Abstract
Tremendous forces are radically reshaping the world of work and workforce diversity is steadily growing. If effective diversity management can only be achieved by means of the use of appropriate human resources strategies, HRM need to change his role. This chapter intends to explore such new trends and new practices on HRM, analyze which of them can be employed and which are more appropriate for an optimal management of workforce diversity and to obtain a competitive advantage for companies in the global economy.
TopThe Future Of Work And The Workforce
The world is going through a huge demographics transition that will reshape nations, economies and markets over the next 50 years. Forecasts by United Nations predict the world’s population peaking and then stabilizing by 2050 (Taggart, 2013, p. 6). The HSBC Report (Ward, 2011) highlights a massive demographic change in 2050: the population of many African countries will double and, by contrast, in other countries (Japan, Russia, the Eurozone) working population looks set to contract.
The demographics of the population and the workplace in Europe, Australia, BRICS countries and other continents are changing drastically because of a number of factors, such as an increasing number of ethnic and religious minorities, women, older persons and single people with caring responsibilities in the workplace (Bisin, Patacchini, Verdier & Zenou, 2011)
Key Terms in this Chapter
Global Mindset: A meta-capability that permits an individual to function in new and unknown situation and to integrate this new understanding with other existing skills and knowledge.
Changes in Workforce Composition: Demographic changes, intensive use of technologies, internationalization of resources, virtual environments and the same concept of what is understood as being just and fair, are now the best tools we must work with if we want to attract and retain the best talent.
Cultural Agility: A meta-competency that enables professionals to be more flexible and perform successfully in cross-cultural situations involving unfamiliar cultural norms.
Extended Workforce: A growing number of people who temporarily lend companies their skills and knowledge in an ever-expanding network of freelancers, consultants, outsourcing partners, vendors and other types of nontraditional talent. This will lead company managers to draft HR strategies carefully since they will face with the “Commitment” vs. “Outsourcing” dilemma.
Institutional Prejudice: The unfair, indirect methods or treatment of individuals that are embedded in the operating procedures, policies, laws or objectives of the organizations.
HR Outside/Inside Approach: HR creates value by making sure that services HR offers inside the company align to expectations outside the company.
Cultural Intelligence (CQ): A system of knowledge and skills linked by cultural meta-cognition, which allows people to adapt to, select, and shape the cultural aspects of their environment.