Month: June 2020

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Discussion prompts for Week of 6/1

1. Overall my search for materials is focused on diversity and inclusion. We have touched on diversity in regards to topics like gender, race, ethnicity, and neurodiversity so when adding to the canon I am looking for a diverse group that we have not spoken about yet. I want to pick one similar to neurodiversity that before reading the Austin and Pisano reading I did not think of. That being said to find a topic in diversity we have not touched on yet I first started by a google search of the types of diversity. After doing that my interest was peaked in the areas of able-bodied vs disable. I also have an interest in looking at gender in the workplace, although we have already touched on that, as a woman that will be going into her senior year and going into the workplace soon I am really curious about that topic. Google Scholars and the Syracuse Library are my main sources of research because the scholarly articles from both sources are credible. The authors of these readings that I am looking for need to be an expert in the subject and the work less than 5 years old so in my filters when searching those will also be included.

2. They say/I say sentence: Introducing Summaries and Quotations

In my They say/I say sentence I utilize the verbs for summaries and quotations.

Over the last two weeks, we read texts from Austin and Pisano and Kaplan and Donovan that discussed diversity and inclusion. While Austin and Pisano endorse the inclusion of diversity in regards to neurodiverse people, Kaplan and Donovan remind us of all diversity and inclusion in the workplace and suggest how it can appear in our everyday life. I agree with Austin and Pisano’s writing educating people on what neurodiversity and advocating for their inclusion in the workplace but I complain that they lack the solution to the problem. I celebrate the fact that Kaplan and Donovan give examples of how diversity isn’t made a priority in the workplace and then give the steps to solving the issue and making the environment more inclusive. I do not deny that Austin and Pisano show examples of companies creating programs to help Neorodiverse candidates but I encourage that they add a section similar to Kaplan and Donovan where they state what is involved in creating and maintaining a diverse workforce.

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A quick(ish) note on this week’s work and what we’re trying to do here

As you’ve probably noticed, you’re submitting all of your work this week through the blog, including the summaries, rather than through Blackboard. That’s by design. You’ve had a chance to receive some private feedback, and now it’s time to open up your audience a bit–this way you’ll have the opportunity to give and to receive feedback from one another. You can learn a lot by seeing how others summarize the same text as you–what they prioritize, how they define the source, what works well in their approach that might be different from your own.

Moving forward in the course, much of your writing work will be public in this way–on the blog, with your classmates reading and responding. That will provide valuable experience with writing for an authentic audience, which in turn will help you to improve your rhetorical agility. That’s a key aim of this course–to think about the ways in which writing and research are situational, flexing and adapting our work to our distinct purpose, audience, and context.

Now, obviously, this requires a degree of trust, and in a fully online setting where we don’t see one another’s faces and don’t have those same kinds of human interactions that we’re accustomed to in a classroom setting, we will need to work intentionally to build that trust. Trust will make it easier to put our writing out there, to accept constructive feedback, and to offer up our own valuable insights.

Here, I think that our growing knowledge of organizational culture can be a real asset. We know that cultures are built–they don’t just happen–and that they are manifestations of our shared values. I propose that we take a little time this week to reflect on what values we want to be sure we enact in our class community, in this organization that we’re making.

I’ll go first–one of the features of this section that I really value and that I’d like to build on is your openness about the diversity of your backgrounds and experiences. As a group, we represent different generations, different professional fields, different geographical areas, different ethnic and racial groups, and I really appreciate how you’ve been willing to sharing those differences and the unique perspectives you’ve developed as a result. I hope you’ll continue to do so. I think that communicating from where we are–honoring and acknowledging how we are situated–is really important.

Would you please chime in and comment on this post with your thoughts about the culture you’d like to see us build in this online community? What value do you propose we share? What practices do you propose we try to enact? What would you like to see us do/not do/prioritize/avoid?

