Response to #1
The articles “Why Diversity Matters” – Vivian Hunt, Dennis Layton and Sara Prince and “Organizational Culture and Why Should We Care?” – Michael D. Watkins, brought to mind several questions I’d like to explore further. As a Black woman who’s been working most of her adult life in majority white companies, I pondered over the intersection between a particular type of organizational culture and effective implementation of diversity and inclusion in a workplace.
“Organizational Culture and Why Should We Care?” mentions values being an integral part of an organization’s culture. This made me wonder what are some specific examples of values in companies? One person surveyed in the article posited that culture is shaped by the main culture of the society we live in. So how does that bode for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) folks whose cultures and values are marginalized in mainstream society?
I also began to wonder if any best practices for organizational culture have been established since the writing of the article in 2013? Are there any companies that have a successful culture? Who are they and how did they do it? What are the distinct characteristics of successful company culture? All of these questions should be considered when tasked with implementing or improving organizational culture.
Response to #3
The statistic that jumped out at me most in the article “Why Diversity Matters”, referenced how the United Kingdom, Brazil and the United States are doing on racial diversity in corporate senior leadership positions. According to “Why Diversity Matters”, ‘The United Kingdom does comparatively better in racial diversity, albeit at a low level: some 78 percent of UK companies have senior-leadership teams that fail to reflect the demographic composition of the country’s labor force and population, compared with 91 percent for Brazil and 97 percent for the United States’.
Research has established that ethnically diverse companies are 35% more likely to outperform financially above national industry medians, thus why are American companies lagging so far behind in hiring ethnically diverse executives? This is significant and leads me to a frightening revelation. The United States prides itself on being a capitalist nation, which often leads to putting the success of businesses above the needs of the people. So, it could be argued that keeping corporate America’s leadership roles (power) in the hands of a select few white people might outweigh all else. Even making money. Many businesses will say that there isn’t an adequate pool of qualified diverse candidates to choose from. This isn’t a sufficient reason for executives being overwhelmingly white. It only means that there needs to be a change in corporate culture.
If organizations truly desire to transform culturally, more diverse employees must be hired at all levels and should be mentored, sponsored and promoted so as to one day be a defining voice at the head of a profitable corporation.
Hi Sherri,
I really like the question you came up with for number 1. It made me think about what the reality is for many BIPOC who work in a workplace where the majority of the population may be white. For their coworkers the workplace might be nothing out of the ordinary for them since it reflects their own culture, which isn’t the case for them. This might make them feel inferior or as if they have no place.
Your response for question 3 is very insightful, I also used the same quote as you in my response but it is really interesting to see another take on this. I definitely agree with the points you made through out that response especially where you stated that ” it could be argued that keeping corporate America’s leadership roles; (power) in the hands of a select few white people might outweigh all else. Even making money. ” I think mentioning this was very important as because if companies wish to survive in the long run they definitely will need to break out of this very limiting mindset and hire people of different backgrounds.Also with all of the statistics that were provided in “Why Diversity Matters” it is definitely beneficial, people of different backgrounds, ages, and genders definitely provide different ideas because of their different life experiences.
Sherri,
I enjoyed reading your post. You make a good point about if organizations truly want transformation diverse hiring must be at all levels as well as mentoring and promotion. Achieving any long-term benefit from diversity necessitates not only the existence of a diverse workforce but rather leadership that is effective in creating a culture of inclusiveness. This culture needs to be exemplified by emotional safety as well as an attitude of growth. Organizational change is needed to support a diverse workforce. As the articles indicate the research on diversity in business clearly happens after hard work (such as mentoring and sponsoring individuals) transforms the costs into benefits. It seems that only a few organizations are willing to put in the work to achieve the benefits.
Hi Sherri,
I really liked how you raised the question of why does the United States have such low racial diversity in companies’ leadership boards when it is proven that more racially diverse workplaces are 35 percent more likely to outperform companies who lack diversity. One would think that an increase in performance would be enough to incentivize companies to hire more diversely, but I think the reason they do not leads back to the idea of organizational culture and not wanting to change their pattern of behavior.
Hi Sherri,
You raise some very interesting issues and questions in your post. In your comments about the organizational culture article, I like how you bring up the idea of best practices. This thought also crossed my mind. If a certain organizational culture was a best practice, wouldn’t it be rapidly adopted by many companies over time? Wouldn’t we see the same practices everywhere? Maybe our society is still somewhere in the middle of figuring that out. In your response to the diversity article, you mention how capitalism puts the needs of business above people. I think you nailed it. After thinking about these articles, I begin to wonder if the social and equity goals are not the real goals of these diversity efforts. Maybe it’s all about profit. Otherwise, like you say, more diverse employees would be hired at all levels not just appointed to top executive roles.
Hi Sherri,
In your response #1 you make an excellent thought-provoking point about how values are established in companies and the effect on BIPOC. I think this question is extremely important to think about and address. The culture of the workplace should be inclusive to not only be respectful but to promote diversity in all forms. I also enjoyed the additional questions you posed. I did not realize that the article was published in 2013 until I read your response. I too would like to know what has changed since then.
An important point, Sherri–when we’re talking about workplace decisions, we’re talking about capitalist organizations, and for them profit is inevitably (and by design) a primary driver of change. What makes the company money (or helps the company avoid loss) is what will motivate company leaders to act.
So we’ll see a lot about the financial benefits (and cost/benefit analysis) of diversity initiatives. We’ll also see others nudging us to look beyond profit and to consider the impact on real people. In any capitalist organization, balancing the two can be a real challenge.
As for best practices, we’ll see a lot of debate around this question. It’s clear there’s not a one-size-fits-all model of what works, but there certainly are a lot of scholars and business leaders who are invested in identifying and promoting things that work. This is where granular analysis is essential–we know we can’t simply pick up a practice that works in one company and expect that it will work just the same in another. So understanding the unique attributes of an organization is key.