Month: May 2020

Posted on

5/25 Responses

  1. From the templates in They Say/I Say I will be using this approach: In recent discussions of organizational diversity, a controversial issue has been whether structured organizational diversity policies affect minorities’ leadership-relevant self-perceptions and goals. From the perspective of Gundermir et al’s argument, his data shows that companies that use programs specifically for multicultural diversity increase diversity within their organizations. On the other hand, some companies choose to have a Value-in-Homogeneity policy.

I just used that template to structure a practice statement about Gundemir et al’s argument. I began with the They Say to set my writing up for my own opinion on this topic and give the reader context about what I am writing about and why they should care. This template helped me focus on the information in my writing more than just the filler words that structure it. A lot of the time when I first begin writing I find myself not knowing how to begin. Having the words from the template there for me to use made it much easier to start and I felt like I could use my time writing more efficiently.

2. This weeks readings from Gundemir et al and Austin and Pisano add to my understanding of diversity in organizations greatly. On one hand, Gundemir’s article answered a lot of the questions that last week’s readings brought up for me, such as what the strategies used to increase and maintain diversity in a company are. Gundemir’s research showed me that diversity in companies can be maintained by programs that these companies create to make people feel comfortable and included. From the data, I could see that companies with multiculturalist ideologies made diverse workers feel valued, and equal resulting in those employees feeling more comfortable to strive for leadership roles and advancements within that same company. Austin and Pisano’s article expanded my knowledge of diversity but in a very different way. They discussed neurodiverse people which I didn’t think to include in the discussion of diversity till after I read this. Learning about neurodiversity supported why diversity is so positive in companies. Austin and Pisano highlight how neurodiverse people can add so much benefit to a company. They also educate on how including them and creating programs for them to get through job interviews, and thrive at a company is  so important. In conclusion both readings this week expanded what I thought I knew about diversity and made me think about what is considered diverse in a company.

Posted on

Responses- Week of 5/25

When it comes to the topic of diversity, most of us will readily agree that it is an important and healthy part society and culture. Where this argument usually ends, however, is on the question of organizational culture. Whereas some are convinced that a Value-in-Homogeneity policy is best for an organization and its culture, others maintain that a Multiculturalism or Value-in-Individual Differences policy is better for minority employees, the organization and its culture.

I used a sentence outline designed to open a debate to describe Gundemir et al’s research. It worked for my sentence because, as a minority, I am biased towards multiculturalism-focused organizations, which the sentence demonstrates. It also worked because the results of Gundemir et al’s research did support the hypothesis that “minorities [would] report more positive leadership self-perceptions and leadership-related goals” in a company focused on multiculturalism rather than homogeneity, so it’s likely that many believe Multiculturalism or Value-in-Individual Differences is better for an organization’s minority employees.

I found that the messages behind the Gundemir et al article and the article from last week about organizational diversity were similar in that both articles were ultimately promoting the acceptance of diversity in the workplace. As a minority, reading both of these articles was refreshing since I had never really thought about diversity in a business setting and it felt like the authors of both articles had a mindset similar to mine. In my limited experience working at FedEx and Costco, I hadn’t heard anything about company diversity policies, but there were policies about harassment and respecting other people and their cultures. I hadn’t noticed in the moment, but since reading these articles and thinking about my coworkers, almost everyone I worked with at FedEx was different from me, whether they were a different race, religion, or sexual orientation versus Costco where everyone was relatively similar.

Posted on

Question Responses Justin

  1. The template that I’d like to use showcasing starting from what others are saying is from the templates on page 23. It has become common today to dismiss ____________.  It has become common to today to dismiss the lack of racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in organizations all over the U.S. With statistics showing that it is rather beinficial to be more diverse within these companies. This template offers a statement from someone saying how it is common so dismiss an issue that is currently going on. This is a good template because it also has many facets to it. You can substitute any word for dismiss and completely change the template. in the introduction, the authors were addressing how some people think the templates can be repetitive and boring especially if everyone is using them. But with subsidizing words and phrases, there are manY ways of saying what you want to say while still using the “they say technique and still being effective.

