This study revealed that multinational corporations that are committed to addressing diversity in the workplace are planning, developing, and implementing an impressive number and variety of domestic diversity initiatives. Some other studies have found similar results concerning domestic diversity initiatives (Johnson, 1994; Morrison, 1992; Wheeler, 1995; Winterle, 1992). All these studies have found diversity initiatives dealing with compliance of Affirmative Action and Equal Employment opportunity as the most common ones. The results of this study confirm the continuation of this tradition. However, the variety of diversity initiatives described by the diversity managers/directors provides clear evidence that the multinational corporations participating in this study are doing much more than required by law. Similar to this study, Wheeler (1995) found that companies are implementing diversity initiatives because they are perceived as an advantage that enhances an organization's ability to compete. They increase their productivity, and they help them respond to diverse markets in better ways. These were the major reasons for companies having diversity initiatives, and these initiatives were not related to compliance.
This study also revealed that the multinational corporations participating in this study are planning, developing, and implementing an impressive number and variety of diversity initiatives, not only in the United States but also internationally. A 1995 study by Wheeler found similar results regarding the international dimension of diversity initiatives. Some of the international diversity initiatives identified by Wheeler's study were worldwide business teams, cross-national task teams, and worldwide conferences; whereas, this study found marketing plans for international customers, worldwide conferences, and diversity education and training as the most frequently mentioned international diversity initiatives.
Even though an inevitable consequence of having operations in other countries is greater workforce diversity (Florkowski, 1997), many business leaders until recently did not perceive this consequence in the same manner. International diversity initiatives have not been a major concern for global corporations. A 1994 survey entitled "Champions of Change," in which 1,500 managers participated, showed that managing a culturally diverse workforce and understanding the external global environment were not ranked as the most important concerns by any of the companies (Neff, 1995). To be able to implement international diversity initiatives, leaders must have a global mindset. According to Neff (1995), having a global mindset means that business leaders find creativity in diversity; value diversity that is accomplished though their personal, professional, and organizational objectives; and promote a culture that supports inclusiveness. Because of the type of international diversity initiatives found in this study, it can be said that the global mindset described by Neff is probably one of the characteristics of the leaders of these multinational corporations.
The data from this study revealed that there is a relationship between domestic and international diversity initiatives. Inclusion and full utilization of people regardless of their background, appreciation of cultural differences, and adaptation of products and services to diverse customers were some of the values or principles identified as commonalties between domestic and international diversity initiatives. Probably one of the fundamental findings of this study is the relationship between domestic and international diversity initiatives. Since the management of international diversity initiatives is a new approach, none of the previous studies have specifically focused on the relationships between them. For the participants of this study, the values that both types of initiatives have make sense, not only within the United States but also in other countries. Essentially, organizations see these values as ways to maximize their competitiveness. According to Florkowski (1997), global diversity management, for all of its uncertainties, holds the key competitive advantage for companies that seek to enter and succeed in international markets.
Training and education seems to be essential for multinational corporations. Training and education ranked as the second most commonly used strategy in the category of domestic initiatives. Among 44 specific domestic diversity initiatives, awareness training ranked number ten, and diversity skill training for managers and directors ranked number eleven. Interestingly, it showed similar positions in the category of international diversity initiatives. Diversity education and training ranked number three in frequency of mentioned. Other studies have also found that training is the most widely used initiative in diversity management (Johnson, 1994; Tomervik, 1995; Wheeler, 1994). Furthermore, the participants in this study considered diversity training and education initiatives among the most effective type of diversity initiative. This study revealed that diversity training and education is an indispensable part of the overall corporate diversity strategy.
The study participants defined diversity very broadly to include all types of differences. The great variety of diversity initiatives supports the broad definition of diversity these companies have. According to Johnson (1995), a broad definition of diversity goes beyond protected classes because all employees bring their differences, including a variety of group-identity differences, to the workplace. A broad definition moves workplace diversity beyond an "us versus them" struggle to focus on utilizing and maximizing diversity to accomplish both individual and organizational goals. It provides an overreaching goal for a unifying focus. Carnevale and Stone (1995) also confirmed that organizations' diversity efforts are more effective when they are inclusive.
