Managing Diverse Teams Challenges - Blog 2

The term "diversity" refers to the differences that exist among employees due to their origins and cultures. These backgrounds include things like age, gender, race, ethnicity, and physical ability (Inegbedion et al., 2020). Businesses benefit from team diversity in terms of flexibility, innovation, and creativity. It will have positive repercussions such as information sharing, providing solutions, and enhanced team performance. (Hofhuis et al., 2016).

This blog will discuss some benefits and challenges of diversity in a team, including supporting theories and real case implementation.

Benefits

A workplace diversity team may be able to assist firms in improving their critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. People with diverse backgrounds and experiences can contribute a variety of viewpoints to the workplace (Cletus et al., 2018). Resulting, employees within a firm may stimulate critical thinking by giving diverse ideas and techniques for problem-solving and, ultimately, developing winning strategy in competitive corporate environment. In fact, firms predicted to see up to 35% higher financial returns and a 70% increase in market share (Stahl, 2021).

Challenges

Diversity can negatively affect communication within an organization. As a result of racial and national diversity, language barriers might pose challenges at work. It includes communication style, phrases, and accents. There can be misunderstandings between these factors, as well as offenses caused by some idiomatic expressions (Evans & Suklun, 2017). Therefore, employees should receive training or pass a language test before being hired, particularly English since it’s most used language in business and essential employability skill (Jyoti, 2012).

Nationality and cultural diversity can also lead to workplace discrimination. Employees may feel oppressed if their emotional security is not maintained, resulting in a hostile work environment. The worst-case scenario, corporation might lose workers and face legal issues (Green et al., 2020).

Real Case Implementation

Figure 1. 14 Principles of Management by Henri Fayol, Toolshero (https://www.toolshero.com/management/14-principles-of-management/)

Fayol's theories inspired modern management and administration techniques. Figure 1 depicts 14 management ideas in total.

Equity distinguishes fairness, compassion, and justice for employees. Managers must treat employees and others with equity to gain their loyalty (Godwin et al., 2017). As CEO of Accenture, Jim Etheredge applied the philosophy to the organization, which focuses on eliminating racism, wage fairness, gender equity, and LGBTIQ+ visibility (Birch, 2022). Moreover, remuneration principles are critical in business; they must be fair, reasonable, and rewarding to both employers and employees, as well as give rewards for their accomplishments (Godwin et al., 2017). It takes similar strategy, claiming to deliver remuneration, incentives, and awards based on performance equity (Accenture). Accenture is renowned as the number one diverse and inclusive organization (DiversityInc). With the benefits mentioned above, Accenture will excel in problem-solving and be able to retain its employees.

Another element to consider is organizational structure. Hierarchical structure, which is the chain of command that most people witness in a corporation, is one of the most prevalent kinds of organizational structure. Power goes from the board of directors to the CEO, then from top to bottom through the rest of the organization; Centralized organizational system has a hierarchical structure (Morgan, 2015). According to Accenture, the organization has hierarchical structure that divides into 16 sub-fields, with individuals advancing based on their experience and business requirements. (Gurney, 2017). A hierarchical structure allows employees to concentrate on their field of work, building strong relationships to establish across teams and a clear understanding of the corporate ladder and promotion, thereby boosting high-quality performance. According to research, hierarchical organization improves problem-solving efficacy, which is critical in the consulting sector (Mihm et al., 2010).

 

Conclusion

As mentioned before, a diverse team may provide significant benefits in terms of profitability and work atmosphere. However, leaders are required to be able to face some hurdles to decrease disputes in companies. To be able to manage a diverse team, a leader must have a positive mentality and a skill set that allows them to manage some obstacles while also presenting alternate solutions to squeeze conflicts. Thus, this will produce a positive work atmosphere for the employees to perform well in their work quality.

References

1. Accenture. Rewards to recognize your skills and contributions. Accenture. https://www.accenture.com/us-en/careers/local/total-rewards
2. Birch, K. (2022). How Accenture is leading the charge on diversity, inclusion. Business Chief. https://businesschief.com/sustainability/how-accenture-is-leading-the-charge-on-diversity-inclusion
3. Cletus, H. E., Mahmood, N. A., Umar, A., & Ibrahim, A. D. (2018). Prospects and challenges of workplace diversity in modern day organizations: A critical review. HOLISTICA – Journal of Business and Public Administration, 9(2), 35–52. https://doi.org/10.2478/hjbpa-2018-0011 
4. DiversityInc. (2022). No. 1 Accenture. DiversityInc. https://www.diversityinc.com/accenture-2022/
5. Evans, A., & Suklun, H. (2017). Workplace Diversity and Intercultural Communication: A phenomenological study. Cogent Business & Management, 4(1), 1408943. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2017.1408943 
6. Godwin, A., Handsome, O. E., Ayomide, W. A., Enobong, A. E., & Johnson, F. O. (2017). Application of the Henri Fayol principles of management in startup organizations. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 19(10), 78-85.
7. Green, K. A., López, M., Wysocki, A., & Kepner, K. (2020). Diversity in the workplace: Benefits, challenges, and the required managerial tools. EDIS, 2002(2). https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-hr022-2002  
8. Gurney, A. (2017). Everything You Need to Know About Accenture’s Structure. Accenture. https://www.accenture.com/gb-en/blogs/blogs-know-about-accenture-structure
9. Hofhuis, J., van der Rijt, P. G., & Vlug, M. (2016). Diversity climate enhances work outcomes through trust and openness in Workgroup Communication. SpringerPlus, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40064-016-2499-4 
10. Inegbedion, H., Sunday, E., Asaleye, A., Lawal, A., & Adebanji, A. (2020). Managing diversity for organizational efficiency. SAGE Open, 10(1), 215824401990017. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019900173  
11. Jyothi. (2012). Importance of English in employment. Deccan Herald. https://www.deccanherald.com/content/249714/importance-english-employment.html
12. Mihm, J., Loch, C. H., Wilkinson, D., & Huberman, B. A. (2010). Hierarchical structure and search in complex organizations. Management Science, 56(5), 831–848. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1100.1148  
13. Morgan, J. (2015). The 5 Types Of Organizational Structures: Part 1, The Hierarchy. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2015/07/06/the-5-types-of-organizational-structures-part-1-the-hierarchy/?sh=5202463b5252
14. Stahl, A. (2021). 3 Benefits of Diversity in The Workplace. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleystahl/2021/12/17/3-benefits-of-diversity-in-the-workplace/?sh=28b3672022ed