Order instructions:Please do not type out the prompts and answer them directly but use them as a guide as to what to include in the paper. The interview questions are an exception, those should be written out in an interview format.

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The Organizational Leader/Manager Interview Research Paper PSYCH 355

Diversity in Organizations Each student will conduct a semi-structured field interview with a middle or senior manger, executive manager, or C-suite leader for the interview (no family members, immediate or extended, are to be interviewed). This leader or manager must be a member of one of the groups studied in this course. The student can execute the interview in-person, over the phone, using Zoom, Skype or a similar social technology platform. The outline of your research paper (that includes the interview) is detailed below. The paper is to reflect the substance of the interview while also including scholarship and the integration of material drawn from class readings, articles, writings, and discussions. The student may also wish to include sources pulled from databases and reputable academic websites and/or professional institutes not directly used during the course. The length of the paper is between 8 to 10 pages (excluding cover and references page). The paper must use the same formatting requirements employed for the weekly position papers. This research must include a summary of the interviewee’s responses to the dimensions outlined below, insights drawn from the interviewer’s observations, and diversity in organizations scholarship integrated and leveraged to support the student’s statements, observations, and arguments. Papers must adhere to APA guidelines detailed in the course syllabus. A: Introduction:

• The objectives of the paper • The biases of the researcher (commonly called “bracketing”) • The challenges and opportunities of the research project

B: Leader/Manager Background:

• Family background • Race and Ethnicity • Group membership (based on course text & groups identified and studied) • Formative experiences, based on race, ethnicity, or specific group membership,

that shaped personality, professionalism, and social perspective • Education: what and where • Job titles, industries served, and other formative professional experience(s)

C: Current Organizational Context in which the Leader/Manager currently Leads and Manages:

• How long have they been with their current organization? • What is the current job description?

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• How would they describe the level of diversity and diversity awareness in/across this organization?

• How have they personally experienced diversity awareness and appreciation in this organization based on their own specific group membership(s)

• D: Diversity Themes:

• Describe a story that illustrates how they have been negatively impacted as a person of diversity in general and in their organization(s) in specific.

• Describe a story that illustrates how they have been positively impacted as a person of diversity in general and in their organization(s) in specific.

• How have they advanced the conversation about how diversity can benefit the organization in which they currently work?

• How is diversity in organizations a moral imperative and a conversation that contributes toward the well-being of our communities and neighborhoods?

• What are some of the primary and more problematic issues/challenges connected to diversity that seem to surface most often in their current organization?

• How has their current organization made operational (measureable) gains in the conversation, practice, and management of organizational diversity because of their own efforts and persistence?

• Based on their own experience with diversity in their organization(s), what advice, coaching, or counsel would they offer to you as someone who wants to be instrumental in advancing the conversation and understanding of organizational diversity?

E: Summary:

• Identify the insights and new knowledge acquired. • What did the researcher learn about him or herself?

Use of Resources:

• It is expected that students will use both course texts as support for their work in this paper.

• Additional resources are strongly encouraged. • Students must support their summative statements using the appropriate trade

or scholarly resources. It is insufficient to make summative, definitive, or declarative statements without the support of primary or secondary resources.

• The veracity and legitimacy of all sources beyond the course text must be weighed using the principles of information literacy.