Innovative Strategies for Managing Workforce Diversity in Kenyan Leading Corporations in Present Global Scenario

Business globalization, preference for teamwork to individual work and the changing workforce demographics have made workforce diversity management necessary for firms. Mismanaged diversity can be detrimental to the employee satisfaction and productivity. Employees who feel more valued work hard while the group that consider themselves as minority group feel less valued leading to lower performance. This paper identifies innovative strategies for managing workforce diversity in Kenyan leading corporations in present global scenario. The paper looks at how communication strategies, performance management, leadership initiatives and shared responsibilities are used in managing workforce diversity. Activities of different corporations in Kenya are reviewed to identify those that are inclined to the management of workforce diversity.


Background of the Study
Business globalization, preference for teamwork to individual work and the changing workforce demographics have made workforce diversity management necessary for firms (Taylor, 2001).Firms acknowledged the importance of diversity in the workforce and started questioning the effectiveness of systems meant for a workforce that is not diverse (homogeneous workforce) (Human, 1996).The need to adopt human resource systems for labor force changes arose and many firms underwent changes in employment relationship.Organizations were challenged to move away from doing employee headcounts to creating effective strategies for managing diversity (Taylor, 2001).The awareness of the importance of diversity is an essential aspect of organization performance and the effectiveness of firms operations, no matter how sophisticated they are, may not be sufficient to sustain growth unless there are strategies that complement the operations (Waiganjo, Mukulu, Kahiri, 2012).The effects of diversity on organizational behavior are complex and powerful (Aghazadeh, 2004).
There is no single best way to manage workforce diversity.In most cases, the approach used by a firm depends on the amount of pressure for diversity, the type of diversity in question, and managerial attitudes (Dass and Parker, 1999).Globalization is one such pressure and it presents challenges to managing the workforce.Some of the challenges as identified by Roberts, Kossek and Ozeki (1998) are deployment, knowledge and innovation dissemination, and talent identification and development.The main reasons for managing diversity as can be said is to improve productivity and remain competitive, to form better work relationships among employees, to enhance social responsibility, and to address legal concerns (Wentling and Palma-Rivas, 1998).
During the past decade, the term "diversity" has been widely used to refer to the demographic composition of a team.In empirical studies, team diversity is usually measured using the compositional approach (Tsui & Gutek, 2000), which focuses on the distribution of demographic attributes e.g.age, ethnicity and gender within teams.
Research on inter-group relations shows that conflict is a common outcome when members of different groups come into contact with each other.By definition, diverse work teams include members who can be identified as belonging to distinct groups.When findings from research on inter-group relations is applied to understanding dynamics within diverse teams, the natural prediction is that diversity in work teams leads to negative outcomes such as disruptive conflict that must be avoided (Turner & Haslam, 2001).
The method adopted for managing a diverse workforce can either be detrimental to the employee satisfaction and productivity or can bring out the full potential in them depending on how effective it is.Employees who feel more valued work hard while the group that consider themselves as minority group feel less valued leading to lower performance.This can be as a result of stereotyping, ethnocentrism and prejudice within a company (Goetz, 2001).Therefore, when an organization ignores the existence and importance of workforce diversity, conflicts can emerge and neither the corporation nor its employees will realize their potential.The main undoing of diversity in the workplace is increase in conflicts.These conflicts arise largely due to ignorance, prejudice feelings or derogatory comments that cause lack of acceptance.These lead to negative dynamics such as ethnocentrism, stereotyping, cultural or gender clashes with the feeling of being superior to others.If management ignores such conflicts; the company performance may suffer (Otike, Messa and Mwalekwa, 2005).
Functional and social category diversity offers benefits for organizations (creativity, adaptation and innovation, and access to external networks) but there are costs that deter organizations from pursuing these benefits.The costs associated with organizational participation in diversity initiatives arise because managers and their employees perceive organizational conflicts and organize their interactions along social identity lines, so that temporal traps and collective fences surround diversity.Resolving the subordinate dilemmas of managerial and individual participation provides the key to resolving the dilemma of organizational participation.Social identity theory is used to understand the dilemmas and to develop possible resolutions, which should make the benefits of diversity more immediately accessible to organizations and society.