3. When it comes to diversity in the workplace, there are many different factors that are taken into account and play a role. The organization and leadership of that organization plays a huge role because they are hiring individuals based off what they think can help their company in the long run and what they see best fit. From the point of view of Austin and Pisano in their article, they state that the behaviors of many neurodiverse people run counter to what most companies are looking for in an employee. For example, good communication skills, team work, persuasiveness,  networking, and a ton of other qualities the article states. this kind of criteria automatically screen out people who are unable to do these types of things without certain help. Companies tend to go along with what society is fixated on and what they are personally comfortable with. On the other hand, Gundemir et al, looks at it from the point of view of the workers. They conducted a study that shows certain policies create a more diverse culture. They look at the goals of the individuals and what it takes for them to be successful within different working conditions. Both of these ideas are important because hiring happens all the time and it is making it harder for neurodiverse people to obtain jobs.

Posted on

Week of 5/25 – Discussion

1. When it comes to the topic of organizational diversity policies in the workplace, most of us will readily agree that said policies bring beneficiary values.  Where the agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of “whether and how these can play a pivotal causal role in shaping minority group member’s leadership-related perception” (p 173). Whereas some are convinced that we should explicitly value the characteristics of diverse minority members, others maintain that suppressing the categorization of people into distinct groups will eliminate negative consequences such as prejudice or conflict. My own view is that ideologies of colorblindness will always influence a time and place for assessing the best possible workplace type and climate based environment.

For this exercise I worked off a template that introduced an ongoing debate. Where I decided to expand off this template was in the last sentence of the paragraph. Here I’m basically trying to say that the nature of colorblind theory (whether positive or negative) carries a be-all and end-all placement for determining the direction of diversity policies in the workplace. I think because my knowledge on the subject is fairly new and limited, the point I wanted to make may read a bit difficult, however, it is an area of research I’d be interested in exploring further. Overall I found this approach pretty useful for getting my thoughts to follow a logical process onto the page.

2. Something these weekly readings have began to do is expand my horizon for how I think about diversity in organizations. In my earlier views I always thought about diversity kind of as a black and white slate. The readings particularly on neurodiversity illuminated groups I had not fully considered. Even more so as I kept reading on the topic, it unveiled how widespread these organizations can be. Often times they’ll break up into further subgroups and subcultures within an already distinct body. Being a minority myself found me agreeing with a lot of the claims made especially in Gundemir’s reading. It made me reflect on conversations I’ve had in the past with family or friends alike whom identify as such. From our discussions we would talk about how being a minority places one on a constant pedestal (showcase) to society. As individuals we have a role and responsibility to live up our name or fall in either stereotypical category. Its sad to think like that though most would agree that if there were greater personal and leadership examples in the workplace, we would feel more motivated to excel. The reality is though with our current policy standards and systems in place, it isn’t as easy to progress. To say “yes we support diversity, here it is” is not enough. Theres a teetering and sensitive balance for how companies and individuals can work. As I’ve come to learn, instilling a new message requires discussing all grounds no matter how uncomfortable or confrontational they may be.

Posted on

Discussion Responses week of 5/25 – Dominique

 

  1. Many People assume that __________ 

Many people assume that in order to allow for a safe and respectful work environment, Value-in-Homogenity Policy should be used. .However, Value-in-Individual Differences and Multicultural Policy makes it so that minorities feel respected. It also allows minorities to feel capable of achieving their goals and work in leadership positions.

This template is very simple, yet effective. In order to complete the template, I first talked about what others believe by saying “Many people assume…”. Next, I stated my argument. This allows for two sides of the argument instead of just one. Writers could use this template in any order. For example, the writer could state their argument, they say: However, many people assume… I think that the simplicity of this template makes it better because it is easy for readers to understand. The framing of the template is very  useful because the two arguments are clearly outlined in only a sentence or two.

  1. This week’s reading adds to my understanding of diversity in organizations because all of the readings have shown that there are positive outcomes to having different people work for companies/businesses. The Gundemir article talks about minorities, and how to diversify a work community in that way. This article focused on ways to appreciate different cultures so that they are respected and talked about. The Austin and Pisano article talks about neurodiversity in the workplace, and explains the benefits. Unfortunately, the workforce is not nearly as neurodiverse as it should be. This article highlights the fact that everyone has different abilities, and that people who have disabilities do not need to be cured. Both articles show the importance of diversifying work communities. Diversity allows for different life experiences that can be utilized in the workplace to enhance work performance. While there may be challenges in diversifying companies or businesses, these articles show that in the end, it makes a huge difference. 

