By J.H.

Diversity is a valuable attribute that needs to be managed for it to have a positive impact on the work place. There are a number of strategies to help encourage diversity in the workplace. The first strategy is to employ enough minority workers to go beyond the token hiring status. This allows everyone to view the minority worker as a valued employee, instead of a token member of the organization. The second step is to encourage team work between majority and minority workers. This shows that there is equal value placed on the work of each employee. Every employee can feel that they are as important as the next person, despite their race or gender. Teamwork can develop a true sense of belonging to the organization as everyone feels they belong, and have an equal part.

In the case of "Tuckerman-Sawyer Advertising" the concept of managing diversity is missing. This company has one Latino employee, named Andres, who is among few minority employee's. It is very clear that Andres is employed to help the company with their Latino accounts. Being the only Latino and one of few minorities makes Andres look like a token member of the company. There seems to be little evidence to show encouragement of teamwork between the minority and majority groups. In Andres case, he is only sighed to cases involving clients of the same ethnic background as him, and has no interaction with co-workers of majority status. These are examples of how this case relates to the poor effort of valuing diversity.

The equity theory states that, "individuals are motivated to maintain an equitable exchange." (Johns 174). This theory can help explain the amount of job satisfaction a person obtains. The theory goes further to state that " workers compare the inputs that they invest in their jobs and the outcomes they receive against the inputs and outcomes of other comparable people." (Johns 174). If this ratio is equal then the worker should have a sense of job satisfaction, and be content with his/her organization. If the ratio is uneven, job dissatisfaction is common, and tension between the worker and employer often arises.

The concept of equity theory is what Andres is experiencing at " Tuckerman-Sawyer Advertising." Andres was the top student in a very aggressive graduate program, and has an impressive amount of experience. Andres brought plenty of credentials into the job, and received good reviews from his supervisors. With all these credentials he still was not moving up in the company or receiving more challenging assignments. Andres felt that his inputs were exceeding what his personal outcomes were from the job. People around him with less credentials and experience seemed to be moving up in the company faster than he did. He felt people with less inputs into the job were getting more personal output from the job. This unequal ratio developed into job dissatisfaction for Andres, and eventual job tension arose. This is an excellent example to illustrate how the equity theory can explain job satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

There is more than one problem evident in the relationship between Andres and his employer " Tuckerman-Sawyer Advertising". The first major problem that arises is the lack of diversity present in the company. There are very few minorities in the company, which creates a barrier between the majority and minority workers. The minority workers don't seem to be integrated with the rest of the workers, and have different tasks from the other workers. The few minorities that are hired perceive themselves as being token employees. This is certainly the case for Andres, who is the only Latino currently employed. His job is strictly to attack Latino business, which makes him feel like the "token" Latino. The problem is that Andres feels that he is employed because of his ethnic background instead of his credentials. Until the company makes an effort to encourage the development of their minority workers, they will have a problem with job diversity.

The second major problem in this case is that Andres does not feel that his work is being properly valued. Andres feels that he has put more into the job than he has got out of it. At the same time other employee's have put less assets into the job and come out with more from the job than Andres. This leads to the problem of job dissatisfaction and eventual tension between Andres and his employer. The problem is that the company has been concerned with its own growth, and not the growth of their workers. If the workers are not challenged and allowed to grow they will become dissatisfied with their work. The problem is Andres is not challenged with his work and is subsequently tired of his job.

To create better worker to employer relationships within the company a number of steps must be taken. The first improvement should be to enhance the diversity of the workforce in the company. This means a concerted effort should be made to improve the number of minority workers in the company. An increased number of minority workers will eliminate the perception that the existing minority members where hired as token members. Progress needs to be made in allowing minority and majority workers to work together, so everyone feels a part of the company.

This allows workers to perform similar tasks and emphasize the importance of all workers. The company should make it clear to all workers that they are not employed because of their ethnic background, but because of their credentials. This will ensure all workers that they are not just a token member , but an integral part of the company. The second improvement deals with the manner in which the company rewards and ranks its employee's. An employee like Andres who inputs alot into the company is not getting his fair value in return. All employee's should be able to expand their talents and improve within the company. This opportunity has not been equal for all employee's in the company. Even if the situation is in the best interest of the company, sometimes the interests of the worker has to be considered. In Andres case he was not allowed to expand and move up in the company because it was not in the best interest of the company. It is up to the company to make sure that there is an equal ratio of what the employee inputs to what the employee receives from the job. If the employee is allowed to grow professionally, they will be satisfied with the personal outcome of the job, and this will improve the relationship between employee and employer.