Business Culture and Responsibilities Assignment Help (GC01056)
Unit 1: Business Culture and Responsibilities
Learning Outcome: 02
Task 2.1 Explain what is meant by ‘diversity in the business context
The term diversity refers to the high degree of variation that exists within the population and is often used to describe the differences among coworkers. When thinking about diversity at work, most people tend to focus on cultural differences associated with nationality and ethnicity.
As the population becomes more diverse, it certainly stands to reason that the demographic composition of the workforce will change proportionally. However, the concept of diversity does not have to be limited to differences in skin color, language spoken, or religious beliefs. While it’s true that the fact people from many different nations and cultures are represented in the modern workforce is an important aspect of diversity, it is certainly not the only one (Adler, 2016).
For example, Morrisons as a business organization is making recruiting decisions that introduce additional diversity into their offices, plants, and stores on a daily basis. Human resources professionals frequently turn to nontraditional recruiting resources to meet their staffing needs for a variety of reasons, including compliance with legal requirements for non-discriminatory hiring practices and the need to find workers who have the right mix of skills (Adler, 2016).
In order to meet their staffing goals, modern companies often reach out to hire people living with various types of disabilities, individuals who may have less than spotless criminal histories, seniors who are beyond traditional retirement age, and people from other segments of the population that differ from the majority. All of these efforts result in a working environment that is characterized by diversity (Schaumann, 2017).
Task 2.2 Recognise the benefits of having a diverse workforce
There are many benefits to having a diverse workplace. For starters, Morrisons as an organization that committed to recruiting a diverse workforce has a larger pool of applicants to choose from, which can lead to finding more qualified candidates and reducing the time it takes to fill vacant positions. Businesses that do not recruit from diverse talent pools run the risk of missing out on qualified candidates and may have a more difficult time filling key roles, which increases recruitment costs.
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Diverse cultural perspectives can inspire creativity and drive innovation
Culture influences the way in which we see the world. A variety of viewpoints along with the wide-ranging personal and professional experience of an international team can offer new perspectives that inspire colleagues to see the workplace—and the world—differently.
Diversity of thought has been shown to breed creativity and drive innovation, helping to solve problems and meet customer needs in new and exciting ways. Multiple voices, perspectives, and personalities bouncing off one another can give rise to out-of-the-box thinking. By offering a platform for the open exchange of ideas, businesses can reap the biggest benefits of diversity in the workplace (Ghauri, 2016).
Cultural sensitivity, insight, and local knowledge means higher quality, targeted marketing
Cross-cultural understanding, along with local market knowledge, lends itself to the production of more effective marketing strategies and materials. For example, high quality and culturally sensitive translations of websites, brochures, and other assets are essential. But these can be overlooked without the input of a native speaker.
Even brand taglines can get badly lost in translation. Market-specific knowledge and insight are invaluable when it comes to imagery and design, too. What might work well on a billboard for a British company could fail or offend elsewhere? The danger of making a serious marketing blunder, which can cause irreparable damage to a brand or business abroad, can be mitigated by employing a diverse workforce with local marketing savvy (Harwell, 2016).
A diverse skills base allows an organization to offer a broader and more adaptable range of products and services
By drawing from a diverse talent pool, companies benefit from hiring professionals with a broad range of skills that are often not accessible when hiring locally. Globally oriented companies can add to their service range by leveraging the skills and experience their international employees bring to the table. A broader skills base and a more potentially diverse offering of products and services can help Morrisons to have the competitive advantage of adaptability. In today’s volatile and uncertain global business environment, nimble and adaptable organizations are the ones that thrive (Hofstede, 2016)………..