Organization Diversity, Conflict Management and Term Paper

To avoid such legal problems, comprehensive diversity training programs must be developed and zero tolerance for discrimination must form the core of organizational policies.

Another important aspect of today's corporate world is conflict. Conflict management has thus come to occupy as important a place in organizational policies as diversity training. In fact we must understand that diversity and conflict are inter-linked since it is usually because of the former that latter arises. When people with diverse viewpoints, cultural and social influences enter the workplace, they are bound to clash with each other resulting in conflicts. R. Roosevelt Thomas Jr. (1996) explains: "With workforce diversity, you have a mixture of people who can vary along an infinite number of lines: age, tenure, lifestyle, sexual orientation, education, experience, geographic origin, race, gender - just to name a few possibilities. If globalism is your immediate concern, you have to deal with a mixture of nations that have differences and similarities in terms of people, history, culture, religion, politics, technology, priorities, and location." (Redefining Diversity, pg.12) it is therefore extremely important for the firm to recognize this risk and change its organizational policies accordingly. The firm must clearly present its views on diversity and conflicts and encourage tolerance. Not only should the policies reflect the company's wishes and stance on the issue, they must also be effectively communicated so there is no doubt left in any person's mind. Apart from diversity, another thing that gives rise to conflicts is change. In today's rapidly changing corporate world, the only consistent and predictable factor is change. However changes are usually not shared with employees or they are kept in the dark till the very last minute when they suddenly find themselves in an unfamiliar territory. It is vital thus to keep the channels of communication open and to inform employees about possible changes in the organization. This helps in minimizing resistance, which leads to conflicts. Plsek and Kilo (1999) explain: "Change is not so much about overcoming resistance, as it is about creating attraction. Viewing the movements of a colony of ants over time reveals a detailed pattern of complex behavior and many cycles of change as the insects build and then move. Paradoxically, the underlying attractors that drive this behavior are quite simple: food and survival."

Organizational policies must therefore be absolutely clear and precise in their meaning and intent. They must also be carefully and effectively communicated so employees know what the firm's stance is on various issues of importance.

References

R. Roosevelt Thomas Jr., Redefining Diversity, Amacom, 1996

Marc Bendick, Mary Lou Egan, Suzanne M. Lofhjelm: Workforce Diversity Training: From Anti-Discrimination Compliance to Organizational Development. Human Resource Planning. Volume: 24. Issue: 2. 2001.

Paul E. Plsek; Charles M. Kilo, MD, MPH, Positively Influencing Physicians: From…