This myth was probably born out of those few highly publicized incidents in which organizations made the fatal mistake of hiring unqualified people just because of their demographic categories. It did not take the Society for Human Resources' study showing that the biggest single way to damage diversity programs is to lower hiring and promotion standards for most organizations to correct this practice. .
Finally, diversity still carries the stigma of political correctness and is viewed by some as having little to do with business. This image amazes me, especially when one considers that minorities have a collective spending power of $7 trillion, nearly 10 percent of the nation's population is foreign-born, and that within four years, 85 percent of new entrants to the workforce will be women or minorities. Although the business case for diversity varies from organization to organization, the concept must be understood and a made priority if America's companies are to succeed.
The Business Case for Diversity.
There was a time when corporations in the US could get away with ignoring diversity issues and hire employees who all looked and thought alike, catering only to one type of consumer. Those days are gone. Also gone is the myth that diversity has little to do with business. .
Providing opportunities for people of all backgrounds is the right thing to do from an ethical standpoint. But it is also great for business. .
Why, you ask? Companies can benefit from a multicultural workforce's expertise. For instance, if your company does business in Asia, having Asian-Americans on your negotiating team will greatly improve your chances of success. .
1Allied Signal discovered this when it successfully negotiated to sell wheels to China Eastern Airlines. Much of its success was due to the presence of Chinese-Americans on the sales team. Allied Signal and dozens of organizations like it have learned that diversity is a wonderful asset when competing in a world marketplace.
