tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65366251541025138012024-03-13T07:57:30.833-07:00Workplace Diversityarticles on what is diversity in the workplace, articles on cultural diversity in the workplace, article on discrimination in the workplace, diversity issues in workforce, definition of workplace diversity, diversity career events, best online job search engines, cultural diversity in management, and career transition resourcesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-31179268875246576912007-10-19T13:40:00.000-07:002007-10-19T13:54:48.312-07:00Holiday Party Planning in the Diverse Workplace<div style="text-align: justify;">By Heidi LaFleche<br />Monster Contributing Writer<br /><br />Holiday party planning can get dicey when companies add diversity to their merrymaking mix. How do you appeal to all without leaving someone out in the cold?<br /><br />"Put the emphasis on celebrating," advises <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> consultant Sondra Thiederman, PhD, author of Making Diversity Work, founder of Cross-Cultural Communications and a Monster contributing <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Printing_and_Publishing/?cchan=84">writer</a>. The key: "Focus more on what we share and less on where we differ."<br /><br />Thiederman says trying to plan a holiday party that recognizes every culture and religion is just inviting failure. "The more you try to please members of every single group, the greater danger you are of deeply offending someone left out," she says. "Go for neutrality, not specificity."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Holiday Party-Planning Tips</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Include a Welcome Statement. </span>Encourage the <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Executive_and_Management/?cchan=77">CEO</a>, president or regional <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Executive_and_Management/?cchan=77">manage</a><a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Executive_and_Management/?cchan=77">r</a> -- whoever's hosting the bash -- to recognize the company's diversity from the microphone. "Say, ‘Look at the <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">diversity</a> in this room. Not only are we celebrating the holiday season and the end of the year and a job well done, but the fact that we're all together in this room,'" Thiederman suggests.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Keep Decor Nonspecific. </span>Sorry, Santa -- it's a "holiday party" now. But that doesn't mean it has to be somber. Deck the halls with neutral symbols such as flowers, balloons, candles and snowflakes. Don't try to do the Christmas tree and the menorah and symbols from every culture.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Accommodate Diverse Palates. </span>Got tofu? It's not as flaky as carnivores may think. Vegetarian choices are a safe -- and yummy -- way to accommodate diverse dietary needs and beliefs. "The respectful way to hold a banquet is to offer vegetarian and nonvegetarian choices," says Thiederman.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Appeal to Everyone with Golden Oldies. </span>Tunes can be tough, as individuals within families (let alone companies and cultures) can have vastly different tastes. Anything too genre- or culture-specific may strike a sour note. To make everyone happy, Thiederman suggests going back in time. "Try historical music, the big bands and sounds of the '40s. It's less of a hot button than if you play rap and have no Christmas carols."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Invite the Family. </span>"One mistake companies make is inviting people for evening celebrations and not including the entire family," says Thiederman. "Everybody has family in common." Daytime and weekend events like picnics may have the widest appeal. Remember that in some cultures, the concept of family may include not just spouses and kids but the extended family, too. Consider how child care and transportation issues may affect whether employees attend.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Key Insight: ‘Kinship Groups' Define What We Share</span><br /><br />Celebrations can create a "kinship group" with coworkers from other cultures. "Get everyone together in a room to be light and buoyant and to celebrate without using any individual [religious or cultural] symbols," suggests Theiderman.<br /><br />A celebration becomes a unifying activity, not one that highlights differences. You can use it to expand your own "kinship group." Don't just hang with your usual, comfortable clique. Make an effort to talk to a coworker you may have avoided because of perceived cultural barriers. You do have things in common: a shared work ethic, values or family concerns.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quick Tip: Don't Mix Religion with Business Celebrations</span><br /><br />"Holiday-time diversity used to mean just adding a Hanukkah menorah to the decorations," says Michael Hyter, president and CEO of <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">diversity and inclusion</a> consultant Novations/J. Howard & Associates, based in Boston. "Employers must be sensitive to the religious beliefs of their employees and create more flexible celebrations to include all of them."<br /><br />Hyter offers holiday party planners these suggestions:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Avoid Secret Santa and anonymous employee gift exchanges.</span> An innocent stocking stuffer could inadvertently cause discomfort or offense (e.g., a Muslim receives a Christmas angel).<br /><br />Don't focus just on Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. These can conflict with Ramadan or Diwali.<br /><br />Alcohol can make some Christians and non-Christians uncomfortable. Offer alternatives.<br /><br />Get wide input from your employees on holiday planning. Ask as many groups as possible.<br /><br />Allow employees to opt out of company holiday events without penalty or negative connotation.<br /><br />Let non-Christian employees offer company-sanctioned alternatives, but don't make them mandatory.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://content.goupstate.monster.com/articles/3491/17859/1/home.aspx">Monster.com</a><br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com189tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-69726864084195177982007-09-26T14:35:00.000-07:002007-09-27T08:31:12.445-07:00The Brown Pound in a White World<div style="text-align: justify;">By Geraldine Brennan<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Children's fiction still rarely features the lives of </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">black</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> and other </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">ethnic minority</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> families, but the </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.diversityworking.com/viewJobs/?co=Ingram%20Book%20Group">book trade</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> is now moving towards <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diversity</a>. Geraldine Brennan investigates.</span><br /><br />The world of children's books is still one where the faces are almost entirely white, unless they belong to a character in The Arabian Nights or other traditional tales.<br /><br />All of the five highly acclaimed children's novels shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, announced today in TES Teacher magazine, are about white characters. And of the 10 picture books on the Kate Greenaway Medal shortlist, the companion award for outstanding illustration from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, Jane Ray's Jinnie Ghost (Frances Lincoln, Pounds 10.99) is alone in showing a mixture of brown and white children.<br /><br />The Branford Boase Award for first-time children's <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Printing_and_Publishing/?cchan=84">writers</a> (shortlist to be announced next week) shows a similar world view among new authors.<br /><br />Big-name children's <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Printing_and_Publishing/?cchan=84">authors</a> who are not white are the exception: Malorie Blackman (the only <a href="http://www.goafrican.com/">black</a> author for adults or children in the BBC's The Big Read Top 100 in 2003), whose novel Checkmate (Doubleday, £12.99) was nominated for the Carnegie this year; Benjamin Zephaniah; Jamila Gavin; and relative newcomer, Bali Rai.<br /><br />The majority of picture books reflect <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">non-white cultures</a> only in retellings of traditional tales from outside the UK, offering young black children few opportunities to recognise themselves in stories. There is an overwhelming tendency for illustrators to settle on toys, animals and fairies - white ones - to tell their stories.<br /><br />In a recent publishers' and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/viewJobs/?co=Ingram%20Book%20Group">booksellers</a>' debate on fiction for seven to nine-year-olds, children's books consultant Wendy Cooling said the monocultural nature of recent publishing for key stage 2 readers was abundantly clear.<br /><br />"Even where schools have lots of new books, the kinds of stories seem rather similar. We need all kinds of diversity in children's books; we need to look at class and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/personWithDisability/">disability</a> as well as culture. That's how children learn empathy."<br /><br />Beverley Naidoo, who 21 years ago published Journey to Jo'burg, the first children's novel about life under apartheid, could not agree more. She quotes a letter she recently received from an 11-year-old boy in north London who had just read Web of Lies (Puffin Books, £5.99), her novel about young Nigerian asylum seekers' living in Britain. "Thank you for making me understand a little more about myself," he wrote.<br /><br />She said: "Children are interested and engaged in worlds beyond their own.<br /><br />The publishers are concentrating on what they know will sell, but why shouldn't more of this kind of story sell?"<br /><br />Mrs Naidoo is a member of Arts Council England's steering group set up last year to promote diversity in children's books. It is collaborating with the Centre for Literacy in Primary <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Education/?cchan=76">Education</a> to run a weekend conference in June, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Diversity Matters</a>. Keynote speakers are Council for <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Racial Equality</a> chairman Trevor Phillips and Malorie Blackman, and the conference is expected to focus on the commercial realities of publishing, and to highlight good practice by publishers such as Frances Lincoln, which has just launched a culturally diverse primary fiction list.<br /><br />It is also, said Mrs Naidoo, "a chance for teachers, among others, to tell publishers what is needed. There has been a great shift in the knowledge and awareness available since the 1970s, when children's publishing was a very pristine little world. It is time to pool that knowledge ."<br /><br />In 2003, the Institute of Practitioners in <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Advertising/?cchan=88">Advertising</a> report on ethnic diversity calculated that UK black and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Asian</a> buying power (the institute called it "the brown pound") was worth £32 billion. A session at The <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/searchResults/dw_menu.php?url=http://lavergne.careerlink.com/9/8/6/1/po/000912f.htm&comp=Ingram%20Book%20Group&mde=2&jid=126599">Booksellers</a> Association conference in Bournemouth next week will ask: "What can the <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/searchResults/dw_menu.php?url=http://lavergne.careerlink.com/9/8/6/1/po/000911f.htm&comp=Ingram%20Book%20Group&mde=2&jid=126598">book trade</a> do to sensibly, sensitively and profitably access this <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/searchResults/dw_menu.php?url=http://lavergne.careerlink.com/9/8/6/1/po/000914f.htm&comp=Ingram%20Book%20Group&mde=2&jid=126597">book market</a>?"<br /><br />There should be some answers in Books for all, a report due out at the conference from the <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/searchResults/dw_menu.php?url=http://lavergne.careerlink.com/9/8/6/1/po/000916f.htm&comp=Ingram%20Book%20Group&mde=2&jid=126596">Bookseller</a> and Arts Council England. Publishers, literary agents, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/searchResults/dw_menu.php?url=http://lavergne.careerlink.com/9/8/6/1/po/000917f.htm&comp=Ingram%20Book%20Group&mde=2&jid=126595">booksellers</a> and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/searchResults/dw_menu.php?url=http://lavergne.careerlink.com/9/8/6/1/po/000922f.htm&comp=Ingram%20Book%20Group&mde=2&jid=126592">librarians</a> have been asked what they are doing for BME (black and minority ethnic) readers, including children.<br /><br />The other side of the story is writers who are trying to be published; a forthcoming smaller-scale study of UK black and Asian poets gives some pointers. The Spread the Word literature development agency talked to 230 poets for Free Verse, its report commissioned by the Arts Councils of England, Scotland and Wales, due to be published on May 16. The report does not specifically cover poetry for children but some factors seem likely to apply across the board. It points out that the most established black and Asian poets in the UK (including some who write for children such as John Agard, Grace Nichols and Valerie Bloom) are from the Caribbean; a new generation of British-born poets is struggling to get into print.<br /><br />Its recommendations include "a formalised programme of <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">mentoring</a>, adequately funded and administered, that benefits both presses and poets "as a contribution to "breaking down the barriers, whether real or perceived, that stop (black and Asian poets) submitting their work".<br /><br />Laura Atkins, lecturer at the University of Surrey's Roehampton Institute and another member of the committee behind Diversity Matters, is researching a PhD about non-white authors' experiences. Some writers she has talked to hesitate to submit stories that they think will be rejected as "not white enough", others "don't want to feel boxed in on content - they want to be allowed to experiment".<br /><br />For publishers, she said: "It's a matter of making it clear that you're open and interested, and it might mean looking at <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Printing_and_Publishing/?cchan=84">new sources of writers</a>.<br /><br />The generation we are publishing for is very culturally integrated, yet the success of black and Asian writers for adults is not happening in children's publishing."<br /><br />Annie Eaton, fiction publisher for Random House Children's Books, which publishes Malorie <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">Blackman</a> and Bali Rai, said, "When we see something good from a non-white writer, we jump at it if it is of the same quality as the rest of our list, or we know we can work successfully with the writer to improve it. Ninety-nine per cent of what we publish comes from agents; I suspect there are new black writers who have not considered writing for children because there are not many role models, and we are going to have to think of ways to find them."<br /><br />Malorie Blackman's career took off in 1992 when her third book, Hacker, won a W H Smith Mind-Boggling Books Award. She says Diversity Matters reveals "a will to change things. It's a chance to raise the debate in a positive spirit, and I hope it will encourage <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">people from ethnically diverse backgrounds</a> to get into every aspect of publishing, writing the books, making them and selling them. It's very white and middle-class at the moment. It's also important that the publisher cares about the book rather than feeling that they are ticking a multicultural box. That's what I looked for in my early days."<br /><br />The Free Verse report also notes the large majority of white decision-makers in the <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/viewJobs/?co=Ingram%20Book%20Group">book world</a>. This was explored in another Bookseller/Arts Council survey in 2003, which found that of 500 people who worked in publishing, only 13 per cent were not white, and senior staff were almost exclusively white.<br /><br />Since then, the <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Printing_and_Publishing/?cchan=84">Diversity in Publishing</a> Network has been set up, with aims that include:"to promote the status and contribution of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">people from diverse ethnic groups</a> in all areas of publishing".<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.tes.co.uk/search/story/?story_id=2230837">TES</a><br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-79345762652049454742007-09-20T14:30:00.000-07:002007-09-20T14:40:38.569-07:00Young People, Diversity and the Future of Business Sustainability<div style="text-align: justify;">The issue of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diversity</a> is one that has been affecting businesses for many years.<br /><br />It is unacceptable to not view diversity as an integral part of your business; in fact, your business will run the risk of missing out on the commercial <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">benefits that diversity has to offer</a>.<br /><br />But lets look into the future…a future made up of an integrated society of workers who feel valued because their contribution to business sustainability is being recognised. A future where your vision of competition is based on your level of ethical and fair conduct as opposed to cutthroat tactics.<br /><br />The thing is there is a problem with that vision.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workforce of tomorrow</a> will be made up of the young people of today. Young people who come from the diverse backgrounds and have the experiences and skills that will be integral to business success….but young people who feel that employment within many types of businesses, is not for them.<br /><br />If this continues, the scarcity of not only adequate but also <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diverse staff</a> will increase.<br /><br />This will have a larger impact on the development of the business economy as a whole.<br /><br />Through our youth development services, I have been able to get an insight into some of the reasons why many young people are turning to the creative industry, self-employment as well as negative means to meet their aspirational needs.<br /><br />The younger generation have high aspirations for employment and seek people to inspire and motivate them but instead they feel that the unimpenetrable glass ceiling has been reinforced by a lack of cultural understanding and ignorance about them and their needs.<br /><br />This seems to go hand in hand with their overall perception of business; a perception of successful business people being white, middle class and male.<br /><br />Many believe the professional employment is not a place for people who are diverse, or even white, and from a working class background.<br /><br />The lack of role models within positions of seniority across many sectors, seems to reaffirm their fears.<br /><br />In our modern society, statistics show that more young people from diverse backgrounds are going to university because they need to compete effectively with their non-diverse counterparts.<br /><br />However, many are already planning to use university as a foundation for entrepreneurship or work in other sectors because many believe they will not become successful working within the professional services sector.<br /><br />This is because they feel that there is a lack of rapport, of understanding, of commitment to change in meeting both their employment and personal needs.<br /><br />I myself remember that I was offered the chance to go to university but turned down the place on offer. This was because I believed that having practical experience would be more advantageous to me being from an <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">ethnic minority</a> background, than pure academic qualifications when it comes to competition in applying from jobs.<br /><br />Companies within our sector need to ingest the understanding, that past generations within <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diverse communities</a> have experienced all the things that our young people are going through. Stories are passed from father to son, mother to daughter as a tool of motivation for success.<br /><br />What is de-motivating our young people, is the fact that even when they take the opportunities that their parents never had and increase their level of education, meet the criteria requested for jobs and feel they can do no more to achieve success, they look for support around themselves for people like them, and realise that things have not changed.<br /><br />So what’s the answer? It’s very simple. Just ask yourself one question:<br /><br />Are you diverse enough?<br /><br />I don’t mean do your company statistics on ethnicity, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/matureWorker/">older workers</a>, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/personWithDisability/">disabled</a>, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a>, etc. look good on paper. I don’t mean attend as many talks and seminars on the subject of Diversity to make yourself feel like your involved in the change process. I don’t even mean you must shout from the rooftops about how diverse you are.<br /><br />If you were a young person thinking about <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">finding the job</a> that will kick start your career, the career that will take your family out of deprivation, the career that will enable your parents to come off state benefit, the career based on an acceptance of all you have to offer including new ideas, creative ways of thinking and access to new consumer markets, the career that will give your future children role models to be proud of, would you apply to work for the business you work for now?<br /><br />As Founder and Director of Cultiv8 Solutions, I am committed to helping businesses in <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">creating a culture of diversity</a> through specialist recruitment consultancy and coaching.<br /><br />But more importantly, I am committed to creating the future of tomorrow, a future that allows all businesses to become successful based on how they are not what they are.<br /><br />Are you ready for tomorrow?<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.business4brunch.com/content/view/205/25/">Business 4 Brunch</a><br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-40193448468816285232007-08-08T15:37:00.000-07:002007-08-08T15:51:39.848-07:00Diversity: Celebrate Difference, Strengthen Performance<div style="text-align: justify;">By Greg Levin<br /><br />There is a big difference between accepting <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">employee diversity</a> and embracing it. While most corporations today claim to actively promote diversity in the workplace, relatively few effectively manage it and use it to full advantage. The problem, say numerous experts in the area of diversity and human resources, is that many organizations fail to incorporate the critical concept of inclusion into their diversity initiatives.<br /><br />“Diversity describes the spectrum of human similarities and differences,” according to The Workplace Diversity Network, a Joint Project of Cornell University and the National Conference for Community and Justice. “It refers to the composition of people associated with the organization. Inclusion, on the other hand, describes the way an organization configures opportunity, interaction, communication, information and decision-making to utilize the potential of diversity.”<br /><br />Corporate diversity initiatives that do not take inclusion fully into account rarely achieve the company’s desired results and are often little more than Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) or Affirmative Action (AA) policies, says Cecilia Chavez-Protas, president and CEO of Competitive Edge Consulting, Inc., an independent firm specializing in helping <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Customer_Service/?cchan=13">call centers</a> create inclusive work environments to enhance performance. Effective diversity initiatives, she says, “focus on including everyone and excluding no one – they are qualitative. EEO/AA [policies], however, focus on the quantitative – counting how many [members] of the protected classes are hired and promoted based on legislation.”<br /><br />Companies that have taken the time to develop holistic diversity and inclusion initiatives report very positive results. In a survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) titled “The Impact of Diversity Initiatives on Bottom Line,” 91 percent of respondents said that their initiative helped their organizations maintain a competitive advantage; 79 percent of respondents said that it improved corporate culture; 77 percent said it helped recruit new employees; and 52 percent cited enhanced customer relations.<br /><br />Chavez-Protas has seen the realization of such benefits first hand over the years during her work with numerous call center clients. “We are not a homogenous society – we have many differences that we must be responsive to – <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, socio-economic status, educational levels</a>, etc. Call centers have the opportunity to embrace diversity both internally and externally. Those that do are better equipped to meet and exceed their employees’ and clients’ needs.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Components of Effective Diversity/Inclusion Initiatives</span><br /><br />With an increasing number of companies starting to view diversity and inclusion initiatives as business imperatives, certain core success factors have started to emerge. Several of these factors are highlighted in a landmark report, Best Practices in Achieving Workforce Diversity, by the National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR) Diversity Task Force. The task force’s study team identified and carefully analyzed 65 companies, public and private, that were recognized for their efforts in achieving workforce diversity and inclusiveness. Some of the common success factors uncovered during the study include:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Leadership commitment</span>. The study found that companies with the best diversity and inclusion initiatives have managers who “champion diversity by infusing it into all organizational processes and ensuring that diversity is integrated into the core values of the organization.” Diversity experts like Chavez-Protas wholeheartedly support the study's findings. She says that too many managers treat diversity initiatives as a “‘flavor-of-the-month, versus a corporate culture ongoing revolution.” She adds that, to effectively gain buy-in from upper management, managers need to emphasize that a diversity initiative is “not just a nice thing to do, but the profitable thing to do. You need to present the business case behind the effort.”<br /><br />Todd Campbell, manager of SHRM’s diversity initiative agrees that for a diversity initiative to succeed, it must be viewed as business incentive, not a “feel-good” issue. “The real reason for a diversity initiative succeeding is that you treat it like any other strategy,” says Campbell. “You have to make sure the <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">CEO and top management</a> are supportive of it.”<br /><br />Diversity goals tied to key business processes. As stated in the NPR report, “Today’s leaders realize that in order to be effective, successful diversity planning must be aligned with and provide support for strategic business objectives and operational decisions.”<br /><br />According to the study findings and leading diversity consultants, top companies when creating their diversity and inclusion initiatives tend to address such key areas as:<br /><br />* Recruiting and hiring. The focus here is generally on ensuring that the company employs qualified candidates that collectively represent a variety of <a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/hispanic/">cultural or ethnic groups</a>, and that it draws from alternative labor pools such as <a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/hispanic/">workers with disabilities</a> and <a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/matureWorker/">mature workers</a>. Successful companies are also careful that the hiring assessments and tests they administer do not favor any particular group over another.<br /><br />* Training and coaching. Organizations serious about diversity and inclusion tend to have initial and ongoing training programs that feature an eclectic mix of educational methods (such as traditional classroom training, role-playing, on-the-job instruction, and e-learning) that cater to a range of different learning styles and backgrounds.<br /><br />* Compensation. Diversity leaders strive to ensure equity and fairness with regard to employee pay. They seek to ensure that workers with the same or similar responsibilities and experience receive equal compensation, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, or gender, or sexual orientation.<br /><br />* Incentives and employee motivation. To effectively motivate and retain a <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">diverse workforce</a>, top companies create incentive programs that offer something for everyone. Recognition and rewards at these organizations take many forms (i.e., both team and individual-based, monetary and non-monetary incentives) while focusing on both quality and productivity results.<br /><br />* Employee development and advancement. Successful companies provide viable opportunities for employees of all types to continually improve and move on in the organization. Skill and career paths incorporate objectivity and are designed to be accessible to anybody seeking to take on new challenges.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Focused measurement and evaluation methods</span>. The NPR report points out that holistic diversity initiatives involve not only the formation of specific goals tied to key business processes, but also solid methods for measuring the achievement of those goals. “A number of our benchmarking partners pointed out that one could not develop a successful diversity process without periodically assessing and evaluating the status and accomplishments of the process.”<br /><br />Poor measurement tactics can destroy the best-laid diversity plans, says Terrence Simmons, a diversity consultant and CEO of Simmons Associates in New Hope, PA. “You want to be measuring the right thing. It is very disheartening when you’ve got a set of metrics that don’t really get to the heart of where you want to go.”<br /><br />The key to effective measurement of diversity and inclusion effectiveness, according to The Workforce Diversity Network, is to understand and apply three key types of measures: process, outcome, and feedback. The NPR study findings confirm the importance of employee feedback about and involvement in diversity and inclusion initiatives. The study found that a number of leading organizations not only survey their staff, but also have established employee-led diversity councils, task teams, focus groups, affinity councils and networking groups.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Comprehensive diversity awareness training for all employees</span>. Seeking feedback is not the only way in which companies directly involve employees in their diversity and inclusion initiatives. According to the NPR report, diversity awareness training is mandatory for all staff and managers at companies with the most effective initiatives. The general aim of such training is to help create a common understanding of diversity and the impact it has on job performance and morale.<br /><br />But just because a company provides diversity awareness training doesn’t necessarily mean that the specific training they are providing is good or helpful, according to Mauricio Velasquez, president of Diversity Training Group in Reston,<br /><br />* The training has management’s support, but not their commitment.<br /><br />* The training is “off-the-shelf” and not custom designed to meet the unique needs of the particular organization.<br /><br />* The training is awareness-based, but provides no real skills.<br /><br />* The training has no formal follow-up.<br /><br />* Training is all the organization is doing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Diversity Not Without Adversity </span><br /><br />Experts and managers agree that creating and maintaining a <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">diverse, inclusive workplace</a> is no small task. The investment in time, the strategic challenges, and the potential for misunderstanding and conflict can seem daunting to many companies as they embark on their diversity initiatives. In fact, sometimes the whole process requires a change in traditional thinking, says Chavez-Protas.<br /><br />“Treating [employees and clients] as they want to be treated is very different than the ‘Golden Rule’ of treating them as you want to be treated. You may insult or demean or not exceed their expectations. In order to treat them as they want to be treated, you must be willing to get to know their differences.”<br /><br />But Chavez-Protas points out that “<a href="http://diversityworking.com/">Diversity</a> is effort, but well worth it. When difference intrigues us enough to want to know more about one another – because difference is viewed as an asset versus a liability – imagine the collaborative possibilities.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">About the Author<br /><br /></span>Greg Levin is a freelance writer and the former editor of Call Center Management Review published by ICMI. To learn more, visit <a href="http://www.incoming.com/">www.incoming.com</a> or call 410-267-0700.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.connectionsmagazine.com/articles/4/023.html">Connections Magazine</a><br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com136tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-46910024875950025742007-08-08T14:17:00.000-07:002007-08-08T14:39:11.501-07:00Where's the Diversity?<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Diversifying the allied health care workforce is vital in providing quality health care for all Americans</span><br /><br />By Sharon Palmer, RD<br /><br />What do Martha Stewart house paint and the allied health workforce have in common? Give up? Both come in any shade of white you can imagine. Of course, the controversial diva of decorating also offers 4,000 or so other choices, whereas the color palette for allied <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Healthcare_-_Administrative/?cchan=80">health professionals</a> is currently much more limited. In fact, statistics indicate that minorities comprise only about 10% of allied health care professionals in this increasingly diverse country.<br /><br />At the turn of the 20th century, the U.S. population was 13% minority (<a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">African American</a>, <a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/hispanic/">Hispanic</a>, <a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/nativeAmerican/">Native American</a> and <a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Asian/Pacific Islander</a>). Today, these individuals comprise one-quarter of our nation's population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by 2050 it is likely that more than one-third of our residents will identify themselves as minority. With this kind of increase, one would expect to see a similar rise echoed in the health care workforce across the U.S. This, disappointingly, is not the case.<br /><br />The lack of diversity certainly is not due to a lack of available positions. The Allied and Auxiliary Health Care Workforce Project from the Center for the Health Professions at University of California, San Francisco, reports that allied health workers make up an estimated 60% of the U.S. health care workforce, totaling more than 11 million workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Pharmaceuticals/?cchan=83">pharmacy technicians</a>, <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Healthcare_-_Technicians/?cchan=58">laboratory technologists</a>, <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Healthcare_-_Administrative/?cchan=80">physician assistants</a>, <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Healthcare_-_Administrative/?cchan=80">physical therapists and occupational therapists</a> as some of this decade's fastest-growing occupations. In fact, out of the list of the top 30 fastest growing jobs in the U.S. from 2000-2010, more than half are expected to be allied health jobs. Unfortunately, the supply of allied health care workers isn't expected to keep up with this rise in demand. The American Hospital Association (AHA) estimates vacancy rates of 21% for <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Pharmaceuticals/?cchan=83">pharmacists</a>, 18% for <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Pharmaceuticals/?cchan=83">radiological technologists</a> and 12% for laboratory technologists.