Diversity, Inclusion and Teamworking Flashcards
What is workplace diversity?
- A company that hire a wide range of diverse individuals
- Is multicultural but also applies to diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexuality, language, educational background
- Should be accepting and inclusive of employees of all backgrounds
- Should acknowledge employees individual strengths and potential
Advantages of a diverse team?
- Increased productivity - broader range of skills
- Increased creativity - Differing skill sets and perspectives
- A positive reputation - Potential employees want an employer who is diverse
- Studies that indicate more diverse companies are more profitable
What are inclusive environments?
Work environment where all individuals treated fairly and respectfully and have equal rights, access, and opportunities
Difference between diversity and inclusion?
- Diversity - characteristics that make us all different
- Inclusion - making everyone feel welcome
What is meant by unconscious bias?
- Underlying attitudes and stereotypes that people unconsciously attribute to another person / group of people that affect how they understand and engage with them
- These can contribute to a lack of workplace diversity
What does equal opportunity mean?
Everyone has equal chance to take up opportunities and to make full use of opportunities on offer and to fulfill potential
What is meant by teamwork?
- Cooperative effort by group of people to achieve common goal
- People understand and believe that thinking, planning, decisions and actions are better when done cooperatively
What makes a good/effective team?
- Common sense of purpose
- Clear understanding of team objectives
- Resources to achieve objectives
- Mutual respect and trust
- Value member strengths and weaknesses
- Willingness to speak openly, share knowledge and expertise
- Range of skills and personal styles for various roles
What are the benefits of teamworking?
- Shared workload
- Improved productivity, quality, customer focus
- Speed up development of solutions
- Increase employee motivation
- Utilise different skillsets
Difference between team and committee?
- Committee - body of people appointed for a function
- Team - group of people aiming for a common goal in good spirit
How would you go about selecting the right people to join your team?
- Understand the task, identify skills and experience available and required
- Select new team members to fill shortfall, dynamics of existing team should be considered to ensure new people ‘fit’ with existing
How would you deal with an inexperienced team member?
- Encouragement and motivation
- Draw up plan to strengthen areas of weakness
- Constructive feedback and offer support where needed
How do you promote open discussions within your team?
- Create calm, relaxed environment during meetings/workshops - make people feel welcome, significant, at ease
- ‘no silly questions / answers’ culture
- Encourage involvement from all parties - do ‘round the table’ discussion for key topic points
Why might a team fail?
- Poor team member selection
- Inadequate skills, resource, conflicting personalities, poor leadership
What is the Herzberg theory?
2 factor motivational theory based on hygiene and motivational factors:
1. Workers encouraged to work harder based on motivational factors (empowerment, job enlargement and enrichment)
2. Workers can become demotivated if hygiene factors not met (remuneration, comfortable working conditions, annual leave entitlement)
Difference between leadership and management in teamwork?
- Leadership - setting new direction / vision for a group, leader is spearhead for new direction
- Management - controls / directs people in group according to principles/values already established
What is meant by team dynamics in the workplace?
- Describes behavioural relationships between group members
- Includes how they interact, communicate, cooperate with one another
How can you improve team dynamics?
- Know your team, understand what motivates them
- Focus attention
- Tackle problems quickly, with positive feedback
- Define roles and responsibilities
- Break down barriers, clear communication
- Empowerment
What are some examples of Team Working you have demonstrated?
NEED TO WRITE OUT SOME EXAMPLES
o Utilising the teams strengths and weaknesses.
o Harnessing the expertise of each specialist within the team.
o Problems that the team overcame.
o Explain how the team decided on a strategy.
o Explain the end outcome.
o Explain how the team communicated and worked towards a common goal.
Related documents to teamworking?
RACI Matrix table
What test can you carry out to assess suitability for a team?
Myers Briggs test - analysis of personality
What are some types of teams?
- Office Teams.
- Project Teams.
- Accounts Teams.
- Design Teams
What is the Tuckman Theory?
Focuses on how a team approaches a task.
- Forming (assembly of team)
- Storming (suggesting ideas)
- Norming (agreeing rules and principles)
- Performing (Make decision / taking action)
- Adjourning / Transforming (end of project or return to any previous phase)
What is the Herzberg Theory?
Why are inclusive environments important?
- Research indicates that diverse and inclusive teams outperform their peers.
- Up to 30 percent higher revenue per employee.
What legislation or regulations relate to inclusive environments?
The main legislation within the UK that applies to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are the Equality Act 2010 and The Human Rights Act 1998.
Please explain your understanding of inclusion within the workplace?
- Inclusion within the workplace is creating an environment and culture where all company employees feel like they belong in the organisation.
- This results in every employee being comfortable to voice their opinions and that no one person feels excluded on the basis of their identity.
What are basic needs?
What is a homogenous team?
What does your firm’s EDI group do?
How do you participate in your firm’s EDI group?
Tell us about your dyslexia.
