WRT 205 Summer 2021 – Page 22 – Writing and Organizational Cultures

Considering the value of scholarly literature

Scholarly journals are different in some important respects from popular magazines, the kind that you see at the checkout line at the grocery store or on the display in a bookstore. You can see some of those differences just at a glance–

non-flashy covers (really the opposite of flashy–like this: )
few to no advertisements (and those that are present are typically announcements about various professional conferences and publications)

Those visual differences are just the tip of the iceberg. Here are some other critical differences between scholarly publications and popular magazines:

authors published in scholarly journals are credentialed experts in their respective fields who typically specialize in certain topics–as opposed to professional journalists who might write about a range of topics that they haven’t spent years studying, maybe a different topic every week or every month
articles in scholarly journals are aimed at a fairly narrow audience of other scholars/professionals in that field who will understand the often highly-specialized jargon they employ (and who can make sense of their various graphs, charts, formulae, etc.)–as opposed to popular magazines that aim for a broad readership to increase circulation/sales
authors of scholarly articles must demonstrate the legitimacy and solidity of their research to their readers, and so you’ll see in-text citations for their detailed data and analysis–as opposed to popular publications that are not so focused on clarifying their research methods and giving readers access to all of their sources
articles in scholarly journals have been peer-reviewed, read by a panel of other experts in the field who have endorsed their methodology as sound and their findings as important contributions to the field of study before agreeing that it should be published–as opposed to popular magazines where there is not such a rigorous process of critical review

What about professional journals?

Professional journals are a bit less stodgy in terms of their visual appearance and a bit less rigid in their review process, but are nonetheless going to feature work by practitioners who are experts in their field, as opposed to journalists who may be more free-range in their topics. And they will typically utilize a pretty research-heavy approach to share information with their readers, other practitioners in the field, who are intent on staying on top of the latest news and research. They may be a bit flashier in appearance than scholarly journals (more images, more reader-friendly formatting), but are still going to have very visible research in the form of footnotes or in-text citations/links and a references list.

You’ll find easy access (and some research assistance) on the SU library website.

Your focus for this Unit 1 canon addition is on scholarly or professional literature because this is where the most up-to-date research is best documented. Given our purpose–to deepen our understanding of issues related to diversity and organizational culture–one of the best ways we can do that is to dig into this recent material.

Please see this post for some more guidance on assembling your draft.

Drafting your Unit 1 blog post

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been working with a shared body of readings that have given us some insights into workplace cultures and, in particular, the challenges, complexities, and value of diverse workplace cultures. Now that we’ve got a foundation of knowledge, it’s time to build on that by expanding our reach into some of the questions and issues these readings have raised for us.

Each of you is contributing to that expanding body of knowledge by suggesting an article to the rest of us. Your Unit 1 blog post will provide a summary of this text in addition to your commentary about what we can learn from this text and why it should be part of our shared canon of work on organizational culture and diversity. Read on for some pointers.

Let’s think first about the summary piece.

Unlike the other summaries that you’ve been writing, your readers (us) have not read the piece that you are summarizing, so that really raises the stakes for the work that you do in your summary. We’ll be totally reliant on your explanation of what this source is, what it does, and what it says, so please be sure to read through the comments that you’ve gotten from me on your prior summaries, to review the Handout on summary here or on Blackboard, and to consider what we’ve learned from the TSIS and Harris readings.

A few reminders:

We need to know precisely WHAT you’re summarizing—what kind of text is this? Can you tell us a little something about the author and/or publication that would help us understand something about this piece?

We need to know what the authors are DOING in this text—are they reporting a list of facts? Are they making an argument? Have they conducted their own research? Reporting someone else’s findings? Responding to some other argument they disagree with? Diving into a public controversy? The authors might have several purposes in their text—help us to understand what their purposes are (to use Harris’s term, their project) so that we can really get what this text is. Verbs can really help you here–select action verbs that really help to pinpoint the work the author is doing (arguing, advocating, explaining, addressing, debating, contesting, etc.)

We need to see the BIG PICTURE of what the author is saying—as a rule, we don’t need the sequential play-by-play, but we do want to have some clarity on the overall point of the piece, as well as the major sub-points that add to our body of knowledge.

Make sure you name the author and article you’re discussing—there should be no ambiguity here. And if there are multiple authors, credit them all the first time, and thereafter, you can use the first author’s last name and “et al” if there are 3 or more authors. (Technically, APA style requires that you only use “et al” if there are 6 or more authors, but come on….. If you’re submitting for publication in a professional or scholarly journal, follow that rule, of course; elsewhere use your judgment.) Please include a full bibliographic citation at the end of your blog post, detailing all the publication information for this particular article. (Again, remember to consult the assignment sheet for the criteria that your source must meet.)

