Duelling Dualisms

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith K. Pringle ◽  
Glenda Strachan
Keyword(s):  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Organizational Policies ◽  
Managing Diversity ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Us ◽  
History Of ◽  
Policies And Practices

This chapter presents a history of diversity management through the use of dichotomies that cross-cut the field. These are used as a framework to organize the evolution from equal opportunity policies and practices to managing diversity in organizations. We trace the shift from the social justice case for equality to the business case for managing diversity; from practitioners’ initiatives to academic research, from the US diversity discourse to many country contexts, from an emphasis on gender to ‘other’ demographic diversity dimensions, and from quantitative to qualitative research methodologies. The discussion demonstrates the complexity of combining historical and socio-political country contexts on organizational policies and practices. The resulting influences on an individual’s experiences of diversity management are as complex as are the partiality of theoretical explanations. We urge researchers to move beyond dualisms combining their strengths, to create transformative approaches. Altogether the continuing debates add to a vibrant field.

Rethinking Diversity in Organizations and Society

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Knights ◽  
Vedran Omanović
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Literature Survey ◽  
Managing Diversity ◽  
The Social ◽  
Analytical Frameworks

The problem addressed in this chapter is whether emphasis on the ‘business case’ has gone too far, for even on its own terms there have been questions concerning the actual commercial benefits of diversity management. The concern is that if practitioner interests in anti-discrimination are reduced to the business case, then any failure to achieve commercial benefits will condemn the whole programme. Consequently, there has to be some return to the social justice arguments for managing diversity. As a way of seeking to stimulate such developments, we have conducted a literature survey of the various methodological and analytical frameworks deployed in diversity in organizations research. This is in order to search for alternatives to the reduction of ideas and interests in diversity to a single managerial preoccupation with making diversity ‘pay’, or limiting diversity practices to their potential to generate commercial benefits.

The Problem

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mats Alvesson ◽  
Yiannis Gabriel ◽  
Roland Paulsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Prestigious Journal ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
History Of ◽  
Wide Gap

This chapter introduces ‘the problem’ of meaningless research in the social sciences. Over the past twenty years there has been an enormous growth in research publications, but never before in the history of humanity have so many social scientists written so much to so little effect. Academic research in the social sciences is often inward looking, addressed to small tribes of fellow researchers, and its purpose in what is increasingly a game is that of getting published in a prestigious journal. A wide gap has emerged between the esoteric concerns of social science researchers and the pressing issues facing today’s societies. The chapter critiques the inaccessibility of the language used by academic researchers, and the formulaic qualities of most research papers, fostered by the demands of the publishing game. It calls for a radical move from research for the sake of publishing to research that has something meaningful to say.

Rationales of gender diversity management policies and practices in India: an exploratory empirical study in the Indian IT/ITeS industry

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 667-688
Author(s):  
Shreyashi Chakraborty ◽  
Leena Chatterjee
Keyword(s):  
Survey Methodology ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
Management Policies ◽  
Policies And Practices

PurposeThe Indian context is marked with weak anti-discrimination laws and patchy implementation of protection of civil rights of women at workplaces. The purpose of this paper is to unearth the rationales of the adoption of gender diversity management policies and practices in India, in the absence of laws and regulations.Design/methodology/approachInspiration is drawn from previous studies on diversity management in other national contexts, and a survey methodology was adopted. The lead researcher administered the questionnaires personally to all respondents to ensure that the understanding of the questions is uniform across respondents as gender diversity management is a relatively new concept in India.FindingsSize of the organisation (number of full-time employees), the influence of external organisations and perceived enhanced organisational flexibility were found to explain the adoption of gender diversity management policies and practices in the Indian IT/ITeS industry. Findings also indicate that Indian subsidiaries of foreign multinationals tend to adopt more gender diversity management policies and practices as compared to Indian-owned organisations.Research implicationsThis study provides evidence that organisations do not always enact structures or behaviours in the pursuit of normative rationality and also consider the economic value of them, establishing an organisational agency in adopting legitimated norms or practices. The study also shows that gender diversity management policies and practices are not only dependent on the enactment of laws but also are adopted because of the economic benefit perceived.Originality/valueDiversity management policies and practices have been mostly studied in national contexts with anti-discrimination laws or affirmative action programs and have been claimed to be a successor of equal employment opportunity (EEO) policies. In the absence of stringent laws to reduce or eliminate discrimination against women employees in Indian workplaces, this study contributes to the literature by determining whether the business case for gender diversity drives the adoption of gender diversity management in the Indian context.

scholarly journals Diversity management in the workplace: beyond compliance

Curationis ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
N.S. Gwele
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
Organizational Goals ◽  
Diverse Workforce ◽  
Managing Diversity ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Success Indicators ◽  
Economic Landscape

Diversity management is not a numbers game. Diversity management is a holistic and strategic intervention aimed at maximizing every individual’s potential to contribute towards the realization o f the organization’s goals through capitalizing on individual talents and differences within a diverse workforce environment. Managing interpersonal relationships within a diverse workforce environment presents a number of challenges related to changes in the social, legal and economic landscape, individual expectations and values as well as the inevitable change in organizational culture (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2005: 1-7). Whether or not organizations are effective in managing diversity is a function of senior managements’ commitment, and the perceived centrality of diversity management by all those who populate the institution’s workspace. Above all it should be clear to all employees, irrespective of race, gender, or vocational/professional status, that each and every one of them has something of value to contribute towards the realization of the institution’s mission and goals. It is crucial to determine clear and manageable success indicators, focusing not only on compliance with legal obligations to include and/or increase the number of employees from the underrepresented and designated groups, but also on strategic intervention strategies to be used to promote and nurture individual talent and potential toward the realization of both individual aspirations and organizational goals re-quality patient outcomes.

