Working with Diversity, A Framework for Action

120 Pages·2012·0.98 MB·English

O C T O B E R 2 0 0 0
Working with
Diversity
A F R A M E W O R K F O R A C T I O N
Gender and Diversity Program of the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
P R E PA R E D B Y : DEBORAH MERRILL-SANDS
EVANGELINA HOLVINO
WITH JAMES CUMMING
Center for Gender in Organizations (CGO)
SIMMONS Graduate School of Management
Chaos Management, Ltd.
24
working paper
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments v
Executive Summary vii
CHAPTER I : Introduction 1
DIVERSITY IN ORGANIZATIONS 2
DIVERSITY IN THE CGIAR CENTERS 3
PURPOSE OF THE PAPER 4
FRAMEWORK FOR THE PAPER 4
USING THE PAPER 5
Ideas and concepts 5
Approaches 5
Potential next steps 6
CHAPTER I I : Motive Forces 7
ENHANCING INNOVATION, CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM-SOLVING 8
STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIPS, ALLIANCES AND TEAMS 9
GAINING BROADER ACCESS TO CLIENTS,
INVESTORS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS 12
RESPONDING TO CHANGING WORKFORCE DEMOGRAPHICS 12
IMPROVING RETENTION OF HIGH QUALITY STAFF 13
ENHANCING OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS 14
PROMOTING SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY 15
RESPONDING TO ORGANIZATIONAL MANDATES AND DIRECTIVES 16
EXCELLING IN PERFORMANCE AND INDUSTRY REPUTATION 16
SUMMARY 17
CHAPTER I I I : Analytical Framework 19
LENSES ON DIVERSITY 20
SOCIAL DIFFERENCES LENS 21
Identities are socially constructed 23
Identities are multidimensional 23
Identity is defined by self and others 24
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Diverse social categories and identities embody
differences in power and status 27
Identities shape cognitions, experiences, world views and perspectives 28
Relative emphasis on dimensions of identity 30
Summary 30
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES LENS 31
Culture 32
National culture and organizational culture 32
Cross cultural comparisons 33
International management 38
Working with cultural differences 39
Other streams of cultural differences research 39
Summary 40
COGNITIVE-FUNCTIONAL LENS 41
Linking diversity with organizational functions and
areas of specialization 42
Cognitive styles 42
Neutrality of differences 43
Summary 45
APPLYING THE LENSES 45
Intersecting lenses 46
Power 46
Integrating the lenses 47
CHAPTER IV: Diversity Change Strategies 49
OVERVIEW 50
CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS 51
ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT APPROACH 52
Multicultural organizational development model 52
Visions to guide the diversity change process 53
Sequence of change: A helpful process 54
Strengths and limitations of the organizational development
approach to diversity 59
ACTION RESEARCH AND COLLABORATIVE INQUIRY APPROACHES 60
Approach 60
Strengths and limitations of collaborative
inquiry approaches to diversity 64
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TYPES OF INTERVENTIONS AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
IN DIVERSITY PLANNING 65
Types of interventions 65
Selecting specific interventions 69
IMPLEMENTING DIVERSITY: ADDITIONAL LESSONS FROM THE FIELD 71
Deployment and involvement of change agents 71
Avoiding common diversity “traps” 72
Tips for international organizations 72
Indicators of progress 73
References 74
Glossary 95
Annex 100
Endnotes 103
iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Acknowledgments
THIS PAPER WAS COMMISSIONED by the Gender and Diversity Program of the
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). We are grateful for
the opportunity to provide this input into the strategic thinking on working with diversity
into the CGIAR. Given the wide-ranging and disparate literature on working with diversi-
ty in an international context, this paper has been a challenge to put together. We
acknowledge that much of the research and experience reviewed in the paper comes from
developed countries, the source of much of the published work in the field, as well as from
South Africa. We would appreciate guidance and feedback on relevant sources from coun-
tries in the South.
We are very grateful for extensive and thoughtful comments received from several review-
ers of earlier drafts of this paper. Particularly, we wish to thank Anne Acosta (Centro
Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo [CIMMYT]); Sue Canney Davison (Con-
sultant and expert in international teams); Carol Colfer (Center for International Forestry
Research [CIFOR]); Robin Ely (Associate Professor, Columbia University and Affiliated
Faculty with the Center for Gender in Organizations, SIMMONS Graduate School of Man-
agement); Erica Foldy (Research Associate, Center for Gender in Organizations, Simmons
Graduate School of Management); Roselyne Lecuyer (International Centre for Research
in Agroforestry [ICRAF]); Gerdien Meijerink (International Service for National Agricul-
tural Research [ISNAR]); Laura Moorehead (Principal, Joppa Consulting); Sara Scherr
(Adjunct Professor, University of Maryland); Ragnhild Sohlberg (Vice President, External
Relations and Special Projects, Norsk Hydro ASA and Board Chair, International Crops
Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics [ICRISAT]); Linda Spink (Senior Consul-
tant, Training Resources Group); and Vicki Wilde (Program Leader, Gender and Diversity
Program, CGIAR). Feedback from Focal Points and members of the Advisory Board of
the CGIAR Gender and Diversity Program has been most helpful.
