ValoDi HANDBOOK by TAKK

ValoDi Handbook Resources and strategies for the acquirement of competences on diversity management. Inclusion, innovation and integration of the talent in the organizations Coordination, compilation and development by Florida Centre de Formaci贸, C.V. 2011

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information therein.

This handbook has been developed by Florida Centre de Formació, CV. (Spain): Compilation and development: Pilar Ortega Leal Technical Director: Carlos Gutiérrez Díez Edition and support: Gisela Vidal Villasur

INDEX 1. THE VALODI PROJECT .................................................................................................................................................... 5 2. VALODI METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................................................11 3. APPLICATION OF THE TRAINING MATERIALS ....................................................................................................32 APPROACH BLUE: TRAINING MODULES ON DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT .........................................................42 Module 1: Introduction to Diversity Management and its value to the enterprises ................................................... 43 Module 2: Models and best practices of diversity management .......................................................................................... 64 Module 3: First steps for the diversity management in the company ............................................................................... 74 Module 4: Tools for the diversity management ........................................................................................................................... 86 APPROACH ORANGE TRAINING MODULES ON DIVERSITY AWARENESS: .................................................... 109 Module 5: Gender ................................................................................................................................................................................... 111 Module 6: Sexual orientation ............................................................................................................................................................ 123 Module 7: Health..................................................................................................................................................................................... 132 Module 8: Disability .............................................................................................................................................................................. 145 Module 9: Language .............................................................................................................................................................................. 158 Module 10: Ethnic and Cultural Background ............................................................................................................................. 170 Module 11: Age ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 185 Module 12: convictions ........................................................................................................................................................................ 194 APROACH ORANGE TRAINING MODULES ON HUMAN RESOURCES ................................................................ 203 Module 13: Human resources operations ................................................................................................................................... 204 Module 14: Positive Action Plan ...................................................................................................................................................... 224 APPROACH GREEN: TRAINING MODULES ON INNOVATION AND DIVERSITY ............................................. 245 Module 15: Introduction to innovation and its link with diversity.................................................................................. 246 Module 16: Model and best practices on innovation and diversity ................................................................................. 256 Module 17: implementation of the model of innovation and diversity management in the company ............ 275 Module 18: Creativity techniques ................................................................................................................................................... 299

Foreword This handbook aims to offer organisations as well as professionals in the field of Human Resources and training an overall framework that contributes to the identification and facilitates learning of the basic competences for the integration and implementation of diversity in organisations.

In an economic and social environment in which it is no longer a sustainable option for organisations to leave behind factors such as globalisation, continuous management of change and uncertainty, attracting and developing talent and the incorporation of innovation processes for the development of competitiveness, we propose to renew and / or expand the vision of organisations as regards their processes and strategies under the prism of diversity management and the opportunities it offers.

The framework proposed goes beyond established approaches in relation to diversity, such as the management of inclusion and equal opportunities. We propose a holistic model that integrates aspects of strategic management (how diversity management implies new opportunities to improve the positioning of the organisation in the context it operates), the creation of inclusive workplaces (where everyone can share their talent and competences), equal opportunities, integration of diversity in the core competences of the company as well as innovation in processes, products and services.

This handbook proposes a journey that starts with raising awareness of organisations and their management structure about their current performance as regards diversity management, to later go through the inclusion of workers according to the main variables of individual diversity, up to getting to how knowledge in this area can add value to the innovation process (both for the improvement of management processes in the organisation as well as and the services or products it offers).

However, this journey is not linear. The ValoDi Handbook offers the users the possibility to diagnose and prioritise in a flexible way "what and how" to work on learning the skills considered most relevant to their goals, preferences and organisational context.

This handbook brings together a selection of existing materials in the field of diversity management and, at the same time, reflects the complex and diverse work of the ValoDi project team members and the preceding Tools for Diversity (T4D) project. The Handbook, as one of the main project outcomes, encapsulates the vision and experiences of professionals in 3

the field of Psychology and Education, Anthropology, social inclusion and Human Resource management, which in turn have different backgrounds and contexts of origin (Finland, Norway, Latvia, Poland, Austria, Italy, United Kingdom and Spain).

Our Handbook is not intended as an exhaustive summary about diversity management but a general framework that allows organisations or professional users to determine where to focus their learning or to find references that will allow them to deepen the knowledge and capacity to identify practical solutions. The various references, the collection of sources of knowledge and the learning practices proposed provide the practitioner a broad framework to guide learning and implement diversity management in organisations.

The development of the project also allowed to establish contact with professionals and researchers who have supported and added value to the partnership, sharing learning and knowledge, identifying trends and best practices: Uxío Malvido (Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Merck Sharp & Dohme), Bjørn Z. Ekelund (Managing Director at Human Factors AS), Myrtha Casanova (President of the European Institute for Managing Diversity), and Aulikki Sippola (PhD, researcher). The Valodi team at Florida Centre de Formacio wishes to thank these professionals for their involvement and support, as well as to highlight the project leadership by TAKK (Tampere Adult Education Centre) and the involvement of the whole project partnership in this refreshing adventure for the promotion of diversity management.

We hope you will find this handbook useful and that in a near future anyone, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, health, disability, language, ethnic and cultural background, age and valued, will be fully integrated and considered, allowing organisations to unleash talent to appreciate and exploit the potential of their staff.

Carlos Gutiérrez Díez Technical Director for ValoDi’s Handbook

Pilar Ortega Compilation and Development for ValoDi’s Handbook

Florida Centre de Formació, CV

1. THE VALODI PROJECT

PART I: THE VALODI PROJECT

1.1. INTRODUCTION 1.1.1. THE VALODI PROJECT Valorisation of Diversity Skills, ValoDi is a two-year project (LdV/ToI 2009-2011) within the European Community programme Leonardo da Vinci programme. It is a transfer of innovation project following the work accomplished in the previous project Tools for diversity (TforD, LdV/DoI 2006-2008).

The ValoDi project aims to help developing management professionals', teachers', trainers' and workplace instructors' to manage diversity and to use it as a generator of innovation, and benefit both internally (generation of new processes or improving existing ones) and external (development of new services or products or modification of existing ones).

The ValoDi tools and handbook help identifying and developing competences in diversity management

1.1.1.1.

THE VALODI HANDBOOK

This manual is targeted to the people who must lead an/or be involved in the diversity management in an organization: general manager, HHRR responsible, area leaders and staff trainers. The competencies that the organizations must acquire to manage diversity, promote inclusion and use it as a source of innovation were defined during the project. ValoDi's Handbook focuses on these competences. It is a support material to start understanding and implementing diversity management in the organizations.

This handbook includes: - An introduction to the ValoDi Project, where goals, tools and theoretical background are defined - ValoDiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s methodology. It guides the organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s steps towards diversity management, promotion of inclusion and link with innovation. It links the tools and training materials that ValoDi provides. - A didactic guide for the use of the training materials. 6

- Training material consisting of 18 modules, divided by topics. The blue approach includes 4 modules on diversity management. The orange approach is divided into two parts, one to the promotion of inclusion, consisting of 8 modules on the eight most relevant variables as defined by the project (gender, sexual orientation, health, disability, language, ethnic and cultural background, age and convictions, values and opinions are ...) and a second part addressed to human resource management and the definition of affirmative action plan, consisting of 2 modules. Finally, the green approach includes 4 modules in innovation and diversity.

The use of the training materials must be based on the competences that the organization should develop. Each module defines learning objectives, and examples of content that should be developed for the acquisition of these competences. The materials have been contributed by the partners of the project or have been selected from other sources. A special effort was made in the inclusion of references to other resources

1.1.1.2.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROJECT. THE TOOLS

To achieve this goal the project has developed the following products:

ValoDi methodology for managing diversity and innovation in the enterprise: This shows the steps defined by the project to achieve the competencies that the organization should have as manager of diversity and innovative from its diversity. Assessment Tools: ValoDi diversity management assessment tool (DiMa) and DM Interview are developed for a need for a more systematic approach in dealing with diversity issues. Being itsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; strength, it offers a basis, from which an organization can position its diversity management approach and how its different functions are applied in leveraging diversity and inclusion. DiMA aims at the integration of all people in community (as clients) and workplace as resources and source of innovation. The objective is in enabling diversity management, which acknowledges a broad definition of diversity as something involving everyone (including various minorities) and recognizes the need and strives for more coordinated and goal- and outcome-oriented planning on more diversity-sensitive organizational environments and culture. They define the profile of the company and based on its needs a training itinerary is proposed according to the acquisition of the competences needed. Diversity Assessment tool. Training materials for application in the enterprise. They provide the person in charge of training with materials and resources that meet the needs of the organization. The materials 7

have a direct link with the ValoDi methodology and the Core Curriculum’s competences. The assessment tools define training needs, although it must be the person forming the one who ultimately select the materials more suitable to the organization.

This manual has been prepared as a guide for the use of tools and training materials mentioned above.

1.1.1.3.

PROJECT PARTNERS Coordinator:

TAKK – Tampere Adult Education Centre (Finland) http://www.takk.fi/ Contact: Päivi Puutio, Mari Poikolainen Email: paivi.puutio@takk.fi , mari.poikolainen@takk.fi

Metropolia University of Applies Sciences http://www.metropolia.fi Contact : Kaija Matinheikki-Kokko Email: kaija.matinheikki-kokko@metropolia.fi

FLORIDA Centre de Formació (Spain) http://www.florida.es Contact : Carlos Gutiérrez Díez , Pilar Ortega Leal, Gisela Vidal Villasur Email: diversidad@florida-uni.es

MiA Diversity at Work (Norway) http://www.mangfold.no/ Contact: Eli Langset Email: bareeli@online.no

Business and Development Centre (Poland) http://www.bdcenter.pl Contact: Magdalena Malinowska, Anna Radoล Emails: mmalinowska@bdcenter.eu, aniaradon@o2.pl

EuroFortis SiA (Latvia) http://eurofortis.lv Contact: Evija Kapteine Email: evija.kapteine@eurofortis.lv

ANOLF

Associazione

Nazionale

Oltre

Frontiere (Italy) http://www.anolf.it/ Contact: Gino Gomba Email: anolf.piemonte@libero.it

Schulungszentrum Fohnsdorf (Austria) http://www.szf.at/ Contact : Martin Rath, Dimitrios Doukas Email:

, D.Doukas@szf.at

Project External Evaluator:

Liz Aitchison Consulting (UK) Contact: Liz Aitchison

1.1.2. DIVERSITY AND DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT 1.1.2.1.

CONCEPT OF DIVERSITY1

We live in a world, that includes all kinds of people: shy and outgoing, bold and beautiful, black, white, gay, straight and transvestites, believers and disbelievers, healthy and sick, exhausted by life and glowing the wellbeing. Diversity is a term borrowed from biology. It stands for the prosperity of species in the nature. Diversity in social and behavioural sciences 1

From T4D (Tools for Teachers, Trainers and Workplace Instructors in the field of Diversity of People, nยบ FI/06/B/F/PP-160719)Handbook.

refers to the difference of people and groups of people as it comes to age, health, ethnic and cultural background, gender, sexual orientation, religion and ideologies. Diversity is often connected with multicultural issues, which, in fact, only is one diversity factor. Ideological and even idealistic tone for diversity mindset is hard to pass, since associations linked to diversity as a concept are often idealized: beautiful and good things for all good people! Nevertheless, this handbook approaches diversity pragmatically. Diversity is considered a resource which hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been utilized well enough in the working life. Especially the utilization of the diversity of different people is of current interest once the predicted labour shortage comes across our country and our continent. The diversity factors derived from the equality legislation of the European Union (EU) are: age, language, ethnic and cultural background, gender and sexual orientation, ideologies and opinions, health and disability. (Matinheikki-Kokko 2007.)

1.1.2.2.

DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT CONCEPT2

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Equality means treating everybody the same (McDougall 1996; Thomas & Ely 1996), while the aim in diversity management is the acceptance of a diverse population to form the workforce and the realization of the potential of all; not favouring any groups (Kandola & Fullerton 1998). Diversity can be perceived as a long term strategic business factor having a significant impact on productivity, motivation and innovation, market competitiveness, teamwork and customer loyalty (Bagshaw 2004).â&#x20AC;? (Sippola A. 2007, p. 24) Considering, Diversity Management refers to the systematic and planned commitments by organisations to promote a diversity of Employees and Customer services in order to increase the acceptance of diverse workforce and the realization of its potential and cultivating harmony in the workplace, and being a proactive actor and learner in a continuously changing social and political environment.

Extracted from: (Developing the VALODI Diversity Management Assessment tool 3/2/2010)

2. VALODI METHODOLOGY

PART II: VALODI METHODOLOGY

2.1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Kaija Matinheikki-Kokko, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Aulikki Sippola, Ph.D., researcher. Mari Poikolainen, ValoDi Project Coordinator, Tampere Adult Education Centre The tools and methodology of ValoDi project3, developed in international consortiums, provide means to assess and develop diversity competence of both management professionals and personnel alike in gender, sexual orientation, health, disability, language, ethnic and cultural background, age and beliefs, values and opinions and in diversity management. The diversity management assessment and training lean on the aim in identifying indication of the prevailing stance on diversity and strengthening the means for making better use of diversity in an organization. This chapter introduces first a conceptual framework for assessing diversity management applied in the overall ValoDi methodology. Second, the content of assessment and interpretation processes are described shortly. Chapter 2.2. presents in detail the ValoDi methodology as a whole including all tools and training elements. Workforce diversity challenges organizations to recognize, how differences between people can be turned into benefits and business opportunities. Does an organization value learning opportunities from diversity? We approach managing diversity in light of itsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; developmental phases from reactivity to proactivity. ValoDi methodology4 contains Diversity Management Assessment Tool (DiMA) developed for more systematic approach to handle diversity issues.5 The content has been developed to reflect the diversity that affects human resource management, customer service, MARKETING and communication in organizations globally and locally. The assessment aims to support the management and practitioners of an organization, e.g., human resource professionals to succeed in their efforts to build diversity initiatives in their organisation, and to be or become proactive actors and learners in a continuously changing social and political environment.

There are distinct ways to approach diversity, one of them dealing with the question of how to manage it ValoDi aims to a change in management towards proactivity in utilizing all potential and differences, which are encountered in an organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operations amongst personnel, customers and other stakeholders, instead of reactivity: to treat everyone in the same way on 3

Valorisation of Diversity Skills, 2009-2011, following Tools for Diversity, 2006-2008

The whole of ValoDi System is presented in detail.

In this chapter, Poikolainen describes ValoDi methodology as a whole, Matinheikki-Kokko sections on DiMA and Sippola sections on the theoretical and conceptual framework reflected in the content of DiMA.

the grounds of legislation. These differences include, i.e., gender, sexual orientation, health, disability, language, ethnic and cultural background, age as well as beliefs, convictions, values, opinions, perspectives, actions and needs. Diversity can add value to an organization, however, it is argued to require that, e.g., in Human Resource Management (HRM) both strategic and operational HRM are applied proactively in order to improve organizational and individual practices, competence and culture towards inclusiveness and equity (Aulikki Sippola, 2007). The rationale for ValoDi methodology derives from the need of an organization to adapt to new circumstances caused by both internal and external changes. Some sectors of society are faced with decreasing pool of potential and available employees, aging of staff, culturally more diverse customer and personnel base, low ratings of well-being at work, low levels of commitment and high levels of turnover of staff. Strategically oriented diversity management can play a counter balancing and even proactive role in dealing with these kinds of challenges. Every organization has its’ own timing and content requirements for taking on diversity work and dialogue. Public and private organizations alike can have different approaches and strategies in managing diversity and making use of it. Some strategies are systematically planned and implemented while others are more sporadic.

2.1.1. WHAT DO WE MEAN BY DIVERSITY AND DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT? The legal perspective on equality and equal treatment regardless of background covers gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnic and cultural background, age and beliefs. Diversity means also equality as defined within the national European legal framework of equality. (e.g. Yhdenvertaisuussuunnittelun opas. Sisäasiainministeriö 10/2010; Training Manual for Diversity Management. International Society for Diversity Management – IDM. 9/2007) We acknowledge and encourage to move even toward a wider all inclusive diversity agenda. This implies that in ValoDi Diversity Management Assessment and Training Tools diversity is considered in its broadest sense to include all (visible and invisible) differences, which are encountered in an organisation’s operations amongst personnel, customers and other stakeholders. Therefore, the term ‘diversity’ covers also differences in characteristics, perspectives, perceptions, competencies, actions (e.g. working style), or needs and expectations. The strategies how organizations manage diversity vary. Different approaches or strategies, as different paradigm perspectives (Thomas & Ely 1996, Dass & Parker 1999), can be described to be either reactive or proactive. Reactive strategies resist diversity seeing it 13

as a non-issue and a cost (resistance paradigm), or diversity is managed on equality or Equal Opportunities

basis as the fulfilment of legislative liabilities

often

only

increasing the numbers of minorities and treating everyone the same (discrimination and fairness paradigm). In proactive strategies the aim is to respect and utilize everyone (as a workforce and clientele) for the benefit of the organization. Diversity is valuable for the business only by maximising everybodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s potential as a source of competitiveness. The gained benefits include i.e. access to new markets, increased creativity and cost savings (access and legitimacy paradigm). When an organization recognizes diversity as human capital, a valuable asset and an investment with opportunities to learn from it in connection to work, it is seen to increase effectiveness. To gain the benefits egalitarian organizational culture underpinned by fairness and social responsibility are crucial (learning and effectiveness paradigm). The advantage of the most advanced strategy to manage diversity (learning and effectiveness paradigm) has been given some empirical support. It is also suggested to be the most effective and beneficial approach in promoting diversity issues over the other paradigms. In proactive strategies the function of HR, implying to the application of Human Resource Management, has been found to change towards proactivity both at the strategic and operational levels being a key factor in changing an organization, its individuals and culture towards equity and inclusiveness (Aulikki Sippola, 2007). The concepts of paradigms as well as the role of the HR function in them have, however, been little tested in practice yet. DiMA tool expands the examination further to the role of the other organizational functions as well in managing diversity. We assume that diversity can be recognized not only as the function of HR, but also in marketing, customer service and communication of the organization as well as in their strategies, processes and actions. In this endeavour, the function of HR in four different diversity management paradigms constructed by Aulikki Sippola (2007)6 has been applied as a conceptual framework for developing DiMA tool (see Figure 1). The content of the tool is described next.

Sippola, A. (2007). Essays on Human Resource Management. Perspectives on Diversity Management. Acta Wasaensia No 180. Business Administration 75 Management and organization. Universitas Wasaensis 2007.

Figure 1. Conceptual framework as in the original. The function of HR in diversity management paradigms (Aulikki Sippola 2007, 146).

2.1.2. THE DIMA – DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT TOOL The DiMA Tool consists of 30 statements on strategic approach (values and intentions) and of 30 statements on actual operations associated with diversity and diversity management in an organisation. The outcomes, based on the respondents’ estimation, indicate: 1. To what extent an organization has recognized diversity as strategically important in its’ HR, marketing and other organizational functions (re-active – pro-active dimension). 2. How systematically has the organization promoted diversity in its’ day-to-day HRM, marketing and other workplace processes and actions (re-active – pro-active dimension) including: 15

- Human resource planning and recruitment - Introduction and guidance, and further training of staff - Performance appraisal, career development, remuneration - External and internal communication - Customer services and marketing In finding out the profile of the strategy and actions in managing diversity the four-field typology as shown above was expanded in DiMA tool to be applied also in other organizational functions (marketing, customer service and communications). This framework (see Figure 2.), as a (two dimensional) four-field typology added by scores, is used as a way of identification, whether the organization is: • proactive in strategies-proactive in actions (learning-and-effectiveness paradigm) • reactive in strategies-reactive in actions (resistance paradigm) • reactive in strategies, proactive in action (discrimination-and-fairness paradigm) • proactive in strategies-reactive in actions (access-and-legitimacy paradigm)

Figure 2. Conceptual model on reactive and proactive strategic approach and actions in diversity management as in DiMA (applied to Aulikki Sippola. 2007)

In the figure of the four-field typology, the vertical dimension illustrates the reactive vs. proactive strategies in managing diversity. The horizontal dimension illustrates the reactivity vs. proactivity of actions.7 7

Scoring The item scores represent the degree of reactive vs. proactive promoting of diversity in the strategic approach and in actions of an organization. Thus, each response is scored 1 to 4, and interpreted: Highly reactive 1 and < 1.5 Somewhat reactive 1.5 and < 2.5 Somewhat proactive 2.5 and < 3.5 Highly proactive 3.5 and 4.0

The DiMA assessment –program displays on screen responses and diversity management profile based on self-evaluation of each respondent. These responses and scores are also in a printable format if a respondent wishes to have a paper version. However, to date the Valodi web-based version8 is limed in calculating automatically the strategy background scores (Questions 1-6) or the mean of respondents’ scores in two factors: strategic approach and actions in diversity management. The latest version of DiMa has been tested, for the functionality of the statements and structure, in several countries with several organizations. The results have been analysed during the project phase only with a limited number of respondents (n=52). However, the preliminary outcomes indicate high reliability of the scales (Cronbach’s alpha for all items .91), there is a clear need to continue analysing the validity, reliability and factor structure of DiMA assessments applied in a larger number of organizational management setting in international contexts. Therefore, also the validity and reliability of the framework applied are not yet quite sufficiently tested. Currently, a set of continuums of all statements (background, strategic approach and actions) are retrieved by DiMA assessment available on the internet. A single respondent as well as an organisation can view the result of responses to the Diversity Management Assessment as a profile of continuums from reactive to proactive for each statement of the assessment.9 Even this alone makes a tangible basis for further discussions on the diversity management profile of an organisation and for analysing the training needs.

2.1.4.1.

THE INTERPRETATION

The DiMA feedback guides respondents to identify their own profile and the prevailing management of diversity profile of their organisation. The respondents receive the mode scores of their company on the condition that over ten persons from the same company have done this assessment. These initial outcomes help the participants and the management to identify where they are in the strategic approach and the actions associated with diversity and its management. The DiMA assessment is a brief snapshot aiming at indicating to what extent an organisation has recognized diversity strategically important in its functions (HR, marketing and The summed scores provide an overall score indicator of diversity management competence in strategies and actions. Don't know -answers are scored as missing cases, and they are not counted in the mean of the item scores. Some items have been reversed automatically before scoring (i.e. 1=4, 2=3, 3=2, 4=1). 8

DiMA available at http://www.valodi.eu on request e.g. for the ValoDi (national) coordinators.

The result is presented as a mode (most common of all responses to each statement from all respondents in a participating organisation) sign in the continuum from reactive to proactive when 10 or more responses are given in a organisation. Hence, an individual respondent can compare one’s own result to that of the organization.

communication) and how systematically the management has promoted diversity in the day-today workplace processes and actions. We believe that by recognizing the challenges and opportunities of diversity the organisations may learn from it and utilize diversity more in connection to their work and to the changing management environment. The DiMA assessment is a starting point for a dialogue. It is recommended to follow a focused communications workshop to identify key messages of outcomes. Whenever possible, in each country our ValoDi team is present in order to deepen participants’ understanding of the selfassessment outcomes. ValoDi -team’s role is not to provide answers or recommendations. Instead, they facilitate a process of structured reflection and a dialogue enabling local participants to identify areas for improvement and to establish their own priorities for reform in diversity issues. The ValoDi expert pool offers support and tools to succeed in your efforts to build diversity initiatives, and extend your efforts outward through designed training programmes and consultation based on your needs. Interpretation process could start with an identification of the diversity profile of the approach of your organisation according to the scores in each statement. DiMA offers also means for discussions about your strategic approach in managing diversity and day-to-day workplace processes and actions. What do you do in diversity issues in your workplace? What is your purpose? What is your view on diversity in the future from the perspective of your organisation? How does the identification of dominant profile help you to evaluate your Diversity Management Strategy, and diversity considered in your daily work actions? Based on your evaluations, discuss about the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities or Threats for diversity management activities in your organization, focusing on •

Human resource planning and recruitment

•

External and internal communication

•

Introduction and guidance, and further training of staff

•

Performance and achievement appraisal including career development and remuneration

•

Customer services and marketing

The complexity of these efforts requires the interpretations of participants of their assessment outcomes. We need to acknowledge that managing diversity is context, country and industry dependent. Management of diversity is considered to be a holistic change process towards inclusiveness both at individual and organizational levels and, therefore, inevitably a long-term process.

2.1.4.2.

DIVERSITY AWARENESS MEASUREMENT AMONG STAFF 18

In order to assess the diversity awareness among staff, the ValoDi methodology offer another tool to DiMA, i.e. ValoDi Diversity Assessment. In the second phase of ValoDi methodology (created in the preceding TforD project10, 2006-2008), the organization is suggested to make awareness raising interventions among the staff by the ValoDi diversity assessment to map potential needs for the actual awareness training, which is tailored according to the results of the assessment. The diversity assessment tool consists of statements (96) for assessing experienced competence (attitudes, knowledge and skills) in eight diversity themes (gender, sexual orientation, health, disability, language, ethnic and cultural background, age as well as beliefs, values and opinions) at the individual and organizational level. The theoretical background of the awareness raising interventions leans on Mezirovâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concept of transformative learning (described in more detail in TforD Handbook).11

2.1.5.

INNOVATION AND DIVERSITY

The third step in ValoDi methodology, involves making even more use of diversity in an organization through taking on innovation methodology and training that are fostered through diversity. This aspect of ValoDi methodology leans of the work done among others by the ValoDi project partner Florida Training Centre. ValoDi training modules contain practical means for such work. The innovation elements of ValoDi methodology are described in detail in the following chapters of the ValoDi Handbook. Discussion ValoDi, including DiMA, methodology makes new and transcultural means for analysing how an organization manages diversity. We offer practitioners and managers a tools for identifying the diversity management approach of their organizations. Overall, the aim of the ValoDi methodology is to assist in managing diversity effectively.

