- Through the Syracuse Library database, I have been able to search certain topics and find databases with many articles on that specific issue. On organizational culture, for example, I’ve been able to search one specific aim of research and find more studies about those type of findings. With my research this week, I have been looking further into neurodiversity, and diversity in general in the workplace, and how that can affect the success of a company. With this in mind, and in the midst of the world’s focus right now, I think it’s important to not only research and listen to the voices who talk about the importance of diversity in their company, but also the voices who are labeled “diverse.” In many corporations, diversity quotas are put in place for PR reasons as well, but it’s often not public knowledge how welcoming or healthy that culture even is for diverse employees. And this goes for racially, sexually, neuro etc. diverse people. The voice of the diverse is as important as the ones calling for diversity who may not be labeled as such. As the Austin and Pisano article stated, while adding diversity can help a company, there are accommodations that need to be in place to help the diverse employees as well.
3. The project of the writers in this case is to convince the reader of the benefits of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Through five sections, they begin at a smaller level and move into bigger concepts before concluding with takeaways from the chapter. The first section begins at the level of one person’s workday. This has the purpose of putting the authors in the reader’s shoes for relatability. They then move on to beyond this perspective and discuss intent versus impact, as in how the actions of one affect others, calling the reader to question their own. Through the next three sections the authors move on to systematic framework and how the company as a whole can affect its individual parts with all things considered, overall moving from an individual perspective to one that affects and intertwines with the bigger company in mind, before concluding with the main ideas from each section: A sustainable inclusion effort must include change at four distinct levels: individual, group/team, organization, and marketplace. Good intent is not good enough when the impact does not match the intent. Managing the impact of our biases is leadership. What the authors do/“work on” in this chapter is effective because they move between different perspectives and don’t place the author as an other they are simply talking at. They raise counter arguments with responses to follow, and work withrather than against the reader to get them to agree with their proposals by the end of the chapter.
I enjoyed reading your responses. While doing my searching for articles and content, I did not use the Syracuse library database. That’s very smart of you to do so. I am going to go back and use the library for my searching now. Also, I like how you talk about neurodiversity and diversity in general. You emphasized how companies would be more successful if they hired more people of minorities and neurological issues. The fact that there are many studies that show how companies would be more successful by adding more employees with neurological issues and people of minorities, and they still are not hiring, is a shame.
I think that your response to the first question was very important. It stood out to me because you mentioned including the voice of diverse people. I agree with that statement and don’t think it has been mentioned yet in any readings. Most texts have been filled with data and stories regarding diversity in organizations but they lack a personal perspective which is why I wonder if you could find that voice through your research.
It’s very good to hear there are resources in the Syracuse Library that have been able to help you find articles suited to the topics of diversity and inclusion. I appreciate knowing this as I have not ventured in that direction yet. I will take your lead with my research this week, as I will also be looking further into diversity and how that can affect the success of a company on a more personal level. However, while I appreciate the resource being shared, I feel left wondering about a more delineated direction for your research, as we are all looking into diversity and inclusion within organizational cultures? I don’t get a sense of the focus you’ve chosen and I would love to. Are you looking at a specific aspect of organizational culture or the overall way diversity quotas are put in place for PR reasons? Good luck at any rate, looking forward to seeing your research journey.
As you’re thinking about an author’s purpose in writing, it can be very helpful to try to express that in verb form–in the case of K&D, they’re *pitching an idea* to prospective clients (for their consulting work), the idea that all of us cart around implicit biases that affect how we relate to other people (such as we see in the example of manager Kim). It’s important for us to recognize this as a sales pitch because that affects everything they have to say.