- The articles “Understanding Key D&I concepts” and “Neurodiversity as a competitive advantage” both identify many significant problems that we face in our modern-day workplace. The former article describes a fictional workplace that is the epitome of most work cultures. The manager is struggling in the chaos of too many urgent tasks and is falling into the common behaviors of many ineffective managers. Those that are not in the inside group of upper management get little attention from her although she intends to do right by them. The latter article discusses how neurodiversity can play a great role in increasing the profitability of our businesses. Austin and Pisano provided multiple examples proving the success certain companies obtained by including neurodiversity people. Though if we intend to reap the benefits of our neurodiversity friends like those few companies, we must make organizational changes to provide a safe environment for them to thrive in. The workplace culture described by Kaplan and Donovan would not be suitable for this community of people. We will have to change at the individual level as well as the our organizations and the marketplace as a whole.
- I started my research for something to contribute to our cannon by exploring one of the tools I know about from work. Dale Carnegie training is something that many people are familiar with. I was curious to see if there were any whitepapers about D&I. This led to me finding a company called the center for generational kinetics. This looked promising to me; however, the company mainly focuses on delivering keynote presentations to deliver their information about generational diversity. Unfortunately, this means the information they do provide often includes many cliffhangers instead of fully formed ideas and examples. Though I will not be using this article, it helped me discover the topic that I will be researching which is generations collaborating in the workplace. I have since been using the Syracuse University library to find articles pertaining to this subject.
Summary, Week of 6/1 Dominique
The article that I chose focuses on neurodiversity in the classroom. The author’s of this article use their experiences as students, educators, etc. in order to inform the reader. The article begins by explaining the importance of understanding that neurodiversity has many benefits, then lists ways that teachers can help students achieve their goals in the classroom. Although this article highlights so many important ideas for teachers who have students with autism, ADHD, and Dyslexia, in my view, one of the most important ideas that everyone should understand is that people who have disabilities do not need to be “fixed” or “cured”. However, teachers can do things that can help their students be successful. This includes presuming competence, which means setting high standards for all students, no matter what abilities they may or may not have. Another important thing that teachers can do is let students be themselves, and allow them to explore to find their strengths. This helps students to be less frustrated in the classroom. Teachers must be able to accommodate students who need certain things in order to be successful. Overall, the purpose of this article is to assist teachers in valuing their student’s differences, and allowing for diversity in the classroom. Students should always feel welcomed in the classroom, and it is the teacher’s responsibility to help make the classroom a safe space for everyone.
Article Summary
In The Changing Definition of Workplace Diversity, Shackelford discusses today’s changing definition of diversity, while considering the diversity philosophies of several corporations and authors. Employers have broadened their concept of what diversity is. The case for broadening the definition is built on the changing labor force demographics. The majority of workers entering the workforce this decade will be women, minorities and foreign nationals. The labor shortage that began in the 1990’s will continue to grow and is projected to reach 10 million workers by 2010.
Employers have moved diversity from a “nice thing to do” to a business necessity, says Donna Brazile. It’s recommended to use your cover letter to highlight your diversity status, to include on your resume your fraternity or sorority membership, to mention any affiliation with prominent minority or diversity organizations, to include military service on your resume, to state any community service or other volunteer work, or to stress your willingness to apply your degree in non-traditional ways. Discrimination in hiring has taken a back seat to issues of homeland security, terrorism, war and economic security. These changing times present a window of opportunity for “equal opportunity” for diverse candidates.
For one example, Merck as a company takes extra care to attract, hire, develop and retain highly capable and motivated students. Merck provides strong foundations for their development (scholarships and workshops) and welcomes diversity. Because of this, students look at Merck as an “Employer of Choice”after college. These types of programs are becoming more and more common to not only seek diversity, but welcome it.
https://go-gale-com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T003&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=2&docId=GALE%7CA108966746&docType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZAHW&prodId=PPDS&contentSet=GALE%7CA108966746&searchId=R1&userGroupName=nysl_ce_syr&inPS=true&ps=1&cp=2
Week of 6/1 Discussion
- 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.
Austin & Pisano Article Summary
Companies are looking for “neurodiverse” talent, including people with autism spectrum disorder. The incidence of autism in the U.S. is now 1 in 42 among boys and 1 in 189 among girls. Neurodiverse people often need workplace accommodations, such as headphones to prevent auditory overstimulation. But to realize the benefits, companies would have to adjust recruitment, selection, and career data sets. Companies implementing neurodiversity programs have encountered challenges, authors say. Many are hard to identify, and potential candidates do not necessarily self-identify. Microsoft is working with universities to improve methods of identifying and accessing Neurodiverse talent.People are like puzzle pieces, irregularly shaped. Historically, companies have asked employees to trim away their irregularities. Wittenberg says Innovation is most likely to come from parts of us that we don’t all share. The work for managers will be harder, but the payoff for companies will be considerable.