To overcome the limitations of seeing management of diversity as promotion of equal rights for different social identity groups, the focus on diversity management and innovation opens new perspectives. Based on the assessed outcomes, it is possible to discuss strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or threats for diversity management activities in an organization, focusing on, e.g., human resource planning and recruitment, external and internal communication, and customer services. 10

TforD: http://www.takk.fi/index.php?id=634&L=1

TforD Handbook: http://www.takk.fi/fileadmin/user_upload/tford/TforD_HANDBOOK_FINAL_170908.pdf

Aulikki Sippola’s typology on the function of HR in four different diversity management paradigms has been applied here as a conceptual framework for building DiMA tool and training. The initial outcomes indicate that this framework will allow sufficient flexibility for different countries and different types of organisations to adopt and adapt it to suit national and local context and priorities. However, further substantial development efforts are still required for the DiMA instrument in order to acquire more detailed and fine-grained information on how organisations manage diversity. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to cooperate with the participants of different countries, companies and training organizations. They have participated in the development of the DiMA (pilot versions) by providing valuable feedback on the DiMA tool and on how to improve it. We look forward to further development endeavours in dialogue with organisations interested in management of diversity in their organisations. For example, the feedback of the assessments could later offer examples of different organisations and open up their steps and stories to proactive strategies and actions in managing diversity. In practice, managing diversity is about systematically and proactively seeing to it that all people feel to be treated fairly in most, if not all, of various organizational functions and processes no matter their perceptions, ways of working or their other characteristics that set them apart from the “us”, the main group. In an inclusive organizational culture, most people feel belonging to “us”.

2.1.6. REFERENCES http://www.valodi.eu Dass, P. & Parker B. (1999) ‘Strategies for Managing Human Resource Diversity: From Resistance to Learning’, Academy of Management Executive, 13(2).Sippola, S. (2007). Essays on human resource perspectives on diversity management. (Doctoral dissertation) Acta Wasaensia No. 180, Business Administration 75, Management and Organization. Thomas, D.A. & Ely, R.J. (1996) ‘Making Differences Matter: A New Paradigm for Managing Diversity’, Harvard Business Review, 74(5). Training Manual for Diversity Management. International Society for Diversity Management – IDM. 9/2007. Yhdenvertaisuussuunnittelun opas. Sisäasiainministeriö 10/2010.

2.2. DESCRIPTION OF THE VALODI METHODOLOGY Carlos GutiĂŠrrez DĂez and Pilar Ortega Leal, Florida Training Center The methodology of the Valodi Project aims to develop tools for organisations to acquire competence in diversity management and to use it as a source of innovation and benefits, both internally (generation of new processes and improvement of existing ones) and externally (development of new services or products, or modification of existing ones). To fulfil this goal, the project has defined a number of competencies to be developed by the company or organisation, for it to be able to manage diversity more effectively. Such competencies have been included in the Core Curriculum and divided into three approaches (blue, orange and green). The project has developed a number of evaluation tools and training materials. The methodology suggests three training itineraries or pathways to make progress in the management of diversity and innovation. Ideally, the ValoDi methodology proposes a set of training profiles and interventions for organizations to select from, based on identified needs. As described in detail earlier in section 2.2., the conceptual framework of the paradigms makes the basis of the Diversity Management Assessment Tool as a continuum from reactive to proactive stance of an organization on diversity and diversity management. In the creation of the actual training approaches the link to the conceptual framework is made in a different manner separately to support organizations to realize the potential of managing diversity and to move towards more proactive strategies and operations.

ValoDi methodology is flexible. The itineraries, with its training materials and tools, can be performed alone or simultaneously. It is recommended to analyse the results obtained through the use of the assessment tools before choosing a learning path. In any case, the company can decide what are the competences that are focused on to be developed based on their needs, interests, strengths or weaknesses. The elements that make up the ValoDi methodology and its three pathways are described next.

2.2.1. METHODOLOGY ELEMENTS

A) ValoDiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s methodology for diversity and innovation management The methodology is graphically represented by a hufourmmingbird. The starting point of this methodology is the identification of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs in the area of diversity. It reaches its prime when diversity is adequately managed and used as a driver of innovation.

B) Developing diversity management in an organisation Diversity management is symbolised by a plant. It grows as it travels the educational pathways, from a small shoot to blossom.

C) Evaluation elements Assessment tools are represented by a mirror. The methodology of the ValoDi project leans on four assessment tools: - Diversity Management assessment tool (and ensuing discussion) - Diversity Management interview - Diversity assessment tool - Innovation assessment tool

D) Pathways Pathways or itineraries are graphically represented by coloured lines. The pathway shows the actions to be taken by the organisation to fulfil the competence goals. There are three pathways or approaches (blue, orange and green). Each has its own competencies, assessment tools and training materials. These are the actions set for each individual pathway: - Evaluation - Needs definition - Training pathway - Goal fulfilment review

E) Training intervention The training intervention is represented by the images of two people. Following the evaluation completed by applying the assessment tools to each pathway, the competencies to be developed are defined by a training intervention. For an accurate definition of the training pathway, in addition to the needs identified, one must take into account the company's priority objectives. The training pathway determines the following: the group targeted by the training, the contents, the order of content delivery, and the length of the training action.

2.2.2. VALODI'S GENERAL ITINERARY

Valodiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s general itinerary is divided into three sub-itineraries or approaches: blue, orange and green. These approaches are intended to help the company reach a number of competencies to handle diversity and use it as a driver of innovation. The competencies include the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed by the company at different staff levels:

Blue profile: Company directors and managers. Orange profile: Middle managers and HR of staff and operations Green profile: Innovation management.

Any organisation interested in implementing this methodology can take the first step by identifying its profile in terms of reactivity or proactivity in managing diversity, which is facilitated by the assessment tools in the blue approach: Diversity Management assessment tool and Diversity interview. These tools will not only facilitate the definition of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s profile but also support in identifying its training needs. Based on such needs, the company can continue with next training itinerary, i.e. the blue one, or as applicable (orange or green). 24

2.2.2.1.

BLUE APPROACH

Introduction As said earlier, ValoDi's methodology starts by facilitating the detection of the organisation's needs. To that end, all companies or organisations seeking to implement the methodology can use the tools of the first itinerary or approach, which contribute in portraying of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s profile and in determining the steps to take. As a result, the company may have more emphasis towards a blue, orange or green profile. A blue profile means that the company can continue with the training approach of that level. If the profile leans more towards orange or green, the actions defined in the second level can be taken. (See also sections 2.1. and 2.2. for more details on the content of the profiles.)

The assessment tools indicate the reactivity or proactivity in managing diversity. Reactivity or proactivity is found both in strategic and operational levels (see Image 2. in section 2.2. showing that 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2,5 means reactivity; 2,5 - 4 proactivity). An organisation can eventually choose which training profile to take based on both the assessments and ensuing discussions.

Profile of companies to continue training at this level Companies with a blue profile need to improve their general strategies and human resources management and other actions concerning diversity. These organisations have only tackled diversity in a shallow way or not at all, thus ignoring potential links between diversity and their products or services. They have not implemented any diversity-related measures yet.

In blue-profile companies, diversity may be considered an issue that needs to be resolved. In fact, the company might have had problems of different kinds concerning diversity: (verbal and non-verbal) communication misunderstandings, work conflicts caused by opposing opinions, non-compliance with disability regulations or recommendations (non-adapted jobs or posts as a result of the lack of knowledge or poor facilities), etc.

ValoDi seeks to overcome these situations by means of training and a number of actions that can be taken by the human resources personnel.

People targeted in this level Managers and directors must get involved in promoting diversity management. Training at this level is specifically targeted at those with decision making power in the company: managers, human resources staff... Competence to be reached in this level The organisation is proactive about diversity and recognises diversity in their workforce.

The organisation is aware of Diversity Management as something beneficial to development and innovation in the company at an internal and external level.

The organisation knows companies with good practices that can be used as a reference.

The organisation knows the diversity management model that will be applied.

The organisation includes diversity into the corporate values.

The organisation coordinates and plans Diversity Management.

The organisation analyses the costs and benefits of applying Diversity Management policies.

Results of this level in the company

Awareness is raised among the management (structure).

Identification of the organisational competence level in diversity management.

Primary needs identification in relation with diversity (disputes...).

Development of corporate social responsibility (in particular the social aspects of the term)

Assessment tools The tools in this approach will define the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s profile. Based on it, they will continue with the blue approach, or as applicable (orange or green). - Diversity management assessment tool. This tool defines the reactivity or proactivity of an organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diversity management (in human relations operations and in strategies). - Diversity management interview. It provides qualitative information on diversity and innovation management at the company. Training pathway Training in this itinerary is aimed at developing the competence characteristic of this level in the managing staff, human resources employees or people in charge of diversity management. For further information on tools and training materials, see the blue-level modules.

2.2.2.2.

ORANGE APPROACH

Introduction

As described earlier, it is suggested that all companies or organisations start the methodology by using the assessment tools in the blue approach. Following this evaluation and ensuing 27

discussions, some companies may lean more towards the an orange profile. This means that they already have blue-level competence and, subsequently, directors and managers in the company support diversity management. To continue making progress, the orange approach needs to be implemented. It also offers assessment tools and training materials that will help the company raise awareness with the employees and include diversity into human resources operations in a cross-cutting way. Profile of companies to continue training at this level Orange-profile companies already have managers that are aware of the importance of diversity management.

In ValoDi methodology, two main training needs can be identified in this company type: including diversity in human resources operations, or improving diversity competence with the rest of the staff.

People targeted in this level This approach targets two types of employees: - For inclusion and awareness purposes: middle managers, teachers, and people responsible for different employees. - At an operational level: human resources staff. Competence to be reached in this level

For inclusion purposes:

The organisation (including middle managers) is proactive towards diversity and its management.

The organisation (especially middle managers) is aware of individual differences caused by factors like age, gender, ethnic and cultural background, language, health, disability, ideology and opinion.

The organisation knows how to take skills to the practice for diversity to become an asset.

The organisation knows how to solve conflicts caused by diversity issues.

The organisation knows how diversity aspects can affect communication and the rest of working processes, and how to foster understanding between employees.

At an operational level:

The organization knows how to manage diversity through diversity management action plans and with a focus on the following HR operations: recruitment, training, promotion, compensations, performance evaluation. 28

The organisation can evaluate diversity in their staff.

Results of this level in the company

Employee awareness.

Design of diversity management actions.

Cross-cutting inclusion of diversity in HR operations: recruitment, training, promotion, compensations, performance evaluation.

Development of corporate social responsibility (in particular the social aspects of the term)

Assessment tools This itinerary uses the diversity management assessment tool. This tool provides information on the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s need for competence at an individual and organisational level for the eight diversity variables defined as especially relevant by the European Commission, divided into attitudes, competencies and skills. Training pathway This training pathway aims to develop the competencies of this level in intermediary managers and/or the staff. For further information on training materials, see the orange-level modules.

2.2.2.3.

GREEN APPROACH

Introduction When the company gets its members of staff and human resources personnel to adequately handle diversity, then it moves on to the last level, i.e. the green approach. In this approach, the company should benefit from diversity by using it as a driver of innovation.

Profile of companies that must continue training at this level

Green-profile companies have committed managers who are aware of the importance of diversity management, HR operations that include diversity on a cross-cutting basis, and employees with a high competence level as regards diversity.

They are proactive towards diversity and diversity management, and they seek to enhance their innovation competence to be able to benefit from diversity.

Competence to be reached in this level

The organisation considers diversity management to be a source from which elements can be drawn for innovation.

The members of the organisation are voluntarily involved in innovation activities.

The organisation knows good practices in innovation and the conditions that must be met in order to innovate.

The organisation knows the different types of innovation and their benefits.

The organisation knows the methodologies needed to innovate through diversity.

The organisation knows its level of innovation management.

The organisation knows how to apply methodologies and get results in order to innovate and generate new business opportunities from diversity management.

The organisation facilitates business options linked to diversity management.

Results of this level in the company Competence to improve or generate new products/services (external level) or processes (internal level).

People targeted in this level Staff involved in innovation management. Assessment tools Innovation evaluation questionnaire. 30

Training pathway: This training pathway aims to develop competence in innovation management through diversity. For further information on tool and training materials, see the green-level modules.

3. APPLICATION OF THE TRAINING MATERIALS

PART III: APPLICATION OF THE TRAINING MATERIALS

3.1. DIDACTIC GUIDE FOR APPLY THIS METHODOLOGY Pilar Ortega Leal and Carlos GutiĂŠrrez DĂez, Florida Training Center.

3.1.1. WHAT IS THE GOAL? The goal of the ValoDi materials is to provide users with the necessary tools for them to develop diversity and diversity management competence. This guide is intended to facilitate the design of training actions on the basis of ValoDi materials of different levels (i.e., training profiles), length and reach, aimed at encouraging the development of diversity management competence and skills.

3.1.2. WHO ARE THE MATERIALS ADDRESSED TO (TARGET)? ValoDi offers evaluation tools and training materials. Preferably, the evaluation tools must be used under supervision by one of the ValoDi participating institutions. The target audience of the training materials varies depending of the skills to be developed. The blue level (i.e., training profile) is for those willing to develop skills in the area of diversity management; the orange level consists of two sections: one for those seeking to promote staff involvement and another one for those working in human resources; lastly, the green level is for those looking to handle innovation in the company.

This illustration shows each individual level and their target audience.

BLUE ORANGE GREEN Approach Approach Approach Didactic Guide

Didactic Guide

Didactic Guide 1 .Introduction to diversity management and its value to the enterprises

2 . Models and best practices for diversity management

3. First steps for the Diversity Management in the Company

4. Tools for the Diversity Management

5 to 12. Awareness modules: Genre, Sexual orientation, health, disability, language, ethnic and cultural background, age, ideology andopinion. 13. Diversity Management at the HR operations

15. Introduction to innovation and its link with diversity

16. Model and best practices in innovation and diversity

17. Primeros pasos para innovar a travĂŠs de la diversidad de la empresa.

18. Creativity tecniques 14 Possitive discrimination plan

3.1.3. WHAT CAN YOU FIND? The ValoDi Project aims to develop tools for organisations to acquire competence in diversity management and to use it as a source of innovation and advantages, both internally (generation of new processes and improvement of existing ones) and externally (development of new services or products, or modification of existing ones). For companies to be able to handle diversity and derive innovation from it, every training module includes a number of competences that the organisation must develop. Such competences have been divided into three levels (blue, orange and green) based on their development. To develop them, 18 training modules have been prepared and divided into the three levels of the ValoDi methodology (for more information, see the section â&#x20AC;&#x153;ValoDi Systemâ&#x20AC;?). Next is a chart including the three training modules in the levels.

the materials of the project include three evaluation tools: Diversity Management Assessment Tool, Diversity Management Interview and Diversity Assessment Tool (For more information, please see module 4 “Tools for the diversity management”).

3.1.4. HOW CAN THE MATERIALS BE USED? Three steps are suggested: evaluation, needs definition, and training action design.

Needs definition

Training Action Design

Evaluation

The use of the training materials for the development of competence can start from a specific need defined by the company, even though the use of ValoDi’s assessment tools is recommended for actions based on a more accurate diagnosis. VALODI offers three evaluation tools: two are quantitative: Diversity Management Assessment tool (and ensuing discussion) and Diversity Assessment tool; and one is qualitative (Diversity Management interview). The application of these tools provides us with results for the definition of the training needs of our target group. Let us describe the evaluation tools.

Evaluation and needs definition Diversity Management Assessment Tool The DM Assessment Tool is extensively described in section 2.1. The results obtained by applying this tool together with other ways of indication (such as a qualitative interview and ensuing discussions) defines pro-activity or reactivity in strategies and Human Resources and some other operations in the company/organisation in question. The development of the DM Assessment Tool is based on an ongoing international debate and research on diversity management put together among other researchers by Aulikki Sippola. In her study (2007) Sippola suggests that four corporate paradigms can be applied. In ValoDi, we have made an attempt to illustrate the state of diversity management in an organization by a four-fold table as a result of the (electronic) DM Assessment, with an axe x for 35

actions and axe y for strategic approach (see Image 2. below for an example). However, it has proved too challenging during this short and relatively practically oriented project alone. Hence, we chose a moderate approach with the DM Assessment result. A single respondent as well as an organisation can view the result of responses to the DM Assessment as a set of continuums from reactive to proactive for each statement of the assessment (see Image 1. below). This can make a tangible basis for further discussions on the diversity management profile of an organization and for analysing the training needs. The needs identified are compared using the qualitative tool, Diversity Management Interview. A blank four-fold profile (on paper) can be used in the discussion to support the definition of the appropriate profile together with the organization (see Image 2. for an example of the profile). In the following, we explain the resulting training profiles (based on multiple ways of indication), their coordinates and the training recommended for the resulting profile. The training approach is identified with the blue, orange or green colour. Ideally, the ValoDi methodology proposes a set of training profiles and interventions for organizations to select from based on identified needs. However, it is good to remember, that even if the organization may choose to start with one approach, all other training modules in other training approaches are also available. As mentioned earlier (see for more details in 2.1.), the conceptual framework of the paradigms makes the basis of the Diversity Management Assessment Tool as a continuum from reactive to proactive stance on diversity and diversity management. In the creation of the actual training approaches the link to the conceptual framework of the paradigms is made in a different manner separately to support organizations to realize the potential of managing diversity and to move towards more proactive strategies and operations.

1. Reactive in strategies and HR and other operations. If the placement is mainly reactive on the strategy axis and reactive on the action axis, training is recommended to start with the blue modules on diversity management BLUE APPROACH - Training Modules 1-4. Focus on diversity management. 2. Reactive in strategies and proactive in HR and other operations. If the placement is mainly reactive on the strategy axis and proactive on the action axis,, training is recommended to start with the orange modules for the promotion of diversity awareness (Modules 5-12). ORANGE APPROACH - Training Modules 5-12. Focus on diversity awareness. 3. Proactive in strategies and reactive in HR and other operations If the placement is mainly proactive on the strategy axis and reactive on the action axis, training is recommended to start with the orange modules on human resources strategies (Modules 13-15). 36

ORANGE APPROACH - Training Modules 13 and 14. Focus on human resources operations. 4. proactive in strategies and HR and other operations. If the placement is mainly proactive on the strategy axis and proactive on the action axis, training is recommended to start with the green modules on innovation and diversity. (Modules 16-19). GREEN APPROACH- Training Modules 15-18. Focus on innovation and diversity.

Example of diversity management assessment tool results. (Note, that the colours scheme is independent and does not directly reflect that of the training profiles.)

Example: results of the application of the diversity management Assessment tool and ensuring discussions on the definition of the organisational profile

The Diversity Management Assessment Tool together with the qualitative Diversity Management Interview and discussions provide the placement shown in the Image 2. The yellow dot illustrates the coordinates in which the company views itself to be positioned. As can be seen, its placement in the four-fold table picture is about 2.75 points in strategies and about 2.75 points in actions, its profile being ”LEARNING‐AND‐EFFECTIVENESS PARADIGM”. Therefore, it is quite a proactive company as far as both strategies and operations are concerned. Based on the analysis and discussions of the placement shown in the picture, it is possible to define the needs of the 37

company. In this case, training is recommended in innovation, but other needs can be checked by means of an interview (Diversity Management Interview) in relation with operations and strategies showing some sort of shortage. Then, for acquiring skills in â&#x20AC;&#x153;innovation and diversityâ&#x20AC;? we shall mainly use the materials in the green approach and for the rest of the needs identified, the orange and blue approaches.

Image 2. Example: Results of the application of the Diversity Management Assessment Tool and ensuing discussions on the definition of the organizational profile.

Diversity Assessment Tool The Valodi Diversity Assessment Tool evaluates competence at an individual and organisational level in eight diversity variables: gender, sexual orientation, health, disability, language, ethnic and cultural background, age, and beliefs, values and opinions. The findings show the competence level for the 8 variables in individuals and in the organisation and for different attitudes, knowledge and skills, which allows us to determine training needs based on the variables and the competence aspect in which shortages are identified (attitudes, knowledge or skills). EXAMPLE: RESULTS OF THE APPLICATION OF THE DIVERSITY ASSESSMENT TOOL.

Image3: Results of the application of the ValoDi Diversity Assessment Tool

As shown in the example, ‘language’ stands out from the eight variables while results are poor for the following items: “Ethnic and cultural background”, attitude-wise but especially skill-wise, “age” at knowledge level, and “disability” concerning attitudes and skills. After the analysis of the results, we can conclude that training must focus on disability, ethnic and cultural background, and age. The training materials (Modules 5-12) allow us to select specific activities for the development of attitudes, knowledge and/or skills.

3.2. TRAINING ACTION DESIGN The proposed training materials are based on competence acquisition. ValoDi “Core Curriculum” includes the skills, contents and training modules connected with competence acquisition as defined by ValoDi. The competences to be developed are selected on the basis of the needs identified; the definition of learning goals, teaching contents and activities for the development of the training action is simplified with the training modules.

The table next can be useful for organising the training action: TRAINING ACTION ORGANISATION Identified needs Target group Skills to be developed Learning goals Training modules Activities selected Timeline Resources Evaluation

TRAINING ACTION EXAMPLE Depending on the company's commitment, the training objective can vary, from raising awareness among the staff to their specialisation. Next is a list with the training modules of the handbook, as well as some recommendations on the modules to deliver depending on the goal of the training. Modules 1.

Awareness

Introduction

Insight

Specialisation

diversity

management and its value to X enterprises 2 . Models and best practices for diversity management 3.

First

steps

for

Diversity

Management in the Company

Tools

for

Diversity

Management 5 to 12. Awareness modules: gender,

sexual

health,

disability,

orientation, language, X

ethnic and cultural background, age, ideology and opinion. 13. Diversity Management in HR

operations 14. Positive discrimination plan 15. Introduction to innovation and its link with diversity 16. Model and best practices in innovation and diversity

X X

17. First steps to innovate via diversity 18. Creativity techniques

X X

3.3. TRAINING MATERIALS

APPROACH BLUE: TRAINING MODULES ON DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT

1. Introduction to diversity management and its value to the enterprises 2. Models and best practices for diversity management 3. First steps for the Diversity Management in the Company 4. Tools for the Diversity Management

Development, Coordination and compilation of materials by Pilar Ortega Leal and Carlos GutiĂŠrrez DĂez (Florida Training Centre)

APPROACH BLUE TRAINING MODULE 1, AWARENESS: INTRODUCTION TO DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AND ITS VALUE TO THE ENTERPRISES. MODULE 1: Introduction to Diversity Management and its value to the enterprises

INDEX 1. COMPETENCES ADQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. 2. LEARNING AIMS 3. TARGET GROUP 4. TRAINING TOPICS 5. PRACTICE SPACE 6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY.

1. COMPETENCES ADQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE.

The organization is proactive about diversity.

The organization recognizes the diversity into their workforce.

The organization is aware of Diversity Management as beneficial to the

development and

the innovation for the company at an internal and external level.

2. LEARNING AIMS 1.

To know what is diversity and diversity management

Give example with proactive attitudes on D.M. that brake stereotypes and

make

visible as a benefit for the company 3.

To accept the current legislation and adopting a positive vision of it 43

To recognize the importance of diversity as value or tool that generates benefit

To identify the benefits of DM at internal level: management processes and internal services (HR, Mk, Quality, etc.)

To identify the benefits of DM at external level: increase of the market, client loyalty, etc.

To identify the link between innovation, diversity and its benefits.

3. TARGET GROUP This training module is addressed to management board, HR responsible, other departments’ responsible people and intermediate managers.

4. TRAINING TOPICS Diversity and diversity management concept Vision of the diversity at the company: attitudes and stereotypes. Training on the recognition of stereotypes and prejudices. Analysis of the individual variables of diversity in the workforce

Legislation related with diversity and its factors (disability, gender, sexual orientation…)

Ethical motivations to manage Diversity. Business and social benefits to Diversity Management. How can my company innovate from its diversity?

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. DIVERSITY AND DIVE RSITY MANAGEMENT CONCEPT 5.1.1.

DIVERSITY CONCEPT

“We live in a world, that includes all kinds of people: shy and outgoing, bold and beautiful, black, white, gay, straight and transvestites, believers and disbelievers, healthy and sick, exhausted by life and glowing the wellbeing. Diversity is a term borrowed from biology; it stands for the prosperity of species in the nature. Diversity in social and behavioural sciences refers to the difference of people and groups of people as it comes to age, health, ethnic and cultural background, gender, sexual orientation, religion and ideologies. Diversity is often connected with multicultural issues, which, in fact, only is one diversity factor.

Ideological and even idealistic tone for diversity mind-set is hard to pass, since associations linked to diversity as a concept are often idealized: beautiful and good things for all good people!. Diversity is considered a resource which hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been utilized well enough in the working life. Especially the utilization of the diversity of different people is of current interest once the predicted labour shortage comes across our country and our continent. The diversity factors that we are using in this handbook derived from the equality legislation of the European Union (EU) are: age, language, ethnic and cultural background, gender and sexual orientation, ideologies and opinions, health and disabilityâ&#x20AC;? (Matinheikki-Kokko 2007).

5.1.2.

THEORICAL MODELS ABOUT DIVERSITY CONCEPT

5.1.2.1. THE DIVERSITY WHEEL FROM LODEM M. 12 This model has been included as just one of the many models that have been developed to illustrate the various dimensions that can contribute to the complexity of cultural diversity. This model illustrates both the primary and secondary dimensions of diversity that exert an impact on each of us at home, work and in society. While each dimension adds a layer of complexity to individual identity, it is the dynamic interaction among all the dimensions that influences self-image, values, opportunities and expectations. Together, the primary and secondary dimensions of diversity give definition and meaning to our lives by contributing to a synergistic, integrated whole - the diverse person.

5.1.2.2. PRIMARY DIMENSIONS OF DIVERSITY Minimally,

primary

dimensions

diversity

include

age,

ethnic

heritage,

gender,

mental/physical abilities and characteristics, race and sexual orientation. These six differences are termed core dimensions of diversity because they exert an important impact on our early socialisation and a powerful, sustained impact on our experiences, values, assumptions and expectations throughout every stage of life.