Problem Statement
Workforce diversity management is gradually being adopted in many Kenyan organizations (Edeltraud and Ukur, 2011).Even though there are concerted efforts to invest in workforce diversity management to boost employee morale and performance, organizations rarely achieve their expected benefits.This is because the promotion of workforce diversity is also very low among Kenyan institutions given that diversity initiatives have no basis in law in most of the organizations (Mary 2002).The theory of social identity and realistic conflict theory (RCT) in the workforce explains that every being has a need of feeling that they belong to a particular group in the society and that most people act in self interest, workplace being no different (Tajfel, 1982;Sherif, 1966).This sense of belonging gives and individual sense of being part of the organizational system: both formal and informal settings.
Conflicts that arise within a workforce due to self-interest are inevitable.If the conflicts can be managed and controlled, creativity and performance can be increased.Some of the challenges faced in workforce diversity management are political influence, cultural differences, omission of talented workforce due to bureaucracy in a company and majority companies comply with workforce diversity due to legal implications and not the general benefits it accords them thus limiting their involvement in diversity management (Shen, Chande, D'Netto and Monga, 2009).
In Kenya, the issue of diversity in workforce has been given attention lately with corporations being urged to comply with the regulations set to monitor the diversity.With this, the study therefore identifies innovative strategies for managing workforce diversity in Kenyan leading corporations in present global scenario.The promotion of workforce diversity have seen some organizations put in place policies that protect diversified groups (Rachele, 2010).In this wave of workforce diversity adoption, this paper identifies the innovative strategies that corporations have adopted in managing their workforce diversity.

Knowledge Gap
In a progressive and multi-racial/ethnic country like Kenya which has opened up to globalization over the recent years, there needs to be more deliberate research efforts on approaches to manage workforce diversity if concerns over ethnicity and gender imbalance in the workplace are going to be contained before they explode and become human rights issues.
So far, quite a number of studies have been done in the field of workforce diversity management in Kenya focusing on the challenges of managing diverse workforce (Edeltraud & Ukur, 2011), effects of workplace diversity management on organizational effectiveness (Otike, Messah & Mwalekwa, 2009) and some conduct their research with local perspective like the nonprofit sector in Kenya (Kanyinga & Mitullah, 2006).There is no research that has been done on the strategies adopted by corporations in Kenya to manage their workforce diversity given the growth of businesses at the global level.This paper therefore seeks to bridge the gap by reviewing strategies adopted by Kenyan leading corporations in respect with the global scenario.

Objectives of the Study
The study seeks to identify innovative strategies for managing workforce diversity in Kenyan leading corporations in present global scenario.The specific objectives of the study are: (i) To establish the influence of communication in managing workforce diversity.
(ii) To find out the influence of performance management in the management of workforce diversity.
(iii) To establish the effects of leadership initiatives in the workforce diversity management.
(iv) To determine how shared responsibilities in workforce diversity management.

Significance of the Study
The management of organizations has the responsibility of ensuring diversity.Managing a diverse workforce is quite challenging and this paper provide insight in to some of the innovative strategies adopted by corporations.This paper is therefore helpful for managers in coming up with strategies for managing workforce diversity in their institution.It also provides evidenced strategies that can be used to blend different employees that may have different orientations and backgrounds into working together for the benefit of the employees and the organisation.
This paper adds to the available research materials for referencing by scholars who seek to do a further study in workforce diversity management.

Scope of the Study
The paper focuses on identifying strategies for managing workforce diversity in Kenyan leading corporations in present global scenario and uses the following factors to evaluate the management of workforce diversity in Kenyan corporations: communication, performance management, leadership initiative and shared responsibilities.
The paper focuses on major corporations in Kenya picked on the basis of how diverse they are in terms of gender, cultural background, education, age, ethnicity and physical ability.The paper reviewed organizational activities of corporations to identify the strategies they use for managing their workforce diversities.

Conceptual Framework
The study establishes the innovative strategies that can be used to manage the diversity of workforce in an organization.Workforce in an organization is the demographic and cultural/social unit whose diversity can affect the organization's performance.The dependent variable for this paper therefore is management of diverse workforce.
The innovative strategies put in place as measures to guide in proper management of the diverse workforce are the independent variables.These are the different strategies that influence the management of workforce and they include communication, performance management, and leadership initiatives and shared responsibilities.

