Understanding the historical assumptions made about employee diversity within the American workplace is critical to understanding the ways in which institutions manage diversity today (Loden & Rosener, 1991). Most American institutions and managers continue to relate to employee diversity based on the following six traditional assumptions:
Although, these assumptions have been challenged, they still remain implanted in many organizations. Loden and Rosener (1991) concluded that some organizations are changing their cultures in support of greater employee diversity.
During the last decade, many organizations have responded to the increase in diversity with programs designed to manage diversity in the workplace (Beilinson, 1991; Cox; 1991, Geber, 1990; Gottfredson, 1992; C. Jackson, 1991; Lamb, 1991; Purnell & Tervalon, 1991; Robinson, 1991; Sanders, 1991; Savoie, 1991; Thomas, 1990; Walker, 1991):
Examples of such programs include nontraditional work arrangements, such as flextime and home work stations; education and training programs intended to reduce stereotyping, increase cultural sensitivity, and develop skills for working in multicultural environments; career management programs designed to promote constructive feedback to employees, mentoring relationships, and access to informal networks; and new employee benefits, such as parental leave and dependent-care assistance. (S. Jackson, 1992, p. 3)
Winterle (1992) conducted research for The Conference Board and studied 166 leading corporations and, based on the results, developed an inventory of diversity initiatives and grouped them into the following topical areas: communications activities, education and training classes, employee-involvement initiatives, career development and career planning activities, performance and accountability initiatives, and culture-change initiatives.
Morrison (1982) grouped the diversity practices found in 16 exemplary organizations into four groups: (1) diversity, (2) accountability, (3) development, and (4) recruitment practices. Similarly, by using several case studies based on large American corporations, Gottfredson (1992) was able to group diversity activities into five categories: (1) procedures to reduce ethnic and gender differences in career outcomes, (2) procedures to accommodate immigrants to the United States, (3) changes in organizational climate to value and utilize ethnic and gender differences, (4) changes in procedures or climate to accommodate individual differences among employees, and (5) decentralized problem solving to accommodate local conditions. The first three categories listed above address diversity issues related to ethnicity and gender, and the last two categories encompass all individual differences and are directed to all employees.
Wheeler (1995) conducted a different study for The Conference Board. He surveyed and interviewed 69 diversity managers, consultants, and academicians and found seven innovative diversity initiatives. Those practices were (1) incorporation of diversity into mission statement, (2) diversity action plans, (3) accountability in business objectives, (4) employee involvement from all levels and functions, (5) career development and planning, (6) community involvement and outreach, and (7) long-term initiatives directed at overall culture change.
Although there is a wide range of approaches and strategies for managing diversity, there is no single approach or strategy that can be recommended for all organizational situations. Even though there is no method that contains all the necessary ingredients for success in managing diversity, several individuals have developed steps and/or procedures that can assist organizations in successfully managing diversity. Morrison (1992) cited five major steps involved in the process of putting diversity into action. The first step is to identify the diversity problems in the organization by collecting relevant information. The second step is strengthening top management commitment by getting them involved in the diversity effort. The third step is to select practices that fit the organization's needs and problems and develop a balanced diversity strategy. The fourth step is to measure the specific results of the diversity efforts. The final step is to establish a process that ensures ongoing successful diversity efforts. Similarly, Baytos (1992) stated six steps that are needed to start successful diversity activities. The first step is to establish a clear business rationale for the initiative. Other steps include seeking employee input; converting employee input into action steps; setting the timing, focus, and breadth of training; monitoring initiatives; and assessing results.
Louw (1995) identified five phases in the overall process of managing diversity: (1) needs analysis--answer the questions why, what, how, when, where, and who of the managing diversity strategy; (2) diversity strategy design--develop goals, objectives, methods, dimensions, management, actions, priorities, and resources of plan; (3) development--form specific interventions and initiatives related to diversity; (4) implementation--develop a plan that answers who, when, where, and how the diversity interventions and initiatives will be accomplished; and (5) maintenance--evaluate and monitor diversity efforts to ensure ongoing improvement. In addition, Louw identified the following eight principles required for managing diversity successfully: (1) use a holistic, integrated approach; (2) obtain top management commitment and accountability; (3) consciously work to integrate diversity values into the broader organizational values; (4) integrate responsibility for diversity initiatives into other management functions and initiatives; (5) integrate diversity efforts with existing strategic objectives and programs; (6) expect resistance to change, and take steps to minimize it; (7) use a participative management approach; and (8) be instrumental or facilitative rather than charismatic or autocratic in leading diversity initiatives.
After discussing several case studies, Gottfredson (1992) offered the following nine diversity principles to enhance management practice: (1) develop individuals, not groups; (2) stress variance, not just average differences; (3) treat group differences as important, but not special; (4) tailor treatment to individuals, not groups; (5) find the common ground; (6) reexamine but maintain high standards; (7) test assumptions and support claims; (8) solicit feedback; and (9) set high but realistic goals. Similarly, Baytos (1995) suggested the following points when practicing diversity management: guide the initiatives with strategic perspectives; start the change process with careful assessment of one's own bias; secure commitment from senior management and entire organization by developing business rationale; use nontraditional organization approaches to address diversity issues; conduct solid diversity research to identify issues and use them as a base to measure progress; move quickly from research result to implementation; and measure progress and impact of diversity efforts, and use the results to reinforce the commitment of the organization.
