BSBDIV601A: Develop & Implement Diversity Policy | Education Assignment Help

Assessment Information

Competency Being Assessed

BSBDIV601A Develop and implement diversity policy

1. Research diversity

2. Draft policy and plan for implementation

3. Implement diversity policy

4. Review diversity policy

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency for this

unit include:

• development of a comprehensive diversity policy with details of an implementation strategy and how it will be monitored and reviewed OR
• critical analysis of an existing diversity policy with an evaluation of its effectiveness and recommendations for improvement
• knowledge of relevant legislation, codes of practice and national standards.

Assessment Process

The assessment is designed to help you gather evidence of your competence against the requirements of the unit of competency (as outlined above) while applying your learning in the workplace. Your evidence may take a variety of forms and must be:

• Authentic – your own work
• Valid – related to the competency
• Reliable – shows that you meet the requirements over time
• Current – recent proof of your skills and knowledge

The recommended timeframe for completing your assessment is within six weeks of undertaking training. Please advise if you anticipate needing more time so that your records can be updated.

Use this assessment kit to complete your responses to the assessment, attaching additional evidence and documentation as appropriate. Please ensure all additional documents are clearly labelled so that your assessor understands the relevance to specific parts of the assessment.

Once submitted, your assessment will be marked and feedback returned to you. If further work is required for a successful result, you will be given the opportunity to resubmit your work. Upon successful completion and being deemed competent, you will be eligible for a Statement of Attainment.

Progress Checklist

Supervisor/Manager Support and Communication

Having the support of your supervisor/manager will assist you in completing your assessment and applying your learning back into the workplace.

Participant Feedback on Assessment Process

AIM appreciates your thoughts and opinions that allow continuous improvements to be

made. Please complete the questions below, expanding with explanation wherever possible,

after you have completed the assessment.

Assessment Requirements

Knowledge Questions

• Answer all parts of each question
• Use your own words and give examples wherever possible
• The quality of your answer is more important than how long it is

Question 1

List the legislation that you must take into account when formulating a policy on diversity and explain how each piece of legislation impacts policy formation.

Question 2

Explain the key points of R. Roosevelt Thomas’s model on diversity management, how it applies in general and how it applies specifically to your

workplace.

Question 3

Briefly summarise the three main approaches to managing diversity.

Question 4

Explain how certain characteristics, normally considered discriminatory, may be used in particular circumstances when undertaking recruitment exercises. Give some example of when this is acceptable.

Question 5

List and give some examples of the potential benefits of diversity to an organisation.

Question 6

Why is it important to ensure that any diversity policy has a ‘strategic fit’ with the organisation that it is written for?

Question 7

Comment briefly on Leach et al.’s six phases of assessment and change when developing and implementing a diversity policy. Explain how each phase would be conducted in your organisation.

Question 8

How does the dominant culture of an organisation support or inhibit diversity initiatives?

Question 9

Describe the main reasons why individuals resist change and the tactics that can be used to overcome this resistance, particularly when implementing diversity initiatives.

Question 10

What are the key reasons that someone would undertake a review of an organisation’s diversity policy and initiatives?

Tasks

• Acknowledge any information you have used (websites, books etc.) by referencing the original source
• Provide examples and evidence of what you are saying, attach additional documents and work samples where appropriate to demonstrate your competency

Task 1

Undertake research into the diversity policies and practices that exist within other organisations – this may be in your industry or across different industries.

1. Create a matrix of the diversity practices, their actual benefits to the organisation researched and their potential benefits to your organisation.
2. Similarly, create a matrix of relevant diversity sections of other organisations’ diversity policies and their benefit to your organisation.
3. Interview key stakeholders in your organisation on the results of your research and write a brief report summarising their views and the key recommendations for input into refining current diversity policy/initiatives or writing such documents from scratch./li>

Tasks

• Acknowledge any information you have used (websites, books etc.) by referencing the original source
• Provide examples and evidence of what you are saying, attach additional documents and work samples where appropriate to demonstrate your competency

Task 2

Using the information from Task 1 complete the following tasks relating to diversity policy/initiative formation.