Theoretical Review
Managing workforce diversity is a concept that is well received by many organizations and appears very good in theory but has proved to be very complex in practical that many top managers are finding it very costly to implement.Many firms have invested heavily in workforce diversity management but have achieved little as far as the results are concerned (Daniel & Bushardt, 2005).Diversity in business is beneficial to the performance of the business given the diverse abilities of the persons involved.Diversity is also difficult to handle as failure to manage diversity can affect the economical and social health of an organization.Diversity can be a breeding point for low morale, employee turnover, harassment, discrimination, absenteeism, and disruption to work teams that can results in a loss of productivity among the workforce (McArthur, 2010).When people feel isolated or discriminated against, their productivity is normally lowered.
Organizations have come up with ways of ensuring smooth running of business and good relations among their workforce by enhancing accountability for diversity at workplace.Code (2007) noted that a number of organizations are instituting diversity promoting behaviors and articulating model behaviors that give insight and guidance to workforces on how to carry out themselves.Some of these include team-building activities, rewarding employees for innovation and flexibility, encouraging employees to take ownership of ideas and follow through; recruiting, hiring and promoting a diverse workforce, providing performance feedback based on meeting objectives and behaviors, finding common ground and being a visible spokesperson for change (Code, 2007).
Workforce diversity encompasses different groups or categories of people who work together and there are several theories that try to explain the concept of intergroup relations that are relevant to organizations' workforce.These theories bring out the issues that are pertinent to workforce especially when they are categorized in to different groups brought by cultural and educational background, gender, disability and even intellectual disparity.This papers bases its arguments on two theories; the realistic conflict theory (RCT) which states that people's acts are driven by their self interests whereby conflicts can arise between different people of groups due to the drive of maximizing their own or groups interests at the expense of others (Sherif, 1966).When applied to workforce diversity, employees in different levels can act to protect their interests at workplace that can result to conflicts.Research done by Brock (2011) found out that the root cause of workplace dislike for others is competition over valued resources.People who belong to different groups view each other in negative terms and label each other as enemies.This can lead to unhealthy competition that comes in by discrimination and prejudice that arises.
Another important theory that explains intergroup relations is social identity theory (Tajfel, 1982).This theory postulates that people tend to classify themselves in to social categories that have meaning for them and this shapes the way individuals interact with others from their own identity group and from other groups.Social identity stems from the knowledge of an individual that they belong to certain group.This categorization may result from the factors that are associated with a particular group formation making others fall in a particular group they would wish not to be associated with.At workplace, such categorization can lead to exclusion in which some individuals are left out of some activities by the virtue of belonging to a certain group.To support this, with the conflict theory, self-interest becomes the motivation for prohibiting certain individuals or groups from accessing valuable resources and power (Larkey, 1996).Those who belong to groups with higher perceived social status will accept and include people they consider to be like them, while excluding and discriminating against those they perceive to be different from them.

Workforce Diversity Management Strategies
Diversity in organizations gives a diverse range of decision-making, creativity and increased productivity.Diversity at workplace in addition to differences between workers includes the acceptance, understanding and celebration of the differences as explained by Holt (2010).When handled properly, diversity can avert some of the challenges that can be detrimental to organizations.A major challenge that arises in such diverse place is miscommunication since in such environment; communication issues can take on an added dimension of complexity (Mayhew, 2010).Workforce diversity has major implications on the management practices of an organization.
With workforce diversity, managers need to shift their way of application and change from treating every staff member alike to recognizing the differences in the workforce thereby responding to the differences in ways that ensures employee motivation and retention and high performance (Smit et al., 2008).This requires implementation of programs such as training and creating environments that can utilize the full potential of the entire workforce.