Week of 6/1 – Discussion
1. For our unit 1 assignment I found myself diving further into the Syracuse database. My initial research began by looking up the topics we had already been reviewing for over the past two-three weeks. I found linking scholarly and academic articles with keywords such as homogeneity, multiculturalism, diversity, etc., helpful in narrowing down targeted interests. From here, I came across a few articles that opened a topic of conversation I at least had not considered yet. Language and the effect multilingualism has in the workplace particularly caught my eye. My preliminary understanding from the briefs I read suggested this form of diversity is an emerging topic worth further scholarly investigation. As the workplace becomes increasingly global, challenges in communication between employees with different linguistic backgrounds are inevitable. Topics worth following up on include case studies and understanding the dynamics between native/ nonnative language speakers. Seeing the effects this has from an individual, team, and organizational level overlaps with a few of the readings we’ve had such as Kaplan and Donovans ‘level of systems’ framework. Similarily, Gundemir’s take on leadership, goals, and perceptions coincide heavily with how minorities can find comfort in communicating in other languages at work.
3. Kaplan and Donovan’s intent was to place readers in a position of judgment where they could reassess the impact one’s words and actions have at the workplace. From the narrative of executive employee Kim, readers follow vignettes of her day to day schedule prompting readers to think about how her decisions stand with concurrent issues of diversity and inclusion. The storyline is broken down in the latter half of the chapter addressing solutions or alternative ways Kim could have better-approached a work-related scenario.
Kaplan and Donovan develop these sections speaking on the distinction of good intent versus impact, the importance of recognizing unconscious bias, and the problems with insider-outsider group relations. They’re able to reach a broad audience because of the familiarity Kim’s everyday anecdote presents, however, the extent of their writing only comes across as far as the simplicity of their solutions. The sometimes overly perfect measures Kim could have taken suggest ‘quick’ fixes for an otherwise complex system. Still, Kaplan and Donovan’s approach at its core reopens a lingering discussion dissectable for readers to understand the perspective of those who fall short of being included. The best use their key takeaways realize is that the reevaluation of systematic views at various scales only marks the beginning.
Discussion Prompts 6/4
- In relations to the kind of material I’ll be looking for, I decided to look for data using the Syracuse library as my other classmates have mentioned. I also plan to take a closer look into Google Scholars and JSTOR. The topic within diversity and inclusion I would like to focus on is religious diversity, because we have yet to read about this. I got this idea because I just remember taking a world religions class in high school and automatically was intrigued. I have a strong Catholic faith, so I am looking forward to this challenge. I am eager to step out of my comfort zone and learn more about the different religions around the world. My goal is to gain statistics on what religions are practiced most in each country, what experts think is going to change or remain the same in the future regarding these statistics, how this difference in religion affects the workplace and company’s ethics, etc. A strategy that I found to be helpful to me is writing a summary like we’ve been doing after an article so I know what to focus my attention to what the author is trying to say.
- Austin / Pisano’s argument that companies are not tapping into neurodiverse talent is supported by research showing that the unemployment runs as high as 80% among those with neurological conditions. I have always believed that neurodiverse people should be represented in the workforce, and question why is it has taken companies like SAP this long to just now implement programs. I understand that the conventional hiring processes companies use for their employees has been a challenge when it comes to testing the skills of someone with autism for example, but the author makes an important point about innovation. On the other hand, “Why diversity matters” focuses on racial diversity and includes no mention of the disabled. I found it interesting, though, that the articles states that correlation does not necessarily equal causation. I agree with this statement because I do believe that in order for a diverse company to be successful, the leadership performed by managers must be held to extremely high standards. If a company is diverse (considering both race and ability), but the leadership skills practiced by managers and CEOs isn’t strong or does not set examples, what makes it true that these companies would actually drive in profit and attract future potential employees?
Unit 1-6/1 (Mikayla)
- In unit 1 we remained focused on mostly ideas regarding diversity and culture and how incorporating multiple voices and backgrounds can really add a lot of enrichment to any environment. In order to further build on the course ideas and help the class expand I would like to delve more into a topic one of the other articles already spoke on, spreading minority awareness and helping them thrive in new environments. Because we all attend the same university I would like to research more about the experiences and challenges undergone by minorities in college and how they manage to create opportunities for themselves in such new environments. Some experts and databases I would like to check up on are the rates of success within organizations designated for minority outreach and success. I would also consider using Syracuse libraries and implementing an article that is close to home and that the class might relate more too. More strictly, if minorities find themselves in leadership positions and manage to assimilate well into their university classes. I would particularly like to go through mostly reputable sources and ones that connect with their audience and use rhetorical elements in their writing.
