The Ism Is Not the Issue

Diversity is complex, and solutions require effort.

In my last column, I offered five ways to achieve world-class diversity management (WCDM) and promised five more. This column contains the remaining five descriptions, drawn from my new book, World Class Diversity Management: A Strategic Approach. They are:

Accept the reality that tension accompanies diversity and that the goal of WCDM is not to eliminate that tension, but rather to make quality decisions — ones congruent with overall mission, vision and strategy — in its midst. No matter how competently racial differences are addressed, related tensions will always be present. As a consequence, the existence of racial or any other diversity-related tension does not necessarily suggest poor management.

Next, accept the reality that complexity — that which makes something difficult to explain — always accompanies diversity.

Consider, for example, one situation in which research conducted by Roosevelt Thomas Consulting & Training in 2006 revealed significantly lower feelings of goodwill among blacks toward their employer compared to other groups. Company leaders concluded that racism was the principal causal factor.

Additional statistical analysis revealed that other factors played greater causal roles than racism. Blacks disproportionately worked in a function held in relatively low regard by the organization and also in a plant located in a geographic site considered to be an undesirable place to live. These functional and geographic considerations proved more significant in prompting blacks to report higher levels of dissatisfaction than other groups in the company than did racism. Any efforts to address the perceived racism — no matter how successful — would not have included the complexities associated with functions and geographic locations.

Then, remember that the Strategic Diversity Management Process (SDMP) — the engine that drives WCDM — is a universal decision-making craft. The SDMP presumes that awareness is not enough by itself, but rather is one of the requisites for effective decision making in the midst of diversity.

The notion of the SDMP as a craft suggests that building capability is a key requirement. It also implies the existence of several attributes routinely associated with a craft, such as concepts, principles, tools, requirements for mastery through practice, a creative component, the necessity for continuous improvement and ethics.