Tag: Unit 1

The Life of a Veteran: What Comes After Service?(Final)

“The association between unemployment status and physical/mental health among veterans and civilians in the United States” by Than V. Tran,  Julie Canfield, & Keith Chan makes a sound argument supporting the increase of veteran employment programs in order to reduce the negative health impacts of being unemployed. Throughout the article, the author’s emphasize the health disparities that can arise from unemployment as well as the the hardships unemployed people have to go through in order to join the workforce. This process becomes increasingly burdensome for veterans due to their  need to adjust to civilian life not to mention any other outstanding medical issues they may have gained while serving. 

Tran, Cainfelid, and Chan relied on the evidence found in the “Interaction effect of employment status and veteran/civilian status” study. This study analyzed the affect that unemployment has on veterans and civilians.  The researchers believed that the negative impact would affect the veterans at a higher rate than non-veterans. Simply, being a veteran should not have an impact on a person’s health but this study aims to expose the underlying affects that health issues (as a result of military service) have on unemployment amongst veterans which intern makes it harder to re-enter the workforce. Depression, existential crises, and suicidal thoughts are just some of the many mental health issues that can arise from being unemployed. The study also shows the connection between unemployment and poor nutrition due to a lack of resources which can ultimately have a negative impact on the physical body as well.

I chose this article not because of the solutions it present in terms of programs that promote diversity and inclusion but because of its F of the effort that it makes to promote awareness around these issues. The authors place a strong emphasis on understanding the disparities that lead to unemployment rather than just trying to promote programs to solve it. The Kaplan & Donovan article explains that intention with regard to diversity and inclusion has a big impact on the result of the actions taken to promote equity. Kaplan & Donovan Work to define the definition of inclusion by starting with the needs of the marginalized group instead of the organization trying to promote inclusion. I feel as if this article does a good job of understanding the reason behind veteran unemployment and presenting it with respect to the impact on veterans rather than the economy or any other organization which reinforces the ideas of the texts we have read thus far.

This article, in conjunction with others that make up the canon of diversity and inclusion, have enlightened me on the privileges that I have and the struggles of those who are different then me. Because of this I have been inspired to further my research in order to engage in meaningful forms of activism that spread awareness of these issues and bring about change. One of the most striking pieces of work that I have uncovered in my search was this Ted Talk that focused on the struggles of the shift from military to civilian life. In the video, Brian O’connor, a United States Marine Corps veteran, makes an analogy between the dissociation of identity that he felt after service in which he says “This bryant outfit doesn’t fit anymore, its like I stole a young kid’s clothes”. This quote allowed me to experience a fraction of what it feels like to be a veteran and understand the importance of shifting perspectives when promoting inclusion. More often than not, simply putting yourself into the shoes of the people you are trying to help can make all the difference in understanding what can actually be effective. By reading works like that of Than V. Tran,  Julie Canfield, & Keith Chan and Kaplan & Donovan as well as taking the effort to familiarize yourself with the lives of veterans will lead to quick and effective forms of inclusion throughout all aspects of the workforce. 

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 

Expanding the Canon

In Is it safe to bring myself to work? Understanding LGBTQ experiences of workplace dignity from the Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, authors Sarah J. Baker and Kristen 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. To understand the extent and effects of homophobic, transphobic, and queerphobic attitudes of employers and coworkers, the authors conducted semi structured interviews with 36 LGBTQIA+ working adults from various organizational affiliations in the United States.

Once the responses were collected and analyzed, the authors coded them into four categories of identity sensitive dignity threats experienced by LGBTQIA+ individuals in the workplace: social harm, autonomy violations, career harm, and physical harm. The responses in the interviews showed that the way LGBTQIA+ individuals were (and are) being treated in the workplace drastically influences their own self perceptions.

Because of these disturbing findings, the authors also identified protection strategies throughout the responses that other LGBTQIA+ members in the workforce can implement to “(re)claim” their dignity and protect themselves from threats and harm. The strategies are avoiding harm by seeking safe spaces, deflecting harm with sexual identity management, offsetting identity devaluations by emphasizing instrumental value, and creating safe spaces for authenticity and dignity.

The authors of this article encourage LGBTQIA+ groups to discuss this idea of dignity in the workplace with organizations to address injustices. They hope that these conversations can start small and develop into a greater understanding that every human being deserves respect and has worth. They advocate for bringing people together on the basis of not only the differences discussed in their article, but others form of difference such as race, ethnicity, class, religion, and (dis)ability.