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Importance of Diversity</span><br /><br />Having a poor representation of minorities in the allied health care profession poses many problems. It has become painfully obvious that in this culturally rich country, minorities do not receive the same level of health care as their white counterparts. Research from the Institute of Medicine, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Commonwealth Fund suggests that there are differences in treatment and health care outcomes based on race and ethnicity. These disparities are caused by many factors, such as differences in socioeconomic status (education level and income), differences in the health behaviors of those seeking care and adhering to treatments, the lack of multicultural tools and sensitivity in part of the health care provider, language barriers, payment and coverage, outright <a href="http://diversityworking.com/support/index2.php#q1">discrimination</a> and stereotyping by health care practitioners, and the lack of diversity in the health care workforce.<br /><br />The recognition that we have a problem in this area has prompted the federal government to issue the bold goal of eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities in this country. As addressed in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Healthy People 2010 initiative, the mission is to achieve health care parity by the end of the decade. Specific emphasis will be placed on ensuring cultural competency among health care providers.<br /><br />With a more diverse population of health care providers, many issues of health care disparity might be resolved. By increasing the representation of <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Healthcare_-_Practitioners/?cchan=57">minorities in the health care workforce</a>, more underserved populations could receive health care. A culturally diverse health care workforce can more effectively care for a diverse population, as many people prefer to discuss their health care concerns with someone from a similar background.<br /><br />"Most of the major public health issues today disproportionately affect minorities," says Terry Brown, RD/LD, vice president of the North Texas Chapter of the National Organization for Blacks in Dietetics and Nutrition. "Who could better understand their plight than someone from their racial/ethnic group? We want to speak to people who understand us culturally and face some of the same challenges we do."<br /><br />By creating a more culturally diverse health care team, better patient communication and treatment will occur along with the bonus that non-minority health care workers will become more aware and sensitive to ethnically diverse patients. In "up close and personal" professions, like physical therapy and occupational therapy, cultural sensitivity becomes even more important in patient care. "When mastering activities of daily living like meal preparation, bathing, etc., you need to have an appreciation of the values and beliefs of a population," says Janie Scott, the director of the Practice Department and Ethics for the American Occupational Therapy Association.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How Do We Get There From Here?</span><br /><br />Most everyone agrees that we need a more culturally diverse population walking the halls of America's hospitals and clinics, but how do we get them there? This is the question that has puzzled allied health organizations for years. Many professional organizations faced up to the issue of workplace diversity about 20 years ago, formally waging war against the underrepresentation of minorities in their professions.<br /><br />Johnette Meadows, PT, MS, who served as director of the Department of Minority and International Affairs in the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) for 14 years, reports that the APTA recognized the need to address this issue about 15 years ago. Since then, the APTA has worked to embed cultural diversity into its goals, objectives and vision. "We are involved with <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">promoting cultural diversity</a> in workshops at schools, in our Web page, and during recruitment and speaker's bureaus," says Meadows.<br /><br />"We market <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">people of color</a>. We want to show that our membership is diverse. We want advocates and speakers of all races to represent our organization," Meadows continues. "The APTA is proud of their accomplishments, which not only promote cultural competency to its professionals, but also attempts to recruit a diverse enrollment at the local level."<br /><br />Despite the APTA's ongoing efforts to increase diversity, they currently report that 90.8% of their members are white, 4.2% Asian, 1.9% Hispanic, 1.5% African American, 0.5% American Indian/Alaskan Native and 1.1% other. Physical therapy has traditionally been considered a female field, with 65% of its members female.<br /><br />The American Dietetic Association (ADA) has also long recognized that their membership is far too homogenous, with only 13.6% male, 2.5% African American, 1.7% Hispanic, 4.8% Asian/Pacific Islander, and .2% American Indian/Alaskan Native/Hawaiian Native. According to Terry Brown, RD/LD, "The lack of visibility of dietetics to young minority people and the academic disadvantaged is one of the principle reasons for underrepresentation of minorities." She also credits poor rates of cultural diversity among dietitians to contributing factors such as few minority role models, low pay in the profession, lack of access to a dietetics program, discrimination, poor recruitment, lack of knowledge to the field of dietetics, and lack of financial resources for a program.<br /><br />In an attempt to improve diversity, the ADA has promoted a diversity committee, mentoring contract, action award, promotion grant, resource list, and ADA networking groups, such as the National <a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">Blacks</a> in Dietetics and Nutrition, the <a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Chinese</a> American Dietetic Association and the Hispanic Dietetic Association.<br /><br />Jeannette Jordan, a Charleston, S.C.-based registered dietitian and spokesperson for the ADA, serves as a nutrition consultant for the Reach 2010 Project, which is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to decrease disparities in African Americans with diabetes. Jordan believes that lack of knowledge regarding the opportunities that exist in the field, apprehension about acceptance into the profession, the difficulty of being accepted into an internship affect minority participation in the profession of dietetics.<br /><br />In the mid-1980s, the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) began establishing multicultural initiatives that focused on student recruitment from a cross section of the population. "When our profession started in World War I, it was primarily white middle class <a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a> who wanted to help soldiers. This captured the hearts of women at the time. Services were provided in private hospitals, in a confined community," says Janie Scott, of the AOTA. With noncompetitive salaries, the profession became a convenient one for suburbanite mothers who wanted to move in and out of their profession.<br /><br />The AOTA looked at ethnicity in their membership in 2002. Out of 33,003 members, 20% did not list ethnic origin. Of those who did list their ethnicity, 1.9% were African American, .2% American Indian, 3.3% Asian, .3% Asian American, 1.5% Hispanic/Latino/ Latina, .2% Multiracial, .8% other and 71.9% white. With a growing diverse patient base, the AOTA wants to enlist a more diverse membership and boost support groups such as the Black Occupational Therapy Caucus and the Native American Occupational Therapy Group.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Educating the Future</span><br /><br />The problem of poor diversity in health care professions has its roots in the higher education system. For many reasons, minorities are not enrolling in allied health programs, as is evidenced in the 10th Report by the Center for Health Workforce Studies, which shows a decline in the number of minorities applying to all health professions education programs.<br /><br />Despite ardent measures to attract a diverse population, at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock the enrollment is estimated at 8% minority. Yet at Texas Southern University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Houston, enrollment is typically only about 10% white. Since 1949, Texas Southern University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences has educated approximately 35% of the nation's black pharmacists. Schools that have been designated as special purpose institutions serving minorities, such as Texas Southern University of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, don't appear to have troubles attracting diverse students in search of allied health careers to campus.<br /><br />The University of Kansas Medical Center and the University of Missouri-Kansas City recognized that they needed to increase the participation of minority students in health professions and put together a groundbreaking package to do something about it. The Health Professions Pipeway Initiative, a multi-institutional, multidisciplinary strategy, hopes to lead the way to greater diversity in health professions.<br /><br />Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Disadvantaged Assistance and the University of Kansas Medical Center, this program targets high school seniors and college undergraduates. Offered throughout the year at satellite centers on university campuses, the program hosts many opportunities, such as counseling, field trips, academic enrichment, tutorials, health career clubs and seminars. At no cost to the student, an eight-week Health Science Enrichment Institute Summer Program is provided for disadvantaged or minority students and offers them preparation for admission to a health professions school. The enrichment program focuses on reading, communication, mathematics, biology, chemistry and test-taking skills, which may not be developed in disadvantaged students.<br /><br />Many other organizations are addressing the health care diversity crisis. The Institute of Medicine has identified strategies to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of the nations' health care workforce, which includes modifying admissions practice and criteria, placing greater emphasis on cross-cultural skills and competencies in heath professions training and accreditation procedures, and increasing the number of minority faculty. In South Carolina, the South Carolina Hospital Association and South Carolina Technical College System announced a $476,000 grant through the federal Workforce Investment Act to assist students seeking a career in health care.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Setting Examples</span><br /><br />One of the programs shining the brightest light on the path of <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">cultural diversity</a> in health care is the Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP), which has established goals of increasing the number and quality of individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds into health profession schools. By achieving these goals, we might better meet the expanding health care needs of an underserved population while developing a more competitive applicant pool to build diversity into health professions. In 1999, the Bureau of Health Professions awarded 112 HCOP grants for a total of $28.2 million to 59 undergraduate institutions and community colleges, 50 health professional schools and health science centers, and three public and nonprofit organizations. Of these 112 grants, 29 grants were awarded to Historically Black Colleges and Universities.<br /><br />The HCOP has made a significant impact on careers. Over the past 20 years, the HCOP has nurtured the entrance and graduation of thousands of minority and disadvantaged students into health professions school. Between 1980-1999, an average of 8,500 students participated in HCOP each year. In addition, thousands of students received counseling or other services.<br /><br />Now the HCOP focuses on increasing education and social and cultural competence early on in the educational pipeline. Major emphasis is placed on developing partnerships with community-based organizations that promote education and cultural diversity. They reach out to students in lower grade levels to attract more into heath professions.<br /><br />Often health professional programs admit students in their junior year of college, which may be too late to attract the interest of minority students who are simply underrepresented in college to begin with. Organizations like the AHA have developed a Commission on Workforce for Hospitals and Health Systems, which encourages hospital leaders to build a thriving workforce by reaching out to students in grades K-12 with the help of local colleges and universities.<br /><br />The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, in conjunction with the Health Professions Partnership Initiative, awarded six grants to increase minority participation in health professions. A requirement of this grant is that efforts focus on middle and high school curricula.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Question of Class</span><br /><br />Chances are, however, that plenty of minority kids will still go to disadvantaged schools that aren't targeted for recruitment or aid, causing them to miss the opportunity to discover careers in health professions. Even the kids that consider an education in a health field may lack the math and science skills, not to mention the financial resources, needed to enter an allied health program.<br /><br />Michael Castillo, now president of the Latino Midwest Medical Student Association, attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated with an undergraduate degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. Castillo reported that at Berkeley the initial enrollment of 180 minority students in his class wound up with only three graduating with a degree.<br /><br />When talking about the issues of cultural diversity in the health care education setting, Michael Castillo says, "This isn't an issue of color. It has to do with socioeconomic class. The minority students who attend college are from affluent backgrounds; the black child from Beverly Hills doesn't share the same experience as the white person in Harlem."<br /><br />Even for college-bound <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">minorities</a>, the allied health professions may not appear glamorous or financially rewarding enough to be worth the cost in sweat and dollars. "There is a hefty cost associated with entering an allied health field. It's much cheaper to become a <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/IT_-_Computers,_Software/?cchan=59">computer programmer</a>," says Janie Scott of the AOTA.<br /><br />But the wave of the future may be in the hands of those working the health care beat. Health professionals on the home front can make a difference in diversifying the health care force. As they create opportunities to educate children about their profession, mentor minority children in the community and attend career days at local schools, they can make a difference by boosting the number of minorities entering their profession.<br /><br />Providing high-quality, sensitive care to all cultures probably speaks the best recommendation to the impressionable patient and their families. It sends the message that these careers offer opportunities for all ethnicities. And the more culturally diverse the health care team becomes, the more role models are sent out into the community. By creating a diverse profession that provides health care services to an equally diverse population across our country, the caregiver opens his or her eyes to the unique values and backgrounds of every patient.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">About the Author<br /><br /></span>Sharon Palmer is a registered dietitian with a 16-year career in health care. She is now a free-lance writer residing in Southern California.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.diversityalliedhealth.com/features/01-08-04b.htm">Diversity Allied Health Careers</a><br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-20941198000427165652007-08-08T12:49:00.000-07:002007-08-08T13:07:53.866-07:00Workforce Diversity Varies with the Territory<div style="text-align: justify;">By John Rossheim<br />Monster Senior Contributing Writer<br /><br />What does <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">workforce diversity</a> mean in a state as predominantly white as Vermont?<br /><br />That was the question underlying a political attack against Howard Dean, a former presidential hopeful. Democratic opponent Al Sharpton criticized Dean for not naming <a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">people of color</a> to top positions in state government while he was governor of Vermont.<br /><br />If workplace diversity is important to you, you should consider raising a similar question when you evaluate a potential employer: Is the company making sufficient progress toward diversity goals, given the racial and other characteristics of the local, regional and national workforce?<br /><br />You can investigate this by asking a few more questions.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What's the Demographic Makeup of the Local Area?</span><br /><br />First, ask yourself –- and the employer –- how the staff measures up to the local workforce along the dimensions of diversity that are important to you. This might include<a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/"> age, gender, sexual orientation or disability, as well as race and ethnic background</a>.<br /><br />For starters, "organizations should do all they can to ensure there's a numerically based decision on diversity goals," says Mike Hyter, CEO of J. Howard & Associates Inc., a <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Consulting_Services/?cchan=50">multicultural consulting firm</a> in Brighton, Massachusetts. "You can look at census data as an indicator of the makeup of your labor pool" and set diversity goals accordingly.<br /><br />Workforce census data is available for metropolitan areas and states, for example. But since it is gathered only every 10 years, this information periodically becomes outdated, Hyter notes. Ask a prospective employer whether the <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Human_Resources_and_Employment_Services/?cchan=21">human resources</a> department uses private market research to update the company's diversity goals.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How Diverse Are the State and Region?</span><br /><br />"When the <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">hiring company</a> moves up into <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Executive_and_Management/?cchan=77">managerial and executive ranks</a>, often the recruiting area gets larger," because the pool of qualified local candidates is smaller, says Melanie Harrington, executive director of the American Institute for Managing Diversity, an Atlanta think tank.<br /><br />"The search may go from city and county to statewide or nationwide," Harrington says. Willingness to take on a national executive search, which carries higher costs for recruitment and relocation, can test whether an employer is willing to back its rhetoric on diversity with money.<br /><br />But you do have to be realistic about the availability of qualified, diverse talent in the hiring situation you're sizing up. For example, Howard Dean's defenders pointed out that Vermont's civilian labor force was 96.7 percent white in 2000, according to the US Census Bureau.<br /><br />That state's workforce, from which state employees would naturally be drawn, is much more homogenous than the national workforce. Across the United States, workers are 72.8 percent white, 10.7 percent <a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/hispanic/">Hispanic</a>, 10.5 percent <a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">African American</a>, 3.6 percent <a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Asian</a> and 2.4 percent other races.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How Are Diverse Employees Distributed Through the Ranks?</span><br /><br />The raw numbers of <a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a> and <a href="http://diversityworking.com/communityChannels/nativeAmerican/">minorities</a> working for a company don't tell the whole story of how diversity relates to geography. An employer may brag that overall it has a high percentage of <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">minority workers</a>, while the deeper truth is that minorities dominate the outlying production facilities, but managers at the downtown headquarters are nearly all white.<br /><br />You should also take note of the prospective employer's assumptions about the risks that <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">diverse employees</a> may be willing to take. "Companies shouldn't assume an executive won't move to Des Moines because they're African American," says Hyter. The 2000 Census reported that the Des Moines labor force was 90 percent white and 3.2 percent African American. Among general and operations managers in the city, 1,960 were white and only 20 were African American.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://content.monster.com/articles/3508/18029/1/home.aspx">Monster Career Advice</a><br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-72870522235407512552007-07-03T14:11:00.000-07:002007-07-03T14:22:22.741-07:00How Should Opposition To Workplace Diversity Initiatives Be Handled?<div style="text-align: justify;">Whether you are selling the idea of developing and implementing a <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> initiative to executive management or to the entire staff, questions around the purpose of initiating such an endeavor will -- in all likelihood -- arise. If not dealt with promptly and effectively, these questions and concerns could be the catalyst for resistance and undermine your results. Oftentimes, proper communication throughout the process can address and sometimes help to avert opposition to such an initiative before it arises. The responses to three commonly asked questions are below:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1) Why are we doing this? </span>Explain the demographic changes in the workforce followed by additional information about the population shifts in your region and in your organization, is a start. You may wish to follow with a discussion of changes that employees have seen and are presently dealing with, in both the organization and the customer-base, and how those changes impact them daily on the job.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2) What's diversity got to do with it?</span> This question may require an explanation of the business imperative related to workplace diversity, showing that preserving the organization's long-term survival is the objective and pointing out the pragmatic benefits to the individual. For example, learning how to communicate across language barriers may be helpful to supervisors of employees who speak limited English or to customer contact staff who deal with a multicultural customer base. Also, developing strategies for resolving conflicts may be useful to managers with fractionalized teams. Or developing coaching skills may give managers the tools they need to <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">mentor and nurture diverse staff members</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3) Does this mean that we have to lower our standards?</span> Quality versus workplace diversity perceptions are the root of this question. Resistance may arise among employees who think the emphasis on workplace diversity is antithetical to quality. Dealing with this question may require a discussion of different ways to view the relationship between quality and workplace diversity. The most important point to make regarding this question is that quality and workplace diversity are not mutually exclusive and do occur in the same employee or individual.<br /><br />Although challenging, such questions provide the opportunity to set the tone, teach about workplace diversity, and demonstrate the <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">organization's commitment to creating a truly inclusive, respectful work environment</a>. Although effective responses can vary, the following are guidelines that may help you to frame responses without creating greater discomfort with the topic.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1) Inquire.</span> Ask questions to understand, clarify, or get more information. Dig deeper to find out what the person means and what reasoning is behind the comment or question. Make sure your inquiry is a real search for information and not an off-putting accusation.<br /><br /> "What makes you say that?"<br /> "Is that a problem that you are faced with?"<br /> "Can you tell me more about that?"<br /> "How does this impact your interactions with customers?"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2) Show empathy.</span> When powerful emotions are present, acknowledging and responding to the feelings expressed is an important first step in defusing the situation. Listen not just to the words, but to the underlying feelings. It is likely that you will be faced with frustrations similar to those faced by the individual with whom you are talking. Demonstrating understanding can help calm the upset individual so that further communication can take place.<br /><br /> "It is frustrating when you can't understand someone."<br /> "It is difficult to help when you don't know if you're being understood."<br /> "That is irritating for me, too."<br /> "Dealing with situations like that is stressful."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3) Educate.</span> Once emotions have calmed, use this time as an opportunity to debunk myths, give facts and explain. Share your reading and knowledge about stereotypes, cultural differences and civil rights.<br /><br /> "Did you know that the first civil rights law was passed right after the Civil War, more than 130 years ago?"<br /> "The term 'gypped' comes from Gypsy."<br /> "Many <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/gayAndLesbian/">gays and lesbians</a> prefer the term 'sexual orientation' over 'sexual<br /> preference' as it expresses their sense that one's sexuality is not a choice but is how someone is born."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4) Express your feelings.</span> When it is your feelings that are involved, you have a right to let the other person know the impact of the comment. Use non-blaming "I" statements when explaining your reactions.<br /><br /> "I feel diminished when I'm referred to as a gal or girl."<br /> "I'm uncomfortable when us vs. them generalizations are made."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5) State your needs or expectations. </span>If it is different behavior that you desire, let people know what you do and do not want.<br /><br /> "Let's focus on creating an approach that we can both agree on."<br /> "Jokes about other religions or <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">cultural groups</a> are off limits with me."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6) Avoid polarization.</span> Getting stuck in an either/or situation can be avoided by soliciting other options and points of view.<br /><br /> "What might be other reasons for this behavior?"<br /> "How might someone of a different background see this?"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">7) Use the silence of no response or delaying your response.</span> While silence can be interpreted as tacit approval, there are times when the silence of no response is deafening and sends a powerful message of disapproval. Not laughing at a joke or not responding to a sarcastic remark may serve as all the comment that is needed.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">8) Avoid arguing and defending.</span> Curb the impulse to debate, persuade, argue or defend your point of view. Doing so usually only strengthens the resistance and drives entrenched opinions deeper. One of the most difficult diversities of all to deal with may be that of differences in values. Acknowledging that we can have differences of opinion yet respect one another also demonstrates your ability to "walk the talk" of workplace diversity.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a href="http://www.business-marketing.com/store/opposediv.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">BusinessTrainingMedia.com</span></a><br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-87689928752366607192007-07-03T10:25:00.000-07:002007-07-03T12:10:49.134-07:00Maximizing Value Through Diversification<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Diversifying can be the best way for companies to match their capabilities to the marketplace.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://diversityworking.com/">Corporate diversification</a> is a prime example of a once-popular management idea that has fallen from grace. In the 1960s, the "conglomerate kings" — giants such as Gulf & Western and ITT — snapped up dozens of businesses to general acclaim. More recent studies, however, have found that <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">diversified companies</a> trade at a 5% to 12% discount relative to focused companies.<br /><br />Most economists interpret this evidence to mean that diversification causes poor performance. According to the standard agency account, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Executive_and_Management/?cchan=77">managers</a> pursue diversification for selfish reasons, such as the desire to build an empire or reduce their personal risk. The resulting conglomerates often operate inefficiently — strong divisions, for example, may subsidize the weak — leading investors to punish diversified companies.<br /><br />But what if the causal arrow points the other way? Could diversification be not the cause of poor performance, but its result? That's the argument put forward by John Matsusaka, professor of <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Financial_Services/?cchan=78">finance</a> and business economics at the University of Southern California, in an article titled "Corporate Diversification, Value Maximization and Organizational Capabilities," which appeared in the July 2001 issue of the Journal of Business.<br /><br />Matsusaka presents a mathematical model that shows how diversification can be a value-maximizing strategy — even if specialization remains the ultimate goal. He begins by observing that companies can be seen as collections of organizational capabilities, such as expertise in <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Marketing/?cchan=65">marketing</a> or new-product development, that are transferable across products and industries to a certain degree. Because such capabilities have value, companies facing a decline in their core business should not simply shut down. Instead, they can maximize shareholder value by trying to find a new industry that offers a good match for their skills.<br /><br />Although careful analysis can improve the search process, some uncertainty about the quality of a match will almost invariably remain. Consequently, experimentation — "entering an industry and observing the outcome" — is often the only way to determine whether a sector offers a good fit. Very rarely, managers choose to liquidate their existing operations before embarking on experimentation. More often, diversification — combining old and new activities — is the result.<br /><br />Viewed from that perspective, diversification typically marks a period of transition. Companies will try to reject a number of possible businesses before refocusing in the industry that offers the closest fit. However, under certain conditions, diversification can become a long-term strategy. In highly competitive sectors, where the value of an enterprise's best match can quickly drop, precautionary diversification often makes sense. That dynamic, Matsusaka suggests, may explain the importance of diversification for companies such as 3M and General Electric.<br /><br />Matsusaka's theory offers a new explanation for the diversification discount: Diversified companies have begun the process of redeploying underperforming assets but haven't yet found a good match. The theory also can make sense of several empirical puzzles, such as why investors often respond positively when companies announce diversification programs. In this case, the fact that managers are looking for a better match for their capabilities may come as good news.<br /><br />However, diversification is not always the right strategy, Matsusaka cautions, nor will it always deliver positive results. Since uncertainty is inherent in the search process, some experiments will fail. "If you're drilling for oil, you know some holes are going to come up dry," he observes.<br /><br />More important, for a company that has already found its ideal match, <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">diversification</a> probably doesn't make sense. "If you have something you're good at, just stick to your knitting," Matsusaka says. "But at some point, when your product starts to decline, you have to decide whether you want to liquidate or preserve your organizational capital. And if it's valuable enough to preserve, you may have to take a leap."<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Copyright © Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1977-2007. All rights reserved.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://sloanreview.mit.edu/smr/issue/2002/winter/1c/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a><br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-83952355467042739212007-07-02T14:31:00.000-07:002007-08-29T09:59:37.246-07:00Challenges to Workplace Diversity - Minority Women Have Made Strides, But Hurdles Linger<div style="text-align: justify;">By Rebecca R. Kahlenberg<br />Special to The Washington Post<br /><br />When Rockville resident Saquiba Ahmed, 38, sought a corporate job in 2000, she researched the<a href="http://diversityworking.com/"> diversity</a> policies of several companies and networked mostly with <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women of color</a>. On her resume, she listed her fluency in the Urdu and Hindu languages and her involvement in an organization that assists <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Pakistani</a> women.<br /><br />But while Ahmed did not downplay her ethnic and racial background to potential employers, she was unsure how comfortable she would feel as a South <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Asian American</a> in the workplace. "I was nervous about not being able to fit in because of my cultural values and the color of my skin," she recalled.<br /><br />Ahmed was hired by Sodexho Inc., a food- and facilities-management services company, as a generalist in the human resources department. She's now the company's diversity coordinator. She was among the 150 attendees at a recent Women of Color Multicultural Town Hall, an all-day event held recently in downtown Washington. It was sponsored by New York-based Working Mother Media, publisher of Working Mother magazine.<br /><br />The primary goal of the meeting was "to foster dialogues about <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/weblog/">issues of race and about where race and gender meet in the workplace</a>," said Carol Evans, president and chief executive of Working Mother Media. The company has sponsored similar meetings in other cities over the past two years.<br /><br />At the D.C. meeting, the challenges discussed included stereotyping by superiors, racial jokes by co-workers, the lack of mentors and sponsors, the lack of recognition for work, feelings of isolation and invisibility, and lack of opportunities for training and development.<br /><br />Just 1.6 percent of Fortune 500 corporate officer and top-earner positions are held by women of color, according to a 2002 study of such positions in Fortune 500 companies that was highlighted during the meeting. <a href="http://african-american-women-diversityworld.blogspot.com/">Black women</a> held 1.1 percent of those positions, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Asian American women</a> held 0.29 percent, and <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">Latino women</a> held 0.24 percent, according to the study, conducted by New York-based Catalyst, a research and advisory services group.<br /><br />But the general tone of the participants was optimistic and pragmatic. In an instant poll conducted at the meeting, 58 percent of respondents agreed with the statement: "My company is sensitive to the <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">cultural issues facing women of color in the organization</a>." Sixty-seven percent answered yes to the question, "Do you currently have an ongoing <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">mentor</a> at your place of work?" And 63 percent said their future plans were to stay with their current organization.<br /><br />Panelists offered advice on succeeding in the business world that went beyond generalities such as "be the best you can be":<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Find a mentor.</span> An adviser can be your boss, a personal coach, or anyone on an executive level who is willing to meet with you and "help you navigate land mines" in the organization, said Ingrid Beckles, vice president of default asset management at Freddie Mac. Don't share too much about your job pitfalls and concerns with your mentor, said Patricia Gonzalez-Perez, executive director of Customer Response Northeast at Verizon Communications Inc. "It's not the same as sitting down with your mom or a close friend," she said.