- As we further delve ourselves into the reading of Austin and Pisano and Kaplan and Donovan, we realize that they use different techniques in order to teach us about advocating for diversity in the workplace. On the one hand A/P focuses on spreading outreach for Neurodiverse individuals and shows how they have implemented different programs and created opportunities for them to find work and excel. On the other hand the article by K/D shows us that although workspaces may strive for equity and inclusivness, they cannot do so unless all members of the community are willing to show leadership and make a change.
Prompt questions, week of 6/1 [Toni]
- I’m looking for companies that are able to show more than just figures of diversity, companies transparent about how marginalized and minority peoples feel comfortable in going to work every day. Not only producing diverse organizational percentages, but a step further in researching ways minority groups feel supported walking through the door every day; producing better because of outwardly supportive allies as leaders; perhaps feeling less like a statistic only helping a company appear diverse. I came upon Ben & Jerry’s excellent explanation of systemic racism and was off and running with what this ICE CREAM company is doing. It’s simple, it’s fairly grassroots, but it’s effective and I would love to delve more into their actual offices, if possible, to see how it operates and to see how they came upon this simple, effective, poignant, activism that’s as palatable as their ice cream flavors. I have these two inspiring sources do far:
https://www.benjerry.com/home/whats-new/2016/systemic-racism-is-real
https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2019/09/04/ben-jerrys-creates-new-flavor-to-highlight-racism-and-criminal-justice-reform/#653e2f244b47
2.While Austin and Pisano are positively exposing and representing neurodiverse peoples, emphasizing overall the advantages of having them on a team, they also look at the impact of including differently abled people and the overall challenges, mostly discussing how management and leadership is being affected and molded through this process, unfolding how important adapting leadership to the inclusion and diversity process is. Likewise, in Kaplan and Donovan’s topic of understanding Key Diversity & Inclusion Concepts they look at how conversations about unconscious bias and insider–outsider dynamics can easily be lost in the noise of the daily office grind, taking us through the day and life of “Kim”, whom represents a composite of managers they’ve interacted with over the past twenty years, and how intent frequently does not equal impact and when brought into the public light, the special facilities have an impact vastly different from the intention.
Week of 6/1 Discussion
I am a passionate soccer (football) fan, particularly of the London-based, English Premier League team, Arsenal FC. When considering topics for our “Expanding the Canon” exercise, I wanted to find something worth sharing about diversity in Europe’s top soccer leagues.
Using Google, I searched on terms such as “Diversity Europe Soccer”, and “Diversity Europe Football”. I found several articles featured on UEFA.com, which is the internet home of the governing body of European soccer. Many of these articles focused on programs and initiatives involving efforts to reduce instances of racism among fanbases. Those were interesting, but not quite what I had in mind.
I had heard it said by a commentator during a FIFA World Cup broadcast that the national teams whose squads were comprised of players who played their “club football” in Europe had an advantage. It wasn’t only because the European leagues are considered the most competitive in the world. The announcer believed it was also because of the exposure those players had to the different styles of play utilized by teams across the continent.
It was this contention which made me curious. Continuing my search, I ultimately found what I had been looking for, an academic study focused specifically on the impact of cultural diversity has on the success of European soccer clubs. The authors focus on the clubs who competed in Europe’s top competition, the UEFA Champions League, during a ten year stretch from 2003-2013. Drawing on statistics collected over that ten year period, the authors are able to prove that greater cultural diversity leads to greater success on the pitch.
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Kaplan and Donovan attempt to get the reader to consider inclusion during their daily decision making. By taking us through Kim’s day, they immediately allow the reader to see themselves in her. This is a most effective tool. Each of the different moments likely share DNA with those from the life of the reader. These vignettes prompt the reader to consider how they too have faced those decisions, and to think on what they may have done themselves.
The reveal of Kaplan and Donovan’s “project” actually comes after the story of Kim’s day concludes. Having gotten the reader to identify with Kim, and to compare their daily challenges to those she faced, the authors now name their key concepts. Again, this is quite effective, because the reader is now primed to apply those concepts to themselves. After several sections where Kim’s decisions are analyzed and alternatives suggested, the chapter concludes with several takeaways. The way the chapter is organized maximizes the potential for reader retention. Better yet, it gives the reader tools to change their behavior for the better, which was Kaplan and Donovan’s goal the entire time.