© Mujtaba, 2007 Workforce Diversity Management Dr. Bahaudin G. Mujtaba

© Mujtaba, 2007 Workforce Diversity Management (Bahaudin G. Mujtaba, 2007) Chapter 1 – Diversity: What is it? Chapter 2 – Diversity Management in Academia Chapter 3 – Socialization and Stereotypes Chapter 4 – Discrimination in Practice Chapter 5 – Technology, Gender and Appreciative Inquiry Chapter 6 – Affirmative Action Chapter 7 – Culture and Management Chapter 8 – Generational and Spiritual Diversity Chapter 9 – Managing for Diversity in Public Agencies Chapter 10 – Organizational Learning and Knowledge Chapter 11 – Power and Leadership Chapter 12 – Gender and Management Hierarchy Chapter 13 – Teamwork and Synergy Chapter 14 – Listening and Conflict Management Skills Chapter 15 – Training Programs: Preparation and Evaluation Chapter 16 – Diversity: The Engine for Success

© Mujtaba, 2007 Workforce Diversity Management is about creating harmony in one’s head (thoughts), heart (feelings), and habits (behaviors) about people of diverse backgrounds and cultures. Mohandas Gandhi said that "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." This book is about crating harmony in the head (thoughts), heart (feelings), and habits (behaviors).

© Mujtaba, 2007 Understanding Diversity Diversity describes all the personal, professional, and cultural characteristics and qualities that make one person similar to or different from another. It is inclusive of all the characteristics that make us unique as human beings.

© Mujtaba, 2007 Diversity defined, (Harvey and Allard, 2005) Diversity is seen as social identities that can affect workplace interaction and require new ways of interacting among individuals and groups and systemic changes in the ways that organizations function. –Applied in the context of organizational issues, –An inclusive definition to include everyone.

© Mujtaba, 2007 General Diversity Terms (Harvey and Allard, 2005) Social identity theory is a term used to describe how people define themselves in terms of individual importance of their socio-cultural categories. Oppression theory holds that in every society there are constraints, often unconscious, in terms of social inequality and group memberships that shape a person’s life choices. Prejudice is an attitude, usually with negative feelings, that involves a pre-judgment about the members of a group. Stereotypes are formed when we ascribe generalizations to people based on their group identities and the tendencies of the whole group rather than seeing a person as an individual who may or may not have these tendencies.

© Mujtaba, 2007 Success Success is the “progressive realization of worthwhile and predetermined goals.” Success means “achieving one’s goals.” Therefore, it means different things to different people and is individually defined. –It is not the manager’s job to determine where groups of employees might be successful (women, minorities, etc.). –Everyone should be provided equal opportunities to be as successful as they can be or as successful as they would like to be.

© Mujtaba, 2007 Cultural Competency Recognizing and understanding personal and professional differences in a student body are neither easy nor automatic, since they require conscious focus and a good level of “comfort” on the part of the faculty with cultural diversity issues. In order for educators and students to be successful, they thus need to become culturally competent. “Cultural competency” for all practical purposes refers to the continuous learning process that enables both educators and students to function effectively in the context of cultural differences both in academia and in the workforce.

© Mujtaba, 2007 Recognize and Respect Diversity in the Class Educators need to encourage students to think critically, add value to the class by participating, and to synergize as teams or as a whole class. Appreciating, understanding, and valuing personal differences in each individual student or team member can eliminate “groupthink” both in the classroom as well as in the boardroom. –Groupthink is a pattern of faulty and biased decision making that occurs in groups whose members strive for agreement, among themselves, at the expense of accurately assessing information relevant to a decision. –Groupthink is not a desirable objective in today’s diverse and very sophisticated world of intermingled competition. This usually happens in homogeneous teams and groups because everyone’s societal values tend to be similar.

© Mujtaba, 2007 Synergy: The Ultimate Goal Diverse teams can achieve synergistic results if they appreciate, understand, and value their differences effectively. Synergy is where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Ultimately, synergy is the performance gains that result when individuals, teams and departments coordinate their actions toward the same goals. Synergistic teams, colleagues, peers, and departments tend to function more cooperatively and productively than if they were operating in isolation. Synergy happens when two or more individuals working together produce more than their combined efforts individually.

© Mujtaba, 2007 Inclusive Learning Environment Differences may exist in how male and female students relate to and understand material presented in the classroom. Using sports analogies to make a point in the classroom may not clarify the concepts or objectives to those who are not familiar with the rules of a specific game. This can apply to both males and females in the same way. Faculty members need to be aware of their audience and create an “inclusive learning environment.” An “inclusive learning environment” is where all students and participants are actively involved in the learning process and can fully relate to the concepts being presented.

© Mujtaba, 2007 Pygmalion Effect: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy What is it? Do expectations of authority figures make a difference? Can you think of how your parents, mentors and teachers impacted you during your early years?

© Mujtaba, 2007 “The Eye of the Storm” Video 1.What stereotypes do children (adults) bring with them to the classroom (teams)? Which “sources of information” might have contributed to these stereotypes? 2.How is teamwork impacted during the experiment (when stereotypes exist)? How is productivity impacted and why? 3.How would adults respond to similar experiments in the work world? Why? 4.Can you use “self-fulfilling prophecy” to increase self-esteem and productivity? How?

© Mujtaba, 2007 Human Programming As children, we don’t have much control over our programming and may receive negative or stereotypical information about others. However, as adults we have control over our behavior and therefore are 100% responsible for changing it.

© Mujtaba, 2007 TRUE Managers TRUE managers: –T olerate other cultures; –R espect other cultures; –U nderstand other cultures; and –E xplore / examine / execute their options globally while acting locally.

© Mujtaba, 2007 The Educator’s Challenge The challenge is to say something good about the people we see And to never ever let them settle for less than what they can be. The challenge is not to shout “Raa Raa Ree, kick’em in the knee” But to believe in them and say “Let equality be, so we can all be free.” Imagine learning flowing harmoniously as the world and sea For that which is intrinsically imagined can most definitely be. Personal success is a process hidden inside the leader in “me” It can be best achieved by serving others and contributing to “we.” The challenge is to say something good about the people we see And to never ever let them settle for less than what they can be.

© Mujtaba, 2007 Diversity exists in the workforce as well as in the educational arena today and will continue to increase at a growing rate. There is a moral responsibility for each individual to become a TRUE manager in today’s workforce. Valuing diversity and thereby becoming a TRUE diversity champion requires each person to tolerate differences, respect differences, understand differences, and to examine or explore those differences in order to maximize the productivity of the workforce and gain organizational competitiveness. TRUE diversity means one should become culturally competent.

© Mujtaba, 2007 Cultural Competence Cultural competency is the continuous learning process which enables you to function effectively in the context of cultural differences.

© Mujtaba, 2007 “We are led to believe a lie - When we see with and not through the eye.” “When I die, I shall sour with the angels. But if I die an angel, you cannot imagine what I’ll become.”

© Mujtaba, 2007 It’s what is inside that makes a difference! Learn well, take chances, and remember that together we can move the world!

© Mujtaba, 2007

Reference Mujtaba, B. G. (2007). Workpalce Diversity Management: Challenges, Competencies and Strategies. ISBN: Llumina Press; website; (phone: or: ).

© Mujtaba, 2007 Workforce Diversity Management Book Layout Diversity Awareness Cultural Competency Workforce Diversity Management Exercises Skills Cases Parts I & II Parts III & IV