 

Posted on

Unit 1, They Say, Aaron

  1.  In the first chapter of They Say/I Say, using the templates that are given, I would like to try this exercise: At the same time that I believe that people are more comfortable around their own peers, neighborhood, or ethnicity, I also believe that diversity is a truly healthy thing. Not just for the social aspect of expanding your horizons and ideas and sharing experiences with different people, but there is also evidence that it really does contribute to higher production in the workforce.
    This template did help me to construct an argument sentence a lot easier than if I was just using stream of conscious writing, and it also made it easy for me to express that things can be nuanced. It’s not always all this way or all that way and if given the opportunity to argue that more than one thing can be true at the same time, I tend to take that challenge at every opportunity.
  2. The two readings this week obviously have some differences since they are about two different kinds of diversity: The Gündemir study relying heavily on gender and ethnic diversity and the Austin&Pisano piece about neurodiversity. Both writings gave me much more information than I previously had about the subject- for instance, the studies done by Gündemir were very detailed and the correlation between more people of diverse backgrounds leading to diverse candidates being willing to take positions of leadership in a company was honestly a little bit higher than I would have assumed, which is a really good thing! The article about neurodiversity was really eye opening to me to see that some very reputable technology companies were doing quite a bit to implement employing people who were neurologically different, and seeing some complaints about concessions being made to these employees (such as having their own office while other employees had to share an office with multiple other employees). That sort of led me to remember some of my experiences when I worked at UPS (I worked inside their hub loading trucks for a large number of years). One peak season (holiday season), there was an influx of workers that were hired on a temporary basis- some were Sudanese refugees, some were Arabic refugees and some were from South and Central America. This naturally peaked my interest because I must be weird but I naturally enjoy being around other cultures, I find it interesting. Well, as soon as they were done being trained and left to load on their own, they had nobody to help them- nobody could speak their language, and (this really bothered me) nobody wanted to work with them, for some blatantly racist, nationalistic reasons. I requested my boss that I move from my area to work with them and help them out, and although I couldn’t speak in depth sentences with them, we got along fine when it came to work, and we even would chat about non work things like which soccer club we supported. Some of my other coworkers who I have known for many years sort of gave me condescending looks and that gave me a bad taste in my mouth, but it instantly made me think of these articles because if you treat someone unfairly and like they don’t matter, than of course the chances are high that you aren’t going to have a super excited employee who strives to go above and beyond for a company while the people there look down on them.
Posted on

Week of 5/25, Isaac

1.

In discussions of X, one controversial issue has been_______.  On the one hand_________, argues. On the other hand,__________ contends. Others even maintain__________. My own view is____________.  

 

In discussions of the improvement of diversity and minorities affected in organizational cultures, one controversial issue has been about whether a Value-in-Homogeinty policy or a Multiculturalism/ Value-in-Individual Differences is more beneficial to an organization. On the one hand, some argue that people will work better surrounded by others with matching characteristics. On the other hand, many believe a culturally diverse organizational culture that values individual strengths and characteristics creates a stronger organization. My own view is in line with multiculturalism, where a team of people use their unique strengths and perspectives to work together in an improved workforce unalike to one that values homogeneity.

 

This template certainly delivers a coherent statement regarding either side of this argument. I removed “Others even maintain___” since there are mainly two sides in Gundemirs article, but the fact that sentences are interchangeable in the templates allows for them to help fit to an article, and I can infer how useful they could be for creating a statement you want to elaborate on.

 

  1. In many cases, organizations allow prejudice to take place because staying in one’s comfort zone seems much easier than working with people who have a different perspective and mindset than the majority. However, as our contemporary culture shifts to an openly diverse melting pot of differences, we must be accepting of those who have opposing views to continue to evolve in a forward motion. In both articles the subject of designing a welcoming workplace for minority groups is faced head-on. In the Gundemir article, experiments show results of how certain policies/tactics create a more openly diverse culture, they tested hypotheses and created charts with the data collected to create a concrete study of diversity in the workplace. The Austin and Pisano article is a study of ongoing missions to improve neurodiversity in large companies based around the world. Both articles deal with the main goal of improving diversity in organizations to create a wider spectrum of mindsets and skills that can help the organization grow. The neurodiversity article stated, “Historically, companies have asked employees to trim away their irregularities, because it’s easier to fit people together if they are all perfect rectangles. But that requires employees to leave their differences at home—differences firms need in order to innovate”. The articles are meant to tackle the ongoing cookie-cutter mindset that only hinders and hurts organizations and the minorities that are pushed to the side. Without articles addressing the complexity of these issues the bias and closedmindedness will continue to dominate industries.
Posted on

Unit 1, week of 5/18, Mikhail

1)The question that immediately arises from reading “diversity matters” is how does gender and ethnic diversity affect the performance of companies from different national backgrounds. In the report, the countries of Canada, the UK, and the USA all share the cultural and historical ties of the Anglosphere. Although the broad category of “Latin America” was included, it would be interesting to research how diversity affects the performance of companies primarily based in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Continental Europe.