Let us see what you’re working with–use the “Add Media” button to provide us with direct access to the article you’re contributing. If it’s a web-based source (on the open web), insert the link using that button. If the article is from a subscription database, please link it as a PDF. See my post from earlier this week, linked here, for instructions on how to do that.

Now, let’s think about the commentary piece. Think about your audience and your purpose.

Remember that you know what we know–that shared body of knowledge built from the texts we’ve read together. Feel free to draw connections/contrasts with other pieces we’ve read and discussions we’ve had.

Write in your own voice–you don’t have to adopt the scholarly tone of the articles that you’re working with. Write as if you’re speaking to us. Be direct.

Remember that your task here is expand our knowledge, to complicate the discussion we’ve been having by injecting something new and explaining its significance. Tell us what you think this article means, what you think is important about it, why you think it matters, what you want us to learn from it.

So that I can provide line-by-line comments on your draft, please email it to me as a .docx or .pdf file. Then please also post your draft to the blog. You should categorize your draft post as Expanding the Canon, and tag it with “draft,” “weekof6/28,” [your name], and “canon.” This will help me and others to easily identify what’s what.

One final request–please double-check all of your recent posts to ensure that they are properly categorized and tagged, and edit them as needed. When I’m grading posts, I sometimes have to go hunting to find your work, and that’s not especially helpful. You’ll find the instructions for tagging and categorizing in each of the prompts, which you can easily access by clicking “prompts” on the tag cloud. Contact me with any questions.

Canadian Police Mothers and the Boys’ Club: Pregnancy, Maternity Leave, and Returning to Work

In the article Canadian Police Mothers and the Boys’ Club: Pregnancy, Maternity Leave, and Returning to Work the authors Debra Langan, Carrie Sanders, and Tricia Agocs use their voices to bring awareness towards the issues women police officers from Canada often have in the workplace during their pregnancy and maternity leave. The police force is already a predominantly male profession, so women are, like Kaplan and Donovan stated, an outsider group within the larger organization. Due to the often time poor work environment, many people stated that the culture and management of the police force is currently inadequate and required so much needed improvement. This is evident in the study conducted where “one in five [officers] … think about leaving their current police force from once a week to several times a week”. This apprehension towards working on the police force could, for some women, be due to the mistreatment when pregnant and requiring maternity leave. Even before addressing the mistreatment of women during pregnancy, the article mentioned how women usually work during their job on the force. They often push themselves extremely hard, believing that they need to prove themselves more to show that they deserve to be there. When considering becoming pregnant, one woman stated that it was very important to make sure that you have proved yourself because if you get pregnant too early, then you would be looked down upon by colleagues. It was a fear for many policewomen that, by announcing their pregnancy, it meant judgment from everyone, and when a woman was on maternity leave, their coworkers often had to take over the mother’s work, which further caused poor feelings. When returning to work, the policewoman now needs to reprove herself to try and remove herself from the new demoted position because after time off she might not be an adequate police officer anymore.

citation:

Debra Langan, Carrie B. Sanders & Tricia Agocs (2017) Canadian Police Mothers and the Boys’ Club: Pregnancy, Maternity Leave, and Returning to Work, Women & Criminal Justice, 27:4, 235-249, DOI: 10.1080/08974454.2016.1256254

link: https://www-tandfonline-com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/doi/full/10.1080/08974454.2016.1256254

Is it safe to bring myself to work? Understanding LGBTQ experiences of workplace dignity

In Is it safe to bring myself to work? Understanding LGBTQ experiences of workplace dignity, Baker and Lucas claim that people who identify as non-heterosexual and non-cis gender will likely face bullying, discrimination, harassment, hurtful jokes and taunts, and ostracism throughout their careers. Through the use of previously conducted studies and statistics, this article examines the homophobic and transphobic attitudes of employers and coworkers. It was found in a 2007 study of a big United States company that 90% of respondents would not hire someone based off of their sexual orientation or consider them as their first choice (Baker and Lucas, 2017, p.8). Additionally, this article conducts a study that creates a platform for members of the LGBTQ community to share personal accounts of oppression they have endured at work. The authors advocate for widespread education regarding the struggles LGBTQ individuals face within the workplace for more inclusive and respectful workplace settings and provides protection strategies for safety and secuirty.

