The D & I Philosophy: A Business Imperative for the 21st Century

Jim I. Unah, Waheed O. Dawodu
2018 Universal Journal of Management  
The Paper aims to discover whether the D & I (Diversity and Inclusiveness) Philosophy as a Business Imperative impacts upon organizational growth and corporate profits; as well as acts as a powerful employee-motivator for forward-looking organizations. Consequently, the purpose of the Paper is to show that it is imperative for organizational top management to put in place a workplace philosophy that respects, values, and harnesses the fruitfulness of ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives of a
more » ... erse workforce. This is because managing diversity seems to be an imperative for corporate profitability and increased turnovers. The methodology employed in this Paper is the qualitative, research-based approach, whereby the researcher traces the history of progress in various fields of human endeavors which seems to indicate that developmental ideals have often come from non-conformists -"the peacocks"-who do not accept the status quo. Research outcomes thus seem to suggest that geniuses often challenged popular views, and revolutionized human thoughts and ideas. Clearly therefore findings from a wide variety of successful and enduring business organizations have indicated that of the five types of birds that exist in an organization, viz., the Penguins, the Peacocks, the Pigeons, the Sparrows, and the Ostriches, it is the non-conformist peacocks that lead the way. Further, findings indicate that negative assumptions, "stereo-types" and beliefs about other races, ethnic groups, nationalities, religions, age, genders, and skills impair organizational development and corporate profitability. Finally, findings indicate that diversity is now an issue because the contemporary world is a global village in which customers and markets that organisations serve are becoming more and more diverse.
doi:10.13189/ujm.2018.060803 fatcat:uy32izggrnhzpimfvvmg4nshmu