Introduction
Cultural diversity is the presence of a variety of people from different societies or cultures based on differences in race, religion, age, ethnicity, language, and sexual orientation ( Byrd & Scott, 2014). Many organizations have embraced corporate diversity because of the changing workforce and trends in demographics. The workforce has people from different parts of the world, which creates a multicultural organization that comes with differences in abilities, experiences, and skills. When different cultures come together, there is also a possibility of the growth of stereotyping and prejudices; for example, some executives may be against hiring female employees ( Karsten, 2006). Cultural diversity is essential in establishing a balanced organization. An organization's staff should understand why cultural differences of other people should be respected, and cultural diversity training should be offered to increase employee awareness and teach them how to work in a diverse environment ( Crisp, 2011).
Respecting and recognizing cultural differences in an organization is important because organizations with employees from diverse backgrounds benefit from having individuals with various business ideas, problem-solving skills, perspectives, and creativeness ( Crisp, 2011). Training is the best solution in helping such employees appreciate and value each other so that they can work together as a team towards the organization's goals. Negative cultural stereotypes and discrimination prejudices will be avoided ( Byrd & Scott, 2014). The paper addresses the legal issues in developing diversity training programs and the effects of employee diversity on the topics of discussions. It also explains the ethical implications to consider, appropriate media to be used for training, and the recommendations for the successful implementation of diversity training.
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Legal Implications
When developing a diversity training program, thorough research should be done on the legal requirements of a diverse environment to add in training for the organization to avoid legal issues. An organization should provide a safe and conducive working environment for its employees where there is no harassment, discrimination, or intimidation ( Teräs, 2018). Without sufficient cultural diversity training for employees on cultural awareness, the organization can become a place where unlawful and unfair employment practices is being reported. The anti-discrimination law discourages such discrimination based on race, gender, nationality, ethnicity, among others. The training discussion should address how discrimination and prejudice can bring about legal consequences ( Karsten, 2006).
Many organizations publish on their websites and employee handbook that they are committed in providing equal job opportunities. Employers try to ensure that their organization is viewed as one that values diversity through commitment in fair job recruitments. Therefore, an organization is committed to widespread of its equal opportunity policies. They have the responsibility of training its employees on diversity ( Teräs, 2018).
The United States equal employment opportunity Act recommends workplace diversity training. The cultural diversity training should address the behaviors that violate the anti-discrimination policy, the importance of the policy, and the duties of the company's leaders when they learn about alleged discrimination ( Karsten, 2006). The training will enable the employees to recognize behavior that does not align with the organization's policy.
Some employers voluntarily ensure that there is workplace diversity and inclusiveness in their companies, but others are governed by federal law. There are affirmative action guidelines for certain government contractors. The government's contractors are required to produce a diversified workforce and ensure that there is a safe working environment for all employees regardless of where they come from. Within cultural diversity training, fair employee treatment will be achieved, and the organization will avoid legal implications such as financial penalties ( Karsten, 2006).
Effects of Diversity on Discussions of Cultural Diversity
The diversity of the employees will affect the topics to be discussed during the training. Culture is socially transmitted behavior, traditions, rituals, beliefs, norms, language, and ideas, which is learned by a certain social group with the same ethnicity and nationality. It is transmitted from one generation to the next, and it enables a person to have a way of seeing and interpreting life ( Crisp, 2011). Therefore diversity can make the discussions of cultural diversity difficult because the mindset and language of employees are different. Cultures give rise to ethnocentrism and prejudices. The training will not change one's believes, but at least it increases cultural awareness and help them accept and respect each other the way they are ( Karsten, 2006).
Different organizations use cultural diversity training to remove the barriers that separate employees, for example, political, social, and ethical barriers so that they can work together towards a common goal ( Teräs, 2018). The training will enable the employees to understand what diversity and inclusivity thinking means in their daily interactions with colleagues, partners, vendors, and customers. They will understand how terms such as workplace sensitivity, civility, cultural competence, and unconscious bias are applied in real-world circumstances ( Crisp, 2011).
