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  "The diversity debate has shifted from the moral obligation of affirmative action to a business imperative. CEOs, faced with intense competition in global markets, record numbers of mergers and acquisitions, and the global war for talent, are focusing on how to leverage diversity as their competitive differentiator. "The challenge for many CEOs is to directly infuse their diversity belief systems into the organization. The test for diversity practitioners in many organizations is to overcome diversity resistors and to leverage the power of the CEO's vision to make diversity happen. " - Dr. Vanessa J. Weaver, "How to Relate to the New Business Models." Business Week

The business case for diversity in the workplace has been made through bottom line results. Below are some examples of companies enjoying better performance through a diverse workforce.

Improved sales, market share, profits - Corporate diversity efforts are about money, business, and the bottom-line, according to Mauricio Velasquez of The Diversity Training Group. Velasquez says his clients implement diversity because it helps them save them money and meet customer expectations.

Examples of improved sales abound. A Petro-Canada site in Vancouver's Chinese community, for example, posted signs in English and Mandarin in an effort to increase the company's presence within the community. After a team of sales associates determined they had to be able to speak their customers' language as well, staffing changes were made accordingly. As a result, kiosk sales increased by 15 percent, and gasoline sales rose from 2.7 million liters to 3.1 million liters at the Main and Terminal stations between 1991 and 1994. The McGraw-Hill Companies emphasizes diverse talent management. One example of its talent management strategy is the Associate Development Program (ADP). Since the program began in 1993, it has attracted talented individuals from top MBA business schools who are diverse in race, ethnicity, experience and perspective.

The McGraw-Hill Companies also leverages talent in global markets. Local talent has enabled The McGraw-Hill Companies to solidify its brand reputation and market share in Latin America due to their teamwork, experience and knowledge of the needs of the local market.

In the early 1980s, a group of women at Reebok bemoaned the fact that they could not find a good aerobics shoe. Listening to that complaint, Reebok began marketing aerobics shoes, and within two years went from a $12 million-a-year shoe company to a $3 billion powerhouse. Since then, the company has recognized the importance of diversity, making it a corporate priority. CEO Paul Fireman said that in order to become diverse, a company must find people with different stories to tell at every level of employment, and then make room for them to talk. Diversity, he has said, does not mean hiring those who are different and then forcing them to behave the same way.

Improved retention, recruitment, and promotion - McDonald's actively recruits older workers for management jobs and also employs thousands of older workers in its restaurants. CEO Edward Rensi has been quoted as saying that the company finds older workers to be particularly well motivated, with discipline and work habits hard to find in younger employees.

In 1988, Exxon Chemical initiated a diversity effort at its 2,000-employee plant in Baytown, Texas, forming a group called Diversity Pioneers, which encourages employees to seek out and understand the differences in the people around them. Before the initiative, Exxon did not have effective employee promotion policies, despite a good history of recruitment. The Diversity Pioneers implemented a new process for choosing first-line supervisors from the ranks of technicians and hourly employees. Now, any employee who applies for a supervisor or special-assignment opening is kept informed about the status of the selection process, and if a candidate fails to advance at any stage of the process, he or she must be given an explanation.

In addition, managers at Exxon frequently salute employees who have been nominated by their peers as having made a special contribution to the organization's goals.

Decreased complaints and litigation - The costs to an organization of an unhappy employee can go far beyond low productivity, high turnover or absenteeism. Increasingly, they may include a lengthy public court battle. In 1996, for example, Texaco agreed to allocate $35 million for a Task Force to implement changes in their human resources programs after being sued for racial discrimination. The plan included revising company recruitment and hiring procedures to reflect diversity in the workforce, focusing on career development and retention of current employees, and increasing the number of women- and minority-owned business partners.

Other benefits include: an ability to move into emerging markets; improved employee morale; and improved communication between employees and working units.