Rethinking Organizational Diversity Equity And Inclusion

Research has shown that having a diverse organization only improves and enhances businesses. Forbes and Time report that diversity is an $8 Billion a year investment. However, poorly implementing diversity programs have damaging effects on the organization and the very individuals these programs attempt to help. Poorly implemented programs can cause peers and subordinates to question decisions and lose faith in leadership. In addition, it can cause even the most confident individuals to doubt their own skillset and qualifications. Many organizations have turned to training to solve this complex issue. Yet still, other organizations have created and filled diversity and inclusion positions to tackle the issue. The effects of these poorly implemented programs are highlighted during strenuous times such as the latest COVID-19 pandemic. Marginalized people are more marginalized, and resources and support do not reach everyone. Tasks such as providing technical support, conducting large group meetings, or distributing work obligations without seeing employees on a daily basis becomes more challenging. Complex problems cannot be solved with simple solutions. Using organization development (OD) to develop a comprehensive change initiative can help. This book outlines how properly conducting an OD change initiative can effectively increase an organization’s diversity and inclusion -- it is grounded in research-based literature on diversity and OD principles. Many organizational leaders realize the key importance of diversity, equity, inclusion and multiculturalism in modern organizations. It is only through such efforts can organizations thrive in a networked world where much work is done virtually—and often across borders. But a common scenario is that leaders, recognizing the need for a diversity program, will pick someone from the organization to launch it. Perhaps the person identified for this challenge is in the HR department but has had no experience in launching diversity efforts—or even in managing large-scale, long-term, organization wide change efforts. But these are the challenges to be faced. This book quickly identifies some reasons why diversity programs fail and how to avoid those failures. The majority of the book highlights how to use OD to improve organization culture and processes to not only increase diversity and inclusion but develop overall organization talent and prevent personal preferences and biases from hindering the selection of the best talent for positions.

This book extends strategic diversity work beyond internal organization efforts toward social engagement and accountability and supports organizations to ground social impact across both business and employee interests, the first of which is ethics, covered in the initial chapter. Organizations around the world are committed to increasing the racial diversity of their employees. Simultaneously, there is also greater interest in creating more welcoming and psychologically safe environments for people of color within organizations. As the workforce demographics shift because of these initiatives, the interests and needs of the employee population have also shifted. This shift presents a challenge for organizations to move beyond symbolic diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) work, of which increasing racial representation is chief, to helping organizations understand how to determine which issues to support of concern, value, and importance to their employees and society. Essentially, this book, a venture into the field called transorganization development, also moves beyond the traditional view of corporate social responsibility to take the position that businesses have a responsibility to make the world a better place by taking proactive stances on the many challenges facing the world today, including DE&I and accessibility. Many employees today expect their employers to take positions that will lead to making the world a better place.

This book guides managers and leaders toward greater insight and more deliberate practices in regards to diversity, equity, and inclusion addressing leadership, operations, and the educational environments. The authors consider the qualities of awakened leadership as critical components for establishing and nurturing a diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment. The book argues that the only way destructive conflicts can be resolved on a lasting basis is through profound collaboration, which can be embedded in performance structures by questioning biases, and becoming aware of limiting mindsets and traditions, that keep parts of society subjugated. It offers a wide range of constructive approaches that lead to higher awareness, thus, better understanding and focus on stakeholders. Finally, it presents examples of diversity-engendered issues and their resolutions from around the globe.

Organization Development: The Process of Leading Organizational Change, Sixth Edition offers a comprehensive look at individual, team, and organizational change, covering classic and contemporary organization development techniques. Today′s practitioners seek a solid foundation that is academically rigorous, but also relevant, timely, practical, and grounded in OD values and ethics. In this bestselling text, author Donald L. Anderson provides students with the organization development tools they need to succeed in today’s challenging environment of increased globalization, rapidly changing technologies, economic pressures, and evolving workforce expectations. The new Sixth Edition has been updated to reflect the latest research. New cases, chapter learning objectives, examples, sections on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the impact of COVID-19 on the workplace provide readers with the latest information on OD best practices.

Specialists from different disciplines and continents to provide answers discuss organizational justice, sustainable HR, machine learning, and more, providing future roadmaps to minimise disruption during occurrences like the COVID-19-related worldwide catastrophe and the ramifications for managers and policymakers.

Supervisors are the bridge between line employees and middle/upper management. Therefore, they must effectively communicate across the organization to be responsive and thoughtful leaders. With work being more global, organizations are taking advantage of remote work, and the workforce is now more diverse and decentralized, making the workplace more dynamic and complex. However, diversity can be one of the most controversial and least understood business topics because of the issues regarding quality, leadership, and ethics (Anand & Winters, 2008). An inclusive supervisor will ensure that their direct reports are treated fairly and respectfully but never made to feel less than anyone else. They will be a critical success factor in supporting the business case for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B) as a critical strategy in a globally competitive market. This book builds on the belief that people are the most valuable resource and that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. The authors will provide tools to self-assess intrapersonal/interpersonal communication, develop a positive work environment, and evaluate listening skills. A list of competencies to be an effective communicator will be provided. Key concepts such as cross-cultural competence, generational cohort, critical race theory, emotional intelligence, emotional contagion, social exchange theory, and interpersonal competency will be explored. This book provides strategies for building solid relationships with team members; uses positivity as a foundational practice to lead and encourage other employees; provides guidelines on how to hold employees accountable and set high expectations; presents strategies to engage, coach, and develop employees by creating a positive environment to influence attitudes and behaviors; and offers various approaches for managing time and increasing productivity.

Expand Your Knowledge of Organization Development to Enhance Your L&D Efforts ATD’s Organization Development Handbook is a tactical, hands-on book for those in learning and development looking to make that first step into organization development or those who are a one-person band doing both. While many books and textbooks exist on organization development—the effort to improve an organization’s capability through the alignment of strategy, structure, people, rewards, metrics, and management processes—this volume is the first of its kind to address OD from the talent development and, specifically, L&D perspective. More than ever, L&D professionals are taking on organization development work to drive organizational effectiveness and performance. Sometimes this happens out of choice when seeking a new career challenge, and other times out of necessity when the organization adds OD to their responsibilities. In either case, L&D professionals need new knowledge and skills—as well as insight into how to utilize their analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation abilities—to become successful in creating OD solutions. Edited by OD practitioner and expert Brian J. Flores, this volume includes in-house experts and consultant contributors from the OD field itself as well as those who crossed over from L&D to OD. Readers will learn how to apply the foundations of organization development to their multiculturalism, upskilling and reskilling, soft skill development, and succession planning processes and programs.

Discover how to transform company culture by embracing the interconnectedness of business and social interests to promote an inclusive workplace. Organizational Culture offers a comprehensive roadmap for transforming company culture. Using a strategic framework for navigating change, this essential guide provides business leaders and change catalysts with a holistic strategy for building a dynamic and inclusive culture. It highlights the importance of leveraging psychological principles, interpersonal dynamics, employee interest-driven initiatives and cooperative leadership to create lasting change. Featuring case studies for practical insight into how to cultivate trust and employee engagement, Organizational Culture highlights how these steps can help align Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives to support culture transformation. The resulting resource breaks down the best ways organizations can start engaging in inclusive culture change.