(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.

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 Organizational diversity: making the case for contextual interpretivism

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 496-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Greeff
Keyword(s):  
Diversity Management ◽  
Internal Communication ◽  
Organizational Diversity ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Organizational Settings ◽  
Managing Diversity ◽  
Functional Aspects ◽  
Excellence Theory

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to make a case for contextual interpretivism in managing diversity in organizational settings, specifically in its bearing on internal communication, going against the dominating functionalistic stance of venerated and ubiquitous approaches. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative and quantitative methodologies were employed to explore the potential of contextual interpretivism within the mining and construction industries of South Africa, due to the fecund diversity context of its employee population. Findings – This paper points to the enriched understanding that could result from following a contextual interpretivistic approach to internal communication for diversity management, and in so doing discusses the ways in which this could take hold in organizations through the application of germane theoretical assertions of revered internal organizational communication literature, specifically the excellence theory and communication satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation to this research is the restricted generalizability of its empirical research. Further research is required for the exploration of the central premise in other organizational contexts. Practical implications – The paper provides insights into the ways in which organizations could approach its diversity management so as to speak to more than just the functional aspects thereof, and rather to the importance of nurturing an understanding of employees’ interpretation of the organization’s diversity endeavors. Originality/value – The implications of applying a new approach to diversity management in organizational settings is discussed and argued, offering an empirical application thereof, which gives way to practical, data-driven recommendations for use in organizational settings.

Gender diversity and innovation in mining – a corpus-based discourse analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ylva Fältholm ◽  
Cathrine Norberg
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gender Patterns ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this study is to gain increased knowledge about gender diversity and innovation in mining by analyzing how women are discursively represented in relation to these two concepts, and in doing so establish how diversity management is received and communicated in the industry. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on analysis of texts including references to gender diversity and innovation in mining found on the web. The tool used to retrieve the data has been WebCorpLive, a tool designed for linguistic analysis of web material. Findings Although increased female representation is communicated as a key component in the diversity management discourse, based on the idea that diversity increases innovation and creativity, closer analysis of texts on diversity and innovation in mining shows that what women are expected to contribute with has little explicit connection with innovation. Research limitations/implications The study contributes with increased knowledge about diversity management by providing an example of how it is received in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Practical implications The findings indicate that for diversity management to have a real effect in mining, it needs to be based on gender equality and social justice motives, rather than on a business case rationale – the principal motive today. To enable this change, stereotypical gender patterns, as shown in this study, need to be made visible and problematized among policy makers, practitioners and actors on all levels of the industry. Originality value The study contributes with new knowledge about gender in the mining industry previously not attended to by using a method which so far has been sparsely used in discourse analysis, although pointed out as promising.

scholarly journals Spatially embedded inequality

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 643-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lotte Holck
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Workplace Diversity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Opportunity Structures ◽  
Structure And Agency ◽  
Spatial Approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to apply a spatial approach to organizational inequality to explore why unequal opportunity structures persist in an organization despite its commitment to diversity and employing highly skilled ethnic minority employees. Design/methodology/approach – The (re)production of inequality is explored by linking research on organizational space with HRM diversity management. Data from an ethnographic study undertaken in a Danish municipal center illustrates how a substructure of inequality is spatially upheld alongside a formal diversity policy. Archer’s distinction between structure and agency informs the analysis of how minority agency not only reproduces but also challenges organizational opportunity structures. Findings – The analysis demonstrates how substructures of inequality stabilize in spatial routines enacted in an ethnic zoning of the workplace and ethnification of job categories. However, the same spatial structures allows for a variety of opposition and conciliation strategies among minority employees, even though the latter tend to prevail in a reproduction rather than a transformation of the organizational opportunity structures. Research limitations/implications – The reliance on a single case study restricts the generalizability of the findings but highlights fruitful areas for future research. Practical implications – The study sensitizes HRM practitioners to the situated quality of workplace diversity and to develop a broader scope of HRM practices to address the more subtle, spatially embedded forms of inequality. Originality/value – Theoretical and empirical connections between research on organizational space and HRM diversity management have thus far not been systematically studied. This combination might advance knowledge on the persistence of micro-inequality even in organizations formally committed to diversity.

