| Change
| Diversity | Human Resources |
Employment Equity | Strategic Planning Diversity
Management Consulting Businesses
and corporations, large and small, seek employees who have the knowledge, practical
skills, and professional commitment to working effectively with peers subordinates
and supervisors. Shifting demographics, globalisation, and political reform have
changed the face of business. Most
South African companies are more diverse today than they were a few years ago.
The nature of diversity is such that it requires determined efforts to make it
work for the organisation. Most Diversity Management Programmes in South Africa
have concentrated on exposing and sensitising participants to the cultural differences
between Black and White people. Whilst
this is often a useful process, our focus is on building productive workplace
relationships within the context of a diverse society (Culture/Gender/Disability
etc.). Our emphasis is upon looking for ways to enhance the relationship, rather
than exposing the "rights" and "wrongs", of the past, or seeking
to develop a checklist on the different groups' behaviours. Research
conducted by Towers and Perrin [Human L. "Multiculturalism and Managing Diversity
- are they the same?" (1995)], on the efficacy of Diversity Management Programmes
indicated that when the programme focuses upon developing and improving work place
relationships in general, the following results were achieved:
| 79% | Positive
impact upon employee morale and commitment | |
69% | Improvement
in community and public relations | |
57% | of
companies improved team and group performance |
| 43% | of
companies reported a recruitment edge | |
26% | Positive
impact on Development of new product ideas | |
14% | Enhanced
productivity |
 |
Our Diversity
Management interventions are prefaced by targeted organisational research to establish
a baseline, and designed to deliver measurable, customised programmes that:
- Build
an understanding of the importance of intercultural learning and skills
- Highlight
the stereotypical views and behaviours affecting productivity, team work and delivery
- Break-down any pre-existent barriers
- Improve cross-cultural and gender understanding
- Isolate the issues that need to be addressed by the organisation towards successful
diversity management and improved workplace relationships
- Develop a base for positive interaction
- Create a changed, participative, accountable corporate culture that demonstrates
alignment and commitment to the strategic direction of the business.
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