5.1.2.3. SECONDARY DIMENSIONS OF DIVERSITY Key secondary dimensions of diversity include but are not limited to elements as illustrated by the outer circle. Generally, secondary dimensions are less visible, and many contain a greater element of choice.

From: http://www.tedi.uq.edu.au/cdip/pdfs/folio_1.pdf [17/05/2011]

Primary Dimensions

Secondary Dimensions

Image: Loden Associates, Inc.

5.1.2.4. THE DIVERSITY ICEBERG14 MODEL Edward T. Hall's Cultural Iceberg is the base of this model. In 1976 Edward T. Hall suggested that culture was like an iceberg in that there are two parts to culture - internal and external and only a small portion of the external culture is above water, is visible in the behaviours of a society. The larger portion, internal culture, is hidden beneath the surface in the beliefs, values, and thought patterns of a society. In other words, the external culture is part of the conscious mind, and internal culture is part of the subconscious mind15. This model can be related with diversity. As Mountain Top Institute states: “The iceberg comparison helps understand the visible and non-visible aspects of diversity. Most initiatives are focused on visible diversity, on what’s above the waterline, i.e. colour of the skin, gender, race, and age. Some aspects may be visible sometimes: nationality, physical abilities, ethnic group, health, culture and religion. Finally, non-visible aspects are found below the waterline: beliefs, sexual orientation, outlook, etc.”. 13

Loden, M. http://www.loden.com/Site/Dimensions.html [17/05/2011]and

Diversity Center http://www.diversitycentral.com/leaders_toolkit/toolkit/definition1.html [17/05/2011] 14

Mountain Institute http://www.mountaintopinstitute.org/pdf/Monograph/Monograph%20-%20Iceberg%20Model.pdf [17/05/2011] 15

Constant Foreigner http://www.constantforeigner.com/iceberg-model.html [25/07/2011]

The activity “diversity iceberg” offers an insight into this model

Image: Diversity iceberg

Exercise 1. Icebreak: First Impressions

Goal: Participants will discover that their first impressions of people are not always true. Time: 10–20 minutes, depending on discussion. Materials: Enough copies of “The Herman Grid” for each participant.

Image: The Herman Grid

Procedure: Pass out copies of “The Herman Grid.” Ask participants to share their first impression of this image. Ask if they see grey dots in the white spaces. Instructions: “Look at the squares and you will see gray dots appearing at the intersection of 16

Brook Graham. Diversity and Inclusion Consultants HTTP://WWW .BROOKGRAHAM.COM/W HATWEDO/ICEBERG.ASPX [20/05/2011] 17

From Casse, Pierre. Training for the cross-cultural mind: A handbook for cross-cultural trainers and consultants. 2nd edition. Washington, D.C.: The Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research, 1981. Consulted in Ingram, P.D. (2008) Diversity Activities for youth and adults. Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University.

the horizontal and vertical white lines”. Discussion: Are the grey dots really there? This is an example of how we sometimes see things that do not exist. Sometimes this happens when we see people, too. Ask participants to think about the following questions: Have you ever had a wrong first impression of someone who had a different background or came from another culture? Has someone from a different background or another culture ever had the wrong first impression of you? Ask participants to share and discuss their examples in the large group or in small groups. Exercise 2. Diversity Iceberg (20 minutes) Purpose: To broaden participants understanding of the range of personal characteristics included in the term diversity.

Instructions:

Explore the different aspects of diversity using the Diversity Iceberg Model. Begin by drawing a large triangle on a sheet of chart paper.

Add curved lines to the triangle to represent the “water line.” Describe the analogy of the iceberg having only 1/8 of its actual mass above water to understanding diversity. Explain that people have only a limited understanding of another person’s identity when they stop at the “surface,” or those characteristics that are readily observable, then elicit from participants identity descriptors that belong “above the water line.” List these characteristics on the chart paper around the upper peak of the iceberg.

Explain that a second group of characteristics include those that are sometimes assumed based on observation or other perceptions (i.e. person wearing a wedding ring or necklace with cross or Star of David). Elicit suggestions for characteristics in this category and write them on the iceberg’s “water line.”

Lastly, explain that many descriptors are not readily observable, but they are important aspects of identity that people often use to describe themselves to others. Elicit suggestions for these characteristics, writing them on the portion of the iceberg that is “below the water line.”

Note that some descriptors may, for some people, fall in different areas of the iceberg. Where would we put religion (if not already mentioned)? National origin?

Acknowledge that one complication of the iceberg model is that some assumed aspects of identity, such as gender, race, etc. are not always accurate. Elicit thoughts and comments from the group.

Conclude by explaining that people’s understanding of diversity is often limited when it is based primarily on race and ethnicity. The iceberg model provides a clear picture of the many aspects of identity that are included in the term diversity.

Above the Water Line: Gender, Race, Clothing/Attire, Physical Appearance, Age/Generation, Physical disability On the Water Line: Marital Status, Religion – Spirituality

Below the Water Line: Ethnic Background, Nationality, Education, Sexual Orientation, Language, Hobbies Interests, Career/Position, Health, Geographic Origins, Family Roles, etc.

5.1.3.

DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT CONCEPT

“Equality means treating everybody the same (McDougall 1996; Thomas & Ely 1996), while the aim in diversity management is the acceptance of a diverse population to form the workforce and the realization of the potential of all; not favouring any groups (Kandola & Fullerton 1998). Diversity can be perceived as a long term strategic business factor having a significant impact on productivity, motivation and innovation, market competitiveness, teamwork and customer loyalty (Bagshaw 2004).” (Aulikki Sippola A. 2007, p. 24)18 Considering, Diversity Management refers to the systematic and planned commitments by organisations to promote a diversity of Employees and Customer services in order to increase the acceptance of diverse workforce and the realization of its potential and cultivating harmony in the workplace, and being a proactive actor and learner in a continuously changing social and political environment”. “Diversity management (DM)19 is the label given to a wide range of management practices which seek to promote the employment and career development of a range of specified groups. Under EU law, the Racial Equality Directive (2004/43/EC) and the Employment Equality Directive (2000/78/EC) have enforced the rights of employees to non-discrimination in employment on the basis of age, beliefs, religion, gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity. Many employers now run diversity management programmes for these groups. These programmes seek to improve recruitment, retention and promotion practices and also seek to 18

Extracted of: Kokko, Kaija “DEVELOPING THE VALODI DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT TOOL”.

ValoDi Project [3/2/2010] 19

Managing diversity in the workplace: competitive advantages for companies. Report of EMCC seminar Paris, 14– 15 June 2007 http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/content/source/eu07007a.htm?p1=reports&p2=null [17/05/2011]

change the ethos of the company in relation to the diversity of its workforce”. Exercise 3. Hypothetical Case T4D (Transport for Develop), a transport company, operates nationally from four offices. Most members of staff are men aged 45-50. They are drivers. The other employees work at the office and the warehouse. There are very few women in the company, all of them in clerical jobs. Their work contracts are not long-term because, as they themselves describe "the atmosphere at work is sexist, and there’s neither respect nor recognition”. Several migrant workers have been hired as drivers and warehouse employees, which has given rise to disputes, as the staff considers them to be a threat to their jobs. No people with disabilities are employed, which has caused the company to be legally sanctioned. The workers go on sick leave a few times a year as a result of muscular problems and nervous and circulatory system conditions. There are no training plans in place. Communication takes place vertically, from top to bottom. The managers do not perceive any issues but they criticise the person in charge of human resources for the high turnover rates and the subsequent downtimes and recruitment costs. Answer these questions: - What are the existing/potential diversity issues in the company? - Would you implement a diversity management plan? - Where would you start? - Would you make any changes in human resource operations? (Recruitment, remuneration policies, training...) - What management measures would you recommend?

5.2. VISION OF THE DIVERSITY AT THE COMPANY: ATTITUDES AND STEREOTYPES. TRAINING ON THE RECOGNITION OF STEREOTYPES AND PREJUDICES. ANALYSIS OF THE INDIVIDUAL VARIABLES OF DIVERSITY IN THE WORKFORCE Through the following activities analyse the approach your company or organization has on diversity.

Exercise 4 Write some factors that affect the attitude of diversity in the workplace and how these attitudes can improve the effectiveness and cooperation in the internal environment of the organization Exercise 5 50

Can the equality behaviour create a new climate in the workplace? Refer some characteristic circumstances from your organization. 20

Exercise 6: Chain of Diversity

Goal: Participants will discover and recognize the many ways in which they are similar and are different from others in the group, as well as the ways in which each person is unique. Time: 15â&#x20AC;&#x201C;30 minutes, depending on the number of participants. Materials: Glue sticks and enough strips of coloured construction paper so that each participant will have six strips. Strips should be about 1.25 to 1.5 inches wide. Procedure: This activity is a strong follow-up to an initial discussion about differences and similarities among people from different groups. Introduce this activity by inviting participants to look at some of their own similarities and differences. Pass bundles of coloured strips around the room. Ask each participant to take six strips. Ask participants to think of ways in which they are similar to and different from the other people in the room. On each strip, participants should write down one similarity and one difference. When completed, each person should have written six ways in which they are similar and six ways in which they are different from the other people in the room. Tell participants to be prepared to share what they have written on two of their strips with the whole group. If group members are having difficulty, give some examples of ways that people may be different or similar, such as appearance, birth order, the type of community in which they live, hobbies and interests, age, parental status, or marital status. Ask each person to share two ways he or she is the same and two ways he or she is different from the other people in the room. Start a chain by overlapping and gluing together the ends of one strip. Pass a glue stick to each person and ask the participants to add all six of their strips to the chain. Continue around the room until all participants have added their strips to the chain. Discussion: Ask participants to reflect on the many things they have in common, as well as the ways that each person in the group is unique. Conclude by pointing out that even though members of the group come from different backgrounds, in many ways they are the same. Display the Chain of Diversity on a bulletin board or around the doorway of your meeting room. The Chain of Diversity will symbolize the common aspects and the uniqueness that each person contributes to the group. Exercise 7. What do you know or what have you heard?21

Ingram, P.D. (2008) Diversity Activities for youth and adults. Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University.

Goal: Participants will recognize the widespread use of stereotypes. Time: 20–30 minutes. Materials: Large sheets of newsprint, tape, markers, and wall space or other surfaces to which newsprint may be taped. Procedure: Before the presentation, label the top of each sheet of newsprint with the name of a different type of person or group. Try to include a variety of dimensions of diversity. Examples may include Women, Men, Teenagers, African people, Asian people, Latino Americans, Catholics, Christians, Jews, Arabs, Moslems, Amish People, Wealthy People, Poor People, The Homeless, People on Welfare, People With a Physical Challenge, People 75 Years and Older, People Who Live in the Country, People Who Live in the City, and others. Fold each sheet and tape the sheets on the walls or other surfaces in a manner that does not reveal the label. Leave enough space between them so that small groups can form around each sheet. You may choose to introduce this activity with a brief discussion about culture and its impact on our behaviour. Be sure to point out that culture is something we begin learning as very young children, that the rules of our culture are often not written but are learned from those around us, and that as children we generally accept these rules without question. Tell participants you want to engage them in an activity called “What Do You Know or What Have You Heard?” Begin unfolding the posted newsprint sheets so that the labels are revealed. Tell each participant to circulate around the room to each sheet of newsprint and, with a marker, write one thing that they either “know” or that they have heard about the people or group identified by the label. Emphasize that what they write can be something that they know or something they have heard. Allow enough time for each participant to add a thought to each list. Then invite participants to take a few minutes to observe the completed lists. Exercise 8: discussion Ask participants the following questions: What do many of the comments we have written on the lists represent? Are they all true? Where did they come from? (Responses might include parents, friends, teachers, books, the media, and others.) Lead a discussion about stereotypes and the fact that we become conditioned to think about stereotypes on an almost automatic basis when we see or hear about someone whose background is different from our own. We all use stereotypes at one point or another. The important thing is that we begin to become more conscious of the fact that we are often 21

Adapted of Ingram, P.D. (2008) Diversity Activities for youth and adults. Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University.

thinking “on automatic.” We must stop to ask ourselves if what we are thinking is a fact or a stereotype.

5.3. REGULATIONS ON DIVERSITY AND DIVERSITY VARIABLES (DISABILITY, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION…) The findings of the analysis of 495 organisations in the study “The business case for Diversity. Good practices in the workplace”22 show that “48% of all the companies in the business sector are actively engaged in promoting workplace diversity and the antidiscrimination agenda in one form or another. Whilst less than a quarter have well established policies and procedures, many more are in the process of implementing diversity policies within their company. However, with the other 52% of companies in the business sector still not engaging in the broad range of strands covered by the current legislative requirements on equality and antidiscrimination, there is an urgent need for all relevant stakeholders to increase their efforts in developing awareness and expertise to spread implementation. Despite variations in the number of responses per country and business sector, this pattern of implementation is generally true of all countries and sectors”. European Union Directives23 about Diversity In 2000, the European Union formulated Directives to give a framework for Member States to establish local legislation that guarantees equal opportunities to all people based on respect and inclusion of their cultural and demographic diversities. Currently, the EU non-discrimination Directives prohibit direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of: Gender Race or ethnic origin Religion or belief Disability Age Sexual orientation The scope of protection against discrimination varies for the different grounds listed above on 22

European Commission (2005). The Business case for Diversity. Good practices in the Workplace. Belgium: European Commission. 23

Extracted from: The European Institute for Managing Diversity. http://www.iegd.org/englishok/legislacion.htm [20/05/2011]

the area of employment and training. Directives also extend to the areas of education, housing, provision of goods and services, etc. These texts also contain precise definitions of direct and indirect discrimination and of harassment. They also provide direction that allows certain exceptions to the principle of equal opportunities, which are defined as legitimate in a limited range of circumstances. Both Directives prohibit four types of discriminatory behaviour: Direct Discrimination Indirect Discrimination Harassment Instruction to discriminate The directives provide a minimum standard in non-discrimination law for all member states. Member states have an obligation to transpose the directives into national law and can only improve upon the minimum standard, they cannot have national legislation that goes below that standard. European Union: Treaty of Amsterdam, 1999 (art.13) Treaty of Lisbon, 2000 Directive against racial and ethnic discrimination, 2000/43/EC Directive against age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or relieve

2000/78/EC-

Applicable 2003-2006 2001-2006 Community Action Programme EU Charter Fundamental Rights European Constitution: "United in Diversity â&#x20AC;&#x153; Europe offers the best possibilities to advance in a grand adventure of a single space of privilege for human hopeâ&#x20AC;? Exercise 8 Carry out a study on the regulations applicable to your company as regards these diversity aspects: gender, sexual orientation, health, disability, language, ethnic and cultural background, age, ideology and opinion. - What diversity requirements does my company comply with? - What diversity requirements does my company not comply with? What is needed to fulfil them? Would cooperation with an NGO or another organisation be useful? If yes, specify the NGO or organisation and the cooperation you envisage.

5.4. ETHICAL MOTIVATIONS FOR MANAGE DIVERSITY

The following comments24 on ethical motivation have been drawn from the analysis “The business case for diversity: “Employers and companies tend to adopt diversity policies and practices for ethical, regulatory or economic reasons, or a combination of these….Many companies are making strong links between Diversity and Inclusion strategies on the one hand, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on the other….Employees too have changing and growing expectations of ethnical behaviour in the workplace, valuing work environments that promote inclusion, respect, openness, collaboration and equity. Good practice companies therefore seek to achieve a positive company image in terms of equality, diversity and inclusion, and believe that a commitment to these issues is essential for any business to be viewed as modern, progressive and well managed…Companies rarely act on the basis of just one driver alone. Although many of the case study examples in the Compendium adopted equality policies mainly for ethnical reasons, they still expect their efforts to produce business benefits”. Exercise 9 The United Nations Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Many companies have decided to integrate into their values and principles the measures defined by this initiative25. Review the ten principles underpinning the initiative Global Compact United Nations http://www.unglobalcompact.org/ and analyse to what extent your company fulfils them.

5.5. DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AS BUSINESS AND SOCIAL BENEFIT From the website “For Diversity against Discrimination”26 the European Commission makes reference to the following benefits for businesses that can be derived from diversity: “EU legislation outlaws discrimination at work on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, disability, age, sexual orientation and religion or belief.

European Commission (2005). The Business case for Diversity. Good practices in the Workplace. Belgium: European Commission 25

Global Compact http://www.unglobalcompact.org/ [04/04/2011]

European Commission. Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. For diversity Against Discrimination. http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/fdad/cms/stopdiscrimination/diversity_in_the_eu/diversity_business/benefits ofdiversity.html?langid=en [20/05/2011]

Complying with legislation should only be seen as the first step though as studies show that building a diverse workforce can be good for business. Specifically, this research reveals that putting in place a diversity strategy can help you access a wider pool of talent and to recruit and retain highly qualified employees. Research involving organisations across Europe shows how creating and managing a diverse organisation can provide real benefits, whether they are in the private, public or not-for-profit sectors, whether they are large or small. Diversity management strategies can help to create a link between the internal and external aspects of the work of an organisation. Whilst each organisation needs to work out its own priorities, these benefits can include: Attracting, recruiting and retaining people from a wide pool of ‘talent’; Reducing the costs of labour turnover and absenteeism; Contributing to employee flexibility and responsiveness; Building employee commitment, and morale; Managing better the impact of globalisation and technological change; Enhancing creativity and innovation; Improving knowledge of how to operate in different cultures; Improving the understanding of the needs of current customers or clients; Improving knowledge about the needs of new customers and clients; Assisting in the development of new products, services and marketing strategies; Enhancing the organisation’s reputation and image with external stakeholders; Creating opportunities for disadvantaged groups and building social cohesion”

The paper “The cost and Benefits of Diversity” (2003)27 identifies the following benefits: “The research identifies two principal types of economic benefits that companies seek from investments in workforce diversity policies. Specifically, such investments create economic benefits for companies by: • Strengthening long-term “value-drivers” i.e. the tangible and intangible assets that allow companies to be competitive, to generate stable cash flows, and to satisfy their shareholders. These include building a differentiated reputation with key stakeholders and customers, and improving the quality of human capital within a company. Investments in diversity policies contribute to a strategy of long-term value creation by creating and strengthening human and organizational capital. Along with knowledge capital, these are the principal intangible assets used by companies in a wide range of sectors to establish 27

European Commission. The cost and Benefits of Diversity discrimination.info/fileadmin/pdfs/CostsBenefExSumEN.pdf [17/05/2011]

(2003).

http://www.stop-

competitive advantage and to create value. Leading companies accept that there are no simple “cause and effect” relationships between strengthening these factors, improving competitiveness, and creating value. However, they believe that, taken together, these factors have a powerful indirect impact on their competitiveness over the long-term.

Generating short and medium-term opportunities to improve cash flows E.g. by reducing costs, resolving labour shortages, opening up new markets, and improving performance in existing markets. These are also known as “return-on-investment” (ROI) benefits. Because of their nature, many of these benefits are more straightforward to measure, and a link to investments in diversity can, in certain circumstances, be identified. However, most of these benefits are “context-specific” i.e. they are particular to the strategy and market position of specific companies. Another important issue is the difficulty of linking together business benefits and investments in diversity. Even for short and medium-term improvements in cash flows, it is likely that diversity policies are only one of a number of factors that have contributed to improvements in performance”. The Valodi Project underlines two types of benefits derived from diversity management, namely adaptation and/or improvement of internal operations oriented toward diversity management, and adaptation and/or optimisation of new diversity-oriented services and/or products. Exercise 10 Analyse the best practices in Module 2 in teams. What benefits have been (or could be) achieved by these companies? Are they internal or external benefits? Can any of these experiences be extrapolated to your organisation?

5.6. HOW CAN MY COMPANY INNOVATE FROM DIVERSITY? Please see Training module 15 “Diversity and Innovation”

Books and articles Ingram, P.D. (2008) Diversity Activities for youth and adults. Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University.(EN) T4D Project (2007) Handbook “Tools for diversity”. Casse, Pierre. Training for the cross-cultural mind: A handbook for cross-cultural trainers and consultants. 2nd edition. Washington, D.C.: The Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research, 1981. Consulted in Ingram, P.D. (2008) Diversity Activities for youth and adults. Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University. Managing diversity in the workplace: competitive advantages for companies. Report of EMCC

seminar

Paris,

14–15

June

2007

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/content/source/eu07007a.htm?p1=reports&p2=null Ingram, P.D. (2008) Diversity Activities for youth and adults. Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University. European Commission (2005). The Business case for Diversity. Good practices in the Workplace. Belgium: European Commission. European Commission. The cost and Benefits of Diversity (2003).

http://www.stop-

discrimination.info/fileadmin/pdfs/CostsBenefExSumEN.pdf Websites: University

Queensland.

“The

Diversity

Wheel

from

Lodem

M”

http://www.tedi.uq.edu.au/cdip/pdfs/folio_1.pdf Mountain Institute http://www.mountaintopinstitute.org/pdf/Monograph/Monograph%20-%20Iceberg%20Model.pdf

Constant Foreigner http://www.constantforeigner.com/iceberg-model.html Loden Associates, Inc. (About diversity dimensions) (EN) http://www.loden.com/Site/Articles%20-%20Videos%20-%20Survey/Articles%20%20Videos%20-%20Survey.html Diversity

Resource

Center

(EN):

http://imarketingsolutions.com/diversityresources/rc_sample/ Diversity Central (EN) http://www.diversitycentral.com Diversity Now (EN) http://diversitynow.aurionlearning.com/TOPIC4/ICEBERG.HTMDiversity Icebreakers Diversity Icebreakers (EN): http://imarketingsolutions.com/DIVERSITYRESOURCES/RC_SAMPLE/ICEBREAK.HTML Diversity resources (EN http://imarketingsolutions.com/DIVERSITYRESOURCES/ 58

PRISM International Connecting Diversity for Results (EN) http://www.prismdiversity.com/news/diversity_articles.html Brook

Graham.

Diversity

and

Inclusion

Consultants

http://www.brookgraham.com/WhatWeDo/Iceberg.aspx Global Compact http://www.unglobalcompact.org/ European Commission. Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. For diversity Against

Discrimination.

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/fdad/cms/stopdiscrimination/diversity_in_the_eu/div ersity_business/benefitsofdiversity.html?langid=en The

European

Institute

for

Managing

Diversity.

http://www.iegd.org/englishok/legislacion.htm Other recommended websites extracted from: European Commission. Turning “Diversity” into talent and competitiveness for SMES: EUROPEAN COMMISSION28 European Commission: Employment, social affairs and inclusion (22 EU languages): http://ec.europa.eu/social/home.jsp?langId=en European youth portal (20 EU languages) http://europa.eu/youth/news/index_3034_en.html (20 EU languages) EU SOCIAL PARTNERS European Association of Craft, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (UEAPME), (EN) http://www.ueapme.com Business Europe (EN) http://www.businesseurope.eu European Trade Union Confederation (EN, FR) http://www.etuc.org CEEP (EN) http://www.ceep.org Other interesting websites Focus of this website is the dialogue around people with disabilities (EN, GR, FR, DE) http://www.socialdialogue.net/en/index.jsp Local Government across Europe http://www.lgib.gov.uk/index.html Study on Diversity implementation in European Telecommunication companies 28

Extracted from: European Commission. Turning “Diversity” into talent and competitiveness for SMES.

http://www.etno.eu/ Corporate Social Responsibility Network Europe www.csreurope.org Informative website on Diversity Management as part of an EU Leonardo project http://www.diversityatwork.net/EN/en_index.htm Interesting website and newsletter on Diversity Management in Europe http://www.idm-diversity.org By country:

Austria: http://www.diversityworks.at http://www.roomycompany.at/ http://www.equal-esf.at/new/de/index.html http://www.chancen-gleichheit.at/ http://www.gleichundgleich.at/ http://www.esf.at/start.html Belgium: http://www.coedu.usf.edu/ap/5.htm http://www.culturelestudies.be/eng.htm http://www.vub.ac.be/english/diversity/general.html http://www.diversito.be/nl/2007/03/tips_for_a_succesful_diversity.html

Bulgaria http://diversity.europe.bg http://www.osi.hu/esp/rei/romaschools.bg.osf/en/index.html http://www.osf.bg/?cy=100&lang=2 http://www.europeaninstitute.bg/page.php?category=101&id=200 Denmark: http://www.interlink.dk/sw117.asp http://www.ipmacourse.com/course_c.html http://www.bsr.org/Meta/About/index.cfm http://www.danishtechnology.dk/business-development/9389 http://www.pro-diversity.net/ http://www.innovatingwithdiversity.com/12203/ABOUT%20THE%20CONFERENCE 60

http://www.sfi.dk/sw7107.asp http://www.iff.dk/en/tm010919.asp Finland: http://www.dot-connect.com/services-Diversity_Management.html http://sockom.helsinki.fi/ceren/English/fellowshipsEn.html http://www.humanitariannet.deusto.es/NCR/Marie_Curie/Marie-Curie.asp http://cordis.europa.eu/improving/code/about.htm http://cic.vtt.fi/projects/gps/renewal.htm http://www.eaea.org/index.php?x_hakulause=Diversity http://www.jns.fi/equal/asset/asset/intro.html http://www.cec.jyu.fi/koulutusohjelmat/mba/dm/index.htm http://www.vnf.fi/linjer/cultural.htm http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Kulttuuri/kulttuuripolitiikka/?lang=en

France: http://www.diversityconseil.com http://www.total.com/en/corporate-social-responsibility/Social-Responsibility-1/ http://www.unesco.org/culture/policies/ocd/index.shtml http://www.unesco.org/culture/policies/ocd/index.shtml http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/workplace/400_diversity/460_partnerships/ind ex.html http://www.syre.com/Englishpresentation.htm

Germany: http://www.idm-diversity.org http://www.migration-boell.de/web/migration/46_937.asp http://www.vielfalt-ist-gewinn.de http://www.equal-de.de/Equal/Navigation/english.html http://www.gender-diversity.net/ http://www.ikud-seminare.de/mos/Frontpage/ http://www.mitteconsult.de http://www.synetz.de http://www.diversity-league.com Great Britain: http://www.focus-consultancy.co.uk 61

http://http://diversitybulgaria.org/en/ http://http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/dvsequl/general/divover.htm Greece: http://www.breakthrough.gr/seminar%20files/socInt.html http//www.vfa.gr

Hungary http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/gems/eeo/tu/cha_6.htm http://europeandcis.undp.org/?menu=p_publications Ireland: http://www.diversity.ie/consult_train.asp hhtp://www.impactglobal.eu http://www.equality.ie/index.asp?locID=105&docID=691

Lithuania http://www.lygybe.lt

Netherlands http://www.kantharos.com Poland: http://tolerance.research.uj.edu.pl/?a=elem_list&group=9&lang=en http://www.hfhrpol.waw.pl/en/index.html?http://www.hfhrpol.waw.pl/en/index_pliki/dy sk.html http://www.humanrightshouse.org/dllvis5.asp?id=1596 Portugal http://www.iseg.utl.pt Rumania http://www.i-interact.ro/ http://www.see-educoop.net/education_in/pdf/ecit2001-oth-rmn-t05.pdf http://www.dromesqere.net/ http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef0667.htm http://www.cncd.org.ro/> http://www.crj.ro/antidiscriminare.php 62

http://www.antidiscriminare.ro/ http://www.hartuiresexuala.ro/home.html Slovakia http://www.ark.sk

Slovenia http://www.humus.si Spain http://www.iegd.org Sweden: http://www.scas.acad.bg/WFM/default.htm

Turkey: http://www.ferhanalesi.com http://www.sabanciuniv.edu/ybf/eng/?PrgEmba/Overview.html Online journals/magazines on diversity http://www.interculturalpress.com http://www.diversityjournal.com http://www.diversityonline.com http://www.hrpress-diversity.com http://www.diversityinc.com

APPROACH BLUE TRAINING MODULE 2, AWARENESS MODELS AND BEST PRACTICES OF DIVERSITTY MANAGEMENT Module 2: Models and best practices of diversity management

INDEX 1. COMPETENCES ADQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. 2. LEARNING AIMS 3. TARGET GROUP 4. TRAINING TOPICS 5. PRACTICE SPACE 6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY.