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Network as much as possible</span>, and ask for help as you move on in your career, said Marcia R. Tuck, senior vice president and area manager at SunTrust Bank's Maryland region. She said she regrets not requesting more help in the 1970s and '80s when she joined the "white male-dominated" <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Banking/?cchan=75">banking industry</a> in the Washington area.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">And don't hesitate to change jobs</span>, said Beckles of Freddie Mac. She recalled that when she was a bank vice president around 1990, "it didn't dawn on me until I got a call from a headhunter who offered three times my salary that I was being so underpaid," she said.<br /><br />Ahmed said the Multicultural Town Hall provided "food for my soul," and noted that she plans to meet regularly with the 14 women she met at an Asian Roundtable there.<br /><br />"It's a great time to be a <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">woman of color in corporate America</a>," she said between panel discussions. "But there is still a lot of work to be done to get rid of the stereotypes and focus on our skills and abilities."<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/17/AR2005121700333.html">The Washington Post</a><br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-62366704906419000472007-06-21T10:30:00.000-07:002007-06-21T11:44:21.503-07:00Workplace Diversity - More Diverse Than Ever<div style="text-align: justify;">By Noreen S. Kirk<br /><br />If you’ve been in the business world for a while, you may remember when people first started talking about <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a>. Back then, the term typically referred to the growing number of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">African-Americans</a> and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a> in the workforce. But fast-forward into the 21st century, and it’s clear that “diversity” is more diverse than it used to be.<br /><br />In Connecticut and across America, the labor force is evolving into an ever richer mosaic of people representing a variety of nations, cultures, religions, languages and perspectives. There is power in this workplace diversity, and companies that harness it can gain a competitive edge in the global marketplace. That’s why smart employers will want to give some serious thought to managing this increasingly heterogeneous workforce effectively.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The changing workforce</span><br /><br />Foreign immigration is a major factor in the changing composition of the workforce. A recent study by Northeastern University showed that for the period 2000 to 2005, immigrants made up 63% of the country’s labor force growth — an all-time high. Southern New England felt the effects, too. For the same period, new foreign immigration accounted for all of the labor force growth in Connecticut and virtually all of it in New England.<br /><br />These new immigrants are important to Connecticut’s economy. Along with other Northeastern states and states in the Midwest, Connecticut is experiencing a decline in working-age population as <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/matureWorker/">baby boomers</a> retire and many younger, native-born workers relocate out of state. The jobs they’re vacating are increasingly being filled by foreign immigrants.<br /><br />“Connecticut needs to have its arms wide open to new immigrants,” says Mark LeClair, professor of economics at Fairfield University. “Our ability to maintain a manufacturing sector in the state is going to be dependent on our use of this new immigrant labor.”<br /><br />Immigrants play an important role in other sectors, too. Alice DeTora, a partner in the Hartford office of Robinson & Cole, says, “Companies are hiring more foreign nationals, particularly in high-technology industries like <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Pharmaceuticals/?cchan=83">biopharmaceuticals and biotechnology</a>. That’s where we’re really lacking talent and relying heavily on foreign nationals.”<br /><br />Foreign immigration contributes to workplace diversity, but it’s not the only factor, says Peter Francese, director of demographic forecasting for the New England Economic Partnership. “Today, diversity is in attitudes,” Francese says. “It’s more about psychographics than demographics.”<br /><br />He says today’s workers’ priorities differ in key ways from those of earlier generations.<br />“A significant number of people in today’s workforce want only money and time,” says Francese. “These are people who say, ‘I’ll work three days a week, and that’s all. I have a life.’ Employers have to be flexible in this regard.”<br /><br />Another priority for today’s workers is the ability to do interesting work and learn new skills that enable career advancement. Francese says employers would be wise to provide these learning opportunities.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The employer’s approach</span><br /><br />Nancy Haas is president of Newtown-based Haas Consulting Services, which specializes in human resources issues. She, like Francese, espouses a <a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">broader view of workplace diversity</a>.<br /><br />“We have to understand that diversity is not just <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">race and gender</a>,” Haas says. “It also includes age, economic status, education — everything that makes up each individual as a person.”<br /><br />Even with so much workplace diversity, <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">employers</a> who take a smart approach can get everyone working together toward the same goals, Haas says.<br /><br />“You have to set a foundation for people to respect each other,” Haas says. “This leads to understanding and awareness. You do this through education, constant communication and making sure that senior management ‘walks the talk.’ Management has to show by example that they celebrate the diversity of the organization — culture, age, experience and more,” says Haas.<br /><br />Some of her clients highlight the <a href="http://cultural-workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">cultural workplace diversity</a> through special activities such as inviting people to bring in ethnic dishes to share or use pins to mark their countries of origin on a world map. These activities increase cultural awareness and help employees get to know each other as individuals.<br /><br />“Stereotypes build up a communication wall,” Haas says. “A company can break these down through education. When you have employees who feel comfortable in the workplace, they’re going to be much more productive.”<br /><br />Haas says that, today, it’s especially important for employers to clearly communicate business strategies and goals.<br /><br />“The younger generation wants to know, ‘Why?’” she says. “If an employee knows what the strategy is and what their role in it is, you have a much more interested employee who’s working with you toward goals and objectives. If you don’t keep them challenged, you’re going to lose them.”<br /><br />Fostering understanding and collaboration in the diverse workplace has its challenges, but it’s a smart business strategy, says Peter Bye, president of MDB Group Inc. in Livingston, N.J., and a member of the Workforce Diversity Panel of the Society for Human Resource Management.<br /><br />“Research shows that a <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">diverse workforce</a> has a richer range of knowledge about an idea and brings understanding of a wider range of market segments,” Bye says. “Innovation, creativity and the productivity potential of a diverse team [are] far greater than [those of] a monocultural team.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Legal and other considerations</span><br /><br />While a diverse, well-managed workforce is a business asset, the wide mix of cultures and backgrounds can present legal issues employers must deal with, many of them centering on complaints of <a href="http://diversityworking.com/support/index2.php#q1">discrimination in the workplace</a>.<br /><br />“More and more, we’re finding reasonable-accommodation issues arising,” says Colin Munro, a partner in the Stamford office of the <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Legal_Services/?cchan=82">law firm</a> of McCarter & English LLP.<br /><br />One example offered by Richard Voigt, a partner in the firm’s Hartford office, concerns scheduling around different religions’ Sabbath days and holidays.<br /><br />“The employer is under a duty to reasonably accommodate religious beliefs,” Voigt says. To be reasonable, an accommodation “doesn’t have to be the accommodation requested by the employee. Employers should describe the hours of the job up front and, if no reasonable accommodation is possible, make clear to the employee that working these hours is a requirement of the job. In assessing whether a <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">reasonable accommodation</a> is possible, the employer should be open to considering employee shift swaps or other schedule adjustments worked out between employees.”<br /><br />Language can be a trouble spot, too. English-speaking workers may feel excluded when other groups talk among themselves in their native language. Some employers see the use of languages other than English as undermining teamwork and good morale and have instituted English-only rules.<br /><br />“These have not been well received by the courts,” Voigt says. “There has to be a legitimate business reason for it. The courts have viewed the morale issue as too speculative.”<br /><br />Other questions may come up regarding employees’ wearing of turbans or chadors, <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">religious observances in the workplace</a>, speaking accents, and more. But Voigt says that the biggest issues in the diverse workforce are complaints about “glass ceilings” and discriminatory treatment.<br /><br />“Employers should be monitoring how promotions are playing out and should, through training and appropriate planning, try to make opportunities as broadly available as possible. They should ensure that the decision-making process is as objective as possible and that their nondiscrimination policies are structured correctly and are part of the fabric of the organization,” Voigt notes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Workplace diversity in action</span><br /><br />At Rand-Whitney Containerboard LLP in Montville, workplace diversity is just a way of life, says Human Resources and Safety Manager Roberta Hublard.<br /><br />The company, which employs just over 100 people, includes African-Americans, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/hispanic/">Hispanics</a>, one Ukrainian and an Indian (who is multilingual). Although the paper industry typically attracts mostly men, the company also has several women, one in a nontraditional role.<br /><br />“When we’re recruiting people, we don’t recruit for a minority or non-minority, but for a certain skill set,” Hublard says. “The person who comes in with that skill set is the person we’re going to hire. And if they have the skill set, they are just totally accepted. Their <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">ethnicity or race or gender or age</a> doesn’t even matter.”<br /><br />The employees are organized into crews, four of which work on the paper machine and two that are responsible for maintenance.<br /><br />“They all need to be able to back each other up,” says Hublard. “People are more concerned with, ‘Can this person do the job? Can this person work with me? Can we help each other? than anything else.”<br /><br />Everyone socializes easily, too. They routinely have lunch together, and one crew has formed a bowling team.<br /><br />Of the 36 employees who work on the shop floor at Reflexite America in New Britain, 32 were born in Poland and four in the United States, according to Human Resource Coordinator Eileen Baran. English is a second language for all the Polish-born workers. But overcoming language difficulties and dealing with cultural differences hasn’t been a huge problem at this employee-owned company.<br /><br />Reflexite, which manufactures reflective materials, light-controlling films and lenses, was founded in 1970 with about five employees, some from the local Polish community.<br /><br />“The Polish community is tight, and people know each other,” says Director of Operations Mark Zapatka. As the company grew, employees encouraged their friends and relatives to apply for positions.<br /><br />To move into leadership roles, employees need to speak English, so Reflexite made ESL training available free of charge during working hours for any employee who wanted it. Many took advantage of the opportunity, and many have gone on to take courses at local colleges on their own initiative, as well, with tuition reimbursed by the company. Today, Zapatka says, he can converse in English with all but a handful of employees. For that group, Eileen Baran, who is bilingual, or another employee provides translation.<br /><br />At Cooper-Atkins Corp. in Middlefield, nearly one-third of the 150 employees are originally from other countries, including Poland, Italy, Japan, Slovakia, Columbia, India and Puerto Rico. And that’s just fine with President and CEO Carol Wallace, who has a personal interest in countries and languages.<br /><br />One of the ways the company celebrates its diversity is by holding an International Day, when employees wear ethnic clothing and bring in ethnic foods.<br /><br />“We all gather and have a luncheon,” says Wallace. “Everyone shares. It really celebrates our diversity.”<br /><br />While not all employees speak English, the company does offer ESL classes to try to promote a common language, and bilingual employees translate when necessary. Religious observances haven’t been a problem; people use floating holidays or personal days. The company does much of its hiring based on internal referrals.<br /><br />“When people come in, they know what the culture of the organization is — that we don’t tolerate intolerance in any shape or form,” says Wallace. “It’s evidenced by the fact that we promote an international culture by <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">hiring a diverse population</a> and that we celebrate our differences and similarities.”<br /><br />One of the ways Wallace demonstrates her personal appreciation of workplace diversity is to learn to say a few phrases in every language represented.<br /><br />“We’ve taken many small steps to ensure that the entire organization understands that management <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">embraces cultural diversity</a>,” Wallace says. “We haven’t done any rocket science; it’s just a matter of enjoying the diversity we have.”<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.cbia.com/cbianews/2007/05/200705CS_WorkplaceDiversity.htm">CBIA.com</a><br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-82314996287315538112007-06-20T12:52:00.000-07:002007-06-20T13:11:33.826-07:00Will the "Real" People of Color Please Stand Up?<div style="text-align: justify;">At ProGroup, we have a belief that the more you know about <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">diversity and inclusion</a>, the more you don't know. This has always been a truism for me, and more so as I continue to meet people of diverse backgrounds and heritage.<br /><br />Because it's human nature to want to categorize people, we find ourselves - with good intent - labeling entire groups and trying to use appropriate terms. It's "<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Asian</a>," not "Oriental."<br /><br />"Black" over "<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">African American</a>," according to recent research. A few years ago "American Indian" replaced "<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/nativeAmerican/">Native American</a>." Some say "white"; others "European American." Never use "ladies"; always use "<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a>," unless you are in the South and then it's okay with some women. Latino may soon replace <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/hispanic/">Hispanic</a>, but for some, it may evolve into "Mexican American." And, when referring to sexual orientation, it's <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/gayAndLesbian/">"gay males," "lesbians," or "GLBT"</a>, which sometimes becomes "LGBT," depending on whom you are talking to. That's what I know today. It gets very confusing and hard to remember what is "right."<br /><br />Despite the fact that universities and the media have created their own list of "standard" terminology, usage has changed over time and probably will continue to evolve, leaving us with no list we can be sure of. Historically, controlling groups have had the authority to label or name other groups. Today, <a href="http://www.goafrican.com/">ethnic and cultural groups</a> demand the power to name themselves.<br /><br />What makes this hard is that people don't fit neatly into one box. This is becoming even more apparent as our country becomes more multicultural and multiethnic. The 2000 Census reported that 5.5% of respondents checked "multiracial." Individuals in the focus groups we conduct are more sensitive than ever about being categorized and then labeled.<br /><br />In the early 1980s, someone somewhere decided that in order to be inclusive and avoid the negativity associated with the term "minority," "<a href="http://diversityworking.com/">people of color</a>" should be adopted. This allowed us to be okay about "clumping" everyone together. But even with this terminology, corporations divide "people of color" into various affinity groups and employee resource and network groups to learn about and understand the communities they represent. Then, they count people by demographic group to show progress in diversity. Difficult, isn't it?<br /><br />I was struck by this dilemma even more as I listened to Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, president of Bennett College for Women, close the Chief Diversity Officer's Summit earlier this spring. In her inspiring style and thoughtful commentary, Dr. Cole asked us to consider how very different we are within our differences. She challenged us not to try to make things too easy by putting people in Column A or Column B and believing that everyone in that column has the same attributes. To illustrate her point, Dr. Cole referred to one of the presenters, Bonnie St. John, who is a Paralympic Medal-winning skier. She asked us, "In what column would you put 'our sister' Bonnie, who is one-legged, black, a woman, and an athlete?" Dr. Cole asked us to get beyond trying to categorize people and recognize that we are all unique individuals with unique characteristics and distinct perspectives.<br /><br />In the office recently, ProGroup's ever popular and talented vice president, Tony Orange, was telling us about a training session he conducted where a male participant - a manager - followed him during a break and asked him, "Tony, what do I call you? Do I refer to you as black? Do I say Tony is the black guy in the group? I don't want to be offensive. I just don't know." As always, Tony exhibited great understanding and demonstrated Change Agent behavior. He discussed how you would start by referring to him by name. "I'm Tony." Tony went on to say, "Then, you might ask the individual, as you have done today, what is your preference? Everyone will be different." During the course of this conversation, Tony explained that for him it would be okay to refer to him as black if he was in a crowd and you wanted to point him out to others. "But," Tony continued coaching, "the real issue is whether you treat me differently because of the label." The manager wanted a rule from Tony and an easy answer. Instead, the manager got wisdom. There is no rule book.<br /><br />We work with several <a href="http://diversityworking.com/organizations/">clients who are actively recruiting to increase their diversity representation</a>. In their process, they refer to <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">"diversity applicants," "underrepresented minorities," "diversity hires," and "minority candidates,"</a> and they are resistant to change this practice because they believe they won't be able to measure their progress. Consider what it would be like to be hired carrying one of these descriptors, these labels. You may not know you even have a label on . . . or, would you? I remember an old training exercise that I experienced where an adhesive label with the name of a category of people was placed on my forehead. I couldn't see what it said. I had to wear the label all afternoon as people reacted positively or negatively toward me. When I finally peeled it off, I could still feel it hours later.<br /><br />Human nature... fascinating isn't it? I was with some people at dinner recently and we noticed that our waiter's name on his nametag was 16 letters long. A colleague asked, "How do you say your name?" The waiter proudly pronounced his full name and then apologetically said, "Just call me 'Dickey.' That is what they call me here." We asked, "Do you like the shortened name?" He replied, "No, but it is easier for them. I'm getting used to it."<br /><br />It's not easy anymore. One day soon, "people of color" will be replaced by someone's new preferred label. As we try to exhibit behaviors of respect and appreciation, let's be conscious of how we use labels and names in our desire to make things simple.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Resist "clumping."</span> It's tempting, but if you consciously work to learn about the whole person and get beyond putting that individual in a group, you may be surprised. All (fill in the blank) are not alike.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Put the extra energy into learning about people, especially their names.</span> One researcher said that your name is the most important word in the English language. Multiply that by all the languages around the world. When you pronounce someone's name correctly, it means a lot-and that's coming from someone whose last name, "Marofsky," has been pronounced and spelled in some pretty crazy ways.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Notice how individuals refer to themselves and use their term.</span> Then, don't assume that the next person will prefer the same label.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Give yourself grace.</span> You won't always know what is correct and you may make a mistake in someone's eyes. Apologize with appreciation and then ask what term the individual prefers.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ask in order to learn.</span> What a great way to make human connections that make a difference around <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">diversity</a>! Go back to our wise man, Tony, and get beyond the surface stuff to really understand who others are and what they need. In case you don't know, there is no such thing as political correctness.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.progroupinc.com/site/page/pg4523-as42-pn_Will_the_Real_People_of_Color_Please_Stand_Up.html">ProGroup</a><br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-91914252570765310582007-06-18T15:48:00.000-07:002007-06-19T08:14:11.560-07:00Workplace Diversity: Creating Workplace Opportunities for People with Disabilities<div style="text-align: justify;">By Tamara E. Holmes<br /><br />Nearly one out of every five Americans has a disability, according to the 2000 Census. Of the approximately 70 percent of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/personWithDisability/">people with disabilities</a> who are unemployed, two thirds of them would like to work, according to the National Organization on Disability and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Marketing/?cchan=65">market research firm</a> Harris Interactive. Luckily for them, a number of Boston-area companies and organizations are working to make that possible.<br /><br />People with disabilities have a unique perspective that a smart <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">employer</a> can take advantage of, says Kathleen Petkauskos, president of the Resource Partnership, an organization based in Natick, Mass., that works to <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/personWithDisability/">place people with disabilities in jobs</a>.<br /><br />"Customers also have disabilities," she says. "By <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/personWithDisability/">employing people with disabilities</a>, companies can learn about that target market."<br /><br />The number of companies Petkauskos has seen taking an interest in disability-friendly practices has been steadily increasing over the past decade since the passage of the <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/personWithDisability/">Americans With Disabilities</a> Act in 1990. The legislation, signed into law by President George H.W. Bush, gives people with disabilities the right to <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">equal employment opportunities</a>.<br /><br />"The passage of the [Americans with Disabilities Act] brought awareness to the <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">employer community</a>," says Petkauskos. "[Companies] had to make changes around their employment practices."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Two-Way Benefits</span><br /><br />But as companies searched for ways to make their workplaces friendly to people with disabilities, many of them found that the workers weren't the only ones seeing direct benefits.<br /><br />The Institute for Community Inclusion and Boston College Center for Work and Family held a series of focus groups with regional employers and came up with three main reasons <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/personWithDisability/">employers seek to hire people with disabilities</a>:<br /></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>By hiring people with disabilities, companies fill a <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">job vacancy</a>. <br /></li></ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>People with disabilities add <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> and show the company's commitment to the community. <br /></li></ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Companies that hire people with disabilities</a> are viewed positively by the community at large because they are seen acting in a socially responsible manner.<br /></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">A number of Massachusetts <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/personWithDisability/">firms have taken their commitment to making the workplace friendly to people with disabilities</a> to a higher level by joining the Massachusetts Business Leadership Network, a coalition of companies working to make sure the workforce includes people with disabilities.<br /><br />Among the companies that are members of the Business Leadership Network are Citizens <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Banking/?cchan=75">Bank</a>, FleetBoston Financial, Harvard University, Massachusetts General and Progress Software.<br /><br />Companies that are members of the network are "more than willing to share best practices and strategies" with each other, says the Resource Partnership's Petkauskos.<br /><br />For example, the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Mass., a member company, ensures that the company retain employees who are disabled by having a committee meet six times each year that advises the company on how best to make the workplace more friendly to people with disabilities.<br /><br />Among the initiatives the committee came up with were <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/virtualcareerexpo/">career fairs</a> specifically targeting <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/personWithDisability/">employees with disabilities</a> and the evaluation of all school buildings to make sure they are accessible to people with disabilities.<br /><br />Disability Support Groups<br /><br />The University of Massachusetts isn't the only company that is addressing the needs of people with disabilities by forming support groups of some type.<br /><br />According to Joe Good, a spokesman for <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Financial_Services/?cchan=78">financial services fir</a>m FleetBoston, the company has a <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/weblog/">Diversity</a> Resource Group, or support group, for people with disabilities as well.<br /><br />In fact, says Petkauskos, more and more companies are recognizing that people with disabilities have unique needs and are taking steps to create groups that address those needs.<br /><br />Companies that are looking to make their policies more friendly to people with disabilities must start by making everyone in the company aware of the unique needs of people with disabilities "from the CEO, down," says Petkauskos.<br /><br />Once a company is educated about those needs, it can go about making sure the building is wheelchair accessible, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/support/index3.php">interview</a> sites are easy for people with disabilities to get to, and emergency procedures take into account people who can't easily climb up and down stairs.<br /><br />Sheila L. Fesko, research coordinator for the National Center on <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/personWithDisability/">Workforce and Disability</a>, an organization affiliated with the University of Massachusetts, says employers should also understand that people with disabilities have many of the same problems that other employees have.<br /><br />"Managers should understand how people's skills match with the job and assign people based on their strengths," she says. Along those same lines, employers should look for opportunities to assign <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">mentors</a> to people with disabilities, just as they would assign mentors to other employees.<br /><br />But at the same time, <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">issues that are unique to people with disabilities</a> should be handled confidentially without other employees being made privy to the details if they don't need to be.<br /><br />Employers also should work to make sure the workplace's culture is friendly to people with disabilities by showing no tolerance for employees who discriminate against people with disabilities, according to Fesko.<br /><br />But the most important thing, the Resource Partnership's Petkauskos says, is that companies be willing to learn what people with disabilities need.<br /><br />"Companies don't have to already be disability-friendly to work [with us,]" she says. "We will work with them."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">About the Author</span><br /><br />Tamara Holmes is a freelance writer based in Largo, MD. She can be reached at <a href="mailto:maraholmes@aol.com">maraholmes@aol.com</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.boston.com/jobs/diversity/062003/div_0603_2.shtml">BostonWorks.com</a></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-16688124071916311612007-06-15T13:24:00.000-07:002007-06-18T07:07:35.838-07:00The Term 'Minority' Criticized As Outdated, Inaccurate As Nation's Demographics Change<div style="text-align: justify;">By Erin Texeira<br />AP National Writer<br /><br />What do you call a <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">minority</a> that is becoming the majority?<br /><br />News that Texas is the fourth state in which non-<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/hispanic/">Hispanic</a> whites make up less than 50 percent of residents has renewed discussion about whether the term "minority'' has outlived its usefulness; critics include both liberals and conservatives. While some think the complaints are mere nitpicking, others argue the word is increasingly inaccurate, obsolete and even offensive.<br /><br />"Twenty or 30 years ago, we saw the country as a majority-white country with a <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">black minority</a>, but now you have places where that is a woefully poor description of what is going on,'' especially given rapidly growing Hispanic population, said Roderick J. Harrison, a demographer with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a black think tank. The word "minority'' is "a confusing term as one of thinks of today's population.''<br /><br />The majority of residents in Texas, California, New Mexico, Hawaii and Washington, D.C., are some <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/weblog/">ethnicity</a> other than non-Hispanic whites, according to Census Bureau population estimates released last week. Five other states, including New York and Georgia, could make that shift by 2010.<br /><br />Soon, more than one-third of Americans will live in states where <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">Latinos</a>, <a href="http://www.goafrican.com/">blacks</a>, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Asians</a>, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/nativeAmerican/">American Indians</a> and other ethnic groups outnumber whites. Such demographic shifts have given rise to the term "majority-minority.''<br /><br />Harrison noted that "minority'' refers to more than just numbers.<br /><br />"The word's origins are that these are populations that once had the status of minors before the law,'' Harrison said. "These are populations that, in one way or another, did not have full legal status or full civil rights.''<br /><br />When considering doing away with the term, "the question is, how far along the road to full equality have they come?''<br /><br />Haig Bosmajian, a University of Washington professor emeritus of communications, said that when he researched his book "The Language of Oppression'' in the 1960s, "minority'' accurately described blacks and other relatively small ethnic groups.<br /><br />"But by 'minority' today we mean a disadvantaged group of citizens. We mean not the privileged at the top, but the underprivileged at the bottom: People who make $10 million a year, we don't call them a 'minority,''' he said. "There's power behind these terms.''<br /><br />Star Parker, who heads the Coalition on Urban Renewal and <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Education/?cchan=76">Education</a>, a conservative black think tank, said the word is "absolutely misused. It's become an entitlement word, a word for victimization.''<br /><br />In some cases, particularly regarding affirmative action programs, "minority'' often includes <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a>, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/personWithDisability/">disabled people</a> and religious groups, said Robin Lakoff, a socio-linguist at the University of California, Berkeley. That's made the definition murky, in her view.<br /><br />"It's now almost too inclusive and not clear enough,'' she said.<br /><br />Still, she added, "sometimes I think we worry too much about semantic hairsplitting. If I had to fight about something, I might not fight about the term 'minority.'''<br /><br />Luke Visconti of DiversityInc, which advises businesses on <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">racial issues</a>, disagreed. He believes that shelving "minority'' is important because the word implies second-class status. Modern-day<a href="http://diversityworking.com/support/index2.php#q1"> discrimination</a> is more subtle than in years past, he said, and "language is the dominant way today of expressing oppression.''<br /><br />Whatever the reason, "minority'' is already falling from favor in some circles.<br /><br />"<a href="http://diversityworking.com/">People of color</a>'' is often used, particularly in academia. "Multicultural,'' "diverse'' and "urban'' also are common. The University of Michigan has what it calls "minority-cultural lounges'' with black, Latino, Asian and Native American themes.<br /><br />In 2001, San Diego's city council approved striking "minority'' from official usage _ and to stop using the term "Southeast San Diego'' to refer to neighborhoods that are largely black and Hispanic _ to "move away from the pejorative connotations ... and move to something that was respectful,'' said Danell Scarborough, a <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Human_Resources_and_Employment_Services/?cchan=21">human resources</a> manager with the city.<br /><br />"When I asked people around here about 'minority,' they said, 'Huh? I haven't heard that in ages,''' she said. "There was not a resistance.''<br /><br />Even the Census Bureau itself is moving in that direction.<br /><br />Though the bureau has not officially barred its use _ last week's news release on Texas was titled, "Texas Becomes Nation's Newest 'Majority-Minority' State'' _ many officials avoid "minority'' in favor of more specific racial and ethnic labels, said Claudette E. Bennett, chief of the Census racial statistics branch.<br /><br />The bureau increasingly tries to use specific terms such as "<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Pacific Islander</a>'' and "<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/hispanic/">Mexican-American</a>,'' she said.<br /><br />"If you see the term 'minority' in one of our reports,'' Bennett said, "there's going to be a footnote ... detailing what exactly it means.''<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.focusondiversity.com/tools/articles/html/articledetail.php?id=119">Focus on Diversity</a></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-16759422743404297282007-06-07T11:50:00.000-07:002007-06-18T07:39:20.546-07:00Workplace Diversity: Does It Work?<div style="text-align: justify;">Despite the seemingly universal acceptance of the value of <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> training and compliance, troubling issues persist.