Month: August 2021

Discussion Questions Week of 8/2

Response to #1

In the journal article, “Individual Change Won’t Create Gender Equality in Organizations,” written by Alison Wynn, a critical point is brought up regarding holding decision-makers accountable for reducing gender inequality within an organization. In Emilio J. Castilla’s article, she explores this idea. Castilla proposes that being more transparent when making pay decisions would reduce the pay gap by employee gender, race, and “foreign nationality.” Castilla delves into her study of reward decisions in the workplace, where she notes the introduction of new organizational procedures, accountability, and transparency has affected almost 9,000 employees positively. Before this, however, there was a large gap in “performance-based rewards” that resulted in unfairness towards women, who could also be ethnic minorities. They also received less money than men, who also happened to be citizens of the United States. Castilla notes that after attaining accountability and transparency, however, this gap was reduced.


I believe this approach is crucial for reducing gender inequality within organizations, and it adds to Wynn’s article perfectly because one wrong turn when it comes to being accountable and unbiased can cause vast marginalized intersectionality. When decision-makers decide to be biased and pay White men more, for example, women are oppressed. First, women are oppressed, but racist bias is brought into the picture when ethnic women are oppressed. Multiple biases then co-exist, backtracking greatly when it comes to reducing inequality. Although Castilla’s proposal initially involves gender inequality, it also simultaneously involves racial inequality as well. Many intersectional components of marginalization can be reversed when decision-makers are trained to be more transparent. By starting within an organization, employees and bosses can really look inward and not blame a larger picture for an easy “out.

Response to #2

In Wynn’s article, “Individual Change Won’t Create Gender Equality in Organizations,” I believe an employee or a person soon to have a higher position within a company would benefit the most from reading this article. I do not believe Wynn’s article is vague at all. Still, if it were directed towards executives within an organization, her tone would be more analytical, presenting more data and evidence that executives would understand. Wynn also subtly hints at a larger picture through her writing. People can not simply acknowledge that they are “good” but work together to change the structures that ultimately increase gender inequality. As cliché as it sounds, working together towards specific issues is crucial, and Wynn laid out these issues perfectly. Although not specifically written, I believe one of Wynn’s main points is that there needs to be a framework for an issue, or else people are not able to see the issue. In a TED talk I recently watched, Kimberlé Crenshaw said just this. If there is no framework (for example, a commonly seen issue regarding police violence against women), there is no priority for the injustice.


I believe Wynn is trying to open the eyes of future employees or new employees ahead of time. Although she focuses on gender inequality within the workplace, Wynn tries to set up solutions and a framework for all inequalities. Wynn notes, “These recommendations can help fight bias and inequality on many dimensions, beyond just gender. While my research specifically focused on a gender equality initiative, similar research must be done examining other types of initiatives to ensure organizations can address all types of inequalities.” To effectively create change, people must address and acknowledge the most marginalized first, prioritize them, set a framework for change, and carry this mindset onto other injustices. This quote works for the audience I have mentioned because it introduces a certain demeanor for young adults that regard future change towards equality.

Discussion Questions

Response to #1

Out of the assigned readings I personally found the topic of organizational culture to be the most interesting. As the term culture has a very loose definition and can be molded based on the values and beliefs of different societies, organizational culture is not too dissimilar to the traditional sense of culture that we often perceive in religious and ethnic groups. In Watkins’ article, he pointed out the different responses to what the term organizational culture is, with some concluding it to be either a product of incentives or compensation. However, the quote that I find the most compelling and the closest to my perception of what organizational culture means is the one by Abdi Osman Jama. Jama stated that, “An organization [is] a living culture…that can adapt to the reality as fast as possible.” If we are to agree that the point of the organization is to survive, thrive, and provide meaning for its participants, adaptation and change according to reality is the utmost necessity and should serve as its defining feature. The only disagreement I have with Jama is that the quote and Jama’s definition defines an ever-changing culture, one that has no solid base or root in what created the culture in the first place. Whether the organization is centered on business, culture, religion, or any other goal, there has to be a set of “rituals” and origin story that cannot be changed. The stability of the origin point and meaning for the organization will prevent the final disintegration of the organization itself, since the organization loses all meaning when its sole purpose is simply based on adaptation to change and the unknown.     

Response to #2

Why Diversity Matters proves once again that racial and gender diversity in the workplace, in general, brings positive financial benefits. Based on McKinsey’s Diversity Matters report, the examined companies were all based in countries with large populations of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. This makes perfect sense since to appeal to the larger market in the Americas and the United Kingdom, representation within larger corporations provides both a better image as well as generate interest among ethnic minorities. However, coming from an East Asian background, the focus on racial diversity is not as prominent an issue as over in the West, especially due to the relatively homogenous ethnic structures of China, Japan, and Korea. Having spent most of my life in Hong Kong, which is already one of the more westernized and ethnically diverse cities in East Asia (with significant Filipino, Indonesian and Indian populations), I have noticed that minority ethnicities constantly fluctuate between 6~8% of the city’s population, and the lack of government assistance in assimilation, linguistic and communication issues prevent ethnic minorities in Hong Kong from being seen or represented in career fields outside of low-skilled labor. In this reality, the combination of low numbers and lack of financial capability means that the value and pressure placed on businesses in Hong Kong or the larger East Asian sphere to adopt the stance of having more ethnic diversity within the workplace is especially low compared to the West.          

