Workforce Diversity at Starbucks

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Executive Summary

Organisations are characterised by internal divisions, which take different dimensions such as social, economic and gender. Basically, the various groups have differences regarding the cultural affiliations of their members, including social, ethnic and economic backgrounds. This applies to the groups with primary objectives, values and other attributes.

Since the workforce diversity is unavoidable, the company has a role in making sure that each employee has a chance to express his/her wishes in the group. Fundamentally, effective management of diversity increases the employees’ morale in their duties, while at the same time ensuring the suppliers’ confidence.

Introduction

Managing diversity in the organisation is really complex, especially as the company enlarges. A number of managers find it challenging to manage diversity as the people with different interests emerge in company.

Therefore, managing workforce diversity is important because it improves the working condition despite the different interests and harmonious coexistence among the groups. This paper examines the various types of workforce diversity and the way they are managed at Starbucks Company

Literature Review

In the organisation, the workforce consists of people with different views. The extent to which the managers resolve the various perceptions contributes to harmonious existence between them and the general workers (Bell 2012, p. 1). The study shows the connection between managing workforce diversity and its impacts on managing motivation and managing the external environment, in this case, the suppliers.

Avery & McKay pointed out that increasing the employees’ salary and use of incentives such as allowances and gifts are the major motivators for the workers (Avery & McKay 2006, p. 157). This motivational method helps in managing diversity because any issue in the company touching on salary increment would bring together all diverse interests in the organisation.

Giving salary increment and other incentives assure the workers of the social good, so that they develop particular interest in their duties. Other researches conducted have revealed that there is a relationship between motivation and increased quality and quantity of the products, low absenteeism and the desire to improve the skills in the work (Avery & McKay 2006, p. 158).

The only important thing that the company has to consider is the motivational factor that would influence the greatest number of workers (Avery & McKay 2006, p. 159). In this case, the company adopted workable strategies of bringing the diverse groups, with special interests so that it achieves a common end.

Research has proven that many employees are aroused by the intrinsic rewards, in a greater extent than the use of salary, which is an extrinsic reward (Avery & McKay 2006, p. 167). However, the issue is relative and could not be used to explain the occurrence in other areas.

This leads to the question of whether the motivation that the company used was more of intrinsic than extrinsic. Bearing in mind that the workplace is characterized by intrinsic, or extrinsic, or both, the company apply the one it deems more suitable for the majority of employees (O’Leary & Weathington 2006, p. 4).

In the organisation, intrinsic motivations are mainly used, and include those that originate from inside the person, and are really called true motivators, for example, a personal conviction on his/her duty (Bell 2007, p. 13). In this regard, the management style that conforms to the wishes of the workers is aimed at managing diversity and might create positive results for the company (Bell 2012, p. 1).

Moreover, authoritarian regimes do not have a chance in many companies, because the managers cannot use dictatorial rules to manage diversity. Notably, through better management practices, managers can assure the workers of consistent support in developing the culture of intrinsic motivation (Bell 2007, p. 54).

On the other hand, the extrinsic motivations are the ones, which are generated from an outside source, for instance, the financial and non-financial reward that the company would offer their employees to increase their morale in the work (Bell 2007, p. 60).

The extrinsic rewards are mostly used by the company to keep its employees happy and consider themselves as part of the business entity. In this manner, they would perform the tasks as in own business enterprise; thereby eliminate the risks of poor performance (Bell 2007, p. 66).

Many studies have shown that the companies having problems with employees neither listen to their wishes nor reward them for the efforts. In such cases, the employees do not perform their duties as required and with the intention of proper outcome, but with the view that they do not have an alternative (Bell 2007, p. 74).

Therefore, their output in terms of quality and quantity is compromised, and the company cannot benefit from their work. In addition, the poor outcome might reduce the company’s reputation and lower the sales, indicating the need for motivating the workers (Pless & Maak 2004, p. 130).

In a motivational analysis that Broeck and Buelens conducted in 2007, to ascertain the differences between private and public sector in Belgium, a total of 3,314 employees from the private organizations and 409 from public organizations were surveyed (Jayne & Dipboye 2004, p.415).

They realized that the workers from the public sector were free to carry out their duties in an environment that is supportive to their work than being given the extrinsic rewards.

Regarding the impacts of managing workforce diversity on the suppliers, the company understood that this group of stakeholders has various interests and issues they want to achieve in the organisation.

First, it created a supportive environment for the suppliers and making their work easy increases their desire to carry out the supplies competitively than their colleagues who are driven by the monetary and other value of their work (Jayne & Dipboye 2004, p.419).

Indeed, the suppliers who would like recognition from the company choose simple and balanced transactions with the organisation, compared with those pursuing other interests. Often, the transaction with the latter group is more complicated and may cost the company huge financial loss to fulfill their fraudulent mission (Pless & Maak 2004, p. 138).

Possibly, the aspirations of suppliers to create a difference in their transactions with the company, necessitates an urgent move to build a strong image of public integrity (Bernstein 2006, p. 58). This is a motivating factor to the suppliers since they are responsible for their actions and the impacts of such actions to the company and their relationship with them.

