1. When it comes to the topic of organizational diversity policies, most of us will readily agree that these policies have some relation to the success of an organization. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how these policies affect minorities. Whereas some are convinced that these mission statements pursue means of promoting multiculturalism, others maintain that they may pursue means of value-in-individual differences or value-in-homogeneity within an organization.
For this approach, I first focused on choosing one statement, one that still aligned with the article but was challenging. I found it difficult to represent the article while still following the statement’s foundation with the blanks. This proved to of course be challenging, but manageable, and with this challenge I was able too further dive into my interpretation of Gundemir’s means of experimentation when it came to organizational diversity policies. I found this framework to be useful, and one that I can see myself using more often. I would use these statements in the particular case that I am having trouble understanding an article. I feel that the frameworks given are ones that are not too complicated to fill in but are also just difficult enough to jog some though into and encourage myself as a reader to analyze the text even deeper.
2. I believe my understanding of organizational diversity has expanded since reading these two articles. The first, Gundemir’s article focusing on minority representation and diversity, was fascinating to myself in ways I had not expected. The results of the two experiments were intriguing, seeing how different policies can produce an outcome from the participants. Seeing that when mutliculturalism and value-in-individual differences are endorsed, the participants perceived this as a more diverse approach in comparison to the value-in-homogeneity. Little did I think, until reading Austin and Pisano’s article, that those who suffer from neurological disorders fall into the diverse category and indeed they do. These individuals see the world from a different perspective, one that should most certainly be represented but I would assume is most certainly not the case when observing organizational diversity. From my perspective before being so definitional, I did not think to question what diverse would mean in this instance, how it would pertain to anyone who is not considered the majority or privileged. Through both articles, they present the positives to this diversity, and why it should be incorporated in the business world more often than it is. The stigmas and issues surrounding being a more inclusive company are presented, but after reading both articles there is a clear understanding that the positive outcomes outweigh the worries some may have.
You raise a *really* important point here, Valerie–that TSIS methods aren’t only useful for writing; they can be valuable for thinking our way through complex and challenging subject material, because they push us to think carefully about the different positions and claims an author makes.
I would contend, by the way, that we often use writing to figure out what we have to say–that writing lets us work through our ideas. So to the extent that TSIS provides writing support, it’s providing thinking support.