The Association Between Unemployment Status and Physical Health Among Veterans and Civilians in the United States

“The association between unemployment status and physical health among veterans and civilians in the United States” by Than V. Tran, Julie Canfield, & Keith Chan reflects on the high rate of unemployment amongst veterans and proposes positive change through public health policies and programs. This article focuses mainly on the health effects of long-term unemployment and their impact on the veteran community. Tran, Cainfield, and Keith use the connection between unemployment and poor physical health as justification for an increase in programs geared towards easing the transition from the military to the workforce. The authors present the creation of said programs as favorable to “not only the veterans themselves but for their families, communities, and the greater society at large” Although the authors seem to push the idea of creating programs for veterans, there is also a strong importance placed on furthering research behind the trend in order to “raise public awareness of these health issues, and provide insights into critical questions on how best to develop effective reintegration programs for veterans”. I believe that this article draws parallels between the ideas of both “Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage” and “The impact of organizational diversity policies on minority employees’ leadership self-perceptions and goals” by taking the motivation for change that the Gundemir et al article has and connecting it with the philosophy behind the Austin & Pisano text.

Reference:

Tran, T. V., Canfield, J., & Chan, K. (2016). The association between unemployment status and physical health among veterans and civilians in the United States. Social Work in Health Care, 55(9), 720–731. https://doi.org/10.1080/00981389.2016.1191582

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00981389.2016.1191582

Algorithm-Driven Hiring Tools: Innovative Recruitment or Expedited Disability Discrimination?

Algorithm-Driven Hiring Tools: Innovative Recruitment or Expedited Disability Discrimination? By Lydia X. Z. Brown, Ridhi Shetty and Michelle Richardson, presents us with a compelling report on the consequences AI based assessments have on employment of the disabled. Many of us revel in all the latest advancements in technology. We think the more tech, the better. Brown, et al., however, immediately set about clearing up any misconceptions we may have had about the neutrality and fairness of artificial intelligence-based hiring tests. We are treated to an informative and eye-opening breakdown of all the different types of tools and tests currently being used for hiring. Although it is not expressly noted by Brown, who is autistic and an expert on disability rights and algorithmic fairness, it is clear neurodivergent employment candidates have a high potential for being discriminated against via these tests. The authors also make certain to share with us that many employers do not realize how biased these tests can be. Hence, Brown, et al., spend a great deal of time pointing out the numerous ways an employer could be held liable for discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As such, this report proves to be a valuable resource for self-advocates and employers alike.

Source:

https://cdt.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Full-Text-Algorithm-driven-Hiring-Tools-Innovative-Recruitment-or-Expedited-Disability-Discrimination.pdf

Neurodiversity Studies: A New Critical Paradigm

Neurodiversity Studies: A New Critical Paradigm written by Hanna Bertilsdotter an associate professor in sociology ,Nick Chown a book indexer who researches and documents his findings on Autism , and Anna Stenning a welcome trust research fellow in humanities and social sciences at the University of Leeds, explores the world of Neurodiverse people and the challenges they face in the workplace. Through their extensive research the authors have been able to maintain their stance of supporting the “Neurodiverse movement”. They reiterate throughout their writing that neurodiverse people, no matter how qualified they may be, face many obstacles when searching for employment. There has been evidence from the PARC, an organization which collects research on autistic people that has shown that even when a person with autism holds a doctorates, they are rarely able progress to further research and lecturing contracts. The writers attribute this to the invalidation of “impaired bodies” making neurodiverse people constantly struggle to establish credibility due to the ableist view point prevalent in society today. It was also mentioned that when a study was conducted, many neurodiverse employees have admitted that they have been in situations in the workplace where in order for them to fit in they felt that it was necessary that they mask any characteristics that might indicate to others that there were different. The writers contend that in order for this to be rectified, there must be an emphasis on inclusion in these spaces so these employees can feel safe and work their best.

source:

https://www-taylorfrancis-com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/books/edit/10.4324/9780429322297/neurodiversity-studies-hanna-bertilsdotter-rosqvist-nick-chown-anna-stenning

Walking the Talk on Diversity: CEO Beliefs, Moral Values, and the Implementation of Workplace Diversity Practices

In the Journal of Business Ethics Eddy Ng, incoming Smith Professor of Diversity & Inclusion in Business at Queen’s University and Dr. Greg Sears, Associate Professor of Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior at the Sprott School of Business examine how CEOs assign significance and get their essential employees to execute diversity management. While CEO dedication is seen as being vital to organizational diversity efforts, little is known about how CEOs communicate their priorities and mobilize major organizational individuals to implement diversity management. It is acknowledged that an CEO’s outward appearance of devotion to diversity endeavors in organizations is an essential key to success however if the CEO’s true unspoken priorities are signaled to the organization what is the effect on organizational diversity efforts? I hypothesized that if a CEO didn’t truly have a commitment to a diverse workplace, would this unspoken truth affect diversity management practices.