Communication in Workforce Diversity Management
Communication is essential in a workplace as it is the backbone of productivity and relationships for the success of the organization (Mayhew, 2010).It is therefore necessary to evaluate ways on how to improve communication effectiveness especially in diverse workforce.Communication in a diverse workforce requires understanding on how different persons perceive communication.Crowe (1997) observed that some employees believe that constant memoranda and employee meetings are time wasters while others want frequent information on company moves.Communication is very critical in maintaining good relations at work and it is quite difficult to modify the type of communication that is already in place.Employers need to establish communication channels considering the different communication preferences of the workforce.It is easy to misunderstand one another due to different communication styles (Holt, 2010).These misunderstanding can lead to poor office relations and misinterpretations that can damage business.To promote better communication Holt (2010) suggests that workmates should learn their colleagues' communication methods through office retreats, frequent diversity meetings and diversity seminars.
There are different types of communication of which can suit a formal workplace (Crowe, 1997).If not aligned, suspicion and conflict may arise as a result of communication difficulties in a workplace that is diverse.These conflicts that are aggravated by communication barriers can cause absenteeism, loss of competitiveness, distrust, lack of focus and market orientation causing major hurdles to companies that is seeking competitive advantage (Lauring, 2007).To ensure that communication problems are put at bay and to ensure that the benefits of workforce diversity is fully utilized, Ribbink (2003) suggests seven steps managers can take: Learning how the source culture best receives communications since different people receive information differently for example there are some employee who do not prefer open praise and would rather have it in the privacy of an office, for such, public praise may not be received well.
Training international employees early and often by doing orientations sessions so that they are absorbed in to the system's culture.The employees should be trained on the company policies early to avoid future misunderstandings.
Training those who are native born help them relate with the non-citizens.Training employees to understand the mindset of others help them to look at issues not only through their eye and to help each other through cultural transition as some might go through a culture shock.
Assign mentors and take care of the partners, this helps the new employee to easily integrate in the system and be a contributor.Effective mentoring is critical and using a person of experience to mentor the new employ who might have come from a different culture enables the person to adapt in to the new culture.The mentor also helps in mediating in situations.
Practice open-door communication where employee can feel free to go to a person their senior for advice and guidance.The use of representatives is ok, but in the long run, there are some of the employees who will feel not represented.Those considered senior can also go to their juniors to ask about their opinions or concerns.In this way, communication gap is bridged thus making communication easier.
In company-wide communications, avoid jargon and slang as employee from outside might find it difficult to understand the company communication.Metaphor uses differ across different cultures and what one means might be different from what the other party interprets.
Play by the rules and stick to business by communicating company mission and goals ahead of time and ensuring that the workplace is business driven rather than individual interests.Decisions made should not be based on personal preferences or traditional convenience but on the goals and requirements necessary for achieving the goals.
In communicating diversity messages, organizations should be able to inform employees why it is important to have an inclusive environment that is harmonious, the benefits they are likely to get, the roles of employees and the strategies on how to enhance diversity at workplace.Key progress and achievements should be highlighted and updates on progress should also be passed on through different media.The link communication strategies need to clarify the relationship that exists between diversity management and company mission achievement (NIWGW, 2011).Effective communication builds trust and teamwork between team members.There are corporation that put measures to ensure effective communication among the work force in Kenya.One of the listings in the job profile for Safaricom General Manager is to ensure that there is effective communication among the workforce (Safaricom, 2012).With proper communication channels put in place, no one will feel left out as every individual will have access to necessary information as well as pass their information.
Major corporations in Kenya understand the importance of shared vision and objectives within a working environment.Shared vision can be achieved only if each and every member of an organization understands and has internalized the vision so that they all work together towards a single goal.Corporations like Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) produce service charters that communicate their way of operations and services.The main purpose is to communicate to their stakeholders and create awareness into their core activities and values.In so doing, the clients and staff at ADC have information concerning their service through continuous improvement of services and customers' satisfaction (ADC, 2007).The KCAA has a corporate communication department that is obliged to share information to all the stakeholders of the authority (KCAA, 2012).This ensures that communication is done with integrity in an honest, open, professional and respectful manner.This is done to inform and empower stakeholders to actively participate in civil aviation matters.

