Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 1 Managing diversity and work-life balance Chapter 8

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-2 Managing diversity and work-life balance  Objectives ÙDescribe the differences between diversity management and equal employment opportunity (EEO). ÙDiscuss the role of managing diversity in organisational performance. ÙIdentify the initiatives that can be used to manage diversity.

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-3 Managing diversity and work-life balance  Objectives (continued) ÙIdentify the challenges facing the development and implementation of initiatives designed to manage diversity. ÙDescribe the key features of the work-life balance program. ÙIdentify the cost and benefits of implementing policies that assist employees to manage their work and non-work lives.

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-4 Managing diversity  The process of creating an environment that allows all employees to contribute to organisational goals and experience personal growth.

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-5 Equal employment opportunity (EEO)  The government’s attempt to ensure that all individuals have an equal opportunity for employment, regardless of characteristics such as race, religion, sex, or national origin.

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-6 Source: Adapted from R. Kramar ‘Equity and diversity’, in J. Teicher & P. Holland (eds), Employee Relations Management, AddisonWesley Longman, Melbourne, in press. Figure 8.1 Model of diversity management

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-7 Diversity management and improving organisational performance  Business case  Competitive advantage  Managing change  Ideological reasons

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-8 Initiatives to manage diversity  Strategic initiatives  Managerial initiatives  Operational initiatives

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-9 Challenges associated with managing diversity  Concept of diversity  Implementation of techniques to manage diversity ÙDiversity enlargement ÙDiversity sensitivity through training ÙCultural audits ÙAdvisory panels  Demonstrating improvements  Building a business case

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-10 Challenges associated with managing diversity (continued)  Managing contradictory evidence  Inexperience with the process  Communication and decision-making  Attitudinal issues

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-11 Work-life balance  An employee’s ability to access employment opportunities and earn adequate income while at the same time attending to the caring responsibilities of family life.

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-12 Work-life balance programs  Key features of a work-life balance program ÙPromotes a work environment that encourages employees to achieve work-life balance. ÙEnsures leave arrangements that enable employees to have flexibility to handle family, personal and community matters. ÙRecognises the impact of the needs of other family members and dependents on the work-life balance of the employee.

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-13 Work-life balance programs ÙAllows flexibility in the career choices and options of employees. ÙAcknowledges the interaction between work, family and other life interests and enables tensions around this conflict to be discussed and managed. ÙRecognises that different employees will have different needs associated with maintaining their work-life balance.

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-14 ‘Family-friendly’ programs  The most widely used policies in Australia are: ÙFlexible hours ÙPart-time work ÙJob sharing ÙTelecommuting or working from home ÙSick leave used for family commitments ÙEmployee assistance programs ÙRelocation services

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-15 Cost and benefits of work-life balance programs  Benefits ÙImproved employee morale and job satisfaction ÙIncreased attraction and retention of desirable staff ÙImproved customer service and satisfaction ÙIncreased employee commitment to the organisation ÙIncreased productivity.

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-16 Cost and benefits of work-life balance programs  Costs ÙDiscomfort associated with changing the organisation’s culture ÙEmployees and managers need to learn additional communication and decision-making skills ÙPossible increased conflict between groups ÙTime involved in researching and writing revised human resource policies.

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-17 Directions in diversity management  The primary focus has been on two aspects of diversity ÙRace ÙSex Üfamily status  Initiatives aim to: ÙAttract and retain women ÙFacilitate work-life balance ÙManage cultural diversity.

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-18 Important influences on the future of diversity management  Changing nature of the workforce  Changing employment relationships  Pressure to ‘add value’

Copyright  2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd. PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance by De Cieri & Kramar 8-19 Summary  Increasing attention will be paid to managing workforce diversity and different employment relationships.  Managers will need to understand diversity and its impact on the policies used to manage the similarities and differences in their organisation.  Managers will need to demonstrate the value of diversity management initiatives to the organisation, and be able to build a business case for the initiatives.