Translating a management concept: diversity management in Denmark

2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 426-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Risberg ◽  
Anne‐Marie Søderberg
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Practices ◽  
Societal Context ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Management Concept

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand how the concept of diversity management is translated and adapted into the Danish societal context. The authors therefore seek to answer these questions: to what extent do larger Danish companies experience a need to practice diversity management? Do they also have specific diversity policies? And how do these Danish companies discursively construct and manage diversity?Design/methodology/approachThe authors surveyed 100 Danish firms and performed a discourse analysis of two frontrunner firms' diversity documents.FindingsThe Danish firms in the survey experienced a need for diversity management, but were somewhat reluctant to introduce diversity policies. The two frontrunner firms drew on a discourse of diversity as a business case intertwined with a discourse of social responsibility with focus on helping minority groups having difficulties accessing the job market. The findings indicate that concepts must be translated for the local context in order to be accepted by local actors.Research limitations/implicationsFurther studies should look closer into local practices of diversity management to increase understanding of how this seemingly universal management concept is translated.Originality/valueDanish society, which until recently was relatively homogeneous, forms a specific cultural context for diversity management that differs significantly from American and British multicultural societies.

scholarly journals Social innovation in managing diversity: COVID-19 as a catalyst for change

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deni̇z Palalar Alkan ◽  
Mustafa Ozbilgin ◽  
Rifat Kamasak
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Global South ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Workforce Diversity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managing Diversity ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Global North ◽  
Organizational Mechanisms

PurposeCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had an adverse impact on workforce diversity internationally. While in the Global North, many countries have sophisticated laws and organizational mechanisms and discourses to deal with such adverse impacts on workforce diversity, such structures of diversity management are either ceremonial or poorly developed in the Global South. The global pandemic disproportionately impacted Global North and Global South increases the existing gap due to vaccine rollout inequality and divergence in recoveries. The authors explore social innovation as a possible option for responding to the challenges induced by the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe study draws on interviews in 26 distinctive organizations operating in various industries in Turkey. The authors have adopted a qualitative design to explore how social innovation helps to respond to diversity concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.FindingsThe authors demonstrate that social innovation presents a viable option for a country with a poorly regulated context of diversity management. Social innovation could help overcome the challenge of the absence of supportive legislation, discourses and practices of diversity in poorly regulated contexts.Originality/valueThe field study revealed several distinct forms of social innovation for diversity management, which emerged as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors demonstrate that in the absence of supportive diversity management structures and frameworks, social innovation in diversity management at the organizational level could provide a viable response to the emergent needs in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Diversity and firm performance: role of corporate ethics

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves-Rose Porcena ◽  
K. Praveen Parboteeah ◽  
Neal P. Mero
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Workplace Diversity ◽  
Corporate Ethics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Websites ◽  
Ethics Research ◽  
Repeated Calls ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeEmpirical evidence concerning the relationship between diversity and firm performance continues to produce mixed results that are context-dependent (Guillaume et al., 2017). Additionally, little is known about the relationship between workplace diversity management and corporate ethics and whether diversity management is a contextual factor to consider in ethics research. This study assesses whether diversity management's contributions to firm performance are maximized through its effects on the firm's ethical processes. This paper examines three manifestations of diversity management (diversity recruitment, diversity staffing, and valuing diversity) and their relationship with firm performance as mediated by internal and external ethics.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a sample from the Fortune 500 list of companies. The variables were constructed using several relevant indicators and applied to archival data collected from corporations' websites. The hypotheses on the relationship among diversity management, corporate ethics, and firm performance were tested using regression from the data gathered on 109 firms.FindingsThe analysis indicated that diversity management relates to both aspects of corporate ethics (internal and external ethics) but that only external ethics relate to firm performance. Results also found that external ethics partially mediate the relationship between diversity management and firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThere are limitations to using corporate websites as sources of data. Furthermore, the research design assumed that diversity is an antecedent of ethics. Nevertheless, the findings convincingly demonstrate that diversity management has a strong positive relationship with both aspects of corporate ethics. Recommendations for further research are offered.Practical implicationsThe paper shows the value of diversity management and its impact on corporate ethics. Knowing that diversity management efforts contribute positively beyond their intended purpose may encourage managers to continue or implement such efforts, which could lead to more diverse and ethical workplaces and increased firm performance.Originality/valueThe paper addresses critical gaps in research and responds to repeated calls for studies integrating the business case for workplace diversity with its moral imperative (Alder and Gilbert, 2006; van Dijk et al., 2012; Yang and Konrad, 2011). The paper also provides evidence of a link from diversity management to firm performance through external ethics.