Performance Management in Workforce Diversity Management
In any organisation, the main objective for diversity management is tapping in to the diverse opportunities and creative minds presented in the diversity, for example the different talents and skills.To create a high performing institution, there should be initiatives to fully apply and use the employees' abilities, which they might have acquired through training or experience.The competence of these employees should be utilized in an environment that is inclusive and supportive (Office of State Personnel [OSP], 2008).Diversity management can be viewed as a fabric for creating and achieving a highly performing organisation if well integrated in the system.The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission recognized the importance of diversity management in institutions by informing that the goal of diversity management is to ensure that all the employees involved in an institution reach their maximum potential in achieving the goals of their employers.Creating a diverse environment that enhances execution of goals achieves this.Phillipe (2011) suggests that managing performance in a diverse environment can prove to be tricky, as companies tend to do it two different ways where it is either the non-performers receive a lot of attention to boost their performance or the middle performers are given little attention.The former group, that mostly falls in the minority group may be considered as having potential and therefore pushed for career growth.She advises that if a company desire to move the employees to be performers, the managing styles for groups is worth considering (NIWGW, 2011).Proper management of performance helps identify the potential of all employees despite their dispositions.
The performance management adopted can affect those that are considered to be in the minority group, and there are factors that negatively affect the performance of this group though they fall under the determinants of successful performance management (Phillipe, 2011).These employees normally feel that they must put a lot of effort for their contributions to be recognized as their counterparts.If an employee is in a department that does not acknowledge his/her uniqueness, the employee will eventually shut down and underperforms given that the department does not embrace his performance abilities.This demoralizes and can cause psychological struggles trying to keep up with the rest as argued by Phillipe (2011).Orientation and mentoring are some of the ways to induce integration in the system but a minority often relies on trial and error methods to find a way out of a situation that can occasionally lower performance.Lack of clear job description and expectation such that the employee do not understand what they are accountable, it becomes difficult to perform well especially in cases where an employee does not understand the scope of their work and end up doing everything resulting in performance failure.Safaricom, which is the biggest telecommunication corporation in Kenya normally, revises staff job descriptions when necessary to increase efficiency and achievement of the organization's goals, with input from staff and other appropriate resources (Safaricom, 2012).This creates a sense of belonging to the staff, as they are involved in the revision of job description.Finally, challenging assignments maintain employees' enthusiasm increasing their performance.For minority employees, the missing challenge factor reduce creativity reduces performance and so managers should ensure that all employees are given assignments with stretched goals.
Performance measurement criteria used determine how performance is management.Having measurable standards for evaluating job performance ensure fair and objective performance management system (NIWGW, 2011).There should be equal opportunities for all the employees to train and do assignments.Communication should be available to all the employees and the method for promotion linked to job requirements.The USNRC give ways of managing performance as well as managing diversity.There should be an assessment of skills and training needs and implementing development plans for individuals according to the evaluated needs.The implementations should be consistent with company mission.Mechanisms that help employees to express their ideas concerning diversity and performance influence at work need to be enhanced.These can be discussion groups and staff meeting.Safaricom also ensure that all staff members receive appropriate training to perform their jobs effectively.This they do using three criteria of evaluation: reaction, learning and behavior on-the-job (Symekher, nd.).Questionnaires and assessment tests are the major techniques most commonly used to measure reaction and behavior on-the-job respectively.PWC involves its employees in to training programs.The staff is encouraged to obtain professional qualifications appropriate to their career path in PWC (Sokun, 2004).Phillipe (2011) advices that managers need to consider the minority group in their membership and should be aware of their performance such that any underperformance should be diagnosed.Performance management style adopted by managers to take in consideration the differences in the workforce and measures by put to align the differences for the benefit of the company and the workforce.To ensure a diverse, productive, and engaged workforce, performance management must be seen as a multi-faceted tool that capitalizes on differences (Phillipe, 2011).
The assimilation of new staff determines how they perform and programs for ensuring smooth transition needs to be in place.Kenyan corporations also have induction and training programs for the new staff they recruit.One of the key responsibilities of a new recruit in ADC is participation in the recruitment and induction of program and other support staff (ADC, 2011).Participation of the workforce in a number of matters boosts their morale to perform better thus enhanced relations within the working environment no matter the category of the staff (KCAA, 2012).Miring'u (2011) argues that poor management of performance is a recipe for failure in many state corporations as it results from the mismanagement, bureaucracy, wastage, incompetence and irresponsibility by directors and employees (Miring'u, 2011).
Performance appraisal is a strategy adopted by a number of corporations to motivate employees and improve their performance.Performance appraisal determines and communicates to the workforce on how they are performing and thereby establishing a plan for improvement (Mathooko, Sitati and Lilian, 2011).In this plan, every member of staff is included and those that consider themselves in the minority group, appreciates their inclusion as performance appraisal is used to help employees know what is expected of them, increase motivation, identify poor performance, improve poor performance, recognize and reward outstanding performance.

