IndustrialOccupational Social Work Practice

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Chapter 10 Diversity Management Paradigms,
Rational, and Key Elements

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Cultural Styles and Relational Schemas
Now the Star-Belly Sneetches Had bellies with
stars. The Plain-Belly Sneetches Had none upon
thars. Those stars werent so big. They were
really so small You might think such a thing
wouldnt matter at all But because they had
stars, all the Star-Belly Sneetches Would brag,
Were the best kind of Sneetch on the
beaches With their snoots in the air, they would
sniff and theyd snort Well have nothing to do
with the Plain-Belly sort! And whenever they met
some, when they were out walking, Theyd hike
right on past them without even talking.   Dr.
Seuss, 1961. The Sneetches and Other Stories (p.
3-4)

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Defining Diversity Management
Diversity management refers to the voluntary
organizational actions that are designed to
create greater inclusion of employees from
various backgrounds into the formal and informal
organizational structures through deliberate
policies and programs

Refers not only to those groups that have been
discriminated against or that are different from
the dominant or privileged groups, but to
everyone in the organization.
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Defining Diversity Management
To highlight this notion of mixture, consider a
jar of red jelly beans and assume that you will
add some green and purple jelly beans. Many
would believe that the green and purple jelly
beans represent diversity. I suggest that
diversity instead is represented by the resultant
mixture of red, green and purple jelly beans.
When faced with a collection of diverse jelly
beans, most managers have not been addressing
diversity but, instead, have been addressing how
to handle the last jelly beans added to the
mixture. The true meaning of diversity suggests
that if you are concerned about racism, you
include all races if youre concerned about
gender, you include both genders or if youre
concerned about age issues, you include all age
groups. In other words, the mixture is all
inclusive (Thomas, 1996 pp. 146-7).

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Attract Retain Talent
Result in Better Problem Solving
Diversity Benefits
Enhance Organizational Flexibility
Enhance Marketing Efforts
Promote Creativity Innovation
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Resistance to Change
Slower Decision- Making
Diversity Problems
Possibility of Conflicts
Lack of Cohesiveness
Communication Problems
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From Equal Rights Laws to Affirmative/Positive
Action to Diversity Management

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Diversity Management

• Imagine your organization is a giraffe house.
  Equal opportunity has been very effective
  widening the door of the giraffe house to let the
  elephant in, but home wont be best for the
  elephant unless a number of major modifications
  are made to the inside of the house. Without
  these changes the house will remain designed for
  giraffes and the elephant will not feel at
  home
• (Krautil, 1995, p.22)

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HR Approach to Diversity Management

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HR Approach to Diversity Management
Diversity Enlargement

 Diversity Sensitivity  
 Cultural Audit  
 Strategy for Achieving Organizational Outcomes
Based on Kossek and Sobel, 1996
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HR Approach to Diversity Management
Diversity Enlargement
Goal Change organizational culture through
changing the composition of the workforce

Strategy Recruiting employees   from diverse
backgrounds
Assumptions New hires will change the culture
by their mere presence no need for
additional intervention
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HR Approach to Diversity Management
Diversity Sensitivity
Goal Overcome adversity and promote
Productive communication and Collaboration
and improve communication

Strategy Training to increase   sensitivity to
differences
Assumptions Increased sensitivity to
differences will affect performance
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HR Approach to Diversity Management
Cultural Audit
Goal Identify obstacles faced by employees of
diverse background and modify company
practices accordingly

Strategy Audit current practices through surveys
and focus groups and generate changes to
address these deficiencies
Assumptions Problems are caused by the dominant
cultural group in the organization and need
to be addressed by that group
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HR Approach to Diversity Management
Strategies for Achieving Organizational Outcomes
Goal Achieving organizational goals through
diversity management

Strategy Integrating diversity management with HR
Policy areas and other company strategic
choices
Assumptions Diversity management practices have
to be linked to desired individual and
organizational outcomes
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HR Approach to Diversity Management
HR approach Goal Strategy Assumptions   Divers
ity Enlargement Change organizational culture
Recruiting employees New hires will
change through changing the from diverse
backgrounds the culture by their
mere composition of the workforce presence
no need for additional intervention   Diver
sity Sensitivity Overcome adversity and
promote Training to increase Increased
sensitivity to Productive communication and
sensitivity to differences differences will
affect Collaboration and improve
communication performance   Cultural
Audit Identify obstacles faced by Audit current
practices Problems are caused by Employees of
diverse background through surveys and focus the
dominant cultural and modify company
practices groups and generate changes group in
the organization accordingly to address these
deficiencies and need to be addressed by
that group (typically white
men)   Strategy for Achieving Achieving
organizational goals Integrating diversity
Diversity management Organizational
Outcomes through diversity management management
with HR practices have to be Policy areas
and other linked to desired company
strategic individual and organizational choi
ces outcomes Based on Kossek and Sobel,
1996

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• Monolithic Organization
• Demographically and culturally homogenous
• Expectation that members of diverse groups will
  assimilate into the culture of the majority
• Pluralistic Organization
• Heterogeneous workforce
• Makes efforts to conform to public laws and
  public policies
• Takes active steps to prevent discrimination
• Women and minorities expected to assimilate into
  upper management majority culture
• Most prevalent type in US, but also prevalent in
  other areas.

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• Multicultural Organization
• Truly and equally incorporates all members of the
  organization via pluralism as an acculturation
  process, rather than as an end resulting in
  assimilation.
• Members are integrated into the organization as
  all difference and uniqueness is respected and
  appreciated
• Both individuals and the organization adapt
  there is mutual appreciation

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Impetus for Implementing Diversity Management