1. COMPETENCES ADQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. Awareness of a model that a company can use in order to manage the diversity. Company awareness of good practices that can be a reference

2. LEARNING AIMS To know benchmarks that help guiding the DM of the company or entity. Relate the best practices cases on DM with the current and future situation of the company

3. TARGET GROUP Management board, HR responsible and other departments’ responsible people.

4. TRAINING TOPICS Models of Diversity Management. -M.B.I. Model of Maznevski. -Bjorn Z. Ekelund Model -ValoDi Methodology. Best practices on DM: companies that have used diversity as a source for new business

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. MODELS OF DIVERISITY MANAGEMENT In this section we have collected three models of diversity management which is discussed below: - M.B.I. Model of Maznevski. - Bjorn Z. Ekelund Model - Valodi Methodology.

5.1.1.

MODEL BY M.B.I. MAZNEVSKI 29

From the document “SYNERGY FROM INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: MAP BRIDGE INTEGRATE (MBI)”, Maznevski, M. and DiStefano, J. We extract the following paragraphs regarding your model MBI: The following excerpt explains the model MBI. “(…)Differences provide the ingredients for creativity and innovation, but focusing only on differences leads to a negative spiral of blame and distrust. The Map-Bridge-Integrate process uses an objective assessment of differences and similarities as input for an ongoing dialogue. In this dialogue, original areas of commonality serve as the foundation for discussing differences, and new areas of commonality are built. (…)We have worked with hundreds of people and teams to prevent the problems that come from differences and to achieve the potential that the differences offer. We’ve found that 29

Maznevski, M. and DiStefano, J. (2003) SYNERGY FROM INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: MAP BRIDGE INTEGRATE (MBI). Internacional Institute of Management Development. Switzerland. On-line access: http://www.imd.org/research/projects/upload/CPQ%20PerspectivesMBI.pdf [24/05/2011]

following three basic principles of interaction leads to success: Map, Bridge, and Integrate.

MAP: Understand the Differences. Mapping is recognizing that differences exist and may be important, describing the differences with an objective framework, using this map to explain different perspectives, and then acting on the explanations to deal better with the work challenges. (…) A good map of personal backgrounds identifies the important dimensions of differences between people; the differences that play a role in working together and decision-making. It helps each person describe his or her own characteristics in objective ways, and compare them with those of other people, identifying the extent of similarities and differences. Finally, it provides information to help people explain and interpret various events by bridging distances. Good interpersonal maps are built using objective data and frameworks, and revised with new information about people and the dimensions. (…) As a general guideline, we find that two maps cover most work situations and provide an important starting point for achieving synergy from differences: 1)cognitive preferences (for example, as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, MBTI®), and 2)cultural assumptions (for example, as measured by the Cultural Perspectives Questionnaire, CPQ). The cognitive preferences map describes individual tendencies with respect to cognitive and emotional energy, information intake, and decision-making criteria. (…). The cultural assumptions map describes individual expectations about group and organizational characteristics with respect to responsibility and power, interaction with the environment, mode of activity, nature of humans, space and time. These differences are rarely discussed in any setting, partly because most of us are unaware of their influence on our behavior. (…). Mapping this set of differences surfaces the tensions and is especially important when the interaction crosses cultural boundaries between or within countries.

BRIDGE: Communicate Across Differences. Bridging increases effective communication by paying particular attention to interacting across differences. It requires practicing three sets of communication skills: Preparing a Foundation, Decentering, and Recentering.

Preparing a Foundation. Attitude may not be everything, but it certainly counts for a lot. In bridging, two attitudes provide the right starting point. First, the people involved must be motivated to understand each other. (…)Second, they must be confident that, by working together, mutual understanding can be achieved. (…)

Decentering. Decentering is moving away from your own “centre,” thinking and communicating 66

from the point of view of the other person. It comes from practising two important skills: perspective-taking and impartial-exploring. Perspective-taking is trying to see things from the other’s view and acting on that view. (…)

Impartial-exploring kicks in when a problem occurs. In these situations, poor communicators tend to blame the other party, attributing negative characteristics to the other party or simply dismissing the other view (“He doesn’t know what he’s doing,” “She is incompetent.”). Good bridgers assume right away that the problem arose from differences in starting points or perspectives on the problem.

Recentering. Recentering is moving both parties - or a whole team - to a centre they identify together. While decentering focuses on differences, recentering builds on similarities. Good recentering means developing a common view and common norms. To develop a common view, the people involved map the situation and their perspectives to identify areas of overlap. (…) Although this seems obvious, when the people involved have different perspectives it is important to say it explicitly and describe it carefully.

Common norms are agreements on how to interact together. People go into meetings and conversations with expectations about behaviour like interruptions, conflict, and progress towards decisions. The agreements for common norms can be about what to do, such as always start a meeting with an agenda, or about what not to do, such as trying to be funny by ridiculing someone. (…)

INTEGRATE: Build on Differences for Synergy. Integrating is the last step in getting high performance from interpersonal differences. The skills needed here are much the same as they are in any team situation, but they lead to better quality decisions and implementation when they are built on strong mapping and bridging. The three integrating skills are managing participation, resolving conflicts, and building on ideas. Managing participation is clearly the first step to creating and implementing new ideas. It is impossible to build high quality solutions unless you have everyone’s input – their best ideas – to start with. And people contribute their best ideas in a setting that fits their personality and expectations. The key here is to engage in different modes of participation across a decisionmaking task: in small groups, large groups, and one-to-one; in writing, pictures, and spoken dialogue; in-person and electronically. This way, people can provide their best input in a comfortable manner, and respond to others on their own terms. The leader should play an active role in balancing the different modes, ensuring that everyone is contributing and responding. The biggest challenge is keeping track of ideas shared in different formats – 67

shared electronic spaces are especially helpful in this respect. (…) Resolve conflicts constructively. One often-forgotten step is to detect disagreement in the first place. Different people and cultures express conflict differently, and these signals are often misread. The parties should make extra efforts to deal with the conflict in appropriate ways (…) Mapping the different perspectives provides an objective picture of how far apart the parties are and ideas for how to create new solutions. Bridging brings positive attitudes and behaviours that create win-win solutions. And if participation is managed well, all parties will contribute to the solution and are likely to buy into it, implementing it well. Good mapping and bridging also help with the final step in creating value. Building on ideas is going beyond resolving differences to create new solutions for problems and challenges. This is when leaders and their subordinates reach new levels of innovation in revenue, cost, and organizational systems. It is how key account teams develop systems that compel customers, and how logistics and operations teams find real synergies across value chains, far beyond the cost-cutting that comes from eliminating redundancies. To build on ideas, use all the techniques you’ve experienced, heard about, and read about, including brainstorming and creative exercises. At first focus on exploring differences rather than similarities, building on each others’ ideas, and trying to invent new ideas. Then, using conflict resolution skills, do more than combine and compromise. Find new solutions that excite everyone. (…)”

Image: M.B.I. Model30

5.1.2.

BJORN Z. EKELUND-S DIVERSITY ICEBREKER MODEL31

Diversity management must concentrate on cognitive diversity (Page, 2007; Matoba, 2011) and not social category diversity (gender, age, ethnicity/race, physical status, sexual orientation, religion etc.) and informational diversity (tenure, educational background, work experience etc.) anymore. In order that a new organizational culture, third-culture, can be constructed, we need some management tools like (1) designed communication, (2) structural diversity and (3) conflict shifting (Matoba, 2011). These three tools are well balanced realized in “Diversity Icebreaker” which was developed by Bjørn Ekelund (cf. Ekelund & Langvik, 2008). It can help people learn more about themselves and others, including their similarities and how to capitalize on and understand their differences. In the process of “Diversity Icebreaker” as training tool, the participants` social construction of the concepts like Red Culture, Blue Culture and Green Culture reduces alienation, increase integration and empowers the participations` capability of developing shared understanding of themselves and others. A new code of language for managing cognitive diversity is created through social construction grounded in personal experiences and knowledge. Through the application of the Diversity Icebreaker seminar and questionnaire, trainers and teachers will be able to more effectively create a solid basis of understanding and communication that will help successfully manage cognitive diversity and promote learning in the team.

Effective Intercultural Business. MBI –Mapping, Bridging, Integrating. http://srleosalazar.wordpress.com/resources/mbi-mapping-bridging-integrating/ [24/05/2011]

On-line

access:

PD Dr. Kazuma Matoba & Bjørn Ekelund Cognitive Diversity and Emergence of a New Culture: The Application of the Diversity Icebreaker in Multicultural Groups. SIETAR Deutschland Theorie-Praxis-Dialog (may 2011) On-line access: http://gender-diversity.de/assets/documents/Veranstaltungen%20extern/Programm_Theorie-Praxis-Dialog.pdf Based on: Ekelund, Bjørn & Eva Langvik (2008): “Diversity Icebreaker: How to Manage Diversity Processes”. Oslo: Human Factors Publishing. Matoba, Kazuma (2011): “Transformative Dialogue for Third-Culture Building: Integrated Constructionist Approach for Managing Diversity”. Opladen: Buderich Verlag.

Image: Ekelund’s Team Pyramid 1 More information about “Diversity Icebreaker and Ekelund’s Team pyramid” in: www.diversityicebreaker.com

5.1.3.

VALODI MODEL FOR IMPROVEMENT OF THE COMPETENCES FOR A DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT.

Please go back to section 2.2. “Description of ValoDi Methodology”

Exercise 1 Which model is the most appropriate for my company?. Goal: To choose a diversity management model Analyse the three models described above. Think of what could each of them provide to your company /organization. Check module 3: “First steps for diversity management in the company”

5.2. BEST PRACTICES ON DM: COMPANIES THAT HAVE USED DIVERSITY AS A SOURCE FOR NEW BUSINESS. There are many available documents and web sites with good practices on diversity and diversity management. These are just a few examples:

Managing diversity in the workplace: competitive advantages for companies Report of EMCC seminar (Paris, 14–15 June 2007)

“The first EMCC company network seminar of 2007 addressed the issue of diversity management practices in enterprises and was hosted by Schneider Electric in Paris. Five companies from France, Ireland, Spain and Sweden reported on their practice. Fifty delegates participated enthusiastically in discussions on the practicalities and difficulties of implementing 70

diversity management in the workplace”32. Five companies presented their strategies for diversity management and its application in practice: Schneider Electric from France; Dublin Bus from Ireland; NH Hotels from Spain; Carrefour from France; Volvo from Sweden. These cases studies, the presentation and also some audios are available at the following links: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/content/source/eu07007a.htm?p1=reports&p2=null

The business Case for Diversity- Good Practices in the Workplace; European Commission, Directorate General for Employment and Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities; September 2005.

“This study provided a rational framework, supported by case studies illustrating the business case for diversity across the EU. It aimed to promote the development of diversity policies in companies by examining the perceived business benefits, the specific challenges and the means of overcoming these challenges. The report also provided examples of good practices being implemented by a range of different companies across Europe, which in turn had brought about tangible results”33. Good practices added in this document: Adecco, Air Products, Bertelsmann, BT (British Telecommunications plc), COCO-MAT, Danfoss, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom, Dublin Bus, Ford, Goldman Sachs, Grupo Vips, IBM, Manchalan, Randstad Belgium, Royal Dutch Shell, Tesco, TNT n.v and Volvo Group These cases studies are available by this link: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=370&langId=en&featuresId=25&furtherFeatures=yes

DiversityInc (www.diversityinc.com)

The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list began in 2001, at the same time many corporations were beginning to understand the business value of diversity-management initiatives. Like diversity management itself, the list has evolved significantly and continues to be refined and improved to reflect how rapidly companies are adapting these strategies Exercise 2 Analysis of best practice on diversity management 32

Managing diversity in the workplace: competitive advantages for companies Report of EMCC seminar (Paris, 14– 15 June 2007) http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/content/source/eu07007a.htm?p1=reports&p2=null [10/05/2011]

The business Case for Diversity- Good Practices in the Workplace; European Commission, Directorate General for Employment and Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities; September 2005.

Aim: to identify best practices on diversity or diversity management that can be extrapolated to the companies or entities involved in the dynamics. Materials: - Print the best practices from the links / materials discussed above. Print each best practice on a different sheet to enabled them be exchanged among group members. - Print the cards or pictures of each of the phases of the dynamics. Timing: 1 - 2 hours Development: This activity can be implemented both individually or in a group. 1. Initial analysis of the company or entity. - Characteristics of the staff with reference to diversity. -

Conduct a SWOT (Needs / Opportunities / Weaknesses / Strengths), based on the characteristics previously discussed.

2. Best practice analysis Based on the SWOT above find on the best practices: - Similar companies, for various reasons (geographical area, sector, characteristics of SWOT ...) - Different companies that meet the needs/opportunities of the company. 3. Analysis of the transfer of the best practice. What would my company need to be able to carry on this good practice? What adaptations would it need? 4. Conclusions Identifying best practices that may be of interest to the company and list them by their interest.

6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Websites Diversity Management Models Maznevski, M. and DiStefano, J. (2003) SYNERGY FROM INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: MAP BRIDGE INTEGRATE (MBI). Internacional Institute of Management Development. Switzerland.

On-line

access:

http://www.imd.org/research/projects/upload/CPQ%20PerspectivesMBI.pdf (EN) PD Dr. Kazuma Matoba & BjĂ¸rn Ekelund Cognitive Diversity and Emergence of a New Culture: The Application of the Diversity Icebreaker in Multicultural Groups. SIETAR Deutschland Theorie-Praxis-Dialog (may 2011) On-line access:

http://genderdiversity.de/assets/documents/Veranstaltungen%20extern/Programm_Theorie-PraxisDialog.pdf (EN)

Ekelund, Bjørn & Eva Langvik (2008): “Diversity Icebreaker: How to Manage Diversity Processes”. Oslo: Human Factors Publishing.

Matoba, Kazuma (2011): “Transformative Dialogue for Third-Culture Building: Integrated Constructionist Approach for Managing Diversity”. Opladen: Buderich Verlag. Good Practices in Diversity and Diversity Management Managing diversity in the workplace: competitive advantages for companies. On-line access: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/content/source/eu07007a.htm?p1=reports&p2=null (EN) The business Case for Diversity- Good Practices in the Workplace; European Commission, Directorate General for Employment and Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities; September 2005: http://www.diversityatwork.net/NL/Docs/Costs_benefits.pdf DiversityInc. www.diversityinc.com Conference Board. On-line access: http://www.conference-board.org/topics/publicationlisting.cfm?subtopicid=130 Managing diversity in the workplace: competitive advantages for companies Report of EMCC

seminar.

On-line

access:

http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/content/source/eu07007a.htm?p1=reports&p2=null

BLUE APPROACH TRAINING MODULE 3, AWARENESS FIRST STEPS FOR DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT IN THE COMPANY Module 3: First steps for the diversity management in the company

INDEX 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. 2. LEARNING AIMS 3. TARGET GROUP 4. TRAINING TOPICS 5. PRACTICE SPACE 6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY.

1. COMPETENCES ADQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. The organization integrates diversity in the company's strategy The organization coordinates and plans DM The organization manages the necessary HHRR to lead DM at the company

2. LEARNING AIMS

To integrate diversity into the company's strategy. To plan the integration of DM at the company. To define the team to be involved in carrying out DM in the company.

3. TARGET GROUP Management board, the head of HR as well as the heads of other departments. Middle management, company staff in general.

4. TRAINING TOPICS How to introduce the diversity management in the company by identifying organizational core skills. First steps to integrate DM in the company.

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. HOW TO INTRODUCE DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT IN THE COMPANY'S VALUES/STRATEGY? When introducing diversity as a key element in the company’s strategy, it is useful, as a first step, to identify the so-called “organizational core competences”, which are the pillars on which rests the survival of the company in the market and which define its competitive advantage. Identifying the core competences allows us to identify the strengths of the company, which have been created and built overtime. These competences define what the company can do better than its competitors and determine the reasons why a client decides to choose our company over others. The strategic lines of the organization are designed to exploit core competences or to improve or acquire new ones with a view to exploit new opportunities. Knowing these skills will permit to identify the extent to which diversity management is a differentiator for the company and, if not, to plan its integration into the strategy, in the form of new competences to acquire.

5.1.1.

CORE SKILLS BY AMPARO CAMACHO- FLORIDA TRAINING CENTER

Core skills were defined by Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad as a set of knowledge, know-how, skills, resources, etc. owned by an organisation that enables it to be present in the market in a sustainable way. 75

Therefore, a core skill is a set of capabilities and technologies rather than a single skill or an isolated technology. They are the result of collective experience and collective learning, and they make up the actual key to success in a company, but they are also the gate to future opportunities. With a view to identifying opportunities and turning them into future benefits, we must have the necessary skills. We must be prepared to generate new ideas and get them to become future businesses or improvements in the organisation. This is why, in any strategic reflection exercise, it is paramount to include the core skill perspective, to try and ensure not only that the company can identify any opportunities ahead and make the most of them on the basis of existing core skills (on the basis of what were are excellent at and better than the competition), but also to make sure that the reflection will allow the organisation to make smart decisions on how to improve its core skills or what skills must be developed in the future, based on the opportunities the organisation is willing to take. As said before, an adequate analysis of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s core skills will allow to identify to what extent diversity management is present not only in the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance but also if it is contributing to creating competitive advantage. To compete in an adequate way, it is important to conceive the organisation not as a set of businesses but as a portfolio of core skills. If we choose the former possibility, our success will be subject to the evolution of the market (and markets might be immature, obsolete, etc.) whereas in the second case, success will depend more on the company's flexibility and swiftness in giving a consistent response to the opportunities identified. In a changing environment, the skills needed to stay in the market also have a changing nature. And there are limits which hinder the appropriate deployment of these competences and can even undermine them. Not managing diversity in the company in an appropriate way will affect the identification of opportunity spaces and the creation of competitive advantage in a negative way. This is why companies have to ensure that diversity management is an essential part of and is present across their core skill portfolio. In line with this approach, the process continues with the definition of opportunity areas to explore, integrating diversity management, to then determine the processes required, for this exploration to be turned into genuine improvement and innovate on in processes, products and services. To sum up: Exercise 1 The following activity will enable to identify the core skills of an organisation so as to determine to which extent diversity management is integrated in the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s structure and strategy. 76

Prior to this exercise, remember: The definition of Core Skills: Set of â&#x20AC;&#x153;factorsâ&#x20AC;? underpinning a company, for it to be successful in the market and to stay in it in a sustainable way. - They are elements that differentiate the organisation, and the key to its success. - In order to manage existing skills and apprehend new ones for the future, core skills must be identified.

Characteristics: - Built up over time and replicable. - Difficult to imitate by competitors. - They must bring added value from the clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; point of view, that is, they are a decisive purchasing factor.

Description of the activity This activity describes a series of steps to identify core skills of an organisation with relation to diversity management. Steps to take when identifying core skills: This will be a starting point for us to introduce a process of generation of new and innovative business opportunities. Throughout this analysis, the diversity management perspective must be present at all moments.

It consists of three main steps: - 1st Step: Success and failure analysis. - 2nd Step: Critical process analysis. - 3rd Step: Determination of existing and future core skills.

1st Step: Success and failure analysis.

1. Preparing a success and failure list 2. Reviewing the list 3. Success and failure grouping 4. Selection of 5 successful things and 5 failure examples

5. Determination of success and failure factors 6. Reviewing the list of factors 7. Grouping factors together

2nd Step: Critical process analysis.

List of activities that are key to the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daily operation and basic to the business and its survival in the market. Preparing a critical process list: 1. Identifying the foundations of critical processes. The foundation can be: people, machines, methods and environment: People: Processes are underpinned by the knowledge of some people in the organisation. Machines: Processes are satisfactorily developed thanks to certain machines, 78

facilities, technologies, etc. owned by the organisation. Methods: Processes are based on certain methodologies, techniques, procedures, etc. documented by the organisation, and implemented and improved through practice. Environment: Processes are underpinned by the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s environment or relational capital, i.e. quality service from suppliers, help given by administrations, customer involvement, etc.

2. Grouping all core skills identified by affinity (similar topics, aims, processes involved, etc.)

3rd Step: Determination of existing and future core skills. In this last step we will define the existing and future core skills. For this we should: 1. Grouping the core skills by affinity. 2. Determination of competitive advantages of these core skills. 3. Define the dimensions which describe each core skill.

Dimensions

Exercise 2 After defining the company’s core skills, the following debate and reflection is proposed: - Based on our current core skills, what future opportunities can we take advantage of? And, how can we take advantage of future opportunities in the light of diversity management at the company? - Bearing such future opportunities in mind, what new core skills will we need? Do we possess the right core skills related to diversity management? If not, how can we improve existing core skills and create new ones to do this properly?

5.2. FIRST STEPS TO INTEGRATE DM IN THE COMPANY We have selected an excerpt from the book “Training Manual for Diversity Management” (2007) from the European Commission, so as to define which are the first steps to take by a company wishing to manage diversity. It is also useful to check Module 14 of this material “Positive Actions”, for further information and ideas on this topic.

The Diversity Management Change Process34 The process of implementing Diversity Management is crucial. It can be seen as an

European Commission. Training Manual for Diversity Management (2007) European Commission (pag. 14-16)

organisational learning process. In the following, six major steps are described in detail:

Developed by synetz â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the management consultants, published on www.synetz.de

5.2.1.

STEP 1 DIVERSITY STEERING COMMITTEE

Since most companies have a mono-cultural background (i.e., leadership

predominantly

composed of men between 30 and 40 years, of the dominant nationality, etc), there is a risk that analysis of the environment will be conducted in a restrictive manner and the requirements for any change a viewed through a narrow perspective. In order to overcome these limitations a project team (Diversity Steering Committee) of committed people with diverse backgrounds could be formed by top management to widen this perspective. This Diversity Steering Committee should be given a clear mandate and aim for a clear contractual basis for its work with the top management of the company.

5.2.2.

STEP 2 SCENARIOS OF THE FUTURE

Together with top management, key stakeholders and representatives of various departments of the company, the Diversity Steering Committee should organise a so-called Scenario Building Workshop. As a rule of thumb three different scenarios of how the business world would look like (externally and internally) 10-20 years hence should be created â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with an emphasis on the impacts and effects of diversity factors. The aim is to prepare the company for various alternatives. In the end, one scenario should be selected and focused upon. (It will be important to conduct this exercise with external support

such e.g. from facilitators).

5.2.3.

STEP 3 VISION AND STRATEGY

The next step should be to formulate a vision and a mission of the company from the scenario selected previously. This exercise should involve top management and key stakeholders. It should focus on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the company emanating from the scenario. In the end, vision and mission statements should be formulated. The next step is to formulate the company’s strategy emphasizing the way Diversity Management is to be implemented. A clear strategy will allow the company to move forward. Once a vision, mission and strategy have been formulated the company should now go back to the present situation and identify its current status quo. This requires a Diversity Audit.35

5.2.4.

STEP 4 DIVERSITY AUDIT

The Diversity Audit is a useful tool to analyse the company’s current situation. Questions to be asked include: What is the attitude of top management and its workforce regarding diversity? What is the company’s culture today? How “inclusive” are the structures and processes? The Diversity Audit is conducted through semi-structured, personal interviews with all stakeholder groups and may be accompanied by a standardized questionnaire to explore attitudes toward Diversity. The outcome of the Diversity Audit should be taken up by the Steering Committee to present key findings about the status quo to a wider audience and to provide the starting point for outlining the appropriate “interventions” for change leading towards the adoption of a genuine Diversity Management approach.

5.2.5.

STEP 5 COMPANY GOALS

As a next step, Management together with the Diversity Steering Committee should define the company overall goals for implementation of Diversity Management. These goals should be clearly related to the previously formulated overall strategy and ensure participation of all relevant divisions and departments. Each of these should be invited to adjust these goals to its own context and define clear measurable criteria for achieving them.

