One of the leading strategic human resource management issues for employers in the developed world is managing collective and individual diversity. This facilitates employee engagement. More and more organizations use this intervention for building a more just, fair and exciting workplace. However, the developing world largely seems to be unaffected by this euphoria. Diversity is almost a non-issue there, or is just beginning to be noted. Why do you think this is so?
There are many other so called more important issues of priority. Lack of long sightedness is the key factor in this. I wonder what we are going to leave for our coming generations, if we do not manage diversity properly.
So well said, Jaya. Interestingly, the diversity management (DM) is being talked about in te developed world as a grave concern by employers in even in the private sector.
DM involves two main things: preventing discrimination against people of different types; and having a more inclusive place so that all sets of groups of people and even individuals find representation in the organization and can make contribution, as per their abilities, to solve organizational problems.
Today employers are prioritizing this over other people concerns; for we need a balanced workforce giving recognition to people of all beliefs, gender, races, ideologies, competencies, experiences, educational skills, colour, intelligence levels, abilities, sexual orientation, etc. But to start with, employers are employing more women so that women's abilities could be used to the full and they also feel a sense of ownership in the organization. They are also seen as problem-solvers in areas in which they can make better contribution. This is said to be DM as a business case i.e. it makes good business sense to do DM.
Interestingly, enlightened companies even in developing countries are trying to be proactive in DM; but it seems we have miles to go in that direction.
I think that managing diversity is not a strategic human resource issue in developing countries because they are "developing countries".
It is really a necessity to start considering and implementing the managing diversity as a strategic human resource issue in developing countries.
Indeed its a cultural issue in developing countries, and even differs among cities within the same country.
Surely, we need to imbibe diversity as a societal value in developing countries, as dear Mahfuz says. There are two types of issues of diversity:
1. Diversity as an equal opportunity for members of society
2. Practicing Diversity as a business case by employers
In India, there has been a slogan "India as an inclusive society". Interestingly, many initiatives have been taken by the Government in this regard, though fruits have yet to percolate to the lowest members of the society. We have evolved many institutions that seek to implement the former version of diversity, though in effect the impact is largely cosmetic for the common person presently. But there is hope that as society and economy develop more fully and institutional framework becomes more functional, perhaps things would improve.
But, talking of diversity as a business case in the corporate sector, I feel that it is an issue of the low countervailing power of the working people viz. a viz. the employers. As dear Ra'ed Masa'deh rightly says, it is very much a cultural issue in developing countries. Somehow, most employers do not proactively involve themselves in it due to the prevalent culture of lack of awareness about it and excess prerogatives of the managerial/employer class. But things have begun to change somewhat.
I am attaching link to a paper of mine in this regards, that was published in, Human Resource Management (Michigan) in 2010.
http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&sid=25e8ef46-c8c6-4d18-8f37-088291829dae%40sessionmgr112&hid=112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=50893437
Diversity of workforce at all levels at organisational, corporate, regional or national level is always shock absorbing and makes it resilient.
Managing diversity not a strategic human resource issue in developing countries, because most organization in developing country think more on benefit and cost aligned with how many they can produce as a mass labor organization.
They emphasize more on using as many as employee they can with minimum salary to produce as many product they can. (employee are cost not an intangible assets).
As diversity management will be used by creative dynamic and younger organization that values employee as an assets as they implement dm to engage employee into company goal and activity
Developed countries tend to have large immigrant populations who are under represented in the work force and in many cases as a result of discrimination over many years. Many developing countries do not have these issues for their dynamics have been sit for centuries. That is not to say that all organizations need to have a good diversity policy especially when it comes to gender and religious diversity.
Because Diversity is 'people issue' , people can take care of themselves. We worry about THINGS that cannot take care of themselves
This feeling can be best understood only by people who had experienced the pleasure of being with divers groups than cliques only within the walls of smaller native groups...it is always nice to mix and relate with people of all cultures and regions.... There is nothing more enjoyable than to talk, share and learn from various people from around the nooks and corners of the world.....
Managing diversity happens in well developed societies which are open enough to accommodate people resources for the apt skills and technological applications which they are surely convinced shall be filled up by the NEW INCOMER....
The situation is quite different in a developing or evolving to develop society, where the feeling is the INCOMER has denied them an opportunity....
The negative bubble will break anytime for want of right quality and skills disposition...
Companies do consider diversity if diversity provides profits, but the companies need to be aware of opportunities which come from diverse workforces. We can see such companies mostly in developed countries because the countries have regulations which strictly prohibit discrimination against any strands of diversity, and this creates strategic human resource management. However, in developing countries, there are mostly not enough regulations for strands of diversity. Thus, companies do not focus on diversity issues in organizations. This is also a perspective which explains why managing diversity is not an issue of strategic human resource management in developing countries.
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