Figure 1:

(Baker and Lucas, p.7) describing identity sensitive dignity threats

This text was a piece of transcript of one of the interviews with a bisexual woman named Phoenix who works as a college speech coach. She had attacks to her autonomy by her boss who had a problem with her sexual identity and repeatedly made intrusive and offensive comments like the one above.

(In this study, autonomy was defined as: “to have control over one’s life and for others to refrain from colonizing that life and to keep a respectful distance” (Baker and Lucas p.7)

Figure 2:

(Baker and Lucas, p.10) describing protection strategy

This text was a piece of transcript of one of the interviews with a gay college professor who struggled to find a place to work. This excerpt depicts a summary of his process of how he narrowed it down from the lenses of a member of the LGBTQIA+.

This updated version of the rainbow pride flag for 2021 has now included intersex people. The 2018 version included  five-striped chevron that represented LGBTQ+ people of color and the trans community. 

This article gives readers insight about how prevalent discrimination towards LGBTQIA+ members is and provides examples on the types of brutal attacks they endure. The excerpts of the interview transcript throughout the article is important because we are able to hear about oppression from the people who are actually experiencing. However, the “experiences” are still limited because the makeup of participants in the study was mostly white gay males. I think it is extremely important to hear more about an intersectional approach from women and BIPOC. I also would like more updated statistics since many of the other studies mentioned were from more than 10 years ago from 2021. Additionally, while I appreciated the protection strategies for LGBTQIA+ individuals, I also would like to hear more about being an ally. To further my own understanding, I found a video that explains 8 steps towards being an LGBTQIA+ ally below.

How to be a good LGBTQIA+ Ally

  1. Educate yourself on the community (this includes terminology)
  2. Do not make assumptions
  3. Do not ever out someone
  4. Be conscious of your language
  5. Do not let slurs slide in others
  6. Do not let others to make queerphobic jokes
  7. Stand up for others
  8. Make space for LGBTQIA+ community
A screenshot from…
A Workplace Divided: Understanding the climate for LGBTQ Workers Nationwide, published by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

These statistics look at the different reasons why LGBTQ+ are not “open” in the workplace. It is interesting to see how gender and sexual identity influence how people approach work in the morning.

References

Baker, S. J., & Lucas, K. (2017, June 1). Is it safe to bring myself to work? Understanding LGBTQ experiences of workplace dignity. Wiley Online Library. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cjas.1439.

Human Rights Campaign Foundation. (2021). A Workplace Divided: Understanding the Climate for LGBTQ Workers Nationwide. HRC. https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/files/assets/resources/AWorkplaceDivided-2018.pdf?mtime=20200713131850&focal=none.

Jossell, S. (2021, June 8). The Progress Pride Flag Is Getting an Intersex-Inclusive Makeover. them. https://www.them.us/story/progress-pride-flag-intersex-inclusive-makeover.

MyWorkplaceHealth. (2020, May 15). How to be a good LGBTQ+ Ally. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ddlNFqWyOU.

Responses 6/28

  1. I think the Frieds topic is engaging from the beginning because of how relatable it is. He starts off his talk by posing a problem: why people can’t seem to get work done at work. He then discuses a question : where do you need to go when you need to get something done? These two statements caused me to think and reflect about my own personal experiences which continued to keep me focused. He then argues that this is because people are trading in a workday for “work moments”. I think it is interesting how he builds his argument by walking us through a “typical workday” that is filled with distractions and commitments that result in unproductivity. He also has a funny and sarcastic tone when he talks about manager and meetings which furthers his argument about how disruptive they  both are. He proposes suggestions for offices to change, such as silence for more efficient workdays. By the end of this video, I was very supportive of his ideas because his arguments were very logical, organized, and personable.

2.

After watching Heffernan TED talk, I was torn between claiming her evidence to be anecdotal (stories with a point) or analogical (comparison to different things) (maybe it is both or neither). Heffernan walks us through multiple stories (touching upon how predicting epidemics as well as forecasting wildfires is unrealistic) with the same themes: technology is unreliable, the world is unpredictable. She then argues that society is growing dependent on technology. She compares different instances where we utilize technology too much, that we are lacking somewhere else where it is more important. She lists real life examples (no sources, no numbers), but it is compelling and logical. For example, she discusses how the more time we use parenting apps, the less we know about our kids and how the more time we spend with people that we are predicted and programmed to like, the less we can connect with people who are different from ourselves.

She does a great job tying very different stories together with the same underlying themes and ideas. I think she has a great ability to make connections and “points” which is an effective way to engage viewers. The organization and  structure of her arguments caused me to accept and understand everything she said without sources or data. I also think she is so persuasive because of her confidence.