<br /><br />We will examine the myth vs. reality on workplace diversity in hopes of stimulating a more interesting line of thought and giving this subject more than just the usual platitudes and generalities that are often glibly tossed around.<br /><br />Employers spend billions of dollars on <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity programs</a>, while laws mandate compliance in many cases. On the surface diversity "works" and we are on the right track... but what is going on underneath all this?<br /><br /><a href="http://diversityworking.com/support/index2.php#q2">Workplace diversity can enhance business performance, and maybe even make the world a better place.</a><br /><br />However, if it is mismanaged or left to drift along without close attention, it is possible that it may produce unresolved conflict, miscommunication, higher turnover, or other unintended consequences. The causes of these problems are deep, and the solutions are not easy.<br /><br />What we will discuss here is the difference between what works and what doesn't.<br /><br />Unthinking stereotypes and generalities don't help this key issue, but digging for a deeper reality might create a foundation for improvement and understanding.<br /><br />Workplace diversity is part of our modern culture; it is necessary... and even desirable.<br /><br />Lets find ways to deal with the reality of the situation and make the most of it by finding out what works - and eliminate what is just hype.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Why Do We Do It?</span><br /><br />Companies state many reasons for their <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity training and programs</a>. By reviewing them we hope to clarify the reality underling the motivation for them and set the stage for the issues and questions that follow:<br /> <br /> - Recruiting and Retention<br /> - Litigation Avoidance<br /> - Market Purchasing Power of Minorities<br /> - Demographic Changes in Society<br /> - Because It's "Right"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recruiting and Retention</span><br /><br />For the most part companies feel that putting forward a strong image of being "diversity conscious" is necessary to attract and retain good employees.<br /><br />There is evidence that employees expect and ask for a strong workplace diversity policy as a benchmark for the desirability of a working environment. To compete in <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">recruitment</a> and retention companies must act on this desire.<br /><br />Ilse de Veer, a consultant in the office of Mercer Human Resource Consulting is quoted as saying: "Domestic-partner benefits is a trend that's grown steadily. It really took off during the tight labor market in the 1990's, to the point where in high tech and some other industries it's pretty much become the norm. Companies have had to add it for competitive reasons".<br /><br />She notes that <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">corporate recruiters</a> have told her that recent college graduates - even if they are not actually<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/gayAndLesbian/"> gay or lesbian</a> themselves - often ask about partner benefits and other related issues as sort of a litmus test of whether the company has a tolerant workplace. "I've had companies say that they lost applicants because they didn't have it," she said.<br /><br />Other examples:<br /><br />In a 2000 survey by Hewitt Associates 22 percent of the nearly 600 companies surveyed said they provided partner benefits (aimed primarily at gay and lesbian <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">minorities</a>). Two thirds of those who did provide those benefits also said they do so primarily as a recruiting and retention tool, while only 6 percent said that they offered the benefits to be fair.<br /><br />Louis Thomas, an associate professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, says that his research indicates that gay employees are likely to stay with an employer with gay-friendly policies, even if offered more money by a competitor.<br /><br />Cedant Corporation (a real estate services company) launched its workplace diversity program as part of a broader "<a href="http://diversityworking.com/">employer of choice</a>" initiative.<br /><br />Reality: Many organizations utilize diversity programs as a tool in recruitment and retention. Not necessarily because of their own merits, but because they are necessary as such.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Litigation Avoidance</span><br /><br />Compliance objectives and litigation avoidance stress the need to avoid costly <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/discriminationLaw/">discrimination</a> lawsuits and the damage to reputation that occurs when companies are charged with illegal workplace practices.<br /><br />Ryder System, Inc. is a logistics, supply-chain and transportation company with 30,000 employees. Their diversity program has an element in it that actively teaches litigation avoidance by describing scenarios and behaviors that put the company at risk of lawsuits and advise how to prevent them.<br /><br />Part of the measurement of the return on their diversity program is in tracking litigation costs. Gerri Rocker, director of corporate diversity states, "Since the initiation of these programs, litigation costs have dropped dramatically".<br /><br />Reality: Avoiding litigation costs and lawsuits is a powerful motivator for companies in providing workplace diversity programs to meet compliance objectives. It is part of sound fiscal management.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Market Purchasing Power of Minorities</span><br /><br />Market share objectives of more companies are targeting the growing purchasing power of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">female</a> and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/hispanic/">minority</a> consumer groups, which many believe can be tapped only through an employee population that matches the customer base.<br /><br />Though only one small segment of the minority market, the <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/gayAndLesbian/">15 million gay men and lesbians in the U.S. comprise a $583 billion market,</a> according to the consumer-market researcher Packaged Facts and marketing firm Witeck-Combs Comunications.<br /><br />MarketResearch.com, in Rockville Maryland, estimates the gay consumer market to number more than 14 million consumers and is projected to be worth more than $607 billion in purchasing power by 2007.<br /><br />Eastman Kodak Co. executives have been reported to believe that <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/gayAndLesbian/">providing equitable treatment toward gay employees</a> makes Kodak products more appealing to domestic gay consumers, who tend to be brand-loyal.<br /><br />IBM spokesman Jim Sinocchi says that outreach to the gay market segment achieves the dual strategic goal of recruitment and the marketing of its products. "The nature of the <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/gayAndLesbian/">gay community</a> is strong networks, based on personal contacts, that extend through peer companies and customers," he says. "What we're trying to do is crate a buzz, to make people want to spend their money with IBM - or to work here".<br /><br />Demographic changes confirm explosive increases in <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">minority populations in the United States</a>.<br /><br />Reality: Companies are aware that demographics reflect a rapid increase in minority populations. This equates to increased purchasing power and a larger impact on <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">potential job pool candidates</a>. It is a fact that businesses ignore at their own peril.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Demographic Changes in Society</span><br /><br />Workplace diversity is an inevitable result of the demographic changes taking place in our society today. Most companies are aware of that and react accordingly.<br /><br />Here are some statistics based on the results of the 2000 U.S. Census:<br />(Note, the terms used here are those provided by the Census report, not ours.)<br /><br />"Nationally, the country's white population increased 7.3 percent between 1990 and 1999 to 224.6 million. <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">Blacks</a> remained the country's largest minority group, experiencing a 13.8 percent rise during the same period to 34.8 million, while the <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/nativeAmerican/">American Indian</a> and Alaska Native population increased 15.5 percent to 2.3 million".<br /><br />"Between July 1, 1990 and July 1, 1999, the nation's <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Asian and Pacific Islander</a> population grew 43.0 percent to 10.8 million, and the <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">Hispanic</a> population grew 38.8 percent to 31.3 million, the Census estimates show".<br /><br />Here is a recap:<br /><br /> Total U.S. population 272.7 million<br /><br /> White: 224.6 million<br /> Black: 34.8 million<br /> Hispanic: 31.3 million<br /> Asian and Pacific Islander: 10.8 million<br /> American Indian and Alaska Native: 2.3 million<br /><br /> Gay and Lesbian: (estimated at) 15 million.<br /><br /> Here are the percentage of increases in the various populations<br /> between 1990 and 1999:<br /><br /> Increase in White population: 7.3 percent<br /> Increase in Black population: 13.8 percent<br /> Increase in Hispanic population: 38.8 percent<br /> Increase in Asian and Pacific Islander population: 43.0 percent<br /> Increase in American Indian and Alaska Native population: 15.5 percent<br /><br />These figures should speak for themselves.<br /><br />Reality: To ignore workplace diversity is to ignore the reality of the changing demographics of the current workforce and the resulting consumer base brought about by these changes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Because It's "Right"</span><br /><br />According to a 2003 Gallup study referenced in the Congressional Record, 88 percent of Americans believe that gays and lesbians should have <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">equal rights in the workplace</a>.<br /><br />Certainly we should hope that this same percentage would apply to all <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">minority groups</a>.<br /><br />As indicated in the poll quoted above most Americans believe in equal rights, and hence in the inherent <a href="http://diversityworking.com/support/index2.php#q2">value of workplace diversity</a>.<br /><br />Many companies have workplace diversity policies and programs because those working there believe that it is inherently right. They believe that equal rights are at the very foundation of our country and our way of life.<br /><br />However, the sociological or moral implications of this question are usually considered outside the scope of the business or policy aspects of this issue.<br /><br />Reality: Most Americans believe in <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">equal rights and diversity</a>. Though this is a factor in diversity programs and policies, it should be noted that often this does not drive the decision making involved in creating or maintaining a diversity program.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Does It Work?</span><br /><br /> - Lack of Measurable Evidence<br /> - Problems in Measurement and Tracking<br /> - Reluctance of Companies to Measure or Report<br /> - Anecdotal Evidence<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lack of Measurable Evidence</span><br /><br />Thomas Kochan is a professor of management at MIT's Sloan School of Management. In 2003 he completed a five-year study of the <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">impact of workplace diversity on business</a> results. The investigation involved a detailed examination of large <a href="http://diversityworking.com/organizations/">firms with strong reputations for their long-standing commitment to building a diverse workforce and managing diversity effectively</a>.<br /><br />Kochan said the following about his results: "The diversity industry is built on sand. The business case rhetoric for diversity is simply naive and overdone. There are no strong positive or negative effects of <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">gender or racial diversity</a> on business performance".<br /><br />Kochan's team of researchers was supported by Business Opportunities for Leadership Diversity and the Society for Human Resource Management. They struggled to find companies willing to participate in their diversity study.<br /><br />Of the 20 large corporations with well-established diversity programs that Kochan initially contacted for his study, none had ever conducted a systematic examination of the <a href="http://diversityworking.com/support/index2.php#q2">effects of their diversity efforts on bottom-line performance measures</a>.<br /><br />"Diversity has been promoted on the basis of a very weak construction of the business case and on grounds of social justice, but to be successful, programs must be built on scientific evidence," said Kochan.<br /><br />"Meaningful discussions and analyses do not occur because companies are concerned about legal issues and because people simply want to believe that diversity works. There is a great deal of defensiveness. Even when diversity is managed well, the results are still mixed", Kochan concludes.<br /><br />Michael C. Hyter is president and CEO of J. Howard & Associates, a large diversity consultancy in Boston. He points out that, "Some companies have completed limited studies at a divisional level, but there are no formal reports with valid and scientifically determined numbers".<br /><br />Reality: According to the American Society for Training and Development's 2002 state of the training industry report, only one in 10 companies attempts to create results-based evaluations of its training programs.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Problems in Measurement and Tracking</span><br /><br />Quantifying performance results and objectives resulting from workplace diversity programs can be problematic. Most data needed for significant measuring of results cannot be pulled from existing human resources data.<br /><br />MIT's Thomas Kochan touches on this key point when he said: "To create the needed data and analysis, <a href="http://diversityworking.com/career/Human_Resources_and_Employment_Services/?cchan=21">human resources</a> executives must run experiments within their organizations. They must invest in efforts to train departments in group processes, and then follow their performance over time, comparing the performance of groups that have been trained with that of groups that have not, using hard performance measurements based on the goals of the unit".<br /><br />Many companies track the <a href="http://diversityworking.com/support/index2.php#q2">success of their diversity efforts</a> in terms of what they DO, not necessarily what leads to RESULTS. Or in another words, they measure what they put out, not what results they achieve in terms of either profit or savings.<br /><br />For example, Ryder System, Inc. uses a scorecard for each business unit that includes a diversity component, with specific targets for <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">hiring and promoting women and minorities</a>. (Senior leadership bonuses are tied to meeting these targets.)<br /><br />In this case success in diversity seems to be measured in numbers of <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">minorities hired</a> etc., not necessarily in the business results that those hires achieve.<br /><br />Cedant Corporation's vice president of human resources Kathy Andreasen states: "The return on the resources dedicated to this effort (diversity) is measured in number of hires, the volume of our services that are provided by minority suppliers, the volume of business generated by our multicultural marketing initiatives, the number of minority franchisees, and other measures".<br /><br />Reality: Companies often resort to simple "head counts" in measuring diversity efforts because the issues surrounding measurement and tracking of other aspects can be too complex.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reluctance of Companies to Measure or Report</span><br /><br />Given the complexity of measuring, tracking and reporting results in ways other than simple "head counts" for workplace diversity goals, it is no wonder most companies would rather fall back on simple assumptions that workplace diversity is working rather than devote the resources needed to verify results in any significant way.<br /><br />The paradox of this is that the <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">"diversity industry" in corporate America</a> is already a multibillion-dollar industry (some estimates put it at 8 billion dollars a year). Unlike most other business practices, in many cases the money goes in to diversity programs without any meaningful valuation on the return on investment of these resources.<br /><br />Some examples of this:<br /><br />Manager of communications and public relations at Eastman Kodak Co. David Kassnoff is quoted as saying that his company had eliminated waste and improved productivity in manufacturing and finance through their diversity programs. However, he declined to provide statistics or specifics because of "competitive reasons".<br /><br />New York Life Insurance vice president of human resources Angela Coleman said: "It's hard to quantify financial results. We don't approach diversity in terms of a dollar return on investment".<br /><br />Michael Hyter of J. Howard & Associates said: "Organizations like having the flexibility of not eing put in a box about whether this does or doesn't work. Too often, they are given a lot of credit for their efforts anyway".<br /><br />Reality: Success is usually reported, but often only in vague generalities rather than significant measurable or verifiable results.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Anecdotal Evidence</span><br /><br />Since there is a distinct lack of reported evidence on the success or failure of diversity programs, most often what is presented is simply anecdotal evidence.<br /><br />Here is an example:<br /><br />Laura Brooks was a former regional manager for logistics with Eastman Kodak Co. and used all of the considerable resources available to her from her company's diversity program after seeing a "culture audit" of her warehouse that indicated that <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">gay employees were possibly experiencing some degree of harassment</a>.<br /><br />After the whole process of training and other programs "informal follow up surveys" provided her with "a cautiously optimistic sense that things are getting better". She said, "We've also had three people in leadership position come out and begin functioning as out-of-the-closet leaders in our community. They clearly are in a different place than they were before we started our GLBT (<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/gayAndLesbian/">gay lesbian bisexual transgender</a>) education journey as an organization".<br /><br />"Cautiously optimistic" after "informal follow up surveys". This may indicate the potentially positive value of a workplace diversity effort, but it is hardly what one would call solid evidence.<br /><br />This type of anecdotal evidence is what is often provided as "proof" of positive results in workplace diversity programs.<br /><br />Reality: Where there is a lack of verifiable measurements and results, anecdotal evidence abounds.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Conclusion</span><br /><br /> - Attitudes Vs. Behaviors<br /> - Mandatory Compliance?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Attitudes Vs. Behaviors</span><br /><br />It seems there is a difference between "<a href="http://diversityworking.com/support/index2.php#q2">valuing diversity</a>" and having the appropriate skills to know how to work effectively in a <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">group of diverse people</a>.<br /><br />Empathy and understanding are good foundations to begin with but do little towards actually working positively with people on a day-to-day basis to achieve measurable results. Much of workplace diversity training may be wasted because it focuses on programs for awareness and attitudes that do not give people the skills they need in dealing with the reality of a <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">diverse workforce</a>.<br /><br />Training programs aimed at "valuing diversity" and addressing "attitudes" usually do not lead to long-term changes in behaviors. Instead, group members and leaders should be trained to deal with group process issues and focus on communicating and problem solving in diverse teams.<br /><br />R. Roosevelt Thomas Jr., CEO of R. Thomas Consulting and Training, Inc, points out that companies may succeed in "building a pipeline of people with all kinds of demographic characteristics" but then fail at dealing with different behaviors. His point is a good one.<br /><br />MIT's Kochan aptly noted that, "<a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">Diversity can enhance business performance</a>, but only if the proper training is in place and the climate and culture support it. If companies can't do this, they will lose the opportunity that diversity represents. There could be backward movement, and the negative consequences of diversity could predominate".<br /><br /><a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">Diversity programs</a> should look carefully at how they train people and what they train them in, and assure that this training is effective and meaningful in a measurable way. Training should focus on behavior skills and empathy for example, not "valuing diversity" or "experiencing an inclusion breakthrough".<br /><br />Reality: Behavioral skill sets that are needed to deal with a diverse workforce are often neglected or overlooked while focusing on surrounding attitudes about diversity. This may be counterproductive, short sighted, and self-defeating.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Mandatory Compliance?</span><br /><br />Based on the demographic reality of our American society the <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">expanding role and importance of diversity in the workplace is inevitable</a>. Is it possible that mandatory compliance with diversity initiatives is the only way to effectively bring about the necessary change?<br /><br />People's long-held biases cannot be easily weeded out or changed with a few quick courses on "valuing diversity". A one-day workshop will not change lifelong habits of discrimination often learned from childhood on.<br /><br />Mandatory compliance with diversity programs and goals may be the most effective way to move ahead on this issue.<br /><br />The reality of the situation is that there should be no option to participate or not where workplace diversity is an issue, and a "zero-tolerance" attitude should be encouraged regarding any acts of <a href="http://diversityworking.com/support/index2.php#q1">discrimination in the workplace</a>.<br /><br />"Lapel pins and slogans on the wall may encourage people to think that diversity is just the special of the week," says Laura Liswood, senior adviser to Goldman Sachs on <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/weblog/">diversity issues</a> and a senior scholar at the University of Maryland's Academy of Leadership. "Diversity requires real mind-set and cultural change".<br /><br />Reality: Stereotypes change very slowly and simply putting people of different groups together does little or nothing to lower intolerance. What can make a difference is a sustained camaraderie and daily efforts toward a common goal by <a href="http://diversityworking.com/">people of different backgrounds</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.braunconsulting.com/bcg/newsletters/winter2004/winter20042.html">Braun Consulting News</a></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-55823709213466976342007-06-06T14:48:00.000-07:002007-06-18T07:40:00.102-07:00The Role and Responsibilities of a Workplace Diversity Coordinator<div style="text-align: justify;">Any agencies have appointed a <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> coordinator. Their role and responsibilities will vary according to the nature, structure and size of an agency. Some agencies have a network of coordinators. Workplace diversity coordinators should be experienced and have the support of the Agency Head and executive.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Role and responsibilities</span><br /><br />The role is to:<br /><br />* articulate how <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity can enhance the business performance of the agency</a>;<br />* actively promote the <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/support/index2.php#q2">benefits of workplace diversity</a>, both for the agency and staff;<br />* gain an understanding of the workplace diversity needs of agency staff;<br />* help all staff to be aware of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/weblog/">workplace diversity issues</a>;<br />* advocate the inclusion of equity and workplace diversity issues on strategic planning agendas;<br />* promote the integration of workplace diversity issues in human resource policies and practices;<br />* develop, implement and monitor the <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity program</a>;<br />* monitor the agency's compliance with relevant laws and regulations;<br />* develop, implement and monitor the workplace diversity program; and<br />* <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">keep senior executives informed about workplace diversity issues</a> and about the effectiveness of the workplace diversity program.<br /><br />It should be noted that these functions are not the sole responsibility of the workplace diversity coordinator. For example, it is critical that <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">senior management articulate how workplace diversity can enhance the business performance of the agency and actively promote the benefits of workplace diversity</a>. Senior management also has an important role to play in advocating the inclusion of equity and workplace diversity issues on strategic planning agendas.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Skills, knowledge and personal qualities</span><br /><br />A workplace diversity coordinator needs to be familiar with the business and operational environment of the agency. Workplace diversity coordinators need to understand the legal framework surrounding workplace diversity in the APS. They should have up-to-date knowledge of workplace diversity issues and research. They should know about best practice and any recent developments which may affect their agency's policies, procedures and practices.<br /><br />A workplace diversity coordinator needs well-developed facilitation and liaison skills, and strong analytical, management and communication skills. A workplace diversity coordinator should have a personal commitment to the APS Values and workplace diversity principles.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Support for the workplace diversity coordinator</span><br /><br />Workplace diversity coordinators need support from senior management and the Agency Head. Responsibility for workplace diversity does not rest solely with the coordinator. Workplace diversity is a mainstream responsibility, which should be part of the agency's management systems and culture.<br /><br />Workplace diversity coordinators should be encouraged to take advantage of <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">training opportunities in order to keep up with current issues and policies</a>.<br /><br />The PSMPC organises a Workplace Diversity Coordinators' Network, which meets quarterly. The network helps members keep up to date on workplace diversity issues and share their experiences. A network newsletter is circulated to all members and draws their attention to new developments and resources.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a href="http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications01/diversityguidelines.htm"><span style="font-style: italic;">Australian Public Service Commission</span></a></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-45544687735309812582007-04-24T14:16:00.000-07:002007-06-18T07:40:33.741-07:00Diversity in Corporate America: Still a Work in Progress<div style="text-align: justify;">Weldon J. Rougeau, a long-time civil rights activist, has considered the issue of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> from many perspectives -- as director of the office of federal contract compliance programs at the U.S. Department of Labor during the Carter administration, as president of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and even as a prisoner for 78 days (58 of them in solitary confinement) in a Baton Rouge, La., jail cell when he was a student activist.<br /><br />But perhaps Rougeau's most poignant perspective on the current and future position of workplace diversity in America comes from his nearly 10-year run as an American Express vice president in the 1980s. "I was the only black executive in many meetings," recalls Rougeau, now an attorney with Arent Fox in Washington, D.C. "I went through a lot of things that hopefully most executives won't go through, and I had to deal with a lot of problems as one of the only black executives."<br /><br />Times change. These days, Rougeau exalts his old employer as a symbol of workplace diversity progress. Kenneth Chenault, CEO of American Express who joined the company around the same time as Rougeau, is one of the most powerful and influential people on Wall Street and he is<a href="http://www.goafrican.com/"> African American</a>. "Just the mere presence of <a href="http://www.goafrican.com/">blacks</a> in CEO and chairman positions promotes a lot of change," says Rougeau. "It promotes change among the employees who are able to look at their peers in an entirely different light than [they did] in the late 1970s when I was in government. That's all very good. Does it mean that there are not any <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">problems in the workplace</a>? No, of course not. That is the quest -- to try to overcome. But there are tangible signs that the world is changing."<br /><br />With that in mind, Knowledge@Wharton and Nightly Business Report collaborated on a project to analyze the <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">benefits of workplace diversity</a> and the costs of <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">discrimination</a> in the U.S. The project included identifying companies, like American Express, that demonstrate a strong and genuine commitment to <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diversity</a>, interviewing leading diversity experts, including Bernard Anderson, Wharton practice professor of management, on the characteristics of an <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">effective workplace diversity program</a>, and looking at which companies are doing the best at meeting certain standards and why.<br /><br />The goal is to understand the <a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">meaning of workplace diversity</a> and learn from the most effective diversity programs -- even as it is clear that what makes a company truly diverse has become increasingly complicated over the years. Most agree that an effective diversity program is one designed to reduce racial and gender inequality in the American economy. But what is the means to that end? Observers consider a number of elements when measuring companies that are the most successful at <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">fostering workplace diversity.</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Commitment from Senior Management</span><br /><br />In simplest terms, workplace diversity is variety -- different <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">ethnicities, races and genders</a> represented within a workforce at every level, from the mailroom to the boardroom. Many experts maintain that representation is the backbone of a strong <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">corporate diversity program</a>. <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">Strategic recruitment and retention programs</a> help achieve this goal, with a blended workforce as the end result. "I place representation at the top of the list when it comes to measuring effectiveness," says Anderson, who has done extensive research on workplace diversity. "If the diversity program is not effective in producing a <a href="http://cultural-workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">diverse racial, gender, ethnic workforce</a>, then it's not worth the paper it's written on."<br /><br />While representation is an important measure, it should not be the only measure, say Anderson and many of his colleagues around the country. Roosevelt Thomas, president of R. Thomas Consulting & Training in Decatur, Ga., is a diversity expert and author of several books on the topic, including his latest, Building a House for Diversity. Thomas has developed a process to help companies <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">integrate workplace diversity into their vision, strategy and objectives</a>. The bottom line is this: Companies need to look beyond representation and begin seeing workplace diversity as something much richer and all-encompassing. "I feel that diversity is essentially stuck, primarily on representation and relationships," says Thomas. "Most corporations are just beginning to think about workplace diversity in the non-representation sense. I'm not advocating that representation should be ignored; I'm arguing that you need representation, plus. I think we need to go to the next level, which involves learning how to empower this workplace diversity through quality decisions and strategic <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">diversity management</a>."<br /><br />For this kind of company-wide integration, a <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">devotion to workplace diversity must begin at the top</a>, suggests Gil Casellas, an attorney with Mintz Levin in Washington, D.C., who served as chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for three years in the Clinton administration and has been a corporate diversity enforcer in many other roles. Casellas joined Mintz Levin five months ago when he was cherry-picked along with several others to form a team of senior-level <a href="http://native-american-indian-people.blogspot.com/">minority</a> lawyers to focus on workplace diversity. Casellas and his colleagues developed a diversity audit, which has the rigor of a financial audit, to evaluate diversity policies within companies.<br /><br />"I think the first key element is a clearly stated commitment from senior leadership," says Casellas. "The question is, how do you integrate <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> into what you do and how your business makes money? The business case for workplace diversity has to be made clear. Then there should be tangible, actionable goals, accountability and oversight by senior leadership. Compensation should, in part, be determined by success with workplace diversity. There should be ongoing commitment of <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">training and education</a> and regular communications around the strategy. I would consider those to be the major <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">elements of a </a><a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a> plan. Inside each one of those elements there are various components. What really counts to make it sustained and institutionalized is that it gets integrated into everything you do, baked in, so to speak."<br /><br />Once workplace diversity is tied to business needs, adds Nancy DiTomaso, a professor of management and global business at Rutgers Business School in New Brunswick and Newark, N.J., it needs to be "sufficiently inclusive to build alliances and bridges, rather than create disruption and discord."<br /><br />And while the focus must be on building <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">successful workplace diversity practices</a> within, companies need to remember that their desire for diversity is in essence an attempt to mirror the differences within society. Therefore, says Anderson, companies with effective diversity programs must stay in touch with the outside world. "A <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">diversity program</a> should contribute in a positive way to the economic advancement of the community or communities in which the company is located in order to contribute to the development of the workforce and the quality of life of the people who live there. Along with that should be purchasing programs where companies make a special effort to reach out and make purchasing agreements with <a href="http://native-american-indian-people.blogspot.com/">minority</a> and women-owned businesses."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PepsiCo Sets the Bar</span><br /><br />In general, most of the experts feel that only a few companies are meeting these workplace diversity standards. "Some meet them to different degrees in different parts of the company," says Anderson. Adds Casellas: "In the course of the last few months as our team of lawyers has visited companies, we have found that they are all in various stages. It's surprising that some folks are so far ahead and others are still grappling with even establishing a policy."