DEMOS Project - Deaf People's Access to Nurse Education Project

Resources : Deaf People's Access to Nurse Education

Approaches to Diversity

There is a major issue of objectives here; with the School of Nursing meeting the needs of deaf people is there an aim to value diversity, manage diversity or attend to equal opportunities?

Equal Opportunities

Equal opportunity theories develop policies that provide structures within which employers can ensure they do not break the law whereas by managing and valuing diversity an organisation should provide the same support for white males as for a disabled female. This proactive model looks at the individual or a groups skills and competencies instead of the reactive model of equal opportunities where employers design policies to avoid or deal legislatively with groups of people who have been historically disadvantaged (Pilbeam, 1998).

However, there are recognised benefits for organisations that provide equal opportunities in the work place. They have a large and diverse pool of potential employees who bring skills and capabilities to the workplace. Where the diversity of the organisation reflects the customer's or student's background and cultural identity the organisation is in a better position to meet the needs of the customer. It follows therefore that people who feel included are more likely to stay with the organisation and be supportive flexible and productive (Pilbeam, 1998).

Managing Diversity

The business-focused reasons for equal opportunities in organisations have been taken a step further in the theory of managing diversity. Managing diversity in organisations is supported by equal opportunity legislation but goes on to include all stakeholders not only those who are from a minority group protected by legislation. The philosophy is to develop a workforce which is diverse, multi-cultural and from as wide a pool as possible, to make the most of all employees to the benefit of the individuals and the organisation.

Kitson and Monteiro (1992) suggest that deaf people enhance deaf services through:

Providing clinical expertise and support for the service;
Enhancing client/service appropriate strategies and resource developments;
Sharing a common language with the client group;
Personal experience and expertise of deafness;
Cultural empathy;
Empowerment;
Demystification and destigmatisation of deafness and mental health;
Providing client contact with the deaf community.

It is recognised that to meet the needs of the consumers and stakeholders, organisations needs to go beyond equal opportunities into the realms of managing and valuing diversity.

Managing diversity is often compared to or used as a term to explain issues around equal opportunities in employment. However, there are some clear differences between the two issues. Managing diversity is viewed against the backdrop of global companies and the diverse ethnographic, physiological and cultural make up of employees and employers, where managers continue to develop ways of increasing the skills and knowledge base of the work force to the benefit of the company and the people who comprise it (IPD 1996). This ethical stance is underpinned by the knowledge that a skilled knowledgeable work force will lead to a creative, dynamic organisation. On the other hand equal opportunity theory is supported by policies and legislation, focusing on ensuring that people are not negatively affected in the work place due to their gender, disability or race.

Managing diversity is a holistic organisational approach where the need is identified to promote diversity issues and all employees are involved. The model and strategy belong to the organisation, not only to the personnel or human resource department.

It is argued that to manage diversity is to be proactive and therefore the theory is at odds with ideas such as 'positive action' where attempts are made to redress an imbalance that already exists. Managing diversity starts at year 0 and designs an organisation where people are recruited, retained, trained and promoted because of their knowledge skills and competencies. Differences are not ignored, we are not 'all the same really', instead differences are an accepted, integral, part of the organisational culture.

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