There is no doubt that diversity is promoted via enhanced communication and conflict management. These two essential skills allow for mediating the differences between constituents of diverse cultural, ethnic, and generational backgrounds. Therefore, one of the eight strategic focuses for Aetna could be the enhancement of the diverse, high-performance culture and workforce. Simultaneously, from a personal perspective, the most appropriate diversity implication for such a strategy is strengthening workforce capabilities to comprehend the racial and ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, and generational diversity of the marketplace. These directions are directly proportional as they imply the building of capable employees within the enterprise that could professionally address the needs and properly cooperate with representatives of diverse backgrounds.
The attainment of such diverse implications could be approached via the promotion of communication and team building, empowerment culture, and training programs. Communication and team building could be promoted via strategic games, establishing grounds for the exchange of personal experiences and stories, or role-play (Cletus et al., 2018). These activities help to establish strong bonds with co-workers, decrease the nervousness of employees, and improve overall communication (Cletus et al., 2018). The organizational goal would be the provision of avenues for such events. Consequently, minority employees would be able to easily introduce themselves to the organizational culture and develop teamwork with other employees. At the same time, these incentives may reduce the probability of conflict emergence.
The empowerment culture is imperative for modern organizations to recruit and retain capable employees from groups that were typically oppressed within the conservative market environment. The issue of empowerment could be addressed via different means that infuse a welcoming atmosphere for employees (Cletus et al., 2018). For example, the company may promote the celebration of culturally appropriate and inherent holidays for minority employees and customers. This action may contribute to employee appreciation, strengthen the bonds between co-workers and warm the overall atmosphere within the workplace.
Finally, training programs to develop enhanced communication and conflict management. There are various platforms available that offer courses for conflict management and strengthening politically correct, holistic, and ethical communication. By offering these courses to employees or infusing them into the company development plan, the workforce of Aetna will be able to build a highly-capable workforce that will address and understand the needs of minority groups. Moreover, as a collateral benefit, such development will lead to the enhancement of customer communication.
Reference
Cletus, H. E., Mahmood, N. A., Umar, A., Ibrahim, A. D. (2018). Prospects and challenges of workplace diversity in modern day organizations: A critical review. Holistica, 9(2), pp. 35-52. DOI: 10.2478/hjbpa-2018-0011