1. Using the template in the course notes as a guide and based on your research from Task 1 develop a draft diversity policy. If you already have a diversity policy, then concentrate on revising the current policy.
2. Draft a copy of the diversity initiatives you identified from Task 1 and how you intend to implement them.
3. Review the policy and initiatives with key stakeholders in your organisation and write a brief report on their feedback (note: this differs from the feedback in Task 1 which looked at reviewing/feedback on how the policy and initiatives were to be ‘shaped’)./li>

4. Write an implementation plan that includes key stages of the implementation. Include:/li>

   • Time line (including review dates)
   • Milestones and actions, including who is responsible
   • Communication plan (who will communicate what and when)
   • Where official documents will be stored, and how they will be accessed

Task 3

This task requires you to implement the diversity policy/initiatives and report on the same.

1. Using your implementation schedule from Task 2, execute the implementation.
2. Design and document tools for measuring the success of the implementation.
3. Write a report on the outcomes of the implementation and record the following:
4. Write an implementation plan that includes key stages of the implementation. Include:

• Time line (including review dates)
• Milestones and actions, including who is responsible
• Communication plan (who will communicate what and when)
• Where official documents will be stored, and how they will be accessed

• feedback from end users on the diversity policy and the diversity initiatives
• details of the implementation success metrics used
• details of intended and unintended outcomes from the implementation
• consult with your stakeholder group and record their feedback
• develop recommendations for changes to diversity policy and initiatives on the feedback received
• agree recommendations with the appropriately authorised people and record the recommendations to be adopted and the timeline in which to adopt them.

Assessment Requirements

Knowledge Questions

Question 1

List the legislation that you must take into account when formulating a policy on diversity and explain how each piece of legislation impacts policy formation.

Answer 1

The legislations are as follows:

a) The Australian Human Rights Commission Act

b) The Age Discrimination Act

c) The Sex Discrimination Act

d) The Racial Discrimination Act

e) The Racial Hatred Act

f) The Disability Discrimination Act

g) The Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012

h) The Fair Work Act and National Employment Standards (NES)

g) State-based anti-discrimination and OH&S laws

Question 2

Explain the key points of R. Roosevelt Thomas’s model on diversity management, how it applies in general and how it applies specifically to your workplace.

Answer 2

The key points of R. Roosevelt Thomas’s diversity model are as follows:

a) Managing the changing workforce diversity to be an essential knowhow of both leaders as well as managers

b) Diversity management to be a precursor to excellent business outcomes.

c) Managing diversity helps all concerned to naturally contribute to achievement of organizational objectives

d) Successfully driving diversity management holds all in equal footing rather than the formation of advantaged and disadvantaged groups.

The diversity model proposed specifically applies in my organization as it fosters an environment of multicultural by holding all workers in equal footing rather than treating them in groups based on their ethnic backgrounds, sex and gender. It also applies in general as it hails all workers to be treated on an equal footing by discouraging discrimination and allowing people from diverse cultural backgrounds to work together.

Question 3Briefly summarise the three main approaches to managing diversity.

Answer 3

The three main approaches to managing diversity are as follows:

Anti-discrimination – this legislation came into effect to combat disability, gender and race based discrimination.

Affirmative action programs – These programs took place in order to ensure that specific groups were given accessible job opportunities by addressing discrimination.

Diversity management – This approach was enforced in workplaces so as to suit individual discrepancies. Such programs offered a platform for equal job opportunities irrespective of discrepancies on physical disabilities, gender, sex, race and age. It also included aspects concerning functional and work background, religious values, income, geographic area, parental status, marital status and education. Diversity management can be further subdivided into four methods. These are as follows:

a) Simultaneously managing the similarities and discrepancies between individuals

b) Recognition of diversity dimensions and addressing each one of them at the organizational level

c) Involving the entire workforce in managing diversity

d) Implement the process of inclusion in diversity management. Devise a diversity workplace culture by involving all employees

Question 4

Explain how certain characteristics, normally considered discriminatory, may be used in particular circumstances when undertaking recruitment exercises. Give some example of when this is acceptable.

Answer 4

Especially while recruiting personnel, some circumstances involving the job description and functionalities may especially suit the masculine sex. Also, by the imposition of affirmative action, the fairer sex has to be given equal employment opportunities. This means that organizations have to award increased weight age to employing female employees. This is an instance of favouritism that is often deemed to be a discriminatory practice in general, but not under the current circumstance of recruitment.

One must note that discrimination on the base of attributes including disability, race, sex and age may not always be illegal. Favourable discrimination entails special approaches to ascertain increased equality by encouraging people facing entrenched discrimination so that they have similar access to chances as compared with other individuals in the same community.

