Managing Organizational Diversity

This chapter discusses the concept of inclusion, and proposes that organisations should move beyond traditional diversity management initiatives towards inclusion. It is not suggested that organisations skip over diversity management. Instead, it is suggested that they begin with diversity management and move towards inclusion, which, as the title of this chapter suggests, can arguably be considered Diversity Management 2.0. This chapter begins by defining and explaining the concept of diversity and diversity management, before presenting an argument for inclusion and outlining how organisations may begin their inclusionary efforts.

Several approaches to manage diversity were developed in the U.S. and then disseminated to Europe. Their origin can be drawn in a timeline, but not their end. Research is still needed on the way organizations combine them towards distinct minority groups, particularly in less explored national contexts. The present qualitative study examines how minorities are evaluated and dealt with by large organizations operating in Portugal. The results reveal that distinct minorities are being approached distinctively and that this significantly stems from the country’s current hard financial conditions and ensuing social challenges, as well as from the colonialist Portuguese past. The study particularly contributes by exposing diversity as a social construct that can assume as many facets as the minority identity groups present in a specific space and time.

This chapter presents the key concepts and perspectives involving cultural diversity in large organisations. The concept of a large homogenous organisations culture is questioned using the case study of a large Higher Educational Institution and arguments are made for adopting a differentiation perspective. With this new perspective, employee subcultures are viewed in terms of diversity and uniformity. The nature of diversity in the long term is considered through the findings of a longitudinal study of the Higher Educational Institution. The diversity in the organisation is considered in terms of intergenerational diversity through a study the student’s values and perception. Finally, the strategic effect of complexity in organisations is considered in terms of the evolutionary nature of strategy.

This chapter looks at employee’s perceptions regarding the type of family-friendly work practices available to them by their employing organizations and, at the same time, it conveys their views on the organizational support received on these matters. The empirical research is based on a case study design that includes four companies belonging to different industries in Portugal. Overall, we conducted 24 in-depth interviews with both operational employees and human resource managers. The findings show that the HR managers in all the companies admit not having formal procedures on family-friendly work practices but only a set of informal practices that vary according to the functional level and the employee rank. The company size and resources, the type of operational activities or the work schedules are important explanatory factors for the scant adoption and implementation of family-friendly practices in these companies, and seem to play a more influential role than institutional forces. Immediate supervisor and co-worker support are perceived by the employees as fundamental sources of organizational support in the work–family life conciliation. The study limitations and future research suggestions are also presented.

Historically, workplace diversity has not been considered an intuitive practice. At different times it has been viewed as a moral issue, a legally mandated requirement, or as a combination of both. Today, workplace diversity is usually presented in terms of a rational and pragmatic economic advantage: the so-called business case argument. However, the implementation of diversity always takes place within a social and cultural context and raises question of self-identification and social categorization for those who are in, or who are coming into, the organization. Because of the numbers of employees involved, questions of identity and the impact of diversity are perhaps most acutely encountered in small- and medium-sized enterprises. This chapter considers the business case argument, the paradoxes associated with diversity, and the potential challenges that result when increasing shifts toward diversity are pursued in micro- and small-sized business ventures.

The financial and economic situation of most African countries forces individuals to create their own jobs in order to generate some sort of income for themselves and their families. This chapter presents a study that aims to look into the entrepreneurial experiences of a particular group of female entrepreneurs from Lubango, Angola: the Muambeiras. After conducting interviews with a small group of Muambeiras, five life stories were analysed to illustrate the gender difficulties these women must overcome to do business, as well as the importance of business practice as a way of dealing with gender discrimination. This study contributes to a greater understanding of gender and entrepreneurship, through an account of the diversity of how women carry out entrepreneurship and how they deal with gender discrimination. Moreover, it contributes to redefine policies that can support these women’s business activities and acknowledge their important roles in the community.

In a context of a globalized economy, business is no longer limited by national boundaries. To maintain their competitiveness, organizations are increasingly establishing and strengthening their presence overseas. For this reason, and to accomplish their projects more successfully, many firms take the option to deploy employees from the home’s company to their subsidiary. This way, we have inevitably assisted to a strong rise of these professionals in international assignments. However, this rise has been very disproportional to men and women, with a clear disadvantage do women. Indeed, women represent a clear minority compared to men. What explains such a huge difference that sets apart men and women? The present critical literature review starts from this issue in order to obtain a greater understanding of the gender effect in the process and in the experience of the expatriation (one of the many international forms of mobility in the organizational contexts).