Organizational Behavior Case

Organizational behavior

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Abstract

As organizations embrace workforce diversity, it is wise that the organization equip itself on how to understand and manage it.  The law requires organizations to have employees from diverse backgrounds, and diverse employees lead to better performance too. There are various theoretical perspectives on managing effective workforce teams and diverse teams. This report compares theory and practice of diversity management so as to establish the differences and come up with effective recommendations.

Introduction

Diversity in workplace is a complex aspect that alters individual and group dynamics. Effective working teams and a diverse team are two related concepts. We cannot have an effective team without diversity.  An effective team is a team that works together towards achieving common goals and objectives.  Developing and managing an effective team is crucial for the success of an organization. Effective teams ensure that the organization achieves its objectives through delegation, efficiency and support.    Effective teams are achieved through effective communication, goals, leadership and performance review. All members must establish open channels of communication so as to evaluate the task at hand and to keep up with their progress. Effective teams have to be aware of goals so that they know what they are expected to achieve. In developing effective teams effective leadership is necessary so as to guide the team. Leaders ensure communication and assess the results of the team. A strong leader offers the necessary support for the team (Rijamampianina, 2005 p.12)

Workforce diversity on the other hand refers to the differences among employees in form of race, religion, sex, culture and sexual orientation.  Effective management of diverse workforce ensures that all employees are treated equal and no one feels left out because of who they are.  A diverse workforce can be very creative as different people have different talents, hence managers should foster a conducive environment that nurtures and unleashes the full potential of the diverse team.  There are different perspectives on how to manage effective and diverse teams. I will compare theory with how diverse team is managed in the Marketing Department of Tavern Corporation.

Theories on effective teams and diversity management developed in the 80s since many organizations reported increased diversity in that period. The theories talk about major issues affecting diversity such as wage differences, glass ceiling effects and work place conflicts brought by diversity.

Theoretical perspectives/ textbook suggestions

Given the broad definition of workforce diversity, there are various theories that have been used to shed light further on workforce diversity.  The theories can be grouped into different classed namely; social theories, interaction framework and heuristic.  Social theories help us understand diversity from a social interaction angle (Friedrich & Holtom, 2002 p.405).