5.2.6.

STEP 6 DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTATION

VALODI’S tools are useful in this way.

During the implementation process the Steering committee plays a crucial role: it oversees, steers and accompanies the various activities. It serves as a central intersection of communication. For example, it will be responsible for: Top and middle management leadership development programmes on Diversity Management Diversity Team Building Events in each business unit Large Group Events for the workforce to communicate Diversity Management Change of Performance Management appraisals tools to foster Diversity Management and make it measurable Change of HR tools for recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce, etc. Exercise 4: Diversity Steering Committee: Think about your organisation and make a first draft in which people involved in the diversity management process are involved. This can be of help in any organisation, such as the one shown below. Do you think these people have a proactive approach to diversity? Do you need some action prior to further this awareness? What difficulties can arise in the process of selecting the personnel involved? Can we overcome these difficulties in some way?

COORDINATOR OF THE COMMITTEE

DIVERSITY STEERING COMMITTEE COLLABORATO RS

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

REPRESENTATIVES OF VARIOUS DEPARTAMENTS

OTHERS

Exercise 5: Scenarios of the future. Design the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Scenario Building Workshopâ&#x20AC;?. Organise a work session in which the team participating in the previous activity define how the business environment would look like, externally and internally in 5-10-20 years hence, taking into account the impacts and effects of

diversity factors. You can work in groups and, after an initial presentation, determine a specific future scenario for the team to focus on. Starting from that, the group will define steps the company should take with a view to prepare for this new reality. Creativity techniques found in Module 18.

Scenarios of the future 2. After reflecting on the future scenario of our business, try to make a drawing which portraits the company's flagship product/service within 10/05/15 years. What are the characteristics of our clientele at that time? What will our products/services look like? Exercise 6: Vision and strategy. Based on the core skills identified in the activity described at the beginning of this module and the future scenario defined above, revise your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision, mission and strategy. Do you need to introduce some modifications so as to allow the company to adapt to this future scenario?

Exercise 7: Diversity Audit. Carry out an audit on the status of diversity in the company according to the instructions found in Module 4.

Exercise 8: Company Goals. Based on the results drawn from the diversity audit as well as the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategy, mission and values, make a list of the objectives of the company as regards diversity management.

After that, complete the "Activity Goals" form (below) for each of the objectives and make a time schedule to facilitate the planning of the entire process.

Make a time schedule to facilitate planning and implementation of the objectives.

ACTIVITY GOALS Area: Diagnosis: General goal: Action: Action plan: Activity: Recipients or Target group: Methodology: Resources: - Person responsible for implementation: - Other human resources: - Materials: - Financial: Timeline: Evaluation indicators: (How will compliance be measured?) Remarks: Proposals for improvement:

Fernández, C. (2008). ¿Tocamos las trompetas? Organizándose para innovar. Madrid: Ediciones Díaz de Santos. (ES) Hamel, G.; Prahalad, C.K. (1990) The Core Competence of the Corporation. Harvard Business Review. (EN) Hamel, G.; Prahalad, C.K. (1996) Competing for the future. Harvard Business School Publishing. (EN) Training Manual for Diversity Management (2007) European Commission.

BLUE APPROACH TRAINING MODULE 4, AWARENESS OF DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT TOOLS FOR THE DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT Module 4: Tools for the diversity management

INDEX 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. 2. LEARNING AIMS 3. TARGET GROUP 4. TRAINING TOPICS 5. PRACTICE SPACE 6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY. 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. Management of tools to know in what extend the organization manages its diversity. The organization is able to analyse the cost and benefit of applying DM policies The organization knows how to include the diversity The organization knows how to communicate their activities in diversity management.

2. LEARNING AIMS This training module aims to provide a general view about tools that the company or the organization can use in order to analyse in what extend the organization manages its diversity. Also to know how to analyse the cost and benefit of managing the diversity in the company. 86

On the other hand, this module aims at serve as first approach on how to communicate DM.

3. TARGET GROUP Management board, HR responsible and other departments’ responsible people.

4. TRAINING CONTENS Diagnosis tools on diversity management in the company: Diversity management Assessment Tool Diversity Assessment Tool Diversity management interview Communication of the DM Analysis of cost benefit of diversity management in a company

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. DIAGNOSIS TOOLS ON DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT IN THE COMPANY. 5.1.1.

VALODI’S QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT TOOLS: DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT TOOL (DIMA) AND DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT TOOL

The DiMA Tool consists of 30 statements on strategic approach (values and intentions) and of 30 statements on actual operations associated with diversity and diversity management in an organisation. The outcomes, based on the respondents’ estimation, indicate: 1. To what extent an organization has recognized diversity as strategically important in its’ HR, marketing and other organizational functions (re-active – pro-active dimension). 2. How systematically has the organization promoted diversity in its’ day-to-day HRM, marketing and other workplace processes and actions (re-active – pro-active dimension) including: - Human resource planning and recruitment. - Introduction and guidance, and further training of staff. - Performance appraisal, career development, remuneration. - External and internal communication. 87

- Customer services and marketing. The Diversity Assessment Tool consists of statements (96) for assessing experienced competence (attitudes, knowledge and skills) in eight diversity themes (gender, sexual orientation, health, disability, language, ethnic and cultural background, age as well as beliefs, values and opinions) at the individual and organizational level. This section is completed by the sections: “Valodi Theorical Background” and “Valodi Didactic guide”.

For more information about the tools, please contact with the project’s partners (see section 1.1.1.3).

5.1.2.

VALODI’S QUALITATIVE TOOL: DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT INTERVIEW by Eli Kristin Langset (MiA- Norway) This interview has been added in order to complement the results obtained by the DiMA tool. It is an example of qualitative tool that can add valuable information about the status of diversity management in the organization.

1. Objectives of the Diversity Management Interview - Supplement the DM Assessment Tool - Initiate a dialogue to promote change in the company through the manager - Elicit the manager’s personal opinions about diversity

2. Structure - 10-20 questions - Qualitative methodology - Interview time individual interview max 1 hrs - Interview time group: 2-2,5 hours

3. How to use the interview Please look upon this interview guide as a guideline for the discussion and not a questionnaire you have to follow in a very strict manner. The important competencies of a good interviewer are the ability to listen to the interviewee, understand the information they provide and to 88

explore the most important areas.

In this interview you should in addition focus on the positive experiences the manager has related to diversity, and his or her feelings about the subject matter. Why you should do this, is because you would like him or her to be positive to the idea of working with diversity in the future, and possibly perform some training activities together with your company or your partners. (Please also see the section about this methodological approach in the last section of the document.)

Before you start using this interview, you should have analysed the results from the DM Assessment Tool and also have had a meeting with the company giving feedback from the DM Assessment Tool. Keep in mind the results from the DM Assessment Tool and maybe have a copy with the results available when you perform this DM Interview.

4. Practical preparations for the interview 1. Before the interview, you have already had the dialogue about whether the company would like to have a dialogue about diversity now.

2. Before the interview â&#x20AC;&#x201C; look for more relevant information about the company, trade or their competitors linked to diversity. This can be a source of inspiration and strengthen your role as a cooperation partner for diversity.

3. Be there in time, or rather before time. Having a chat with the secretary can also give you interesting information, and a good contact may facilitate your cooperation with the company

4. Remember to take with you the Assessment Tool results, and the notes from the first feedback meeting.

5. The interview Introduction: You have taken part in the ValoDi Assessment tool process and filled out the survey. Now we are moving to the next step by having this DM Interview. The intention with the interview is to supplement the information we collected using the DM Assessment Tool, listen to your personal opinions about diversity and continue our dialogue about diversity

management and related issues important for your company.

Section 1: Warming up

1. Let us first go back and think about how it all started, why did you decide to join the Valodiproject? 2. How do you understand diversity in general?

3. What is your personal opinion about the diversity status in the company? a. What kind of diversities do you see in your company today? b. Would you say that diversity is currently a priority area? c. Please state the importance of diversity on a scale from 1-10

4. Do you think you have any needs that can be solved /improved/ revised/ changed in your company by working with diversity? (Ref. The DM Assessment Tool)

5. What do you personally think is most important in diversity management?

Section 2: Getting into the topics

6. In your opinion, is there a company that has demonstrated good practice in relation to diversity today? Which company? What good practice did they demonstrate?

7. Do you think your company has clear and visible objectives for diversity management today? a. Please assess the objectives on a scale from 1-10. b. Ask the interviewee to explore the reasoning behind the number â&#x20AC;&#x201C; look for areas of improvement together with the interviewee and also objectives that are satisfactory/good.

8. To what degree do you think your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s action in relation to diversity is consistent with its strategy and/or stated beliefs concerning diversity? a. Please state the degree and consistency of the actions versus the strategy/beliefs on a scale from 1-10. b. Look for areas of improvement and past successes together with the interviewee.

9. Do you have any negative experiences in relation to diversity in your company that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d 90

like to mention? (In this question, pay attention to the explanations he/she gives. If the interviewee explains the causes of a negative experience by using stereotypes of ’diverse’ or ’minority’ groups, look for opportunities to reframe the situation and gently challenge their assessment of what happened. NB! Do not try to convince the person you are interviewing, and don’t talk too much, just give a hint, and remember to finish it with a question.

Also, this question may give you important information that you need when planning new measures together with the company, and understanding why he/she eventually has strong opinions about certain measures for example. Again, if they have a negative perception, just go with the flow and gather information, use gentle questions. Don’t stay too long with this question – move to the next section to create a positively balanced interview. )

Section 3: Utilising positive experiences

10. Can you mention some positive actions taken and /or experiences your company has had related to diversity? In other words: What diversity measures did you succeed with in the past? a. How can these successful initiatives be strengthened internally? b. How can you promote dissemination of your good initiatives internally?

11.If you were to think ”freely”, what would the ideal situation for diversity in your company be?

12. With whom could you cooperate to get there? a. Internally – who works with diversity issues in the company? b. Externally

Section 4: Dialogue about measures The following questions (13 - 16) may be a bit premature at this stage, depending on the maturity of the company and your dialogue. You may need a second meeting to discuss this, but it will be useful to initiate a dialogue about what might come at this stage….

If you decide not to use this section, still remember to ask if the company would like to continue the dialogue about diversity so you have an opportunity to continue later.

13. What kind of measures could you implement in our company promoting diversity issues? 91

(Here - Also – remember the feedback dialogue from the DM Assessment Tool.)

14. What challenges would you face if you were to implement the measures you’re mentioning?

15. How could you utilise a. Internal resources and/or b. External facilitators to overcome these barriers?

16. What do you think you should prioritise concerning diversity in the future? a. Please mention at least three areas. b. Now – put them in priority order – where would you like to start? (Dialogue) c. Would you like to have any assistance from us relating to these issues?

6. Methodological approach

The LIFT methodology 1. What we think, influences what we find and look for. If we look for mistakes, we also use a language that describes the insufficient things and not a language oriented towards mastering the area. Negative self -fulfilling prophesies might be created, and we look for more insufficiencies instead of looking for solutions and development.

2. There are both ”problems” and ”non-problems” This sentence is related to the Western either – or thinking. When using the “LiFT”-method, we’d like to focus on another target – the things that works well today, and how to do more of it. This is an important choice to make. We also concentrate on describing shat the situation will be like if the “problem”; in this case “diversity” was solved.

3. You don`t have to understand the problem to solve it – rather find the key to the solution.

In a world that is not moving, we have to find the cause of the problem, but when we work with relations between people and communication – another type of logic works better. Rather than working as surgeons, we should focus on the solution pattern, on what will describe the ideal situation without the problem in focus. When we look for that and the things we have already done, we can easily spot more interesting things, which will support a process of development to the ideal situation. In this case we’ll try to move, if the company agrees… from reactive to proactive in all areas. 92

4. Behaviour that is given attention will be repeated. Too much talk about problems has a tendency to make them deeper and more resistant to change. By “confronting” the companies with the things they are doing well today, you open a window of communication about improvement based on their experiences.

5. Language creates reality. The language we use is important. How we talk about each other, creates realities, and language also creates expectations that can contribute to positive or negative processes.

6. Small changes create larger changes. That’s why we should focus on small changes that go in the right direction. Create small changes that can be seen and recognised.

7. Change is an unavoidable condition and stability is an illusion. Look for exceptions, where the “problem was not present. How was it then? Relating to diversity: Had there been any occasions where diversity has present and really appreciated and utilised (proactive)?

8. The ones who owns the problem is the people that knows (how to solve it). A key in the “LIFT” methodology is that people locally often know more than the experts. The consultant’s task is then to collect the local knowledge and expertise already present, and explore the road further together on the path to diversity excellence…

Guidelines for the group interview When performing a group interview, pay attention to group dynamics, and make sure that everybody says something. You may have to lead the interview away from the most talkative persons and focus very consciously on engaging the more timid persons to ensure that everybody expresses their opinions and attitudes/feelings.

Do stay in the room a while after the interview, and invite people to give you feedback on the process etc. If they like, and you are willing to collect the feedback, also give the opportunity to give feedback by e-mail.

You may have to introduce a 10-15 min. break after 45 min., and then continue the interview. Don’t exhaust the group, give them the opportunity to speak their mind, then you will get the data you need from the interview. 93

Strengths & weaknesses with group interviews:

Extreme opinions will be discussed in the group dialogue and thus the results from the session will be more” tempered” and realistic since the group interaction in a group interview tends to modify the extremes.

Remember to lead the interview – don’t let individuals with personal power dominate over the other participants. This is your responsibility as the facilitator. Still – there will sometimes be some power structures you are not able to reveal and neutralise – then you might have to have individual follow-ups if you sense that there are lot of important unspoken things that people do not dare to say in the interview. Especially when you are interviewing managers, you have to pay attention to power structures; they are used to be in charge and exert control.

Exercise 1 This interview has been developed as complement of the tool DiMA. This interview has been developed to complement the results obtained by DiMA tool. The material we provide an example of a qualitative tool that can provide valuable information about the status of diversity management in the organization.

The DM interview has been developed to complement the DiMA tool. The interviewer must adapt the DM Interview questions to your company. Select several people in your company and conducts the interviews, you can also do a focus group. Draws conclusions regarding the management of diversity in your organization, what are the needs or opportunities that are perceived in the company for the diversity management?

5.1.3.

COMMUNICATION: HOW CAN I DISSEMINATE THE DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT IN MY COMPANY INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY?36

5.1.3.1. WHY SHOULD YOU COMMUNICATE ABOUT YOUR DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT ACTIONS? Many companies do not communicate about their responsible activities. Some don’t want to be 36

This section extracted and slightly adapted from: A guide to communicating about CSR. European Commission. Directorate-General for enterprise. http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sustainable-business/files/csrsme/communication_guide_en.pdf (EN). We consider diversity management is one of the CRS tasks of HR and therefore the guidance on how to communicate CSR from the original text can be applied to diversity management

seen to be “blowing their own horn” or using it as a cynical marketing ploy. Some think that this type of communications are the exclusive preserve of big corporations.

In fact, by letting people know what you are doing in diversity management, you are providing them with information they want about your company’s values and indirectly about the products or services you bring to the market. In addition, you are setting a positive example for other businesses to follow.

Big companies might have more resources for communication campaigns and materials but smaller companies actually have more impact, since they are always closer to the communities they serve, and are often more integrally involved in their Diversity Management. Letting people know what you stand for will not only open the door to potential business benefits for your company; it might even encourage others to get involved.

5.1.3.2. WHAT CAN COMMUNICATION DO FOR YOUR BUSINESS? For the vast majority of enterprises – big or small – it is clear that regular, effective communications can have a direct and positive impact on the bottom-line, particularly by opening up new business opportunities.

Other beneficial results from communicating about your company’s diversity management can include:

• Higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty; • Improved company, brand and product reputation; • More motivated and productive employees; • Better relations with the local community and public authorities; and • Increased cost savings.

Deciding what messages your company is going to communicate about diversity management will also give you the opportunity to reflect upon what you actually do as a responsible company.

5.1.3.3. WHAT IS EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION? Just as there are a thousand ways of delivering products and services to customers, there are many ways of delivering business-related messages – the choice of the best route depends on 95

the people you want to reach, your own capabilities and resources and, very often, the subject you want to talk about. Effective communication consists of transmitting information to a target group – such as your customers, consumers or suppliers – that is relevant to both your company’s and the target group’s goals. To give you an idea, a few examples of commonly used CSR communications tools include product labels, packaging, press/media relations, newsletters, issue-related events, reports, posters, flyers, leaflets, brochures, websites, advertisements, information packs, or simply word-of-mouth. In short, effective communication requires whatever it takes to make sure that your target audience really “gets the message”.

5.1.3.4. WHAT / TO WHO SHOULD YOU BE TALKING ABOUT/TO? A good rule of thumb is that your customers, employees, local community (the wider public) and the local press will be interested to know about initiatives your company takes that show commitment to responsible entrepreneurship. Depending on the initiative you are talking about you should consider informing specific target groups.

These will vary, but a bit of common sense (and the list below) will help you decide who exactly to inform. Communicating about diversity management can positively differentiate your company.

The results of this survey shows that the “Community” (in this case “people in general”) is willing to know about the company’s actions in CSR (Diversity Management is a part of CSR) ETNOR Foundation (Observatory of Ethics and Social Responsibility at the Company).Research on the Valencian Region 2009.

Generally speaking, most companiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; diversity management initiatives fall into one of these categories: marketplace, workplace or community. Marketplace Audiences

If your company wants to raise awareness about the way it operates responsibly in the market, you will want to consider which of the following groups to notify: employees, customers; consumer associations; suppliers; business partners; and investors.

Marketplace-related communications should show how your business has integrated diversity management into practice.

Examples include your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts to improve: requirement of measures to attention to diversity to suppliers; product adaptation to necessities of diverse consumers; adaptation of product/service; adaptation of the information, adaptation of labeling and packaging; fair pricing; marketing and advertising ethics and consumer rights; after-sales service and consumer education; criteria for selecting business partners according to diversity management requirements; working and living conditions and human rights issues in developing countries where you may source raw materialsâ&#x20AC;Śetc Workplace Audiences If your company wants to make a statement about improvements in its workplace policies, you could think of informing: employees; trade unions (if any are involved); the local community; and public authorities.

Communications about diversity management actions related to workplace should centre on new or innovative actions taken by your company such as the improvement of working conditions, adaptation of working place or schedule for special needs, increase of job creation for minorities or people on exclusion risk. Specific examples include actions to improve: job satisfaction; health and safety; and staff training and development; equal opportunity employment and diversity; the work/life balance (flexible hours, balancing family and work, etc. for your employees). Community Audiences

If your company wants to convey information about its commitment to the local community, 97

you could focus on communicating to: employees; relevant local organizations or institutions (e.g. associations, schools, hospitals); public authorities; relevant not-for-profit organisations infrastructure and security.

Community-related communications should concentrate on any company supported volunteer activities by owners or employees, charitable donations or sponsorships and ways in which the company promotes economic regeneration.

Examples can include your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts to improve: social integration (ethnic tolerance and social cohesion); community healthcare or education; quality of life (sports/culture); the local infrastructure; and security.

Who

The organization

Why

Business Goals

What

News about Marketplace

News about Workplace

News about Community

Whom

Staff

Coommunity

Press

-Company Value Statement -Regular All-Staff Meetings -New Employee Orientation

Way

-Company Brochures -Mailing List -Product labels and Packaging -Websites

-Posters and Banners

-Advertisements

-Newsletters

-Newsletters and Company Reports

-Internal videos or Brochures

-Intervieus -Others

-Events

-Suggestion Boxes

-Memos or Emails

-Press release

-Others

-Intranets -Others

Example of Internal Communication record - Tecnicolor Code: IC-1 Type: Internal Responsible: Susana MartĂnez â&#x20AC;&#x201C; HR Dep To who: All the staff Goals:

Last Updating: 31/07/2009 Stakeholder: Factory

State: Pending Method of relation: Work environment survey Estimated Budget: 1000 euros for the first year Periodicity: Yearly

• Get to know the level of satisfaction of the employees with regards to the working conditions • Know the main reasons for the workers dissatisfaction Description: The working environment survey will be done once a year. IT will be designed by an external company but will be carried out by the company’s HR department. The survey will be anonymous. There fore the form will be filled in by hand and left in a survey box. The results analysis will be done by the external company who design it the first year, but the following years it will be analysed by the HR department. The results report will be published both at the noticeboard and the intranet so all the employees at the factory and the office can see it. Contents: These might be the minimum contents of the survey, but the external company can suggest additional ones. • Working schedules • Comfort at the working place (illumination, ventilation, temperature, equipment, etc.) • Working security • Relation with the colleagues • Salaries • Social benefits • Conciliation of working and personal life Tasks to be developed: • Contact with the consultancy companies that do working environment surveys • Evaluate their services • Contract one of them • Communicate to the employees the implementation of the survey and how it will work (anonymous, suggestion box, etc. ) • Coordinate the implementation of the survey • Follow up the external company during the development of the final report • Organize a meeting with the company’s board for the presentation of the results. • Communicate the survey results to all the employees (noticeboard and intranet) • Elaborate and present improvement measures to the company’s board Indicators for the follow up: • Percentage of participation • Evolution of the employees satisfaction levels both in global terms and by subject Comparative situation with reference of the workers satisfactions levels (by sector or geographical location) Obtained results: • pending

Example of External Communication record: DM report Code: EC-1 Type: External

Last Updating: 31/07/2009 Stakeholder: All

State: In process Method of relation: DM Report Estimated Budget: 500 Eur (estimated)

Responsible: María SánchezCommunications Dep To who: All the stakeholders Periodicity: Every year Goals: Although the web site is a communication tool opened to all the stakeholders our goal with this action is reach the clients in order to: • Improve the company’s image • Make our stakeholders aware of our Diversity Management strategy, and CSR in general • Highlight the actions and strong points of our company with regards to Diversity Management • Inform about our commitment and future actions with regards to Diversity Management Description: 100

The DM report will be a year report will be checked each November. It will be a simple document. The electronic version of it will be sent by email to our main clients, our suppliers and partners, to the city council and will be communicate to our employees via email and the notice board Contents: • General information about our company (sector, activity, products and services) • Presentation of the company • Strong point and actions carried out with relations with Diversity Management (Human Resources, but also suppliers and partners, clients, community, business management) • Commitments for improvement Tasks to be developed: • After the previous DM evaluation, identification of strong points that can be communicated • Define the indicators can be added to the information provided • Fill in the information of all the DM report sections • Elaborate a list of people we want to send the report to (by email or normal currier) • Send the report to all these people and communicate it internally (noticeboard, etc) Indicators for the follow up: • Compilate opinions and suggestions received Obtained results: • Pending

5.2. DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT COST- BENEFIT ANALYSIS 5.2.1.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MANAGING THE DIVERSITY? WHAT IS ITS COST?

The report “The cost and benefits of Diversity Management”37 (2003) drawn up by the Centre for Strategy and Evaluation Services(CSES)38 on behalf of the European Commission, identifies insights into diversity policies and their measurement that are for relevance to business managers, social partners and policy-makers:

“1. Companies that implement workforce diversity policies identify important benefits that strengthen long-term competitiveness and, in certain instances, also produce short and medium-term improvements in performance. (…)

2. Effective, systematic measurement of the costs and benefits of workforce diversity 37

Centre for Strategy and Evaluation Services (2003). The cost and benefits of diversity. A study on Methods and Indicators to measure the cost-effetiveness of Diversity Polices in Enterprise. European Commission. Available at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/fundamental_rights/prog/studies_en.htm 38

Centre for Strategy and Evaluation Service (CSES) http://www.cses.co.uk/studies/

101

policies is essential to sustain existing programmes and to build the business case for greater investment, especially by “non-users”. (…)

3. A complex group of obstacles limit the scale of investment in diversity policies amongst companies in the EU. These include legal restrictions on the holding and processing of sensitive data; differences in national cultural responses to different social groups; difficulties in changing the culture of businesses; a lack of awareness amongst companies of the contents, benefits, mechanisms, and rationale of diversity policies. Public policy has an important role to play in helping to overcome some of the obstacles. (…)

4. In comparison with the evidence available to support investments in other forms of intangible asset, the business case for investment in workforce diversity is embryonic and fragmented. However, action by governments and other actors can be taken to overcome these weaknesses, especially through the provision of more information about the experience of companies that have invested in diversity policies. (…)”

Based on their knowledge of the types of benefits that diversity policies can deliver, and taking account of modern performance measurement methods and the current measurement practices of leading companies, CSES have developed a proposed performance measurement framework for the costs and benefits of diversity policies:

102

Resource: CSES

The ‘model’ approach has three important parts: • Programme implementation. • Diversity outcomes • Business benefits

See complete information about this framework at: Centre for Strategy and Evaluation Service (2003) Methods and Indicators to Measure the Cost-Effectiveness of Diversity Policies in Enterprises Final Report Available at: http://www.cses.co.uk/upl/File/CostsBenefFullRepEN.pdf Knowing the culture, business focus, and core values of the organization are vital to understanding what metrics will have the greatest impact in the organization.40

Exercise 1 What is the benefit that my company can obtain from managing diversity? Set a debate in this topic, then show the results obtained by the CSES41 about companies with active diversity policies

Centre for Strategy and Evaluation Service (2003) Methods and Indicators to Measure the Cost-Effectiveness of Diversity Policies in Enterprises Final Report

Digh, P. (2000). Creating a new balance sheet: The need for better diversity metrics. Retrieved October 2011 from: http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/whitepaperdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=12152

Centre for Strategy and Evaluation Service (2003) Methods and Indicators to Measure the Cost-Effectiveness of Diversity Policies in Enterprises Final Report

103

Resource: CSES

Exercise 2 Hubbard, E.E. (2004) in â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Diversity Scorecard: Evaluating the impact of Diversity on Organizational Performanceâ&#x20AC;? underline the following intangible variables linked with Diversity:

Attitude Survey Data

Employee Transfers

Organizational Commitment

Customer Satisfaction Survey Data

Climate Survey Data

Customer Complaints

Employee Complaints

Customer Response Time

Grievances

Teamwork

Discrimination Complaints

Cooperation

Stress Reduction

Conflict

Employee Turnover

Decisiveness

Employee Tardiness

Communication

Remember that following five basic steps, monetary values for intangible results can be

Ibid.

