Topic > The threats and opportunities arising from diversity in…

Workforce diversity can be defined as a person working in a company who comes from a different nationality. Not just different nationality, but different background, different age, different race and even a different sex person (http://www.slideshare.net/kumudu737sjp/workforce-diversity). In other words, a company or organization is becoming an increasingly diverse mix of people in terms of gender, age, ethnicity and sexual orientation (Naik, 2012). When we talk about workforce diversity, there will be threats and opportunities for a company. Surely the diversity of the workforce can offer many opportunities or advantages to a company. The opportunities that this diversity can offer a company are increasing corporate creativity, increasing productivity, attracting new customers and developing language skills among the company's employees. What is meant by increasing corporate creativity is through subordinates who come from different backgrounds working in an organization who have come up with a different way of solving the problem faced by the company to reach a good solution. The more ideas companies get from different people, the easier it will be to get the solution to their problems with a valid or alternative way to solve them. Increased productivity of the company can be achieved due to the mixing of the workforce. When people from all cultures come together to achieve goals, the company can succeed through globalization and internationalization. Diversity in the workforce can diversify the customer base. This occurs thanks to the contribution of specialist skills and cultural sensitivity on the part of the staff. Staff who come from different countries have different cultural backgrounds, so a company that operates globally can be successful because staff are able to understand the needs and wants of customers in each country. Language skills are important for a company or business to communicate with different companies in different countries. Although English can be considered as the world communication language, but to build good relationships with other people in the world, we must know their language. This can become an advantage for a company that has a diverse workforce as the employee can help the company understand their words and also the meaning behind those words (Lee, 2004). Workforce diversity can also pose a threat to a company in terms of discrimination. and stereotypes. Discrimination can occur when it comes to nationality. When a company hires workforce from another country in small numbers, the workforce will become a minority group in that company.