Among the most significant features of Sims and Dennehy's book
are a focus beyond valuing and managing cultural diversity, and a
demonstration of the interdependency that exists between a number
of important individual differences (i.e., alienation, receptivity,
style, power). They discuss some personal yet theoretical insights
on answers and questions that are important in increasing our
recognition, understanding, and appreciation of diversity and
differences in general. In eleven original essays contributors
examine a wide assortment of behaviors, issues, and individual
differences while offering their reflections on answers and future
questions that are key to leveraging diversity and difference in
organizations.
Recent literature has emphasized the projected changes in
organizational demographics and the fact that globalization also is
changing the face of organizational landscapes. Taken together
these trends are serving to increase the need to understand and
appreciate cultural diversity in virtually all organizations. Many
books already exist that attempt to address this topic. Each one
attempts to provide a guide to dealing with a variety of racial,
ethnic, or cultural backgrounds. The intent of Sims and Dennehy's
book is to go beyond offering ideas or to serve simply as a guide
to improve the management of diversity. Thus, a major goal of this
book is to have its readers reflect on their personal diversity and
difference experiences and to create a forum for answers and
questions on the value of diversity and differences for all. The
main thread that ties everything together in this book is the
strategy of creating value through repeated emphasis on our need to
look beyond valuing and managing diversity to the interdependency
of a variety of individual variables that shape our lives.
The book begins by offering a bridge-building model as a tool
that colleges and universities can use to decrease the alienation
experienced by minority students on predominantly white campuses
and to increase the social consciousness of all institutional
constituents. The next chapter suggests that diversity is essential
to learning, and good conversation is a powerful way to learn from
diversity. The book then introduces a model that seeks to place the
issue of diversity management as one part of an overall development
change process. The notion that the success of some organizations
in enhancing diversity is dependent upon the vision and strength of
management is emphasized in the next chapter, which, by taking a
different perspective, presents the argument that current corporate
infrastructures do not promote diversity. Unless a company builds
new internal support systems that encourage diversity of thought
and action, employees hired to make the company more diverse will
merely be homogenized into the prevailing culture. In the following
chapter the role of training in U.S. organizations is discussed as
a major component in increasing the recognition, understanding, and
appreciation of diversity and difference. The concept of
difference-based approach to advocacy and its relation to issues of
gender are introduced as cornerstones of creating work environments
that are supportive of employees' needs to balance work and family.
The next chapter provides data for analysis of the expatriate's
learning experience and applies the learning from expatriate
experiences to those issues faced by minorities in a domestic
setting. A need to create new intellectual diversity that focuses
on foreign language skills applicable to the needs of economic,
scientific, and technological markets is emphasized in the next
chapter. Next, a comparison is made of the decision-making
processes and practices of Japanese and American managers at a
Japanese company in the United States. The author's pioneering
findings can be generalized to understand decision-making in
different cultures and organizations. The role of diversity
educator is then discussed and the author persuasively argues that
active learner participation, self-disclosure, and a trusting
supportive environment are prerequisites to understanding and
appreciating diversity. The book concludes with a review of the
important points discussed by the contributors to this book, offers
questions in need of answers, and identifies future issues on
diversity and differences.
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