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Summary: Austin & Pisano, week of 6/1 [Toni]

Austin & Pisano’s Harvard Business Review looks at neurodiversity as a competitive advantage through the problem of a population with neurological conditions having extraordinary skills, but remaining largely untapped.  Several companies have reformed HR practices to capitalize on the talents of neurodiverse people, and in this process became better able to leverage skills of all workers. Because neurodiverse people frequently need workplace accommodations, managers have begun thinking about leveraging talents of all employees through greater sensitivity to individual needs, realizing everyone is to some extent differently abled as a result of our inherent “machinery”.  Still, neurodiverse unemployment rates run high and even when they are working, they are often settling for jobs many leave behind in high school. It comes down to finding and recruiting, and common notions of what makes a good employee, which has “redlined” neurodiverse talent with needed skills. The behaviors of many neurodiverse people counter common notions of what makes a good employee; common criteria which screens out neurodiversity and is not the only way to add value. In recent decades competitive edge from innovation has become crucial, which calls on those who see things differently, offsetting tendencies for companies to look in only one direction.

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6/1-Summary of A/P (Mikayla)

In the article “Neurodiversity as a competitive advantage” the passage begins by introducing the character John, a man with a strong work ethic, amazing technical skill and strong mathematical capability. Although on paper he is classified as a highly skilled and dedicated worker, he has been unemployed for 2 years because he is on the autism spectrum. This paper’s central argument is to speak on behalf of those with disabilities who struggle to find work in non-diverse and non-accepting environments. Its purpose is to spread awareness on behalf of those who have disorders and feel they are underrepresented in work environments. It presents the idea that even though neurodiverse individuals require some accommodations, having a more diverse staff incorporates new perspectives, cultures and various backgrounds. The neurodiverse community not only believes that they are underrepresented and underemployed even though they can complete the same tasks as typical candidates. Because the tech community is so open to implementing Neurodiverse candidates, they created new programs to help train people with disabilities and help them be more tailored to each workspace. Although they face many setbacks this article was presented not only to spread awareness but to make Neurodiverse individuals aware of the opportunities available for them and help them find the perfect spaces. 

 

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Understanding Key D & I Concepts

I recognized myself in so much of this week’s reading, Chapter Three of Kaplan and Donovan’s book, The Inclusion Dividend: Why Investing in Diversity & Inclusion Pays Off. I’m not a female executive, and I certainly don’t have access to an executive cafeteria. Regardless, many moments from Kim’s day resonated with me. The reading prompted me to think back on interactions I’ve had at work, and how while my intentions may have been good, the impacts were not what I would have hoped for.

The pressure of being late on an assignment (in this case annual reviews) drives nearly all of the decisions Kim makes during the day described by Kaplan and Donovan. In being so focused on getting the reviews completed, she doesn’t take time to reflect on how her actions are perceived. Any one of the actions could be seen as innocuous. However, when put together, the distraction of driving while on conference calls, skipping out on commitments, and not acknowledging her peers could cause many to form misconceptions about Kim which could be damaging to her relationships – all without her realizing it’s happening.

The story of Kim’s day was an effective mechanism for Kaplan and Donovan to get readers to reflect on how those small, barely-conscious decisions might lead to places we never intended.

 

 

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K&D Summary

Chapter 3 from The Inclusion Dividend: Why Investing in Diversity & Inclusion Pays Off by Mark Kaplan and Mason Donavon is an excerpt from a book that discusses Diversity and Inclusion. This chapter outlines and exemplifies how to take the complicated issues of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and address each level individually so that the issues as a whole can be corrected. The writers use an example of Kim a manager of a company and her day at work to relate to the reader’s own work experience. This allows them to visualize how microaggressions can be seen in the most common work dynamics along with unconscious biases and insider-outsider dynamics. The role of intent vs impact is stressed showing how although people might have good intentions with their actions they can still have negative impacts. This chapter was written to help people navigate how to increase inclusion and diversity in the workplace. The key concepts each address how negative workplace culture can go unseen and aim to bring to light to how each person, group, and the system can lead to a better or worst environment. What can be taken away is that to fix the problem inclusion and diversity need to be apart of everyone’s daily though the process.

