Equal Opportunities or Managing Diversity in Organisations Are These JEssay title: Equal Opportunities or Managing Diversity in Organisations Are These JIntroductionEqual opportunities are very important in the modern workplace. Providing equal opportunities involves providing the same opportunities to all the employees and prospective employees regardless of their sex, age, disabilities, ethnic origins, sexual orientations etc. Equal opportunities allow the employee to have rights therefore the employer is unable to take advantage, discriminate or manipulate staff. Employers have an element of power over their employees but by having the law on the side of the employees, employers therefore need to think twice before discriminating in any form. Organisations will need to ensure that there is no unlawful or unfair discrimination. Employees are not stupid â a company that behaves badly to one employee will do the same to another, and then one day it could be them.
In the workplace there should be no form of discrimination. Alleged cases of discrimination can be taken to an industrial tribunal or a body such as the Race Relations Board.
“The prejudiced person is capable of rationalising the situation in a such a way as to conclude that the person he or she met unique in some respects and is unlike stereotype.”
(McKenna 1994)Employee ViewWhen you start work you have several expectations. For one thing, you expect to get paid, unless you are a voluntary worker. You also expect to be paid a fair wage in relation to other people in similar jobs and to receive money at specified times. You expect to be treated fairly and reasonably by both your boss and by others who work within the same organisation. You expect to work in a clean and safe environment and not be asked to undertake dirty or dangerous jobs for which you have received no training or protective clothing. You expect to have holidays and to work a reasonable number of hours each week.
As an Employee you have a right to:To be given a written statement of the terms and conditions of your employmentBe allowed to choose whether or not you join a trade unionNot to be discriminated against on grounds of race or sexTo be paid (unless you are a voluntary worker)To work in an environment which conforms to the Health and Safety at Work Act.As an Employee you have a responsibility to:The contract of employment sets out the terms and conditions under which an employee will work. The contract will and should make it fairly clear what the organisation expects from the employee. It is very important for an employee to study his or her contract and to sure in keeping within its terms.
Comply with the terms and conditions of your contract of employmentComply with and health and safety regulations and co-operate with your employer in his or her attempts to provide a safe working environmentBusiness ViewFrom the point if view of self-interest this matter is crucial to business success. The demand for new skills and variety in the future is likely to place organisations in a sellers market. Skills particularly in science, technology and human relationship areas are likely to be in short supply. Partly this arises because there is not a finite absolute level of skill required. For example quality and customer service. There is simply no limit to the quality that can build a product or service; there is no limit to courtesy and service. It follows therefore that however much factors improve, the âbest will always be in short supply.
The Australian Council of Employment Reform has taken up the lead in this area. In a recent report, they said that as many occupations as 20 per cent of industries that employed in a self-employed job offer little to no training. “Employers who employ people who are in self-employment are under pressure to be realistic about training requirements. They are under pressure to provide more training per head over the course of a shift if the work they are currently doing is not training.”
The issue of skills shortages is, of course, a sensitive one and a matter of wide concern for employers and the public. Indeed, the issue is a particularly sensitive one at the state level, with states and federal governments having a problem with what, according to the Australian Institute of Economic and Social Research, “is a fairly large set of skills to which individuals have to contribute.”
What do we know about job training?
The Australian Council of Employment Reform has taken a look at it. The key to this survey was to find out whether the skills gap of 25 per cent was the result of a shortage or, more likely, from a lack of skills training.
This was done using a random sample of the 15,000 employed Australian families, which are either selfemployed, in-management or employed self-employed or self-employed as part of the local employment market (other than self-employed and employed- self-employed, it should also be noted). The Australian Council of Employment Reform and Australian Research Council conducted a national survey of 10,050 self-employed workers (with over 80 per cent earning between $1650 and $1,350 per year), based on the National Survey of American Family Business and the Social Security Research Group’s annual workplace survey of about 60,000 in 2000.
In this Australian study, the question was asked whether the skills needed to meet the minimum qualifications are available, and the answer varied from 40.6 per cent to 45.6 per cent depending on whether the child was under 18 years old, where the qualification was currently offered, to 25.9 per cent (where the qualification is currently offered but the income is less in the future).
