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Human Resource Management: Strategic and International Perspectives
© Jonathan Crawshaw, Pawan Budhwar & Ann Davis
Diversity in Organisations: HRM and International Practices
Lilian Otaye-Ebede, Vincenza Priola and Elaine Yerby
Chapter 8
Learning Outcomes
To understand how the concept of diversity has developed from an earlier focus on equal opportunities
To explore different perspectives on Diversity Management (DM), including mainstream and critical perspectives
To assess how different diversity perspectives have implications for the development and implementation of HRM policies and practices
To critically evaluate the links between HR diversity policies and diversity practices in organisations
To explore approaches to diversity across the globe
Diversity and Discrimination
The concept of diversity is used to refer to social categories such as gender, ethnicity, age, disability, religion and sexual orientation, which indicate groups who have been historically subjected to discrimination in society and work
Others: social class, work or management status
Visible and invisible categories of discrimination
Social Categorization and Intersectionality
Stereotyping
Legislation
Equal Rights/Opportunity Legislation
Equal Employment Opportunity
Affirmative Action and Positive Discrimination
Global and Regional Legislation – e.g. EU
Equal Opportunities
Human Capital vs. Social Justice Perspectives
Liberal vs. Radical Perspectives
Sameness vs. Difference (Diversity Management) Perspectives
Managing Diversity
The business case
Social Justice model (the moral case)
Diversity Perspectives and HRM Practices
Liberal/mainstream
Focus on equality procedures
The business case
Links to organisational performance
Radical/critical
Focus on the social justice (moral) case
Equal opportunities for its own sake
Human rights
SHRM and Diversity Management
Diversity management as a strategic goal for organisations
Inclusion and creating an inclusive culture
Unconscious bias
MNCs and Diversity Management
MNCs should not simply rely on Western models of diversity management
Global diversity strategy
Centrally controlled but adapted to the different national contexts within which the organisation operates
Multinational diversity strategy
Policies are developed (by local professionals) for each national context (e.g. in each subsidiary)
Practising Equality in an International Context
Global Diversity Forums
Global Employee Networks
Global Diversity Training
Summary 1
The concept of diversity is contested in its meaning as well as its different applications in both society and work
The reasons for its contested nature lie within the socially constructed nature of social categories, which have different connotations in different historic periods as well as in different cultures
In discussing the evolution of the concept of diversity as embedded in social and political processes, the chapter discusses the different theoretical (e.g. radical vs. liberal) and practical perspectives (social model vs. business case model) of equal opportunities and diversity and problematises the translation of diversity concepts into diversity practices
Summary 2
When considering diversity management in multinational organisations an important aspect to acknowledge is the perspective taken by the parent company (e.g. global vs. multinational)
Organisations are now aware of the need to develop cultural-specific programmes. Global approaches that do not account for the different national socio-political experiences associated to social categories, and therefore are not sensitive to the different social customs and cultures, are bound to fail