<br /><br />That said, many companies are known for their commitment to <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">corporate diversity</a>. As a first step in identifying U.S. companies with <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">effective corporate diversity programs</a>, Knowledge@Wharton compared and contrasted some of the top magazine lists that annually recognize successful companies in this area, including Fortune, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">Black</a> Enterprise and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/hispanic/">Hispanic</a> Magazine, then identified companies that appeared on all lists and finally, turned to diversity experts to help choose the standouts.<br /><br />Some of the names that most often rise to the surface include Nordstrom, Verizon Communications, Yum! Brands, General Motors, Bank of America, CitiGroup, Prudential Financial, Goldman Sachs, IBM, PG&E, MGM Mirage, SBC Communications, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Denny's, UPS and Xerox. Others are McDonald's, Eastman Kodak, Starwoods, Pitney Bowes, Fannie Mae, Darden Restaurants, Coors and Procter & Gamble.<br /><br />PepsiCo is an oft-mentioned name in relation to workplace diversity these days, which makes for an interesting comparison with its number one rival, Coca-Cola, also a usual suspect on the diversity radar. PepsiCo CEO Steven Reinemund is said to be the most regular vocal advocate of workplace diversity. Everywhere he goes, whether it is to internal meetings and external meetings or meetings with analysts, he raises the issue of workplace diversity.<br /><br />Casellas, who lists PepsiCo among his top three companies with effective programs, is in an interesting position to comment on PepsiCo's policies in relation to Coca-Cola. Four years ago, as a result of a $200 million discrimination settlement, Coca-Cola was required by the court to set up an outside task force to monitor the progress of its diversity program. Casellas sits on that task force, which will be in place for one more year. "Coca-Cola is a turnaround, but still a work in progress," he notes. PepsiCo, on the other hand, "voluntarily established its own diversity advisory forums to monitor its progress with <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">African Americans</a> and the <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/hispanic/">Hispanic</a> community. The senior leadership at PepsiCo has a clearly expressed commitment, with its diversity policies all over the website and corporate documents. It has a <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">board of directors that is itself diverse and a senior leadership team that is diverse</a>. It has a diversity plan that is integrated into the business plan." Five of PepsiCo's 13 top officers are minorities -- one of the highest percentages among large corporations.<br /><br />Representation from the top down raises many companies to superstar diversity status. Both Verizon Communications of New York City and Xerox of Stamford, Conn., for example, are among those corporations lauded repeatedly for bringing talented people of color into the senior management ranks. At Verizon, a $71 billion telecom company, <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">minorities</a> now reportedly make up 25% of the board and nearly one-third of the workforce. Among the 271 senior management positions, 50 are filled by ethnic minorities, 25 of whom are <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">African Americans</a>. And of 11 board members, Verizon has three who are ethnic minorities, including two African Americans. Fortune magazine's 2005 list of the "50 Best Companies for Minorities" mentioned that a fifth of Xerox's 50 top-paid employees are minorities.<br /><br />A handful of companies has been able to improve past poor workplace diversity performance. The names that are mentioned most often as turnarounds include Coca-Cola and Denny's, which, like Coca-Cola, has become more sensitive to corporate diversity in response to a discrimination lawsuit. According to its 2005 listing in Fortune, nearly half of Denny's 1,011 franchises are owned by minorities, 255 of them by Asian Indians, while one-third of restaurant managers and one-fifth of executives are also drawn from the diner chain's minority ranks. Still, some believe that Denny's still has work to do. "Denny's has turned around, but with respect to the depth and breadth and stability of its programs, it hasn't turned around enough," says Anderson. The company changed "in response to a rather prominent and visible legal action, but when you look at what it has been able to do and how much progress it has been able to make, I would assign Denny's less credit than others." Even so, since 2001, Denny's has remained near the top of Fortune magazine's "Best Companies for Minorities" list.<br /><br />Anderson prefers to spotlight what he sees as successful turnarounds at MGM Mirage and SBC Communications. MGM Mirage, a Las Vegas-based hotel and casino company, declared in 2000 that <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a><a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/"> was a critical business imperative</a>. CEO J. Terrence Lanni says that he believes <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity provides measurable benefits to the company</a>. That philosophy and attitude now permeate all aspects of the organization, says Anderson. "MGM Mirage has done better because of the presence of a new CEO who had a sense of fairness and of what is right for the company. He [felt] that the company ought to be doing better in a variety of ways and could do better without jeopardizing the economic interests of the company."<br /><br />That same top-down commitment defines SBC Communications' diversity turnaround, suggests Anderson, who has studied in-depth the employment practices in the telecommunications industry. SBC, which closed its acquisition of AT&T on November 18, 2005, to become AT&T Inc., reportedly understands that to be able to compete successfully it needs a <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diverse workforce</a> that can communicate with customers of many different cultures and experiences. Says Anderson: "CEO Edward Whitacre Jr., when he was coming up through the ranks of the company, had worked with a young <a href="http://www.goafrican.com/">African-American</a> attorney in the legal department. When Whitacre became CEO, he made this lower-ranked executive the company's general counsel and gave him the responsibility to develop a corporation-wide diversity program. As a result of that, that company became one of the most successful in diversifying its workforce." For example, the company's employee-initiated group HACEMOS (the <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">Hispanic</a> Association of Communications Employees of SBC), has started an initiative that will link thousands of students across the country via satellite for High Technology Day, which educates students about technology careers.<br /><br />Much progress has been made in the area of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">corporate diversity</a> -- and much still needs to be done, experts say. They also note that it's important to consider corporate diversity in the greater context: The <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">benefits of equalizing opportunity</a>, through such policies as <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">diversity recruitment and retention</a> and even the controversial affirmative action, which lowers the credentials bar, work toward establishing a U.S. economy that remains relevant and vital. Workforce development and economic development are interchangeable.<br /><br />"We are in a labor market where more and more emphasis is placed on cognitive skills and education-based skills, the changing economy," explains Harry Holzer, a labor economist who is a professor of public policy at Georgetown University. "<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Minorities</a> and especially <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">African Americans</a> lag behind in those measures for a whole bunch of different reasons, but largely because they haven't had the opportunities to develop those same skills. Equalize opportunity for those people to prove their capabilities. I think the benefits go beyond just the individuals themselves who are getting hired and promoted. You build networks that help other people get hired, you develop mentors and role models to help the next generation and it helps the companies themselves."<br /><br />The cost of <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">discrimination</a>? "What gets sacrificed," says Holzer, "is a very simple notion of fairness and justice."<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1406&specialid=47&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;CFID=10183433&CFTOKEN=15251609&jsessionid=a83040987796753da4f5nid=a83040987796753da4f5">Knowledge@Wharton</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-72301900518525333312007-04-19T09:29:00.000-07:002007-06-18T07:41:21.685-07:00The Workplace: Profiting from Diversity<div style="text-align: justify;">By Ivar Ekman<br /><br />STOCKHOLM: Johan Talenti, a 43-year-old Swedish entrepreneur, says he does not see himself as a do-gooder or activist.<br /><br />"You don't run a company for the sake of taking social responsibility," he said, sitting in the offices of Silentium, a fast-growing telemarketing company that he founded in 1998. "You do it to make money."<br /><br />But he has also done something that he thinks many more business leaders should do: He has made a conscious effort to <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diversify</a> his staff. And, he said, the results have contributed to Silentium's success.<br /><br />This might not sound unusual, especially from an American perspective. In the United States, promoting <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/weblog/">workplace diversity</a> has been part of business planning for years. Many big companies even have a chief diversity officer. But in Sweden, as in much of Europe, this has simply not been the case.<br /><br />When Silentium first started, Talenti said he threw out applications from people with Middle Eastern names (most immigrants in Sweden come from countries like Iraq, Iran and Turkey), thinking that since the company's business was the spoken word - sales of <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-banking.blogspot.com/">banking</a> services and insurance over the phone - an accented Swedish was a no-no.<br /><br />But the company started showing the strains of quick growth, and <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">recruitment</a> became a problem.<br /><br />When a new human resources manager suggested that in Sweden - a country where the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says more than 12 percent of the population is foreign-born, similar to the United States and Germany, and more than both France and Britain - an immigrant's accent was just one dialect among others, Talenti decided to throw the dice.<br /><br />He has not looked back. By opening up to nonnatives, Silentium found a big pool of highly motivated workers, and quickly discovered that their accent was not a problem at all. Today, as many as 40 percent of the work force at some Silentium call centers have immigrant backgrounds.<br /><br />"We don't measure it systematically, but the feeling among my managers is that the <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">employees with immigrant backgrounds</a> push harder," Talenti said.<br /><br />Despite the fact that most immigrants to Sweden have comparatively high education levels, only 54 percent of immigrants are part of the work force, compared with 80 percent for native Swedes.<br /><br />This, experts say, is a potential problem for society as well as the would-be workers, as a large resource goes untapped and as alienation may set in among the unemployed, especially in later generations. But it also may be a problem for Swedish companies, especially in these days of fierce global competition.<br /><br />"<a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">Recruiting the best talent with the highest competence</a> is more important than ever, and to be able to do so Swedish companies must look beyond <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">ethnicity</a>," said Farboud Rezania, a researcher at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, himself with Iranian roots. "Those who manage to get new and old values and cultures to fit under the same roof are the ones who will win."<br /><br />So far, Rezania said, Swedish companies have had limited success.<br /><br />He points to what happened after the EU expansion in May 2004 as a warning signal. Sweden, Britain and Ireland were the only countries that did not enforce restriction of movement for migrant workers from the new EU entrants. While hundreds of thousands of Poles, Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians went to Britain and Ireland, only about 20,000 went to Sweden in the first two years.<br /><br />Part of the explanation obviously lies in language; more people know English than Swedish, and thus have an easier time finding a job there.<br /><br />But Rezania and other researchers also say that Sweden has an attitude problem, where an immigrant is always seen firstly as an immigrant.<br /><br />The solution, they say, is partly in the hand of European governments which need to allow immigrants to move more quickly into the work force and provide better language training.<br /><br />But it is also very much in the hands of employers. Like Silentium, many more must learn not only to see the hurdles, but also the opportunities; realizing that immigrants have particular skills, like language, and also often a very strong will to succeed.<br /><br />Talenti said businesses must learn to adapt their organizations to deal with the challenges that come with a more <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diverse workplace</a>. After opening up the <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">recruitment process</a>, Silentium then went on to allow some new immigrant hires to reach the management level of the company.<br /><br />Talenti said he also realized that he had to communicate in a much more straightforward manner when talking to a <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">work force with a diverse cultural background</a>.<br /><br />Rezania said he was encouraged by signs that big employers beyond fields like telemarketing and fast food are now aware of the issue and are looking to refine their organizations.<br /><br />"Before, it was hard for both society and businesses to accept that you could be called Hassan and be a trained economist," he said. "But these things are beginning to change."<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/16/business/workcol17.php?page=2">International Herald Tribune</a></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-60456260376837169282007-04-18T10:08:00.000-07:002007-06-18T07:42:04.978-07:00Workplace Diversity Watch<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Most Admired Companies: Minority Professional Choice Survey Offers Insight into Workplace Diversity Planning</span><br /><br />By Tyrone D. Taborn<br /><br />Last year we published one of the most comprehensive surveys in our publishing history. The survey captured how <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">minority professionals</a> felt about <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity programs</a>. We had seen a lot of other “best <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/employerZone/">workplace diversity employers</a>” lists published elsewhere, but it seemed that these other lists focused largely on surface workplace diversity factors: the number of minorities hired, corporate contributions to social and community efforts to advance minorities, minority board member representation, and supplier diversity efforts.<br /><br />While that information certainly revealed a great deal about corporate America’s progress since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it did not quite tell us which companies were dealing with <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">issues arising out of an increasingly diverse workplace</a>: workplace conflict, lack of professional recognition amongst <a href="http://african-american-women-diversityworld.blogspot.com/">women</a> and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">people of color</a>, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">minority</a> leadership development, and <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">minority</a> retention.<br /><br />Today, changing demographics make achieving workplace diversity relatively easy. However, nurturing productivity, innovation, and harmony in that workplace is another matter. We wanted another look at the work experiences, values, and dreams of <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">minority employees</a> themselves, so we asked them a few questions: Are they pleased with their employers’ workplace diversity programs? How have these programs impacted the minority professional in the workplace? What are their views on <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity efforts</a>?<br /><br />When we conducted this survey last year, we had only seen two other surveys that answered these questions. One was conducted by this organization more than 10 years ago, and the second was conducted several years ago in partnership with the Information Technology Association of America. Since our survey of last year, we have not seen another one that is as comprehensive.<br /><br />With this year’s survey, we again wanted to add something that was missing from the discussion¯a gut check on the key<a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/"> issues for minority professionals</a> themselves. We believe that the results will either give workplace diversity champions new insight about the thinking of <span><span class="linktext"> minority professionals</span></span>, or it will affirm and document what they already know. Either way, this investigation will be invaluable in <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity planning</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Methodology</span><br /><br />Last year’s survey so impressed Raytheon’s CEO that he emailed it to key staff members. We tried to do even better this year. Texas Instruments’ vice president called this year’s survey very comprehensive. The new study’s methodology replicated last year’s. To conduct such a comprehensive study, an online survey consisting of 64 questions was e-mailed to <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">Hispanic</a>, <a href="http://native-american-indian-people.blogspot.com/">Native American</a>, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Asian</a>, <a href="http://www.goafrican.com/">Black</a>, and other minority professionals in the fields of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Science_and_Research/?cchan=86">science</a>, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Engineering/?cchan=15">engineering</a>, and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/IT_-_Computers,_Hardware/?cchan=81">information technology</a>. A few surveys were also e-mailed to a sample group of non-technical professionals. Ninety percent of the non-technical group’s respondents identified themselves as members of an under-represented <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">ethnic group</a>.<br /><br />Subjects were given 30 days to complete the survey, after which time, online access was deactivated. Additionally, polling software and human review deleted duplicate submissions by checking IP and e-mail addresses. As an incentive, respondents were offered a subscription to a Career Communications Group publication of their choosing and were entered to win a vacation in Jamaica.<br /><br />Within two weeks of sending the survey, we received 323 submissions from minority respondents. To ensure privacy and anonymity, respondents were provided with an e-mail address to use for their gift fulfillment.<br /><br />All of the results come directly from the minority professional employees. Absolutely no employer data or participation was knowingly used in the preparation of the survey results.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Respondent Demographics</span><br /><br />The professionals who took part in this year’s survey had profiles nearly identical to last year’s participants. They came from industry. In fact, 108 companies were represented.<br /><br />Again, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a> responded in large numbers. Females, at 64.7 percent, again outnumbered the male respondents, at 35.3 percent.<br /><br />This year saw an increase in younger professionals and baby boomers. Ninety-seven percent of respondents were over 21 years of age, compared to 90 percent last year. Some 54.8 percent fell in the 31–50 year age bracket, a notable decline from 64 percent last year. However, the percentage of those over 50 years of age increased from 12 percent to 15.6 percent.<br /><br />Married respondents increased from 48 percent to 50.5 percent, with 73.4 percent of them having 1–3 children, a huge increase over last year’s 56.3 percent with children. The number of divorced respondents, at 10.9 percent, slightly increased from last year’s 9.4 percent. Separations dropped from 1.6 percent to .7 percent. Widowed respondents remained at 0.9 percent.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Occupations</span><br /><br />More professionals working in technical, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Science_and_Research/?cchan=86">science,</a> <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Engineering/?cchan=15">engineering</a>, or <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/IT_-_Computers,_Software/?cchan=59">information technology</a> fields participated in the 2006 survey¯70.8 percent this year compared with 65 percent in 2005. Both last year and this year, 47 percent expressed a wish for <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">retention efforts</a> to be maintained and enhanced.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/IT_-_Computers,_Hardware/?cchan=81">Information technologists</a>, representing 60 percent of respondents, stay with their employers the longest. Non-technical employees stay the second longest, and only 47.2 percent of engineers had been with their employers for more than five years.<br /><br />Respondents with more than 10 years of experience increased from 44 percent to 46.9 percent this year, and 40.2 percent have held two or three jobs in their respective fields.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Income</span><br /><br />The respondents were again solidly middle class, with 52.9 percent earning salaries of $50--99,000, a slight increase over the 52 percent of respondents who were earning this much last year. <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Engineering/?cchan=15">Engineer</a>s fared better than other professionals, with 60.4 percent falling in this income range, 29.2 percent earning $50--74,999, and 31 percent in the $75--99,999 income range; there was a slight drop from last year, when 62.2 percent earned $50--74,999 and 31.1 percent earned $50-99,999.<br /><br />The real surprise was in the number of non-technical professionals entering the $100--149,000 income bracket. Last year, almost 16 percent of responding engineers and 4 percent of the non-technical respondents were in that salary range. This year, 13 percent of the non-technical respondents and 18.8 percent of the engineers earned $100--149,000.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Education</span><br /><br />The survey respondents value and invest in <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Education/?cchan=76">education</a>. Last year, 41 percent had pursued additional certification and education beyond undergraduate studies. This year, the survey only captured degreed education, and the numbers were still impressive.<br /><br />Some 31.3 percent of all respondents have a master’s degree, with 4.5 percent holding a doctorate. Another 46.8 percent plan to pursue an advanced degree. Among the engineers, 40.3 percent have a master’s degree, and 4.9 percent have a doctorate.<br /><br />The percent of respondents who had attended a <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/hispanic/">Hispanic</a> Serving Institution decreased from 2.1 to 0 percent; however, 7.7 percent of the Hispanic engineers in this survey had attended a Historically <a href="http://www.goafrican.com/">Black</a> College or University (HBCU).<br /><br />The HBCU engineering colleges continue to be critical in pipeline development. Engineers attending HBCUs increased to 39.9 percent, whereas last year, only 39.6 percent of responding engineers attended an HBCU. Some 26.2 percent of non-technical employees attended an HBCU in 2005, but this year, only 15 percent had attended an HBCU.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Summary:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> The responses increased from the two ends of the spectrum: younger workers and baby boomers. Respondents were middle class, and most had children in the household. They valued continuing education.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">More Companies Embrace Workplace Diversity</span><br /><br />Companies are moving beyond simply acquiring a <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diverse work force</a> and calling it quits: Our survey shows that many employers are successfully managing, embracing, and cultivating a <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">diverse work environment</a>. Minority employees give their employers improved marks on <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">managing workplace diversity</a> and on being fair. Some 67.1 percent rated their companies' <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity programs</a> as good to excellent, whereas only 60 percent of respondents gave their companies this score last year. Also, 57 percent of the respondents feel that minority engineers and scientists are adequately represented at their companies.<br /><br />In promotions, 69 percent of respondents said that their companies were fair to minorities, and 72 percent agreed that their employers were fair in setting salaries.. When it came to assignment of leadership positions, only 60 percent of all the respondents felt the company was fair. This may reflect the make-up of the work force. Although <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a> and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">people of color</a> make up 30 percent of the middle managers and about 63 percent of the work force, they hold only 5 percent of the top managerial positions. White men held nearly 95 percent of those jobs in 2000. These results suggest that organizations must increase their efforts in leadership development for women and people of color.<br /><br />Last year, 75 percent of responding <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Engineering/?cchan=15">minority engineers</a> felt that employers were fair in promotions, 79 percent said their employers were fair when it came to salary, and 82 percent said their employers were fair in assigning leadership roles. The non-technical group's results for these same questions were 54, 59, and 56 percent, respectively. This year, the numbers have declined. Only 66 percent of respondents felt their employers were fair in promotions, 72 percent said their employers were fair about salary, and 60 percent said their employers were fair when it came to leadership assignments.<br /><br />Still, overall, survey results indicate that minority professionals feel their employers’ workplace diversity efforts are working. That should be welcome news for companies who are moving beyond the melting pot concept, and are instead valuing employees for the diverse strengths and viewpoints they bring to the organization.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Sense of Belonging</span><br /><br />Many employees said their employers had programs in place that created a sense of belonging. The majority of respondents felt that their employers valued their input on <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity-related issues</a>.<br /><br />Formal programs for <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">minority</a><a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/"> and </a><a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">women</a><a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/"> recruitment</a>, employee networks, or affinity groups were in place at 66.8 percent of the respondents' companies. Some 85.3 percent of respondents work for organizations with a clearly stated workplace diversity policy, and 68.7 percent reported <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">cultural awareness training</a> at their companies. Some 88.5 percent of employees said their employers had a confidential process for employees to report <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">gender or racial discrimination</a> concerns. Moreover, 81.5 percent said their companies sought their input in diversity recruitment, and 70 percent said their <a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">ideas on workplace diversity</a> were solicited.<br /><br />The survey results indicate that many of the nation’s employers are moving in the right direction on <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity issues</a>. Yet respondents felt that there was still much to be done. For example, nearly 57 percent felt that minorities were not adequately represented in the engineering or scientific positions at their workplaces. Only 73.9 percent of the engineers indicated that a formal mentoring program existed at their companies. And 26 percent of the engineers said that their organizations did not have a formal recruitment program to reach women and minorities.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Summary:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Highly skilled workers of both genders value their companies’ workplace diversity efforts and participate in those efforts in higher numbers than non-technical employees. Non-technical minority women cite employer inequity more frequently than other groups.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Linking Professional Development and Minority Retention</span><br /><br /><a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">Recruiting </a><a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">women and minorities</a>, only to see them walk out of the door within a few years is a loss of training investments and a loss of opportunity. Retaining promising employees is just as important as recruiting them.<br /><br />The survey respondents clearly state that their employers are "getting it" when it comes to <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">retention and professional development</a>. Last year, only 33.3 percent reported <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">mentoring programs</a>; this year, 40 percent of respondents said that these types of programs were in place at their companies. Also, 65 percent said their employers supported them in continuing <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">education programs</a>, and 82.2 percent said they would recommend a position in their current field to youth.<br /><br />Respondents reported several factors that influenced them when they chose their places of employment, and these factors may help companies develop new or more effective <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">retention strategies</a>. Professional development was a leading factor in job consideration. The ethics of the company was the second most important factor. Learning opportunities and security were third and fourth. Job security also made it onto this year’s list. If women and minorities are made to feel that they have a fair opportunity in leadership positions, they may be more likely to stay.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Meeting the Global Challenge</span><br /><br />Other countries are increasingly challenging the United States' standing as the world's technological leader. Together, India and China graduate nearly ten times more engineers than the 72,000 who graduate from U.S. schools. Over the last year, more U.S. leaders have warned that if our country does not increase our <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Science_and_Research/?cchan=86">science</a>, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Engineering/?cchan=15">engineering</a>, and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/IT_-_Computers,_Hardware/?cchan=81">technology</a> work force, the United States risks becoming a second-class nation. But there is much we can learn about designing programs to increase minority participation in science from this year’s survey.<br /><br />Minority engineers said that passion, income, and growing opportunities were the top three factors that led them into engineering. Minority engineers are very optimistic about the opportunities for engineers. Some 91 percent of the engineering respondents think that career opportunities will increase or remain stable, and 87.2 percent of the engineers said they would recommend an engineering career to children.<br /><br />Timing played a critical role in the respondents’ decision to enter the field. Almost half of them---46.6 percent---decided on engineering between the ages of 12 and 18. Nearly two-thirds, or 73.6 percent, made the decision between age 12 and 21.<br /><br />The decision-making process occurred much later for those not pursuing engineering. A surprising 52.4 percent of non-technical professionals made their career choice after they turned 22.<br /><br />Pre-college and pre-engineering programs and events also factored into the engineers' career choice. Some 56.1 percent of the engineering respondents participated in these programs. In contrast, 74.2 percent of non-technical professionals did not participate in pre-college or pre-engineering programs or events.<br /><br />Based on these numbers, it seems clear that increasing the number of minorities entering engineering requires an ongoing, comprehensive campaign. Such a campaign should create passion about the field by exposing young people to the fun side of engineering through field trips, technical conferences, pre-college programs, technology events, and interaction with professional engineers.<br /><br />Family members also played a role in helping survey respondents select engineering. About 25 percent cited a family member as a key influencer, 21.4 percent credited a role model in the field, and 20.5 percent cited an advisor.<br /><br />Role models---even if they were not engineers---played as great of a role as engineering role models in motivating students. Reaching family members and advisors with career information is critical, especially for under-represented minority groups, as there are fewer minority engineers in the community.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lack of Formal and Informal Mentoring</span><br /><br />Formal and informal <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">mentoring</a> opportunities are less available to women and people of color in the workplace. Some 92 percent attended professional development conferences like <a href="http://www.goafrican.com/">Black</a> Engineer of the Year and <a href="http://african-american-women-diversityworld.blogspot.com/">Women of Color</a> in Technology to help fill that void. At those conferences, 70 percent view the networking sessions as being very important.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Key Factors</span><br /><br />The 2006 survey again reveals the similarities in career issues that all professionals share. What is unique among <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">minorities and women</a> is their perception of career limitation.<br /><br />Employers should consider the work force conflicts that can be caused when policies, promotions, and decisions appear to be unfairly assigned. These conflicts may increase as people of color near the upper levels of the company and find barriers to advancement.<br /><br />Shifting demographics favoring women and minorities will allow most companies to achieve some level of workplace diversity. Including them at all levels of the company is another issue.<br /><br />If employers want their fair share of top employees, this survey underscores the importance of being viewed as an organization that fosters growth, opportunity, and professional development.<br /><br />Last year we wrote, “<a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">corporate diversity programs</a> are now the norm in many workplaces. Therefore, employers who do not have these programs or fail to execute them well are at a disadvantage. Because they are common, though, it is important that the programs not become static, and that employers continuously seek innovative ways to refresh the programs and reiterate the value proposition.”<br /><br />This statement is just as relevant today as it was a year ago.