Thomas and Ely (1996) describe three stages of diversity in organizations, in increasing order of effectiveness.
- Discrimination and fairness. In reaction to simplistic quantitative measures, organizations hire diverse demographics to meet quotas imposed on them typically by the outside (e.g. the state, union contracts). The social pressure is to make differences 'not matter', which will backfire, as people will be afraid to step up and speak. Thus, this process ironically creates a monoculture.
- Access and legitimacy. The organization wants to hire people that reflect its customers, in order to gain access to their markets. However, since this segregates jobs by ethnic market, employees cannot easily progress beyond their ethnic division. Thus, this process ironically creates segregation.
- Learning and effectiveness. The ideal model, this process lets employees remain distinct while integrating them into the corporate culture. Diversity is not an us vs. them struggle, but a resource to be managed. The goal is to integrate each person's distinct, diverse viewpoint into directing the corporation as a whole, without separating individuals by type or imposing a type upon them.
Thomas and Ely (1996) suggest several requirements for this to work. The leadership must actively encourage different perspectives by fostering a democratic atmosphere of openness and egalitarianism, despite difficulties reconciling different perspectives. The organization must expect high performance from everyone, even from those inferiorly stereotyped, and therefore the organization must stimulate personal development and make its workers feel valued. Finally, the organization must clearly articulate a widely understood mission to frame the discussions and interactions.
References
Thomas, D. A. and Ely, R. J. (1996) Making differences matter: A new paradigm for managing diversity. Harvard business review, September-October, 79-90
A team build of individuals, each of whom brings a different magic power is a common notion in fairy tales. -- ZbigniewLukasiak
No one has a magic power. The real fairy tale is that only one type of person has any power or ability. -- SunirShah
I feel that you dispute with something I did not mean. What I intended, was to show that the notion of diversity in team work is rooted really deeply in our culture - as it is in fact an archetype. -- ZbigniewLukasiak