity in the workplace
solutions?

a) Involve every employee possible in formulating and executing diversity initiatives in

your workplace.
b) Encourage employees to express their ideas and opinions and attribute a sense of equal
value to all.
c) Promote diversity in leadership positions.
d) Utilize diversity training.
e) Launch a customizable employee satisfaction survey that provides comprehensive
reporting.

Question 8) Do you think your organization embodies your vision of a diverse workplace?

a) Yes
b) No