BSBDIV802 Assignment 2020
Assessment 1
In order to survive in a market which is witnessing a good deal of changes on demographic grounds, there is a need on the part of the business to develop a management strategy for diversity to retain and attract the customers. Literally, diversity is concerned with the differences among differences among the different individuals such as community, gender, skin colour, age, political affiliation and or sexual orientation. I am appointed as the diversity manager of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited abbreviated as ANZ, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.
As a management practice, it takes into takes into account a number of HR policies. Diversity management is concerned with source of the strategic thinking of the organisation as well as its culture. The globalised world has brought in a varied set of clients to the companies, such as ANZ, which earlier dealt with homogenous base of customers in a world where innovation is regarded as one of the most important competitive advantages.
Therefore, it can be opined that no organisation can figure out a specific segment of the customers or a culture better than someone who has the same background and developing a diverse set of workforce has become a basic necessity. In the same manner, no workforce is capable of keeping an organisation competitive, vibrant as well as flexible until it becomes one which is made up of people who possess different methods of executing things and make justified assumptions.
It is observed that ANZ realises the fact that the different perspectives arising out of such diversity enhances business success and promotes innovation. Diversity management makes the company responsive, creative as well as competitive and productive and develops value for the shareholders and customers of the company.
The legislative and regulatory requirements for ANZ’s organisational diversity
While being in line with the values of the organisation, which is inclusive of giving respect to different communities as well as prioritising the strategic goals, the diversity agenda of the bank focuses on ethnicity, gender, flexibility and disability as a important ingredients to develop a top performing organisation.
While giving value to bio diversity, the bank takes into account the given points for its regulatory and legislative requirement:
- To provide equal opportunities for employment relying upon the relative performance and potential.
- Develop and maintain a safe environment for work while taking stringent actions against unacceptable or inappropriate business and workplace behaviour, that can be inclusive of harassment, discrimination, victimisation or bullying
- To build up flexible practices for workplaces in order to meet different demands or preferences of the bank’s customers at different points of their cycle of life in business perspective
- To retain and attract the diverse and skilled workforce by playing the role of employer of choice.
Organisational learning and assessment strategies for ANZ organisational diversity include:
- The bank must have culturally capable and diverse leaders who would be the role models to the values developed by the bank
- Optimising the abilities of diverse and culturally capable workforce in order to develop values for the shareholders and customers
- Promote the workforce diversity of the bank and help out the employees in order to perform to the extent they can
- Keep on retaining, attracting and engaging the culturally inclusive and diverse workforce of the organisation.
The stakeholders of ANZ include:
- Regulators: This is inclusive of APRA, ASIC, consumer affairs and ATO. These bodies regulate and enforce the company and laws concerned with financial services in order to safeguard the Australian investors, customers and creditors.
- Industry: These stakeholders are include Local and international Peers, Australian Bankers Association, etc. These bodies work with the regulators, government and other stakeholders in order to enhance public awareness and understand the contribution of the industry towards the economy of the country and to make sure that the banking customers in Australia keep on enjoying the benefits from this competitive and stable industry.
- Shareholders: This group incorporates the analysts, staffs, investors, indices as well sustainability analysts, who keep a serious note on the profitability as well as sustainability of the business.
- Employees: This group of stakeholders are inclusive of the board, senior management and other employees of the organisation.
- Community: It is inclusive of Berry Street, Benevolent Society, BSL, UNEP FI and WWF, to name a few. This group takes into account the different sustainability measures and adopted by the concerned business unit for preserving the environment.
- Government: This group is inclusive of the Financial Literacy Foundation, the Treasury, FaCS who manage and control the different business affairs as well as monitor the different activities of the organisation.
- Customers: This group includes customers, Financial Counsellors, ACA and the likes. This group takes the different kinds of services facilitated by the bank.
There are different approaches to learning and workplace training for valuing and maximising the benefits of workplace diversity.
- To accelerate or promote the diversity to be considered as a crucial asset to the company strategies in order to achieve objectives of the business throughout the different departments of the organisation
- Making an influence upon the strategic direction concerned with diversity considering the achievable objectives of the organisation for gender diversity.
The evaluation process will be carried out using the given process:
- Monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness of diversity policy to the tune it finds relevance to the board diversity of the bank
- Approve and review the measurable objectives in order to attain gender diversity with regard to the board
- Review both the objectives and record the advancement in course of their achievement.
Considering the strategy of accelerating or promoting the diversity to be considered as a crucial asset to the company strategies in order to achieve objectives of the business throughout the different departments, the human resource plays a very important role. While promoting the very idea of the organisational diversity, the behaviour of the employees in accepting the elements of diversity acts as a determining factor.
To support the learning strategy, the organisation will be in need of incorporating technologies for ensuring organisational diversity. In this respect, the bank uses management information system which will take both hardware and software into account which helps the bank to collect information about the organisational diversity. Thereafter, it analyses the information and reports the data collected to make management decisions with regard to diversity in the organisation.
While installing management information system, the given points need to be taken into account:
- To figure out the needs concerned with the information
- To ascertain the aim of management information system
- To find out the source of information
- To establish the collection techniques
- To device the technique of communicating information
- To carry out cost profit analysis
- Evaluation of management information system
The company believes in the ingrained power of an inclusive and diverse workforce wherein the perspectives and the backgrounds and the life experience the people working at the bank help the organisation to develop powerful connections with their customers in order to make better and innovative decisions for the business.
The organisation tries to make sure that its employees mirror the customer diversity in the markets and hone the unique skills and competencies of the people. With the help of creating a gender balanced diverse set of truly inclusive environment, the bank is developing an outperforming and agile unit which truly maximises the benefits of diversity to develop competitive advantage. The very approach to workplace diversity and participation is supported by an improved set of policies and procedures which reflect equal opportunities for employment, flexible environment for working, justified accommodation for the disabled/ physically challenged staffs, opportunities for eldercare and parenting and more.
