Why should you as an entry-level manager concern yourself about diversity? There’s a simple answer—federal and state laws that govern discrimination. But as a manager the expectations include more than just fulfilling legal requirements. Your management will expect you to meet the legal requirements and at the same time appoint the best-qualified people to achieve your unit’s goals and objectives. But finding and selecting the best-qualified people involves not only the best in a particular professional discipline but those with the required breadth of knowledge, an attitude toward meeting commitments, the essential personal characteristics like integrity and dedication, the skills like leadership and communication, and the ability to work effectively with people who come to the workplace from different cultures. You’ll be expected to blend these people who may have significantly different social, political, and economic orientations into a cohesive organizational unit—people who view the organization and the environment differently and who bring very different backgrounds and perspectives to the workplace.
The Diversity Challenge
Diversity is not a human resources problem but an organizational opportunity—an opportunity to maximize the performance of an organization. Since you come to this position after some years of experience as a competent professional you have already witnessed what your organization and others have done or not done to promote diversity. Workplace diversity presents a challenge to all managers.
A description of what diversity involves provides a better approach to discussing the related issues than providing a definition. Diversity involves dealing with differences and finding a way to resolve those differences in some acceptable manner. The primary diversity issue is avoiding discrimination because of race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, age, religious beliefs, and physical disabilities, hereafter referred to as the basic diversity group. Resolving the issues related to the constituents of this group becomes complicated because we bring our prejudices, our opinions, those often intolerable habits, and all the baggage that makes us, us.
We also bring all of the experiences that brought us to our present state of being—cultures in which we lived, successes and failures experienced, relationships developed, influences on our thinking by those many teachers both formal and informal, and just about every act that in some way influenced our being. Only by finding a way to accommodate all of these differences can we develop viable organizations that meet their purposes and objectives. At the same time we need to recognize that utopia does not exist. This is not a perfect world. People often pursue particular agendas that can have a significant negative impact on overall performance. That’s the real world. So as a new manager, how do you respond to these diversity issues?
Diversity Initiatives
David A. Thomas and Robin J. Ely suggest that two perspectives have guided most diversity initiatives: (1) equal opportunity, fair treatment, recruitment, and compliance with federal and state laws and regulations, and (2) it just makes good business sense. A third perspective focuses on diversity because it’s the right thing to do. Do we really need government regulations to provide equal opportunity and fair treatment? The human condition being what it is suggests that government regulations are essential. As a manager you have no alternative but to be knowledgeable about the rules and regulations related to fair treatment of all individuals regardless of their orientation. Lack of concern about fairness could not only have a negative financial impact on the organization but also cause a significant loss in reputation.
In cold hard numbers promoting diversity makes good sense. This has nothing to do with the organization’s moral or social orientation—it serves the interest of the organization and the community. It’s enlightened self-interest. But diversity is not about numbers and quotas: it’s about enabling the required talent to freely participate in an organization’s future. Talent is in limited supply. We live in a global economy in which national cultures come together to fulfill some purpose. There was a time when all the talent and wisdom resided in the motherhouse. That is no longer true. As organizations expanded globally (this was not just a U.S. phenomenon) they recognized the talent and wisdom available in other nations. They recognized that cultural differences had to be accommodated and integrated in order to meet transnational goals and objectives. This expansion phenomenon also includes academic institutions that have expanded into other countries.
There’s nothing magic about dealing with diversity. There are no prescriptions because every breach of diversity presents unique issues. Like any management issue it requires understanding and using some very common-sense approaches. People wish to be treated fairly and with respect regardless of the differences that might separate them from the group in some way. The issue of fairness is open to interpretation and cannot be measured on some mathematical scale. You may think that the action you have taken was fair but an employee may think your decision was unfair. Such conflicts can only be resolved through communication that deals solely with the facts. Those facts are open to interpretation. Each is probably looking at the issue from a different perspective. You or the employee could be either right or wrong in reaching conclusions. As the manager you must take responsibility for resolving the issue quickly. An unresolved issue only leads to a lack of commitment, little if any contribution to productivity, and a negative impact on the other members of your group.
Accommodating Differences
Let’s face the facts: we’re all different, we may hold minor prejudices, and we probably judge others by higher standards than we use to judge ourselves. Demographic statistics show that our workplaces now include many people from the basic diversity group of constituents. Workplaces are no longer a collection of homogeneous people where one size fits all. Any application of a one-size-fits-all philosophy will only lead to major behavioral problems. So you learn how to accommodate differences. At the same time you cannot capitulate on every issue that is vital for maintaining some level of management discipline. Some rules are required. You can’t allow one person to disrupt the whole organization. But you do establish limits in which the organization can function effectively and efficiently.
