Training and Development for a Diverse Workforce’

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Research Paper 1
‘Training and Development for a Diverse Workforce’
Completed by Emma Moulder
Due April 14, 2010

Today’s Society as a whole is ever changing and exceedingly diverse. This can also be said in the nature of business. Therefore, it is critical for organisations, HR managers and employers within any business to find different methods of training and development to suit their workforce, as well as trying to attract and keep talented employees through such opportunities. It is not satisfactory for employers to treat each employee the same, but instead must view each as an individual with differences, such as working styles, personality traits, culture, socioeconomic background, educational background and occupational background (Pynes, Joan E, 2009, p88). Although, these elements should not impact negatively in anyway and each person should be given equal opportunities determined by job performance and initiative. Because of this diversity, it is unlikely that all employees will hold similar work values (Noe, Raymond, 2002, p18) Research suggests that to maximise employee’s motivation and commitment to company goals, employees should be given the opportunity to develop their skills, meet their interests and balance work and non work activities (Noe, Raymond, 2002, p18). Taking this into account, this essay will explore a few groups included in the diversity of organisations, how and why organisations train and develop their diverse workforce, and how their performance in this, can affect their competiveness in the Global Economy. It can be said that many employees of any company often do not want to stay in entry level jobs. Individual career progression is an issue that can affect the diversity in the work force. Where some employees like to stay doing one job, most prefer to be trained and moved upward in the organisation, taking on different roles as they are developed. At the Marriott, a chain of widely spread hotels, HR recognise this need for progression and realise that most of their employees will want to progress up from say housekeeping. Marriott has implemented a system that trains employees to handle a wide variety of positions and rotates them periodically to new jobs (Noe, Raymond, 2002, p18). This gives employees opportunities to find the area that they like and suits them best. They are encouraged to train for promotion. The goal is to keep employees interested in their work and keep them interested in working for Marriott (Noe, Raymond, 2002, p18). So by employers and HR recognising individual needs to progress, training can be implemented. Companies such as the Marriott, also need to take into account that even though employees may want to progress, employers need to train and develop employees in a certain way so they are comfortable working with a wide variety of people with different backgrounds. It is also crucial for the business and the employee that each individual progressing go through a process of career development, whereby they go through different stages to learn skills and gain experience needed to be successful in the next position. Managing diversity in these kinds of organisations involves creating an environment that allows all employees to contribute to organisational goals and experience personal growth, which includes progression within a company (Noe, Raymond, 2002, p332). Some organisations may find it difficult to manage different cultures and ethnic groups in terms of training and development. Despite the best intentions, many organisations have failed to find racial balance in their teams. It is common for minorities such as this to feel very frustrated when faced with the barriers they encounter. In many companies they are often stuck in middle management, or if lucky to get in executive ranks, they are often put into racialised positions such as dealing with ethnic markets or equal employment opportunity (Thomas, David, 2001). Cultural and ethnic...
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