Reference no: EM132820973
Group Assignment 1-The Economic Values of Diversity
Although employment equity and its partner, employment diversity, were launched on moral grounds, increasingly these initiatives are sustained for business reasons. Two main principles underpin this.
The first principle to understand is that members of the designated groups are consumers, not just potential employees. For example, the purchasing power of people with disabilities is estimated to be $120 billion. Racial minorities control more than $76 billion in combined purchasing power. Women control 80 percent of the consumer dollars spent in North America.
The second business fundamental is that employees who are members of the designated groups represent an organizational resource. This resource facilitates understanding and linkages with these markets by helping various departments understand the lifestyles, consumption needs and wants, purchasing preferences, media usage habits, and brand loyalty of these customers.
For example, Phoenix Geophysics Ltd, in Toronto credits its newest big market (Africa) for its geophysical instruments to its Eritrean-born employee, who speaks five languages. For reasons such as this, one in five businesses has hired an immigrant to help diversify their global client base. Organizations are becoming increasingly international and value the benefits that a diverse workforce can bring to a business. Other organizations such as FedEx, KPMG and Bell Canada have made significant progress in promoting workplace diversity.
The task is to choose a company from the list provided below, research the organization and summarize your findings in form of a report following the content requirements indicated under the Questions below and the assessment standards included in the rubric for the assignment. The organizations are:
- Canadian Tire
- Tim Hortons
- Loblaw Companies Limited
- Enbridge Inc.
Questions
- Provide a brief description of the organization you have selected and the industry it operates within as well as the types of products and or services it provides to customers.
- Identify the jurisdiction and describe the law that governs the organization's human rights issues.
- Describe some major initiatives that the organization has taken to position itself as a leader in promoting workplace diversity.
- Explain how diversity can help the organization maintain a competitive advantage in both global and changing domestic markets.
- In your view, what is the role of human resource management in helping organizations promote workplace diversity?
Format
- Provide clear and well thought out responses to the assignment questions.