In this study, an integrative model with surveys was utilized which theorized that CEO’s actual beliefs about diversity would forecast the execution of diversity practices within the organization. The findings suggest that a CEO’s words and actions alone are not adequate for the execution of diversity management practices. Managers within the company must perceive the CEOs as being authentically dedicated to workplace diversity for diversity management systems to be faithfully executed.

Reference

Ng, E. S., & Sears, G. J. (2020). Walking the talk on diversity: CEO beliefs, moral values, and the implementation of workplace diversity practices: JBE. Journal of Business Ethics, 164(3), 437-450. http://dx.doi.org.libezproxy2.syr.edu/10.1007/s10551-018-4051-7

Link to the article: https://www-proquest-com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/docview/2130628836?accountid=14214&pq-origsite=summon

Strategic Diversity Leadership: The Role of Senior Leaders in Delivering the Diversity Dividend

In “Strategic Diversity Leadership: The Role of Senior Leaders in Delivering the Diversity Dividend,” Luis Martins proposes a new way of linking diversity and inclusion efforts to an organization’s performance through a framework he calls “strategic diversity leadership.” As a professor and chair of the management department at The University of Texas at Austin, Martins is an expert on innovation, change, and performance. He defines strategic diversity leadership as “the shaping of the meaning of diversity within an organization by the organization’s senior leaders” (Martins 1194). What sets his framework apart from prior studies in this area is the idea that supervisory managers can only do so much if the organization’s top executives do not lead the way. Because of they hold positions of authority, top executives have both the platform and the responsibility for unleashing the benefits of a diverse workforce. He argues that these senior leaders must use the power of communication to establish a vision for diversity and inclusion and articulate that the “current state is unacceptable” (Martins 1198). They must also participate in public activities that promote diversity and inclusion, including rituals and ceremonies. In other words, top executives must symbolize the value of diversity and inclusion through their words and actions. By doing so, their internal and external stakeholders will follow their lead and the organization will realize the diversity dividend.

Martins, Luis L. “Strategic Diversity Leadership: The Role of Senior Leaders in Delivering the Diversity Dividend.” Journal of Management, 1 September 2020, pp. 1191-1204, https://doi-org.libezproxy2.syr.edu/10.1177/0149206320939641.

Overview for Week of 6/28

We’ll be closing out Unit 1 this week, so that means your first Unit assignment deadline is approaching (Sunday, 7/4).

Read on for an overview of how we’ll be moving toward that:

Look for feedback from me in the next couple of days on the summary of your article that you submitted yesterday. You’ll work with that feedback to finalize your summary, which will become part of your Unit 1 blog post (along with your commentary on how this article would enrich our understanding of the specific organizational culture issue/area you’re exploring). Be sure to review the Unit 1 assignment sheet. Consider your purpose carefully.

While you’re waiting for that feedback, start thinking about and looking at your options for a media component (link, video clip, image, etc.) to incorporate into your post. You’ve got a lot of latitude to work with here. I suggest using the assignment’s purpose as your starting point.

Here’s what I mean: while you’ve read this article (probably multiple times by now), your classmates probably haven’t. You’re suggesting that this text ought to be part of our canon, that looking at it would enrich our knowledge and understanding of this important issue. You need to show and tell us how that’s the case. You’ll be offering summary, analysis, and commentary. The media element is there to round that out.

For example, your media component might:

provide some background knowledge that would be crucial to our understanding (i.e. through a link or a video)
contain some visual context for the scope or complexity of the issue (i.e. an infographic) or assist with our understanding of change over time or comparison (i.e. graph, chart)
offer an opportunity to explore this issue further (i.e. through a link) for those who want to learn more

You may incorporate more than 1 element if you would like; just make sure you have at least 1.

Also be sure to attend to the following:

if using a link, make sure it is functional–use the “Add Media” button in the +New Post window to “Insert from url”
if using an image, make sure it is high-resolution so that it’s legible–again you’ll use the “Add Media” button to “Upload files” and “Insert into post”
if using an image, provide a caption that includes the source information (where you found the image–the actual web page, not just “Google search”)
whatever your media component, be sure that you explain its relevance in your post–don’t leave your reader to draw their own conclusions about its significance. Walk us through what you want us to learn from this item.

Here’s the other work on tap for this week:

draft of your blog post (let’s extend the deadline here to the end of the day on Wednesday, 6/30)
a few TED talks to watch (linked from Blackboard) for more perspectives on diversity and organizational culture (and in preparation for this week’s discussion)
discussion work on the blog–see the prompt here

I’ll be reading your drafts (due Wednesday) and getting you feedback by the end of the day on Friday. Your final version of the blog post is due by the end of the day on Sunday, 7/4.