104

established43: 1) Identify a unit of measure that represents a unit of improvement. 2) Determine the value of each unit. 3) Calculate the change in performance data. 4) Determine an annual amount for the change. 5) Calculate the total value of the improvement. Exercise 3: Discuss

When we talk about the costs and benefits of either managing or not the diversity in an organization, do we consider the intangible variables related to diversity? What are the variables that we consider the most important? Exercise 4 Discuss: What is the cost of managing diversity? What is the cost of not doing it?

5.2.2.

TOOLS USED FOR MEASURING DIVERSITY

The Conference Board (1998), state that the most common tools used for measuring diversity are: Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action metrics; Employee attitude surveys; cultural audits; Focus groups; Customer surveys; Management and employee evaluations; Accountability and incentive assessments and Training and education evaluations. In response to the need for better measurement of diversity results, companies-and consultants-have begun developing measurement tools that can be helpful in quantifying the business rationale for diversity, as well as the impact that diversity efforts have on the organization. Three are briefly outlined here for illustration rather than for prescription: the SMG Index, the Diversity High Impact Mapping Method and the Intangible Asset model44 Dr. Hubbard created the Hubbard Diversity Measurement & Productivity Institute, the first Institute dedicated exclusively to teaching Diversity and business professionals techniques

Hubbard, E. E. (2004). The diversity scorecard: Evaluating the impact of diversity on organizational performance. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Butterworth.

Digh, P. (2001, November). Creating a new balance sheet: The need for better diversity metrics. Retrieved April 13, 2005, from: http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/whitepaperdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=12152

105

and processes to measure diversity's impact and diversity's return on investment45. According to Hubbard: “The diversity return on investment (DROI) is calculated by using the diversity initiative cost and benefits to get the benefit/cost ratio (BCR). BCR = diversity initiative benefits ÷ diversity initiative costs. This ratio is also referred to as a cost-to-benefit ratio. Specifically, the DROI calculation is the net benefit of the diversity initiative divided by the initiative costs: DROI% = (net diversity initiative benefits ÷ initiative costs) x 100. This formula is the same basic formula used to evaluate other investments in which the ROI is reported as earnings divided by the investment. For example, the initial cost of a diversity awareness program may be $50,000. The measurable value of the program is determined to be three years. During a three-year period, the program will have a net savings of $30,000 ($10,000 per year). Since the average book value is approximately half the cost, the average investment in this case is $25,000 ($50,000 ÷ 2). The average ROI = annual savings/average investment ($10,000/$25,000) = 40%”. 46 The European Institute for Managing Diversity47 provides clarifying information about the analysis of the benefits and cost of managing diversity48. Exercise 5 The document “Return on investment of Diversity and Work/Life programs”49 by the European Institute for Managing Diversity shows the “Chart to analyse costs and benefits of a Diversity and Work / Life program”. Complete the chart above and do an analysis of the ROI of your company following these steps: 1º step:

Establish the framework of the chart in the areas in which the organisation is

structured in 2º step: Introduce the corporate objectives and assign them to the areas according to their degree of responsibility in achieving results 3º step: Introduce strategies in order to meet the specific objectives 4º step: Analyse the Diversity profile of that area and decide what new profile does that area need in order to meet the strategy and objectives 5º step: Analyse barriers that prevent employees from performing at their maximum capacity 45

http://www.hubbardnhubbardinc.com/index.html

Nancy R. Lockwood, MA, SPHR, GPHR, SHRM Research Department (2005) “Diversity Management Series Part II: Measuring ROI for Diversity Management” Available at: http://www.shrm.org/Research/Articles/Articles/Pages/Diversity_20Management_20Series_20Part_20II__20Measur ing_20ROI_20for_20Diversity_20Management.aspx 47 The European Institute for Managing Diversity http://www.iegd.org/ 48

The European Institute for Managing Diversity “Return on investment of Diversity and Work/Life programs” Available at: http://www.iegd.org/englishok/adjuntos/roi.pdf 49

Ibid.

106

to achieve efficiency (related to reaching the objective) 6ยบ step: Design programs (professional and social) to overtake barriers which the employees have identified as critical for them to contribute with utmost potential in that working environment. 7ยบ step: Measure and evaluate the benefits to the company of the program Calculate ROI

Source: EIMD http://www.iegd.org/englishok/adjuntos/roi.pdf

6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

Centre for Strategy and Evaluation Service (2003) Methods and Indicators to Measure the Cost-Effectiveness of Diversity Policies in Enterprises Final Report. Available at: http://www.cses.co.uk/upl/File/CostsBenefFullRepEN.pdf

107

The European Institute for Managing Diversity. “Return on investment of Diversity and Work / Life programs”.

Available at: http://www.iegd.org/englishok/adjuntos/roi.pdf The European Institute for Managing Diversity. Medir y evaluar contribuciones de las políticas de diversidad a los resultados corporativos. Available at: http://www.iegd.org/spanish800/adjuntos/sistemamedaplicado.pdf

European Commission (2005) The Business Case for Diversity. Good Practices in the Workplace. Belgium

Hubbard, E. E. (2004). The diversity scorecard: Evaluating the impact of diversity on organizational performance. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Butterworth.

Nancy R. Lockwood, MA, SPHR, GPHR, SHRM Research Department (2005) “Diversity Management Series Part II: Measuring ROI for Diversity Management” Available at: http://www.shrm.org/Research/Articles/Articles/Pages/Diversity_20Management_20Series_ 20Part_20II__20Measuring_20ROI_20for_20Diversity_20Management.aspx

Diversity@work

http://www.diversityatwork.net/

Hubbard & Hubbard, Inc

http://www.hubbardnhubbardinc.com/

108

APPROACH ORANGE TRAINING MODULES ON DIVERSITY AWARENESS:

5. Gender 6. Sexual orientation. 7. Health. 8. Disability. 9. Language. 10. Ethnic and cultural background. 11. Age. 12. Ideology and opinion.

Coordination, compilation of materials and development by Pilar Ortega Leal and Carlos Gutierrez D铆ez, Florida Centro de Formaci贸 109

This section is based on the materials developed in the “Tools for Diversity” project, made by the following organizations:

Tampere Vocational Adult Education Centre (Finland). Florida Centre de Formació (Spain), Georgiki Anaptixi (Greece), Norway Vox (The Norwegian Institute for Adult Learning) MiA (Diversity at Work Foundation) Karol Adamiecki University of Economics (Poland)

This section has been made with the inputs of the ValoDi partners:

TAKK Tampere Adult Education Centre - (Finland) Metropolia University Applied Sciences (Finland) Florida Training Centre (Spain) ANOLF Associazione Nazionale Oltre Le Frontiere (Italy) Business and Development Centre (Poland) EuroFortis SiA (Latvia) MiA Diversity at Work (Norway) Schulungszentrum Fohnsdorf (Austria) Liz Aitchison Consulting, UK (UK)

PPROA

110

ORANGE APPROACH TRAINING MODULE 5, AWARENESS GENDER Module 5: Gender

INDEX

1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. 2. LEARNING AIMS 3. TARGET GROUP 4. TRAINING TOPICS 5. PRACTICE SPACE 6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY.

1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. Individual Level The individual is aware of the topics in the gender equality discussion and policies in society, knows the national legislation concerning gender issues and has skills to operate equally in the workplace and in education.

Attitude: the individual is aware and conscious of the gender equality issues and the gender discussion in society, in the workplace and in education and takes a positive attitude towards this.

Knowledge:

the

individual

has

knowledge

national

gender

legislation,

maternity/paternity rights, gender variation, gender stereotypes and gender equality planning.

111

Skills: the individual has skills to avoid stereotyping of genders, skills to utilise the knowhow of all genders, skills to discuss and break the common gender beliefs and the heteronormative behaviour in the workplace or in education.

Organizational Level The organization is aware of the impact of the gender equality discussion in society and policies in the workplace and in education, knows the national legislation concerning the gender issues and the gender equality planning principles, and shows in the form of strategic planning and various workplace processes (recruitment, access to training etc.) that gender issues are treated specifically.

Attitude: the organization management and employees are aware of and take a positive stand for gender equality issues both in Human Resource practices (organization internal activities) and in customer activities (students or instructees)

Knowledge: the organization has knowledge of the national gender legislation and equality planning practices (laws, statistics, questionnaires)

Skills: the organization has skills/resources to produce an organizational gender equality plan, skills to carry out positive actions in the workplace and instruct/train the others in equality planning.

Having tools for the awareness/recognition and utilisation of gender at your workplace.

To network and share thematic experiences and best practices.

. Following you have series of suggested training content to meet the competencies highlighted in this module. Subsequently, with a range of exercises based on any of the content set. These exercises are the basis for the organization of specific training activities.

112

3. TARGET GROUP Management board, HR responsible and other departmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; responsible people. Intermediate managers, staff in general.

4. TRAINING TOPICS Attitudes Prejudices, stereotypes and discrimination Gender and power

Awareness of personal and organizational attitudes

Knowledge Legislation concerning gender equality Anti-discriminatory legislation Gender equality planning Rights concerning working life and family life IIdentifying ways of undermining the authority of other persons Gender characteristics (biology or socially based) Skills Gender equality planning Gender equality, family life and professional development Sexual harassment/conflict resolution Access to training, motivation and career development

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. ATTITUDES 5.1.1. TRAINING TOPIC: PREJUDICES, STEREOTYPES AND DISCRIMINATION Definition of stereotype.

113

Definition of stereotype: Simplified and easily identifiable image of reality made up by a a group. This concept was first introduced by Lippman in 1922. Gender stereotypes: Simple, previous, irrational collection of ideas (not subjected to rational thinking) attributed to people depending on their sexual orientation, establishing descriptive characteristics about their way of being (identity) and their way of behaving (social role) according to the established gender system. Stereotype can change depending on historical eras and cultures, but there is still de believe that the sexes are different with regards to the main traits. Stereotypes search to pre-establish men and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ideas, feelings and behaviours in order to adjust them to the requirements of gender roles. Features belonging to masculinity and femininity as stereotypes (Anne-Marie Rocheblave-SpenlĂŠ, Lo masculino y lo femenino en la sociedad contemporĂĄnea, Madrid, Ciencia Nueva, 1968). Emotional stability. Men: determined, straight, settled. Women: fanciful, hysterical, sensitive, frivolous Control Mechanisms. Men: methodical, organized, strict, angry. Women: talkative,

incoherent, affected, cunning, diplomatic. Autonomy, independence. Men: patriotic, risk-takers, independent. Women: need to give

trust, wish to be liked by others, vain, docile, easily influenced. Self-possession, self-confidence: Men: power-hungry, ambitious, power-grabbing, self-

confident, authoritarian. Women: weak Aggressiveness: Men: fighters, cynical, fight-loving. Women: diplomatic. Activity level: Men: impetuous. Women: passive. Acquisition: Men: selfish, greedy. Women: curious Intellectual qualities and creative capacity, Men: creative, clear-thinking, objective, like

theoretical ideas, flair for Sciences, Maths and Philosophy, sceptical, sensible. Women: intuitive, flair for languages Affective orientation, sexuality. Men: obscene. Women: loving, compassionate, sweet,

coy, like to look after their appearance, wish to have children, need love, charming, tender

Exercise 1. Case Study 114

The organisation has expanded and there has been a major internal restructuring. As a consequence of this there are vacant leadership positions. Two male colleagues have both applied for a leadership position in the organisation. They also know that a highly qualified female colleague, who is also a single mother, has applied for the same job. They are now discussing her qualifications and are critical as to her getting the job. - Group discussion followed by presentation in plenary: Why do you think the two male colleagues are critical to the possibility of their female colleague getting the job? Which arguments are they using, do you think? - Which are the 3 most common prejudices and stereotypes that appeared during the discussion? - To what extent do you think that similar prejudices and stereotypes are common at your workplace?

5.1.2. GENDER AND POWER Exercise 2 . Case Study. A company that traditionally has been male dominated wants to change the gender and age composition among the employees. Therefore the company has employed a young woman in a leader position. At a staff meeting she is giving a presentation for the whole company. In the audience there are some employees who are writing smsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; messages and chatting with their neighbour. - Which are the most common used techniques to reduce the authority of other individuals? - To what extent are such techniques being used where you work? - What can you as a leader do to identify and reduce the use of such techniques

Exercise 3. Reflection. Women in Politics and management roles. The glass ceiling. Reflect on the following matters: -Women constitute more than 50% of population. Are they really represented in Politics? -Is this also the case in your company? Are the managers in your company usually men or women? What are the competences required for these type of positions? Do women have or can they have these competences?

115

Politics representatives

5.1.3. AWARENESS OF PERSONAL AND ORGANISATIONAL ATTITUDES Exercise 4 Do I treat differently men and women in my company?

5.2. KNOWLEDGE 5.2.1. LEGISLATION CONCERNING GENDER EQUALITY Exercise 5 Find the relevant laws and regulations as to equality between the genders related to for example parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rights and development of careers.

5.2.2. GENDER EQUALITY PLANNING Exercise 6 Find statistics that show the number of men and women who are employed full time in your organisation. Are there differences between men and women as to full or part time employment? Think of possible consequences of systematic differences. Find and compare the average income of men and women in your organisation. If there are differences, what do you think are the most important reasons for the differences in income between men and women? How can differences in income be overcome? Exercise 7 Identify the percentage of male and women among the employees in your organization. 116

What is the percentage of women and men in your organisation? In which positions do you find female employees?

How many women have leader positions?

Does your organization have a policy for promoting equality between the genders as to salaries, positions and career development?

Exercise 8 Find out other organizations or training organizations that have equality plans of gender diversity and compare them with the plan from your organization.

5.2.3. RIGHTS CONCERNING WORKING LIFE AND FAMILY LIFE Exercise 9 Using relevant websites, research will be carried out on companies implementing Equality Plans and measures for family and professional life conciliation. Findings will be discussed in class.

5.3. SKILLS 5.3.1. GENDER EQUALITY PLANNING Exercise 10

Is equality between genders reflected in the distribution of work tasks and responsibility in your organisation and in which way?

How can equality at work be encouraged and promoted? Give some good examples from your own workplace on how this can be done.

How many female leaders are represented in the top management in your organisation?

In which way can the leaders in an organisation promote equality between the genders related to salaries and promotion? Give examples from your own workplace on how this can be done.

Find out the organisational equality plan and study it

5.3.2. SEXUAL HARASSMENT/CONFLICT RESOLUTION 117

Exercise 11

Give an example of sexual harassment at work.

What would be the correct and best way to deal with it?

5.3.3. NON-SEXIST LANGUAGE Exercise 12 After reflecting upon the importance of using non-sexist language, excerpts from local newspapers will be collected and analysed in order to identify parts in which language is used without including gender perspective and women. Later they will be corrected and modified according to what has been introduced in class. Exercise 13 Find a solution for the riddles below. Note: some riddles used in the course lose their meaning once they are translated into English because Spanish retains the gender mark in cases where the English language no longer does. a) The team members said “We won the match without any (man) player scoring a goal” How is this possible, if the final result was 5 – 12? b) Pérez had a brother. Pérez’s brother died. The man who died had never had a brother. c) A father and his son were driving when the father lost control of the vehicle and they crashed against a phone pole. The father died at once but the son was seriously injured and had to be taken to hospital, where they saw that he needed an urgent operation. When the kid was taken to the surgery room, a voice was heard, saying “I cannot operate this kid, he is my son!” -> Theoretical input The power of words - The think with words - We make in concepts and imagine the world through language - Language creates and builds social identities 50

Reflect on the following sentences related with language :

MEANA SUÁREZ, TERESA. Porque las palabras no se las lleva el viento. Por un uso no sexista de la lengua. Ed. Ayuntamiento de Quart de Poblet. (Valencia-Spain) MABEL ÁLVAREZ. Ilustradora

118

“The old idea that words possess magical powers is false; but its falsity is the distortion of a very important truth. Words do have a magical effect... but not in the way that magicians supposed, and not on the objects they were trying to influence. Words are magical in the way they affect the minds of those who use them.” Aldous Huxley. Words and their meanings (1940) “When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.' 'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things.' 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master — that's all.'” Lewis Carroll. Through the Looking Glass, and what Alice found there (1871) Illustrations: MABEL ÁLVAREZ.

6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Language codes: DA Danish, DE German, NL Dutch, FI Finnish, ES Spanish, EST Estonian, GR Greek, FR French, IT Italian, PT Portuguese, FI Finnish, SV Swedish, Norwegian, PL Polish, EN English, ARA Arabic, RUS Russian, SA Sami Finland Kauppinen, Kaisa ja Evans, Julia (toim.). 2007. MONIKKO – tasa-arvo monimuotoisissa työyhteisöissä (ESR). Helsinki: MONIKKO. (FI) Lehtonen, Jukka ja Mustola, Kati (toim.) 2004. "EIHÄN heterotkaan kerro..." : seksuaalisuuden ja sukupuolen rajankäyntiä työelämässä. ESR tutkimukset ja selvitykset – sarja. Helsinki: Työministeriö. (FI) Lilja, Reija; Asplund Rita ja Kauppinen, Kaisa (toim.). 2007.

119

Perhevapaavalinnat ja perhevapaiden kustannukset sukupuolten välisen tasa-arvon jarruina työelämässä? Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriön selvityksiä 2007:69. Helsinki: Sosiaalija terveysministeriö. Lydén, Hilkka. 2007. ”Vedettiin viinaa ihan homona!” Ei-heterot ja sukupuolen monimuotoisuus päihdepalveluissa. Helsinki: A-klinikkasäätiö / Messiin-projekti (ESR). (FI) Transihmiset työelämässä. Opas työnantajalle, työntekijälle ja työyhteisölle. 2007. Helsinki: SETA ja Messiin-projekti. (FI) Women 45+ on Labour Market: Gender, Age and Equality of Opportunities. Proceedings of the International Conference. 2007. Bratislava: Institute for Public Affairs. (EN)

Spain

Antolín, Luisa. Rodríguez, Rocío. Santiago, Paloma. Solana, Yolanda. “Igualdad de Oportunidades I”. Madrid. Forem, 2004 (ES)

Cortina, Adela. El Feminismo, Ética. La vida moral y la reflexión crítica. Madrid. De Santillana Secundaria, 1996 (ES)

Franco, Pepa. Rodríguez, Rocío. Santiago, Paloma. Solana, Yolanda. “Igualdad de Oportunidades III”. Madrid. Forem, 2004 (ES)

Lagarde, Marcela y Aliaga Brunch, Sandra. Entre decir y vivir. La Paz: Centro de información y desarrollo de la mujer (Cidem) 1997 (ES)

Rodríguez, Carmen. Igualdad de Oportunidades II. Madrid. Forem, 2004 (ES)

Mena Suárez, Teresa. Porque las palabras no se las lleva el viento. Ed. Ayuntamiento de Alaquás. Valencia (ES)

Greece

Cole, M., & Cole S. (2002). Growth of Children. (Sexual identity, GR).

Poland

“Równouprawnienie w praktyce: kluczowe opinie 2004”,

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/publications/ (PL)

Chybicka, A., Kazimierczak, M., (2008) Appreciating diversity- culture and gender issues. Oficyna wydawnicza Impuls, Kraków. (PL) 120

Coference , 28 października 2009,,- Gender w UE. Przyszłość unijnej polityki równościowej http://www.boell.pl/web/219-616.html, Pełen program konferencji oraz relacja w formacie pdf. Materiały konferencyjne do pobrania w formacie pdf w języku angielskim. (PL)

Gazeta Prawna (2010) ‘European Commission warns Poland for the lack of provisions on gender

equality

work’.

Gazeta

Prawna.

[Online]

Available

at:

<praca.gazetaprawna.pl/artykuly/407187,komisja_europejska_upomina_polske_za_brak_p rzepisow_o_rownouprawnieniu_w_pracy.html (PL)

Websites Finland

Messiin-projekti http://messiin.info/ (JoinUs project, FI, SV, EN)

Perhe ja ura tasa-arvosuunnittelun haasteena

http://www.etla.fi/to/perhejaura/ (Combining work and family – a challenge for equality planning, FI, EN)

Seksuaalinen tasavertaisuus ry http://www.seta.fi (Sexual Equality, FI, SV, EN)

Tasa-arvovaltuutetun toimisto http://www.tasa-arvo.fi (Gender Equality in Finland, FI, SV, EN, SA)

Transtukipiste http://www.transtukipiste.fi (Transgender Support Center, FI, EN)

Spain

Asociación de hombres por la igualdad de género http://ahige.org/ (ES)

Asociación Española de Personas Transexuales e Intersexuales. (AET) http://www.transexualia.org/ (ES)

Colectivo Lambda Valencia http://www.lambdavalencia.org (ES)

Dirección General de la Mujer y por la Igualdad. Generalitat Valenciana http://www.gva.es/jsp/portalgv.jsp?deliberate=true (ES)

European Commission. Equality between Men and Women http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/s02310.htm (DA,DE,EL,EN,ES,FR,IT,NL,PT,FI,SV)

Federación Estatal de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales http://www.felgt.org (ES)

Human Rights Campaign http://www.hrc.org/ (EN) 121

International Amnesty http://www.amnesty.org/en (ES/EN)

Lesbian, Gay, Transgender & Bisexual Collective of Madrid (COGAM) http://www.cogam.org/en (EN,ES)

Ministerio de Igualdad http://www.migualdad.es/ (ES)

Optimiza- Conciliación empresa-persona http://www.optimiza.com/ (ES)

TransgenderZone http://www.transgenderzone.com/index.htm (EN)

Greece

Insomnia http://www.insomnia.gr (Sexual orientation, GR, EN)

Research Center for Gender Equality http://www.kethi.gr/english/indexen.htm (Scientific studies on gender equality, EN, GR)

Employment Observatory Research – Informatics S.A. http://www.paep.org.gr/eng/index.php (Labour market for Women during period 2000-2005, GR)

Norway LLH – Landsforeningen for Lesbiske og Homofile i arbeidslivet http://www.llh.no (The Norwegian National Association of Lesbian and Gay Liberation, NO) Casesamling om lesbiske og homofile i arbeidslivet http://www.utdanningsforbundet.no (Union of Education Norway, NO) Poland

Ośrodek Informacji ONZ http://www.unic.un.org.pl/rownouprawnienie/ (PL)

Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy http://www.pip.gov.pl/ (PL)

Stowarzyszenie Kobiet KONSOLA, http://www.bezuprzedzen.org/ (PL)

122

ORANGE APPROACH TRAINING MODULE 6, AWARENESS SEXUAL ORIENTATION Module 6: Sexual orientation

INDEX 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. 2. LEARNING AIMS 3. TARGET GROUP 4. TRAINING TOPICS 5. PRACTICE SPACE 6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY. 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. Individual Level The individual has an equal attitude towards and is conscious of the various forms of sexual orientation, and acts equally towards various groups at the workplace and in education. Attitude: the individual is conscious of and has an equal attitude towards all sexual orientations and understands the effects of the sexual orientations on oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personality and on personal behaviour. Knowledge: the individual has knowledge of the development process of sexual orientations, statistical knowledge of sexual orientations in society and consciousness of the non-discriminatory principles in legislation Skills: the individual can perform his/her tasks avoiding discriminatory practices in relation to various forms of sexual orientation. 123

Organization Level The teachers, trainers and workplace instructors in the organization have an equal attitude towards the various forms of sexual orientation, know the non-discriminatory principles in national legislation, and at the workplace sexual orientation is not an obstacle in any of the work processes (e.g. career advancement or work placement). Attitude: the organisation is conscious of and has an equal attitude towards all sexual orientations in management and the whole working community in both intra-organization affairs and in regard to the students, instructees and employees. Knowledge: the organization has knowledge of the legislation against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and knowledge of ways to discuss the topic in the organization Skills: the organization has skills to avoid stereotyping or discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, skills to include the members of the group in question in organisational activities and skills to make the student or employee take responsibility in the process of inclusion into the organization.

2. LEARNING AIMS The learning objectives, preferably, should be set based on the results of the "Tool for the Assessment of Diversity." This tool identifies needs, at an individual and organizational level, on attitudes, knowledge and skills regarding the following variables of diversity: gender, sexual orientation, health, disability, language, cultural and ethnic background, age and ideology and opinion. The learning objectives of the module "Sexual Orientation" are based on the individual and organizational competencies explained above. Following you have series of suggested training content to meet the competencies highlighted in this module. Subsequently, with a range of exercises based on any of the content set. These exercises are the basis for the organization of specific training activities.

3. TARGET GROUP Management board, HR responsible and other departmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; responsible people. Intermediate managers, staff in general.

4. TRAINING TOPICS Attitudes prejudices, stereotypes and discrimination awareness of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own and the organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attitudes

124

Knowledge

equality legislation, anti-discriminatory legislation

terminology, lesbians and homosexuals

sexual identity

Skills

non-discrimination practices

social inclusion of colleagues with different sexual orientations

organisational acceptance of diverse forms of families (rainbow families)

work environment and conflict resolution (management, trade unions, work environment “Ombud”)

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. ATTITUDES 5.1.1. TRAINING TOPIC: PREJUDICES, STEREOTYPES AND DISCRIMINATION Exercise 1 Which are the 3 most common stereotypes and prejudices related to homosexuals?

Exercise 2 On Friday afternoon some colleagues are talking about their plans for the weekend. Some of them will go to the cinema with their children to see one of the latest films while others are planning to eat out at a restaurant with friends and spouses. Lisa is telling the others that she and Christina are going to spend an oval weekend in London visiting a couple they know. Later in the afternoon you are chatting with your colleague Ingrid who tells you that it does not bother her whether people are homosexuals or lesbians. She also tells you that she finds it improper to talk about one’s sexual orientation in all social situations and more explicitly she thinks that Lisa should not talk about all the lesbians she knows during the breaks at work. What would you have replied to Ingrid in the situation described above?