We also wish to acknowledge the excellent research support provided by Erica Foldy and
by Bridgette Sheridan in the early stages of the project. In addition, we wish to acknowl-
edge the conscientious editing and production work of Bonnie Gamache throughout the
various revisions of this paper.
Authors
The paper was prepared through a partnership between the Center for Gender in Orga-
nizations at the SIMMONS Graduate School of Management and Chaos Management,
Ltd.
v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Dr. Deborah Merrill-Sands is Co-Director of the Center for Gender in Organizations
and Adjunct Associate Professor at the SIMMONS Graduate School of Management in
Boston, MA (www.simmons.edu/gsm/cgo). Formerly, she was a Senior Research Officer
at the International Service for National Agricultural Research and served as the first Pro-
gram Leader of the CGIAR Gender Staffing Program. (E-mail:
Executive Summary
PURPOSE OF PAPER
The CGIAR Centers have committed to working with diversity in their organizations in an
explicit and intentional way. This new diversity initiative builds on earlier work on gender
staffing while developing new concepts, approaches, methods and tools to engage the
more complex challenges of working effectively with multiple dimensions of diversity.
This paper provides the first building block in this effort. It synthesizes research and
experience in working with organizational diversity in a way that is meaningful for the
context and needs of the Centers. The intent is not to provide a blueprint for how the
CGIAR should proceed. Such a plan, developed by scholars and practitioners outside of
the system, would be inappropriate. Rather, the aim is to provide a solid foundation of
knowledge and understanding from which the individual Centers, as well as the CGIAR
System as a whole, can craft a unique approach to working with diversity tailored to their
specific needs, aspirations and contexts.
CONCEPT OF DIVERSITY
Many organizations worldwide are grappling with the opportunities and challenges of
working with diversity. Diversity is a complex concept. While diversity efforts have the
potential to strengthen organizational effectiveness and efficiency, and to advance social
justice, experience has shown that realizing the full benefits of diversity is neither a sim-
ple nor a straightforward process. It is one thing to create diversity by recruiting people
of different nationality, cultural background, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion,
discipline or work style. It is quite another to develop a supportive work environment that
enables people of diverse backgrounds to perform at their highest levels, contribute fully
to the organization and feel professionally satisfied. It is an even greater challenge to inte-
grate fully the varied knowledge, experiences, perspectives and values that people of
diverse backgrounds bring into an organization’s strategy, goals, work, products, systems
and structures. The ultimate goal in working with diversity is to weave it into the fabric of
the organization—into all the different dimensions of work, structures and processes. It is
this kind of comprehensive approach that experience and research indicate is needed for
an organization to reap the fullest benefits from diversity in terms of enhancing equity,
effectiveness and efficiency.
vii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
With this vision of diversity, we refer to “working with diversity”, rather than “managing
diversity”, the term that is most common in the literature. Working with diversity con-
nects directly to the work of the organization and the people within it. It implies that
diversity is the work and responsibility of everyone, not just of the managers and leaders.
It suggests that diversity is an asset to be used and developed, rather than a problem to be
managed. And, it projects a sense of dynamism and continuity.
STRUCTURE OF THE PAPER
To guide the Centers, we have structured the paper around three guiding questions.
• Motive forces: What are the motive forces driving our need to work more inten-
tionally with diversity?
• Analytic approach: How do we define and understand diversity in a way that is
meaningful for this organization?
• Change strategies: Which change strategies, methods and tools will be most effec-
tive given our objectives and approach to working with diversity?
MOTIVE FORCES
Diversity efforts are most effective and sustainable when they are tied explicitly to the
strategic objectives of the organization. This means that each organization needs to
undertake a strategic analysis to define the key reasons—or motive forces—for working
with diversity in a meaningful way. This is what many experts call “building the business
case” for diversity. In Chapter II, we identify nine motive forces, relevant to the CGIAR,
for focusing explicit attention and resources on diversity. We review the potential benefits
as well as the challenges of each.