Women CEOs in Mexico: gendered local/global divide and the diversity management discourse

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana I. Paludi ◽  
Salvador Barragan ◽  
Albert Mills
Keyword(s):  
Feminist Theory ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Latin American ◽  
American Woman ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Women Ceos ◽  
Local Companies

Purpose The purpose of this study is to add to the existing research on critical perspectives on diversity management (DM). Specifically, this study examines the narratives of women chief executive officers (CEOs) from different countries of origin to understand how they enact the DM discourse by drawing on their past and present experiences at US multinational corporations (MNCs) located in Mexico. Design/methodology/approach This study, based on six open-ended interviews with local and expatriate women CEOs who work in MNCs situated in Mexico, used a sensemaking approach to analyze their narratives. The theoretical foundation of the study is based on decolonial feminist theory, which is used to analyze the hierarchical binary between Anglo-Saxon/European woman and the Mexican/Latin American woman with respect to the discourse of DM. Findings This study found that the dominant discourse used by women CEOs, expats and nationals was a business case for diversity. Female CEOs represent MNCs in favorable terms, compared to those of local companies, despite the nuances in the antagonistic representations in their narratives. This study also found that the women CEOs’ narratives perpetuated a discourse of “otherness” that created a hierarchy between Anglo-Saxons (US/MNCs’ culture) and Latin Americans (Mexican/local companies’ culture). Originality/value This study contributes to critical studies on DM by analyzing diverse forms of power involving gender, race/ethnicity and organizational hierarchy. The use of decolonial feminist theory to examine MNCs is a novel approach to understanding women’s identities and the power differences between local/foreign contexts and global/local businesses. This study also discusses the implications of its findings for women in business careers and concludes with a call for more research within the global South (Latin America).

Making or breaking the business case of digital transformation initiatives: the key role of learnings

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Colli ◽  
Verena Stingl ◽  
Brian V. Waehrens
Keyword(s):  
Technology Implementation ◽  
Design Science ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThe research aims to investigate how firms can develop their sensing capabilities for Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technology adoption through reframing their opportunity perceptions related to learnings from I4.0 initiatives.Design/methodology/approachThe research follows a design science research approach. Following the case of I4.0 technology introduction at a large food manufacturer, the paper develops a theoretical framework (artefact) and validates the applicability and efficacy of the framework within the case study.FindingsThe theoretical framework highlights the different temporal (short-term/long-term) and locational (direct/indirect) value dimensions of I4.0 opportunities. The findings show that the use of the framework can shift managers’ perception regarding the business value of an I4.0 technology implementation. Specifically, the framework reversed initially negative perceptions around a narrowly scoped business case towards an opportunity-oriented attitude exploring further potentials of the technology.Research limitations/implicationsThe research adds to the debate when and why firms engage in, and sustain their I4.0 initiatives by providing a novel perspective on firms’ sensing capabilities. As a single-case study, the framework requires further validation in practice.Practical implicationsThe proposed framework provides practitioners with an extended view concerning the potential value of digital transformation projects and serves as a conversational tool.Originality/valueThe presented wider frame for evaluating digital transformation projects, taking into account the more “intangible” value of their learnings, tackles the fundamental issue of translating explorative innovation efforts into exploitative value – a key challenge when dealing with innovation and one of the main barriers for the digital transformation.

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.

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