Leadership Initiative in Workforce Diversity Management
The leadership of an organisation is tasked with the responsibility of initiating and leading the dynamics of the organisation, fostering desired behaviors and ensuring that their policies and practices support the vision of the organisation while being responsive to change.In managing diverse workforce, the leaders should communicate.The changing workforce is one of the challenges faced by organisations in the recent past and most companies are not giving lip services as far as workforce diversity is concerned (Wentling, 2000).Additional benefits are also realized when the leadership of a firm is diverse.Effective methods of leadership development can enhance organizational productivity, profitability, and responsiveness to performance if applied to a good number of persons in an organisation.A number of studies have shown that in diversity management, leadership is considered to be an element of an effective diversification strategy of a company (Marquis, Lim, Scott, Harrell and Kavanagh, 2008).
Leaders in organisations are coming up with goals for diversity strategy, which are not limited to employees only but extend to stakeholders and the public.The leaders are expected to communicate the strategies and talk about the business goals and achievements in relation to the management of workforce diversity for the success of the strategies identified and the company as a whole (McArthur, 2010).While implementing the laid strategies, employees should be held accountable for their behaviors especially in diversity promoting behaviors that are adopted by the company.Some companies have articulated diversity model behaviors for their employees in which their leaders lead by example in order to give guidance and direction to the rest for the realization of company goals (Code, 2007).The employees and all the stakeholders of the company must internalize the goals.Including the public in general where leaders place value on diversity (McArthur, 2010).
In a company where leaders place high value on diversity, they initiate programs to manage the diversity.Model behaviors like conducting team-building activities; rewarding employees for innovation and flexibility, encouraging employees to take ownership of ideas become part of the leaders' projects within companies (Code, 2007).These leaders also ensure that their recruiting, hiring and promotions systems consider workforce diversity among other criteria followed.Other initiatives that leaders can adopt as shared by Wentling (2000) include having nontraditional work arrangements that can allow extra time and homework stations, training programs that aim to reduce stereotypes, increased cultural sensitivity within the company and developing programs that develop skills for working in a multicultural environment.Mentoring programs should be included for new employees and feedback channels installed.
Implementation of diversity require leaders to inspire their employees to own the company's goals and objectives and in their commitment to achieve the goals, the employees embrace diversity of workforce (OSP, 2008).In embracing workforce diversity, the diversity initiatives can be grouped in to five categories (Gottfredson, 1992).These are procedures to reduce ethnic and gender differences in companies, procedures to accommodate immigrants in to a company, adopting changes in organizational culture to value and utilize the diversity in workforce, changes in procedures or climate to accommodate individual differences among employees and decentralizing problem solving to accommodate local ideas and conditions.This involves leaders who are involved with their employees, communicating organizations' purpose while inspiring enthusiasm and commitment of employees to perform (OSP, 2008).The OSP identifies the first step to transforming and organisation to a diverse one is creating an inclusive environment that provides a conducive working environment to all.Wentling (2000) in her research established the methods for evaluating diversity management initiatives.What she identified were conducting employee surveys to get their opinions on issues, tracking employment data, reviewing annual performance management, allowing for feedback, having focus groups for discussion, benchmarking, getting customer and informal employee feedback.The initiatives put in place by leaders to manage workforce diversity should have methods for measuring success (Phillipe, 2011).The leaders should also take time to analyze the skills level of employees and give them assignments that match their abilities and also to stretch them into developing their strengths.
The US NRC advises that leaders should allow qualified employees to participate in leadership and development programs that seek to improve their skills.The staff should also be provided with meaningful career planning, mentoring and developmental opportunities for exposure and hold focus groups to determine where there are major concerns within the company.The managers should be able to identify and address diversity issues that arise and are considered barriers to development.In whatever initiative a leader will adopt, it is prudent to effectively communicate the diversity plan to employees can lead to frustrations when implementing it (Holt, 2010).The staff will get onboard to contribute in achieving the set diversity plan goal.A great leader needs to come up with a list of what is to be achieved and laid down methods of achieving them.In PWC, employees are not only allowed to explore other career opportunities, they are also encouraged (Sokun, 2004).PWC promotes an entrepreneurial culture that allows creativity and innovations such that individuals are encouraged to share their ideas as well as encouraging career change within the firm.PWC has a wide career choice for its employees such that one might want to change his career path but not employer.
Research show that specific managerial practices towards employees are likely to lead to employee commitment, for example, training practices and job equity policies have had positive effects on employee commitment in corporations both small and large.Other examples of initiatives benefiting employees are: engaging in long-term planning, avoiding discrimination in hiring and compensating, implementing a code of conduct, ethics training programs, incorporating integrity in employees' performance evaluations, supporting employee training and education and work-family programs (Grow, Hamm & Lee, 2005).Corporations in Kenya are involved in retirement and health schemes that are initiated by their employers for the benefit of employees.This encourages the workers to work even more creating friendly environment for the entire workforce.

