iso-NEWS - Institut für Sozialforschung und Sozialwirtschaft eV

Ingrid Matthäi: ’Managing Diversity’
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Fig. 2: Competitive advantages for ‘diversity’ companies
� Personnel marketing argument: enhancing better recruitment opportunities in the la-
bour market/access to new or different labour market groups
� Marketing and sales argument: gaining competitive advantages in the markets using
differences in targeting diverse customer groups
� Flexibility and innovation argument: the ability to adopt in changing environments is
easier for an organization with a diverse workforce than for a ‘homogenous‘ organiza-
tion
� Productivity and cost argument: the performance and motivation of employees is
higher whose contributions are valued and they cost less than frustrated and less moti-
vated employees
� Image argument: the reputation as an employer and as a customer-oriented company
will improve
� Internationalization argument: gaining cross-cultural advantages
In the USA the subject of ‘managing diversity’
first was closely connected to the
civil-rights movement to improve the living
and working conditions for minorities. But
nowadays the definition of diversity varies
with the contexts of different cultural, political
or organizational conditions and
strategies. Today in management concepts
diversity is a basic element of human
resource oriented theories and strategies.
In these resource-based views human resources
are to be seen as a vital resource
for the economic success of a company
(Wernerfelt 1984, Staehle 1989). In order to
attract further employees, an organization
needs to have a culture and a human
resource policy in which people with different
interests, backgrounds and values
will feel accepted, challenged and offered
opportunities for their needs (for example
flexible working-times, new forms of
work-life-balance, Hielscher 2003) and
equal chances on careers, skill-building
trainings or salaries. Managing diversity
now encompasses the variety of employees
which are not part of the dominant
group to improve their situation and to
eliminate structural discrimination or subtle
disadvantages. The challenge for the
management is to recognize the various
needs and interests of the employees by
avoiding any preliminary stereotypes or
prejudices against groups. Managing diversity
aims to create organizational and
structural conditions that fit with the needs
of all employees and not only with the
dominant group. The approach of ‘managing
diversity’ differs from the concept of
‘gender mainstreaming’ in one central
point. ‘Gender mainstreaming’ (Döge
2001, Stiegler 1999; Krell/Mückenberger/
Tondorf 2001) only refers to the gender
aspect and focuses on the different situation
and needs of women and men in or-
iso-Mitteilungen Nr. 3/August 2004 55