Balance

How much Diversity can an organisation bear?

One of the decisive factors in the success of any diversity oriented organisational and resource development is the balance between diversity and conformity. Characteristics of diversity include individuality, creativity and being different. Some characteristics of conformity are uniformity and adaptation.

An organisation that overemphasizes diversity may find, that it damages its cohesiveness, and could result - in the extreme - in chaos and collapse. Everyone would do, what he/she wants. On the other hand, if conformity dominates in an organisation, uniqueness and its inherent potential for innovation will be repressed which has a negative impact as well.

In a successful diversity policy, there is a healthy tension, a dynamic balance, between these two. How much individuality should be allowed, so that the system does not break down, yet how far should the demand to conform go, so that individuality does not suffer?

This is the question that arises for civil servants in the public sector, who not only have to act as a service provider to citizens but also represent state authority. This challenge is faced in the corporate world as well. Knowing about this dynamic balance has a positive impact on corporate culture.

DeT&S cultivates an understanding for this balance, that provides orientation and confidence in decision-making and action. We work out where a minimum of conformity is required to provide the essential cohesiveness in the organization, and where diversity can thrive in order to drive the organization forward.

 
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