The Age Discrimination Act allows for ‘positive measures to be taken on the basis of age’. The Act says that it is ‘not against the law to provide a genuine benefit to people of a particular age group or to do something that helps meet an identified need for people of a certain age group or is intended to reduce a disadvantage experienced by persons of a particular age’. Example: A hairdresser gives discounts to customers with a Seniors Card.

Other federal discrimination laws allow special measures to be taken to improve equality of opportunity for people based on their race, disability or sex. Example: A gym offers a women’s only exercise class as a special measure after it receives feedback that women are less likely to participate in exercise classes with men because they feel uncomfortable.

Special measures can also be taken ‘to achieve equality of opportunity for people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, relationship status, pregnancy or potential pregnancy status or family responsibilities’.

Also, for completeness, Age may or may not be pertinent to a job, and if it is not pertinent, then there should be no intimation in any recruitment communication that suggests that the job is only open to people within a particular age category. If there is a genuine occupational requirement such as the minimum age for working with alcohol, then such discrimination is not illegal – in fact, it is mandated by law. As with other issues of discrimination, attention should be paid to planning for diversity, use of non-traditional sources of labour, use of advertisements that target the needs of diverse groups, and monitoring of the diversity of candidates.

Question 5

List and give some examples of the potential benefits of diversity to an organisation.

Answer 5

The advantages of diversity to an organization are as follows:

- Augmented adaptability

- Broader service range as confluence of cultures brings about skillsets to serve customers globally

- Diverse views and opinions pave the way for healthy discussions thereby leading to brainstorming for enhanced organizational productivity

- Increased efficient execution of tasks as human resource can select workforce from the global talent market

- Cost savings

- Acquiring highly talented staff

- Understanding the market better

- Being more creative and innovative

All the above help the firm to lead effectively by means of flexible systems and a problem solving approach.

Question 6

Why is it important to ensure that any diversity policy has a ‘strategic fit’ with the organisation that it is written for?

Answer 6

It is significant to ensure that the diversity policy is strategically aliened to the organization. This is mainly because diversity policy advocates communication between the key stakeholders and aligning organizational objectives with the diversity policy helps in attaining increased organizational productivity. Australian businesses work within one of the most culturally diverse populations in the world. The realisation by the HR practitioner and senior management that hiring and encouraging people from diverse backgrounds can bring different and competitively relevant knowledge to the workplace which can only enrich the work environment is an important factor.

Question 7

Comment briefly on Leach et al.’s six phases of assessment and change when developing and implementing a diversity policy. Explain how each phase would be conducted in your organisation.

Answer 7

The six phases of assessment and change while implementing a diversity policy include in analysing the ongoing workforce demographics and ongoing policies and practices. Leach et al. have outlined interviews, focus groups, surveys, observations, benchmarking and cultural audits prior to implementing a diversity policy. Interviews would have detailed perceptions on organizational environment. Focus groups will help in outlining employee’s views on diversity. Surveys will help to explore diverse aspects of organizational culture. Observations include observing employee interactions for diversity. Benchmarking helps in determining and identifying diversity strategies and policies in other organizations. Cultural audit helps in detailed analysis of the organization’s cultural roots.

Question 8

How does the dominant culture of an organisation support or inhibit diversity initiatives?

Answer 8

The dominant organizational culture can either encourage or inhibit diversity initiatives. This is because the workforce are aligned to several norms governing the organizational culture. If the culture supports diversity then workforce will align and support the diversity initiatives and policy and vice versa.

Question 9

Describe the main reasons why individuals resist change and the tactics that can be used to overcome this resistance, particularly when implementing diversity initiatives.

Answer 9

One of the main reasons for individuals to resist change and tactics in implementing diversity initiatives is that they may not be comfortable to work with people having diverse cultural alignments. Firms often face the problems of wage equality and assimilation of the dominant cultural group in the workplace.

Question 10

What are the key reasons that someone would undertake a review of an organisation’s diversity policy and initiatives?

Answer 10

The main reasons to review the diversity policy and initiatives of an organization are to determine whether the firm has policies that support the workforce demographics. The firm also has to consider other diversity groups while reviewing their diversity initiatives and objectives. Accordingly, the company may decide to include the best of talents by changing the dominant organizational culture to facilitate diversity inclusion and initiatives.