Introduction

Hi, my name is Tim and I’m a recent graduate from VPA’s Industrial and Interaction Design program. I’m from Hong Kong and I am taking this course as well as some other design courses to fulfill the studio requirements. Spending the last five years in Syracuse was truly a life-changing experience, especially with meeting people from all fields of study as well as having the chance to study abroad in Poland and Central Europe. As for myself, besides my major in industrial design, my main passions and interests are history and playing the cello. Besides this course, I will be taking part in an internship for a design company assisting the Mini car brand as well as working on further videos for my channel on historical education. Since I have returned to Hong Kong from Syracuse since the early months of the pandemic last March, I have been taking online classes since. I believe that the most important part of learning asynchronously is having a strict schedule as well as self-control, especially since you have to keep track of the work by yourself and communication is slightly more difficult. However, no matter how strange times have become, I believe it will slowly improve and I look forward to working with all of you.

Research Portfolio-Edward

The question guiding my research is disclosing invisible disabilities. Invisible disabilities are disabilities not immediately apparent to others.  Although not apparent to others, due to their unrecognizable traits, invisible disabilities are ever present for the impacted individuals. Examples of invisible disabilities include ADHD, epilepsy, chronic pain, hearing impairment, cerebral palsy, and diabetes. This is just a small list of diagnoses that impact many individual’s lives. These examples have a variety of symptoms that are worthwhile to study because having an invisible disability compels an individual to weigh the risks of sharing or concealing their diagnosis. Why my interest? I have an invisible disability, so it is a personal interest of mine.

I have personal connections in the world of disabilities. People often make assumptions about people living with disabilities, which can be isolating at times and negatively impact relationships. Having a disability and needing an IEP in school was somewhat stigmatizing. Therefore, to avoid this stigma, avoiding disclosing is self-protection. So, the professional question will always be…do you disclose…when do you disclose, and I suppose how do you disclose? This research I’m doing may always be with me well into the world beyond this course.

As we moved into Unit 2, I expanded my research from strictly pre-employment interest of disclosure to after employment disclosure. Both areas present somewhat similar issues of concern.

I also found another area of interest in my research searches, individuals with visible disabilities that became invisible due to COVID and working virtually. They now face the same quandary as far as disclosure to employers. That’s an issue I didn’t expect.

Frankly, I’m trying to keep all the pieces of this research portfolio organized. At this rate, I may need to increase computer storage :).

WRT-205-focusing-flowchart-FurcinitoDownload
WRT-205-Complicating-Your-Research_-Part-2-FurcinitoDownload
WRT-205-conversation-worksheetDownload
WRT-205-Annotation-One-FurcinitoDownload
WRT-205-Annotation-Two-FurcinitoDownload
WRT-205-Annotation-Three-FurcinitoDownload
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WRT-205-Annotation-Five-FurcinitoDownload
WRT-205-Annotation-Six-FurcinitoDownload

Sherri Holmes Research Portfolio

When preparing my portfolio, I sought to include sources that supported my goal of providing meaningful suggestions and dialogue on how to make workplaces more equitable and inclusive of Black workers. Despite my initial resistance to using the SU library databases, ultimately, I found more articles than anticipated on this topic. As a matter of fact, on several occasions, one article led to another and so on. I didn’t necessarily decide in an orderly fashion as to what I would need, rather as I saw what kind of information was available, it informed what direction my research would take. I knew that I needed to explain why America is in this space of devaluing Black people’s labor and disrespecting our humanity with micro and macroaggressions.  I realized I would need a source that provided historical context on Black labor in the U.S., which serves as a foundation for understanding how Black workers are perceived today.  I knew that data showing statistics on the state of Black employment trends would align with many Black people’s experiences, therefore validating them.   Then I thought it was imperative for people to understand how it feels to be a Black person in the workplace, so I’ve included sources that detail personal recollections of Black people’s experiences at work. Later after doing some of the research portfolio exercises, I realized I needed information from the opposition detailing how they might feel about diversity and inclusion initiatives. Finally, it was of course necessary to include sources that provided an answer to my research question – what are solutions for being inclusive and equitable to Black workers? This is a topic close to my heart because I have both experienced and seen in others the consequences of lack of equity and inclusion. Black people have contributed so much to this country and to its economy. We deserve better.