However, many suppliers working with the organizations are more concerned with the security of the tender than the mere increases in the cost of transactions (Bernstein 2006, p. 61). Indeed, the security is their fundamental motivational factors.

Types of Workforce Diversity

The workplace is characterised by several groups of people, ranging from race, age, sex among others (O’Leary & Weathington 2006, p. 7). Those groups have cultural dimensions and differences, from social, ethnic and economic backgrounds to the groups with fundamental objectives, values and other attributes.

Some of the different types of workforce diversity include demographic, experiential, informational, fundamental, and considerations diversity (Switzer 2012, p. 1). Here, the company encourages or discourages the workplace diversity depending on the circumstances.

Demographic Diversity

In the workplace, demographic diversity is the most common type, and has a lot of affect to the organisation. Notably, the people from different demographic background form part of the workplace diversity. In this case, the demographic variables in the organisation include ethnicity, age and gender (Switzer 2012, p. 1).

All these groups of people have different professional degrees, disability status, work history and veterans. Notably, such different groups are found in the organisation and contribute to its development.

Experiential Diversity

This type of diversity encompasses of people with difference life experiences. For example, the production expert or a long time serving human resource manager has outstanding perspectives and ideas because of their long service in the respective job duties (Switzer 2012, p. 1). The company uses this kind of diversity while recruiting people in sensitive departments such as Accounts, Production and Sales.

Informational diversity

This is the difference created as a result of personal knowledge and educational background (Switzer 2012, p. 1). For instance, an employee with a higher educational qualification has appropriate information about an aspect compared to those with limited education.

In addition, a person who has served in a given position or department in the company has more appropriate information than the new recruits in the department. Indeed, these categories of people are found in the organisation and participate in its development.

Fundamental Diversity

The organisation has employees with fundamental differences in terms of objectives and values. In fact, the workforce depicts variations in their fundamental goals and beliefs regarding the function, purpose and importance of work (Switzer 2012, p. 1). The employees also have fundamental various beliefs about the relations among the employees and the connection between the workers and the organisation at large.

Considerations Diversity

Notably, the differences resulting from conflicts among the workers in the organisation also vary from one person to another (Switzer 2012, p. 1). Here, the difference could be between the employees from different demographic backgrounds. As well, the variations on informational base and experience have great affects in the organisation in terms of productivity and internal co-existence.

Positive Impacts of Workforce Diversity

In essence, workforce diversity has a lot of positive impacts in the organisation that result to the company development. For instance, the employees who have served the company for a number of years, and have gone through successive promotions in their career are likely to be motivated by the security of their job (Clements & Jones 2006, p. 37). Therefore, they have gained enough information and skills for performing specific tasks.

Apparently, workforce diversity promotes specialisation and the production of quality items. They understand that losing the job at this advanced level would lead to much frustration and loss of income.

Therefore, they would rather protect whatever they have at hand, than look for greener pasture at this advanced age. This is compounded by the fact that, in the company, increase in age reduces the chances of a person being considered for employment (Clements & Jones 2006, p. 42).

Considering the age factor, under the demographic diversity, one understands that the younger employees perform their tasks with vigor, flexibility and innovation, making the youth employable.

The company understood that it is mostly from the young mind, filled with dynamism and could be flexible enough to generate new ideas (Clements & Jones 2006, p. 48). In addition, the young employees are highly motivated and able to work for longer hours without much complaint.

Negative Impacts of Workforce Diversity

In the company, work diversity also has negative impacts. For example, conflicts that result from the differences among the employees could affect the quality of production due to negligence and internal fighting (De Janasz 2006, p. 132). Here, the difference could be between the employees from different racial, ethnic and gender backgrounds.

These are very detrimental to the organisational processes. Furthermore, the variations are based on informational aspects and experience has great affects in the organisation in terms of productivity and internal co-existence (De Janasz 2006, p. 135). This is because, such differences create unnecessary power struggle in the company at the expense of work.

Management Strategies for Managing Workforce Diversity

In the workplace, managing diversity is a very critical practice because if left unmanaged, the personal experience, uniqueness, beliefs, and personality might affect the smooth operations in the company (Ollapally & Bhatnagar 2009, p. 456). Targeted Recruiting

Indeed, recruiting the right people in the organisation is one of the recommended ways of managing diversity. Here, the company has adopted targeted recruiting that aims at involving community canters, professional organisations, diversity fairs, churches, which together can have many qualified people (Ollapally & Bhatnagar 2009, p. 457).

Equitable Selection

Here, the choice for the people to be employed in the organisation should be done in a fair manner. In fact, adhering to the job requirements would make the people concerned to choose the best prospective individuals to fill the vacant position in any department in the organisation (Ollapally & Bhatnagar 2009, p. 458). In addition, the selection of applicants should be done without any discrimination.

Person-Organisation Fit

Employment in the company should be based on the individual’s fitness (Ollapally & Bhatnagar 2009, p. 459). Here, only the people who are fit to work in the organisation were employed. The company only accepted the people who are physically and mentally fit to work in the company.

