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Managing Diversity
The past decade has witnessed major changes in the size and composition
of the workforce in Ireland. Rapid growth in employment accompanied by
an increase in inward migration and a growing recognition that the
working population has begun to age has meant that Managing Diversity
represents a substantial challenge both now and in the future.
The Irish labour market has changed dramatically in recent years. High
levels of immigration and EU enlargement have resulted in many thousands
of foreign nationals coming here to work and live. Today’s workplaces
bring together lots of people who may have nothing in common other than
their job.
This new diverse workforce presents new challenges and opportunities to
many Irish organizations. The basic concept of managing diversity
accepts that the workforce consists of a diverse population of people.
Diversity is founded on the assumption that harnessing these differences
will create a productive environment in which everyone feels valued,
where talents are fully utilised and organisational goals are met.
The traditional legal approach which relies on meeting obligations under
relevant legislation does not provide an adequate basis for managing
diversity.
The main purpose is to create a climate that welcomes and nurtures all
types of employees. Managing diversity offers great potential for
organisations in enabling them to make better use of their employees.
However there is no single formula for managing diversity.
In this section