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Most Admired Companies Rank</span><br /><br />IBM 1<br />Lockheed Martin Corporation 2<br />Microsoft Corporation 3<br />Cisco Systems Inc. 4<br />Intel Corporation 5<br />Dell Inc. 6<br />NASA Headquarters 7<br />Johnson & Johnson 8<br />Booz Allen Hamilton 9<br />General Electric Company 9<br />Raytheon Company 10<br />The Walt Disney Company 11<br />Hewlett-Packard Company 12<br />Texas Instruments Inc. 13<br />AT&T 14<br />The Boeing Company 14<br />The Coca-Cola Company 14<br />Northrop Grumman Corporation 15<br />Fannie Mae 16<br />DaimlerChrysler Corporation 17<br />Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems 18<br />American Express Company 19<br />Motorola Inc. 19<br />Verizon Communications Inc. 19<br />Bank of America Corporation 20<br />Sun Microsystems Inc. 21<br />FedEx Corporation 21<br />General Motors Corporation 21<br />EDS Corporation 21<br />Citigroup Inc. 22<br />Pfizer Inc. 23<br />Abbott Laboratories 24<br />Computer Sciences Corporation 24<br />Mercedes Benz 24<br />Exxon Mobil Corporation 25<br />Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 25<br />Time Warner Inc. 25<br />The Home Depot Inc. 26<br />General Dynamics Corporation 27<br />The Procter & Gamble Company 27<br />PepsiCo Inc. 28<br />Comcast Corporation 29<br />Target Corporation 29<br />U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 29<br />Bristol-Myers Squibb Company 30<br />Merck & Company Inc. 30<br />J.P. Morgan Chase & Company 31<br />Air Force Research Laboratories 32<br />Ford Motor Company 32<br />Honeywell International Inc. 32<br />J.C. Penney Company Inc. 32<br />SBC Communications Inc. 32<br />Georgia-Pacific Corporation 33<br />Wachovia Corporation 33<br />Best Buy Company Inc. 34<br />Costco Wholesale Corporation 34<br />Goldman Sachs Group Inc. 34<br />United Parcel Service Inc. 34<br />Aerotek Inc. 35<br />Army Research Laboratory 35<br />BellSouth Corporation 35<br />Caterpillar Inc. 35<br />Duke Energy 35<br />Freescale Semiconductor Inc. 35<br />Google 35<br />Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation 35<br />The MITRE Corporation 35<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.blackengineer.com/artman/publish/article_644.shtml">BlackEngineer.com</a></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-73878419110793560792007-04-18T09:16:00.000-07:002007-06-18T07:42:52.341-07:00Developing an Organizational Change Plan in Workplace Diversity<div style="text-align: justify;">by Maggie Finefrock, Director<br />The Learning Project, Kansas City<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">PART ONE</span><br /><br />The most difficult stage in change processes is not initiating change as many people believe. The most challenging part, and the reason that more organizational change efforts do not work, comes during the persistence stage when the going gets tough and you look around to find out where the tough have gone.<br /><br />In order to create strategic and long-term change with <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> initiatives, we must develop a long-range plan and be mightily committed to following it to the desired outcomes. Otherwise, like a well-intentioned health or weight loss program begun in January, we may become lost, distracted and out of steam by March. Then we are in danger of a false start and developing some patterns and habits that can make the problem worse. We could gain back the pounds and problems that we lost and they could invite all of their little friends to join them, oh my.<br /><br />In Part Two of this article, I will frame some <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">steps to create a high-performance culturally diverse learning organization</a>. But first let's play around with five ways to ensure that your <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diversity</a> plan will NOT work and bigotry, low morale, sluggish performance and litigation will triumph.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">HOW TO INSURE A WORKPLACE DIVERSITY PLAN WILL NOT WORK:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Allow a hostile environment as the culture of your organization</span>. Develop an adversarial "us vs. them" mentality. Use guilt as a motivating factor. Treat <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity as a black/white issue</a>. Leave out other groups and refer to <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity initiatives</a> as warmed-over affirmative action. Don't dispel the myths that this is just about more special treatment for the squeaky wheels. Dismiss new ideas and complaints as trivial or use them as fodder for jokes about "political correctness." Use the term "reverse <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">discrimination</a>'' to confuse people. Talk about the effects of <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">racism and sexism</a> as individual and not institutional. Make sure that organizational norms against scapegoating do not include white men. After all, if people continue to fight among themselves, they might leave you alone.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Remain in denial.</span> Say "We don't have any of those people around here." Assume that because you have not heard any complaints about discrimination, <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">inequity or hostile work conditions</a> that there are none. Assume when you do hear rumblings that people are being "way too sensitive" and should leave the personal stuff at home. Invent history and deny that special rights and privileges have been given to certain groups and legally denied others. After all, the injustices of the past have been rectified with the 1964 Civil Rights Act, eh?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Value conformity.</span> Be relieved that the more people like you that you hire and have as clients, the less energy you will have to expend in dealing with differences. Work to increase your team's adherence to your work and communication style, and maintain your authoritarian leadership methods. Make your team motto something like, "There is one right way to do things." Buy stock in a competing agency because they will get all the clients/customers/employees/applicants that you are not serving and you will need a reserve fund for the near future when you are out of a job.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Don't link workplace diversity to the bottom line.</span> Treat <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">issues of race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, abilities and disabilities, economic class, etc.</a>, as "soft" issues that are not pertinent to the success of the organization. Do not embed your <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity plan</a> in the main business plan and strategy. Treat it as peripheral, something for personnel to "fix." Don't have an expressed and communicated vision, values and mission for the organization that values people as your greatest resource. Appease employees and lawyers with a little "<a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity awareness training</a>" now and then so you can look like you are doing something and can justify your own racism/sexism.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. Wait until you have a major problem to begin change.</span> Continue management by chaos and shooting from the hip. Don't give in to those clichés like "The cost of doing nothing is already too high" and "No one likes change except a wet baby." Wait for the forces of entropy and change to run your organization out of control while you worship the status quo. Planned change is, after all, messy and expensive sometimes. Healing may hurt. Proactive management and planning, democratic decision making and <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">creating a diverse environment of respect and high productivity</a> are just fads anyway. If you hold your breath long enough they will go away. Think of settling legitimate lawsuits as just one of the tools of organizational life. Try to patch over the problems with yet more training for the underlings and, oh yes, you'll need to form some committees.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6. Your turn.</span> This is an audience participation article. You have got the idea now. Add some fun lessons of your own.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">PART TWO</span><br /><br />Don't you just hate it when people keep framing the <a href="http://articlesondiversityintheworkplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity issue</a> over and over again, telling you all about what's wrong and never giving you any semblance of solutions? Here are some steps in a change process that have worked for some. These and the aforementioned items are at least worth arguing about (an important diversity skill).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. THE WHAT:</span> Include <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">valuing of workplace diversity</a> as a critical part of the mission, purpose, vision, values and daily strategy of the organization. This value should permeate every aspect of the organization---<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">hiring</a>, firing, policies, architecture, design, location, projects undertaken, clients and customers, promotions, celebrations, incentives, budget, compensation, marketing, <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">management</a> styles, <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">training</a>, deadlines, strategic planning, families, <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">recruiting</a>, <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">retention</a>, meetings, action planning, performance appraisals, investments, etc., in an aligned (not maligned) system. <a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">Define workplace diversity</a> and don't assume you are all talking about the same animal. Challenge the assumptions of the old wine skins. Create dissatisfaction with the parts of the status quo that are not working to benefit all people.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. THE WHO:</span> Develop a <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity strategy</a> team to guide the change process for the next three to five years. It will take a committed and diverse group of leaders from all levels of the organization to drive this process to completion. They will decide direction, be <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">a</a><a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">dvocates for change and workplace diversity</a>, listen, monitor, evaluate and adjust the plan. Start the workplace diversity strategy team on <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">learning and training plan for diversity</a>. The goal is to be a high-achieving and culturally diverse learning organization. All members in the organization must be committed to continuous learning. There is no final destination in change but another horizon and another.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. THE WHY:</span> Determine where you are starting and where you want to end up. Develop the business case for why you are embarking upon this fruitful journey. Get consensus on what has been accomplished so far, what the short- and long-range outcomes will be, success indicators, ways to celebrate successes and how to develop a purpose statement. Conduct a <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> audit of the entire organization by surveys, focus groups, interviews, data, etc. Solicit as much feedback as you can from employees and clients to determine the baseline of where you are starting and the goals and objectives people need to experience success.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. THE WHERE:</span> After the data gathering is completed, analyze it carefully with the <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity strategy</a> team and develop an action plan. Translate your vision into agendas of where you want to go. Invest time listening to the responses of all constituents. Spend time mushing around in the data to determine current realities and future dreams of one, three, five, 10 and 20 years. Tie it into the overall strategic organizational plan. Be creative in writing out a detailed action plan. State action steps, rationale, people in charge of making it happen, deadlines to meet, necessary resources and inevitable obstacles. Include every aspect of the organization but prioritize into what can be accomplished in a realistic time frame. Make sure it is aligned with your mission, vision and values. Contrary to popular belief, planning does not have to be dreary. It should be fun and energizing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. THE HOW:</span> Start acting. Just do it. Implement your <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">diversity action plan</a>. Remember that you will be evaluated by others on outcomes that you achieve and not just good intentions. Start. Yes, you will be smarter tomorrow and your plan will change. Just remain in a learning mode and each step will lead to the next. Even apparently wrong steps will lead you to great insights. Continue to mobilize commitment to change. Create a shared vision of how things can be better throughout the organization. Give yourselves credit for what you are already doing as long as it does not put you to sleep. Build consensus, competence and cohesion. Conduct the necessary dialogues, <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">training and education</a>. Communicate agendas so that others will want to buy in. Without mandating, encourage creativity. Establish a learning community around the <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">issues of workplace diversity</a> and encourage a creative problem-solving mode. Celebrate small successes and keep moving, reflecting, adjusting and changing. The key is to create a healthy and productive system that removes prior <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">discrimination</a> without excluding anyone. Place high value on your sense of humor and your ability to fall.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6. THE NOW WHAT?</span> Persist, persist, persist until the diversity action plan is accomplished and exceeded. This is the toughest part. Discouragement and impatience can creep in. Your baseline conditions were not developed in six months, so don't expect them to be eradicated in that amount of time or double that time. Some change, like the integration of the armed forces, is fast and overnight. Other change, like the years of policy discussions leading up to Truman's mandate and the subsequent adjustments in the 50 years after, are slower and evolutionary. You should come up against resistance. That is a sign that your change process is working. Take a non-defensive attitude and use the resistance to educate yourself and give you feedback. If something is not working well across the board, don't do it that way anymore. If you are paying conscious attention, you will find a better way to meet important goals. This is why you have a strategy team in this process. Use them. Individual change agents playing Lone Ranger can burn out without a support and tag team. The only rule is to keep learning and persist. This is a developmental process. Continually ask, "Are we getting better? Are we having fun yet? Is this the way to San Jose? (or wherever you have aimed to go)"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">7. THE SO WHAT?</span> The end result of all your hard work is a high-achieving diverse learning organization. In this <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">discrimination-free workplace</a>, all obstacles are removed that will keep any associate or client/customer from reaching their full potential. You are using close to 100 percent of your resources. There is a climate of trust, collaboration, productivity, innovation, shared power, healthy humor and creativity. You finally understand how "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" applies to organizational life. <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">Barriers</a> are removed and systems are in place for continuous learning and change. There are <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">improvements in profits, products and people</a>. The effects and results of your organization are influencing the entire community through employees' families and increasingly diverse and satisfied consumers of your services. Your model is being noticed and used in the community and beyond. Besides, through all this you and your colleagues are experiencing more harmony and energy and a lot more fun. You notice that this exists even when conflicts occur and the work is hard.<br /><br />You have accomplished the breakthrough of a paradigm of separateness that has been dominant for centuries and has been holding back the progress of civilization. Someday ultimate success will be measured not by how many toys one can accumulate in a lifetime, but by how successful one is in ending oppression in any form. Congratulations for whatever stage you are in on this journey. Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around, turn me around, turn me around. We make the road by walking.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">About the Author</span><br /><br />Maggie Finefrock is director of <a href="http://www.thelearningproject.com/">The Learning Project</a> in Kansas City. If you want to add to and/or argue with these points, please contact her at 2615 Martha Truman Road, Kansas City, MO 64137.<br /><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica;"><strong></strong></span><span><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica;"><strong></strong></span></span> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto://maggie@thelearningproject.com/"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">maggie@thelearningproject.com</span></strong></a><o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.thelearningproject.com/article.html">The Learning Project</a></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-18202988407458632202007-04-16T08:27:00.000-07:002007-06-18T07:44:51.047-07:00Workplace Diversity : Leveraging the Power of Difference for Competitive Advantage<div style="text-align: justify;">By Nancy R. Lockwood, SPHR, GPHR, HR Content Expert<br /><br />"<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Diversity</a> represents a company's fundamental attitude that it not only respects and values the individuality of its employees but also understands how to tap the potentially <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">significant contributions inherent in diversity</a>." - Alexandra Groess, Allianz Group's International Diversity Project<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Workplace Diversity - An Evolution</span><br /><br />From compliance to inclusion, the <a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">concept of workplace diversity</a> is evolving. Coming from an organizational viewpoint, this article explores the changing perception of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a>, elements of an inclusive corporate culture, the business case and HR's leadership role to maximize the <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">benefits of a diverse workforce</a><a href="http://workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a> is not strictly a U.S. concept: a brief discussion on the drivers of in a changing marketplace. While a broad range of issues is covered, it should be noted that "one size does not fit all," as organizations are in different stages of development regarding workplace diversity. In addition, workplace diversity in the European Union is presented.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Diversity Defined Today</span><br /><br />As predicted in the landmark study Workforce 2020, rapid technological change, globalization, the demand for skills and education, an <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/matureWorker/">aging workforce</a> and greater <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">ethnic diversification</a> in the labor market have forever changed the employment landscape. The definition of diversity<a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/"> </a>extends well beyond the traditional view that once focused primarily on <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">gender and race</a> and reflects the broader perspective of workplace diversity today.<br /><br />"A broad <a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">definition of diversity</a> ranges from personality and work style to all of the visible dimensions such as <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">race, age, ethnicity or gender</a>, to secondary influences such as <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">religion</a>, socioeconomics and education, to work diversities such as <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">management</a> and union, functional level and classification or proximity/distance to headquarters."<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Integration and Learning: A New Paradigm for Managing Diversity</span><br /><br /><a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">Diversity in the United States</a> has evolved since the 1960s. <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Diversity</a> was first based on the assimilation approach, with everyone being part of the "melting pot." Compliance (e.g., affirmative action, <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">equal employment opportunity</a>) is important in diversity, and key legislation has been an effective tool for change (e.g., Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">Discrimination</a> in Employment Act of 1967, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/personWithDisability/">Americans with Disabilities</a> Act of 1990).<br /><br />Today, however, the impetus behind workplace diversity is that of inclusion and the business case: <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">embracing and leveraging differences for the benefit of the organization</a>. The collaboration of cultures, ideas and different perspectives is now considered an organizational asset-bringing forth greater creativity and innovation-with the result that many companies are increasingly focusing on <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">corporate diversity initiatives to improve organizational performance</a>.<br /><br />Workplace diversity initiatives do not always meet expectations. The traditional schools of thought behind many <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">diversity interventions</a> are: 1) assimilation, based on the idea that "we're all the same" (promoting equal opportunity); and 2) differentiation, from the philosophy "we celebrate differences." Today, groundbreaking research goes beyond the historical framework of<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/"> </a>workplace diversity. The emerging paradigm is integration and learning. That is, companies promote equal opportunity and value cultural differences, using the talents of all employees to gain diverse work perspectives. To achieve this level of <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">diversity management</a>, however, organizational leaders must have a clear understanding of how they <a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">define diversity</a> as well as what exactly the organization does with the experiences of being a <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">diverse workforce</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">An Inclusive Corporate Culture</span><br /><br />The concept of inclusion is increasingly important in the discussion of workplace diversity. In many ways, this evolution reflects societal values in the workplace. For example, two beliefs commonly held by Americans are that everyone deserves a chance (equal opportunity, sometimes referred to as the "level playing field") and that all people should be treated with dignity and respect. The values of equality, respect and opportunity for all represent the cornerstone of workplace diversity. Inclusiveness is thus a win-win dynamic: it <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">generates opportunities for growth, flexibility and adaptation in the marketplace</a> for both the employee and the organization.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Business Case for Workplace Diversity</span><br /><br />Increasingly, the case for <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a><a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/"> as a business imperative</a> is gaining recognition by leaders in the business world. At a symposium sponsored by The Conference Board regarding <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">diversity in the workplace</a>, for example, 400 executives agreed that "<a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">diversity programs</a> help to ensure the creation, management, valuing and leveraging of a <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">diverse workforce</a> that will lead to organizational effectiveness and sustained competitiveness."<br /><br />One of the major drivers behind the business case is the demographic changes that directly affect the labor pool and available talent. These changes are significant. In an organization, human capital and workforce relationships are the backbone of success. The flow of information between colleagues, work teams, customers and suppliers, for example, depends on the quality of relationships and talent in the workplace. Consequently, workplace diversity is increasingly viewed as an essential success factor to be competitive in today's marketplace.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Advantages</span><br /><br />Six key <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">reasons to tie </a><a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a><a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/"> to organizational strategic goals and objectives</a> are: 1) greater adaptability and flexibility in a rapidly changing marketplace; 2) attracting and retaining the best talent; 3) reducing costs associated with turnover, absenteeism and low productivity; 4) return on investment (ROI) from various initiatives, policies and practices; 5) gaining and keeping greater/new market share (locally and globally) with an expanded diverse customer base; and 6) increased sales and profits. Workplace diversity can be viewed as having both direct and indirect links to the bottom line. In business, the preferred equation for success is a single action that directly impacts financial performance. Workplace diversity, however, is a complex phenomenon. Consequently, the link of workplace diversity to financial success is not always immediately apparent, nor is it always linear. Two examples below illustrate scenarios with direct and indirect links of workplace diversity to organizational performance.<br /><br />*<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Direct link</span>: Organizations that expand their customer base most effectively do so with a workforce that is reflective of their clients. DuPont, for example, considers <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> a business imperative vital to ongoing renewal and competitiveness in the 21st century. This philosophy was illustrated when the company learned how one small change could directly translate into significant profits. At DuPont Merck, the sales of an anticoagulant drug in the <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">Hispanic</a> markets were low. When a Hispanic manager noticed that the drug was only labeled in English and consequently translated the instructions into Spanish, sales improved significantly. Now, educational materials for the drug are translated into 15 languages and bring in millions of dollars in new business.<br />* <span style="font-weight: bold;">Indirect link</span>: Having access to and retaining talent from a worldwide<a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/"> diverse labor pool</a> is key to gaining a competitive edge in the global marketplace. To expand and keep their market share, Nortel views lost revenue due to turnover as a <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">reason to support diversity</a>. With the cost of replacing an employee at $55,000 and turnover at 7% (compared to 17% in the information technology industry), the overall turnover cost is still quite high. For example, 7% attrition for 80,000 employees translates to replacing 5,600 people. Thus, when 5,600 (people) is multiplied by $55,000 (the cost of replacing one employee), turnover cost is $30.8 million! Thus, at Nortel, attracting and keeping talent - a key aspect of workplace diversity - has a significant impact on the bottom line.<br /><br />Firms are increasingly aware of the impact of <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity initiatives</a> on organizational effectiveness. For example, factors that affect organizational profits are highlighted in a study by the Society for Human Resource Management on the impact of workplace diversity on the bottom line. HR professionals from companies on Fortune's list of Top 100 Companies to Work For state that <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity initiatives provide organizations with a competitive advantage</a> by positive improvements in corporate culture, employee morale, retention and recruitment. For example, 40% of companies ensure leadership development programs are available to all employees, 34% increase innovation by tapping talent of employees of all backgrounds, and 31% utilize diverse experiences for special projects and assignments.<br /><br />The importance of positive community relations also illustrates <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">the link between workplace diversity and the business case</a>. When organizations develop external partnerships with <a href="http://native-american-indian-people.blogspot.com/">minority communities</a> and suppliers, for example, this can lead to good will and a reputation as an "employer of choice." When employees are proud of their organization for its contributions and connections to the community, they are more loyal to their employer and more likely to boast about their company to family and friends. The result is lower turnover and a positive employer brand that better attracts the best talent in the marketplace. A prime example of diversity partnerships is that of Pitney Bowes, the No. 1 company on the 2004 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list, with recruitment initiatives and partnerships developed with organizations such as the National Urban League and the National Society of <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">Hispanic</a> MBAs. Another example is that of Ford Motor Co., the No. 1 company on the 2003 DiversityInc Top 50 list that made community relations a priority: Ford spent 6% of its total procurement budget ($3.2 billion) with its first-tier <a href="http://articlesondiversityintheworkplace.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> suppliers.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Money Talks</span><br /><br />The shift in purchasing power in the United States provides further evidence for the business case for workplace diversity. According to the Selig Center for Economic Growth, the purchasing power of <a href="http://native-american-indian-people.blogspot.com/">minorities</a> in the United States will quickly outpace that of whites in the next five years. In 2009, for example, the combined buying power of <a href="http://www.goafrican.com/">African-Americans</a>, <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">Hispanics</a>, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Asian-Americans</a> and <a href="http://native-american-indian-people.blogspot.com/">Native Americans</a> is expected to exceed $1.5 trillion, more than triple the 1990 level by a gain of $1.1 trillion or 242%. In contrast, the buying power of whites will increase by 140%.<br /><br />Thus, in order to ensure that the company's sales and marketing teams reach the <a href="http://native-american-indian-people.blogspot.com/">minority groups</a> with funds to purchase its products and services, one of the most effective avenues is to utilize the knowledge of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">minority</a><a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/"> employees</a> who can relate to different groups in the marketplace. Verizon Communications, for example, utilizes its <a href="http://www.goafrican.com/">African-American</a> spokespeople, such as the actor James Earl Jones, to attract <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">African-American</a> consumers. Fannie Mae, a leading mortgage lending firm, wanted to reach the many <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/nativeAmerican/">minorities</a> who did not yet own homes; in the United States, only 46% of <a href="http://www.goafrican.com/">African-Americans</a> and <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">Hispanics</a> own homes, compared with 72% of whites. The company utilized <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity training</a> as a strategic business initiative to reach a segment of the population that could profit from their service. Finally, the SHRM 2004-2005 Workplace Forecast notes that one of the top economic trends is expansion into the global marketplace. Organizations can better capture, keep and serve their international customer base when their own workforce-such as sales, marketing and customer service-understands the needs of other <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">cultural and ethnic groups</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Metrics - the ROI of Diversity</span><br /><br />As with all business initiatives, measuring the return on investment of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diversity</a> makes good business sense. Measurement of <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">diversity management</a> can be considered in a number of areas, such as organizational culture, demographics, accountability, productivity, growth and profitability. For example, measuring <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">diversity leadership</a><a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/"> commitment</a> may involve many individual factors, such as the development of diversity vision/mission statements by a specific date, the number of times diversity is mentioned as a strategy in executive presentations, the percentage of board representation by group, the percentage of diverse employees who were promoted due to <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">mentorship</a> and the percentage of <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity strategy plans </a>implemented.<br /><br />To determine the return on investment, hard and soft data must be converted to monetary values. There are five basic steps: 1) identify a unit of measure that represents a unit of improvement; 2) determine the value of each unit; 3) calculate the change in performance data; 4) determine an annual amount for the change; and 5) calculate the total value of the improvement.<br /><br />The diversity return on investment (DROI) is calculated by using the diversity initiative cost and benefits to get the benefit/cost ratio (BCR). BCR = diversity initiative benefits ÷ diversity initiative costs. This ratio is also referred to as a cost-to-benefit ratio. Specifically, the DROI calculation is the net benefit of the diversity initiative divided by the initiative costs: DROI% = (net diversity initiative benefits ÷ initiative costs) x 100. This formula is the same basic formula used to evaluate other investments in which the ROI is reported as earnings divided by the investment.<br /><br />For example, the initial cost of a <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">diversity awareness program</a> may be $50,000. The measurable value of the program is determined to be three years. During a three-year period, the program will have a net savings of $30,000 ($10,000 per year). Since the average book value is approximately half the cost, the average investment in this case is $25,000 ($50,000 ÷ 2). The average ROI = annual savings ÷ average investment: $10,000 ÷ $25,000 = 40%.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Short- or Long-Term Investment</span><br /><br />The <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">business advantage for workplace diversity</a> is clear. Yet companies often expect short-term results. The challenge is to demonstrate measurable impact on financial success as well as realistically manage expectations. Rather than a quick fix, the business case for workplace diversity is a long-term investment and offers sustainability in a competitive marketplace.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Senior Management's Role</span><br /><br />Visibility, communication and accountability are <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">keys to achieving a competitive </a><a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">diverse workforce</a>. A recent study on what makes and breaks <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity initiatives</a> found three critical points of leadership: 1) accountability; 2) a passion for diversity; and 3) sustained involvement. Visible commitment throughout the organization is important: adding workplace diversity on the agenda at executive meetings and company conferences, appointing diversity candidates to top positions, and assigning clear roles and responsibilities to the senior management team regarding <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">diversity management</a>. Accountability creates sustained involvement-that is, holding managers accountable to deliver diversity results. Participation in diversity councils is recommended as a development path for senior leadership. However, simply placing <a href="http://african-american-women-diversityworld.blogspot.com/">women</a> and/or <a href="http://native-american-indian-people.blogspot.com/">minorities</a> in high-profile positions, for example, is insufficient. Rather, the more effective approach is to hold management accountable for results. Consequently, to get middle management and employee buy-in, top management must establish clear implementation and reporting requirements. At DuPont, for example, senior management ensures accountability for diversity management by integrating workplace diversity into the overall business performance evaluation process, including developing cost and profit objectives as well as how compensation is determined. The company also uses targeted career development initiatives to help <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diverse people</a> fill key work assignments, thus supporting advancement and addressing glass ceiling issues. The Quaker Oats Company aims to keep <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">d</a>iversity management simple by using two key tools: 1) the diversity progress menu; and 2) the diversity accountability guidelines. The company's goal is to supply managers with a best practices list that offers flexibility tied to individual business cultures as well as performance.