5.1.2. TRAINING TOPIC: AWARENESS OF ONE’S OWN AND THE ORGANISATION’S ATTITUDES Exercise 3

125

A young man has just been employed at the local brewery. Some of the other employees are of the opinion that he is a homosexual and they are very soon cracking jokes on his behalf. What do you think they are telling each other about the new colleague? What can the consequences be for the young man? What could you do to stop this behaviour being a leader? Exercise 4 - To what extent is homosexuality a source to jokes and harassment at your workplace? To what extent is homosexuality something that is being discussed at your workplace? - Would it be possible to have a homosexual as a leader or manager at your workplace? If not, what would the reason be? - Is it more difficult for homosexuals than for others to get a job or to have a career development in your organisation? Exercise 5 Which are the advantages of sexual orientation diversity at organisational level? Debate on this topic will be fostered, starting from the following suggested activities: A) Video Forum: “Kinky Boots” Directed by Julian Jarrold Written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth Distributed by Miramax Films Release date 2005

B) Reading and commenting the following news: “The Out & Equal Workplace Awards (commonly referred to as "The Outies") honour individuals and organizations that are leaders in advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees in America’s workplaces. Through these awards, Out & Equal provides the business and LGBT communities with examples of innovative approaches and proven successes to help create safe and equitable workplaces. The awards are presented annually at the Out & Equal Workplace Summit, the nation’s preeminent conference addressing LGBT issues in the workplace.” Source: http://www.outandequal.org/awards/2008/default.asp

C) Analysis of measures which could be implemented in the participant’s business/educational organisations to make the most of these advantages. Exercise 6 Is the sexual orientation a choice? Please write your opinion and discuss it in groups.

126

5.2. KNOWLEDGE 5.2.1. TRAINING TOPIC: EQUALITY LEGISLATION, ANTIDISCRIMINATORY LEGISLATION Exercise 7 Participants will be provided a world map and they will be asked about what legal situation they think LGTB people have in various countries. The lecturer will confirm (or not) the situation. To do this, the lecturer can use Amnesty International’s materials as support material. As Amnesty International said: “Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the concept of human rights has entered international law and popular consciousness in much of the world. At the same time, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are subject to human rights abuses in countries in every region of the world. The violations LGBT people face include killing, imprisonment, harassment, torture, and abuses such as practices aimed at forcibly "changing" their sexual orientation. In many countries, the refusal of governments to address violence committed against LGBT people creates a culture of impunity where such abuses can continue and escalate unmitigated.

Often, such abuses are committed by the state authorities themselves, with or without legal sanction”. Exercise 8 Find the relevant anti discriminatory laws and regulations as to homosexuals. What do the laws and regulations tell about the rights of homosexuals related to work and working life? 127

Exercise 9 It is well known in town that one of the bartenders at one particular bar is a homosexual. Some of the regular customers have stopped going there. They say they do not want to be served by this bartender. Can lack of knowledge in some cases lead to discrimination of individuals and groups?

5.3. SKILLS 5.3.1. TRAINING TOPICS: NON-DISCRIMINATION PRACTICES; SOCIAL INCLUSION OF COLLEAGUES WITH DIFFERENT SEXUAL ORIENTATIONS Exercise 10 Which measures would you introduce in your company / education centre to promote equality in sexual orientation? How would you implement them? Can you think of measures other than the ones included here? Following you have a checklist/form including good practices which, according to ILGAEurope, can promote equality in companies regarding sexual orientation. First let participants find the answers to the question and then go through the list. Source: http://www.ilga-europe.org/: â&#x20AC;&#x153;1) Build a culture of respect - Provide leadership at all levels: make public statements; have gay role models in the business; join corporate diversity programmes and equality awards - Explicitly invite and include same-sex partners to the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social events 2) Support establishment of LGBT employee networks 3)Tackle workplace bullying and harassment - Policy that covers harassment on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression - Available options to report problems - Effective complaints mechanisms 4) Publicize, implement and monitor equality policies you adopt 5) Provide training and awareness-raising to all employees 6) Review terms and conditions - Grant equal compensation and benefits for same-sex partners - Choose social providers (pension, life and health insurance companies) that are committed to equal treatment 7) Recruit, select and promote fairly - Clear invitation to apply for jobs 128

- Transparent recruitment processes - Awareness-raising for managers”

5.3.2. TRAINING TOPIC: WORK ENVIRONMENT AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION Management, trade unions, work environment “Ombud” Exercise 11 As leader for the local trade union you have attended several job interviews recently and an intensive period of recruiting new employees is just over. Now it is time for debriefing and the committee is having a meeting where impressions and experience from the recruitment process are discussed. You are also discussing the different job seekers and their qualifications. The Human Resource leader is going to get some more coffee and just as he passes by you he leans over and says that “this guy from Oslo was highly qualified for the job but we cannot have a homosexual among us, can we? I mean, we could all see that he was gay, couldn’t we?” As leader of the local trade union, how should you deal with the situation described above? Exercise 12 A recently engaged colleague asks you as leader of the local trade union for an advice. He is wondering if he should tell his closest superior and colleagues that he is a homosexual. The reason is that his colleagues are often discussing if they should go for a night on the town. They ask him if he would like to join them or if he already has a girl-friend. He is not comfortable about lying to his colleagues or about answering them in an evasive way but he is also wary of the consequences of telling them that he is gay. He is afraid that this will mean that he will no longer be included. What would you advise him to do? Exercise 13 - Give examples of sexual harassment of homosexuals at work. - How can you as a leader promote non-tolerance of discriminatory practices at work? - How can tolerance related to people of different sexual orientations be promoted at the workplace? Give examples.

6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 129

Language codes: DA Danish, DE German, NL Dutch, FI Finnish, ES Spanish, EST Estonian, GR Greek, FR French, IT Italian, PT Portuguese, FI Finnish, SV Swedish, NO Norwegian, PL Polish, EN English, ARA Arabic, RUS Russian, SA Sami

Books and articles* Finland Kauppinen, Kaisa ja Evans, Julia (toim.). 2007. MONIKKO – tasa-arvo monimuotoisissa työyhteisöissä (ESR). Helsinki: MONIKKO. (FI) Lehtonen, Jukka ja Mustola, Kati (toim.) 2004. "EIHÄN heterotkaan kerro..." : seksuaalisuuden ja sukupuolen rajankäyntiä työelämässä. ESR tutkimukset ja selvitykset – sarja. Helsinki: Työministeriö. (FI) Lilja, Reija; Asplund Rita ja Kauppinen, Kaisa (toim.). 2007. Perhevapaavalinnat ja perhevapaiden kustannukset sukupuolten valise tasa-arvon jarruina työelämässä? Sosiaalija terveysministeriön selvityksiä 2007:69. Helsinki: Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö. (FI) Lydén, Hilkka. 2007. ”Vedettiin viinaa ihan homona!” Ei-heterot ja sukupuolen monimuotoisuus päihdepalveluissa. Helsinki: A-klinikkasäätiö / Messiin-projekti (ESR). (FI) Transihmiset työelämässä. Opas työnantajalle, työntekijälle ja työyhteisölle. 2007. Helsinki: SETA ja Messiin-projekti. (FI) Women 45+ on Labour Market: Gender, Age and Equality of Opportunities. Proceedings of the International Conference. 2007. Bratislava: Institute for Public Affairs. (EN) Poland Cole, M., & Cole S. (2002). Growth of Children. (Sexual identity, GR). (PL) Równouprawnienie

praktyce:

kluczowe

opinie

2004”,

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/publications/ (PL) Śledzińska-Simon, A., "Prawa osób transseksualnych. Rozwiazania modelowe a sytuacja w Polsce"., wydawnictwo Wolters Kluwer Polska. (PL) Kuczyńska A., Studia interdyscyplinarne ”Zrozumieć płeć” (PL) Websites Finland Messiin-projekti http://messiin.info/ (JoinUs project, FI, SV, EN) Perhe ja ura tasa-arvosuunnittelun haasteena http://www.etla.fi/to/perhejaura/ (Combining work and family – a challenge for equality planning, FI, EN) Seksuaalinen tasavertaisuus ry http://www.seta.fi (Sexual Equality, FI, SV, EN)

130

Tasa-arvovaltuutetun toimisto http://www.tasa-arvo.fi (Gender Equality in Finland, FI, SV, EN, SA) Transtukipiste http://www.transtukipiste.fi (Transgender Support Center, FI, EN) Spain Asociación

Española

Personas

Transexuales

Intersexuales.

(AET)

http://www.transexualia.org/ (ES) Colectivo Lambda Valencia http://www.lambdavalencia.org (ES) European Commission. Equality between Men and Women http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/s02310.htm (DA, DE, GR, EN, ES, FR, IT, NL, PT, FI, SV) Federación Estatal de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales http://www.felgt.org (ES) Human Rights Campaign http://www.hrc.org/ (EN) International Amnesty http://www.amnesty.org/en (ES/EN) Lesbian, Gay, Transgender & Bisexual Collective of Madrid (COGAM) http://www.cogam.org/en (EN, ES) Transgender Zone http://www.transgenderzone.com/index.htm (EN) Greece Insomnia http://www.insomnia.gr (Sexual orientation, GR, EN) Research Center for Gender Equality http://www.kethi.gr/english/indexen.htm (Scientific studies on gender equality, EN, GR) Employment

Observatory

Research

–

Informatics

S.A.

http://www.paep.org.gr/eng/index.php (Labour market for Women during period 2000-2005, GR) Norway LLH – Landsforeningen for Lesbiske og Homofile i arbeidslivet http://www.llh.no (The Norwegian National Association of Lesbian and Gay Liberation, NO) Casesamling om lesbiske og homofile i arbeidslivet

http://www.utdanningsforbundet.no

(Union of Education Norway, NO) Poland Ośrodek Informacji ONZ http://www.unic.un.org.pl/rownouprawnienie/ (PL) Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy http://www.pip.gov.pl/ (PL) Stowarzyszenie Kobiet KONSOLA, http://www.bezuprzedzen.org/ (PL) Niektóre

organizacje

zajmujące

się

przeciwdziałaniem

dyskryminacji-

http://www.bezuprzedzen.org/linki/ (PL) http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambda_Warszawa (PL) LGBT na świecie i w Polsce- http://gaymateo.pl/ (PL) 131

ORANGE APPROACH TRAINING MODULE 7, AWARENESS HEALTH Module 7: Health

The individual is aware of the normal variation in the condition of health, has knowledge of the different causes for illnesses and is conscious of the effects of illnesses, and the individual is able to act according to the health needs of his/her student, employee or instructee. Attitude: the individual is aware of and takes a neutral attitude to the causes to and manifestations of various illnesses in the education and the workplace Knowledge: the individual has knowledge of the effects of various illnesses, their commonness/frequency in the society, common prejudices towards physical and mental health, the equality act and regulations related to the health topic

132

Skills: the individual can perform his/her tasks avoiding discriminatory practices in relation to the variable conditions of health in his/her students or employees, he/she has interpersonal skills with regards to ill people and can use different methods in meeting the needs of people in various conditions of health in education and workplace

Organization Level

The organization has an unprejudiced and neutral attitude towards people of different conditions of health. There is knowledge in the organization about the causes and effects of different illnesses on work and working capacity, and about the limitations they produce for individuals. The practices of taking into consideration the condition of health of a student/employee/instructee is systematically included in all work or education organizations. Attitude: the organization is willing to proactively consider the fact that anyone can be taken ill at any point, to consider the effects of illness on working capacity, the physical appearance, the mental state and the professional performance Knowledge: the organization has knowledge of the causes and effects of both physical and mental illnesses (for example stress, burnout syndrome), organization also has knowledge of preventive measures in the education and the workplace Skills: the organization is able to learn practices that support active adaptation to student/employee/instructee cases of illness, organization has skills in preventive measures, and organization is able to use these skills for organization internal development

The learning objectives of the module "Health" are based on the individual and organizational competencies explained above. Following you have series of suggested training content to meet the competencies highlighted in this module. Subsequently, with a range of exercises based on any of the content set. These exercises are the basis for the organization of specific 133

training activities.

3. TARGET GROUP Management board, HR responsible and other departmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; responsible people. Intermediate managers, staff in general.

4. TRAINING TOPICS Attitudes Tolerance of people with illnesses. Problem-solving attitude regarding people with illnesses Correct behaviour and attitude towards people with health problems Importance of promoting new measures towards healthy activities. Importance of reducing stress at the workplace Willingness to prioritize surveys, focus groups on sick leave and well-being at the workplace or in the company/institution.

Knowledge Laws and regulations (incl. data privacy) Support system Obligation to inform the employees about laws and regulations of the organization HR managementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s responsibility to disseminate information and secure that the messages are understood The union leaders overview of rights and obligations of the employees , with particular reference to health and working environment, working conditions, salaries, seniority and working contracts. Salaries and unjust working contracts can promote illness. Salary systems must be a part of the common knowledge at the work place and the understanding of the rating system at the workplace Effects of mental and physical illnesses, including depressions and burnout syndrome Preventive measures, psychosocial and physical work environment Skills

Implementation of health policy and preventive measures Early intervention measures (burnout symptoms, depressions, alcohol and drug abuse) 134

Adaptation of work tasks allowing employees with health problems to work Support of and communication with people with health problems Ability to register /observe changes in health conditions Correspondence between health measures and good working environment and physical and psychical health

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. ATTITUDES 5.1.1. TRAINING TOPIC: TOLERANCE OF PEOPLE WITH ILLNESSES Exercise 1. Case study The manager of a company avoided an employee that was often absent on Mondays. Despite that, his/her colleagues started talking behind the back for the employee. The employee worked every other working day within the rules and regulations of the company except for Mondays. This absence on Monday caused an unpleasant working environment and the employee in question was aware of it. How would you describe the attitude of the management? How would you describe the attitudes of the colleagues and what do you think would be the consequences if nothing were done to rectify the problem. Do you think the colleagues are aware of the reason why the employee was always absent on Mondays? Reflect on yours and your organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attitude towards employees in similar situations. Exercise 2. Case Study

One of the employees has attended several courses in Management. When the organisation announces that they are looking for a superior manager, he applies for the job. Some of his colleagues who have known him for a long time know that he suffers from depressions and they do not want him to be their next their leader.

Discuss

Why do you think his colleagues do not want a person who suffers from depressions as their leader?

What kind of experiences do you have from your work place? How does the management treat employees with poor physical or mental heath? 135

Exercise 3

Spend some time reflecting on your experiences of working with people with health problems. Did a significant number of these people have problem to understand the work conditions and to cooperate with their colleagues?

Reflexions on your own and your organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attitudes towards employees with long term and/on frequent sick absences.

When does it become a problem that colleagues are on sick leave?

5.1.2. TRAINING TOPIC: PROBLEM-SOLVING ATTITUDE REGARDING PEOPLE WITH ILLNESSES. Exercise 4. Case Study

One of the employees working in a bank has a lot of absence from work because she has whip-lash problems due to a car accident. She has been observed working in the garden and she travels quite a lot but she has problems sitting many hours at the time. Although she has pain she tries to do her best at work. She has started to notice that her colleagues are growing gradually more sceptical to her sick leaves and she feels she is not treated with respect by her colleagues. Discuss:

What may be the reason that this employee does not feel she is taken seriously?

What is the general attitude to illness at you work place? Are some diseases more accepted than others?

What can the work place do to be supportive and including towards persons with physical or mental decease?

Exercise 5. Case Study

A young male employee suffers from cancer and his work capacity is reduced. This means that he works part time. He is treated in a considerate way by the organisation, but he notices that he is gradually given less interesting and challenging tasks. He informs the trade union representative who promises to discuss this in the organisation. Discuss:

136

Would you say that the young manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s situation is an example of discrimination at work? Explain your answer.

Discuss different points of view on and different solutions to this case.

5.1.3. TRAINING TOPIC: IMPORTANCE OF PROMOTING NEW MEASURES TOWARDS HEALTHY ACTIVITIES. Exercise 6

At individual level:

Identify healthy habits in your daily life and which are not so: (e.g. food, sports, time planning, social relations, leisure ...)

Out of the previously analysed habits, say to what extent they can affect your work, both in positive and negative aspects.

From the initial list, choose an unhealthy habit that you are committed to avoid and a healthy habit that you are committed to acquire.

5.2. KNOWLEDGE 5.2.1. TRAINING TOPIC: LAWS AND REGULATIONS Exercise 7

What is the difference between health problems and disability? Give a definition of these two terms. Exercise 8

Find relevant laws and regulations that protect persons with health problems from being discriminated at work.

5.2.2. TRAINING TOPIC: SALARY SYSTEM AND HEALTH. Exercise 9. Case study

A work place had difference in ranking of salaries connected to bonus, seniority, qualifications 137

and skills of the employees. The bonus system was linked to individual employees or group performance. Some of the employees became very annoyed and even went on sick leave.

Reflect on how your own knowledge and your organization’s knowledge of the ranking systems of salaries can affect people’s health. The system of internal ranking of salaries due to different parameters can be seen as unjust when salaries differ without being justified. How will knowledge of such systems be of importance at the workplace?

5.2.3. TRAINING TOPIC: PREVENTING MEASURES, PSYCHOSOCIAL AND PHYSICAL WORK ENVIRONMENT. Exercise 10. Case study

The working conditions of a warehouse were not very good. The lack of logistics made the overview of goods more complicated, and a system for registering and storing was totally absent or unavailable. This made the situation crucial, but the management did not consider it important to sort out the problem due to lack of staff and the company’s lack of skills in general. Two people were employed to work in the store. One was young and the other old. They felt stressed, overworked and started to have disagreement about ways of storing the goods. One of them could drive the forklift and the other did not have specific skills. They were not able to find a functional system for a good overview of the goods, registering of income and outgoing goods. Discuss: What could be the reason for this disorder in the company’s priorities? Which skills would be needed in this situation? Why is logistics important in a company? How will the chaotic conditions in the store affect the efficiency of the company and the employee’s health? Exercise 11. Case study

An employee had increased enormously in weight during the last half year and has started to have problems with walking, and became easily tired. The management team knew that the employee had psychological problems due to the loss of his wife and mother, and he had not been able to manage the daily challenges as before. He went on heavy medicine or antidepressant medication that had side effects; like weight increase and feeling drowsy. The management of the company were aware of his problems, but did nothing and all this made his situation worse, thereby affecting his work performance which then lead to sickness absences. 138

Discuss: How do you view the situation of the employee? How was his psychological health affecting his work performance? Is the employer responsible for the health of the employee? Discuss the necessary knowledge needed for a better inclusion of employees in critical life situations.

Exercise 12

Analysis of health problems suffered by your organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s employees:

What causes them?

How do they affect the fulfillment of their daily tasks?

What measures can the company undertake to improve wellbeing of these employees?

Exercise 13

Discuss:

What kind of supportive measures are there to adapt work conditions to persons with different health problems?

Which are the most common diseases and injuries at your work place?

5.3. SKILLS 5.3.1. TRAINING TOPIC: IMPLEMENTATION OF HEALTH POLICY AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES Exercise 14 Design and production of a Decalogue with strategies that your organisation could develop to foster a healthier environment (e.g. campaign to stop smoking, interior design for a more motivating labour environment etc.) Exercise 15 Discuss:

How does your workplace include employees with physical or mental diseases?

Discuss the managementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s responsibility to offer a work place characterized by equal opportunities for all as to a) daily tasks b) recruitment policy

What can the management do to adapt the work place as to accessibility to persons with health problems?

139

How does your organisation relate to the situation when someone at the job interview states that he/she has health problems

Exercise 16 When you think about a person with multiple health problems in a workplace, what facilities do you believe are necessary for him/her and the organization?

5.3.2. TRAINING TOPIC: ABILITY TO REGISTER/OBSERVE CHANGES IN HEALTH CONDITIONS Exercise 17

Identify the percentage of the employees that are on a long term sick leave b. short term sick leave in your organization.

What is the percentage of women and men in the two categories?

What about leaders vs. ordinary employees, are there any differences?

Does your organization have a policy for organizing work and work conditions so that employees with health problems can continue in their jobs?

5.3.3. TRAINING TOPIC: SUPPORT OF AND COMMUNICATION WITH PEOPLE WITH HEALTH PROBLEMS TO WORK. Exercise 18. Case Study The HR management had put up a notice of rules concerning absence during sickness and the management had even made a local agreement for rules for the work place, including rights and rules. Some of the employees with ethnic minority background do not read notices on the board, and the brochure contained many difficult words. Discuss:

How can the management improve the working conditions to promote healthy environment?

Do you plan surveys on what effect healthy environment has on sickness absence?

How can you plan specific measures to affect well-being and good health at the workplace?

What would you as a Management (HR management) have done to make sure that all the workers should read and understand the messages and local agreements?

140

Exercise 19. Case Study

An employee was often suffering from migraine in periods, and other employees got annoyed when the employee suddenly had to leave the work place. The employee did not look sick, but full of energy and it was difficult to see the health problems on how the employee behaved or looked like. The other staff members were irritated as their workload increased and also affected their work performance and increased stress in general. They started to talk behind the employees back and complained to the boss. They even uttered that the employee did not fit in their working team, as the employee did not communicate with them. Discuss:

What would you have done as a Manager or as an individual in this case?

How could the colleagues have acted?

How do you reassess the workload of the employees to promote better solutions for the organization of work tasks and work performance?

6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY. Language codes: DA Danish, CH Chinese, De German, NL Dutch, FI Finnish, ES Spanish, EST Estonian, GR Greek, FR French, IT Italian, PT Portuguese, FI Finnish, SV Swedish, Norwegian, PL Polish, EN English, ARA Arabic, RUS Russian, SA Sami Finland

Cavén-Suominen,

Sini.

2005.

Aktiivinen

aikainen

puuttuminen

–

tavoitteena

pitkäaikaisterveys. Opas henkilöstön kehittäjille, esimiehille ja työterveyshuollolle. Kuntatyö kunnossa

–julkaisu.

Kuntien

eläkevakuutus.Saatavissa:

http://www.keva.fi/Table_pict/cid3/Info_txt/id4235/Aapu.pdf (FI)

Niemelä, Anna. 2007. ”Joutuu vähän taisteleen”. Tutkimus vammaisten ja kuurojen nuorten koulutuspoluista.

Opiskelijajärjestöjen

tutkimussäätiö

Otus

29/2007.

Helsinki:

Yliopistopaino. (FI)

Saari, Pirjo. 2008. Työssä jatkamisen eväät. Kirjoituskilpailun satoa työssä jatkamiseen liittyvistä tekijöistä. Kuntien eläkevakuutuksen raportteja 2/2008.

Helsinki: Kuntien

eläkevakuutus.

Saatavissa:

http://www.keva.fi/table_pict/cid2/info_txt/id3545/tyossajatkamisen_evaat.pdf (FI)

Sainio, Ulla. 2007. Vuoden 2007 Mensa-palkinnon sai Johan Venninen, 98. 141

Mensalainen 6/2007. Saatavissa: http://www.mensa.fi/files/venninen.pdf (FI)

Spain

European Union - Fundación ONCE – CERMI. Guía práctica “La Igualdad de trato en el empleo” (2007) (ES) Grupo SIFU “Estudio sobre discapacidad y empresa 2006” (2006) ed. Grupo SIFU. (ES) Ley 13/1982, de 7 de abril, de Integración Social de los Minusválidos (LISMI) (ES) Greece

Papanikolaou G. (2003) Risk management. (GR) Levy B,. & Wegman D. (1995). Occupational Health – Recognizing and Preventing WorkRelated Disease. Third edition. (EN) Gates B (1997) Learning Disabilities. Third edition (EN) Birchenal M,. Baldwin S,. & Morris J. (1997) Learning Disability and the social content of caring (EN) Potamianos, G. (1995). Essays in psychology of Health. (Society and Health, GR) Poland

Państwowy

Fundusz

Rehabilitacji

Osób

Niepełnosprawnych

http://www.pelnosprawniwpracy.pl/ (PL) Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy http://www.pip.gov.pl/ (PL) Ministerstwo Pracy i Polityki Społecznej http://www.mpips.gov.pl/ (PL/EN)

Websites

Finland

Kehitysvammaisten Tukiliitto Ry http://www.kvtl.fi (The Finnish Association for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, FIN, SWE, EN) Näkövammaisten Keskusliitto ry http://www.nkl.fi (Finnish Federation of the Visually Impaired, FI, SWE, EN) Työterveyslaitos http://www.ttl.fi (Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, FI, SWE, EN) VATES-säätiö http://www.vates.fi (VATES Foundation, FI, SWE, EN) 142

Spain

Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer http://www.todocancer.com (ES) Better Health Channel (Health and medical information for consumers, quality assured by the Victorian government (Australia) http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au (EN) Fundación Empresa y Sociedad http://www.empresaysociedad.org/feys/es/ingles (EN, ES) Fundación ONCE (Spanish Association for cooperation and social integration of disabled people) http://www.fundaciononce.es/WFO/Ingles/default (EN, ES) Fundación Prevent http://www.fundacionprevent.com (ES) Fundosa http://www.fsc.es (ES) Grupo Sifu Centros Especiales de Empleo http://www.gruposifu.com (ES) The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) http://www.iarc.fr/ (EN,FR) Portal Discpnet http://www.discapnet.com (ES) Portal e-tradis (Portal de empleo y discapacidad) http://www.e-tradis.net (ES) Portal temático sobre la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial http://www.responsables.biz (ES) Spanish

Confederation

Social

Economy

Enterprises

http://www.cepes.es/index.cfm?idioma=2 (EN, ES) Spanish

National

Institute

for

Safety

and

Health

Work

http://www.mtas.es/insht/en/index_en.htm (EN, ES, FR, PT) Spanish Social Security (Estadísticas sobre bajas laborales/Observatorio de las enfermedades Profesionales) http://www.segsocial.es/Internet_6/index.htm?ssUserText= (ES, EN, FR) World Health Organisation http://www.who.int/en/ (EN, FR, ES, ARA, CH, RU) Greece

Safety and Health at workplace (Hellenic Ministry of Labour and Social Care) http://www.ypakp.gr (GR) European Organization for Safety and Health at workplace http://www.ypakp.gr (GR) European

Network

for

promotion

health

workplace

http://www.osh.gr/kyae/whp/index.html (GR, EN) Legislation http://www.mlsi.gov.cy/mlsi/dli/dli.nsf/dmllegislation_New_en?openform&p=1&t=f&e= Department of Labour Inspection (GR, EN)

143

Disability now. http://www.disabled.gr/lib/?cat=38 (Special education and training for disabled, GR) Norway

Likestillings-

diskrimineringsombudet

http://www.ldo.no

(The

Equality

and

Antidiscrimination Ombud, NO) Handels- og Servicenæringens Hovedorganisasjon http://www.hsh-org.no (The Federation of Norwegian commercial and service institutions, NO) Stopp Diskrimineringen http://www.stopdisk.no (Stop the Discrimination, NO) Poland

Państwowy Fundusz Rehabilitacji Osób Niepełnosprawnych http://www.pelnosprawniwpracy.pl/ (PL) Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy http://www.pip.gov.pl/ (PL) Ministerstwo Pracy i Polityki Społecznej http://www.mpips.gov.pl/ (PL/EN) Przeciwdziałanie

dyskryminacji-

http://piekielko.info/socjologia/przeciwdzialanie_dyskryminacji_w_polsce.html www.mojeprawa.info/ Polskie Towarzystwo Prawa Antydyskryminacyjnego - http://www.ptpa.org.pl/ Pełnomocnik Rządu ds. Równego Traktowania-

http://www.rownetraktowanie.gov.pl/

(PL /EN)

144

ORANGE APPROACH TRAINING MODULE 8, AWARENESS DISABILITY Module 8: Disability

INDEX 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. 2. LEARNING AIMS 3. TARGET GROUP 4. TRAINING TOPICS 5. PRACTICE SPACE 6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. COMPETENCES TO REACH WITH THIS MODULE Individual Level The individual is aware of the challenges disabled people face in the workplace and in education, has knowledge of the causes of disabilities and of the supporting measures in society, and is able to meet the needs of his/her disabled student/employee/instructee in a systematic way. Attitude: individual awareness and readiness to meet the needs of a disabled student, employee or instructee. Knowledge: individual knowledge of the causes and consequences of various disabilities, knowledge of the influences on individual action and behaviour, and knowledge of supporting measures/actions for the disabled people in education and the working life (accessibility measures).