Another possible research question would be, how does ethnic and gender diversity affect small localized companies? Because intuitively, it does make sense that a large international conglomerate would benefit from increased diversity, as it operates in many different cultural markets. However, this rule does not seem to hold up when considering the performance of some small company. But, this is conjecture and the answer could be completely different from the prediction.

The final question would be on why does ethnic diversity benefit the performance of some industries while gender diversity benefits the performance of other industries?

 

3) Organizational culture is the sum of values and rituals which serve as ‘glue’ to integrate the organization’s members.”—Richard Perrin

 

How does an organizational culture remain itself while integrating people from different backgrounds? Any culture must always have at least some element of discrimination in it, or else it would become an amorphous blob full of contradictions. However, if an organizational culture remains stiff in its “sum of values and rituals” the culture would not be able to adapt to changes in the environment. Also, what is the purpose of organizational culture? The most straightforward purpose for organizational culture is to imbue the employees with a mutual understanding to make the company process run smoothly. But, that is simply the means of organizational culture and does not answer the ends. Is organizational culture meant to generate the most profit? Is it meant to better the community around it? Or is it merely the amalgamation of both? More simply, what is the end goal of organizational culture?

 

Posted on

Unit 1-5/18 (Mikayla)

    1. The modern world is encompassed by a vast majority of different languages, cultures and ideas and they affect the way we live and the way we learn. Different backgrounds and perspectives allow us to be more multi faceted and diversity within communities allows us to relate to larger groups of people. The chapter readings expose us to some of the truths of the world and generate the idea that the more knowledge and experience we have, the more we can change the systems and structures within the world. Culture to me is  the traits and ideas a society is encompassed of and how they use their knowledge to create a way of being for the whole. The more exposure it has and the more diverse it is directly correlates to the way changes are made within it. After reading these papers a question that arose is whether having a diverse community and culture will truly make an environment more structured and more likely to succeed?

2. Whenever I am exposed to a new environment or community I ask myself what I have to offer or what I can bring to the table. When an opportunity to make a change is presented you begin to assess your knowledge and your experiences. Whether it can offer a new idea or a different way of seeing something and make the whole more likely to succeed. When I first arrived on the Syracuse University campus I viewed myself as an outsider, someone who had a different culture and background than the rest of the students. Although I had a hard time adjusting to the environment I soon learned that the only way to succeed was to use the things I already knew. My culture and my background were not a hindrance but a tool I used to push myself ahead. The skills that I developed, although they were different from the rest allowed me to not only push myself forward but build on the community around me.

Posted on

Responses – week of 5/18 – Toni

1) As I published in my response to Dan’s response (albeit in too lengthy of a post–due apologies) about Why Diversity Matters; I want to be thrilled about all those numbers,  I truly do.  However, I would be very interested to research the “minorities” or the “diverse groups” that represent their statistics, to see what their quality of life is.  How they think and feel about representing that for that company “doing that for them”, and how diverse are the actual environments they are in every day?  Not just how many of each “minority category” works for the entirety of a company, but also where they fall in salary brackets; how fulfilling is their work; do they feel challenged enough or too challenged;  are there hierarchy regimes despite the diverse numbers, or even within the diverse numbers?  Diversity is never as simple as numbers to me, and I feel it’s better to have truthful discrimination than false diversity so we can appropriately scope the root of the problem of discrimination.

3) Addtionally, I’ve been fascinated by the term “organizational culture” for most of my professional life, so I really enjoyed the direct quotes and how they display it to be such an interpretive phrase. When I look at the word “culture” itself, it seems organizations want it to mean both the noun and the verb of itself at the same time.  Unfortunately, I would likely argue that this has become problematic.  I’ve seen it all too often used to discriminate rather than include.  If you don’t “fit in” with the culture of a company, usually you must leave.  This makes me ponder the theory of culture, not culture theory.  That, isn’t it true, that when you introduce something new to any “culture”, there will always be change?  Isn’t that how culture is defined as healthy, by its progression (change)?  Is organizational culture just the biases of a company? Do we really need this idea of “organizational culture”? Does it actually work? And finally, what does it even mean for it to work