BRITISH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & E-COMMERECE

COVENTRY UNIVERSITY

Human Resource Management

MBA INNOVATIVE MANAGEMENT

Assignment

Student: ID: Submission Date

Atif Nazir MBA 41474 !"1 "# 1

INTRODUCTION As we enter in 21st century workforce diversity has become an essential business concern. Now a day the greatest assets of most companies are diversify them to get the maximum outcome. Undeniably, there is a talent war raging. No company can afford to unnecessarily restrict its ability to attract and retain the very best employees available. enerally speaking, the term !"orkforce #iversity$ refers to policies and practices that seek to include people within a workforce who are considered to be, in some way, different from those in the prevailing constituency. Di$e%sit& %here are many ideas of diversity, the ranges of definitions started from functional description to all humanistic statements that supported the meaning of accepting others, and respect all human &ualities that are different to our &ualities and understanding that each individual is uni&ue with there race, physical abilities, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and age as a 'primary dimensions( and may include religious, beliefs, education, language, live experience, education place of residence, class, marital status, occupational status, political views and other ideologies, in short all characteristics that involve in shaping the personal prospective as a 'secondary prospective(. #iversity is the exploration of all these differences in a positive, safe and effective way. %he )United Nation, 2***+ linked between diversity and other external factor such as globali,ation, technological advances and sophisticated lifestyles and draw attention of the management of diversity to take into consideration some factors of personal characteristics such as type of personality, family position and -ob function and note that for some people the word diversity is 'seen as a new bu,, word for e&ual opportunities( but for others could be the exact opposite of e&ual opportunities. .t argues that diversity management should be looked at as a comprehensive concept/ it is more than the meaning of employment e&uity would suggest. .t re&uired to put in consideration the cultural of an organi,ation and the different prospective of each individual work in the organi,ation on account of their disabilities, social background, professional values or any other differences. #iversity is a collection of individuals bringing together varied demographic, human, cultural, intellectual and philosophical differences to help create an environment that honours and respects those differences in a safe and supportive way. .t means understanding that each individual is uni&ue, and recogni,ing there individual differences. Im'o%tan(e o) Di$e%sit& #iversity itself is not something new, but the groundswell of thinking about diversity is certainly new, people awareness toward diversity has arisen dramatically in last few years because of many reasons )0lements, 1 #aniels, 2 and 3ac#onald, 4 )2**5++6

7irstly diversity is not something -ust morally good it is also very good for business as well, no one now can deny the beneficial effect of diversity to organi,ations, according to idomal, 3ahtani and 1orter)2**1689+ !:usiness at the heart of multi; ethnical :ritain(s future. 0ommunity growth and development are largely based on employment. "e believe that it is time to cash in the deposit of talent and skill that is in :ritain(s ethnic communities and do business together for mutual benefit and profit.$ .nstitutional racism and discrimination have been widely practised in many organi,ations and a particular action should be done toward that. %he race relation act 2*** place many legal duties on organi,ation to stop race discrimination and encourage good race relations, and any organi,ation that ignore diversity will be sub-ected to a real risk. 0elebrating diversity is more a way of life than a policy, it is not enough for organi,ations to have a diversity strategy, this strategy should be implemented in day to day routine where engaging people in educational programme or awareness training is very important and this usually followed by effective and healthy changes in the management programmes. Agocs < :urr )1==>+ identified the expected benefits of diversity management for employees as including6 #ecreased conflict and stress ?nhanced productivity of team or work groups .mprovement in morale .mprovement in -obs satisfaction .mprovement in staff retention According to @oplin < #aus )1==9+, diversity in an organi,ation can become a ma-or source of conflict, which can arise for various reasons. 1otential avenues for conflict are when an individual thinks that someone has been hired, promoted or fired because of his or her diversity status. Argani,ational leaders must engage in a re;education process as dominant groups are likely to experience loss of power and resist new development. #aniels < 3ac#onald )2**5+, #iversity should not be viewed as a threat by the organi,ation and its employees, it should instead be seen as an opportunity by allowing people from diverse backgrounds to come together and contribute to the common set of overall organi,ational goals, thus creating a competitive #iversity training will on some occasions affect the organi,ation culture and therefore determine the effectiveness of the training within the organi,ation. .t is really hard to change Argani,ational culture specially when there is strong and solid specific culture the resistance of the staff(s members will be very high since diversity training will on most occasions bring changes to the culture and value of the organi,ation. 0hange of organi,ational culture is essential and inevitable, people resist new culture. T*e +e,a- )%ame .o%/ )o% di$e%sit& in U0 overnment legislation and acts brought about several regulation and policies which are serving as code of practice for all employers i.e. legal framework that serve as driver for diversity among which are/

E1ua- 2a& A(t 3E2A4 1!7 5 %his act was amended in 1=BC, e&ual pay act give rights to an individual for the same pay and benefits regardless of his gender, and it(s rated as e&uivalent under an analytical -ob evaluation study or work that is proved to be an e&ual value. Se6 Dis(%imination A(t 3SDA4 1!77 .t(s unlawful to discriminate some people on the grounds of their gender in a number of areas including employment, education, and advertising or when providing housing goods services or facilities. Dowever in certain cases -ob may have enuine Accupational Eualifications ) AEs+ where it is lawful to specify this -ob must be undertaken by a specific sex. T*e Ra(e Re-ations A(t o) 1!78 and Amendment # 5

