How Can Organizations Truly Embrace Diversity Beyond Just Moral Appeals?

While many corporations are undertaking activities such as diversity training, they lack sufficient empirical grounding. So far, diversity has been approached from a perspective of moral appeal. It is based on the faith that diversity is good and therefore it must have a positive effect on organizations. This notion has a tendency to appeal to individual goodwill. Sensitivity training with regard to race and gender is often utilized in this regard. While there is nothing wrong with a psychological approach to the diversity issue, it requires a deeper understanding of the influence of racial/ethnic/gender intergroup relations if organizations are to effectively deal with a diverse workforce. Past studies on diversity were based on differences in age, gender, and tenure. These studies showed that diverse work groups were beneficial for creative tasks and problem-solving, but that homogeneous groups were more socially integrated and exhibited higher job satisfaction and lower turnover. Furthermore, productivity of homogeneous groups was sometimes better than that of heterogeneous groups.

Problems:

1. What are the structured relations, norms, and shared understandings that regulate corporate life and help in managing diversity?

2. How do organizational values and practices help to manage diversity?

3. What can organizations do to better prepare their employees to deal with cross-cultural issues?

4. What impact do these have on employee morale, self-esteem, self-efficacy, racial/ethnic/gender identity, aspirations, and commitment?

Now give me suggestions based on all 4 questions.

Suggestions:

1. Establish clear structures, norms, and shared understandings within the organization to effectively manage diversity. Implement policies that promote inclusivity and respect for all individuals.

2. Align organizational values with diversity initiatives and ensure that practices within the company reflect these values. Encourage diversity in leadership positions and promote a culture of openness and acceptance.

3. Provide employees with cross-cultural training and resources to enhance their understanding of different cultures and perspectives. Offer opportunities for employees to engage in cultural exchange programs or workshops.

4. Monitor the impact of diversity initiatives on employee morale, self-esteem, and commitment. Conduct regular assessments to gauge the effectiveness of diversity programs and make adjustments as needed to support the well-being and growth of all employees.

Hi Nitin,

Whatever I know about diversity is this. I can pen down my thoughts in writing in this manner, hope it will be of use:

It's important to understand how these dimensions affect performance, motivation, success, and interactions with others. Institutional structures and practices that have presented barriers to some dimensions of diversity should be examined, challenged, and removed.

Managing Diversity

Most people believe in the golden rule: treat others as you want to be treated. The implicit assumption is that how you want to be treated is how others want to be treated. But when you look at this proverb through a diversity perspective, you begin to ask the question: what does respect look like; does it look the same for everyone? Does it mean saying hello in the morning, or leaving someone alone, or making eye contact when you speak?

It depends on the individual. We may share similar values, such as respect or the need for recognition, but how we show those values through behavior may be different for different cultures. How do we know what different cultures need? Perhaps instead of using the golden rule, we could use the platinum rule which states: "treat others as they want to be treated." Moving our frame of reference from an ethnocentric view ("our way is the best way") to a culturally relative perspective ("let's take the best of a variety of ways") will help us to manage more effectively in a diverse work environment.

Our Role

We have a key role in transforming the organizational culture so that it more closely reflects the values of our diverse workforce. Some of the skills needed are:

- an understanding and acceptance of managing diversity concepts
- recognition that diversity is threaded through every aspect of management
- self-awareness, in terms of understanding your own culture, identity, biases, prejudices, and stereotypes
- willingness to challenge and change institutional practices that present barriers to different groups

It's natural to want a cookbook approach to diversity issues so that one knows exactly what to do. Unfortunately, given the many dimensions of diversity, there is no easy recipe to follow. Advice and strategies given for one situation may not work given the same situation in another context.

Managing diversity means acknowledging people's differences and recognizing these differences as valuable; it enhances good management practices by preventing discrimination and promoting inclusiveness. Good management alone will not necessarily help you work effectively with a diverse workforce. It is often difficult to see what part diversity plays in a specific area of management.

Strategies

- Specify the need for skills to work effectively in a diverse environment in the job, for example: "demonstrated ability to work effectively in a diverse work environment."
- Make sure that good faith efforts are made to recruit a diverse applicant pool, particularly underutilized minorities and women.
- Focus on the job requirements in the interview, and assess experience but also consider transferable skills and demonstrated competencies, such as analytical, organizational, communication, coordination.
- Prior experience does not necessarily mean effectiveness or success on the job.
- Use a panel interview format. Ensure that the committee is diverse, unit affiliation, job classification, length of service, variety of life experiences, etc. to represent different perspectives and to eliminate bias from the selection process. Run questions and process by them to ensure there is no unintentional cultural or institutional bias.
- Ensure that appropriate accommodations are made for disabled applicants.
- Know your own cultural biases. What stereotypes do you have of people from different groups and how well they may perform on the job?
- What communication styles do you prefer? Sometimes what we consider to be appropriate or desirable qualities in a candidate may reflect more about our personal preferences than about the skills needed to perform the job.

Consequences of Ignoring Diversity

Ignoring diversity issues costs time, money, and efficiency. Some of the consequences can include unhealthy tensions between people of differing gender, race, ethnicity, age, abilities, etc.; loss of productivity because of increased conflict; inability to attract and retain talented people of all kinds; complaints and legal actions; and inability to retain women and people of color, resulting in lost investments in recruitment and training.

How Well Do You Manage Diversity?

- Do you test your assumptions before acting on them?
- Do you believe there is only one right way of doing things, or that there are a number of valid ways that accomplish the same goal? Do you convey that to staff?
- Do you have honest relationships with each staff member you supervise? Are you comfortable with each of them?
- Do you know what motivates them, what their goals are, how they like to be recognized?
- Are you able to give negative feedback to someone who is culturally different from you?
- When you have open positions, do you insist on a diverse screening committee and make additional outreach efforts to ensure that a diverse pool of candidates has applied?
- When you hire a new employee, do you not only explain job responsibilities and expectations clearly but orient the person to the campus and department culture and unwritten rules?
- Do you rigorously examine your unit's existing policies, practices, and procedures to ensure that they do not differentially impact different groups? When they do, do you change them?
- Are you willing to listen to constructive feedback from your staff about ways to improve the work environment? Do you implement staff suggestions and acknowledge their contribution?
- Do you take immediate action with people you supervise when they behave in ways that show disrespect for others in the workplace, such as ethnic jokes and offensive terms?
- Do you make good faith efforts to meet your affirmative action goals?
- Do you have a good understanding of institutional isms such as racism and sexism and how they manifest themselves in the workplace?
- Do you ensure that assignments and opportunities for advancement are accessible to everyone?

Phew, it was quite a lot to write. Some of the material is taken from a book.