...Planning Spring 2013 IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY Department of Community and Regional Planning DIVERSITY AWARENESS CASE STUDY – ASSIGNMENT 1 Beyond simple “text book” learning, in this course we will strive to connect the material with current happenings in our world and communities. You will have an opportunity to do this in this two‐part assignment. In assignment 1 you will find and research a diversity awareness project. This first part will focus on learning what other groups and organizations have done to promote diversity awareness. Then, in assignment 2 you will develop a campaign for promoting diversity awareness in your own academic community – the College of Design. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Iowa State University has many projects and initiatives focused on social justice and diversity. Each unit and department creates educational programing and events to meet the needs of their students, faculty, and staff. The College of Design Diversity Board, the University Diversity Committee, and other departments want help developing a Diversity Awareness Campaign that: Is inclusive to all Iowa State University students, faculty, and staff, Encourages sensitivity towards and connections across differences, Initiates dialogue and training opportunities related to diversity concerns, Encourages the development of educational programming and activities that explore multiple ...
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...Student Self-administered case study Importance of Diversity In The Workplace Case summary: Case duration (Min): Human Resource Management (HRM) 45-60 Promoting diversity Worldwide This case focuses on DIFFERENCE ‐ Interacting and working productively with others and how best to use human resources to meet organizational goals through high levels of performance (motivated, effective and efficient workers) and competing in the global marketplace. We begin this case by exploring the changing nature of the workplace; We then explore what is meant by diversity and consider the business case for promoting and managing diversity within contemporary organizations. Learning objectives: Evaluate diversity and multiculturalism as a source of sustainable competitive advantage and identify the benefits of diversity for organizations. Case problem: What is meant by diversity and should organizations seek to be diverse? Company Aramark http://www.aramark.com/ Food ‐ Major Diversified ARAMARK is a leader in professional services, providing award‐winning food services, facilities management, and uniform and career apparel to health care institutions, universities and school districts, stadiums and arenas, and businesses around the world. In FORTUNE magazine's 2009 list of "World's Most Admired Companies," ARAMARK was ranked number one in its industry. ARAMARK seeks to address issues responsibly that matter to its clients, customers, employees and communities by focusing on employee advocacy...
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...factors that contribute to the rising workplace diversity. These include increasing numbers of immigrants, company mergers and joint ventures in different countries, increased engagement of business consultants and temporary employees, international competition and the phenomenon of globalization, which has transformed the world into a global village. Globalization has occurred because of a combination of factors such as improved infrastructure, advancements in technology. Infrastructure and technology have not only provided cheaper means of communication and travel, but have revolutionized the speed at which individuals and businesses communicate with each other. Domestic companies are also spreading their operations to new territories across the globe in search of new markets or outsourcing some aspects of their production process. Management of employee cultural diversity, through the integration of suitable strategies plays a key role in improving the competitive advantage of the business, especially on the global platform. Globalization calls for specific approaches that promote harmonious working relationships within increasingly culturally diverse workplaces. Hansen (2002) observes that workplace diversity is critical to the existence of businesses and identifying key strategies to ensure harmonious working relationships among culturally diverse employees is integral to the survival of any business. Diversity in this case means the differences between individuals based...
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...THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN ORGANIZATIONS LITERATURE REVIEW ------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION Cultural Diversity is more than a matter of representation of cultural differences. It also respect and value differences, whether of gender, race or ethnic origin, differences based on lifestyle, appearance of language proficiency, communication and decision making. Diversity is causing concern for organizations, although initially was seen as irrelevant to the effectiveness of the organization. The truth is that the most important developments of an organization derived from human diversity (Palmer, 2003). The management of diversity begins primarily as a voluntary initiative by organizations in recruiting workers belonging to different groups of social identity. Managing diversity brings with it the legacy management: the classic traditional notions of control, leadership, organization and power. Hays-Thomas (2004) propose a more meaningful understanding of cultural diversity, which focuses on groups that systematically have faced discrimination and oppression at work. These historically disadvantaged groups generally include women, people of religious and ethnic minorities with or without disabilities, older workers, and homosexual. Nowadays, organizations that invest on human diversity are developing a source of competitiveness at national and international level. These organizations are also more capable in the global economy...
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...MERU UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT RESEARCH PROJECT AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT IN WORKPLACE TO ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS IN MERU MUNICIPALITY KENNEDY MUTWIRI MUKARIA MUC-SBS-555-0056/2009 A RESEARCH PROPOSAL A research proposal submitted to the department of business in partial fulfilment of requirements of degree of Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) of Meru University College of Science and Technology DECLARATION This is my original work and has not been presented for the degree or any other award to any other University Signature ___________________________ Name __________________________ Date Approval This proposal has been submitted for examination with my approval as the University supervisor Signature ___________________________ (Name of supervisor of department; Meru University) __________________________ Date TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background to the study............................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the problem.............................................................................................. 4 1.3 Objectives of the study................................................................................................. 1.4 Research questions...................................................
