Introduction
Managers strive to ensure that the organization runs in a smooth way and to achieve the objectives of the specific enterprise. However, they are accompanied by numerous challenges which they receive from the diversity of the employees that they work with. Diversity comes as a result of different cultures, religions, and backgrounds. It is easy to find out that some of the employees do not carry out specific acts required by the company, as a result of cultural or religious illegalities. These mandates pose challenges to the managers, since they are required to ensure that the work is performed within a specified period of time. In addition, a great number of companies have become diverse in order to be open to change, all in the efforts to acquire more profits. The challenges to managing a diverse work population include communication, opposition to change, implementation, and management of diversity (Lopez, Wysocki, & Kepner, 2002).
Communication
For diversity programs in any company to succeed, language barriers ought to be conquered. Ineffective communication brings about disorder, lack of cooperation, and low self-esteem. When these aspects pop in an organization, it will definitely fail in its operations. Lack of effective communication in the workplace entails mismanagement. This means that a part of the company’s work will not be performed due to misunderstandings, leading to low output by the company. Communication barrier also encompasses lack of cooperation. It is commonly known that teamwork leads to more efforts, predicting increased outcomes for the company. However, when unity is not available, the situation becomes difficult to handle, making the person in charge of the workers become stressed over issues in the company (Otike, Messah, & Mwalekwa, 2011).
Diversity in the workplace brings closer various people from numerous backgrounds. People speak different languages, and quite a number may not be conversant with the national language of the specific state. This condition makes the workplace a totally complicated place. When individuals are taught to carry out activities in which they do not understand, they lack morale for the work and end up doing the unnecessary. Studies indicate that a great number of managers employed in numerous organizations quit jobs as a result of the stress they receive from managing diverse workforce. Communication is noted to be a very essential tool in any premise. Its ineffectiveness brings about numerous issues such as conflicts as a result of misunderstanding. Managers are required to learn to use tones that are not likely to cause calamities in the workplace. They are obligated to hire bilingual employees who help to translate information in the case of language barriers as affirmed by Otike, Messah, & Mwalekwa (2011).
Opposition to Change
Diversity in the workplace often calls for numerous changes in the organization. Employees who are used to carrying out the company’s work in a particular way find it difficult to adjust to the new way. This mentality silences new ideas and prevents development in the company. However, the role of managers is to ensure that the organization develops and runs in a smooth way. They are required to explain the new changes to the workers and teach them slowly how to operate. Lack of cooperation often leads to failure and the company can easily break down. Employees from diverse cultures are difficult to handle and pose a lot of complications to the managers, who in turn may decide to quit the job. Researchers affirm that different employees in a particular workplace bring about different issues concerning change in the organization. Prejudiced employees worsen things in the organization, since they always want their views to be followed. The manager is required to follow the owner’s initiatives, yet employees want their opinions to be considered. The manager becomes confused, resulting in the decline of the company’s activities (Lorenzi & Riley, 2003).
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Resistance to change in an organization is brought about by a number of issues. First, diverse employees have different ethnic cultures. Each worker wants their culture to be followed, opposing the new change. This in many cases happens in situations where some employees regard their cultures as superior to others. For instance, a meat oriented company may find it difficult to handle certain employees from different religion, especially where they are entitled to come into contact with the products. Muslims, whose culture prohibits them from touching pigs, may find it very difficult to cope with a meat company. Change to other meat products may not be appreciated by the other types of religions in the company. However, this condition obligates the manager to perform in accordance to the owner’s perspectives. From the fact that change may not be appreciated by a larger number of the employees, it results in poor performance, leading to decreased outputs. This condition adds calamities to the manager, and he or she could easily be fired (Lorenzi & Riley, 2003).
Implementation of Diversity
Implementation of diversity poses numerous challenges to managers. This is because they are entitled to assess employees, research data, and create a modified strategy in order to take advantage of the effects of diversity in the specific organization. The methods used by managers in assessing employees bring about the biggest challenge. Studies indicate that a larger number of managers employ workers through corrupt means. They choose workers depending on their race, sex, and the amount of cash that one is willing to offer in order to obtain chance in the organization. This condition brings about the required number of employees assessed through illegal acts. Diversity acquired through such means brings about complications to the entire processes of the organization. This is because the manager may not be respected by the workers. Again, employees may be reluctant to carry out certain tasks that they feel will demoralize them. For instance, an employee requested to arrange some items in the organization may find the work to be too much and, thereby request the manager to assign the work to another employee (Simons & Rowland, 2011). Conflicts are likely to arise from such situations and employees may defend themselves by quoting the amount that each presented in order to gain the opportunity of working with the specific organization. This could bring out differences in the amount of cash presented as bribe, hence additional complications to the company. The employees who have paid higher amounts may term themselves as staff and neglect a part of the company’s activities. The manager may find it hard to dismiss them due to fear that they can go on and inform the company’s owners about the entire secret. Work in such enterprises is not likely to be carried out to perfection because of the methods used in implementing diversity in the workplace.