Diverse training will automatically lead to the diverse workplace because the leadership will be more inclusive when it comes to hiring new staff and in team-building practices. Organizations with greater diversity are more profitable as compared to homogeneous organizations. Diverse organizations have multilingual employees who can share their creativeness, believes, and problem-solving skills, which are important for the organization's success. Diversity training encourages workers to help each other using their strengths whenever it is necessary ( Teräs, 2018).
The diversity training program will help in minimizing harassment and discrimination claims. The organizations avoid being charged by the federal law for lack of fairness among the employees because of differences in religion, race, and ethnicity. When an employee develops a feeling that he/she is unfairly treated because of their background, the perception could result in legal trouble for the organization. Discrimination allegations can lead to financial penalties. With training, time-consuming and expensive legal issues will be avoided. There are laws in every state which prohibit discrimination against employees or customer .Training all staff members on cultural diversity areas will enable the organization to avoid facing legal issues because a particular person practiced discrimination within the organization ( Karsten, 2006).
Ethical Implications
Cultural diversity comes with ethical problems that can be a challenge for the organization and the employees to address. When working with a diverse population, these ethical issues should be considered. People have different opinions, perspectives, values, and beliefs, depending on how they were socialized ( Zgheib, 2014). If an organization fails to embrace diversity, it will become an ethical issue because if a person feels harassed or discriminated then, that is an ethical issue that will add to potential lawsuits ( Karsten, 2006).
Some of the ethical considerations to take into account include gender issues, religious beliefs, business practices, and hiring decisions. In a diverse environment, there are people with different religious beliefs, and sometimes these beliefs might be conflicting with the organization's guidelines. For instance, an organization can have employees and clients with different sexual orientations. The different sexual orientation can lead to an ethical dilemma for an employee whose religious beliefs only accept heterosexuality ( Zgheib, 2014). Discussions of cultural diversity should address such issues and provide clarification that irrespective of employee's personal beliefs, they all need to respect each other.
In an environment where both men and women have the opportunity of being promoted can lead to many ethical issues. In certain countries and organizations, women are seen as subordinate to men. People from such countries or organizations may find it challenging to adapt to an inclusive and diverse organization where everyone has an equal opportunity of becoming a leader. In other cultures also, gender is used to decide the roles of men and women in society, and women are not initiated to work as men. Some also see a woman and man who are not biologically related interacting either professionally or socially as immoral. The training will have to address the issue of cultural sensitivities and ensure that it does not violate the anti-discrimination acts, or else it will reduce the effectiveness of diversity initiatives ( Zgheib, 2014).
When hiring, the human resource department will wish to have a workforce with a diverse population. However, the human resource should hire a person who is most qualified despite gender, race, age, or nationality. Hiring decisions that are made in an organization that accepts diversity might generate a dilemma between equal employment guidelines and an organization's diversity objectives ( Zgheib, 2014).
An organization can have a cultural challenge when it requires its employees to adhere to certain ethical business practices. In certain cultures, the business is expected by government agents to give an incentive payment to speed up requests. The government officials might view the payments as bribes that are not accepted by the anti-corruption laws. Law violations can lead to civil fines and criminal culpability ( Zgheib, 2014). Discussions of cultural diversity should include anti-bribery training for the employees so that everyone can understand the acceptable and unacceptable behavior under the law ( Karsten, 2006).
Standardizing the training
Training a global workforce can be challenging, but standardizing it in all locations in an organization will make it much easier. Standardized training is using the same training methods and materials across the organization's locations and teams. It helps in improving training effectiveness. When all employees start from the same topic, the will be a great improvement from the team. If they all complete some similar training assignments, then it is certain that any of them will is capable of applying the skills when relating with other colleagues ( Teräs, 2018).
