Integration of Social Construction at My Workplace

Integration of Social Construction
Overview
We all function in settings with people drawn from all walks of life – be it in church, at the workplace, at the gym, in school, etc. At my place of work, I work alongside persons who are essentially socially different. This is to say that my organization has made it possible for a social construct to be created with the primary aim of achieving superior organizational goals and objectives. This text concerns itself with the social construction at my place of work that brings together people who happen to be diverse from a social perspective.
Discussion
a) Nature of Integration
The integration of the social construction of gender, class, race, culture, religious beliefs, as well as sexuality at my workplace could be conceptualized in terms of the organizational commitment to equal employment opportunity and diversity of the workforce. It is important to note, from the onset, that these ideals have been captured in the organizational values – in what could be considered an attempt to ensure that they are perpetual. Towards this end, in as far as equal employment opportunity is concerned, the organization seeks to ensure that no person is denied an employment opportunity on the basis of physical or/and personality traits. On the other hand, when it comes to diversity, the organization is committed to embracing the various differences between people. Thus, to a large extent, the integration of the various social constructions at my place of work is not in response to a legal requirements. Instead, my organization realizes that there are a number of strategic benefits that it could reap from such a course of action. It is for this reason that it has put in place a deliberate mechanism to promote the said integration. The said mechanism and the benefits that the organization continues to reap from the same will be highlighted in the subsequent sections of this text.
b) Strategies towards Integration
To begin with, in seeking to formulate a social construct that advances organizational objectives, my organization appears to be aware of the relevance of prioritizing communication. Towards this end, all kinds of communication within the organization are designed to ensure that they are easily understood and are not offensive to any employee. For instance, effort is made to ensure that slang is avoided. It should also be noted that the organization has in the past put measures in place to ensure that all communication is undertaken in a manner that could be considered culturally appropriate. This is done by way of taking into consideration the unintended meanings which another individual could assign to a specific message. In basic terms, this is important given that as Thomas and Peterson (2017) point out, communication is not only about the transmission of messages. Instead, as the authors observe, it is also about the interpretation of the message by the recipient. For this reason, the authors are categorical that “both the sender and the receiver of the message play an active role in the communication process (93).
Next, my organization continues to organize and partake diversity training with the overall goal of the said training in this case being to ensure that individual employees as well as groups interact effectively and that there is no discrimination or prejudice in such interactions. Diversity training is, at the core, concerned with the furtherance of cohesiveness of teams via the creation of awareness about key diversity concerns (Ezbilgin, 2009). The diversity training in my organization seeks to address a wide range of unique factors in relation to the background of employees. In this case, diversity training targets both new and existing employees. While new employees have to undergo the said training upon their joining the organization, existing employees undergo refresher courses on the same so as to ensure that they retain the ideals of tolerating differences. According to McGuire (2014), “the social goals of diversity training programmes are usually to significantly reduce the incidence of prejudice, bullying, and harassment in the workplace and to foster a positive working environment for all employees” (431). To a large extent, this are the very same goals that my organization seeks to accomplish with diversity training.
Third, my organization has managed to create a social construct that permits persons to work in harmony by way of establishing or creating diverse work teams. Work teams on this front could be inclusive of formations assigned unique roles, groups working on a specific task, entire departments, etc. In essence, my organization encourages teamwork owing to the benefits of team effort. The said benefits could be inclusive of sharing of workload and promotion of creativity (West, 2012). However, the composition of work teams must be accommodating and reflective of the entire population of the organizational workforce. This is to say that regardless of how basic, a team cannot comprise of persons from the same racial background or gender. This is a requirement that is, to a large extent, implemented by group leaders and supervisors. In my opinion, an arrangement of this nature has promoted understanding and has also played a significant role in attempts to reign in harmful or negative stereotypes.
Lastly, my organization has in place a robust hiring mechanism that could be described as ‘all-welcoming.’ It is important to note that according to Moodian (2008), diversity management cannot be effective without the deliberate restructuring of various organizational systems and processes. For this reason, the author is of the opinion that “systems such as recruitment, hiring, promotion/career development, and compensation benefits” must be adapted in an appropriate manner (97). To ensure that it has a constant mix of persons from diverse backgrounds, the organization has crafted hiring standards that are designed to defeat bias in the hiring process. On this front, the greatest weight is placed on qualification as opposed to other superficial factors including, but not limited to race, gender, etc. The natural result of this deliberate move has been the creation of a social construct that brings together a workforce from diverse backgrounds. To win on this front, my organization ensures that the interview panel comprises of persons from diverse backgrounds. Further, as it has been pointed out elsewhere in this text, my organization undertakes diversity training. The said program also targets those in the HR department so as to ensure that hiring decisions are made in the proper format.
c) Benefits of Integration
Due to the integration of the social construction as has been highlighted in this text, my organization has been able to tap into new perspectives. This is to say that thanks to the creation of a conducive environment for persons from various backgrounds to work together, the organization has a constant supply of fresh, creative, as well as distinctive ideas and approaches towards problem solving. To a large extent, people from different backgrounds have a different way of looking at an issue. This is essentially what my organization has been able to tap into. Thus, teams in this case can be able to accomplish more within a shorter period of time using a fraction of the resources that would have possibly been used if the organizational workforce comprised of persons with a similar way of looking at things. As a matter of fact, in comparison to its peers in the industry, my organization appears to be the most innovative.
Next, it would also be prudent to note that thanks to the move by my organization to create a social construct that enables persons from diverse backgrounds to function in a collaborative setting, the said organization has been able to better understand customer needs and minimize employee turnover. When it comes to customer needs, the diverse workforce enables the organization to have a broader perspective of the various factors that prompt customers to engage its services. This is made possible by the insights that the said diverse workforce present regarding market trends, unexploited opportunities, etc. On the other hand, the organization also tends to benefit by having a significantly low employee turnover rate (in comparison to its peers in the industry). The company has been able to accomplish this feat owing to its creation of a conducive environment for all persons to work together and feel appreciated. When employees are valued and appreciated, they are not likely to actively seek other employment opportunities. Instead, they are likely to stay longer with a company. This is exactly what has happened in the case of my organization.
Conclusion
In the final analysis, it should be noted that as has been indicated above, creating a social construct that allows people to function together requires deliberate effort and the deployment of strategies meant to foster fairness, equality, and diversity. It is clear from the discussion above that this is a worthy investment. Thus, this is an approach that should be encouraged in other organizational settings. However, it should be noted that this should not be considered a copy-and-paste opportunity by organizations keen on replicating the results highlighted above. This is more so the case given that each workplace is different and unique. It therefore follows that efforts on this front ought to be aligned with the specific organizational objectives, values, as well as circumstances.
References
Ezbilgin, M. (Ed.). (2009). Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Work: A Research Companion. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.
McGuire, D. (2014). Human Resource Development (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: SAGE.
Moodian, M.A. (Ed.). (2008). Contemporary Leadership and Intercultural Competence: Exploring the Cross-Cultural Dynamics within Organizations. Washington, DC: SAGE.
Thomas, D.C. & Mark, F.P. (2017). Cross-Cultural Management: Essential Concepts (4th ed.). Washington, DC: SAGE Publications.
West, M.A. (2012). Effective Teamwork: Practical Lessons from Organizational Research (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.