Why diversity isnt a hindrance to efficiency - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Viewpoint careers advice blog

Why diversity isn’t a hindrance to efficiency - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Whether it’s government legislation (such as the ‘202030’ proposal, encouraging women to fill at least thirty per cent of executive positions by 2020), or the findings of the Hays Global Gender Diversity Report 2016, diversity within the Japanese workplace has never been so widely discussed.   Still, not everyone sees diversity as a crucial consideration, with some arguing that efficiency is a far greater concern when strengthening a business. So why is diversity, a concept itself not free from difficulties, being encouraged with such increasing impetus? Will it truly have the far-reaching advantages that some presume? Diversity in a VUCA World Why is diversity being encouraged with such increasing impetus? Another frequently discussed buzzword of modern business is ‘VUCA’. Coined to describe the ‘Volatility’, ‘Uncertainty’, ‘Complexity’ and ‘Ambiguity’ felt following the conclusion of the Cold War, it is readily transferrable to the realm of companies and non-profit organisations as we strive to address systemic and behavioral failures that so often arise in our fast-paced, ever-changing world. Today we live in a world in which anything can happen, and it requires organisations to not only be agile and ready to adapt, but to also react with innovation and creativity. This is where the positive effects of diversity are most tangible. However, it could be argued that the concept of VUCA is not necessarily a new one. In fact Professor Bill Fischer, IMD Business School at the DBA George Washington University, looks more than 100 years into the past to see how diversity of thought led to a monumental success, drawing parallels with the modern day business world and one of the most volatile environments of all. The race to the South Pole Much like the future we are all facing, the South Pole was uncertain In 1912, the South Pole was the last great expanse of earth yet to be conquered by man, and so two opposing teams set out to rectify this, racing to become the first to plant their nation’s flag: Captain Robert Falcon Scott of the British Royal Navy; and Roald Amundsen, a failed medical student from Norway. Both sides set about seeking the advice of experts because, as Professor Fischer pointed out, “Much like the future that we are all facing, the South Pole was uncertain.” Captain Scott, backed by the vast finances of the Royal Navy, clothed by Burberry and having conferred with many like-minded upper-class men from London â€" those whom he considered to be the great explorative minds of the day â€" arrived in Antarctica with his horses, “Well-resourced and ready to go”. Conversely, Amundsen spoke to an assortment of people with differing mindsets, including Greenland Eskimos who shared their experiences of surviving in a harsh climate, particularly with regards to clothing and on the appropriateness of dogs for transport. While Scott had consulted many highly regarded men, Amundsen spoke to fewer people, but those with whom he had spoken to had a variety of outlooks and offered a diverse set of thoughts and ideas. As a result Amundsen’s team actually gained weight during the arduous challenge, and beat Scott to the pole by five weeks. By contrast, the British team suffered from frostbite, starvation and all perished amongst the ice and snow. Is diversity a hindrance to efficiency? There is surely no better time than now for you to review your team or organisation So, if diversity of thought enabled Amundsen to succeed where the might of the Royal Navy failed, what reasons could there be for any resistance to its widespread adoption? Well, one rationale is that it can, in the short term, be a hindrance to efficiency; that a collaboration of disparate thoughts, ideas and points of view may cause difficulties in reaching a consensus. It is this argument that may have restricted the expansion of diversity here in Japan, as efficiency of operations has always been held in the highest of regard amongst Japanese companies. As, due to a traditionally conservative culture and the prejudice that such a culture may foster, the managerial ranks of most organisations consist of men of a similar age, a comparable background and a complementary way of thinking, when problems have arisen they have been able to come to an agreement in an efficient manner. It could be argued that any movement away from this long-running asset would be detrimental to Japanese business in the future. The future of organisations in a VUCA world Despite these concerns, as Amundsen understood all those years ago, approaching a challenging issue with a diverse range of viewpoints leads you to discovering not only creative solutions, but also effective solutions that perhaps come from outside of your own realm of experience. With this in mind, we can see that Japanese companies, who have in the past relied solely on their strength in the effectiveness of consensus, may find themselves in a position of weakness in this VUCA world; unable to innovate sufficiently to keep ahead of the competition. Thus, rather than relying on a unison mentality, we can see that if you wish to be successful it is necessary, through diversity, to obtain a variety of viewpoints and thoughts from different kinds of people, or at least those with distinctive outlooks. So, there is surely no better time than now for you to review your team or organisation, to look at who is making the decisions and to ask yourself, do you have a team with a broad spectrum of creativity and innovation? Or are you pulling together, all with the same idea, out into the uncertain snow? As Professor Fischer says, “More different minds are better than more of the same,” because, for your organisation at least, it could yet be a matter of life and death. I hope you have found the above advice useful. Here are some other diversity oriented  Viewpoint blogs that may be of interest: 5 ways to boost your bottom line through diversity Get the organisational culture right and the diversity will follow 4 business benefits of diversity Tales from the top: Gender Diversity Gender diversity: still a long way from equality Facing diversity More female leaders, please