The study identified the major factors influencing diversity. The major changes identified were demographic changes, diverse marketplace, and the need to improve productivity and remain competitive. Wentling and Palma-Rivas (1997) found similar factors in a study that interviewed diversity experts. What they found was that the principle areas influencing diversity in the workplace are demographic changes, global marketplace, economics, people more comfortable being different, diverse customer base, and AA/EEO. As a result of these factors, many corporations have started implementing diversity initiatives, engaging in cultural transformation, and beginning to apply more emphasis to valuing and managing diversity, mainly because they are better understanding the significant role that diversity will play in their future competitive and organizational success (Finney, 1989; Griggs, 1995; Wheeler, 1995).
The majority of the companies who participated in this study started their diversity initiatives in a proactive way. Their main catalyst for having diversity initiatives was the realization of diversity as a business imperative. Proactive companies identify all those factors that can help them anticipate future needs and plan and implement initiatives to satisfy those needs in advance. It also requires having a culture that supports change and has the necessary flexibility to introduce innovative programs; most importantly, proactive organizations not only believe in the new initiatives but also can anticipate the value of having them. In this study, these proactive organizations anticipated that diversity initiatives can transform them into more competitive organizations.
This study found that more than half of the corporations studied had the CEO as a key individual pioneering the diversity initiatives. Having CEOs involved in diversity initiatives is perceived by many authors as advantageous for the development of diversity initiatives (Arredondo, 1996; Baytos, 1995; Morrison, 1992). It is possible, then, to infer that diversity initiatives have been successful in the corporations participating in this study because most of them started their initiatives from the very beginning with the support and commitment from top management.
This study found that there are two ways to assess the needs of organizations:
(1) formally and (2) informally. The study revealed that the most common
formal ways to determine diversity needs were through employee survey, cultural
audits, demographic statistics, and focus groups. These results confirm the
results reported by the Wheeler (1996). He examined the corporate practice in
diversity measurement; and what he found was that cultural audits, surveys, and
focus groups are the most common ways to assess environmental issues. Ideally,
companies should conduct a needs assessment by using several methods. This
process helps them identify the particular diversity needs within the context
of their organizational goals. The process of needs assessment cannot be set
aside because diversity needs vary from company to company and from region to
region. According to Simons (1992), every organization has it own culture,
shaped by people and the surrounding environment. Therefore, a critical
challenge for diversity leaders is to fully understand diversity needs because
they are the basis for developing diversity plans.
Once the information is gathered and processed, diversity initiatives are planned. This study revealed that diversity initiatives are planned at two levels; macro (headquarters) and micro (business units). At the macro level, corporatewide diversity initiatives are planned between diversity departments and top corporate executives. The macro plan is delivered to the business unit managers who transform it into a micro plan and then implement or execute it. Having this structure for developing plans is very positive for managers as well as for organizations. By giving managers the responsibility of developing micro plans, business unit managers have enough flexibility to adapt the macro plan to the needs and culture of their units. At the same time, by having a macro plan that guides business unit managers, diversity leaders ensure they are tied to the goals and objectives of the organization. These two types of plans show the overall importance the planning stage has for these corporations. The importance of planning is essential for having successful diversity initiatives has been reported by many authors (Arredondo, 1996; Poole, 1997; Wheeler, 1996). Arredondo (1996) also stated that not having a plan may be perceived as giving less value to the diversity initiatives. Finally, this shows that the corporations in this study take diversity initiatives very seriously because the majority had developed well-thought out diversity strategic plans.
