The Diversity Challenge: Part 5 of 5
Editor’s note: This post concludes our first diversity series. We’ll be presenting more theme-oriented collections in the coming weeks. Do you have a specific topic that you’d like to see covered, or a question that needs answering? Let us know in the comments, or email us.
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Part 5: How can we improve organizational management and teaching strategies to increase diversity and inclusion?
Lynn M. Shore, Amy E. Randel, Beth G. Chung, Michelle A. Dean, Karen Holcombe Ehrhart, and Gangaram Singh, all of San Diego State University, published “Inclusion and Diversity in Work Groups: A Review and Model for Future Research” in the July 2011 issue of the Journal of Management.
The abstract:
A great deal of research has focused on work group diversity, but management scholars have only recently focused on inclusion. As a result, the inclusion literature is still under development, with limited agreement on the conceptual underpinnings of this construct. In this article, the authors first use Brewer’s optimal distinctiveness theory to develop a definition of employee inclusion in the work group as involving the satisfaction of the needs of both belongingness and uniqueness. Building on their definition, the authors then present a framework of inclusion. Their framework is subsequently used as a basis for reviewing the inclusion and diversity literature. Potential contextual factors and outcomes associated with inclusion are suggested in order to guide future research.
Kecia M. Thomas, Ny Mia Tran, and Bryan L. Dawson, all of the University of Georgia, Athens, published “An Inclusive Strategy of Teaching Diversity” in the June 2010 issue of Advances in Developing Human Resources.
The abstract:
The article argues that many forms of diversity instruction, be it in the classroom or a conference room, have promoted an appreciation of differences without simultaneously promoting inclusion. Therefore, we advocate that diversity instruction should take a strategic approach to cultivating an appreciation of inclusion as well as diversity through considering the structure of the instruction, the authors of the work chosen, as well as who delivers the instruction. In essence, we present an alternative diversity teaching strategy that incorporates a value for inclusion.
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