Some other issues you may be interested to know
How does cohesion relate to the workplace?
What are the key challenges to cohesion in organisations?
How has cohesion emerged?
The concept of community cohesion emerged in the UK in 2001, following the disturbances in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham. The independent Community Cohesion Review Team, chaired by Ted Cantle, reported at the end of 2001, some six months or so after the riots. The 'Cantle Report' as it became known, provided a national overview of the state of race and community relations, following visits to a wide range of towns and cities, including both riot stricken areas and those that had not experienced any tensions.
The Cantle Report drew attention to polarised and segregated communities, in which people led 'parallel lives' and made some 67 recommendations. Whilst still highlighting the need to tackle inequalities, the recommendations were much more wide ranging and amounted to a new approach to race and diversity.
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How does Cohesion relate to the workplace?
There is now an economic imperative for organisations to take an active role in the cohesion agenda. Globalisation has made the world of business much more inter-dependent and the understanding of different cultures and people is a necessity. Many businesses profile themselves as responsible businesses and are involved in many wider societal issues and this leads to a greater sense of public accountability.
Jeffrey Schwerzel, (lectured at St Ethelburga’s, Oct 04) is a firm believer in the contribution of business to civil society and the impact larger businesses can have on smaller ones.
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"Where large and global companies lead, smaller and more local companies will follow. The nature of business will undergo fundamental changes in the coming decades: the changes regard the position and role of companies in society. Companies are no longer just about making profit: they have a public role and are attributed a moral duty to be active in civil society. The business-scape is fundamentally changing." [8] |
Many organisations are very aware of their role within civil society and the impact they can have on the key issues affecting society, whether it be the environment, poverty etc. Some organisations have been very successful in raising the profile of particular issues, for example The Body Shop and animal testing.
The role of business and cohesion is a developing area and one which has many benefits both to business and civil society. Building trust and understanding within the community and avoiding conflict within the wider society has major benefits to business and the economy.
It is simply better for business - and the workforce
The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s report “Talent not Tokenism” (2008) asks businesses to recognise the importance the workforce can make on public image.
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"The workforce influences how the business is perceived to the world outside. Who is employed and what they are like says something about the business to customers, suppliers, contractors and potential recruits, as well as to existing employees and to trade unions representing them" [9] |
There is much to be exploited here and a great opportunity for business, building cohesion, can create a real competitive edge and have a real impact in civil society.
What are the key challenges to cohesion in organisations?
The challenges have perhaps never been greater. We are in an era of ‘super diversity’ with over 300 languages in London schools and over 60 in some of our small market towns. We now have many new ‘human interfaces’ to manage and new ideas about personal and communal identity. Demographic change, including an influx of migrant workers and a fast changing economy, has created new opportunities but it has also de-stabilised some of our more traditional communities and brought about widespread questioning of that change. And as a number of recent studies have pointed out, there are concerns about wage level competition and the longer term impact on skill levels and the labour market. There is also, of course, an acceptance that the economy has grown as a result of recent migration, even if the level and nature of the benefits are sometimes contested.
Within our workforces, new issues need to be addressed. Whilst there have been many years of largely successful equality and diversity policy and practice, there remains large disparities between different groups of people.
- The pay gap between men and women is widening [10]
- In 2007/2008 there were over three times as many age discrimination cases than in the previous year. [11]
- Whilst the gap between white and black and ethnic minority workers is closing slowly, the gap still remains at 15.7%. [12]
Business in the Community’s Race to the Top Report suggests that action is needed immediately and employers should review their current practice and policy to ensure a sustainable commitment to the agenda [13]
We need to recognise the challenges still to be faced.
But we also need to be able to build upon our successes too.
Most of all we need to recognise that business and social environments have changed and look forward – with a positive commitment to the impacts of globalisation and demographic change.