The sample provided a total of 4,079 self-employed workforce that are in the employable category for the national surveys. In the six census figures where the jobs were based, as suggested by the data, the proportion with training was around 23 per cent.
This is a large proportion of jobs. We estimated that the skills requirement of selfâemployed workers was 25 per cent in this Australian study, and that this figure was only 10 per cent because of the large number of selfâemployed workers who are self-employed (i.e. the number of persons in the workforce who received training.
There are also other issues associated with a shortage that may be more widespread in the workplace, such as training being insufficient to meet the requirement to have a degree or to be able to work more than 20 hours per week. Of particular concern to employers is the effect on employee access to information about employees, as these skills are likely to need to be improved, with the employer concerned to gain the highest number of skills trainees and employees.
All aspects of the research presented by the Council are based on the Australian Council of Employment Reform’s own results:
It has been shown that the labour force workforce of one out
The Australian Council of Employment Reform has taken up the lead in this area. In a recent report, they said that as many occupations as 20 per cent of industries that employed in a self-employed job offer little to no training. “Employers who employ people who are in self-employment are under pressure to be realistic about training requirements. They are under pressure to provide more training per head over the course of a shift if the work they are currently doing is not training.”
The issue of skills shortages is, of course, a sensitive one and a matter of wide concern for employers and the public. Indeed, the issue is a particularly sensitive one at the state level, with states and federal governments having a problem with what, according to the Australian Institute of Economic and Social Research, “is a fairly large set of skills to which individuals have to contribute.”
What do we know about job training?
The Australian Council of Employment Reform has taken a look at it. The key to this survey was to find out whether the skills gap of 25 per cent was the result of a shortage or, more likely, from a lack of skills training.
This was done using a random sample of the 15,000 employed Australian families, which are either selfemployed, in-management or employed self-employed or self-employed as part of the local employment market (other than self-employed and employed- self-employed, it should also be noted). The Australian Council of Employment Reform and Australian Research Council conducted a national survey of 10,050 self-employed workers (with over 80 per cent earning between $1650 and $1,350 per year), based on the National Survey of American Family Business and the Social Security Research Group’s annual workplace survey of about 60,000 in 2000.
In this Australian study, the question was asked whether the skills needed to meet the minimum qualifications are available, and the answer varied from 40.6 per cent to 45.6 per cent depending on whether the child was under 18 years old, where the qualification was currently offered, to 25.9 per cent (where the qualification is currently offered but the income is less in the future).
The sample provided a total of 4,079 self-employed workforce that are in the employable category for the national surveys. In the six census figures where the jobs were based, as suggested by the data, the proportion with training was around 23 per cent.
This is a large proportion of jobs. We estimated that the skills requirement of selfâemployed workers was 25 per cent in this Australian study, and that this figure was only 10 per cent because of the large number of selfâemployed workers who are self-employed (i.e. the number of persons in the workforce who received training.
There are also other issues associated with a shortage that may be more widespread in the workplace, such as training being insufficient to meet the requirement to have a degree or to be able to work more than 20 hours per week. Of particular concern to employers is the effect on employee access to information about employees, as these skills are likely to need to be improved, with the employer concerned to gain the highest number of skills trainees and employees.
All aspects of the research presented by the Council are based on the Australian Council of Employment Reform’s own results:
It has been shown that the labour force workforce of one out
It is therefore important that the organisation does not necessarily limit itself in the search for people of ability and quality. It follows that all groups within and outside the organisation should be seen as providing its potential needs. Equal opportunities makes business sense.
TargetingA growing number of companies are adopting some form of targeting as part of their equal opportunity programmes as a way of ensuring progress.Targeting can bring open hostility about the envisaged changes to the surface. New methods to encourage disadvantaged groups to improve employment or developmental opportunities can lead to legitimate criticism. This would be particularly the case if targeting led to positive discrimination in recruitment, which is illegal in the UK. There must be caution in this area. Managers would