Discussion Questions Week of 6/28

1) Jason Fried does a great job explaining in an engaging manner “Why work doesn’t happen at work”. His goal appears to convince people that productivity occurs everywhere but at the office. I should be upfront as I analyze this talk I believe in certain circumstances I agree with him.  Did he write this after the pandemic…he should have because it’s can be so true. It is clear from the audience reaction that they can relate to his story of workers attempting to find time and a place to accomplish work.

The strategy that he uses to explain his ideas is one of folksy stories. One of the big laughs that he got from the audience is “You don’t have workdays anymore…you have work moments.” He points out that special creative people need long stretches of uninterrupted time, well I’d point out that all workers may need longer stretches of uninterrupted time to accomplish effective work.

Jason is invoking the audience’s emotion to gain acceptance and approval for the ideas expressed. He stirs the emotions of many employees who might have simmering resentment of their supervisors by noting, “Managers jobs are to interrupt people and make sure people are working.” While that got a chuckle from the audience, I think a grain of truth was in the statement which caused the reaction.

He ends the talk with three provocative ideas that are intended to generate strong emotions.

1) Instead of casual Fridays…“No-talk Thursdays.” Just one Thursday a month with a period of “quiet time” prohibiting coworkers from talking to each other and limiting distraction. It’s better than a new computer.

2) Replacing active communication such as face to face conversation, with passive forms such as email, IM and collaboration tools.

3)If you have a meeting coming up…go ahead and cancel the meeting.

Throughout his talk, Jason speaks in a calm, relaxed manner. He walks across the stage with authority and confidence. He uses pauses effectively as he describes the stories, makes his point, but is not too wordy (thus losing his audience’s attention). By using a full, resonant voice, Jason conveys an air of knowledge and I am drawn to his talk as the audience was.

2) Margaret Heffernan’s talk is one of a speaker working with evidence. The overall theme of her TED talk is about the unstable planet that we exist in…how prophetic!  In an engaging talk, Heffernan provides numerous examples of skills that should be developed in our unpredictable world along with examples of companies and almost frightening predictions of what occurred since she made the speech in 2019.

As evidence she mentions the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness, CEPI.  At the time of the talk, she commented that there will be more epidemics in future, although we don’t know the specifics so all we can do is prepare. Vaccines can be developed, knowing that we can’t predict which vaccines are going to work or which diseases will break out. However, some of those vaccines will never be used. While there’s a certain inefficiency to that it does mean that we have choices. Those choices mean the system is strong and healthy. I’m sure if she did the talk in 2021 she’d note the choices in vaccines that are available.

The bottom line according to Heffernan is the human skills are important in solving the problems of our unpredictable age. Margaret Heffernan walks the audience through her argument with examples from supermarket chains to the Bank of England to climate change. This talk was easy-to-understand and Heffernan conveyed the information with a passion that was clear to the audience.

Margaret Heffernan’s perspective is that of an entrepreneur, CEO, and writer. She is presently a Professor of Practice at the University of Bath School of Management in the UK. She teaches entrepreneurship, as well as mentors executives.

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

Discussion Questions Week of 6/21

1) As I was searching for an article that would be appropriate for the canon, I utilized the “Summons” search engine. I was interested in “peer reviewed”, “full text online” “journal articles” “past five years”. I found this type of search was able to initially narrow down my selection. At this point, I could continue to narrow my choices with terms such as “organizational diversity.”

One of the aspects that was of particular interest was analyzing how CEO’s indicated their diversity management policies to the employees. I don’t mean the flashy brochures and signage but rather the unspoken – read between the lines message. Can we somehow ascertain what they’re really thinking? Now, we’ve recently had political figures that let us know exactly what they’re thinking but this is rare. Usually only a select few know their true intentions. I began to wonder, were the CEO’s truly serious or just giving the concept of organizational diversity efforts “lip service”? How does this commitment or lack of commitment within the company result in the successful execution of diversity programs?

2) Robert Austin and Gary Pisano in their article, Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage content that discriminatory practices against hiring individuals with neurodiversity result in organizations missing out on valuable employees whereas in the article Understanding Key D&I Concepts, authors Mark Kaplan and Mason Donovan’s objective is to assist employers in comprehending the how diversity and inclusion policies can have a positive influence on organizations however the good intentions of these policies may have unexpected results.  It should be noted that Austin and Pisano report data from multiple organizations.  On the other hand, although Kaplan and Donovan provide an engaging example of various policies that had unanticipated impact there are no authentic illustrations of managing bias.