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...Human Relations http://hum.sagepub.com/ 'Cultural diversity' at work: 'National culture' as a discourse organizing an international project group Ester Barinaga Human Relations 2007 60: 315 DOI: 10.1177/0018726707075883 The online version of this article can be found at: http://hum.sagepub.com/content/60/2/315 Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com On behalf of: The Tavistock Institute Additional services and information for Human Relations can be found at: Email Alerts: http://hum.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://hum.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Citations: http://hum.sagepub.com/content/60/2/315.refs.html >> Version of Record - Mar 6, 2007 What is This? Downloaded from hum.sagepub.com at Univ of Newcastle upon Tyne on October 26, 2011 Human Relations DOI: 10.1177/0018726707075883 Volume 60(2): 315–340 Copyright © 2007 The Tavistock Institute ® SAGE Publications Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore www.sagepublications.com ‘Cultural diversity’ at work: ‘National culture’ as a discourse organizing an international project group Ester Barinaga A B S T R AC T Research to date concurs in maintaining that performance of nationally homogeneous workgroups differs if compared to heterogeneous ones. Yet, results are mixed on the relationship between cultural diversity and workgroup outcomes. The article argues that cultural...
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...1916 The global integration of diversity management: a longitudinal case study Aulikki Sippola and Adam Smale Abstract Whilst the extant diversity management literature has provided a comprehensive array of theoretical frameworks and empirical studies on how organizations can and have approached the management of a diverse workforce, the same cannot be said about the literature on diversity in an international setting. Indeed, from a diversity management perspective we know surprisingly little about how multinational firms are responding to the increasing globalization of their workforce. This study seeks to contribute to this underresearched area through an in-depth longitudinal case study of TRANSCO, a well-known European MNC, which has been attempting to integrate diversity management globally throughout its worldwide operations. Adopting a Finnish host-country perspective, the study investigates what TRANSCO has been integrating, how it has tried to facilitate this and the challenges that have arisen throughout the process. The results indicate that TRANSCO has committed a considerable amount of resources to the global diversity management integration process, reflected in the myriad of integration mechanisms utilized. In terms of their integration strategy, it was evident that TRANSCO was able to achieve global consistency at the level of diversity philosophy, but was forced to rely on a more multi-domestic approach to implementing diversity policies and practices. The challenges...
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...Case Study 1: Teamwork Turmoil Problem Identification The learning team involved with this case study did not operate successfully as a team. The group did not share mutual accountability of the work to be completed, and did not effectively work through conflict as a team. Furthermore, the group did not respect one another or collaborate well. The lack of respect, shared responsibility, and poor conflict resolution inhibited team success. Alternative analysis of concerns, facts, & proposed solutions: While the group had diverse backgrounds, the participants were all around the same age. The group had varied educational backgrounds and work experience, and had one woman amongst the team. The group was also composed of individuals with different ethnic backgrounds. The group may have had more team success had they included diverse age backgrounds. A recent study published in the article The Implications of Age Diversity in Multicultural Team Working by Sue Shortland illustrates differences within teams and their benefits noted the teams involved with the study indicated age diversity was mostly viewed in a positive...
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...WHAT IS DIVERSITY? Diversity within an organization describes a group of people from different background and orientations such as gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation as well as different cultures, values and beliefs. This group of people has different approaches to learning, beliefs and perceptions which are premised on their educational background, communication style, personal skills professional skills, the environment of their birth and their working style. Diversity is seen as a heterogeneous pool of contribution of each individual’s skill, perception, and understanding. When this unique attributes are brought together in an organization, it creates what can be called a diverse workforce. Diversity focus strongly on the capacity of individuals and their contribution to an organization which include their skills, attributes and perception; rather than organizational structures, materials or policies of an organization. Individuals are regarded as the assets capital of the organization because they bring in their stock of experience, judgments, intelligence , relationships and insights( S.F Slater et al pp 202, 2008) which uses the materials resources, structures and policies of the organization to create goods and services. Diversity is being embraced globally because of its immense value to an organization business wise and because of social justices as postulated by (Bleijenbergh, Peters &Poutsma, pp414, 2010) “By advancing individual development...
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...How Does Diversity Impact The Workplace? Issues of Diversity are common in small and big corporations in the United States. As defined by Webster dictionary, diversity is “the inclusion of individuals representing more than one national origin, color, religion, socioeconomic stratum, sexual orientation”. Diversity in a workplace is how people perceive themselves and the individuals they work closely with. In turn, that perception good or bad can affect the way employees interact with one another in a workplace. Although diversity in a work place is seen as a good thing, it also poses some difficult challenges for business organizations. In order for an organization to succeed at being diverse, they must first understand the benefits of a diverse work environment, the true meaning of what it is to be diverse, and how to improve diversity in the workplace. When talking about diversity and trying to achieve a diverse work place, it is very important for an organization to understand the benefits of having a diverse work environment. Organizations with a diverse work place have shown to thrive and be more successful than homogeneous groups. I believe the reason for this is due to the different ideas and perspectives each individual in a diverse group brings to the table. According to the article “How Diversity Works” Paul (2014) stated “the benefit of having diversity in a group is the creativity that it brings out of the group. Diversity encourages the members of the group to search...
