These challenges include appropriately:
- Valuing employee diversity
- Balancing individual needs with group fairness
- Dealing with Resistance to change,
- Group Cohesiveness & Interpersonal Conflict
- Segmented Communication Networks
1. Valuing Employee Diversity
Those who oppose diversity argue that the USA is losing the common ground to a viable society, while those who advocate diversity argue that assimilation wrongly assumes a hierarchy of skills and behaviors with white men at the top and women and minorities below them.
2. Balancing Individual versus Group Fairness
How far management should go in adapting HR programs to diverse employee groups? Should the firm be more lenient about punctuality and deadlines for employees whose cultures are not time sensitive? Should management make dress code exceptions for employees who view coats and tie as European customs that do not fit their lifestyles?
3. Resistance to Change
Although employee diversity is a fact of life, the dominant groups in organizations are composed of white men. Some argue that a long-established corporate culture is very resistant to change, which is major roadblock for women and minorities seeking to survive and prosper in a corporate setting.
4. Group Cohesiveness & Interpersonal Conflict
Although employee diversity can lead to greater creativity and better problem solving, it can also lead to open conflict and chaos if there is mistrust and lack of respect among groups. This means that as organizations become more diverse, they face greater risks that employees will not work together effectively. Interpersonal friction rather than cooperation may become a norm.
5. Segmented Communication Networks
Shared experiences are often strongly reinforced by segmented communication channels in the work place. One study found that most communication within organizations occurs between members of the same gender and race. This was found to be true across all professional categories, even at the top, where the number of women and minorities is very small.