For Professor Maurice only

M2 Diversity Audit Proposal

Diversity Research Audit Proposal

The diversity audit will be conducted in 2 parts: Part 1 is the proposal which is due in Module 2 and the final project paper is due in Module 5. Details on the audit may be found below along with the options you have for the audit.

There are two options for this research project:

 

1. Perform a diversity audit on an organization with which you are associated (or have been associated with) or

 

2. Perform a research audit on one of the top 10 companies identified by DiversityInc  as a company that demonstrates the business case for diversity.

 

In this module, students will prepare the proposal for their audit. The proposal will include:

 

Students will submit a proposal which includes

· the company they will audit (with permission of an organizational leader such as the manager of the organization or a human resource manager) or company they plan on researching,

· The criteria by which results will be measured,

· A list of ten questions which will be asked in the audit or develop thoughtful questions on the topic of diversity you will seek to answer in your research to measure the organization's diversity initiative against,

· Conduct a preliminary literature review for your research of the company.

NOTE: See further details below on the literature review.

Diversity Audit Proposal Instructions

 

1. Establish some criteria for managing diversity in an organization. You can use secondary research to assist you.

 

If you are performing an audit of an organization in which you work or have worked:

 

Obtain authorization for the audit from a manager or a human resource leader. After you have received authorization by the organization to conduct this audit (if you are performing the diversity audit on an organization with which you are associated or have been associated with), make an appointment to interview at least one company representative or employee. If you can interview people from different functions and levels (human resources, training, managers, and employees), it will provide different perspectives. The literature review should include sources from scholarly and professional journals describing the performance of the organization as it relates to diversity, in addition to the organization's website that you are researching. The literature review should include a bibliography of sources (at least 6 in total and 4 of them scholarly) and a brief paragraph describing the contents of the source.

If you are performing research on one of the top 10 companies identified by DiversityInc: as a company that demonstrates the business case for diversity, develop a criteria to measure the organization's diversity initiative against, some thoughtful questions on the topic of diversity that you will research about the company (you can use secondary data to assist you in formulating good questions) and conduct a preliminary literature review for their research of that company. The literature review should include sources (at least 6 in total and 4 of them scholarly) from scholarly and professional journals describing the performance of the organization as it relates to diversity, in addition to the organization's website that you are researching. The literature review should include a bibliography of sources and a brief paragraph describing the contents of the source.

By Module 5 you will:

· Conduct the audit by visiting the organization and conducting an interview(s). Ask for a tour of the organization so that you may gather additional information through observation. If available, try to obtain copies of the company newsletters, value statements, and so forth. If you are using one of the DiversityInc firms, include in your research the criteria you developed, the questions you researched, the literature you used and the results of your findings.

· Findings: Evaluate what you have learned about the company in terms of diversity, comparing it against the criteria you established. Be sure to pay attention to subtle cues (i.e. is there evidence that they really do what they say they do). For example, a manager proudly pointed out that his large retail organization hired physically challenged workers. However, they were all assigned to work in the stockroom, where they were never seen by any customers. Feel free to add additional criteria that you did not think of after the interview/visit.

· Prepare a 7-10 page paper which explains your findings in detail. The paper should be free from spelling and grammatical errors. Make sure you cite all written web sources, journal articles and interviews in a bibliography, and contain exhibits, such as copies of the organizational value statements or company newsletters, if appropriate.

· To summarize, your report should detail the strengths and weaknesses of the organization's diversity initiatives. List the criteria (one page), provide some company background/history (one page), evaluate the organization's efforts in terms of diversity, and make recommendations for improvement.

Students are asked to submit their responses to the Diversity Audit Proposal in a 7- to 10-page paper, double spaced, 12-point font, in an .RTF or Word file names with their last name, assignment number (i.e. SPECTOR_M2A2) by the due date.