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...at www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-8005.htm JCHRM 3,1 Managing diversity in Chinese and Indian organizations: a qualitative study Fang Lee Cooke Department of Management, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, and 16 Debi S. Saini Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, India Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to investigate diversity management (DM) practices in China and India by analyzing formal DM policy (if one exists) adopted by the company and informal DM practices adopted by managers. It also aims to discuss the appropriateness of the US-originated notion of, and approach to, managing diversity in the Indian and Chinese contexts by exploring how local managers make sense of diversity and manage it in a pragmatic way. Design/methodology/approach – The authors adopted a qualitative approach. In particular, through a semi-structured interview design, qualitative data were collected from 16 Chinese and Indian middle and senior managers and four human resources (HR) director of regional headquarters of foreign multinational firms. The data were supplemented by secondary data from a wide range of sources, including government reports and media coverage to extend contextual understanding. Findings – The paper reveals that most Chinese organizations do not see DM as an issue. Where exists, its focus is on conflict avoidance rather than value-addition to the business. In contrast, managing diversity in India is of greater significance for firms, both legally and financially...
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...technical and interpersonal skills in order to thrive in today’s business world. These skills include leadership, motivation, team work, conflict-resolution abilities and an understanding of diversity and diversity management. Today’s work population is constantly changing; we encounter different people from all walks of life. As a result there is more interaction among people from diverse cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds than ever before. Maximizing and capitalizing on workplace diversity has become an important issue in the field of management. According to some experts “Diversity can have two competing perspectives. The first perspective embraces the “information value of diversity” and the importance of “celebrating our differences”. The second perspective believes that diversity contributes to conflict because “similarity attracts” and therefore, it is best not to draw attention to diversity and instead emphasize that as human beings our commonalities far outweigh our differences. The first perspective argues for customization, while the second advocates for homogenization. Whatever your perspective, the facts remain the same; today’s work population is changing and with any change comes both challenges and opportunities for organizations and their leaders. Diversity Management is a combination of programs, policies and activities that support an environment wherein employee differences are valued and integrated into each part of the organization's operations...
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...INTRODUCTION This TESCO case study for diversity summaries that, in a worldwide marketplace, big companies that hires a diverse workforce around the world, are better to explain and understand the different demographics of the global marketplace, TESCO better service and is equipped to grow in the marketplace because of its diverse workforce than that of all those small companies that has limited or small range of employee demographics. Tesco provides banking, insurance and telecommunications services as well as having a strong online presence. Tesco is a business that puts people first, ensuring its customers and colleagues are at the heart of everything it does. ‘Our core purpose is to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty. Our success depends on people: the people who shop with us and the people who work with us. Earning customer loyalty is crucial and Tesco focuses to helping customers in lots of small ways which together can make a big difference. ‘Every little helps’ is more than just a slogan. It describes Tesco’s way of working with all of its stakeholders, and that includes colleagues as well as customers. Tesco works in a competitive market where products, stores, tastes and even the way customers shop are constantly changing. Tesco needs to be proactive in preparing to face these changes. This means finding talented people who will be ambassadors for the brand in the communities it serves. Diverse communities mean that it needs to recruit and...
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...can make sure that there can be consequences for it if brought up by an employee. Within the case study shown, the unfair discrimination employed by the Apple store can be...
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...Targeted Workforce Diversity: Strategies to Avoid Adverse Impact Workforce diversity has increasingly become more and more vital to organizations across the world. Many scholars articulated the value that workforce diversity has in enhancing an organization’s longevity, ability to attract the best talent, and increase novelty. According to Ployhart and Holtz (2008), “recruitment and selection are essential mechanisms for increasing diversity” (p. 153), therefore, in order to effectively increase and target diversity, organizations must develop or adapt new strategies of recruiting to avoid adverse impact. The purpose of this paper is to review literature that offers strategic remedies for organizations to consider in developing and maintaining their workforce diversity programs. Workforce Diversity and Diversity Management Practices Diversity has been defined in many ways and can have multiple meanings depending upon the objective for which it is sought to be defined. For the purposes of this paper, workforce diversity is defined as policies and practices that seek to include people within a workforce who are considered to be, in some way, different from those in the general population (McInnes, 1999). Knouse (2008) defines diversity management as the ability to maximize the advantages of organizational member diversity and minimize the problems. One can make the case for diversity several ways (Cox, 1993). It is the legal thing to do; it is the moral thing to do;...
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