<br /><br />Nine of the top 50 companies on the 2004 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Diversity</a> list tie diversity to managers' compensation. For example, CitiGroup measures its managers' attempts to <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">attract talent and develop a diverse workforce</a>. At Verizon Communications, 5% of bonuses for directors and above are related to workplace diversity. Simple daily actions also communicate commitment to workplace diversity: the CEO greets employees in their native language, and the supervisor takes time to understand direct reports with different cultural values and viewpoints.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Diversity Management and the Board of Directors</span><br /><br />Increasingly, the business case for <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> focuses on the board of directors. The impetus to change the board composition is a direct result of the trend toward corporate governance and <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">diversity of the workforce</a>, customer base and other stakeholders. Organizations want a wider range of leadership skills, work styles, perspectives and expertise, as well as increased representation of <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">women and minorities</a> among board directors.<br /><br />There is positive evidence of change. For example, in the Fortune 500 in 2003, women held 14% of board seats (up from 10% in 1995), and 54 companies had 25% or more <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a> on boards of directors (up from 11% in 1995). Finally, change in board composition is also occurring at an international level, as global organizations expand the <a href="http://cultural-workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">cultural diversity</a> of their boards with expertise in international business from other countries.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Managing Workplace Diversity: HR Challenges and Opportunities</span><br /><br />With the changing marketplace and an increasingly <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">diverse labor pool</a>, HR leaders are dealing with a myriad of factors regarding <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">diversity management</a>. Broadly speaking, workplace diversity challenges can be considered within three interrelated categories: <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">attracting and retaining talent</a>, greater diversity among employees and <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">training</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Attracting and Retaining Talent</span><br /><br />Competition for talent is growing-from competition abroad, lower education levels of U.S. workers compared with other countries, U.S. immigration challenges and fear of terrorism in the United States. Further, with the retirement of the baby boom generation (those born from 1944 to 1960) in the next 10 years, a key concern is retention of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/matureWorker/">older workers</a>. Organizations are in different stages of preparation regarding this likely loss of talent. As of 2003, 35% were just becoming aware of the issue, 35% did not know if their organizations were ready, 23% were beginning to examine policies, and 4% had proposed specific changes. Many HR leaders are looking for ways to attract and retain older workers. Benefits and workplace programs, such as reward initiatives and flexible work arrangements (e.g., part-time work, phased retirement), are key tools that offer attractive options to older workers.<br /><br />The skill shortage, however, will hit some industries harder and sooner than others. The nuclear power industry, for example, faces replacing as much as 50% of its workforce. The talent crunch will also strike the expanding service industry: sales positions in the United States, for example, are expected to increase by 25%, yet many in today's sales force are aged 55 or older. A recent study notes most firms are not paying close attention to <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">retention and promotion strategies</a>. For example, top minority talent is seeking leadership opportunities; yet companies indicate they have difficulty attracting talent for executive leadership (42%) and professional and technical skills (42%). In corporate America, the "revolving door syndrome" is particularly evident for <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a> and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/nativeAmerican/">minorities</a>. To retain women and minorities, HR professionals should re-evaluate their organization regarding talent, <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">mentoring</a>, career development and succession planning. Strategic initiatives, such as mentoring, on-boarding and "listening" forums, are additional tactics to address <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">minority retention</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Greater Diversity Among Employees</span><br /><br />The term "diversity" has typically referred to women and minorities. Today, however, employers are beginning to formally acknowledge other employees as well (e.g., <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">ethnic groups</a>, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/personWithDisability/">people with disabilities</a> and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/gayAndLesbian/">self-identified gay, lesbian and bisexual persons</a>). Some firms encourage a welcoming and inclusive environment for all employees by creating diversity network groups. Kraft Foods uses employee councils to build employee development. Through nine employee councils (<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">African-American</a> Council, <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">Hispanic</a> Council, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Asian-American</a> Council, Rainbow Council, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">Women</a> in Sales Council, <a href="http://www.goafrican.com/">Black</a> Sales Council, <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">Hispanic</a>/<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Asian</a> Sales Council, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">Women</a> in Operations and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/africanAmerican/">African-Americans</a> in Operations), Kraft takes an active role in mentoring and supporting its diverse workforce. For example, the company builds relationships with universities to bring in talent through <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Entry_Level_and_Intern/?cchan=52">internships</a> and internally sponsors career days focusing on leadership competencies.<br /><br />Different groups have different needs, and they want their needs recognized and met. Acknowledgment of different needs yields greater employee satisfaction, employer loyalty and, in turn, lower turnover and greater productivity. As a result, more organizations offer programs to address issues such as work/life balance and demands for more flexibility with telecommuting, adoption support, flexible health and dependent care spending accounts, elder care and domestic partner benefits. Within workplace diversity, one of the least discussed minority groups is people with disabilities. This group is a source of under-represented talent in the workplace. One study reveals that in the majority of companies, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/personWithDisability/">individuals with disabilities</a> comprise less than 10% of their total workforce. The study recommends top management lead by example and hire qualified individuals with disabilities on their staff. Through training and focus groups, HR leaders can improve sensitivity toward employees with disabilities.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Training</span><br /><br />Within the context of workplace diversity, training plays a key role in retaining talent. The role of training is to promote workplace harmony, learn about others' values, improve cross-cultural communication and develop leadership skills. <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">Awareness training</a> raises understanding of workplace diversity concerns by uncovering hidden assumptions and biases, heightening sensitivity to <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">diversity in the workplace</a> and fostering individual and group sharing. Skill-based workplace diversity training improves morale, productivity and creativity through effective intercultural communication. Leadership development, team building and mentoring programs are also examples of organizational training that promotes growth and collaboration. An overlooked area regarding retention is cross-cultural competence within the organization, often a missed opportunity to address minority retention concerns.<br /><br />Finally, working in a diverse organization requires diversity competencies for everyone, including HR. Yet not all HR professionals are experts in workplace diversity. A survey notes that only about one-third of companies think their HR staff has the skills to serve a diverse U.S. workforce and only 22% believe HR has the skills to serve a global workforce. HR professionals best qualified to deal with workplace diversity have experience in areas such as team building, change management, conflict resolution and cross-cultural communication.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Aligning the Diversity Process with Strategic Business Goals</span><br /><br />The organization that best utilizes the full potential of all employees intentionally and thoughtfully aligns workplace diversity with strategic business goals by following these steps:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Define diversity</span>. Clarify the role of workplace diversity in the organization, including leadership roles and expectations for workplace diversity initiatives. In vision and mission statements, highlight the <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">importance of workplace diversity</a> (for example, is the organization's philosophy on inclusion clearly stated?). Place the vision and mission statements on the company Web site as a public statement of the organization's commitment to workplace diversity. Communicate commitment by allocating the necessary resources -staff, budgets and time -to move the <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity process</a> forward.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Establish accountability.</span> With senior management, HR <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">diversity leaders</a> should develop challenging yet realistic goals for <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity interventions</a>. Demonstrate organizational commitment: 1) appoint senior executives to diversity task forces for succession planning, education and training initiatives; 2) <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">recruit diversity candidates</a> for senior leadership positions; and 3) establish <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">diversity goals and objectives</a> for all leadership levels in the performance management process and reward programs. Demonstrate commitment to workplace diversity by developing solutions when problems are identified through employee attitude surveys, focus groups, etc.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Develop a diversity scorecard.</span> Often overlooked, the scorecard is an important tool to <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">manage diversity</a>. The scorecard includes financial and nonfinancial recognition of diversity ROI initiatives as well as relevant feedback (e.g., change management lessons). When developing the diversity scorecard, include measures aligned with the organization's strategic business goals. When determining measures, keep in mind four themes: 1) key deliverables that leverage the <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">role of diversity in the organization's overall strategy</a>; 2) utilization of diversity in the development of a high-performance work environment; 3) ways in which the corporate culture is aligned with the organization's strategy; and 4) the efficiency of the diversity deliverables.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Studies on Workplace Diversity and the Bottom Line</span><br /><br />Several studies link <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity and company performance</a>. The study results run the gamut from identifying critical success factors for <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">diversity initiatives</a> that impact organizational effectiveness to connecting <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">gender and diversity</a> with financial performance.<br /><br />*<span style="font-weight: bold;"> The "Makes and Breaks" of Workplace Diversity Initiatives</span><br />This study found that successful initiatives that leverage <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diversity</a> to enhance organizational effectiveness share certain characteristics and approaches. Specifically, <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">successful workplace diversity initiatives</a> hinge on committed leadership, goals/targets of measures of effectiveness, strong <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diversity professionals</a>, employee involvement and ties to performance evaluation, as well as data to identify, quantify and communicate progress and challenges.<br /><br />* <span style="font-weight: bold;">Diversity Practices That Work</span><br />Companies with <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity practices</a> collectively generated 18% greater productivity than the U.S. economy overall. The results of this study suggest that, at a minimum, <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diversity</a> progress may enhance productivity through effective good leadership and management practices. Key factors that had the greatest impact on overall perceived effectiveness of workplace diversity initiatives were: 1) a track record of recruiting <a href="http://native-american-indian-people.blogspot.com/">diverse people</a>; 2) management that is accountable for diversity progress and holds others accountable; 3) leaders who demonstrate commitment to diversity; 4) rewarding people who contribute in the area of diversity; and 5) training and education to increase awareness and help employees understand <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">how diversity can impact business results</a>.<br /><br />* <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Effects of Workplace Diversity on Business Performance</span><br />This study looks at the <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">effects of racial and gender diversity on organizational performance</a>. A key finding reveals that racial diversity has a positive effect on overall performance in companies that use workplace diversity as a resource for innovation and learning. Further, the study results suggest that the best performance outcomes occur when workplace diversity is found across entire organizational units.<br /><br />* <span style="font-weight: bold;">Connecting Corporate Performance and Gender Diversity</span><br />Based on an examination of 353 Fortune 500 companies, this study connects <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">gender diversity </a>and financial performance. (The study does not, however, demonstrate causation.) The key findings show that the group of companies with the highest representation of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a> are in a stronger position to tap the educated and skilled talent in the marketplace. This is important because on their top management teams experienced better financial performance than the group with the lowest women's representation: that is, 35% higher return on equity and 34% higher total return to shareholders. The study results suggest there is a business case for gender diversity (e.g., recruiting, developing and advancing women) - specifically, organizations that focus on diversitywomen comprise 47% of the U.S. paid labor force and hold 46% of management positions. In addition, women earn more than half of all bachelor's and master's degrees in the United States (57% and 59%, respectively) and nearly half of all doctorates and law degrees (45% and 47%, respectively).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Global Diversity - The European Union</span><br /><br />Focus on <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">gender equality and anti-discrimination</a> by the European Union (EU) offers a unique example of <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a> outside of the United States. With the addition of 10 member states in May 2004, the European Union-with 25 member states in 2005 and nearly 500 million people-is one of the largest economic forces in the world. Through legislation (called Directives) under the Social Policy Agenda, the EU is establishing significant social, economic and political change. The goal is to be "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion." To achieve the necessary economic and social renewal, the Commission of the European Communities developed a five-year action plan (2000-2005) that focused on investing in people and combating social exclusion. In 2000, with the introduction of the EU Article 13 Race and Employment Directives (to be effective by 2006), the EU put in place measures designed to enforce the right to be treated equally.<br /><br />1. The Racial Equality Directive 2000/43/EC prohibits <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">discrimination</a> on the grounds of a personal racial or ethnic origin.<br /><br />2. The Employment Equality Directive 2000/78/EC prohibits <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">discrimination</a> on the grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.<br /><br />However, the establishment of a Directive does not guarantee immediate results or even substantial progress. While EU Directives require member states to meet the minimum legislative standards, more work is needed to achieve <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">workforce diversity</a>. For example, a recent report notes that while gender employment and education gaps are closing, the gender gap in the EU remains almost unchanged.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Drivers and Benefits of Workplace Diversity in Europe</span><br /><br />In Europe, there is a growing recognition of the <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">benefits of workplace diversity</a> for both the society and the economy. To remain competitive, however, there are a host of issues to address, from <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">racial and ethnic diversity</a> and new roles of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a> to work/life balance and an aging population coupled with declining birthrates. A recent study notes that a third of the top European companies are gaining competitive advantage from <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">diversity management</a>. These progressive organizations, rather than seeing <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> as a regulatory response that requires anti-discrimination and equal opportunity policies, view <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">diversity management</a> as a vehicle to develop an engaged, motivated and heterogeneous workforce to develop creative business solutions in the global marketplace.<br /><br />Another study notes the three most often mentioned <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">benefits of workplace diversity</a> by European companies are: 1) improved team effectiveness and cooperation; 2) improved productivity; and 3) improved customer markets with broader access to labor markets. Other drivers considered moderately beneficial are improved employer image, more openness to change, improved morale and commitment, ease of entry into new markets and enhanced effectiveness of complex organization. Overall, the most important shifts in <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> are in the areas of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">gender and ethnic diversity</a>. For example, as <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a> obtain higher professional degrees and qualifications and earn more money in the marketplace, they are increasingly viewed as important in the workplace. <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">Ethnic minorities</a> are seen as a growing workforce as well as customer base.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Enhancing Competitive Advantage through Diversity Management: Recommendations for HR</span><br /><br />* <span style="font-weight: bold;">Assess.</span> Conduct a top-to-bottom critical assessment of all company policies and programs. Determine if there are biases that create potential challenges for <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">diverse employees</a>. Review <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diversity</a> initiative results (e.g., recruitment of top talent, retention strategies, succession planning, career development goals) to determine if the workplace is structured to exclude certain employee groups. Determine where changes in organizational culture, policies and programs need to be made.<br />* <span style="font-weight: bold;">Capitalize.</span> Promote <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity initiatives</a> to the top agendas of senior management by capitalizing on reputation as a <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">diversity management</a> consultant.<br />* <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dialogue.</span> Develop and maintain continuous dialogue with the CEO and senior management regarding <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> as a business strategy.<br />* <span style="font-weight: bold;">Discover.</span> Through focus groups, confidential employee surveys and exit interviews, determine how <a href="http://workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a> initiatives are viewed and gather feedback for improvement.<br />* <span style="font-weight: bold;">Network.</span> Network with other HR professionals to learn different approaches to <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">diversity management</a>, challenges encountered and recommended best practices.<br />* <span style="font-weight: bold;">Learn.</span> To best utilize a <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">diverse workforce</a>, profit from lessons learned.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">In Closing</span><br /><br />There is no "best way" to manage <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a>. The identification, selection and purpose of <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity initiatives</a> and their development and implementation differ from company to company. The likelihood of success is dependent on business needs and <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">workforce issues</a> as well as situational factors, such as the organizational culture and workplace environment. Ultimately, the strength of commitment by the <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">CEO, senior management and HR leadership</a> will determine whether the organization successfully leverages <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> for competitive advantage.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Acknowledgment</span><br /><br />The author would like to thank the members of the SHRM Workplace Diversity Special Expertise Panel for their sage advice and recommendations.<br /><br />-------<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">About the Author</span><br /><br />Nancy R. Lockwood, SPHR, GPHR, is an HR content expert for the Society for Human Resource Management. Her responsibilities include identifying topics and focus areas in need of additional human resource management research, and creating HR products of strategic and practical value for target audiences. She is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resource Management and a Global Professional in Human Resources by the Human Resource Certification Institute. Ms. Lockwood can be reached by e-mail at nlockwood@shrm.org.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">About the SHRM Research Department</span><br /><br />The SHRM Research Department researches and synthesizes the thoughts, practices and voices of today’s HR professional, business and academic leaders on various HR topics and focus areas, and creates products of strategic and practical value for HR target audiences.<br /><br />The Research Department includes the Survey Program, the Workplace Trends and Forecasting Program and the Strategic Research Program. These programs provide SHRM members with a wide variety of information and research pertaining to HR strategy and practices to both serve the HR professional and advance the HR profession.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.shrm.org/research/quarterly/2005/0605RQuart_essay.asp">SHRMOnline</a></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-35437558197420288852007-04-13T07:51:00.000-07:002007-05-04T12:50:20.116-07:00Building Workplace Diversity<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Workplace diversity</a> goes beyond complying with affirmative action laws; it’s increasingly seen as a smart business strategy for high-performance organizations. Studies have shown that <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity can greatly enhance an organization’s success</a>, and companies in most industries now recognize the powerful link between <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> and competitiveness.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The business case for workplace diversity</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Workplace diversity</a> can help an organization fulfill its potential and bring its best solutions to market. A more <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">diverse workforce</a> often possesses greater problem-solving and idea-generation capabilities and can help a company better understand its diverse markets.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Workplace diversity</a> can also benefit the internal culture of an organization. Companies that develop and maintain a <a href="http://cultural-workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">culture of diversity</a> can strengthen employee commitment, heighten job satisfaction, and improve <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">retention</a>, thereby reducing recruitment and training costs. Such <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> can make it easier to further attract talented employees from a variety of demographics.<br /><br />Externally, a <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">diverse workforce</a> is more likely to resonate with customers and prospects from all walks of life. All communities command purchasing power, and by embodying workplace diversity, companies can influence buying decisions across more of these communities.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Strategies for building workplace diversity</span><br /><br />Most executives acknowledge the <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com">importance of workplace diversity</a>, but many also cite difficulties in <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com">recruiting and retaining diverse talent</a>. Here are some strategies to consider:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Widen the recruitment net.</span> Seek ways to achieve more inclusion by getting input from <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">multiracial and multi-ethnic</a> employees regarding <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com">recruiting practices</a>. Meet with cultural leaders in the community for their advice on the schools, associations, and events from which to recruit. Hold <a href="http://diversityjobfairs.blogspot.com">job fairs</a> and seminars within those various communities.<br /></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Focus on retention.</span> Recruiting <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diversity</a> is just the first step; equally important is the effort to encourage new employees to stay on and thrive with the company. One successful initiative to consider is a mentoring program that pairs seasoned employees with new hires of different <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com">ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, or ages</a>. The personal bond that often follows can have a positive impact on the entire organization.<br /></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Consider your organizational culture.</span> Laws are in place to ensure equal opportunities, but laws can’t change how people feel and behave. Successful <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com">workplace diversity training</a> can help employees develop empathy, understanding, sensitivity, and give them the skills to extend equal opportunities at every level.<br /></li></ul><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Take the lead. </span>Like most cultural changes, <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com">commitment to diversity starts with leadership and buy-in from the top</a>. Management must be explicit in its support by accepting, encouraging, and promoting <a href="http://native-american-indian-people.blogspot.com">diverse groups</a> that are underrepresented. Without management support, <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com">workplace diversity programs</a> become empty words.</li></ul><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.wipfli.com/Wipfli/Impact_Magazine/Business_Issues/Organizational_Development/200701OD_Workplace_Diversity.htm">Impact Magazine</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-90292473762851307662007-04-12T08:55:00.000-07:002007-06-18T07:45:51.916-07:00Assess Workplace Diversity Plans Before Agreeing to a Job<div style="text-align: justify;">By KEMBA J. DUNHAM<br />Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal<br /><br />Chantelle Streete hopes to find a finance job after she obtains her master's in business administration at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in Philadelphia next spring. As an <a href="http://www.goafrican.com/">African-American</a> and co-president of the Wharton <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">Women</a> in Business club, she says, it is important to her that her future <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/employerZone/">employer</a> is committed to <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a>.<br /><br />So Ms. Streete has a few methods to explore a company's stance on <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a>. When she is interested in a company, she contacts Wharton alumni there to ask how well <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a> and <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">minorities</a> are represented. In job interviews, she scans the office to see how many <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">professional minorities</a> are visible. She often asks outright about <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity programs</a>.<br /><br />And she is not alone. Many <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">women and minorities</a> are making <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> an important element in their <a href="http://online-diversity-jobs-search.blogspot.com/">job searches</a>. Though most large companies have professed a commitment to <a href="http://cultural-workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a>, some programs have fallen by the wayside during the economic downturn.<br /><br />It can be tricky discerning which employers are truly committed and which ones are interested only in window-dressing. Corporate Web sites commonly trumpet some form of a <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity program</a>, but it is best to approach the issue with a bit of skepticism. "All that is baseline. It's not proof of a real commitment," says Sondra Thiederman, a consultant on <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity issues</a> in San Diego. "It's a nice symbol, but symbols aren't worth much. You have to go further."<br /><br />As you research, use the Internet to look for articles related to a company and its <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity practices</a>. See if you can track down any <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">discrimination</a> lawsuits or other complaints.<br /><br />One place to check is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Though a spokesman says pending charges against specific companies are confidential, the EEOC Web site does list major lawsuits and settlements it has reached with employers. You can also call the EEOC and ask for public information about the number of lawsuits it has filed against a specific employer.<br /><br />In the end, the most telling information will probably come from the company itself, as long as you are pointed and honest in your queries. The test begins when you arrive for an interview. Avoid being simply shuttled between the elevator and an office; instead, make sure you have time to take a good walk around. Do you see <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">minorities and women</a>? Does it look like people are interacting across racial, cultural and ethnic lines? Do you feel comfortable walking the hallways? "Take the gut test," advises Howard Ross, a <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> consultant in Silver Spring, Md.<br /><br />During an interview, don't be shy about telling a hiring manager that you care about <a href="http://cultural-workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a> and ask about the company's efforts and policies in that area. Ask how many senior officers are <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a> and <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">minorities</a>, and how that figure has changed in the past five years. Find out if <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">women and minorities</a> are moving up at some kind of reasonable rate and whether they are interviewed for every opening. Ask about retention rates: High turnover among <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">people of color</a> is a bad sign.<br /><br />"These are fair-game questions, just like if you're asking about what the hours are like," says Patricia Thomas, a career coach in East Elmhurst, N.Y.<br /><br />But also ask industry-specific questions. At an investment bank, for instance, ask how many <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">minorities and women</a> hold the most coveted, highest-paid investment-banking jobs.<br /><br />Don't be surprised, or necessarily turned off, if the numbers are less than you'd like. One reason you're asking at all is to take the measure of the company itself. You want someone to engage the question with interest and openness, even if the situation itself is disappointing. If the interviewer gives vague answers, goes pale or adopts evasive body language, consider that a red flag, says Atlanta-based Sharon Hall, co-leader of recruiter Spencer Stuart's global <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> practice. "They ought to be comfortable talking about it, even if it's negative or about an effort that has failed," she says.<br /><br />Though you might have tapped your own network to find <a href="http://african-american-women-diversityworld.blogspot.com/">women</a> and <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">minorities</a> at the company beforehand, a hiring manager should be willing to supply you with names of people for you to contact. Many large companies also have affinity groups that can also provide some answers.<br /><br />Finally, find out if there is leadership accountability for <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a>. It is meaningful, for instance, if it is one aspect of an executive's bonus plan. But a company that simply has designated one employee a "chief <a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> officer" might not be doing much of substance.<br /><br />Remember that few places likely will be perfect. Only 5% of Fortune 1000 companies have a "serious" involvement in <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a>, estimates Luke Visconti, partner and co-founder of DiversityInc, a New Brunswick, N.J., publisher and consultant on <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity issues</a>. He defines "serious" as a concerted, coordinated <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity effort</a>, with top management attentive, measured and accountable.