Diversity management in apple inc.
- 1. 1 | P a g e ‘Diversity Management in Apple Inc.’ Name of the Student Name of the University Introduction The nature of the workforce across the organizations is going through a change because of the increasing significance of the internet in daily life, forces of globalization and various other factors. Companies have to deal with changes in their workforce very effectively so as to survive in current highly competitive marketplace. Specifically, programs and initiatives are to be devised by firms which aim to handle the issues related to ageing population of workforce in the developed nations (Enns 2005). Moreover, they are also aimed to ensure diversity in the workforce so as to ensure the overall growth of the employees in the firm by interacting with employees of different cultural background. Companies are left with no choice but to accommodate workforce who have a preference of new pattern of working because of the change in pattern of employment which includes job sharing and working from home (Remery 2003). The aim of the paper is to analyze to what extent the management of Apple Inc. which is a multinational company based in US, producing computer software, consumer electronics and personal computers is taking into consideration the diversity in its workforce. This paper would focus on four changes which are diversity in workforce, ageing workforce, changes in development and training needs and flexibility of the workforce. Ageing Workforce One of the major problems of European nations, US and Russia is the ageing workforce. It has been observed in many researches that the number of Americans above the age of 65 by 2030 would double and would represent about 20% of the population of US which is 72 million people. There are no enough young people to replace the job positions of the people who were born in the period after the Second World War (the ones who are approaching their age of retirement); many levels of problems are being created by this. The issue related to the ageing workforce is totally comprehended by the management of the Apple Inc (Dass 1999). As a result
- 2. 2 | P a g e of the same, they have employed various initiatives and programs which are directed towards minimizing the negative effects of this problem. Some of the initiatives which have been undertaken within the organization are; working from home or part-time jobs are being offered to the ageing workforce (Barling 2002). In addition, all the workers are covered by medical insurance whether full-time or part time and the firm encourages all the workers to lead a healthy lifestyle in the firm. According to the data of 2010, the firm had to bear a cost of 80 million dollars per year for insuring all the part-time workers up to an extent of 8000 US dollar per year (Haight 2006). Diversity of the Workforce The workforce in the organizations due to the forces of globalization have become more diverse in terms of ethnic origin, nationality, sexual orientation and lifestyle (Nishii 2007). It is true to say that the firm would fail in the marketplace who allow these differences between the employees to become a major reason for misunderstanding and disagreement. Because of the fact that diverse employees render different perspective on existing issues, Apple Inc. is regarded as a firm wherein diversity amongst the employees is regarded as a basis of competitive edge. It has been observed that in the list of 274 major firm, Human Rights Campaign Group has added Apple Inc. as it created fair opportunities for joining company and creating career opportunities for minority group representatives (Lesbian, gay, transsexual and bisexual). In the firm, it is ensured that representatives of the various minority groups based on race, ethnic origin and age together with the rights of the LGTB minority are offered equal opportunities and are fairly treated (Avery 2006). Moreover, in various research conducted in the past, it has been seen that for the purpose of advancements for firm’s diverse workforce, the employees of Apple Inc. were generally pleased with the opportunities. Apple Inc. being a multi-national company looks forwards for committed workforce and best talent and hence it is reason that it seeks to appoint talented people from all parts of the world. It is with the multinational workforce that employees most often work. Opportunities like these in Apple Inc. help the workers to learn different working styles and cultures (Armstrong 2008). It has been realized in many studies conducted that employees in order to accomplish the objectives or the firm or the goals of the organization tend to find cross functional activities.
- 3. 3 | P a g e In order to promote diversity amongst its workforce, Apple Inc. has taken all the essential steps and to ensure the existence of heterogeneous workforce. This is ensured by setting up partnership with different organizations; they have partnerships with National society of Hispanics MBAs, National Black MBAs and society of Women Engineers (Larwood 2001). Diversity is rendered by these type of organizations and render the mix of employees with diverse set of workforce. It is believed by Apple Inc. that one of the crucial task to execute a successful corporate culture is to have a diversity in workforce. In order broaden the abilities of the employees and to make them multitask oriented, many of the firms adopt a cross functional activities. In Apple Inc. most of the mangers stated that they were asked to perform cross functional activities which were different from their working zone. Conclusion In conclusion, it would be correct to state that so as to ensure that the performance in the firm is very effective and efficient it is necessary to ensure diversity in the workforce. In multinational firms like Apple Inc. diversity is ensured by means of partnership with various institutes and taking in several other measures to ensure the same. It is being widely accepted by different firms across the globe that diversity in the workforce enables an overall growth of the workforce which in a way improves their contribution towards the firm. Apple Inc. also takes into consideration the issue of ageing workforce seriously and undertakes measures to deal with the same. References Armstrong, S.M. (2008). Organisational practices and the post-retirement employment experience of older workers. Human Resource Management Journal, 18(1): 36-53. Avery, D.A. (2006). Target practice: An organizational impression management approach to attracting minority and female job applicants. Personnel Psychology, 59: 157-187. Barling, J. (2002). Development and test of a model linking safety-specific transformational leadership and occupational safety. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87 (3): 488-96. Boudreau, J.W. (2006). Talentship and HR measurement and analysis: From ROI to strategic organizational change, Human Resource Planning, 29 (1): 25-33.
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