BSL 4000, Managing Diversity in Organizations 1 Course Learning Outcomes for Unit II Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 2. Assess the benefits of organizational diversity. 2.1 Evaluate how organizational diversity promotes creativity and innovative problem-solving. 6. Appraise methods used to improve organizational cultures. 6.1 Describe how organizational cultures are perceived. 6.2 Contrast the benefits and disadvantages of diverse workplace environments. 6.3 Determine the value of establishing a dynamic organizational culture. Course/Unit Learning Outcomes Learning Activity 2.1 Unit Lesson Chapter 10 Unit II Project 6.1 Unit Lesson Chapter 2 Unit II Project 6.2 Unit Lesson Chapters 2 and 10 Unit II Project 6.3 Unit Lesson Chapters 2 and 10 Unit II Project Required Unit Resources Chapter 2: Theories and Thinking About Diversity, pp. 37-54 Chapter 10: Work and Family, pp. 285-304 Unit Lesson Benefits and Drawbacks of Organizational Diversity An organization will have many needs in order to work at its peak performance. Part of this process is understanding the organizational culture as well as that of individuals, groups, and teams and how they interact socially. In order for there to be a sense of unity, there should be an understanding of what it takes for individuals who have their own unique differences to accept others or at least find a way to interact and collaborate (Shen, Chanda, D’Netto, & Monga, 2009). This does not mean forcing someone to accept or adopt someone else’s beliefs and heritage as his or her own. Gaining understanding to appreciate these unique backgrounds and characteristics provides a broader comprehension that can assist in facilitating improved innovation and outcomes. The organization and its components can continually improve through gaining this greater understanding of the different cultures and backgrounds of its individual members. Along with this can be issues of time relevance in addition to the value placed on interaction, relationships, and work completed. How work is completed and under what conditions can also be a part of our diversity (Bell, 2017). An individual who is very self-focused and time-conscious will have challenges in working with an individual or team members who do not have the same time relevance and do not hold the same value for individual achievement. An individual UNIT II STUDY GUIDE Organizational Diversity BSL 4000, Managing Diversity in Organizations 2 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title who believes in talking a concern through as a group until resolution is reached will be a source of agitation to the individualistic member. The readings address terms and concepts such as stigma and minority. Are these terms used interchangeably? Are individuals within an organization, a community, and society so grounded in their own values, beliefs, and traditions that when so ...

1. BSL 4000, Managing Diversity in Organizations 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit II
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
2. Assess the benefits of organizational diversity.
2.1 Evaluate how organizational diversity promotes creativity
and innovative problem-solving.
6. Appraise methods used to improve organizational cultures.
6.1 Describe how organizational cultures are perceived.
6.2 Contrast the benefits and disadvantages of diverse
workplace environments.
6.3 Determine the value of establishing a dynamic
organizational culture.
Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes
Learning Activity
2.1
Unit Lesson
Chapter 10
Unit II Project

2. 6.1
Unit Lesson
Chapter 2
Unit II Project
6.2
Unit Lesson
Chapters 2 and 10
Unit II Project
6.3
Unit Lesson
Chapters 2 and 10
Unit II Project
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 2: Theories and Thinking About Diversity, pp. 37-54
Chapter 10: Work and Family, pp. 285-304
Unit Lesson
Benefits and Drawbacks of Organizational Diversity
An organization will have many needs in order to work at its
peak performance. Part of this process is
understanding the organizational culture as well as that of
individuals, groups, and teams and how they
interact socially. In order for there to be a sense of unity, there
should be an understanding of what it takes for
individuals who have their own unique differences to accept

3. others or at least find a way to interact and
collaborate (Shen, Chanda, D’Netto, & Monga, 2009). This does
not mean forcing someone to accept or
adopt someone else’s beliefs and heritage as his or her own.
Gaining understanding to appreciate these
unique backgrounds and characteristics provides a broader
comprehension that can assist in facilitating
improved innovation and outcomes.
The organization and its components can continually improve
through gaining this greater understanding of
the different cultures and backgrounds of its individual
members. Along with this can be issues of time
relevance in addition to the value placed on interaction,
relationships, and work completed. How work is
completed and under what conditions can also be a part of our
diversity (Bell, 2017). An individual who is very
self-focused and time-conscious will have challenges in
working with an individual or team members who do
not have the same time relevance and do not hold the same
value for individual achievement. An individual
UNIT II STUDY GUIDE
Organizational Diversity
BSL 4000, Managing Diversity in Organizations 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title

4. who believes in talking a concern through as a group until
resolution is reached will be a source of agitation to
the individualistic member.
The readings address terms and concepts such as stigma and
minority. Are these terms used
interchangeably? Are individuals within an organization, a
community, and society so grounded in their own
values, beliefs, and traditions that when someone who has a
variance—perhaps a significant variance from
what is considered the norm—they become fearful of the
differences because it would elicit change within
them and within the dynamics, the homeostasis, and the
equilibrium of the established environment that they
currently enjoy? If this is the case, then it is not so much the
individual but what he or she brings to the table
by way of creativity, innovation, and variance from what we
already know. Bell (2017) speaks of stigma and
how it affects people's lives regarding deviations from the
desired norm or particular context. If we are not
willing to educate ourselves about paradigms that are not the
same as ours, then we are limiting our insight
and perspective in order to stay in a comfort zone that may
quickly become a very small and confined space
in a global and wide-open opportunity. Such thinking will limit
the individual, the team, and the organization as
it can become pervasive in attitude and action.
Diversity can also mean our understanding of the position
within the organization. You could have two 20-
year employees in a similar position within the organization.
Each will have a very different understanding of
how work is done and how to achieve and meet the objectives
strategically as they have been issued to the
individuals and their teams. Consistency throughout the

