Love Your Enemies

Diversity is a fact of life. People act and think differently from us. Showing respect liberates. Advanced industrial and service economies in polyglot regions like US and Western Europe display a wide diversity of culture and acceptable behaviour. It has human resource management implications principally against discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Management strategies are necessary for a competent, effective and motivated work force. They should also be within the context of equal employment regulations and social expectations. Participative methods are better than imposed from outside.

Discrimation has taken and still takes many forms. It includes race and colour, ethnic background, religion, culture and values, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status and physical disability. Analysis and evaluation of the situation should be the first thing with knowledge of the legislative and regulatory context. The functional and operational impact should be assessed and the consequences for line managers. Proactive policies employing positive discrimination and affirmative action may seem like a good idea and often are but there may be some who see only the disadvantages. Negative and reverse discrimination may be seen as 'at the expense of' some people and cause conflict. We can learn lessons from abroad and our membership of the European Union from other countries which have experienced similar problems. We are all the same and we are all different. The sun rises on the good and bad alike, rain falls on honest and dishonest. We should not forget to take remedial action if it is necessary. Saying sorry doesn't really hurt that much. It is not a false idealism. It can be a winning strategy.