According to this law, .f any organi,ation fails to provide a proof of e&ual opportunity of -ob and services on the base of race or ethnicity will be consider as discrimination, and it is illegal. Argani,ations are re&uired to produce a Face ?&uality Gcheme with diversity and e&uality strategy. Argani,ation should ensure that there is no sign of discrimination in any point. T*e disabi-it& dis(%imination a(t 1!!7 and Disabi-it& dis(%imination amendment4 a(t # 7 %his act provides a number of measurements to stop discriminating against disabled people in many areas including6 education, employment and access to goods facilities services and buying or renting land or property. Under this act it is against the law to discriminate against an individual in providing -obs andHor services on the basis of disability. %he act re&uires us to !make reasonable ad-ustments$ to facilitate e&uality of access to -obs, our services and premises. T*e 9uman Ri,*ts A(t 39RA4 1!!: Under the Duman Fights act, everyone is entitled for their basic human rights. .f any individual, public agencies and originations etc consider that their rights have been ignored, they can put up a case in U2 courts to challenge an action or a decision by any public authority on the ground that it interfaces with their rights, rights to express their view freely, their right to privacy or their right to fair trial in court. Se6ua- O%ientation 3# ;4

.t is illegal to discriminate against the following6 1erson of the opposite sex, 1erson of the same sex, %he regulations promote recognising and being respectful of individual(s sexual preference, maintaining confidentiality about their sexual

preference and not deliberately disclosing a person(s sexuality. A person(s sexuality must not be taken into account when making employment decisions.

Em'-o&ment E1ua-it& Re-i,ion o% Be-ie) Re,u-ations #

;3EER o% BR#

;4

According to this law it is unlawful for the employer to discriminate against someone on the reasons of any religious or philosophical belief. .t(s a legal re&uirement to accommodate religious needs such as, re&uests for time off to attend religious functions or festivals, acceptance of a person(s religiousHbelief system, accommodating a person(s specific dietary re&uirements. Dis(%imination on t*e ,%ounds o) a,e 3# 84

.t is unlawful for the employers to discriminate someone on the basis of a particular age. T*e Ci$i- 2a%tne%s*i' a(t # 4

According to this act, couples of same sex are allowed to go through a civil ceremony and enter into a civil contract that confers similar rights and responsibilities as marriages for maleH female couples. Above all legislations cover every aspect of human life and provide e&ual opportunity to all human kind, but still there is a big &uestion mark6 Are these laws perfect and no one has any chance to escapeI +oo'*o-es in U0 Dis(%imination +a. :ritish discrimination law allows a loophole to employers who indirectly discriminate )intentional or not+ on grounds of gender or race in the recruitment, transfer and promotion of workers. %he legislation demands that before a case of discrimination can succeed it must be shown that the employer has applied a requirement or condition which adversely affects the protected group. T*e +oo'*o-e E6'-ained %he loophole is in the law of indirect discrimination )or adverse effect or contradictory impact+. %his is a more delicate form of discrimination than direct discrimination. 7or example, an employer may accompany a -ob advertisement for a Gecurity manager with the phrase6 JApplicants must be at least > foot tall.J Although neutral on its face this advertisement effectively discriminates against women )and, incidentally, some racial groups+. %he relevant :ritish legislation )Face Felations Act 1=9> provides6 )1+ A person discriminates against another6 if, )b+ he applies to that other a re&uirement or condition which he applies or would apply e&ually to persons not of the same racial group as that other but ; )i+ which is such that the proportion of persons of that same racial group who can

