This section of the report presented background information on the eight multinational corporations that participated in this study as well as a document analysis of their annual reports. It also provided information on the general characteristics of the diversity managers/directors who provided the information. More importantly, this section of the report detailed the findings of the current status of diversity initiatives in multinational corporations that are committed to addressing diversity in the workplace that are headquartered in the state of Illinois. It provided descriptions of their domestic and international diversity initiatives as well as the context in which diversity initiatives take place. It also presented a detailed description of the whole process of diversity initiatives--that is, planning, implementation, and evaluation. Moreover, it revealed findings on the barriers hindering diversity initiatives and the factors assisting in the success of diversity initiatives. Finally, it disclosed the future plans these corporations have related to diversity.
The analysis of the annual reports and related documents was utilized to confirm and verify the information provided by the diversity managers/directors. Overall, there were no major discrepancies between the document analysis information and the information provided by the study participants.