Standardized training will reduce errors, and it can also improve retention. In traditional training, the location, methods, and instructor are all different, and critical information might be left out, and it can generate scheduling conflicts. Unorganized information can also cause retention problems. However, standardizing training will enable the employees to stay on the same page, and it also ensures that all of them get a good training experience. Standardizing the training will make it easier for the organization to measure the training effectiveness, and it will ensure that there is consistency in all locations ( Teräs, 2018).
Media Suited for the Training
The media that I believe is suited for the training program is E-learning. It is learning carried out using electronic media through the internet. E-learning has many advantages. It is cheaper as compared to face-face training once the course has been built, and each time an employee uses it, the costs are divided per head. With face-face training, there are expenses such as travel expenses, venue hire, and food. It also saves costs that are present in face-face training, such as printing costs, whiteboards, and projectors, and other things required to deliver physical training ( Teräs, 2018).
With E-learning, there is also improved standardization because there are no different trainers or different content. E-learning enables one to develop a training solution that is standard and consistent. E-learning gives the employees a chance to self-pace their learning, which will increase information retention. It also allows personalized learning and has real-time access ( Teräs, 2018).
Recommendations
For a diversity training program to be successful in an organization, the leaders should identify ways of integrating training into their daily tasks instead of training its employees once in a year. For a successful training course implementation, the following recommendations should be considered. Research should be conducted within the organization to identify acceptable and unacceptable behaviors ( Teräs, 2018).
It is important to explain to the management the advantages of diversity training on how it can increase an organization's productivity. If an employee feels accepted, his/her job performance will improve. Therefore managers should be aware of the employee dynamics in the organization. Managers should also ensure that everyone in the organization is aware of the standards required for one to be promoted ( Byrd & Scott, 2014).
Clear and detailed information of what the training is going to cover should be established. It should provide ways on how to engage in positive and respectful discussions in the organization while minimizing prejudices and discrimination. The training program should target all employees in an organization and cover a range of issues such as cultural competence and unconscious bias ( Crisp, 2011).
An employee complaint resolution should be created which have standard procedures to be followed by the managers. If employees see that there is fairness when addressing internal personal issues, then the issues and challenges can be discussed more openly and with confidence, and a just action will be taken. Finally, it should be made clear that intolerance is unacceptable, and if anyone demonstrates prejudice, there will be consequences regardless of the position held in the organization ( Byrd & Scott, 2014).
Conclusion
As organizations become more globalized, the more they become culturally diversified. People from different parts of the world come together, therefore, creating a multicultural organization that comes with differences in abilities, experiences, and skills. Cultural diversity is beneficial to an organization because there will be people with different creativities, problem-solving skills, and different perspectives. However, when different people from different cultures come together, there is a possibility of the growth of negative cultural stereotyping and prejudices. Therefore cultural diversity training should be offered to employees to increase their awareness of the importance of respecting other cultures so that they can work towards a common goal.
When developing a training program, legal issues such as anti-discrimination laws should be considered to help the organization avoid facing legal issues because certain people practiced discrimination within the organization. Cultural diversity also comes with ethical issues such as gender and religious issues, which are difficult for the organization and the employees to resolve, therefore, should be included in the training course. A standardized method of training and E-learning should be used because they do not have different trainers or different content hence making the employees stay on the same page. For a diversity training program to be successful in an organization, the managers should ensure that they use the best implementation strategies.
References
Byrd, M. Y., & Scott, C. L. (2014). Diversity in the workforce: Current issues and emerging trends . Routledge.
Crisp, R. J. (2011). The psychology of social and cultural diversity . John Wiley & Sons.
Karsten, M. F. (2006). Gender, race, and ethnicity in the workplace: Legal, psychological, and power issues affecting women and minorities in business . Greenwood Publishing Group.
Teräs, M. (2018). Cultural diversity and vocational education and training. Handbook of Vocational Education and Training , 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49789-1_61-1
Zgheib, P. (2014). Business ethics and diversity in the modern workplace . IGI Global.
