Implementing and Managing Diversity

Diversity can be one of the biggest challenges a company can face in its day to-day-operations. As our economy is becoming more global, its crucial companies embrace diversity and strive to make their diversity programs successful. Almost all companies now have a diversity or inclusion policy in place, but it is how they manage that policy that will determine whether or not they are successful. Having a poorly managed diversity and inclusion program can have long lasting and damaging effects on its workforce. I chose CSXT and NASCAR to assess their programs and gain a better understanding of how these Fortune 500 companies were able to achieve their goals of diversity and inclusion.

CSXT is one of seven of the class 1 railroads in the country. CSXT employs 32 thousand employees and operates over 21,000 miles of rail throughout the east coast of the United States (Company Overview, 2012). Having a multitude of different departments can make it extremely challenging to manage diversity. CSXT has created a strong diversity and inclusion program over the years and has been recognized around the country for it. It is important at CSXT to create a workplace where people regardless of their differences, feel respected, safe and valued (Diversity and Inclusion, 2012, p.1).

Inclusion at CSXT means engaging everyone regardless of age, gender, race, tenure, railroad affiliation, physical challenges, sexual orientation, geographic location, education level, income or life experiences (Diversity and Inclusion, 2012, p.1). At this railroad, diversity and inclusion are not limited to race or gender, preferences or quotas, and it is not about changing people's beliefs (Diversity and Inclusion, 2012, p.1).

Inclusion at CSXT plays an important role in helping to achieve diversity throughout the company. CSXT has more than 20 Inclusion Groups and Councils throughout its 23 state network (Diversity and Inclusion, 2012, p.2). The Inclusion Groups are made up of employees and those employees are required to set goals that align with CSXT business imperatives (Diversity and Inclusion, 2012, p.2). The Inclusion Groups and Councils are involved in both service to the community and recruitment for CSXT. These groups include councils in Jacksonville, Atlanta, Louisville, Florence, Huntington, Chicago, Baltimore, Tampa and other locations (Diversity and Inclusion, 2012, p.2).

According to the Diversity and Inclusion (2012) article:

Each spring in Jacksonville FL, CSXT holds their annual Inclusion Forum. Employees throughout the CSXT network participate in a series of executive and leadership panel discussions, social networking events, workshops and study circles. "They say that creating a culture of inclusion is a journey," said CEO Michael Ward. "At CSXT, we are committed to fostering innovation, collaboration and risk-taking. We have built coaching and inclusion into our core competencies