Diversity Training, Assessment Example

Question 1 Identify, explain, and link wellness initiatives with the benefits of overall employee wellness services and the impact to the bottom-line of an organization. Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You must use at least an internet search and your textbook to complete this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Various studies have proven that if employees perceive that their wellness is a priority in the workplace culture, then they would be more committed and content within a workplace that is more globalized and high-tech. In a survey conducted by Virgin HealthMiles Inc. which interviewed thousands of employees across the country, it was concluded that over 75% of the employees that responded attested that health and wellness programs implemented had a positive impact on workplace culture (John, 2013). Wellness and workplace vitality are thus intrinsically linked within organizations, as a focus on the wellness of employees boosted workplace morale, employee satisfaction, loyalty, and performance. It is difficult to measure or quantify a workplace culture of wellness as well as the impact of wellness initiatives on the bottom-line of an organization. Nonetheless, trends can be gleaned from the survey that are more important for the big picture overall. Wellness initiatives enhance the productivity and motivation of employees when they perceive that their employer does not view them as cogs in a machine but rather as people whose total quality of life must be amplified in the workplace. Lower absenteeism, less turnover, and higher customer service ratings have also been statistically recording according to the APA, which presents the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards to organization that place employee wellness at the center of workplace culture (Werner & DeSimone, 2012, p. 355). This totality of care includes emotional, social, and financial health in addition to their physical well-being.  Four organizations that earned the award from the APA this year noted that their turnover rate was a paltry 6% in comparison to 38%, which is the average annual rate of turnover in organizations (John, 2013). Communicating wellness initiatives to employees remains quite challenging due to the fact that employers often do not explain the initiatives very well to the employees. Ultimately, wellness initiatives boost morale while maintaining coherence in the workplace during times in which downsizing and other seismic changes are implemented therein.

Question 2 Define diversity and describe its importance to organizational development, including the legal entities associated with diversity. Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You must use at least an internet search and your textbook to complete this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Diversity refers to variety and distinction within a variety of arenas. Within the context of organizational behavior, diversity refers to the employment of individuals who come from different demographics and have a variety of working experience and skill. These individuals who come from different backgrounds all work together in an organization in an effective manner. Diversity as a concept refers to a populace in which its members speak different dialects and languages, adhere to varying standards and values, and come from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds. As a result, organizations have become increasingly diverse, especially because of various policies and laws passed in order to encourage diversity in the workplace (Werner & DeSimone, 2012, p. 516). Diversity enhances workplace culture by bringing in various perspectives that can ultimately enhance how an organization is run in addition to its efficacy. Diversity is important in an increasingly globalized world, and shifting power dynamics within the workplace at the global level calls for diversity ( George et al., 1996). International organizations such as the United Nations currently tout a diverse administration due to the nature of its function at the global level. Policies and laws passed have undergirded the increasing diversity by forcing organizations to hire workers from different backgrounds regarding gender, sexual orientation, race, and/or ethnicity (Ashkanasy et al., 2002).

Question 3: Describe an effective employee onboarding program and the importance of employee socialization to an organization. Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You must use at least an internet search and your textbook to complete this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. The first few weeks on the job for new hires within an organization are crucial for their capacity to fit in and become productive members of an organization. Beyond orientation, the macro process of on-boarding is critical to ensure that new hires are satisfied and productive members of an organization’s staff. Such a process acknowledges that new employees during the first few weeks on the job acquire knowledge and skills that will impact their workplace performance at the long term with regards to tackling any and all challenges and roadblocks they face in a fast-paced and high-tech work environment. On-boarding refers to a procedure in which new contracts are introduced and incorporated into a business (Werner & DeSimone, 2012, p. 254). The critical objectives for on-boarding projects include to enhance execution levels in addition to creating higher levels of fit in an employee’s job as well as within the organization. Studies have shown that representative fit helps amplify productivity in addition to authoritative obligation, which spawns lower employee turnover rates. On-boarding programs propels employee socialization as a way to abate turnover rates through the adjustment of an organization in order for employees to perform optimally. Authoritative socialization is thus driven by on-boarding programs and encourages organizations to incorporate new contracts into it. Individual association fit–which refers to incorporating workers into the organization as a whole in workplace socialization–thus has primacy over individual fit, which decreases turnover rates and enhances overall efficiency.

Question 4 Introduce and define skills and technical training. Describe various programs that address these areas, and explain the concept of skills gap. Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You must use at least an internet search and your textbook to complete this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. The limit and ability acquired through orderly, conscientious, and supported push to be able to carry out certain skills and exercises that are complex in nature are known as skills. Specialized skills such as learning and the capacity to perform difficult tasks are often honed in occupations that require them, usually associated with certain fields (Werner & DeSimone, 2012, p. 288). Within the field of technology and computer programming call for specialized skills that graft various perspectives such as calculation information, the need to learn the lexicon utilized in computer programming, and data on the assembly languages pinpointed with the critical components of computer programming. The skills continuum remains a topic of great discussion within organizational management, which has spawned a variety of discourses from instructors, senior executives, and the public at-large. Workplace challenges appear on an idiosyncratic basis, which is why the skills crevice can only be dealt with at the community level, utilizing neighborhood data and hiring instruction suppliers in order to figure out how to address the needs of organizations. Such a process calls for extracting information about the skills level and what learning is necessary in order to complete complex tasks. Business objectives need to be discerned, information then needs to be procured, data must them be interpreted, proposals then must be penned, and training ultimately needs to set up in order to effectively address the skills chasms in the current organizational environment (Kim et al., 2006).

References

Ashkanasy, N. M., Härtel, C. E., & Daus, C. S. (2002). Diversity and emotion: The new frontiers in organizational behavior research. Journal of Management,28(3), 307-338.

George, J. M., Jones, G. R., & Sharbrough, W. C. (1996). Understanding and managing organizational behavior. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

John. R. (2013). Health and Wellness Program Article. Wellness. Retrieved November 28, 2015 from http://wellnessproposals.com/wellness-articles/

Kim, Y., Hsu, J., & Stern, M. (2006). An update on the IS/IT skills gap. Journal of Information Systems Education, 17(4), 395.

Pike. K.L. (2014). New employee on boarding programs and person-organization fit: an Examination of socialization tactics. URI. Retrieved November 28, 2015 from http://www.uri.edu/research/lrc/research/papers/Pike_Onboarding.pdf

Werner, J.M. & DeSimone. R.L. (2012). Human resource development. United States: South Western C-Engage.