DiversityASMA ALGHAMDI 43786618DUYGU OGUCU TURKELI 44047231JOSE I . GARCIA MUNOZ 43963889HAOHUA QIU 43955177

Outline Background information

◦ Company overview◦ Woolworths in numbers◦ Business strategy◦ Diversity policies and initiatives◦ Reconciliation Action Plan

Theories◦ EEO ◦ Diversity management

Strengths and weaknesses of Woolworths diversity

Recommendations

Conclusion

Company Overview - Founded in 1924. Sydney.

Structure:

Woolworths Food Group

WW RewardsWW Supermarkets

Countdown (NZ)Thomas Dux

Petrol (Caltex &WW)WW Money

Endeavour Drinks

Dan Murphy´sBWS

CellarmastersLangton´s

Portfolio Business

Big WEziBuy

ALH Group

(woolworthsgroup.com.au, 2016)

Woolworths in Numbers

Aus Food & Petrol; 39.4

Endeavour Drinks; 7.6

NZ Food; 5.6

Big W; 3.8Hotels; 1.5

Sales

$58B

205,000+ Employees38.9% Women in mgmt positions

2,200 indigenous

79,000 young 47%53%

SalesMen Women

(ASX report, 2016)

Business Strategy5 Key priorities:

1. Building a customer and store-led culture and team2. Generating Sustainable sales momentum in Food3. Evolving our Drinks business to provide even more value and

convenience to our customers4. Empowering our portfolio businesses to pursue strategies to deliver

shareholder value5. Becoming a lean retailer through end-to-end process and systems

excellence

(ASX report, 2016)

Diversity Policies and Initiatives Representation of women:

◦ 39% of women in mgmt positions◦ WW flexibility program (WoWFlex: flexibility policy)◦ Reduce pay gap

Indigenous Employees◦ Reconciliation Action Plan◦ 2000 indigenous employees. 1,600 for 2019◦ Part of the Employment Parity initiative

Employees with disabilities◦ 6,725 employees with disabilities◦ Disability friendly recruitment system◦ Training in Auslan (Australian Sign Language)

Age Diversity:◦ Over 74,000 under 25◦ Over 18,000 over 55

Reconciliation Action Plan Main strategic objective: Close the gap between indigenous and non indigenous Australians and centres on Four key Pillars:

1. Relationships

2. Respect

3. Opportunities

4. Reporting

Competitive Advantage

Resource Based View Perspective

Value Rarity Imperfect inimitabilityNon-substitutability

(Corporate Responsibility Report. Woolworths Limited, 2015)(Barney & Wright, 1998) (coles.com.au,2016)

Explaining DMo DM is voluntary: Self-initiated by companies and is not enforced and coerced

o DM uses a broad definition of diversity

o A business strategy aimed at excavating the full potential of all employees in the company in order to give the company a competitive advantage

(Barak, 2010).

EEO or Diversity Management?

EEO

InclusionDM

Woolworths Limited an Equal Employment Opportunity

Core consideration in ensuring that the Board and the Board Committees have the right balance of skills, experience, independence and knowledge necessary to discharge their responsibilities.

A diverse culture is essential to the success of the Woolworths Group therefore, Woolworths values diversity and aims to create a vibrant place.

Woolworths Diversity Strength

Organisational Management

“Woolworths values diversity and aims to create a vibrant and inclusive workplace. We want our employees to feel valued at work, regardless of their gender, age, ethnicity, beliefs, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.”

4 types of diversity organisation:- Negative Org- Minimalist- Complaint- Comprehensive, proactive

(Stone, 2013)

1. Complies with law: WW policies comply with the following laws:

Racial Discrimination ActSex Discrimination ActAffirmative Action ActHuman Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission ActEqual Employment Opportunity ActDisability Discrimination ActEqual Opportunity for women in the Workplace Act

2. Develops “best practice”: Indigenous & disability programs3. Senior mgmt Support: CEO member of the Male Champions of Change

Woolworths Diversity WeaknessIndividual Management

(Stone, 2013 pp. 563,564)

Group Management

Woolworths did not specify the way of managing diversity in terms of individual, group formation and

effective team building

“It is all about Effective Team Building”

Woolworths Diversity StrengthDiversity-Oriented Leadership:- 39% of women in mgmt. positions- Holly Kramer appointed director- Moving towards a diverse board of directors- Board from different backgrounds: banking, aviation,

retail…)

“…it is an essential HRM role to promote leadership in a diverse workforce and to ensure

that business rewards are achieved by maximising the values of training, developing and developing sought-after, multiskilled and multi-experienced

employees” (Stone, 2013)

Woolworths Diversity Weakness• ‘Upbeat naivety’ in celebrating diversity rather than focusing

on unequal practice (Riach, 2009).• Woolworths takes barely any consideration to the LGBTI

community in their diversity policy (Mavin& Girling, 2000).

1. Strengthen the policies at an individual and group management levels by:

• In selection, recruitment and training processes, the decisions must be made by groups integrated by diverse elements from different backgrounds to make a bias-free decision and encourage diverse team building

2. Balance the communications regarding diversity to avoid “upbeat naivety”:

• Make communications that show how diverse groups are not only hired, but also empowered – even more diverse leadership team, not only women

• Focus the communication, not only in hiring but in inclusion activities such as diverse group achievements, diversity in the learning process and training

3. Enhance the policy on LGBTI inclusion and communicate it

Recommendations

1. Diversity management should be based not only on the principle of providing tangible benefits to the companies but also on a strong moral and ethical commitment to diversity.

2. Woolworths in general has a solid diversity policy by:

- Complying and overpassing law requirements

- Demonstrating a commitment with the Australian community and its diversity

3. Although WW has very good actions and policies according to theory, these policies will not represent a competitive advantage unless unique actions are taken to enhance those policies

4. WW is a great example to differentiate the concepts of EEO and Diversity Management especially with the way they manage inclusion

Conclusions

References1. Barak, M.M.E. (2010) Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace - 2nd edition. 2nd edn. Thousand

Oaks: SAGE Publications.

2. Barney, Jay B. Wright, Patrick M. (1998). On becoming a Strategic Partner: The role of Human Resources in Gaining Competitive Advantage. Wiley & Sons, Inc.. Pp 31-37

3. Colescarreers.com.au, (2016). Indigenous Employment. Coles. Available at: https://www.colescareers.com.au/why-work-with-us/diversity-and-inclusion/indigenous-employment. Reviewed: 25 Oct 2016

4. Greenblat, Eli. (November 19,2015). Woolworths Urged to recruit diverse directors for its board. The Australian Business Review. Aavailable at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/woolworths-urged-to-recruit-diverse-directors-for-its-board/news-story/35e54fb2351bc97ef2c559746b40ac1d. Reviewed: 25 Oct 2016.

5. Stone, Rymond J. (2013). Managing Human Resources. Wiley & Sons Inc. 4th ed. Pp. 549- 581

6. Woolworths Limited (2007). 2007 Code of Conduct. Available at: http://media.corporate-ii.net/media_files/irol/14/144044/cg/codeofconduct.pdf. Reviewed: 7 Nov 2016.

7. Woolworths Limited (2015). Corporate Responsibility Report. Woolworths Limited. P. 5. Available at: http://woolworthslimited2015.csr-report.com.au/files/people.pdf. Reviewed: 23 Oct 2016.

8. Woolworths Limited (2016). 2016 Annual Report. Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Available at: http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20160909/pdf/43b2lvg0dnmz4b.pdf. Reviewed: 25 Oct 2016.