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RECOMMENDATIONS
This section provides a list of recommendations for HRD and other business
leaders, HRD educators and programs, and future research.
Recommendations for Practice for HRD and Other Business Leaders
- The results of this study indicated that diversity initiatives in the
future will continue and will grow in importance in companies that are
committed to addressing diversity in the workplace. This means that HRD
professionals and other corporate leaders will have to be able to effectively
plan, implement, and evaluate diversity initiatives. This also means that they
will have to be knowledgeable about diversity initiatives, their
processes, barriers, and factors assisting in their success. Another
responsibility HRD professionals may have is to teach people in corporations
how to plan, implement, and evaluate diversity initiatives. The results of this
study lead the researchers to suggest that HRD professionals in the future will
have to master the field of diversity to be able to meet organizational needs.
- The findings of this study revealed that diversity training and education
programs are some of the most common and effective diversity initiatives. This
means that HRD professionals will have to be able to plan, implement, and
evaluate diversity training and education programs within their organizations.
HRD professionals will not only have to conduct effective diversity training
programs, but also effectively interact and relate to trainees who are diverse.
Another responsibility HRD professionals may have is to teach trainers to
incorporate diversity concepts and principles into their training programs.
This means that diversity will have to be an important aspect of
train-the-trainer programs. HRD professionals will have to master the field of
diversity in order for them to be able to provide effective diversity training
and education programs.
- The findings of this study revealed that diversity training and education
are considered among the most effective diversity initiatives. They are
also some of the common initiatives used to manage diversity. This means that
to continue making them effective, HRD professionals will have to be able to
effectively link diversity education and training not only to other diversity
initiatives, but also to both the diversity strategic plan and the corporate
strategic plan. This approach will help them address the organization's
training and business concerns more effectively.
- This study also revealed that diversity training and education is part of
the growing field of international diversity initiatives. This means that HRD
practitioners will have to become knowledgeable in this area. They will have to
educate themselves so that they can practice the whole process of international
diversity training and education. This also means that HRD professionals will
have to learn how to plan, implement, and evaluate international diversity
training. In addition, they need become knowledgeable in this field because
most corporations are becoming global organizations and are realizing the need
for international diversity training and education programs. Thus, HRD
professionals should be ready to teach corporate leaders who lack the knowledge
and skills to deal with international diversity initiatives.
- Evaluation of diversity initiatives is becoming more important for
multinational corporations that are committed to addressing diversity in
the workplace. This means that HRD professionals need to understand the role of
evaluation and its importance to corporations. This implies that professionals
need to have knowledge and skills, not only in evaluation of training programs
but also in evaluating the many different categories of diversity initiatives.
Specifically, HRD professionals need to know how to plan data collection,
identify sources of information, develop data collection instruments, analyze
information gathered, and report on the findings. Most important, though, HRD
professionals must be able to make sure the information gathered will be used
to improve their diversity programs and show their impact.
- This study revealed that multinational corporations are planning and
implementing a large number and a variety of diversity initiatives. Therefore,
leaders who want to keep their organizations on the competitive edge should
follow the example of successful and visionary corporations such as those
participating in this study. This also means that, in order to follow the
example provided by these corporations, leaders have to acquire the necessary
knowledge and develop skills to plan, implement, and evaluate a wide range of
diversity initiatives in the domestic and international context.
- One critical implication for managers is that a single initiative alone is
not considered effective. Therefore, if leaders of corporations want to be
successful in accommodating their diverse workforce as well as retaining and
attracting diverse customers, they will have to be willing to allocate
resources to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of not only one
diversity initiative but many different initiatives that complement each other.
- The findings of this study revealed that diversity initiatives are not
free from barriers that hinder their progress. Therefore, leaders in
corporations must be aware that they may face barriers at any time during the
planning, implementation, and development of diversity initiatives. They must
make efforts to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to prevent these
barriers.
Recommendations for HRD Educators and Programs
- The findings reported here show diversity initiatives will continue
developing and becoming more complex. This implies that college departments
offering HRD programs will have to provide their students with the knowledge
and skills necessary to succeed in a very diverse society and workforce. The
critical role that diversity training and education has in organizations such
as the ones in this study implies that diversity training should be part of the
core curriculum of any HRD program.
- To be fully prepared to deal with the increasing demographic changes
reflected in a diverse workforce, students specializing in HRD should be
offered courses that address various components of diversity. This means that
educational institutions offering HRD programs need to modify their curricula
and add diversity components to the courses they offer. For example, the
courses on instructional design should add a unit on diverse learning styles.
HRD students have to be educated on the variety of learning styles and how
people from different lifestyles and ethnic backgrounds learn better. Another
example could be a course on team development, which could include at least one
unit on diverse work team issues such as different styles in decisionmaking and
problem solving.
- HRD programs will have to equip their students with knowledge and skills
consistent with the realities of international work environments. That means
that HRD programs should be modified to include the international dimension.
Specifically, diversity courses will have to add new content and new activities
regarding international diversity initiatives.
Recommendations for Further Research
- Further longitudinal research will be needed to examine the development,
changes, accomplishments, barriers, and trends of diversity initiatives in
corporations. This research is necessary to make comparisons with future
diversity initiatives. Longitudinal research would provide information on the
accomplishments and failures of diversity strategic planning. This type of
study would be interesting and useful in assessing whether or not real progress
has been made. Overall, research on the evidence of the effectiveness of
diversity initiatives is needed.
- More in-depth comparative studies on the relationship between domestic and
international diversity initiatives are also needed. For instance, there is no
research based on the transfer of diversity initiatives from the United States
to other countries or vice versa. Research is also needed to determine the
effectiveness of international diversity initiatives and its barriers,
successes, contents, and processes. International diversity management is
supposed to be a key competitive advantage; to prove this, comprehensive
studies are needed in the area. Extensive studies are needed to determine the
actual impact of the international diversity initiatives. A study based on
international diversity initiatives is also needed to determine how the
programs are coordinated; what their benefits are; what geographical regions
they cover; and why and how they are planned, implemented and evaluated.
- A study should be conducted to compare the perceptions of diversity
leaders with those of employees regarding diversity initiatives. Such a study
could provide valuable information on how entire organizations perceive
diversity initiatives.
- An interesting study would be to conduct similar studies with
multinational non-U.S. corporations to see the similarities and differences
regarding diversity initiatives.
- This study revealed that evaluation of diversity initiatives is growing in
importance. An interesting study would be to focus specifically on evaluation
of diversity initiatives and to develop a model that could be used to measure
the effectiveness of different types of diversity initiatives.
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