One point that I found particularly compelling in the Kaplan and Donovan article was the concept that by failing to appropriately assess employees can impact diversity and inclusion. Regrettably diversity and inclusion groups without this necessary feedback fail to improve and develop. When I think back on this concept, I can remember several instances in which managers took this approach.

In the Austin and Pisano article is filled with examples of neurodiversity success in organizations and the unexpected benefit of managers developing a better working relationship with all employees. The soft-skills that sometimes are overlooked in managers are critical attributes when dealing with neurodiverse individuals.

Kaplan and Donovan Summary

Mark Kaplan (a principal for The Dagoba Group) and Mason Donovan (Managing Partner at The Dagoba Group, a diversity and inclusion consultancy that specializes in leadership development, unconscious bias and inclusion dynamics) write a compelling article on the intent– impact mismatch. They suggest that while organizations may have good intentions in their development of policies, these policies may have unexpected results.  There are many different approaches to inclusion and diversity within organizations reflected by various methodologies.  Kaplan and Donovan while exploring the daily routine of a female executive, discovered multiple instances during the day in which the concept of intent versus impact shows up. The article offers examples of situations that “Kim” finds herself in throughout a given day. While the intent of the organization may be to create an expeditious circumstance in which to perform her duties, the impact is that she is isolated from other employees, lacks critical feedback to all employees (including diverse employees) and projects an atmosphere of elitism.  

This intent- impact difference reminds me of when a supervisor instituted a new policy at my work. This policy was under the pretext of improving the company culture, but the employees got the sense it was a surveillance situation. The impact was an increase in mistrust and decrease in morale versus intent of enhancement of efficiency. This is a cautionary tale as outlined by Kaplan and Donovan, for all organizations to carefully consider that good intentions can meet a bad impact and potentially cause unintentional consequences.

Discussion Questions Week of 6/14

  1. Graff and Birkenstein suggest that writers start with what others are saying and then follow that up with their own thoughts in response. The templates seem to be straightforward. I’m going to try a couple of approaches in the chapter. I look forward to everyone’s feedback. 

My first attempt is the “they say”.  This almost seems too simplistic but here it goes.

It has become common today to… ignore the results of policies affecting minorities in the workplace, experiences that Gündemir outlines in his article. The concerns discussed are pervasive and speak to the overall need for diversity in corporations particularly in upper-level positions.

As I read through the chapter, I decided to try the “open with a debate” in which many people agree to which they ultimately disagree.  I maybe overly ambitious on this…so let me know what you think.

When it comes to the topic of our labor force, most of us will readily agree that the importance of diversification is recognized. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of increasing minority presence in the top levels of organizational hierarchies. Whereas some are convinced human resource tools and interventions to stimulate the recognition and development of minority leadership talent through structural, top-down approaches such as affirmative action are sufficient, research studies by Gündemir maintain encouragement of minority leadership by positively affecting minority employees’ leadership-relevant self-perceptions and goals are the true key (Gündemir et al. 2017).  I think that’s a bit wordy.

Reference

Gündemir, S., Dovidio, J. F., Homan, A. C., & De u, C. K. W. (2017). The impact of organizational diversity policies on minority employees’ leadership self-perceptions and goals. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 24(2), 172-188. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051816662615

2. Both the readings from Gündemir et al and Austin and Pisano have contributed to my overall understanding of diversity in organizations. As I indicated in a previous post, it’s important that we look at diversity through a broad lens. Workforce diversity can mean differences among employees in terms of gender, race, age, cultural background, physical abilities and disabilities, religion, and sexual orientation. As Austin and Pisano point out employment of a diversified workforce is not only advantageous but essential for organizations to remain competitive, managing such a diversified workforce can be challenging for management.

I’ve listened to the news for the past few months and the millions of Americans remaining unemployed while companies big and small are reporting extreme difficulty in finding workers. Now I’m not going to argue the COVID-living wage situation but rather I’d like to look at it from the standpoint are organizations looking at the diversity of worker available or are they hiring from a bias of affinity…just looking for workers that attended the same high school, grew up in the same town, or remind them of someone they know and like. Are people concerned or reticent about managing a diverse workforce?  Just “food for thought” as the saying goes.

Highlight of my week

I had the opportunity to visit my friend’s new camp in Fair Haven. It was a beautiful day and we went for a boat ride. Nothing better than sun, water and good friends… and all of that in Central New York. Within several hours I was home just in time for a tornado warning…yes indeed that’s Central New York!