Shared Responsibility in Workforce Diversity Management
An organised diversity plan is able to push an organisation to greater heights and give it competitive advantage among its competitors.Disorganization can frustrate efforts to adopt diversity in workforce and caution should be taken when developing a diversity plan for an organisation (Holt, 2010).Employees should be encouraged to participate in developing and implementing the plan.When developing an effective strategy for managing diversity, clear communications should be ensured and responsibilities should be shared such that nobody carries the burden alone.This also helps with successful implementation of the strategy (McArthur, 2010).The success of diversity management programs depends on a shared responsibility within an organisation.
Normally, the responsibility of developing, implementing and monitoring diversity initiatives lies with the leaders but significant consideration should also be given to those who shall be affected by diversity.McArthur (2010) advises that when selecting leaders for diversity incorporation process in an organisation, the leaders should be whom employees respect, show consistency and are committed to principles of inclusion.The programs for diversity must strike a balance between expectation for assimilation and efforts to accommodate a workforce that is not homogeneous.Successful implementation of diversity management programs highly depend on the shared responsibility of people involved for example the policy makers and the employees (Rosen & Lovelace, 1994).Planning a workforce diversity strategy requires wide consultations across the organisation at the initial stages.Once the program is instituted, communication and dedication can be used to inspire, encourage and motivate the stakeholders to buy into the program.This is because without the input of all level members the program might backfire.Shared responsibility of the plan throughout the organisation creates a greater degree of personal ownership, which continues with the shared success of the plan and its initiatives (Marquis, et al, 2008).The main aim in shared responsibility is to ensure that everybody has an opportunity to contribute fully to the organizational performance as well as advance in their career.It also helps individuals to adapt in to the culture of the organisation they are working for (Rosen & Lovelace, 1994).
Workforce diversity is considered good recipe for improving business performance and so firms increase emphasis on diversity.Diverse workforce is known to be innovative, flexible and productive as it offers a broad perspective on issues and can also appeal to customer base that includes a growing minority.Marquis, et al (2008) commented that a workforce that is diverse performs better in analyzing and attacking problems.Attention should be paid to minority groups to identify qualified personnel.Promotions, evaluation and assignment of responsibilities should take differences into account and capitalize on individual differences and their unique strengths (Cox, 2001).Wentling and Palma-Rivas (2000) proposes that personal development needs of each minority employee should be determined then a development and progression plan created to meet the needs.
In support of Wentling and Palma-Rivas (2000) are Marquis, et al (2008) who said that diversity training should be done at all level, not just for the majority strong employees.Companies should seek to develop their minority groups and assign them responsibilities that will keep them enthusiastic in their work.Training programs should extend commitment to diversity from leaders at the top to all employees who perform the day-to-day activities of the company.The training makes the employees aware of stereotypes that exist among them and barriers and give them a chance to address the issues that prevents minority employees from advancing or integrating in to the system smoothly.
The diversity training can be used to educate employees on how to appreciate the differences that exist among them and how they can tap in to those differences for the benefit of the organisation (Marquis, et al 2008).With shared responsibilities across a large organisation accountability is necessary as accountability focuses on the responsible and timely management of workforce and diversity strategies.Accountability helps in the implementation and monitoring of the execution of strategies laid where one has to perform their duties as assigned (Cox, 2001).
Building accountability in to diversity management starts with laying out expectations and outcome of the strategy then assigning responsibilities to employees within the organisation (McArthur, 2010).Although achieving diversity business success is the responsibility of all employees, long-term sustainability is achieved by holding management accountable for integrating diversity within all business functions, and by evaluating managers based on their ability to achieve diversity goals.A critical part of the management of your plan and its initiatives is the assignment of timeframes.Timeframes, act as catalysts for managing initiatives to ensure successful completion.Accountability for managing diversity is a shared responsibility, with expectations to be met.
Shared responsibilities create a sense of togetherness and commonality of interests.A good example of shared responsibility is evidenced in corporate social responsibilities in which employees participate in a number of projects for the benefit of community as a whole.This participation brings employees from all walks of life to work together and build a common goal that is empowering another.A study carried out by Brammer, Millington, and Rayton (2005) revealed that employees' perceptions of CSR have a major impact on organizational commitment and increases their level of performance as well as working together for the benefit of all.KCB and Safaricom are some corporations that are involved in CSR activities that bring their employees together.KCB, support environmental conservation (KCB, 2011).ADC allows stakeholders to participate in agricultural development programs and endeavors that are aimed at developing the community in general (ADC, 2007).
A study done by Chepng'eno (2012) on ADC work life balance initiatives, she found out that employees appreciate job sharing with their colleagues as it helps in balancing work and family life.This balance of work and family life they say benefits ADC since it emphasizes the importance of work life balance policies in the organization (Chepng'eno, 2012).In this, the diversity that is brought about by virtue of family is handled and employees work with satisfied attitude knowing that both sides of their lives are well taken care of.

Research Methodology
This article used a desk review of qualitative information from a variety of documents.This made it possible to get insight on various scholarly works by different authors on the topic of diversity at the workplace.The main aim of doing a desk review is to gain knowledge on the area of study by looking at the different approaches by different scholars, hence make an independent argument and conclusions.The review also allows the researcher to go through institutional reports and be able to make a valid description of the subject being investigated.
For this article, the researcher assessed scholarly works relevant to the management of a diverse workforce as well as company reports and websites.Journal articles relating to strategies applied to manage workforce diversity such as performance management, shared responsibility, leadership initiative and communication were reviewed.The various articles were gathered and searched according to their importance.The materials were assessed individually in terms of relevance, interest and quality.The quality was based on the author and publication of the material.It was indeed an external review and mainly done electronic documents materials available on the internet.

