Understanding organizational diversity management programs: A theoretical framework and directions for future research

Abstract

Summary With the changing demographic composition of the workforce, managing diversity in organizations is an important organizational function. Organizations have employed varying approaches to diversity management (DM), resulting in varying organizational outcomes. Meanwhile, researchers have called for more theoretical development within the DM area. We present a framework rooted in social and cross‐cultural psychological research, to foster theory development and empirical testing in the area of DM. We also derive several propositions to guide future research on DM and note some boundary conditions that suggest research opportunities of their own. Our framework contributes a theoretical conceptualization that enhances our understanding of organizations' DM efforts, integrates current typologies, and suggests new directions of inquiry for management scholars as well as guidelines for practitioners in the area. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Toward a Social Justice Model for an EdD Program in Higher Education

“…Studies included in this latter research strand focus indirectly on transforming higher education leadership preparation by concentrating holistically on higher education leadership and embedded opportunities for social justice practice. These studies focus almost entirely on promoting (a) diversity leadership (Asumah & Nagel, 2014;Asumah, Nagel, & Rosengarten, 2016;Guerra & Pazey, 2016;Kotter, 1990;Mor Barak, 2014;Northouse, 2013;Olsen & Martins, 2012;Rost, 1991) and (b) inclusive excellence (Williams, Berger, & McClendon, 2005). To be clear, there are a host of studies that focus on social justice issues in higher education, but this particular body of research speaks to a unique set of knowledge, skills, employed strategies, principles, and beliefs that inform the work of the selected doctoral program.…”

“…To the extent that social justice and equity-based decisions contribute to the causes of organizational efficiency and order, diversity management can potentially inform and shape social justice practices in higher education. Whether referencing (a) voluntary but deliberate, organizational policies and practices designed to promote diversity and inclusion (Mor Barak, 2014) or (b) the strategic ordering and placement of diverse human resources to maximize organizational efficiency (Olsen & Martins, 2012), diversity managementespecially from a higher education administrative standpoint-is usually considered to be quite limiting because of a tendency to situate diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within a corporate and capital-based framework (Asumah & Nagel, 2014;Asumah, Nagel, & Rosengarten, 2016). This is problematic because such a framework does not easily lend itself to critical social theory which "views people as subjects, not objects, who are constantly reflecting and acting on the transformation of their world so it can become a more equitable place for all to live" (Brown, 2004, p. 85).…”

Modeling Diversity Management Practices in Corporate Ethics: The Spillover Effect

“…For example, many studies reported that minority participants found that organizations whose recruitment materials contained diversity statements were more attractive than the organizations with materials that had no information about diversity statements (McNab & Johnston, 2002;Perkins, Thomas, recruitment materials also contributed to making organizations more attractive to nonminority women (Rau & Hyland, 2003;William & Bauer, 1994) but had no impact for non-minority males (Williams & Bauer, 1994). Given that most corporations tend to have relatively low percentages of racial diversity in their workforce (Mor Barak et al, 1998;Olsen & Martins, 2012;Thomas, 1991), diversity recruitment enables greater workforce diversity by making organizations more attractive to larger groups of minorities and women. However, to actualize any potential benefit, diversity must be managed (Kalev, Dobbin & Kelly, 2006;Wright et al, 1995;Yang & Konrad, 2011), which in turn requires dedicated personnel .…”

“…These initiatives include organizational statements that convey the importance of diversity to the workforce, programs that teach all employees cultural awareness and inclusiveness skills, and resources that promote the success of minority employees in environments naturally prone to accommodating homogeneity (Mor Barak et al, 1998;Olsen & Martins, 2012;Pitts, 2006;Thomas, 1991). Valuing diversity initiatives, as the name suggests, are value-driven.…”

Lessening the difference is more – the relationship between diversity management and the perceived organizational climate for gay men and lesbians

“…This paper reports the results of 2 studies. In addition to the aforementioned reasons, this paper treads two paths of analysis due to the fact that diversity management on sexual orientation is a relatively recent new and hitherto not uniquely-defined management strategy (Kramar 2012;Olsen and Martins 2012). Study 1 compares the organizational climate of two of the German pioneers on that issue (Köllen 2007) to a comparative sample of companies in the German banking industry, not having such a high organizational commitment on this issue.…”