Griggs (1995) identified four steps to meeting the challenge of managing people who are different from ourselves: (1) acknowledge the differences; (2) educate yourself about differences by reading, listening, and putting yourself in situations where the other group is dominant; (3) figure out how the person you are working with is like or not like what you have learned about the group of which he or she is a member; and (4) work to value and appreciate those differences. Further, Griggs stressed that once we gather as much cultural information as we can, then we must look at and analyze it to see if it is relevant to the individual with whom we are dealing.
Leading-edge organizations have numerous unique efforts under way to manage diversity (Loden & Rosener, 1991). Some common practices that distinguish these organizations from others include diversity linked to strategic vision; management responsibility for climate setting; systems and procedures that support diversity; ongoing monitoring of recruitment, promotion, and development trends; organizational commitment to technical reeducation; awareness education as an organizational priority; rewards based on results; enhanced benefits; reinforcement of the value of diversity in hiring and promotions; and attention to subtle reinforcement of the homogeneous ideal (pp. 166-167). Northern States Power is one of the many organizations that have developed exemplary diversity strategies. The company has a strategic multifaceted plan that includes the following components:
Leadership commitment and the revision of policies and benefits so that they support diverse needs are essential elements for building diversity (Carnevale & Stone, 1994). Before diversity can be valued and properly managed in any organization, the organization's leadership must be committed to it. Leaders/managers need to get directly involved in making things happen. Leaders need to lead by example and hold others accountable. They warn that any diversity initiatives which proceed without leadership commitment will have little impact if employees view management as not supportive of diversity efforts. When people are engaged in diversity initiatives and leadership commitment is lacking, it is important to stop and design a strategy to get it. Commitment takes time to develop, and leaders/managers need to understand the benefits and process involved in managing diversity. Many organizations use accountability as a key component in ensuring commitment to diversity from their managers (p. 27).
Some organizations have managers develop their own diversity goals and specific ways to demonstrate their support for diversity. Other organizations connect performance-appraisal ratings, compensation, and even annual bonuses to the achievement of diversity goals (Caudron, 1992). Morrison (1992) found that companies are beginning to attach consequences to diversity-related performance. Morrison also observed that leaders competent in developing and capitalizing on diversity are essential to the success of American organizations. Further, Loden and Rosener (1991) stated that, to set the stage for changing the organizational culture, company leaders must take an influential and visible role from the very beginning. Specifically, their role must focus on acknowledging the fundamental difference between equal employment opportunity and valuing diversity, endorsing the value of diversity and communicating this throughout the organization, and articulating a pluralistic vision (p. 197).
Doing the following things may help organizations ensure that their valuing and managing diversity efforts will make a lasting difference for both the people and the organization: assess organizational readiness and need before beginning; think and plan long-term, systemwide, and systematically; align diversity efforts with strategic business objectives; integrate diversity efforts with other large-scale organizational change efforts; and measure performance results against program/process objectives and strategic organizational goals (Johnson, 1995). When an organization follows these steps, it is less likely that diversity efforts will be dropped or left unsupported in time of crisis or change, such as mergers and downsizing. However, without leadership and effective management, diversity efforts remain fragmented and lack cohesion. Coordination of diversity efforts needs to be assigned to a competent leader who can build relationships across functions and levels of the organization (Tomervik, 1995).
Many companies are beginning to evaluate and adjust policies and benefits that were initially designed for a more homogeneous workforce. Bolick and Nestleroth (1988) investigated many policies and benefits that specific organizations are implementing. Some of them included changing recruiting policies to focus on recruiting women, people of color, older workers, and people with disabilities; recruiting women into traditionally male occupations; and recruiting returning and second-career women. Other areas in which policies and benefits can be changed to support diversity include flexible work schedules, part-time scheduling, and flexible vacation and sick-leave policies; child and elder care; pay equity for all workers; benefits for partners or gay and lesbian workers; and employment opportunities for older workers that are more attractive to them than retirement would be (pp. 19-23).
In summary, organizations are undertaking a number of diversity initiatives. However, no single strategy or activity, used in isolation, is likely to constitute an adequate approach for managing diversity (Arredondo, 1996). What is needed is a careful selection of initiatives adapted to organizational needs, tied to business aims, and used strategically in an ongoing manner. Clearly, issues of managing diversity need to work their way through the strategic planning process of the organization. Diversity initiatives should not be fixed and should be modified over time as an organization's needs change. This means that an organization's diversity strategies need to be assessed and reassessed on an ongoing basis (Carnevale & Stone, 1994).
The following section specifically addresses diversity training, its process, components, barriers, and benefits. There are many reasons diversity training deserved to be examined more in detail than other diversity initiatives. First, it is one of the primary and most widely used to address diversity issues in organizations (Baytos, 1995; Carnevale & Stone, 1995; Tomervik, 1995; Wheeler, 1994). Second, diversity training is considered a critical support mechanism to successfully achieve organizational goals (Arredondo, 1996). Third, it should be well-conducted; otherwise, it may turn into backlash (Henderson, 1994b). Finally, it complements and supports most other diversity initiatives.