Theoretical Frameworks and Models Supporting the Practice of Leveraging Workforce Diversity

2014 ◽  
pp. 266-283
Author(s):  
Aileen G. Zaballero ◽  
Yeonsoo Kim
Keyword(s):  
Change Management ◽  
Organization Development ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Workforce Diversity ◽  
Culturally Competent ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
History Of

This chapter will include a brief description of the history of diversity; advantages of being culturally competent; paradigms/perspectives of diversity management; and a summary of the business case for diversity. In addition, theories and models of organization development and change management are further explained as a way to understand the organizational context surrounding diversity interventions.

A Paradigm Shift for Diversity Management

2018 ◽  
pp. 1233-1259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn Y. Byrd ◽  
Claretha Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
Career Aspirations ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Career Experiences ◽  
Ethical Obligation ◽  
Management Philosophy ◽  
Business Opportunity ◽  
The Social

This chapter brings to light how diversity management, a widely practiced management philosophy, has emerged from an original focus of equal opportunity and representation to a focus on a strategic and competitive business opportunity for organizations. The objective of this chapter is to represent diversity management as an organization-serving philosophy that has failed to uphold a personal, moral, and ethical obligation to the dignity and worth of its socially marginalized workforce. The goal is to recommend a paradigm shift for diversity management that responds to the social injustices experienced by marginalized employees in everyday lived career experiences that can be detrimental to career aspirations.

(Mis)managing diversity: exploring the dangers of diversity management orthodoxy

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Knights ◽  
Vedran Omanović
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
White Male ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managing Diversity ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Research Interviews ◽  
Corporate Diversity

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to challenge the dominance of the mainstream discourse and practice of diversity management (DM) by identifying and problematizing three distinct but related issues that it encompasses: first, its tendency to displace all alternative approaches; second, its general neglect of the social-historical context and third, its almost exclusive focus on the business case rationale for supporting diversity. Design/methodology/approach – Employing ethnographic research methods, the empirical material was collected in an international manufacturing corporation based in Sweden. It consists of three different, but interconnected approaches: archival research, interviews and observations. Findings – The paper shows that in neglecting power, identity, intersectionality and the changing socio-historical context of diversity, a well-meaning corporate diversity programme tended to obscure ethnic and age-related disadvantages at work. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of this research relate largely to its dependence on a single case study and the limited focus on diversity as it affected able-bodied, white male immigrant workers. A broader study of the multiplicity of types of discrimination and ways in which diversity is managed in a range of countries and organizations could facilitate a more in-depth exploration of these issues and arguments. Originality/value – Although not entirely new, the three arguments that have been drawn upon to discuss, analyse and illustrate DM through our data have rarely been brought together in one theoretical and empirical study.

Tools for Academic Research on Human Rights in Latin America: the Inter-American Human Rights System

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria Orrego Hoyos
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

AbstractThe article below, which is written by Gloria Orrego Hoyos, presents an overview of the Inter-American Human Rights System, its main instruments, its organs for the protection and promotion of human rights in the Americas and the available tools for the academic research and the activism in the vindication for human rights in the region. This information is presented from the contextualization of the system within a history of violation of human rights in the region, and the role of both the Inter-American Convention and the Inter-American Court in the transformation of the social, political and institutional realities of the people of the continent.

Even Conservative Unions Have Revolutionary Effects: Frank Tannenbaum on the Labor Movement

2010 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Merrill
Keyword(s):  
Labor Movement ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Positive Element ◽  
Social Recognition ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Us ◽  
Unskilled Workers ◽  
History Of

AbstractFrank Tannenbaum is best known for his studies of Mexican agrarian reform and for his contributions to the comparative history of slavery and slave societies. But as a young man he had made a name for himself as a notorious labor agitator, and he went on to publish two books on the US labor movement, which are worthy of reconsideration as important interpretations of independent trade unionism and political reform. The first volume appeared in 1921 and offered an original perspective on the popular syndicalism that formed such a large, positive element of the philosophy of the International Workers of the World (IWW), to the extent it had one, at the center of which lay the struggle for social recognition on the part of immigrant and (supposedly) unskilled workers. The second appeared thirty years later and provided a thoughtful defense of the private, employment-based welfare and industrial relations system that the New Deal established in the United States. Together the books offer a provocative account of the social and individual radicalism of US-style “pure and simple” trade unionism.

Race, Gender, and Space Exploration: A Chapter in the Social History of the Space Age

2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
KIM MCQUAID
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Social History ◽  
Space Exploration ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Us ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Gender

An era of space explorations and an era of expanded civil rights for racial minorities and women began simultaneously in the United States. But such important social changes are very rarely discussed in relation to each other. Four recent books on how the US astronaut program finally opened to women and minorities in 1978 address a key part of this connection, without discussing the struggles that compelled the ending of traditional race and gender exclusions. This essay examines the organizational and political dynamics of how civil rights in employment came to the US civilian space program in the decades after 1970.

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