Focusing FlowchartDownload
Complicating-Your-ResearchDownload
Rounding-out-the-ConversationDownload
Annotation-1-2Download
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Research Plan

Dylan Lopez Research Portfolio

At the beginning of the summer, as we read about the challenges of organizational culture and diversity and inclusion, the question that kept recurring to me was: “Why aren’t CEOs and other leaders held accountable for creating measurable progress in these areas?” After all, they are held accountable for performance in so many other areas of their businesses. I was curious to find out if any research had been done on the roles leaders play in creating change.

A few things happened as we transitioned into Unit 2 that redirected my focus. First, as I read the Expanding the Canon blog posts of my classmates, I began to see that issues of bias and discrimination extend beyond the boundaries of organizations into society where they are pervasive and systemic. The idea of focusing on the role of CEOs, while important, seemed too narrow to me. Second, our classmate Sherri Holmes’s post on “Algorithm-Driven Hiring Tools: Innovative Recruitment or Expedited Disability Discrimination?” by Lydia X. Z. Brown, Ridhi Shetty, and Michelle Richardson affected me on a personal level because I had recently taken an online personality test during a routine job application. And lastly, I watched the documentary Persona, which explored the dark side of personality testing and artificial intelligence (AI), including the risks for discrimination against many protected groups. I suddenly realized that AI technologies for human resources could be systematizing bias on a massive scale, so I decided to turn my research focus to this topic.

Research Plan

In Unit 2, I immersed myself in the topic of AI in HR by searching for and reading material from a wide variety of sources. Using my Research Plan as a guide, I found an active conversation taking place in scholarly journals, trade publications, popular websites, and in various other outlets such as YouTube, TED Talks, podcasts, blogs, and corporate websites. I enjoy hunting for great information, so my research process is usually to read everything I can find and to look for ideas and patterns that resonate with me. In the past, I have done this in a haphazard way, but all the tools we used in this unit, such as the three listed below, helped me stay organized and kept me from chasing some ideas that were off on a tangent.

WRT 205 Focusing Flowchart Dylan LopezDownload
WRT 205 Complicating Your Research Exercise Dylan LopezDownload
WRT 205 Rounding Out the Conversation Dylan LopezDownload

As a result of this more focused process, I found many great sources, including the following which I have annotated here:

1-Applying artificial intelligence, implications for recruitmentDownload
2-Artificial intelligence in human resources managementDownload
3-The black box at workDownload
4-Statement of Lydia XZ BrownDownload
5-The seductive diversion of solving biasDownload
6-AI Revolution in HRMDownload

The more reading I did, the more I realized that it was not so easy to sort all of my sources into clearly defined “Pro-AI” and “Anti-AI” categories. Instead, many sources fell into a kind of gray area where both advantages and disadvantages of AI were discussed and explored. At first, I thought this meant I wasn’t doing my research properly, but I now see that the conversation taking place right now is actually in a kind of gray area. As a society, we don’t know yet what to make of AI in HR. Many of the major problem areas have been identified, but we are still feeling our way through the issues that are more subtle. Even the harshest critics of the use of AI have a tiny bit of hope that it may turn out to be just fine. But one thing I noted is that the conversation hasn’t really heated up to the point where our government is paying enough attention and getting involved. Part of me worries that our representatives are going to get involved when it’s too late. Ultimately, my work in this unit has inspired me to add my own thoughts and ideas to the conversation. If I can reach even a small audience, I think I will have done my part to move the discussion forward.

Research Portfolio- Kate

Annotation-1-1Download
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Annotation-6-1Download
WRT-205-focusing-flowchart-KateDownload
WRT-205-conversation-worksheet-kateDownload
Complicating-My-Research-ExcersizeDownload
Unit-2-Reflection-Download
Research Plan- Kate Mehne

Overview of Week of 8/9

We’re moving into Unit 3 this week, with just a few weeks to go before the end of the summer term.  Read on for an explanation of where we’re headed in this final segment of the semester. 

Over the course of Unit 2, you’ve assembled a body of sources that cover a range of perspectives and ideas related to your research topic. You’ve spent some time thinking about how these texts fit together and how you fit into the subject–what you find interesting and significant about what you’re learning.

So now it’s time for you to jump into this conversation–to develop an argument based on the research you’ve compiled for an audience and purpose of your choosing. Over the next week and a half, we’ll be working through the process of selecting an appropriate audience and articulating your purpose in addressing that audience. Be sure to read through the unit 3 assignment sheet in preparation for this work.

Along the way (this week and next), we’ll be looking at some examples of different genres, considering how writers bend their texts stylistically to suit their purposes and the needs of their audiences. Towards that end, here’s what’s up this week.

Reading

Writing

  • project proposal (due Sunday, 8/15)–this will be a brief blog post in which you plot out the basics of your project, including what audience you think ought to hear about what you’ve been learning (i.e. what group would benefit from hearing the argument you plan to develop)
  • discussion posts in response to this week’s prompts (due Wednesday, with follow-up comments, as outlined in the prompt due by Monday or Tuesday at the latest):
Discussion prompts for Week of 8/9