5. organization is an ongoing challenge. Each individual
in a leadership position will have his or her own qualities and
approach on how to manage and lead his or her
people (Shen et al., 2009). Some of this will be delegated
through different forms of leadership and
organizational structure. Some of this will be done directly as
the individual does not delegate, yet he or she
will take responsibility and be accountable for the actions of his
or her team. In so doing, the team will have
direct interaction with the leader; however, they may risk being
micromanaged by a leader who was
overwhelmed, depending on positions.
The diversity within an organization can also look at the
similarities within social groups that impact the
organizational environment. It could be something as simple as
individuals who grew up in a specific
geographic area and share similar interests and likes of that area
through which a relationship can be built.
The individual who is not from that area or does not understand
that culture and society will experience
difficulty in interacting with those individuals (Shen et al.,
2009). The situation could be as simple as someone
who is from New York now living in Texas or individuals from
Kansas who move to California. There is often
hostility between states. For example, in Texas and Oklahoma,
sports are taken very seriously. When teams
from each state are playing each other, it does not just impact
game day; there is talk in and out of the
office—potentially for weeks both before and after the event.
This becomes a part of the organizational culture
for those who find relevance and value in this part of their
interactions and social relationships. This also
helps to build some team relationships—whether it be friendly
kidding or staunch advocacy. On another level,
many cheer with great fervor and advocacy when there is

6. competition on the world stage such as the
Olympics or a world championship such as fútbol (or soccer as
it is known in the United States). These are
simple examples; however, cultural differences, whether we
follow a certain religion or a national pastime, will
be taken very seriously by some, and not so much by others. If
we do not take the time to understand how
important these things are, it will combat establishing these
relationships, maintaining these relationships, and
further developing relationships (Bell, 2017). Diversity in the
organization takes on many faces.
As we continue to look at what diversity can be, we must
measure the benefits and disadvantages. If we do
not take the time to assess individuals and teams by their
values, their interests, and how they work, there is
a very strong likelihood we can miss the mark and develop a
work group rather than a high-performing,
dynamic team. In so doing, we miss the mark regarding how
productive the group could be, and we now have
to assign additional resources, personnel, and time to get the job
done. Had the team been developed
correctly with some simple adjustments, those issues may have
been rectified to produce far greater results.
Additional areas that we want to look at also include gender and
sexual orientation, which can often create a
degree of hostility within an organization. Some will be very
accepting of a certain gender holding a particular
position. Others will look at sexual orientation and have a
stigma towards these individuals. Others who
portray a degree of acceptance may do so publicly, but they may
have their own concerns privately, or they
may truly be very accepting based on their background and
experience (Bell, 2017). In some parts of the
country, there is still harassment of individuals based on their

7. gender or their orientation. Not all areas and
organizations are as open and accepting of hiring and working
with individuals who do not fit with what they
envision as the mold for a position or the organizational culture.
However, the individual may be the most
BSL 4000, Managing Diversity in Organizations 3
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
highly qualified individual. This is often considered work
discrimination, and prejudice can begin to play out.
The management and leadership of the organization will set the
tone for acceptance of individuals who may
be perceived as different based on their gender, orientation, or
background and beliefs. The leadership truly
makes a difference in these matters. How this is portrayed, not
just in words but also actions, will set the tone
and the environment in which the organization will either
respond or react.
Diversity in an organization requires research, communication,
and an effort at openness in order to gain a
greater understanding as to how we can broaden our horizons
and take in new perspectives, new ideas, and
new innovation that can be applied within the organization from
a cellular level to the macro level. It is through
this understanding that often we can gain insight from
individuals who have worked in the organization or

8. similar organizations or field regarding how things are different
and yet how things are the same (Shen et al.,
2009). By learning to ask the right questions and then listening
more than we talk, we may find that the very
concerns that we have are the same concerns others who we
thought would not understand our different
perspective may have. What will we do to bridge this gap? This
is where effective communication, openness,
and a willingness to learn come in. In so doing, we can use a
new perspective; it is sometimes good to just
follow and learn. We may learn something about ourselves and
our field. Little differences can make a huge
impact on producing greater outcomes. It is through a diversity
of thought, perspective, intuition, and insight
that we will advance all aspects of an organization. This
requires great management and leadership to know
how to filter, monitor, and engage where necessary in order to
draw out the very best for maximum
performance.
References
Bell, M. P. (2017). Diversity in organizations (3rd ed.).
Cengage Learning.
Shen, J., Chanda, A., D’Netto, B., & Monga, M. (2009).
Managing diversity through human resource
management: An international perspective and conceptual
framework. The International Journal of
Human Resource Management, 20(2), 235–251.
Suggested Unit Resources

9. In order to access the following resources, click the links
below.
The following article highlights some issues of organizational
diversity and looks at inclusion strategies and
change models in organizations.
Katz, J. H., & Miller, F. A. (2016). Defining diversity and
adapting inclusion strategies on a global scale. OD
Practitioner, 48(3), 42–47.
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS
&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi
n.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=116584655&site=ehost-
live&scope=site
The following article discusses organizational commitment and
how it is affected by diversity initiatives in the
workplace.
Kirby, S. L., & Richard, O. C. (2000). Impact of marketing
work-place diversity on employee job involvement
and organizational commitment. Journal of Social Psychology,
140(3), 367–377.
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS
&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi
n.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=3308135&site=ehost-
live&scope=site
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS
&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a

10. 9h&AN=116584655&site=ehost-live&scope=site
https://libraryresources.columbiaso uthern.edu/login?auth=CAS
&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a
9h&AN=3308135&site=ehost-live&scope=site
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS
&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a
9h&AN=3308135&site=ehost-live&scope=site