<br /><br />But even unsatisfactory answers needn't be a deal-breaker. <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Workplace diversity</a> efforts, after all, are continuous. As Ms. Streete says: "Just knowing a company doesn't have many <a href="http://www.goafrican.com/">blacks</a> will not necessarily turn me off, because if I can get in, then that's a start."<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.collegejournal.com/successwork/workplacediversity/20031216-dunham.html?refresh=on">CollegeJournal</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-387068554306815112007-04-11T13:54:00.000-07:002007-06-18T07:46:36.116-07:00Workplace Diversity<div style="text-align: justify;">By BSR Staff<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Executive Summary</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Workplace diversity</a> refers most broadly to the protection, respect and inclusion of the entire package of attributes that each employee contributes to the workplace. While companies initially paid the most attention to those characteristics that were protected by legislation -- e.g. <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">race, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability</a> -- businesses are increasingly building company cultures that respect life experiences, language, talents, skills, thought processes and personal styles as well. Different skills, experiences and backgrounds in the workplace can help <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">foster and drive business growth, innovation and success</a>.<br /><br />While companies are retaining an internal focus on attracting and retaining a <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">diverse workforce</a> and fostering a culture of inclusion, they are also adding an external focus that recognizes the <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> of their customers and vendors and the communities in which they operate. Companies are developing broader, more far-reaching strategies that rely on the input and expertise of <a href="http://cultural-workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">diverse workforces</a> to compete in increasingly global and varied markets. Furthermore, they are recognizing that a global <a href="http://articlesondiversityintheworkplace.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> commitment might translate into unique programs in different parts of the world. These trends are likely to intensify as global commerce continues to bring different cultures, values and practices into contact with one another.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Business Importance</span><br /><br />While at one time many businesses linked <a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a> to legal compliance or to simply "doing the right thing," companies today are finding that <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity truly drives business success</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Changing Customer Base</span><br /><br />As the consumer market becomes increasingly global and diverse, companies must ensure that their workforces and their marketing strategies reflect these changing demands. Many companies have found that by concentrating on <a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a> and inclusion, they are better able to reach out to diverse markets. Safeco Insurance, for example, generated growth of 8% or more in written premiums from diverse markets over three years after initiating a company-wide focus on <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversit</a>y in 2001.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Links to Stronger Financial Performance</span><br /><br />While it not clear to what extent strong <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity programs</a> actually drive better performance (or rather are a signature of well-run, successful companies), there exists strong empirical linkage between attention to <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity and business success</a>. In a 2005 study conducted in conjunction with Standard & Poor's (S&P), DiversityInc magazine found that its Top 50 U.S. Companies for <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Diversity</a> outperformed the NASDAQ and Dow Jones Industrial Averages, and was competitive with the S&P 500, over a one-year period.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Improved Innovation and Productivity</span><br /><br />Anecdotal information from numerous companies -- including Shell, Intel, DuPont, General Motors and Pitney Bowes -- shows that a more <a href="http://workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">diverse and team-based workforce</a> helps generate new ideas and increase revenues. Recognizing input from people of diverse experiences and perspectives has sparked many companies to improve innovation.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Decreased Vulnerability to Legal Challenges and Costs</span><br /><br />Companies that have established <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> programs and management systems to address and resolve potential discrimination and harassment issues are less vulnerable to lawsuits and multimillion dollar penalties.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Enhanced Reputation</span><br /><br />Customers, potential employees, investors and the community are increasingly paying attention to <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> as part of a company's overall corporate social responsibility. Public recognition through lists such as Fortune's "Best Companies for <a href="http://www.thehispanicamerican.com/">Minorities</a>" and DiversityInc's "Top 50 Companies for <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/weblog/">Diversity</a>," as well as more specific ratings like the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index and the NAACP's Report Cards and Consumer Guides, allow potential employees, customers and investors to incorporate a company's <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> reputation into their decision on whether to interact with the company.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Key Developments</span><br /><br />Increased globalization and a broader, more inclusive definition of "<a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">diversity</a>" are among the key factors affecting companies’ approaches to <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Companies Are Moving Beyond Compliance</span><br /><br />Increasingly, companies are viewing <a href="http://cultural-workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a> as a key component of business strategy, rather than an human resources or compliance issue. Whether it is because they seek to attract and retain key talent, spur innovation, or reach out to diverse markets, workplace <a href="http://workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> is showing up as a strategic issue for a growing number of companies. In 2003, Toyota identified <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a> as a key business imperative; in addition to impacting its employment practices, its <a href="http://articlesondiversityintheworkplace.blogspot.com/">Diversity</a> Strategy affects retail, procurement, advertising and philanthropic operating plans.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Broader Interpretation of Diversity</span><br /><br />Where once "<a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">diversity</a>" tended to refer to visible characteristics like sex, race or age, companies are starting to define diversity more broadly to include beliefs, skills and talents, life experiences, thought processes, and working styles. By doing so, companies gain at least two advantages: (1) <a href="http://articlesondiversityintheworkplace.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> becomes multi-dimensional, rather than "us" and "them," and as such becomes relevant to all employees, not just those in so-called<a href="http://native-american-indian-people.blogspot.com/"> minority groups</a>; and (2) companies are able to leverage the strengths, talents and input of all employees, thus fostering innovation.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Increasing Globalization Affects Employees, Sales and Approaches</span><br /><br />As markets become progressively more global, companies around the world recognize the need to hire a <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">diverse workforce</a> and understand the needs of diverse consumers. At the same time, companies must balance global policies with local practices. German technology company Siemens AG developed overarching guiding principles for <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a>, but tailors its individual <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">diversity programs</a> to fit the countries in which it operates. Consequently the programs in Germany, Hong Kong, Brazil and South Africa each reflect the national policies and employee needs in those countries, while adhering to Siemens’ global principles.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Women Might Be "Opting Out"</span><br /><br />Whether voluntarily or because of unsupportive company cultures, there is growing evidence to suggest that <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">professional women</a> are leaving large companies, either to become full-time mothers or to start entrepreneurial ventures of their own. An October, 2003 New York Times article cites the statistic that "the number of businesses owned or co-owned by <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">women</a> jumped 11 percent since 1997, nearly twice the rate of businesses in general." The same article points out that "[o]f white men with M.B.A.'s, 95 percent are working full time, but for white <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">women</a> with M.B.A.'s, that number drops to 67 percent." This trend has significant implications for companies seeking to create inclusive cultures that benefit from and create opportunities for <a href="http://african-american-women-diversityworld.blogspot.com/">women</a>, especially in the leadership ranks. In a February 2005 report, the U.S. nonprofit Center for Work-Life Policy (CWLP) surveyed 2,443 U.S. <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">women</a> finding that four out of 10 <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">women</a> with higher degrees take a break from work at some point in their careers. Of those, 93 percent want to return to work but only 74 percent are able to find jobs. CWLP announced that it had convened 19 global firms -- including BP plc, Cisco Systems, Inc., Pfizer Inc. and Unilever -- to form a taskforce to address the loss of talented, educated <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">women</a> from the U.S. workplace (also referred to as the "hidden brain drain") especially after they take breaks from work.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Implementation Steps</span><br /><br />The specific issues that will drive a successful <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> program vary widely by company, based on each company's strategies, competitive advantages and demographics. Several characteristics of successful <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity programs</a> are outlined below; the key is to develop a customized program that reflects company needs:<br /></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Define <a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">Workplace Diversity</a> Broadly and Inclusively: Recognize the numerous ways people are different, have different perspectives and add value;</li></ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Make <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">Workplace Diversity</a> a Corporate Value: Identify <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/weblog/">workplace diversity</a> as one of the company's core corporate values and express these values in the company's mission and/or statement of values;</li></ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Link <a href="http://cultural-workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">Workplace Diversity</a> to Company Strategy: Analyze and evaluate the company’s business strategy to understand <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com/">how workplace diversity can contribute to the company's competitive advantage</a>;</li></ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Balance Global and Local Needs: Recognize the need to balance a company-wide philosophy with the unique needs and cultures of employees in different parts of the world. As appropriate, develop customized <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity programs</a> to reflect local perspectives and starting points;</li></ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Communicate: Explain and communicate the company's commitment to <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> to all current and prospective employees, customers, suppliers, stakeholders and the public on an ongoing basis;</li></ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Ensure Diverse Representation: Reflect <a href="http://workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a> in the company's board of directors, management and workforce;</li></ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Implement Broad Education Programs: Educate and train board, management and all staff on <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity issues</a> on an ongoing basis;</li></ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Include <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Workplace Diversity</a> in the Planning Process: Incorporate <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a> goals into the strategic planning processes, and hold managers responsible for specific objectives;</li></ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Hold Employees Accountable: Define and include <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> performance as part of the annual performance evaluation and compensation review for all employees;</li></ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Involve Employees: Encourage the formation of affinity groups and cross-functional <a href="http://articlesondiversityintheworkplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a> councils and task forces;</li></ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Measure Success: Identify key <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> metrics and track the company’s performance on an ongoing basis. Incorporate <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> questions into regular employee surveys to understand whether policies and programs are effective. Develop plans to fill gaps and ensure continuous improvement. Communicate and celebrate milestones and achievements.</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.bsr.org/CSRResources/IssueBriefDetail.cfm?DocumentID=50969">Business for Social Responsibility</a><br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-88573366654677852852007-04-11T11:58:00.000-07:002007-06-18T07:47:50.993-07:00The Case for Workplace Diversity<div style="text-align: justify;">By Adrian Barrett<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">In a marketplace where even the smallest organization can conduct business on an international stage, the MBA has rapidly become one of very few universally recognized qualifications. But how are these three prized letters helping to make <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> a reality in the new global economy?</span><br /><br />As the first rule of warfare is to know your enemy, so the first rule of business is to know your customer. Easy enough perhaps when your customer lives around the corner and looks and sounds just like you. Somewhat more difficult when he or she speak another language, comes from a totally different cultural background and lives on the other side of the world. Welcome to business in the age of the internet.<br /><br />For many organizations, the key to this simultaneous challenge and opportunity has been almost blindingly simple – the development of genuinely <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">diverse workforces</a> that mirror the customer base and consequently understand its increasingly diverse needs, aims and requirements. Take, for example, the case of motor manufacturer Ford in the UK. Research found that one of the most lucrative potential markets for its small vans was small entrepreneurial companies, many of which were owned by families originating from the Indian sub-continent. But how should a marketing department without direct experience of this demographic group go about addressing it effectively? Fortunately for Ford, an organization that had been focused on the <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity issue</a> for many years, a ready-made solution presented itself. The professional marketers set up a task force from the high proportion of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/asianPasIslander/">Asian</a> personnel already within the workforce and the resultant insight helped sales to soar. Another major organization that has demonstrably grasped the business case for <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a> is the pharmaceuticals giant, Eli Lilly, According to the company’s Rafael Fernandez, “We’re acutely aware that we need to reflect the <a href="http://cultural-workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> of our customer base in our own staffing in terms of <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">color, culture, age and gender</a>. And, for a company like us that operates in 146 countries around the world, it’s particularly important to reflect, not just domestic <a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">diversity</a>, but <a href="http://articlesondiversityintheworkplace.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> on a global scale.”<br /><br />While commitment to <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> may have originally been a US-based initiative, it is now starting to spread worldwide. Deutsche Post World Net, for example, has been working on the issue since 1995 and now has its own in-house director of <a href="http://workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">diversity</a>, Susanna Nezmeskal, while another company with German roots, Siemens, has introduced <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">diversity training</a> into its management development programs.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The role of business schools</span><br /><br />Not surprisingly, major business schools have enthusiastically spread their net to produce the MBAs who will lead this <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">diverse workforce</a> into a bright new business future. Reims Management School in France, for example, now draws its student body from 27 countries, Solvay Business School in Belgium from 30 and IESE in Spain from as many as 55. Even a relatively young school such as INCAE in Costa Rica has an intake drawn from 20 different nationalities. And, while this delivers benefits during the program itself, it also plugs graduates into an international network that can provide support, advice and business opportunities throughout their careers. The alumni association of Spain’s IE-Instituto de Empresa, for example, has members in 85 countries, while that of Manchester Business School in the UK covers more than 130. And the strategy of broadening the student base certainly appears to be paying off. “We specifically target schools with a high proportion of international students,” says Rafael Fernandez, “to ensure we are drawing not just from a local but from an international pool of MBAs.”<br /><br />Of course <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> doesn’t mean just addressing ethnic and national issues, it also means creating an environment of opportunity for a key group that still remains under-represented at senior levels of most workforces – <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a>. Investment bank, Morgan Stanley, has gone about this through the creation of <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">mentoring programs</a> such as that devoted specifically to <a href="http://african-american-women-diversityworld.blogspot.com/">women</a> in the organization and another geared to the needs of all personnel with babies or young children. “Morgan Stanley has managed to develop a very fair, very meritocratic culture where you get rewarded and recognized for doing a good job and the opposite for doing a bad one,” says Anneke de Boer, a managing director in the fixed income area. “In my experience, this is all irrespective of <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">gender, ethnic background, nationality</a> or the like. And, if you want hard evidence of this commitment to <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a>, you only have to look at what is going on at the very top of the firm.” Deutsche Post World Net has also used the mentoring approach to open up the management structure to more <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">women</a>. “The women’s <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">mentoring program</a> will become a global one over the coming year,” says Susanna Nezmeskal, “and in the process will hopefully increase the very high proportion of women that Deutsche Post World Net already has at top management level – around 24% of our current senior management team is <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">female</a>.” IT giant, Hewlett Packard is working to set targets to increase the number of <a href="http://african-american-women-diversityworld.blogspot.com/">women</a> in management and leadership. According to Claudio Vespucci, one of its international managers for <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a>, “We want to leverage differences in the best way possible to enhance creativity. We are creating an infrastructure with new policies for flexible hours, part time working, job shares and mobile working. We want everyone to perform at their best.” He is currently running two particular initiatives for <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a>. “We’ve begun a study of why we lose <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">women</a> who have children, asking what options might keep them? And when leadership roles come up, we are raising the visibility of high performance <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">women</a> as potential successors.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The total business case</span><br /><br />Back at the business schools the message seems to be getting across to potential applicants that an MBA can be an ideal stepping stone towards the sort of <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/employerZone/">employer</a> who is committed to developing the full potential of its <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/">female</a> employees. According to figures from the World MBA Tour, the largest international program of business school information fairs, of over 45,000 candidates who attended Tour events in 2005, 35% were <a href="http://african-american-women-diversityworld.blogspot.com/">women</a>, in comparison to 34% in 2004 and only28% in 2003. These figures are mirrored in the experience of many of the top international schools, such as Manchester Business School in the UK which saw applications from<a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/communityChannels/women/"> women</a> rise from 23% in 2004 to 35% in 2005.<br /><br />The business case for <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> also embraces much more than just the commercial imperative of mirroring and consequently understanding a customer base. For enlightened and ambitious employers it also means a recognition that, in the ‘war for talent’, focusing <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">recruitment</a> and <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">retention</a> policies on a narrow group is short-sighted and self-defeating. According to Amany Attia of Lehman Brothers, “Leadership is not gender-based,” a sentiment that is echoed by Merrill Lynch’s Chantal Hegy, who says, “Talented people are talented people, whatever their <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">gender, race or culture</a>. However the essence of the case for <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> in any serious global player is perhaps best summed up by Abbas Jaffer, the director for <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> in Europe at Morgan Stanley. According to him, “No organization can be complacent about the nature of top talent, because the old perception of a white, middle class, male-dominated organization is being swept away. Intellect and ability don’t have a color and are distributed right across the ethnic spectrum. It means that, if we want to be identifying, attracting and developing the best people, we simply can’t afford to be hampered by outdated ideas.”<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.topmba.com/mba_careers/mba_careers_news/article/the_case_for_workplace_diversity/">QS TopMBA</a></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536625154102513801.post-67711376651524364442007-04-10T09:39:00.000-07:002007-05-08T09:55:15.392-07:00Workplace Diversity - More Than a Program, More Than a NotionBy Dr. Linda J. Burrs<br />Professional Development Consultant<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Oh no, here they go again. Not another <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> initiative. Not another article on inclusiveness or <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com/">diversity in the workplace</a>. Not another <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity training program</a>! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sounds familiar?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">What's wrong with this scenario?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The problem is that for far too long, <a href="http://cultural-workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity</a> has been the "whipping post" for many issues in organizations that are not necessarily about <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-force.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> in and of themselves...<br /><br /></span><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">More than a Workplace Diversity Training Program</span><br /><br />There are over 6 billion people on this planet. <a href="http://articlesondiversityintheworkplace.blogspot.com/">Diversity</a> is more than just a notion or another excuse for a training program. <a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">Diversity</a> has been defined by Merriam-Webster as "differing from one another or unlike; composed of distinct or unlike elements or qualities". This word is also used to simply mean different.<br /><br />Creating <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> is much bigger than the all too familiar <a href="http://diversityissuesinworkforce.blogspot.com/">issues of race and gender equity</a>. It is about leadership's capacity to influence people to WILLINGLY work toward company objectives. Building a climate for <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a> is much more than implementing a <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity training program</a>. It is moving beyond the usual and customary familiar zone in order to build trust. It is valuing differences no matter how big or small they may seem. Achieving true <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/weblog/">workplace diversity</a> is about taking the time and making the commitment to see the "good" in being different and sharing in the promise that similarities offer.<br /><br />To do this, it will take moving beyond the fear of not knowing what to expect, to expecting greatness of others. It will take moving away from what is familiar and comfortable and what most have come to trust and that is, moving into relationships with those who are not similar in outward appearance, thinking styles, and personalities. It means breaking down the old models of what success looks like and reframe who is seen as having leadership potential.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Understanding the Nature of Workplace Diversity</span><br /><br />In order to capitalize upon <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a>, it is important to understand how individuals are different. According to <a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> experts Gardenswartz and Rowe's <a href="http://cultural-workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">Diversity</a> Wheel, there are four layers and over 24 dimensions that can be seen as possible biases towards another individual. Some of those 24 dimensions include: marital status, geographical location, education, income, personal appearance, age and generational differences. Before one decides that they have NO biases, think about this. How often do some people fall into the trap of stereotyping individuals who are overweight? What about people whose social economic status is not what one thinks it should or could be? Do some turn noses up to those whose battle with literacy keep them in the bottom trenches of our society? How often is it forgotten that there are many generational issues at work as well?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Benefits of A Diverse Work Environment</span><br /><br />Have you ever wondered what it might be like if all there was to eat in this country was apple pie and hot dogs? After all, if there were no value in <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diversity</a> of eating preferences in the culinary world, there might not be Chinese take out or an Italian buffet and there may certainly be little appreciation for German potato salad. What about soul cuisine or Mexican food. What could that possibly be like?<br /><br />In organizations, the same issues exist. If companies are to stay competitive in this fast changing work environment, they are going to have to make it okay for everyone to step up to the plate. This demands that a culture of acceptance be established along with an environment of opportunity and an atmosphere of trust. Trust in the innate goodness of an individual. It is important to believe that most people want to do the best they can in the job they have.<br /><br />Employee potential is maximized through self-awareness and understanding combined with management and leadership's commitment to provide a safe environment for employee development. Working in tandem with an employee's talents discovered through self-awareness, employees can realize improved self-management skills and increased job satisfaction.<br /><br />The world is growing smaller every day and as a result we are living in a global society. Any company wanting to hire and keep the best and brightest, meet the needs of its customers both internally and externally, and ride the wave of success in product development and financial rewards is going to need the brain power, efforts and commitment of everyone to make it happen.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tools for Applying Workplace Diversity Principles</span><br /><br />The first step to improve understanding and begin the journey of valuing differences is to become self-aware. One of the best ways to accomplish this is through the use of an assessment tool and a counselor or coach who is trained in using the instrument for self-development.<br /><br />There are many assessment tools on the market today but none of them is better than the Myers Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) to help an individual become self-aware. With the guidance of a trained professional, using the MBTI® instrument is a non-threatening means to develop an appreciation for the <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diversity</a> of differences. It lays a vitally important foundation for significant reductions in conflicts in communication, leadership, learning, teaching and management differences in general.<br /><br />Another useful assessment is the Hermann Brain Dominance® instrument. It measures an individual's Thinking Styles, identifying a person's preferred approach to: emotional, analytical, structural and strategic thinking. The HBDI's focus on one's dominant thinking style nicely compliments rather than competes with the MBTI®.<br /><br />Both the MBTI and the HBDI can be introduced to people as part of a <a href="http://diversity-programs-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/">workplace diversity training program</a> or as part of a team-building program with appreciating <a href="http://workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">diversity</a> as an attendant program goal. Each of these assessment tools can also be effectively used with managers or key employees in a one-on-one coaching or mentoring environment.<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rewards of Workplace Diversity</span><br /><br />The powerful impact of a <a href="http://cultural-diversity-in-management.blogspot.com/">diverse management</a> and executive team cannot be underestimated. When opportunities for advancement become available, the tendency is for executives to look for mirror images of themselves to move into the higher paying, higher visibility, and higher responsibility position. For a great many rank-and-file employees, this top-down cloning of management removes a prime motivator for high performance. The lack of <a href="http://articlesondiversityintheworkplace.blogspot.com">diversity</a> in management means most employees cannot visualize themselves advancing because they don't fit the mold.<br /><br />Breaking away from the concept of the mirror image takes courage. Break the mirror and the mold and move out of that comfort zone. Bring excitement, reward and opportunities to the organization by fully supporting and embracing <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diversity</a>.<br /><br />Increasing <a href="http://cultural-workplace-diversity.blogspot.com">workplace diversity</a> also interjects change within the organization - breaking stagnation. Regardless of the industry, if the organization is not being creative, learning or growing, chances are leadership is NOT maximizing its employee potential. If companies want and need better work, higher quality products, creative problem solving and the best of multiple talents, skills and gifts in their organization, try <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">workplace diversity</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Summary</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Diversity</a> is not a bad word. It's the baggage that comes with the word that needs to change. <a href="http://cultural-workplace-diversity.blogspot.com">Diversity</a> is an investment of mind, body and soul. Today, more than any time in the world of work, we need to understand what <a href="http://definitionofworkplacediversity.blogspot.com">diversity</a> really means. Once corporations understand the financial <a href="http://benefits-on-diversity-articles.blogspot.com">benefits</a> and how embracing <a href="http://diversity-in-the-work-place.blogspot.com">workplace diversity</a>'s principles of collective inclusion helps everyone be more successful, it ceases to be "just another program".<br /><br />It is always in a company's best interest to maximize its human potential so that everyone feels safe in making a contribution. <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Workplace diversity</a> is about using everyone's strengths to reach goals. It should be painfully clear by now that none of us are as strong as all of us. Maximizing human potential means understanding how to get the highest performance output from each employee. When people are encouraged to work in their areas of strength, they are happier, more productive and more likely to stay with the company.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">Workplace diversity</a> won't be an issue when we have learned to respect and accept differences wherever and whatever they are. <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/weblog/">Diversity</a> is not Affirmative Action. <a href="http://cultural-workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">Diversity</a> is not just about race and gender. <a href="http://workplace-diversity.blogspot.com/">Diversity</a> should not be designed to just meet a corporate or government contractor's checklist. Market drivers want it. Customers support it. The global market place demands it! Call it <a href="http://www.diversityworking.com/">diversity</a>. Call it maximizing human potential. Call it employee retention initiatives. Call it whatever fits your strategic objectives..but DO IT!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:100%;">About The Author</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />Linda is the President and Principal Consultant of <a href="http://www.step-up-to-success.org/">Step Up to Success!</a>, a consulting firm focusing on professional development for teams and individuals.<br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/DrBurrs@step-up-to-success.org"><br />DrBurrs@step-up-to-success.org</a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Source : </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.step-up-to-success.org/Workplace_Diversity.html">Step Up to Success!</a><br /></span></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0