Developing Policy for Diversity and Inclusion

Abstract
While there has been a push for diversity and inclusion within the private and public sectors it is surprising that the plethora of information available does not look at some of the factors that can be used to develop diversity and inclusion policies. Analyzing the factors that organizations should consider when developing diversity and inclusion policies are vital for the success of the policy. The proposed research aims to uncover the factors that have assisted organizations to successfully implement diversity policies. A total of 10 organizations will be used for this research. There is an equal distribution of the organizations. We have selected 5 organization that have successfully implemented diversity and inclusion and 5 that have failed in their attempt to implement. We believe that these organizations will provide us with the insights we need to determine the factors that we seek to uncover. Data collection methods will be interviews and questionnaires. The interviews will be via phone and in person, while all the questionnaires will be sent via email. The data collected will be analyzed using SPSS and verification will be done before the data is input into the application. Coding will take place afterward.
Introduction
Diversity management programs have been introduced across numerous public and private organization in the country and globally. There have been different aims for introducing diversity like increasing women and ethnic minorities participation within the workplace, assisting organizations to reach new and untapped markets, and incorporating wider decision-making perspectives (Lorbiecki & Jack, 2000). However, the success of these initiatives has not been as expected. With such notable aims, it is a wonder as to why some work out so well and others flop considerably. Cao, Clarke, and Lehaney (2003) posits organizations do recognize the ever-increasing global competition and increasing customer expectations. It is for this reason that some of the organizations will opt to develop a policy on diversity and inclusion for the organization. The policy is meant to offer the organization an opportunity to change and transform how it conducts its operations. The implementation of these policies is hurriedly done and most managers do not understand the true meaning of diversity. Failure to consider the vital factors for diversity and inclusion result in a policy that is only meant to look good on paper while its implementation is not possible. Global organizations need to understand the differences in diversity in the countries they operate (Derven, 2014). This will require the organization to perform due diligence in order to have an inclusive and diverse workforce within the organization. Diversity is vital for the success of organizations. With an effective policy, an organization can protect itself against costly litigation and compensation claims. There is also a reduced staff turnover within the workplace. Reducing staff turnover will ensure that the organization reduces its hiring costs and is able to attract the right talent (Pless & Maak, 2004; Williams & O’Reilly III, 1998). An organization will enhance its image and attract customers are well as potential talent. The current business change is global and for an organization to embrace global business it needs to also embrace diversity and inclusion. This will allow the business to compete globally since it will have the right understanding of the different market segments. Customer interaction is also improved as the organization will have a diverse workforce that can interact with customers from different backgrounds (Cao et al., 2003; R. R. Thomas, Russell, & Schumacher, 2001).
There have been numerous studies carried out regarding the importance of diversity and inclusion. However, there are gaps in the research especially when it comes to factors that organizations should consider when they are developing their diversity and inclusion policy (Gilbert & Ivancevich, 2000; Kreitz, 2008). The relative lack of this information makes it hard for organizations to develop policies that will guarantee the success of diversity and inclusion within the organization. We intend to carry out research on the factors that should be considered when developing a diversity and inclusion policy. The aim of this research is to uncover the different factors that should be considered when an organization is developing a diversity and inclusion policy. The factors are vital and might differ depending on the objectives of the organization. With this information, it will be easier for organizations to identify how they can develop policies of diversity and inclusion that will be successful and result in positive growth for the organization (Pless & Maak, 2004). Our research questions are What are the factors to consider when developing a D&I policy? What factors contribute to the development of a D&I policy? Our objective is to fill in the gaps that are currently there in research. Information is lacking regarding the factors that organizations should consider when they are developing diversity and inclusion policies (Kreitz, 2008; Shore et al., 2011). We aim to fill this gap by carrying out research and identifying the vital factors that organizations should consider. There are cases of success and failures when it comes to diversity and inclusion implementation within organizations globally. These are all attributable to the policies that have been developed.
Theoretical Background
According to Farndale, Biron, Briscoe, and Raghuram (2015) with the continued increase in the number of women and people of color who have been joining the workforce diversity has been a keen focus of research in the United States. In many instances, when organizations are addressing workforce diversity, they are doing so in order to comply with government regulations instead of doing so to add value to their organization (Knights & Omanovic, 2015; Miller, Mills, & Mills, 2009). This results in a failure to implement the change within the organization since the proposed changes are not in line with the organization's goals (Cao et al., 2003; Lorbiecki & Jack, 2000). Responding or implementing diversity policies in order for the organization to meet its regulatory requirements will not automatically result in greater inclusion for the minority (Milliken & Martins, 1996). It will also not result in the organization gaining more customers. Organizations have to realize that they have a requirement to follow regulations. However, when following the said regulations, the organization need to also do its part and have policies that will be geared towards meeting the organization goals and having a more inclusive workforce (Sabharwal, 2014). The policies developed should not be one-time policies. They should be refined and there is a need for continuous reevaluation to establish if the policies are working for the organization.