While reviewing the entire process, it can be pointed out that, there is a need on the part of the bank to improve on technological grounds. The process of management information system can take up to six months to conclude and then the process of evaluation begins. Therefore, it is both time consuming as well as expensive. Hence, it is important on the part of the organisation to seek for better technological solutions.
Being in congruence with the values of the ANZ, which is inclusive of giving respect to different communities as well as prioritising the strategic goals, the diversity agenda of the bank focuses on ethnicity, gender, flexibility and disability as important ingredients to develop a top performing organisation. Organisational diversity learning strategy for ANZ includes a number of elements.
Gender diversity
At the ANZ, the gender balancing is considered as an element imperative to the business. Ensuring equal representation of male and female staffs in the team is of immense importance to the bank and considered more than just an element concerned with gender equality. It is all about accessing the markets, talent and the different opportunities available in the economy which is brought by gender equality. Therefore, the bank needs to make sure that men and women in the organisation get equal opportunities to grow to move up the ladder.
Cultural diversity
The bank operates in more than 30 markets with its presence in Australia, New Zealand, America, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific. It demands for a culturally diverse and inclusive workplace environment for delivering the regional strategy for the business unit. There is a need on the part of the bank to systematically develop and take advantage of the diversity which is already prevailing in its workforce and run a business environment which is inclusive throughout the organisation for the purpose of gaining strategic advantage.
Accessibility
The bank must be accountable to make its services, products, work environment and culture supportive to the people who are physically challenged. The bank must take into account the fact that disability has its relevance in every nook and corner of the business- employees, customers, suppliers, communities as well the valued stakeholders of the organisation.
Inclusive approach to LGBTIQ community
To develop a culture of admiration or respect which is concerned with people who come from all walks of life must be one of major values of the organisation. The idea of inclusion with respect to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ+) communities, staffs as well as customers is considered to be an important component of the responsibilities taken up by the bank.
ANZ, in this respect, must put its emphasis on:
- Enhancing the awareness of issues that are concerned with LGBTIQ+ with the help of propagating knowledge for promoting inclusion and admiration
- Facilitate support with the help of networks, training as well as resources
- To take requisite steps in order to ensure that bias on LGBTIQ+ is eliminated from the different policies and procedures
- Developing community engagement with the help of different partnerships
Employee well being
The bank must ensure security, safety and well being of its stakeholders by ensuring success of the organisation.
Health and safety policies
The Occupational Health and Safety Policy of the organisation must guarantee that the process of banking operations being followed by the company must not put the safety of any person concerned with the company or any stakeholder at risk.
The company must take into account a safety management procedure in order to figure out, appraise and examine the elements which can put its impact upon the security, health, safety as well as well- being of the various stakeholders of the company.
Well- being programs of the organisation
The bank carries out a large number of initiatives concerned with the well- being of its employees and customers to support the mental, physical, financial and social well- being of the people as well as to accomplish the organisational objectives as a whole.
Feedback
Feedback from the stakeholders of the organisation can be summarised below:
Most of the reviews on the part of the stake holders of the bank were positive considering the performance of the organisation. However, a few factors were pointed out by them in order to improve diversity learning practices:
The bank needs to make sure that men and women in the organisation get equal opportunities to grow to move up the ladder. There is a need on the part of the bank to systematically develop and take advantage of the diversity which is already prevailing in its workforce and run a business environment. The bank must have culturally capable and diverse leaders who would be the role models to the values developed by the bank. It should also promote the workforce diversity of the bank and help out the employees in order to perform to the extent the employees can.
Recommendations on updating the plans and policies of the organisation are stated here:
- Optimising the abilities of diverse and culturally capable workforce in order to develop values for the shareholders and customers
- Enhancing the awareness of issues that are concerned with LGBTIQ+ with the help of propagating knowledge for promoting inclusion and admiration
- Keep on retaining, attracting and engaging the culturally inclusive and diverse workforce of the organisation.
- The bank must take into account the fact that disability has its relevance in every nook and corner of the business
- It should develop and maintain a safe environment for work while taking stringent actions against unacceptable or inappropriate business and workplace behaviour that can be inclusive of harassment, discrimination, victimisation or bullying.
Evaluation of implementation process
The bank must have culturally capable and diverse leaders who would be the role models to the values developed by the bank. It should also promote the workforce diversity of the bank and help out the employees in order to perform to the extent the employees can. There is a need on the part of the bank to systematically develop and take advantage of the diversity which is already prevailing in its workforce and run a business environment.
Commentary on the performance of the people as well as the resources being used
Taking into account the strategy of accelerating or promoting the diversity to be considered as a crucial asset to the company strategies in order to achieve objectives of the business throughout the different departments, the human resource plays a very important role. While promoting the very idea of the organisational diversity, the behaviour of the employees in accepting the elements of diversity acts as a determining factor.
With the help of creating a gender balanced diverse set of truly inclusive environment, the bank is developing an outperforming and agile unit which truly maximises the benefits of diversity to develop competitive advantage. The very approach to workplace diversity and participation is supported by an improved set of policies and procedures which reflect equal opportunities for employment, flexible environment for working, justified accommodation for the disabled/ physically challenged staffs, opportunities for eldercare and parenting and more.
Plan for improving diversity
- Maintain and develop a safe environment for work while taking stringent actions against unacceptable or inappropriate business and workplace behaviour, that can be inclusive of harassment, discrimination, victimisation or bullying
- To devise flexible practices for work environment in order to meet different demands or preferences of the bank’s customers at different points of their cycle of life in business perspective