Training and Development

The company understood that through adequate training, the employees would develop particular skills for performing particular duties. Even though the company recruited qualified people, it encouraged advanced training for all its employees to improve their skills (Ollapally & Bhatnagar 2009, p. 459).

The continuous development of human resource is part of improving the quality. For training to yield the intended outcome, the trainees must be constantly evaluated to establish whether they are gaining from the knowledge acquired.

Monitoring

After the organisation has invested a lot on training the employees, it consistently carries out systematic monitoring of the workers output in terms of quality and quantity (Ollapally & Bhatnagar 2009, p. 464). The company also monitored the efficiency with which the work was done. This helps in mending the problems that the organisation might be facing during the production process.

Networking

The other strategy that the company used in managing workforce diversity was through networking. Through networking, the company was able to reduce cases of idleness among the workers and was able to know their feelings about work (Ollapally & Bhatnagar 2009, p. 467). Networking also facilitates sharing of private information that the worker may be having against one another, thus might help in preventing conflicts.

Retention

In the organisation, retention of the workers is the other strategy that the company used in managing workforce diversity. Here, the company uses incentives to retain the professional workforce it has recruited (Ollapally & Bhatnagar 2009, p. 468).

For instance, at Starbucks, the management applies the extrinsic means of motivating the workers. It used the methods that are generated from an outside source, for instance, the financial and non-financial rewards such as recognition to increase their employee’s morale in the work.

Affinity Groups

The use of such groupings is necessary in representing the wishes of the unrepresented workers in the company. The company also uses such affinity groups to nurture particular skills in performing the duties. Furthermore, the groups can also help in promoting the products to the consumers who feel that they are sidelined in the company (Ollapally & Bhatnagar 2009, p. 469).

Accountability for Diversity

In this case, the company made sure that the diverse interests were expressed and the people in those groups held accountable for their actions (Ollapally & Bhatnagar 2009, p. 471). The company used various methods of ensuring accountability such as networking among others.

Leadership

Sound and responsible leadership are critical in managing diversity (Dreachslin 2007, p. 153). Here, the leaders must have proper knowledge of the diverse interests and equipped with the necessary administrative skills of managing them. Literally, the company continuously trained their leaders to improve their problem solving skills to enable them succeed in solving crisis.

Feedback

Using feedback is another way of managing workplace diversity in the organisation. If the leaders’ output is evaluated based on their achievements in managing diversity, the successful ones would be found to have taken administrative steps in minimising the diverse interests (Dreachslin 2007, p. 154).

Conclusion

In summary, the organisation is literally characterised by people of special interests, which compete. Since the competing interests are unavoidable in the organisation, the leadership has to do everything to make sure that the competing opinion does not derail the production process. Evidently, there is a close relationship between managing diversity in the workforce and its impacts on the employees’ motivation.

Subsequently, this has an impact on the overall productivity in the company. For example, the motivated workers are obliged to increase the quality and number of units they could produce. Therefore, the company understood and have put measures to harmonise the personal experiences, uniqueness, beliefs, and personality might affect the smooth operations in the organisation.

Recommendation for Change

For the company to have meaningful change in its production process, some changes would be very appropriate. For example, the company should encourage semi autonomy for each department; while at the same time encourage interrelationships among the different groups.

It should also create a special division for solving conflicts among the worker, and the ones occurring between them and other stakeholders including the suppliers.

References

Avery, D & McKay, P 2006, “An organizational impression management approach to attracting minority and female job applicants”, Personnel Psychology, vol. 59, pp.157–187.

Bell, P 2012, How to Manage Diversity in the Workplace, <https://bizfluent.com/how-5522021-manage-diversity-workplace.html>

Bell, MP 2007, Diversity in organizations, Thomson South-Western, Mason, OH.

Bernstein, LE 2006, Generations Working Together, VisionPoint, Dallas.

Clements, P & Jones, J 2006, The Diversity Training Handbook (2^nd Ed.), Kogan Page, Philadelphia.

De Janasz, SC 2006, “Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in the Workplace”, Issues and challenges for today’s organizations, vol. 3. pp. 131–147.

Dreachslin, JL 2007, “The role of leadership in creating a diversity-sensitive organization”, Journal of Healthcare Management, vol. 52, no.3, pp.151–155.

Jayne, E & Dipboye, R 2004, ‘Leveraging Diversity to Improve Business Performance: Research Findings & Recommendations for Organisations’, Human Resource Management, Winter, vol 43, no. 4, pp 409-424.

Ollapally, A & Bhatnagar J 2009, ‘The Holistic Approach to Diversity Management: HR Implications, The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, January, vol 44, no. 3, pp. 454-472.

O’Leary, B J & Weathington, B L 2006 ‘Beyond the Business Case for Diversity in Organisations’, Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, December, vol 18, no. 4, pp. 1-10.

Pless, NM & Maak, T 2004, ‘Building an Inclusive Diversity Culture: Principles, Process, and Practice’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol 54, no 2, pp. 129-147.

Switzer, C 2012, Types of Workplace Diversity, <https://bizfluent.com/facts-5618840-types-workplace-diversity.html>

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