Abstract
The European Union companies have been characterized with employment discrimination in which employment positions is no longer based on qualification and merit but on racial background, religious beliefs and practices, nationality, marital status and colour. This has seen most of the immigrants stay jobless in Europe due to the criteria of job qualification used by these companies. The management is required to develop management tools such as strategic planning, a clear vision development, the use of control systems to ensure checks and balances. Most managers however make the mistake of overuse of power tools and underuse of leadership tools to execute their duties. Failure to develop a clear vision or projection into the future and failure to implement the management and leadership tools that ensure everything is in place. Hence the workforce is faced with diversity challenges. There are intercultural practices that are complex to understand and as such organizations need to develop tools to train their employees on how to cope with the wide diversity in culture. The training tools are aimed at building a strong positive relationships and attitude within the organization.
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"Employment Discrimination in European Companies".
One of the main challenges of leadership in any organization is to device strategies that would ensure that there are no instances of discrimination in whatsoever form of race, marital status, religion or even nationality. This is because the culture of an organization encompasses various facets of the performance of the organization such as goals, objectives, roles, processes, communication practices, attitudes and assumptions, Denning (2011). It therefore calls for the elements of management of organizations working towards fitting together all the operations of the organization in order to promote a culture that accommodates people from diverse backgrounds. It all begins with developing relevant tools of leadership that are in line with the values that are accepted by the employment Acts as of standards.
There are intercultural practices that are complex to understand and as such organizations need to develop tools to train their employees on how to cope with the wide diversity in culture. The training tools are aimed at building a strong positive relationships and attitude within the organization. With these, the employees are trained to be the real agents of change by building good relationship among themselves and eliminating negative stereotypes that is eating up most of the organizations in the region, Wilkinson, (2013). Consultations can also be made with relevant stakeholders on the best approach to deal with issues that curtail the growth and empowerment of the European workforce. All these when implemented, are emulated by the nearby organizations that in the end benefit a great deal out of these initiatives. The training and management tools that are needed by an organization enhance the development and recruitment of qualified talent which contributes to the growth of the organization.
In order for the employees to be empowered, certain measures should be put in place to ensure that the organization propagates proactive affirmative action and also create awareness on their rights. For there to be changes in perception within an organization to allow for cultural changes, there is need for organizations to create room for empowerment through proactive affirmative actions. The organization requires transformative initiatives that would change the management and the means by which information is disseminated from one agent to another, Leonard (2005). These changes are supported with human capital development strategies that would see to it that the employees experience a shift in paradigm and their means of communication especially where diverse cultures are involved. The approaches are to remove bias, offer equal opportunities, and recognize the differences in social and economic differences and participation in decision making.
The following mechanisms can be applied by the same organizations to educate the employees on their rights. Mobility of the minority through an upward strategy, moral , social responsibility of the organization as well as legal actions in support of employee rights, affirmative actions through special efforts such as having an understanding , respect and value for cultural diversity and systems and creation of a diverse workforce .For an organization to meet its intended objectives and goal of seeking to maintain a global diverse workshop that would meet the future business and HR demands of a competitive global sector, Thomson(2011). The organization should be involved in certain training programs that are technological in nature such as customer relationship management systems and employee orientation to welcome new employees into the organization. This also enables the employees to develop personal and organization skills as well as their knowledge base and abilities.
The employees should be equipped with basic training skills, job oriented skills, communication training, multicultural training, sexual harassment training and training on ethics. Other skills include in- house training programs and external training programs. Development programs are also required within the organization which includes career development, provision for flexible learning options and motivating the managers to inspire their employees, Ferazzi(2015). Policies and procedures that promote cultural heritage as a tool for development and harmony should be devised within the same organizations. Thesepolicy statements may include: development of a shared cultural identity to ensure continued cultural diversity of communities and supporting a growing, creative and cultural industry sectors that would promote a creative atmosphere for both social and economic benefits.
Cultural regulations and laws such as: No person shall on the ground of race, religion or nationality be denied benefits, excluded from participation or be subjected to discrimination in an activity, program or receiving any financial assistance from the state.
Recommendations and solutions
The following recommendations should be put into practice by European companies to cub discrimination with respect to employment qualification.
Conduct policy consultations with multicultural intuitions to help in the formulation of cultural policies, regulations and laws that would in future help fight cultural sentiments at the global level. Whenever the company owns the policy statements and work towards their practical inputs the job seekers such as Ewe Kikuyu who has all the qualifications and merits the positions will enjoy exercising their cultural beliefs and practices without segregation.
Development of a team spirit and knowledge management that would ensure that the employees are aware of the existence of other cultures within the globe and the need to value and respect them. The companies will build their reputation and the potential employees will have a different perspective of the company which if emulated by the neighboring companies will mark and end to cultural discrimination as an employment criteria.
Use of control systems and measurements to keep the behavior of the organization management with respect to segregation in check. This can also be achieved by remodeling the vision of the organization to feature the aspect of promoting cultural diversity.
Conclusion
In the current information era, ethical aspects of an organization play a key role in development of the employees and cooperation hence the need to promote ethical practices for the sake of success of the organization. Cultural diversity influences the dimension of an organization in terms of position and vision because the most essential asset of production is humans as they are the champions of innovation and creative ideas on productive activities. Although the main aim of an organization is to attain economic benefits, a paradigm shift is necessary to ensure economic growth and development of the organization.
Social judgment and expectation is fundamental to the success of the organization. Human and sentimental factors are also vital since the endeavor to increase the mental ability of human emphasizes on his abilities, moral and ethical standards depicted in behavior. An organization should thus focus on a multicultural system that is accommodative and flexible to cultural diversity for unity and growth globally. To achieve success and improve efficiency both within the workforce and general operation of the organization, policies and regulations in conjunction with cultural laws are the best remedies to cub cultural discrimination in the global employment criteria. European companies should implement the recommendation give above to step up their companies with cultural values and cross-cultural acceptance.
- Denning.S.(2011): How to change an organization culture ; Radical management, Leadership and Innovation.
- Ferazzi.K. (2015): Employee development programs, Havard Business Review, Researchbased training and coaching company, Greenlight
- Leonard.A. (2005):Development approaches and legislative requirements of affirmative action, University of Pretoria Ltd
- Thompson, A., (2011) “Starbucks Corporation,” July 24, http://www.mhhe.com/business/management/thompson/11e/case/starbucks-2.html.
- Wilkson .M. (2013): Organization culture change through training and cultural immersion, Queensland University of Technology, MC UP Ltd,Australia
- Witt, B., “Serious Leadership: IBM Builds a Successful Mentoring Program,” Material Handling Management, December 1, 2005,http://mhmonline.com/workforce-solutions/mhm_imp_4483/.
