The Business Case For Diversity
By Stephen Campbell
Often within organizations the question is asked (by varying sections of the workforce) "why are we bothering with Diversity"? The point being, "things have not been so bad up until this point so why divert time, energy and money into this thing called Diversity which only seems to be in existence to help certain sections of the workforce" and often can be interpreted as acting as a career progression disadvantage to the employees who come from the dominant sections of the workforce. Today more that ever there is a need to establish the business case for Diversity and to ensure that the message is passed down throughout al levels of the organization.
It is fair to say that Diversity is often greeted with a certain amount of skepticism and doubt, is normally 'owned' by the Human Resources department whose task it is to ensure that Diversity is implemented throughout the organization. In some cases the individuals with the Human Resources who are tasked with rolling out the program may not be fully up to speed with Diversity themselves and with the root cause as to why it is essential in today business landscape to have a coherent Diversity program which is understood by all within the organization.
This is where establishing the business case for Diversity comes into play, it moves the emotional aspect out of focus and gives employees the 'real reason why it is so important for their organization to have a coherent Diversity strategy in place i.e. it is down to the effect on the bottom line business results as the company continually strives to establish its competitive advantage over and against the other companies operating in the same market space.
Diversity is not just a "Feel Good Issue" in fact it may be more of a correct statement to classify Diversity as "A Critical Business Issue" i.e. there is a compelling business case for diversity. Today's customers have a choice in purchasing products and services and; with the internet enable world that choice is becoming more and more global on a daily basis. In fact, companies who want to be the winners in their market space and particularly those who want to be big winners, simply cannot afford to practice and conduct business with policies of exclusion in existence.
The companies who want to succeed are the ones who take Diversity beyond the Human Resources department and make it a part of the fabric of the everyday business transactions. These companies take Diversity to a level where they become role models to other companies in terms of inclusion as they welcome employees with different styles, different perspectives, different ideas, different passports, different accents and different skin colors into all levels of the business. These employees are welcomed and are used to make decisions, develop products, engage with customers as a matter of course based upon their skill set.
As companies deliver their products and services to wider and wider profile of target customers it is imperative that more minorities, people of color and women are encouraged to be part of organizations and importantly are seen to be operating throughout their chosen organization at all levels.
The companies which innovate and reinvent themselves on a continuous basis are the companies which will retain their competitive advantage in the market place. Invention and innovation requires creativity and creativity requires true diversity.
Indeed the message that needs to be propagated throughout the organization is one that creativity is driven by true Diversity and, in turn creativity is the main driving force behind innovation and invention. It is this innovation and invention which enable companies to maintain their competitive advantage, this advantage drives profitability and this profitability continually establishes the business case for Diversity.
About the author
Stephen C Campbell (MBA, MSc, MCIM) has worked on diversity programs throughout Europe, Far East & U.S. He runs a Business Consultancy and has a keen interest in working with corporations on the link between Diversity and Marketing.
http://www.StephenCCampbell.Com from http://www.FreeArticlesAndContent.com
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