An organizational workforce is not a monolith. Organizational diversity is a catch-all term that implies that employees are different in ways that impact their interaction with, and their experience of, working in the organization. It also suggests that the organization is cognizant of these differences. Diversity is widely accepted as a growing and integral part of the workplace. This diversity does not detract from organizations' reliance on their employees to perform their roles and work with others. Thus, organizations strive to find effective and efficient means to address employee concerns and respond to employee needs related to diversity. Workplace culture is important in this context and plays a key role in influencing all employees. The understanding of what differentiates employees from each other changes with social perceptions and as the composition of the workforce itself alters over time. In the current social environment, Asian women are understood to be a group that represents workplace diversity.
TopIntroduction
An organization is defined as a group of people working together towards a common goal (Uhl-Bien et al., 2014). In Chapter 2 we discussed how organizations are structured and how they function through the mechanisms of the division of work, specialization, and coordination. Now we turn our attention to the “group of people” in an organization.
The people working in an organization reflect the larger society in which the organization is situated. Workplaces often mirror the sociocultural dynamics of social lives (Eswaran, 2019). The gender, racial, and ethnic diversity of corporate workforces has increased since the 1960s (Dobbin et al., 2007). Technological changes have made it possible for people with disabilities to do certain kinds of work that might have been unavailable to them before. Along with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), this introduced another type of diversity in the workforce. Recognition of other factors that influence the work environment, such as age, sexual orientation, and religion, have been gaining prominence as well. These demographic and cultural shifts, along with changes in the legal environment, have contributed to increased workforce diversity. At the same time, the competitive environment for U.S. corporations has become increasingly dynamic and complex. Customers, suppliers, franchisees, and business partners have become diverse in different ways. Thus, organizations can view a diverse workforce in multiple ways—as an unavoidable challenge, as a means to gain market share, as providing access to bigger pools of talent, or as a “socially acceptable way to address race and gender issues” (Jayne & Dipboye, 2004, p. 410).
In this chapter, we discuss corporate motivations for and approaches to managing workplace diversity. Organizational culture is an important aspect of organizational functioning that has a significant impact on diversity. While diversity programs can be designed and implemented, their efficacy is determined by the attitudes and responses of organizational members. Culture plays a key role in influencing these reactions. Organizational culture is not static. It is linked to the company’s key values and to environmental changes, both internal and external. Asian women’s experiences are affected by workplace cultures as well as the diversity policies and practices implemented by organizations.
The discussion in the chapter about diversity and culture is broad and general because there has been no research published on programs and initiatives in the specific context of Asian women. However, it is relevant to examine these general organizational motivations and actions towards diversity since they are predictors of what Asian women can expect in workplaces. One such program that could be particularly relevant to this group is Employee Resource Groups.