This study found that all corporations were attempting to evaluate the effects of their diversity initiatives on employees and organizations. The study also revealed that, in an attempt to evaluate their diversity initiatives, each company uses a variety of methods. This finding does not support the findings reported by Morrison (1992). She found that very little is being done in evaluating particular diversity practices. What this study revealed is that evaluation of particular diversity initiatives seems to be rather new among the corporations that participated in the study. This study also found that effectiveness of evaluations is a major concern. The corporations in this study seem to recognize that diversity initiatives need to be evaluated. Because of the emphasis on evaluation and well-elaborated tools some corporations have to evaluate diversity initiatives, it is possible to conclude that evaluation is becoming a more important part of the process of diversity initiatives. Other authors have also emphasized the importance of conducting evaluations for diversity initiatives (Jackson and Associates, 1992; Morrison. 1992; Rynes and Rosen; 1995). Evaluation is an ongoing process and is critical to the success of any diversity initiative.
This study also examined how corporations measure the success of their diversity initiatives. Leadership commitment and representation of diversity at all levels of the organizations were the most common ways for measuring success. These findings are consistent with results obtained in this area by Wheeler (1996). He examined the corporate practices in diversity measurement, and what he found was that leadership commitment is a critical measurement component to ensuring that the organizational culture supports diversity initiatives.
This study identified impact on bottom line, impact on productivity, and return-on-investment as the components most difficult to evaluate for diversity initiatives. Similar areas difficult to evaluate were reported by a study conducted by Wheeler (1996). Wheeler's study revealed that productivity, growth, and profitability of diversity strategies remain the most challenging and difficult areas to measure. There seem to be at least two reasons people in corporations have identified bottom line, productivity, and return-on-investments as difficult to evaluate. These areas are usually affected by many variables, and it is difficult to isolate cause-effect relationships (Wheeler, 1994). Interestingly, even when there might be an increase in profitability and productivity as a result of diversity initiatives, it is difficult to prove that diversity is the reason for such improvement (Morrison, 1992). Another reason might be that people do not have the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience to determine the overall impact of diversity initiatives. Despite the difficulty in determining the impact of diversity initiatives, the participants in this study were making efforts to come up with measurements that can lead them to confirm the value that diversity initiatives have to the organization's profitability.
Although the results of this study and the literature in diversity (Fernandez, 1993; Harris 1994; Hayles, 1996; Morrison, 1992; Simons, 1992) indicate that there are enormous benefits to effectively managing diversity in organizations, there are still many barriers that first must be resolved before the advantages can be reached. The findings of this study indicate that, unfortunately, diversity initiatives are not free from barriers that hinder their progress. Barriers come in different forms, and they may appear at any time during the developmental process of diversity initiative--planning, implementation, or evaluation. This study specifically found sources of barriers. Barriers to diversity initiatives come from the work environment, people, and even from the diversity initiatives themselves. Diversity leaders and anyone who supports diversity initiatives in corporations should be aware of the specific barriers to diversity initiatives and their sources so that they can be prevented from blocking the successful development of diversity initiatives. Although the specific barriers to diversity initiatives vary from organization to organization, their effect is the same in the sense that they are detrimental to the progress of diversity initiatives.
The findings of this study indicate that future plans for diversity initiatives are some of the biggest concerns to be addressed for diversity leaders. All the corporations have plans to continue their current diversity initiatives. This trend seems to indicate that the interest these corporations have in diversity initiatives is not going to fade away. The findings also showed that more effective evaluation of diversity initiatives is a major concern to be addressed in the future. This finding supports the results reported by Wheeler (1995). He also discovered that the companies participating in his study reported future plans for developing measures to evaluate diversity initiatives. This concern about evaluation may be founded in the notion that measurement-managed companies outperform those organizations that are less disciplined in this area (Lingle & Scheimann, 1996).
This study revealed that corporations participating in this study are planning to start new internationally diversity initiatives and expand to even more countries. These findings support what Arredondo (1996) mentioned in her book. According to this author, diversity management will expand into new settings. An interesting finding revealed by this study, and not reported by others, is that many corporations are making great efforts now to be recognized as diversity leaders and employers-of-choice in the future. These future plans provided by the participants suggest that diversity will continue to strive, grow, and remain as a business imperative for these corporations.