Managers are required to implement strategies that easily conform to diversity in the workplace. However, getting strategies that can be approved by the entire workforce is not easy. This is a condition that entails them to think even harder. When results do not meet the established goals, the managers are required to carry out the implementation process which may not be arrived at to satisfactory. This is made difficult by the different employees from different religions and cultural practices. Communication barriers among others contribute to the slowed action of the implementation process, a condition that calls on the onset of the organization’s activities without detailed implementation. When such a situation occurs, the organization runs without specific strategies, resulting in blame to manager when things do not work as expected. Managers are encompassed with a lot of stress when strategies for the organization are not implemented, a condition that mandates the company to run without a good foundation, leading to failure. This could be in the form of losses or insubstantial incomes. Employees from different races and culture contribute greatly to the challenges witnessed in implementing the organizations strategies (Simons & Rowland, 2011).
Managing Diversity
In order to manage diversity effectively, managers are obligated to address the need of the employees, satisfy the demands of competitiveness, and fulfill the requirement of the organization’s task in the society. These issues are not easy to perform with diversity in the organization. Managers find it difficult to meet the needs of each employee, a condition that leads to a slowed activity in the company. Organizations accepting diversity acquire very little incomes in their first years of operation according to the studies conducted by numerous researchers. Alternatively, when employees request for salary increments and additional allowances, the organization runs in a tight schedule. Therefore, managers find it difficult to choose on which side to adhere to (Evans, Glover, Guerrier, & Wilson, 2007).
The studies indicate that every business enterprise is challenged by competitors. When an organization does well in a particular region, similar companies build in next to the thriving one They may even end up producing similar products and using brand names that are likely to bring confusion to the consumer, who will end up purchasing the other company’s products. This is what entails competition. However, for a company that accepts diversity, the level of competition may not work well for it. Employees from different ethnic groups may not easily adapt to the working environment, hence failing the entire company in terms of competition. By the time the workers get used to working in a diverse workplace, the other organizations will be far much ahead of them (Evans, Glover, Guerrier, & Wilson, 2007).
It is noted that each enterprise has a role to play in its community. For instance, companies producing certain products are required to supply the products to the community members at a fair price. This is not always achieved due to the many challenges faced by the specific companies as a result of diversity. Sometimes, managers use the wrong approach in solving diversity issues, a condition that pulls the company progress downwards. For example, hiring workers based on racial differences contributes to the company making insufficient output, which makes it difficult for the company to provide the products to its community at a reasonable price. When the company goes the opposite of what the community expects, then it drops clients to its opponents, a condition that makes it become inferior leading to dissolution. The entire mess is imposed on the manager, who is said to be in charge of all the activities in the workplace (Evans, Glover, Guerrier, & Wilson, 2007).
Conclusion
Diversity in the workplace poses numerous challenges to the managers. It is noted that, when companies decide to adopt diversity programs in their activities, the challenges are experienced by the managers. They are required to make the necessary adjustments, some of which risk their work, and hence the company’s breakdown. Diversity in the workplace begins with language barriers. When the employees and the managers cannot converse effectively, it depicts losses to the company, since the right channels of operations such as instructions are not adhered to. Employees also feel inadequate, leading to a decrease in the company’s output. Employees from diverse cultures do not like the changes made in their places of work. This leads to negative attitudes, hence slowed growth of the company. Managers have been noted to be challenged by implementation of strategies in their organization as a result of diversity. They find it difficult to implement policies that are favorable to the different employees, since a dislike by a particular group is of interest to the other. Managing diversity is the biggest challenge experienced by managers. They are required to come up with means that meet the employees’ needs and to adjust with the level of competition in the marketplace. However, with diversity in mind, managers find it difficult to train employees to the desired level, on top of meeting the requirements of the community.