RECOMMENDATIONS

This section provides a list of recommendations for HRD and other business leaders, HRD educators and programs, and future research.

Recommendations for Practice for HRD and Other Business Leaders

• The results of this study indicated that diversity initiatives in the future will continue and will grow in importance in companies that are committed to addressing diversity in the workplace. This means that HRD professionals and other corporate leaders will have to be able to effectively plan, implement, and evaluate diversity initiatives. This also means that they will have to be knowledgeable about diversity initiatives, their processes, barriers, and factors assisting in their success. Another responsibility HRD professionals may have is to teach people in corporations how to plan, implement, and evaluate diversity initiatives. The results of this study lead the researchers to suggest that HRD professionals in the future will have to master the field of diversity to be able to meet organizational needs.
  
  
• The findings of this study revealed that diversity training and education programs are some of the most common and effective diversity initiatives. This means that HRD professionals will have to be able to plan, implement, and evaluate diversity training and education programs within their organizations. HRD professionals will not only have to conduct effective diversity training programs, but also effectively interact and relate to trainees who are diverse. Another responsibility HRD professionals may have is to teach trainers to incorporate diversity concepts and principles into their training programs. This means that diversity will have to be an important aspect of train-the-trainer programs. HRD professionals will have to master the field of diversity in order for them to be able to provide effective diversity training and education programs.
  
  
• The findings of this study revealed that diversity training and education are considered among the most effective diversity initiatives. They are also some of the common initiatives used to manage diversity. This means that to continue making them effective, HRD professionals will have to be able to effectively link diversity education and training not only to other diversity initiatives, but also to both the diversity strategic plan and the corporate strategic plan. This approach will help them address the organization's training and business concerns more effectively.
  
  
• This study also revealed that diversity training and education is part of the growing field of international diversity initiatives. This means that HRD practitioners will have to become knowledgeable in this area. They will have to educate themselves so that they can practice the whole process of international diversity training and education. This also means that HRD professionals will have to learn how to plan, implement, and evaluate international diversity training. In addition, they need become knowledgeable in this field because most corporations are becoming global organizations and are realizing the need for international diversity training and education programs. Thus, HRD professionals should be ready to teach corporate leaders who lack the knowledge and skills to deal with international diversity initiatives.
  
  
• Evaluation of diversity initiatives is becoming more important for multinational corporations that are committed to addressing diversity in the workplace. This means that HRD professionals need to understand the role of evaluation and its importance to corporations. This implies that professionals need to have knowledge and skills, not only in evaluation of training programs but also in evaluating the many different categories of diversity initiatives. Specifically, HRD professionals need to know how to plan data collection, identify sources of information, develop data collection instruments, analyze information gathered, and report on the findings. Most important, though, HRD professionals must be able to make sure the information gathered will be used to improve their diversity programs and show their impact.
  
  
• This study revealed that multinational corporations are planning and implementing a large number and a variety of diversity initiatives. Therefore, leaders who want to keep their organizations on the competitive edge should follow the example of successful and visionary corporations such as those participating in this study. This also means that, in order to follow the example provided by these corporations, leaders have to acquire the necessary knowledge and develop skills to plan, implement, and evaluate a wide range of diversity initiatives in the domestic and international context.
  
  
• One critical implication for managers is that a single initiative alone is not considered effective. Therefore, if leaders of corporations want to be successful in accommodating their diverse workforce as well as retaining and attracting diverse customers, they will have to be willing to allocate resources to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of not only one diversity initiative but many different initiatives that complement each other.
  
  
• The findings of this study revealed that diversity initiatives are not free from barriers that hinder their progress. Therefore, leaders in corporations must be aware that they may face barriers at any time during the planning, implementation, and development of diversity initiatives. They must make efforts to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to prevent these barriers.

Recommendations for HRD Educators and Programs

• The findings reported here show diversity initiatives will continue developing and becoming more complex. This implies that college departments offering HRD programs will have to provide their students with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in a very diverse society and workforce. The critical role that diversity training and education has in organizations such as the ones in this study implies that diversity training should be part of the core curriculum of any HRD program.
  
  
• To be fully prepared to deal with the increasing demographic changes reflected in a diverse workforce, students specializing in HRD should be offered courses that address various components of diversity. This means that educational institutions offering HRD programs need to modify their curricula and add diversity components to the courses they offer. For example, the courses on instructional design should add a unit on diverse learning styles. HRD students have to be educated on the variety of learning styles and how people from different lifestyles and ethnic backgrounds learn better. Another example could be a course on team development, which could include at least one unit on diverse work team issues such as different styles in decisionmaking and problem solving.
  
  
• HRD programs will have to equip their students with knowledge and skills consistent with the realities of international work environments. That means that HRD programs should be modified to include the international dimension. Specifically, diversity courses will have to add new content and new activities regarding international diversity initiatives.

Recommendations for Further Research

• Further longitudinal research will be needed to examine the development, changes, accomplishments, barriers, and trends of diversity initiatives in corporations. This research is necessary to make comparisons with future diversity initiatives. Longitudinal research would provide information on the accomplishments and failures of diversity strategic planning. This type of study would be interesting and useful in assessing whether or not real progress has been made. Overall, research on the evidence of the effectiveness of diversity initiatives is needed.
  
  
• More in-depth comparative studies on the relationship between domestic and international diversity initiatives are also needed. For instance, there is no research based on the transfer of diversity initiatives from the United States to other countries or vice versa. Research is also needed to determine the effectiveness of international diversity initiatives and its barriers, successes, contents, and processes. International diversity management is supposed to be a key competitive advantage; to prove this, comprehensive studies are needed in the area. Extensive studies are needed to determine the actual impact of the international diversity initiatives. A study based on international diversity initiatives is also needed to determine how the programs are coordinated; what their benefits are; what geographical regions they cover; and why and how they are planned, implemented and evaluated.
  
  
• A study should be conducted to compare the perceptions of diversity leaders with those of employees regarding diversity initiatives. Such a study could provide valuable information on how entire organizations perceive diversity initiatives.
  
  
• An interesting study would be to conduct similar studies with multinational non-U.S. corporations to see the similarities and differences regarding diversity initiatives.
  
  
• This study revealed that evaluation of diversity initiatives is growing in importance. An interesting study would be to focus specifically on evaluation of diversity initiatives and to develop a model that could be used to measure the effectiveness of different types of diversity initiatives.