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Dan K&D summary week of 6/1

The Inclusion Dividend article was written by Mark Kaplan and Mason Donovan. This article focused on the common issue of organizations struggling to implement positive change to diversity and inclusion. The authors made their argument by telling a relatable story of a woman in an upper management position at her firm. It is clear to see from the story that Kim is a very hard worker and is dedicated to her career. As foreshadowed early in the story regarding her having no recollection of her morning commute, she spent the rest of her day on autopilot. A main task for her was to complete her employee evaluation forms. Unfortunately, her positive intentions to complete them earnestly had faltered as she was treading water in her urgent tasks. She may have also unintentionally belittled two of her subordinates when they asked for her attention and she neglected. The authors strongly assert that good intentions are not enough. A slight change in her words can have a much more positive affect on her coworkers. The authors also warned of our inevitable biases in the workplace. At one point in the story Kim seemed to make time for a male executive that she had previously mentored. This happened directly after she had dismissed a south Korean woman of whom she was supposed to be mentoring. This could be or could be perceived to be bias and negatively impact the woman she was supposed to mentor. This is both an example of possible unconscious bias and of the insider-outsider groups that exist in all organizations. The Authors proceeded to explore how this dynamic is present in all levels of organization. The authors then Include a few tips on how to help create more inclusive work environments.

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Responses – Week of 6/1

I hadn’t heard the phrase “neurodiversity” until I read this article, but I liked a quote from John Elder Robinson in the article which described neurodiversity as “the idea that neurological differences like autism and ADHD are the result of normal, natural variation in the human genome” which is accurate and inoffensive. The article explains that many people with neurological conditions have extraordinary skills in areas other people might not such as pattern recognition, memory, and mathematics. Despite these skills, the neurodiverse population remains largely unemployed (roughly 80% unemployment rate, this includes people with neurological conditions that prevent them from working in any capacity) because it takes more time and energy to hire someone with a neurological condition. Another two reasons why the neurodiverse population remains untapped is that traditional recruitment methods like job interviews and the belief that scalable work processes require absolute conformity to standardized approaches end up filtering out neurodiverse people who could be valuable employees. More and more companies in the last 4-5 years have reformed HR practices to capitalize on the talents of neurodiverse people, which has benefitted those companies in terms of productivity, reputational enhancement, innovation, and employee engagement. In the process, these companies are becoming better able to fully leverage the skills of all workers.

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Week of 6/1 – Summary K&D

From a chapter excerpt written in “The Inclusion Dividend: Why Investing in Diversity and Inclusion Pays Off,” managing partners Mark Kaplan and Mason Donovan bring to public light the cognitive and ever-present yet rarely discussed behavioral effects diversity and inclusion can take at the workplace. Through the day-to-day operations of the protagonist character Kim, readers are able to relate and sympathize with the perspective of a company executive as she goes about her busy work schedule. Kaplan and Donovan go on to discuss in detail the impacts Kim’s words and actions may have created or at large, contributed to a bigger crisis of mismanaged events.

The issues they present here ask one to reflect on our humanly inherent biases which commonly create unfair advantages and dividing insider-outsider work relations. Specifically addressing the need for systematic views at various scales, their argument stands to reduce micro-inequities that oftentimes goes unrealized and creates obstacles for underrepresented people. Kaplan and Donovan reinforce the idea that an individual’s good intent, while it may as well be in everybody’s agenda, is not enough to create lasting impacts a company should learn in order to move themselves forward. The goal of inclusion, as they put it, “should be apart of our daily decision.”

 

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Summary 6/1 K&D Benjamin Fisch

In their article, “Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage” Austin and Pisano explain the struggle of those who suffer from neurological conditions to get positions in the work place. They go on to explain further that the typical process of hiring in the work place, (job interview,) cuts out many individuals with neurological issues like autism from having a chance at getting hired. This is important, because firstly it is unfair, and secondly individuals with autism for example may have extraordinary skills that would greatly benefit the intentions of a business. The issue is that those with neurological conditions are under represented in the work place. However, their is a solution to this and notable companies are starting to take action towards it. “A growing number of companies’ HR practices are capitalizing on the talents of neurodiverse people. In the process, they are becoming better able to fully leverage the skills of all workers.”