Policies should not be used to state what the organization intends to do like making a commitment towards having a more diverse workforce (Lorbiecki & Jack, 2000). Policies should have features that require the organization to work towards achieving the laid down objectives. Timelines should also be included to ensure that the organization remains objective regarding its pursuit of diversity and inclusivity. Change should come from all fronts and the first step is having management buying the idea of diversity and inclusivity. The policies will be good and implementable only if there is stakeholder willingness to implement the policies. For an organization to reap the benefits of diversity and inclusion it needs to put in the work. This will entail aligning its organizational goals with those of diversity and inclusivity. This way the organization will be better placed to actually follow through with the implementation of the policy. It has been posited that most organizations have attempted to implement diversity within the workplace. However, some of them have succeeded while others have not been successful (Williams & O’Reilly III, 1998). This could be attributed to the factors that were included in the diversity and inclusion policy. With a broad policy, the organization is likely to fail as there are no clearly defined parameters that can be used to implement or determine the effectiveness of the policy (Theodorakopoulos & Budhwar, 2015).
The reality as has been indicated by Theodorakopoulos and Budhwar (2015) managing diversity is an issue all by itself. Organizations will create policies and they will attempt to implement the said policies. However, the same organization will not step up its efforts in managing diversity and inclusivity in the workplace (Derven, 2014; Wheeler, 2001). Diversity and inclusivity should be seen as a key strategic goal for the organization in order for it to be given the attention it needs. There are numerous recommendations that have been made regarding how to improve diversity and inclusion management (Wheeler, 2001). With all this information one would expect that diversity is well implemented. This is further from the truth. The performance of diversity initiatives is not in line with the plethora of literature that is currently available (Tatlõ & Özbilgin, 2009). All this could be attributed to the fact that most organization and research has concentrated on the importance of diversity and inclusion and not on how an organization can go about implementing it for success. The environments for conducting the research and the applicability or replicability of the said research is hard. Organizations are different and one thing that might have worked for an organization might not work for an organization that is separated by geographical borders. Therefore, there is a need to look at the factors on the policy and figure how best to implement them for a particular organization. This could also mean that an organization will need to make numerous changes to its strategic and operational goals.
Understanding the factors that should be considered when an organization is developing its diversity and inclusion policy is vital (Kochan et al., 2003; D. A. Thomas & Ely, 2001). This will allow the organization to focus on what will work for it and make the appropriate changes in the organization. Diversity and inclusion require commitment from all involved and this should start with the development of policy.
Method
The research paradigm is positivism epistemology. We aim to uncover the policies that have been shown to be successful and determine the factors that were included in those policies. We will also conduct research on organizations that were not successful in the implementation of their diversity and inclusion policy. This will allow us to compare the factors present in their policy with the ones that managed to succeed. The positivist paradigm is appropriate for this research as we can make predictions based on what we have observed in the past regarding factors that promote diversity and inclusion (Muzio & Tomlinson, 2012). Positivism assists the researcher to carry out research that is general and is applicable universally. Since it is possible to identify organizations that have managed to implement diversity and inclusion policies successfully, we can use this information to determine some of the factors that might have worked for the organization and compare them to those of the organizations that were not successful. We believe that we should not interfere in any way with what we are researching. This will ensure that we remain objective and we can conduct the research without any bias.
Some of the limitations of positivism are that the accuracy of the data might be inaccurate. This can occur if some of the participants select random answers instead of providing authentic answers. The researcher is forced to abide by the findings since they have no way of proving otherwise. There is a generalization that comes with this research paradigm. This generalization will remain general and it might not be helpful in a particular context. The information uncovered might be too abstract making it inapplicable for specific situations. While the researcher is required to detach them self from the research, it is not easy to do this. Therefore, there might be some bias in the results.
We aim to measure reality and establish how effective the organizations are on the implementation of their respective policies. Towards this goal, we will gather data through interviews and questionnaires. We will investigate at least five organizations that have managed to successfully implement diversity and inclusion policy and five that have failed. This will allow us to develop patterns that we can use to determine the factors that should be used to ensure an organization succeeds when developing its diversity and inclusion policy. The factors that contribute towards the development of a successful diversity and inclusion policy will also be uncovered. The interviews will be conducted in person and in some cases over the telephone. This way we can reach all the anticipated participants. We will make use of closed-ended multiple choice questions, which are easier and can be completed faster as compared to open-ended questions (Muzio & Tomlinson, 2012). This way the research participants will not have to spend lots of time answering the questionnaire. The interviews will follow a similar methodology. However, we will give the in-person interviews some leeway. This will enable them to expound on their answers.
Data analysis will be done with the use of SPSS software. All oral interviews will be transcribed before they are inserted into the software. This will ensure that the data is properly formatted. Transcription will be done by independent assistants who are not linked to the research. The analysis will be done with the aim of uncovering patterns that can be used to explain the phenomenon being studied. Coding will be done as the analysis is ongoing. All data will be verified as received. This will ensure that all the received data is credible and usable.
The major ethical concern for this research is that it is hard for the research to detach them self from the research. Since the researcher will be conducting most of the interviews, it is not easy for him/her to separate them self from the subject. Remaining objective and not allowing their previous generalizations to influence the research in any manner. While this can be done it becomes hard as one progresses with the research to separate their initial generalization to the results of the data.
Summary
We have looked at the methodologies that will be used to carry out the research and the research paradigm selected is positivism. Data collection will be done using the telephone and in-person interviews. There will be questionnaires that will be sent out to other study subjects. The research is beneficial because it will fill the gap that is currently there regarding a lack of information on factors that should be considered when developing diversity and inclusion policy. Some of the limitations of this paradigm have been mentioned and the ethical considerations that should be factored have been pointed out.
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