Duration: Full day program
Introduction
 "Diversity Management" is a strategy to promote the perception, acknowledgement and implementation of diversity in organisations and institutions. Diversity opens up alternative ways of perceiving, thinking and acting and thus enriches the life of the community.
Human beings differ in age, social and national background, gender, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability as well as religious belief and worldview. Diversity is a source of creativity and innovation that can provide the potential for future development and competitive advantage.
Ensuring that diversity is made visible and fruitful remains a central concern of diversity management. In doing so, individual and structural representation of perception and appreciation may be reflected upon. This means that social, institutional as well as personal views and expectations are questioned: How do we provide for and/or perceive physically disabled people? How does our society treat homosexual, bisexual and transsexual people? Do women have equal career opportunities at the workplace?
Although schemata of perception and assessment make us feel secure by providing a structured view of the world, they may also cause discrimination if they remain rigid. Relying on a negative and rigidly stereotyped view of a person or group of persons may deprive this (group of) person(s) of equal opportunities. It may block their access to resources such as knowledge, money, or decision-making power. Diversity management aims at reducing discrimination and promoting equal opportunities.
Who Should Attend
• Senior/Top Management
• Human Resource personnel
• Sales and Marketing personnel
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this program, participants will be able to:
• identify the environmental issues associated with managing organisations characterised by ethnic and cultural diversity.
• identify and describe the unique characteristics of as well as the qualities and organisational and individual opportunities offered by organisations having ethnic and cultural diversity and how they can be realised.
• identify strategies and actions to manage potential organisational problems associated with ethnic and cultural diversity.
Course Content
| • What is Diversity? |
• Promoting Diversity |
| |
- Malaysian diversity |
|
- Approaches |
| |
- Advantages of Diversity in organizations |
|
|
| |
|
• Diversity Training |
| • Social Dynamics to watch out for – |
|
| |
- ethnocentrism |
• The Role of Managers |
| |
- prejudice |
|
|
| |
- stereotyping |
• The Malaysian Scene |
| |
- discrimination |
|
- Cultural Dimensions |
| |
- tokenism |
|
- Culture Clustering of some selected countries |
| |
|
|
|
| • Negative dynamics and specific groups – |
| |
- gender |
|
|
| |
- age |
|
|
| |
- workers with disabilities |
|
|
Facilitator: Prof. Dr. Iain Choong
|