You also need to be more sensitive to individual styles and behaviors. Being sensitive to behaviors does not imply lowering performance requirements or accepting lower levels of performance. It does not imply being overzealously sympathetic or promoting a victim mentality but it does imply responsiveness, reassurance, and empathy. You and your colleagues will engage people whose personal working habits and customs may be objectionable in some way. You may in some way temper their impact but you will not eliminate them. To avoid any signs of discrimination, base your decisions on the individual’s contributions and not the personal likes or dislikes of their habits or customs. There is no justification for discriminating against any individual because he or she is a member of the basic diversity group.
Relieving Tension
A certain amount of tension always exists when people from different origins meet. People who in some way do not meet our perceptions can be suspect. They’re different. That tension can either be creative or destructive. As we begin to know a person tensions begin to disappear. We accept them, perhaps not totally, but we accept them for what they are. We accept them for their knowledge or skill or accomplishments. At a minimum we show respect. We relieve those tensions by learning about them. We recognize their presence and communicate with them. We try to find some common ground. There may be a common interest; a similar academic background; common family activities; related work experiences; knowledge of each other’s national histories; interests in sports, the arts, volunteer activities; and other interests too numerous to mention. When we find these common areas of interest we begin building a new relationship. But we need to find those areas of common interest to relieve the tension. So while we may be initially concerned about certain origins, personal attitudes and characteristics, and behavioral patterns we accept people because of some common interests. When the tension disappears we accept people for what they are rather than what we think they should be. The stereotypes tend to disappear.
3M is a company that has always valued diversity in its workforce. It could not have accomplished its status as a global innovator without embracing the broad requirements for managing diversity. The following is an interesting 3M story of how inappropriate dress colored the perception of competence by some laboratory directors:
Many years ago the standard of dress for executives, managers, and professionals was the typical business suit and tie. Researchers also came to work in business suits or some less formal wear. In the mid- to late sixties some researchers began coming to work in sport shirts, sweat shirts, ponytails, beards, and sandals. Many research directors didn’t know how to deal with such situations. These weird forms of dress and behavior were upsetting the status quo. These newcomers didn’t fit the mold.
In the final analysis reason prevailed. At a meeting of the organization’s laboratory directors the vice president of research asked a very simple question; are you hiring the ponytails and sandals or are you hiring the innovation competence that these people bring to your laboratory? The logical response favored innovation competence but some doubters persisted. These newcomers were highly competent people but chose to change the research culture as it related to dress standards. One of these researchers eventually became one of the company’s top inventors. He was respected for his accomplishments and people learned to disregard his style of dress. Eventually the dress fad went the way of all fads and was replaced by more moderate dress.
Some Guidelines
You should accept managing diversity issues as just one more management responsibility. The issues involve your staff and you as a manager. These issues may or may not arise but be prepared to deal with them with the help of the human resources department and/or the legal department. Problems often begin with an offhand remark by one of your staff to another member that may have been misinterpreted. That same remark could have been intentional. There may be some act against a staff member from any of the basic diversity group constituents. As a manager you need to resolve these issues immediately. They cannot be allowed to fester and grow in intensity. The extent to which diversity issues require involvement of the human resource and legal departments depend on your ability to identify potential problems in their early stages, determine the causes, resolve them immediately if possible, and provide any additional diversity training that may be required. You also set the tone for your organizational unit through your own actions.
Dealing with the basic diversity group issues can be managed more easily by developing a culture of collegiality, establishing working policies and practices that maximize the use of available talent, and providing opportunities for individual growth by developing people to be the best that they can be independent of any alignment with the basic diversity group constituents. A culture of colleagues excludes no one who meets the basic skills and competencies to do the work regardless of position or level. The manager’s responsibility is to select the best-qualified person, keeping in mind that job requirements vary over a very broad spectrum in every discipline. Alignment with any of the constituents of the basic diversity group should not enter the decision except if a particular orientation is required.
The organization’s policies and practices must support collegiality. Actions that ignore those policies only work against developing an inclusive culture that fosters diversity. How managers choose people for developing new competencies that provide them with opportunities for growth and advancement demonstrates the importance of using diversity as a means for maximizing an organization’s use of resources. Diversity is more than just tolerating those individual differences that may make us uncomfortable.
We need to be cautious in evaluating people according to our personal prejudices and stereotypes. Prejudice for or against a certain employee will be met with concern. Prejudice for may not allow the employee to fulfill expectations because of lack of ability. Prejudice against may not only destroy trust but eventually cause the loss of a competent employee.
The model for developing a department that fosters diversity and maximizes not only the competencies of the group but also provides for developing new competencies is relatively simple.
- Accept the differences in people and build upon them
- Promote free expression and dialogue
- Set high standards
- Value your workers
- Focus on the unit’s mission
- Show respect for people and their idiosyncrasies
- Create a community that shares its values
- Promote differences but seek agreement
- Diffuse any animosities through education
- Encourage communication
- Don’t talk down to anybody
- Encourage and critique intelligently