comply with it is significantly smaller than the proportion of persons not of that racial group who can comply with it/ and )iii+ which is to the disadvantage of that other because he cannot comply with it. %he Gex #iscrimination Act 1=95 employs this formula with references to gender instead of race. .t can be seen that several elements make up the principle of indirect discrimination. %hese are6 Ka personL applies Kto anotherL/ requirement or condition/ the comparison of proportions who can comply between groups/ and detriment. %he element requirement or condition is at the root of the loophole mentioned above/ an employer, when advertising for staff, may, instead of applying a requirement or condition in the form of an absolute bar, apply a mere preference, in the sense that a person may be disadvantaged, but not absolutely barred. %hus the simple example above may be amended to read6 JGecurity manager wanted. Applicants at least > foot tall will be preferred.J #oes the exchange of the word preferred for must make this -ob advertisement lawfulM "omen )and some racial groups+ remain disadvantaged by the modified criterion, yet strictly speaking, it falls outside of the statutory words requirement or condition. :elow two cases clearly prove the author views6 0onnolly )1==>+ 1. %he 7irst 0ase ; Perera v Civil Service Commission .n Perera an advertisement for a legal assistant stated that candidates with a good command of the ?nglish language, experience in the U.2. and with :ritish nationality would be at an advantage. Abviously that puts a higher than average proportion of some racial groups at a disadvantage. Dowever, it was held that these Jmere preferencesJ did not amount to a requirement or condition within the meaning of the Face Felations Act. %o come within the Act the preference should be elevated to a re&uirement or Jabsolute barJ which has to be complied with, in order to &ualify for the -ob. Gtephenson, 4@ said )at pp C89;C8B+6 J...a brilliant man whose personal &ualities made him suitable as a legal assistant might well have been sent forward... in spite of being, perhaps, below standard on his knowledge of ?nglish.J %his comment reveals the problem. .f a candidate has to be JbrilliantJ in order to compensate for his racially based JweaknessJ then he is at a disadvantage because of his race. A JbrilliantJ black person will obtain a post otherwise suitable for an JaverageJ white person. 7urther, the 0ourt of Appeal did not address 3r 1ereraNs strongest argument, that several JpreferencesJ which could not be complied with added up to an absolute bar. .f a candidate lacked a good command of the ?nglish language, experience in the U2 and :ritish nationality he stood no chance of being selected. 2. %he Gecond 0ase ; Meer v Tower Hamlets London orough Council K1=BBL Perera was followed by the 0ourt of Appeal in Meer! .n this case, the respondent employer attached twelve Jselection criteriaJ to an advertised post. Ane of these was experience in the %ower Damlets district. %hat put persons of .ndian origin at a disadvantage because a higher than average proportion of them were new to the area. %he 0ourt of Appeal re-ected 3r 3eerNs claim of indirect discrimination holding that the JcriterionJ )or preference+ of %ower Damlets experience did not amount to a requirement or condition!

Summa%& o) Perera and Meer .t is clear from the facts of these two cases that mere preferences can amount to race or gender discrimination. Oet the decisions hold that anti;discrimination law is not applicable to mere preferences. %his reveals the loophole. A dishonest employer can avoid the law simply by reclassifying his -ob conditions as Jmere preferencesJ. Dis, or her, -ob advertisement might read6 JGecurity manager wanted. 0andidates must have an excellent command of ?nglish. 1reference will be given to those who6 have a Dome 0ounties accent/ are over > feet tall/ are under 8* years old/ are willing to wear trousers to work/ wear a beard/ and have lived in the area all of their lives. %his advertisement, which effectively would debar almost all except strongly white men would not be unlawful under :ritish legislation according to Perera and Meer! CON+USION Dowever government made different laws against discrimination and try to protect every individual not only in work place but in every aspect of live, in real this is not the case at the moment6 discrimination remains legal depending where it happens and who you are, the law is mainly enforced on an individual basis. #iscrimination still common practice in U2 society and government level, different laws for different ethnic minorities and countries is the common example of discrimination. 1eople comes from ?U countries have different laws to get in the U2 and they no need work permit to do any -ob or business and for people outside the ?U countries have totally different laws. U2 and ?U citi,en can claim benefits but all other nations have no rights to do so. .n books of law U2 is a place of !e&ual opportunity$ but in real a new Act is needed to remove loopholes in law and give stronger enforcement to end discrimination against anybody. overnment need more effort and concentration to implement the law with its actual soul.

Bib-io,%a'*& 0lements, 1., #aniels, 2. and 3ac#onald, 4. )2**5+ ?&uality, #iversity and #iscrimination, 0.1# 1ublishing United Nation, )2***+ United Nation ?xpert roup 3eeting on 3anaging #iversity in the 0ivil Gervice, www.un.org visit at dated )2C;1*;1*+ 0lements, p and @ones, @. )2**2+ %he #iversity %raining6 A 1ractical uide to Understanding < 0hanging Attitudes, 2ogran 1age limited, 4ondon http6HHwww.cipd.co.ukHsub-ectsHdvse&ulHgeneralHdiversity.htm )29;1*;1*+ visit at dated

1age, G. ?. )2**9+ %he #ifference6 Dow the power of diversity creates better groups, firms, schools and so 1rice, Duman Fesource 3anagement6 in

:usiness 0ontext, 0engage 4earning ?3?A, 4ondon cities, 1rinceton University 1ress. Face, 1. )2**1+ ?valuation %raining Fesources, %raining @ournal )November+ idomal, 3ahtani and 1orter, )2**1689+ @ohan, 1. et al, 1==C Dandbook of work and organi,ational psychology Pan 3ui-en, @. @. and 2oopman, 1. 4 )1==C+ %he influence of national culture on organi,ational culture, ?uropean "ork and Argani,ational 1sychologist, Pol C @oplin < #aus, )1==9+ #aniels < 3ac#onald, )2**5+ 0ollonlly, 3 )1==>+, 7irst 1ublished in "eb @ournal of 0urrent 4egal .ssues in association with :lackstone 1ress 4td. http6HHwww.ncl.ac.ukHQnlawwwwH1==>Hissue1Hconnolly1.html visit dated 2CH1*H1* Gtephenson, 4@ )pp C89;C8B+