• Enhancing innovation, creativity, and problem-solving
• Strengthening collaborative modes of working
• Gaining broader access to clients, beneficiaries, investors and other stakeholders
• Responding to changing work force demographics
• Improving retention of high quality staff
• Enhancing operational effectiveness
• Promoting social justice and equity
• Responding to organizational mandates and directives
• Excelling in performance and industry reputation
The review of research and experience summarized in the discussion of these motive
forces shows clearly that diversity can bring significant benefits to organizations. Howev-
er, it also brings challenges. The clear lesson is that diversity is unlikely to lead to
improved organizational performance or equity unless it is recognized explicitly as an
asset and is worked with intentionally and systematically throughout all aspects and areas
of the organization.
viii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ANALYTIC APPROACH
Once an organization has carried out an analysis of its motive forces for working with
diversity, it is important for the organization to ground its vision of diversity in its specif-
ic context. It needs to develop an operational definition that focuses on the dimensions
of diversity that are most salient for strengthening its organizational effectiveness and effi-
ciency. The analytic framework in Chapter III focuses on various dimensions of diversity
and different approaches for working with diversity. To assist the Centers in selecting the
most relevant approach, we have synthesized the literature and experience on diversity
and defined three primary approaches, or lenses: the social differences lens, the cultural
differences lens and the cognitive-functional lens. These lenses represent distinct and
major streams of work on diversity. When applied to organizations, all three lenses exam-
ine how differences in group affiliation affect the organization’s work culture, systems
and work practices; its social relations; and individuals’ behaviors and work and career
outcomes. The lenses differ primarily in the types of group differences treated. We
describe each lens, discuss the major ways in which it has been applied in organizations,
and give our assessment of its specific advantages and disadvantages. It is important to
underscore that the three lenses on diversity can intersect and inform one another.
• The social differences lens focuses on differences shaped by membership in iden-
tity groups that reflect salient social categories, such as race, gender, ethnicity, class,
age or sexual orientation. An identity group is a group whose members have partic-
ipated in equivalent historical experiences, are currently subjected to similar social
forces and, as a result, have consonant world views. From the perspective of the
social differences lens, these identity group categories are viewed as socially marked
or valenced, meaning that they are significant in shaping how societies are organ-
ized and how individuals within societies categorize themselves and others. Often
these categories shape the distribution of roles, power, opportunities and resources
in societies. As a result, in many societies, these identity categories are “legislated”
to prevent discrimination and ensure equal opportunities. The focus of this lens is
on how differences among group identities affect social relations, work behaviors,
distribution of opportunities and work outcomes in organizations. It also focuses on
the way in which social identity shapes perspectives, experiences and values, and
how these differences can be fully utilized within organizations.
• The cultural differences lens focuses on cultural differences of diverse nationali-
ties or ethnic groups and their implications for organizations. Culture is defined as
a patterned way of thinking, acting, feeling and interpreting. It is comprised of
norms, values, beliefs and expressive symbols that members of a group use to create
meaning and interpret behaviors. This lens examines both how culture and cultur-
al differences affect social relations, work behaviors, communications and expecta-
tions in organizations, as well as how differences in values and norms shaped by a
society’s culture affect organizational culture and norms of effective management.
From the perspective of this lens, culture influences almost all aspects of manage-
ment, including organizational factors, management and leadership behaviors and
ix
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
styles, and management systems and functions. Work on cultural differences has
increased with the recent expansion of globalization. We review two major approach-
es: the cross cultural comparative approach and the international management
approach.
• The cognitive-functional lens focuses on diversity in task-related knowledge,
skills and experiences as well as differences in styles by which individuals access
information and acquire knowledge. Task-related knowledge and skills are shaped
primarily by educational background, disciplinary training, organizational tenure,
or organizational function, specialization and level. Functional and disciplinary
diversity works with differences in the content and skill aspects of task-related dif-
ferences (e.g. what is known). In contrast, cognitive diversity focuses attention on
differences in ways of knowing and learning in relation to specific tasks. Cognitive
diversity includes the range of styles people employ to access information and
knowledge, analyze it and apply it. Because of its focus on task-related diversity,
work using this lens emphasizes the link between diversity and organizational and
work group performance. Differences tend to be seen as neutral and objective and
this lens gives limited attention to the impact of cognitive-functional diversity on
individuals’ career outcomes.
CHANGE STRATEGIES
A comprehensive diversity initiative needs to incorporate multiple objectives.
• Achieve organizational justice - to ensure fairness and equity for all organiza-
tional stakeholders.
• Reduce bias - to help individuals and groups in the organization recognize and
address the prejudices that impact their behaviors, attitudes and organizational out-
comes at work.
• Develop cultural competence - to help individuals learn about their own culture
and identity and that of others and to learn how to interact effectively across such
differences in the work environment.
• Act on the added value that diversity brings - to learn to incorporate and use the
value that different perspectives and beliefs bring to all the different dimensions of
work and organizations.
Within this framework, Chapter IV focuses on how a diversity initiative should be
designed and implemented once the specific objectives and approach to working with
diversity have been defined. The key components of a diversity initiative are:
• defining a vision of the desired outcome, that is, a successfully diverse organization;
• understanding the dynamics of change and establishing an appropriate strategy for
change, which is tailored to the organization; and
• selecting and combining the most effective interventions and best practices in order
to achieve the goals for diversity change.
x
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY