If a company does not know what is really needed for a particular position, the company will have trouble hiring for that position (Harvey & Allard, 2012).
Recruitment of the right person (or people) for the job. Some jobs require much more skill than others, and some can be very specialized based on the kind of person needed for the line of work (Mujtaba, 2007). Because that is the case, it is important to actively recruit the person needed for the job, instead of simply choosing from a list of people who apply. Many companies focus on recruitment instead of listing a job opening for the general public to consider.
A focus on skills is vital to any implementation plan, especially when interviewing people for a particular job or position. For those who have the proper skills, training may still be necessary (Harvey & Allard, 2012). When training is a part of the hiring process, it allows growth and development to occur naturally in the person who was hired. This is not to say that diversity should not matter, but only that a person should be hired for his or her skills and trained to use those skills to his or her maximum potential. Diversity is a bonus, but it should not be the reason a person is hired for any job or position at a particular company.
Summary
Overall, VW is doing a great thing by making sure its workforce is diverse. When it hires people who fit in with the community and represent the culture and diversity of the area, it shows that it values all types of people and all nationalities. It also shows that every nationality is valuable and that people from every nation can have the skills needed to provide benefit to the workforce. These are all good things, but there is more to the lesson than that. There are also problems with the way VW handles things, or at least it would appear that way from the information located on the issue. In short, VW is...
Companies that want to hire the best workers must focus more on skills than on anything else. While is it true that companies have to be careful about not hiring any minorities because of anti-discrimination laws, those same companies also have to keep in mind the idea that those laws do not mean they have to hire a certain percentage of people from any race or other protected category, as long as they are not turning people away for their inclusion in one or more of those categories.
Employees, managers, and entire companies can all learn from the information that has been presented here. It is easy to err on the side of caution and hire a very diverse workforce that is full of minorities, but that can come at the expense of hiring the best people for the job. Focusing on the skills that the person has and the skills that are needed for the job or position that is open is more significant. All other things being equal between two candidates, diversity should come into play only at that point. When a company hires people with the proper skills who are also diverse enough to represent the culture and makeup of the community in which that company is placed, it is much more likely to be successful and to draw in the kind of talent it needs and wants in order to be successful.
References
Harvey, C.P. & Allard, M.J. (2012). Understanding and managing diversity (5th ed.). NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Mujtaba, B.G. (2010). Workforce diversity management: Challenges, competencies and strategies (2nd ed.). FL: ILEAD Academy Publications.
Mujtaba, B.G. (2007). Mentoring diverse professionals (2nd ed.). FL: Llumina Press
Pare, M. (2012). Push for workplace diversity as VW plant brings international flavor. Times Free Press. Retrieved from http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/feb/02/push-for-workplace-diversity-volkswagen/
