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Module 1: Paper

OGL 350

August 27, 2019

Kristen Neuhausel

Arizona State University

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Part 1

Diversity management is the voluntary organizational actions that are designed to create

greater inclusion of employees from various backgrounds into the formal and informal

organizational structures through deliberate policies and programs (Mor Burak, 2014). I started

my paper with this definition because I think it is exactly what I assumed diversity management

is. I realized very quickly that diversity management and culture is so much more. I had a lot of

“a-ha” moments in this module and a lot of learnings that have already helped me become a

better manager.

Diversity management is much more than just making the minority feel comfortable, it

is about creating a culture of inclusion and representing people of all different races, genders,

sexual orientation and so much more. It’s not about including one person but including every

person (Mor Burak, 2016). This really stuck out to me. I always thought and say that the culture

in my store is very diverse because we have such wide variety of different cultures, races and

sexual orientations represented in the team. Then, I listened to NPR’s “The Promise Of

Diversity Is Yet To Be Fulfilled”, and I realized maybe we are not as diverse as I think we are.

In this audio clip, they talked about how diversity also includes those with disabilities and older

workers (NPR, 2010). I realized that I don’t have either of those in my workplace. I was really

disappointed in myself when I came to this realization because I pride myself in always standing

up for those who are mentally or physically disabled.

I also learned a lot about myself and my identity. When I read the “Complexity of

Identity”, I was left feeling like I had so many unanswered questions, but also a lot more

entuned with how I view myself. In the beginning of this article it talks about how others view

us. It asks, “How do your partners, teachers, neighbors or students view you?”. This question
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got me thinking about how I think others view me. I never really thought about it! Then, it talks

about how we describe ourselves. Those who are of the more dominant race, religion, gender,

etc. rarely use those things to talk about who they are (Tatum, 2010). I was so intrigued when I

read this because it is so true. I am a female and I would definitely use that to describe myself.

When I asked my boyfriend how he would describe himself he didn’t say male. Learning this

and being more aware of this will definitely help me be more conscious when I am interacting

with others.

After I read this article, I went on to do my own pie chart. Of course, after reading the

aforementioned article, I became more aware of how I view myself and this made it difficult for

me to describe myself without thinking about it. The majority of my pie chart was female and

small, because I think it represents a lot about what I encounter on a daily basis. Sometimes

being female is difficult in a workplace. I am often looked over when people ask for the

manager simply because I do not fit the mold. I am about 5-foot-tall, female and look rather

young. Sometimes I have to over compensate because tall dominate males are often who people

assume to be in charge.

Overall, I really took a lot away from this module. After watching the video about the

men who traveled to the United States from Sudan and the culture shock they experienced, I

became more conscious of the environment and culture I want to create in my personal and

professional life. I really felt bad for those boys as you can tell our society did not make it any

easier for them to get acclimated. It is true when NPR says that having a diverse workplace is

important and better for business. Having people around you that can bring new experiences

and ideas to the tables is what makes good companies great (NPR, 2010).

Part 2
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In order to describe my family as an organization, I decided to use the Hofstede Model. I

was familiar with this model from a previous class, so I figured this was the best route to go.

My family has always been unique in that we have never been the typical American family. If

we look at Hofstede’s first dimension collectivism, I believe my family could be described as

individualistic. While I think we are close knit, we have always been taught to be able to survive

on our own and support ourselves. My dad also taught us to be our very best and strive for

greatness. I think part of our individualistic culture is because I have 5 other siblings and if we

wanted something we had to earn it.

In Hofstede’s next dimension, power distance I would categorize my family as

moderately high-power distance. While we did not have an authoritarian style dictatorship in

my household, we were definitely taught the importance of respect. We always referred to those

of authority by “Mr.” and “Mrs.” and we never called our friend’s parents by their first names.

We never even thought to talk back to our parents as whatever they said was the way it was

going to be.

When I describe my family in terms of uncertainty avoidance, I generally struggle with

trying to describe us as a whole. My brother and sister have very low uncertainty avoidance.

They love taking risks and making a lot of decisions that only matter for the present, short term

future. If I were to describe myself, I would definitely say I have high uncertainty avoidance. I

hate the unknown, I don’t like taking risks and I constantly need to know what is going to

happen in my future. I spend a lot of time planning for my future so that I can avoid as much

uncertainty as possible.

In Hofstede’s next dimension masculinity, I found that my family is slightly more

masculine. While we aren’t “showy” and we still value honesty and humility, we aren’t as
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nurturing towards each other as a feminine culture. We have pretty defined gender roles. My

dad worked a lot of hours to make ends meet and my mom stayed home to raise the children.

My dad only ever taught my brothers how to mow the grass or change their car oil.

In the final dimension, we look at time orientation. I believe that we fit into the long-

term orientation culture. My dad was always adamant on planning for our future. Whether that

was saving money, going to college or investing in a 401K. He would always get frustrated

when we would go out and spend money on meaningless things or doing things that might

disrupt our future in some way.

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References

Managing Diversity: Towards a Global Inclusive Workforce. (3rd Ed.), Thousand Oaks, CA:

SAGE Publications.

Mor Burak, M. E., Lizano, E. L., Kim, A., Duan, L., Rhee, M., Hsiao, H., & Brimhall, K. C.

(2016). The Promise of Diversity Management for Climate of Inclusion: A State-of-the-Art

Review and Meta-Analysis. Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership &

Governance, 40(4), 305-333. doi:10.1080/23303131.2016.1138915

Tatum, B. (2010). The complexity of Identity: Who Am I?  In Readings for Diversity and

Justice, 2nd edition.

NPR (2010). The Promise of Diversity Has Yet to Be Fulfilled.