Summary of the Paper
The management of workforce diversity to achieve the desired goals in an organization is a complex and challenging activity to most managers.The main reasons for managing diversity is to improve productivity and remain competitive; to form better work relationships among employees; to enhance social responsibility; and to address legal concerns.Ignoring workforce diversity management can result into conflicts which are a detriment to employees' and organization's performance.Despite the efforts channeled into workforce diversity management, organizations rarely achieve their expected benefits due to lack of supporting legal framework.Nevertheless, the benefits of workforce diversity has seen organizations put in place policies that protect diversified groups.Challenges to workforce diversity management include political influence, cultural differences, omission of talented workforce due to bureaucracy in a company, and majority companies complying with workforce diversity due to legal implications and not the general benefits.
Workforce diversity management, in a country like Kenya where people come from different cultures, ethnic communities and different social lifestyles, is very important.The opening up to globalization has increased the number of diversified workforce in Kenyan corporations creating an even larger need for workforce diversity management.No known research has been done on the management of workforce diversity among Kenyan firms thus creating the gap that this study needs to address.This study investigates innovative strategies for managing workforce diversity in Kenyan leading corporations in present global scenario.
The objectives under study in this study are establishing the influence of communication in managing workforce diversity; influence of performance management in the management of workforce diversity; establishing effects of leadership initiatives in the workforce diversity management and determining shared responsibilities in workforce diversity management.
Communication is essential in a workplace as it is the backbone of productivity and relationships for the success of the organization.There are steps in communication that must be done in order to make workforce diversity management a success: learning how source culture best receives communication; training employees early so that they are absorbed in the system's culture; training all who are native born to enhance relationship with non-natives; assign mentors and take care of partners; practice open door communication; and avoid jargon and slang.
The success of institutions will be determined by their performance.Organizational performance on the hand depends on the performance of the employees.Managing employees such that all the minority and majority groups have highest performance shapes workforce diversity management strategy.This strategy understands and appreciates each employee's abilities and uniqueness in the organization.
In diversity management, leadership is considered to be an element of an effective diversification strategy of a company.Benefits in managing workforce diversity are realized when the leadership is encouraging and positive, diverse and effective.This kind of leadership enhances productivity, profitability, and responsiveness to performance if applied to a good number of persons in an organization.Good leadership creates goals to be met and inspires the achievement of the goals using the different diversities in the workforce.
Shared responsibility is also key in workforce diversity management.It influences the creation of stable relationships among the workforce as well as encourages unity.Diverse consultations across the organizations are crucial towards enhancing shared responsibility among the work force.Employees also appreciate shared responsibility based on the numerous advantages it has on them/their work.

Conclusion
The sense of social identity compels individuals to want to belong in a particular group.The problem comes in when these groups cannot be similar or equal in terms of characteristics accorded to them.Identifying with a particular group enhances the relationship between members of a particular.Members of a group can also feel that they cannot associate with those who do belong to their group.In organizations, different groups also occur among the workforce and these can be due to gender, race, ethnic background, disability and education.This diversity of workforce creates room for competition that normally arises from self interests or protecting the interests of a particular group within a workforce.The strategies used to manage this diversity are vital to utilizing the full potential of all the members of the workforce without creating conflicts.It is the duty the management to recognize and evaluate their diversity and come up with conditions that will enhance workforce diversity for the benefit of their firms.
From the review, we conclude that communication is the most important aspect of managing workforce diversity in Kenyan corporation.Corporations adopt different forms of communication in order to be effective in their dissemination of information to their workforce.Having a communication department ensures that all the necessary aspects of communication are gauged by receiving feedbacks from the staff and including them to ensure effective communication among the employees.With this strategy, individual have access to information and do not feel isolated and can therefore input their contributions for the benefit of the corporation.Effective communication encourages identity with the organization hence working towards the achievement of its goals.
Another important aspect that corporations use to manage their workforce diversity is performance management.This is done through performance appraisals that have so far been adopted by a number of corporations, especially state corporations of which through the appraisals abilities and weaknesses of their workforce can be identified and measures that improve the performance of individuals according to their needs established.When this is done, members are empowered and motivated to perform better.
Having programs that benefit employees improve the relationship between them like engaging the employees in long-term planning, avoiding discrimination in hiring and compensating and implementing a code of conduct that help the employees know how to behave towards each other improves work relations especially in a diverse environment.Management of corporations comes up with programs that enhance relations among the workforce.In addition to initiating programs that direct employees on how to behave towards each other; having them involved in different corporate social responsibilities (CSR) have an effect in bridging the gap that might be existing between employees.Having and understanding a clear common goal can reduce the conflicts that arise from self interest activities as people work towards a unified goal.

Recommendations
Organizations aiming to come up with innovative strategies in workforce diversity should engage an effective communication strategies among employees by providing the relevant structures that will facilitate efficient, precise and relevant communication among the diverse categories of employees.Organizations should encourage and sustain each employee's performance by motivating and allowing them to use their workforce diversities.Minorities and majorities should all be given chance to contribute to performance.The kind of leadership adopted in an organization should be effective and efficient to be able to deliver the right harmony and performance among all employees.The leadership should provide directional and strategic leadership that are crucial in managing workforce diversity.Organizations should advocate for shared responsibility in order to create stable relationships and unity among the diverse workforces.
Based on the benefits of workforce management identified in this paper I propose that this paper be published.If published, this paper will not only educate managers on the importance of workforce diversity management but will also highlight the strategies that managers should put in place to achieve high performing workforce due to adequate workforce diversity management styles.