145

Skills: individual skills to identify issues of accessibility in the education/workplace, to react to the various needs of the disabled people and to find measures to support the disabled students/employees/instructees. Organization Level The organization is aware of the different ways to meet the needs of the students, employees or instructees with disabilities in education and the workplace. The organization has knowledge

and

consciousness

the

consequences

various

disabilities

education/workplace needs of the individual students, employees or instructees. The organization is skilled in accessibility issues and supportive measures, which help redesign the working/education environment and make work/education practices more suitable for the people with disabilities

Attitude: the organization considers all the people with disabilities as potential students, employees or instructees according to their individual capacities and possibilities, and the organization is aware of the equality planning practices.

Knowledge: the organization has knowledge of the various disabilities, knowledge of the optional ways to accomplish work tasks, and knowledge of supporting national/regional mechanisms.

Skills: the organization has skills to accomplish and implement a local organisational accessibility plan and train the members of the organization to take positive actions to promote equity and to network with the organisations of people with disabilities in society as well as with other supporting organizations and government.

The learning objectives of the module "Disability" are based on the individual and organizational competencies explained above. Following you have series of suggested training content to meet the competencies highlighted in this module. Subsequently, with a range of exercises based on any of the content set. These exercises are the basis for the organization of specific training activities. 146

3. TARGET GROUP This training module is addressed to management board, HR responsible and other departmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; responsible people. Intermediate managers, staff in general.

4. TRAINING TOPICS Attitudes

Similar attitude towards all employees including disabled person.

Awareness of prejudices towards persons with disabilities, myths and reality.

Awareness that disability is not necessarily an obstacle to employment and a successful career.

Willingness to develop individual and organizational inclusive behaviour.

Knowledge

Legal rights and anti-discriminatory legislation (also data privacy).

Terminology, i. e. the distinction between the disability and health.

Statistics on disability and employment.

Equality planning concerning disabilities.

Support systems when employing disabled people, for example necessary adaptation of workplace.

Positive discrimination.

Skills

Ability to meet the various needs of people with disabilities (accessibility, necessary equipment, etc.).

Positive actions and support measures when recruiting disabled people.

Social inclusion at the work place.

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. ATTITUDES 5.1.1. TRAINING TOPIC: AWARENESS OF PREJUDICES TOWARDS PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, MYTHS AND REALITY Exercise 1

147

Identify at least two ways in which other people’s attitudes towards the disability can increase their personality and confidence. Exercise 2

The following are existing myths in the business field in relation to hiring disabled people. Give your opinion and discuss each one. - “They are not capable of using certain tools or machinery, so I need to invest in special devices which are very expensive” - “They aren’t very reliable and are often absent from work because of sick leave” -“My clients can feel uncomfortable when dealing with them” -“My employees can have communication problems with them”

Exercise 3. Case Study.

A young male employee, Michael, has applied for a job as Chief accountant in the organisation. One of his colleagues, Thomas, who is a wheelchair user, has applied for the same position. Michael claims that a disabled person will have too many special needs and therefore he should not fill a higher position. On the other hand, it is evident that Thomas is qualified for the job as he has also been studying in his spare time.

Discuss: Which are the 3 most common stereotypes about colleagues with reduced functionality? How are disabled persons treated in your organisation? To what extent is there a discriminatory way of thinking in your organisation? Exercise 4

For discussion There are a lot of myths connected to disabled employees:

Persons with disabilities have less work capacity compared to others.

To have disabled persons employed is time consuming and will lead to extra expenses.

Disabled employees are more often on sick leave.

148

5.1.2. TRAINING TOPIC: AWARENESS THAT DISABILITY IS NOT NECESSARILY AN OBSTACLE TO EMPLOYMENT AND A SUCCESSFUL CAREER. Exercise 5

Does the perfect employee who performs optimally day after day exist?

Is it possible to guarantee that an employee will have full work capacity during her/his entire work life?

Exercise 6 Self-reflexion (logbook)

Do you personally perform 100% at work every day?

In which periods of life do you perform less at work?

Exercise 7

Read and discuss the following article. “Responsibility towards disability” “ONE OF THE MAIN PROBLEMS FOR COMPANIES REGARDING LABOUR INCLUSION OF DISABLED PEOPLE IS THE LACK OF INFORMATION” In the microworld that many Spanish companies represent nowadays, disabled employees hold a well-deserved position. An achievement obtained in some cases thanks to the share established by the LISMI (Act 13/1982 for Social integration of the handicapped and to which regulations governing the obligatory nature of equal treatment in employment were later added) more than 25 years ago; some other times, thanks to a responsible employer’s own initiative, by simply searching for a qualified person to occupy a certain job position, and, finally, to the tenacity of those who did not surrender to adversity. But the reality is that Spain is at the bottom of European ranking concerning integration of disabled people in the labour market. Labour inclusion of disabled people is a very complex topic, affected by multiple factors which are summarised in the low rate activity of this group, but which require a wide analysis. It is not a problem which can be reduced to corporate social responsibility and even less to a voluntary gesture derived from pity. Labour inclusion of disabled people is not an easy subject. Studies analysing the relationship between training and disability show that many people from this group have a low training level 149

and little labour experience, which constitutes not only a barrier for their access to employment but also leads to, in most cases, precariousness and labour instability. Companies willing to hire disabled people do not find highly qualified profiles and give them manual and repetitive tasks, their presence in management positions being merely symbolic. All this leads disabled people to feeling discouraged for job searching and to end up applying for public subsidies. In short, labour inclusion and, by extension, equal treatment of disabled people in the labour market requires a holistic approach in which the Administration, companies, society and the target people take part. As regards the companies, the biggest challenge in the fight against discrimination in employment is the lack of information and publications addressed to employers, as revealed by a report on good practices in the workplace published by the European Commission in 2005. Companies keep lacking knowledge about the universe of disability, how to deal with disabled job applicants, how to approach selection processes, even about language to use when addressing disabled people. It seems difficult to develop flexible selection processes which are able to be adapted to the profiles of disabled people. New tools arise in reply to this situation, such as the recently published “Guide to Equal Treatment in Employment” by Fundación ONCE and CERMI. The guide is addressed to companies and disabled people who are working or willing to work. It intends to help to understand better the rights and obligations in the labour context and ultimately to foster a closer relation between both parts. It is not a question of lowering the requirements for inclusion but to adapt them (as the law establishes) so as to face diversity and the particularities of applicants, and where recruitment best practice is that of finding the best person for the job position. Once reasonable adjustments have been undertaken, there’s no need to hire a person if he/she isn’t the best candidate. What institutions related to disabled people inclusion recommend is the adoption of a series of principles to revise selection processes of companies and to adapt them to a more flexible framework that eliminates the usual hindrances that disabled people find. The aim is to address disabled people’s labour needs and to become aware of all the available resources to promote their labour market integration from the company’s point of view, to internalise equal treatment as a part of the organisation’s corporate social responsibity strategy. Source: www.responsables.biz

5.2. KNOWLEDGE

150

5.2.1. TRAINING TOPIC: AWARENESS OF PREJUDICES TOWARDS PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, MYTHS AND REALITY Exercise 8

Below there are some questions related to legislation with regards to specific situations of disabled people at the workplace. Answer the following questions and discuss your answers.

Is a job applicant obliged to inform the company that he/she has any disability?

Do you know what financial advantages organisations can apply for when hiring disabled people?

Has the organisation any obligation to adapt the workplace depending on the employee’s disability?

If an employee with disability must lattend medical consultations, must these leaves be paid or not?

5.2.2. TRAINING TOPIC: STATISTICS ON DISABILITY AND EMPLOYMENT Exercise 9

Find out the unemployment rate among disabled people in your country.

It is usually easier for immigrants to get a job when the economy in a country is good. Is it the same case with disabled persons?

5.2.3. TRAINING TOPIC: POSITIVE DISCRIMINATION Exercise 10. Case Study.

Civil Service in Norway is aiming at having 5% of disabled persons among their employees. When recruiting new staff, Civil Service employees are obliged to invite at least one disabled job seeker to an interview. It is also allowed to recruit a qualified disabled person although he/she is less qualified than an applicant that is not disabled. This is called “positive discrimination” Discuss Do you think that “positive discrimination” is an appropriate way of solving a problem of discrimination?

151

Exercise 11

With the use of new technology find the organizations that its main goal is disability.

5.3. SKILLS 5.3.1. TRAINING TOPIC: ABILITY TO MEET THE VARIOUS NEEDS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES (ACCESSIBILITY, NECESSARY EQUIPMENT, ETC.). Exercise 12

Does your organisation map all its employees’ competences? Discuss the experience from this.

Exercise 13. Case Study.

The organization X is planning for next year. Statistically almost 50% of the disabled in Norway are unemployed and this is likely to be the case also in the other European countries. There are no disabled employees in the organization X and there are no plans for employing any the next year even if it is easy to find disabled persons who are highly competent. The labor union has challenged the organization to change their recruitment policy. Discuss Discuss this organization’s awareness as to diversity in work life.

Exercise 14

Prepare a paper with conditions related to disability that someone have either seen or heard about from colleagues.

5.3.2. TRAINING TOPIC: SOCIAL INCLUSION AT THE WORK PLACE Exercise 15

152

Think and practice a type of behaviour which you know to be appropriate to disable people.

5.3.3. TRAINING TOPIC: POSITIVE ACTIONS AND SUPPORT MEASURES WHEN RECRUITING DISABLED PEOPLE Exercise: Job position profiles

Complete the information that is missing in the following table related to each job position and answer the questions below.

People that Job position

Physical/ psychical Job functions

can fill them Administrative

Slight and

assistant

moderate

Initial requirements requirements

physical disability; moderate psychic disability Customer

Sensory

Attention

disability, poor

Service

vision, slight

employee

physical disabilities

Cleaning

Sensory

worker

disability, loss of auditory capacity, slight mental retardation, slight physical disabilities

Answer the following questions:

153

Have you found any difficulties in completing the professional profiles considering the disabilities shown above?

Do you think that, in case you hired a disabled person for one of these jobs, they would be able to carry out the work tasks as any other person who wasn’t disabled?

Which advantages and disadvantages can you think of when it comes to hiring disabled people for these positions?

6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Language codes: DA Danish, CH Chinese, De German, NL Dutch, FI Finnish, ES Spanish, EST Estonian, GR Greek, FR French, IT Italian, PT Portuguese, FI Finnish, SV Swedish, Norwegian, PL Polish, EN English, ARA Arabic, RUS Russian, SA Sami Books and articles

Finland

Cavén-Suominen,

Sini.

2005.

Aktiivinen

aikainen

puuttuminen

–

tavoitteena

pitkäaikaisterveys. Opas henkilöstön kehittäjille, esimiehille ja työterveyshuollolle. Kuntatyö kunnossa

–julkaisu.

Kuntien

eläkevakuutus.

Saatavissa:

http://www.keva.fi/Table_pict/cid3/Info_txt/id4235/Aapu.pdf (FI)

Niemelä, Anna. 2007. ”Joutuu vähän taisteleen”. Tutkimus vammaisten ja kuurojen nuorten koulutuspoluista.

Opiskelijajärjestöjen

tutkimussäätiö

Otus

29/2007.

Helsinki:

Yliopistopaino. (FI)

Saari, Pirjo. 2008. Työssä jatkamisen eväät. Kirjoituskilpailun satoa työssä jatkamiseen liittyvistä tekijöistä. Kuntien eläkevakuutuksen raportteja 2/2008. Helsinki: Kuntien eläkevakuutus. Saatavissa: http://www.keva.fi/table_pict/cid2/info_txt/id3545/tyossajatkamisen_evaat.pdf (FI)

Sainio, Ulla. 2007. Vuoden 2007 Mensa-palkinnon sai Johan Venninen, 98. Mensalainen 6/2007. Saatavissa: http://www.mensa.fi/files/venninen.pdf (FI)

Spain

European Union - Fundación ONCE – CERMI. Guía práctica “La Igualdad de trato en el empleo” (2007) (ES)

Grupo SIFU “Estudio sobre discapacidad y empresa 2006” (2006) ed. Grupo SIFU. (ES)

Ley 13/1982, de 7 de abril, de Integración Social de los Minusválidos (LISMI) (ES)

154

Greece

Papanikolaou G. (2003) Risk management. (GR)

Levy B,. & Wegman D. (1995). Occupational Health – Recognizing and Preventing WorkRelated Disease. Third edition. (EN)

Gates B (1997) Learning Disabilities. Third edition (EN)

Birchenal M,Baldwin S, & Morris J. (1997) Learning Disability and the social content of caring (EN)

Potamianos, G. (1995). Essays in psychology of Health. (Society and Health, GR)

Poland Kotaczek B.,(2006). Zatrudnienie osób niepełnosprawnych w Polsce, Uwarunkowania i skutki. Wydawnictwo ISBN, ZadroŜny J., Karta praw osób niepełnosprawnych- https://zadzior.wordpress.com/ (PL) Magazyn Integracja, - http://www.niepelnosprawni.pl/ledge/ (PL)

Websites

Finland

Kehitysvammaisten Tukiliitto Ry http://www.kvtl.fi (The Finnish Association for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, FIN, SV, EN)

Näkövammaisten Keskusliitto ry http://www.nkl.fi (Finnish Federation of the Visually Impaired, FI, SV, EN)

Työterveyslaitos http://www.ttl.fi (Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, FI, SV, EN)

VATES-säätiö http://www.vates.fi (VATES Foundation, FI, SV, EN)

Spain

Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer http://www.todocancer.com (ES)

Better Health Channel (Health and medical information for consumers, quality assured by the Victorian government (Australia) http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au (EN)

Fundación Empresa y Sociedad http://www.empresaysociedad.org/feys/es/ingles (EN, ES)

Fundación ONCE (Spanish Association for cooperation and social integration of disabled people) http://www.fundaciononce.es/WFO/Ingles/default (EN, ES) 155

Fundación Prevent http://www.fundacionprevent.com (ES)

Fundosa http://www.fsc.es (ES)

Grupo Sifu Centros Especiales de Empleo http://www.gruposifu.com (ES)

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) http://www.iarc.fr/ (EN, FR)

Portal Discpnet http://www.discapnet.com (ES)

Portal e-tradis (Portal de empleo y discapacidad) http://www.e-tradis.net (ES)

Portal temático sobre la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial http://www.responsables.biz (ES)

Spanish Confederation of Social Economy Enterprises http://www.cepes.es/index.cfm?idioma=2 (EN, ES)

Spanish National Institute for Safety and Health at Work http://www.mtas.es/insht/en/index_en.htm (EN, ES, FR, PT)

Spanish Social Security (Estadísticas sobre bajas laborales/Observatorio de las enfermedades Profesionales) http://www.segsocial.es/Internet_6/index.htm?ssUserText= (ES, EN, FR)

World Health Organisation http://www.who.int/en/ (EN, FR, ES, ARA, CH, RUS)

Greece

Safety and Health at workplace (Hellenic Ministry of Labour and Social Care): http://www.ypakp.gr (GR)

European Organization for Safety and Health at workplace: http://www.ypakp.gr (GR)

European

Network

for

promotion

health

workplace:

http://www.osh.gr/kyae/whp/index.html (GR, EN)

Legislation: http://www.mlsi.gov.cy/mlsi/dli/dli.nsf/dmllegislation_New_en?openform&p=1 &t=f&e= Department of Labour Inspection (GR, EN)

Disability now. http://www.disabled.gr/lib/?cat=38 (Special education and training for disabled, GR)

Norway

Likestillings-

diskrimineringsombudet

http://www.ldo.no

(The

Equality

and

Antidiscrimination Ombud, NO)

Handels- og Servicenæringens Hovedorganisasjon http://www.hsh-org.no (The Federation of Norwegian commercial and service institutions, NO)

Stopp Diskrimineringen http://www.stopdisk.no (Stop the Discrimination, NO)

Poland 156

Państwowy

Fundusz

Rehabilitacji

Osób

Niepełnosprawnych

http://www.pelnosprawniwpracy.pl/ (PL)

Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy http://www.pip.gov.pl/ (PL)

Ministerstwo Pracy i Polityki Społecznej http://www.mpips.gov.pl/ (PL/EN)

Dyskryminacja

względu

niepełnosprawność

świetle

przepisów

UE-

http://kadry.infor.pl/

Państwowy Fundusz Rehabilitacji Osób Niepełnosprawnych http://www.pelnosprawniwpracy.pl/ (PL

Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy http://www.pip.gov.pl/ (PL)

Ministerstwo Pracy i Polityki Społecznej http://www.mpips.gov.pl/ (PL/EN)

Pełnomocnik Rządu ds. Równego Traktowania-

http://www.rownetraktowanie.gov.pl/

(PL/EN)

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ORANGE APPROACH TRAINING MODULE 9, AWARENESS LANGUAGE Module 9: Language

The individual is aware of the position one takes towards students, employees or instructees speaking different languages, towards different ways of expressing oneself and towards learning new languages. The individual is, in addition to mastering his/her mother tongue, skilled in some other language(s) and can constructively cooperate with representatives of any other language groups using expressions of plain (simplified) language.

Attitude: the individual is flexible in a positive way with those who are developing their language skills, speakers of foreign languages and/or with different accents.

158

Knowledge: the individual has knowledge and consciousness of the meaning of language skills for an individual, knowledge of challenges in learning languages and evaluating language skills, knowledge in plain language.

Skills: the individual has skills to develop cooperation in a multi-linguistic work environment, skills to use plain language in education and workplace instruction, skills to utilise language services networks.

Organization Level

The organization is aware and capable of cooperating and communicating with people in the national language in multiple ways and in different language skills levels. The organization is aware that communication is a reciprocal process in which both parties have a responsibility for correct interpretation. The organization knows how to relate to the language skills needs of their students, employees or instructees to the education or workplace requirements. The organization sees the different language skills as an asset and resource. The organization members can and do use different languages and also plain language fluently when required. The organization knows how to and by whom can they have the language skills evaluated.

Attitude: the organization is willing to consider and meet the needs of their foreign students, employees and instructees who speak a foreign language and have evolving national language skills (national language as a foreign language).

Knowledge: the organization has knowledge of and competence in language instruction and evaluation, in principles of plain language usage, in different ways to communicate and in non-verbal communication.

Skills: the organization has skills to train, guide and instruct a foreign person of evolving language skills in the needed processes (complementary language training, professional language skills,

language skills

evaluation),

the organization has

interpersonal

communication skills and skills to interpret non-verbal communication.

159

orientation, health, disability, language, cultural and ethnic background, age and ideology and opinion.

The learning objectives of the module "Language" are based on the individual and organizational competencies explained above. They include proactive attitude towards language diversity, awareness on the relevance of body language and getting to know resources that facilitate communication. Following you have series of suggested training content to meet the competencies highlighted in this module. Subsequently, with a range of exercises based on any of the content set. These exercises are the basis for the organization of specific training activities.

3. TARGET GROUP Management board, HR responsible and other departments’ responsible people, intermediate managers, staff in general.

4. TRAINING TOPICS Attitudes •

prejudices, stereotypes and discrimination related to language diversity

•

consciousness of the challenges related to a multi-linguistic workplace, both for the minority and the majority groups

•

awareness that communication is a reciprocal process

•

awareness of the importance of body language and cultural codes

Knowledge •

knowledge and awareness of the challenges for an adult to learn a new language

•

knowledge of the fact that learning a language is easier in a context

•

knowledge of different forms of body language and cultural codes

Skills •

strategies for good communication and for solving communication problems (active listening and adapted speech)

•

to identify the potential of linguistic diversity within organization

•

mapping of language skills

•

resources to facilitate communication (i.e. language coach)

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5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. 5.2. ATTITUDES 5.2.1. TRAINING TOPIC: PREJUDICES, STEREOTYPES AND DISCRIMINATION RELATED TO LANGUAGE DIVERSITY Exercise 1

Here are some statements related to myths and misconceptions about language diversity, reflecting the belief that language diversity is a problem rather than a resource. These should be discussed by course participants, sharing their views on them, saying whether they agree or not, providing arguments and discussing their answers. The trainer has previously prepared the session

- The increasing amount of languages spoken in our country threatens the predominance of a language and its literacy. - The increasing amount of languages spoken in our region threatens the preservation of our regional language. - Illiteracy is increasing due to the fact that immigrants and language minorities are not as eager to learn the official language and its literacy. - The best way to promote national-regional literacy is to immerse children and adults in only official language instruction.

5.2.2. TRAINING TOPIC: AWARENESS THAT COMMUNICATION IS A RECIPROCAL PROCESS Exercise 2

Role-play exercise, in pairs

The aim of this exercise is to raise awareness of our behavior with people who do not master our native language. Excerpts from work-related conversations are prepared beforehand. Participants must play their parts as follows: Participant 1 must speak varying or exaggerating the pronunciation of some sounds (for example, pronouncing z instead of s) or changing stress

161

(stressing every word in its first or last syllable). Participant 2 must instead reply by speaking in a very loud tone, as if Participant 1 was deaf. After this exercise, participants will discuss on the difficulties of focusing on the message when the speaker has a strange accent or pronunciation, and on how the act of shouting interferes with effective communication.

Exercise 3

The participants are divided into groups of 4-5 persons. Each group chooses one person to lead the group. The leader gets a sheet of paper with a drawing which he/she is not supposed to show to the rest of the group. The leader describes the drawing by using only geometrical terms (and should not use expressions like “it resembles a house”). The group members draw what they understand from the oral description. They are not allowed to make any questions and they are not supposed to see what the others are drawing, so they must be seated with their backs to each other. After 4-5 minutes they lay their drawings on the table and compare them.

- How did you experience this exercise?

The illustration is taken from the booklet ”Communication at multi-cultural work places by G.Aakervik and Whyn Lam

Exercise 4

Do you agree with the statement: “A good listener makes a good speaker”? 162

What can you do to be a good listener?

5.2.3. TRAINING TOPIC: AWARENESS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF BODY LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL CODES Exercise 5

The intention with this exercise is to make a person feel what it is like not to master a foreign language sufficiently. The listener is supposed to be supportive, in order to make the speaker feel how it feels to be supported in this situation.

a. Work in pairs Person1 talks about him/herself in a language he/she does not master very well (the person chooses the language) Person 2 does what he/she can to understand the speaker by being attentive and supporting and by asking questions to make sure that what is said is understood. Use also body language to show interest.

b. Discuss:

How did you experience this situation?

What made this a good/bad experience?

How do you estimate the listenerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role in the communication process in this case?

5.3. KNOWLEDGE 5.3.1. TRAINING TOPIC: KNOWLEDGE OF THE FACT THAT LEARNING A LANGUAGE IS EASIER IN A CONTEXT

Exercise 6

Explanation and discussion in class of some useful techniques in order to facilitate communication in a language-diverse workplace: a) Use of a clear language: - avoiding too loud or too low tones 163

- speaking slowly and using pauses - avoiding abbreviations - avoiding slang and vague terminology b) Use of cognates: words which share roots in (at least) two different languages c) Keeping messages simple and short d) Use of positive phrasing e) Checking if our message has been understood Exercise 7

Discuss the statements - The workplace is an important learning arena to learn languages. - It is necessary to master a language perfect to function at work. - It is a fact that language acquisition is developed in a context.

5.3.2. TRAINING TOPIC: KNOWLEDGE OF DIFFERENT FORMS OF BODY LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL CODES Exercise 8

Different ways to use hands and fingers can be perceived different in various cultures. The participants guess the meaning of the different signs.People from different cultures sometimes interpret signs and symbols so differently that misunderstanding may arise.

Give examples how body language may vary from culture to culture.

Give examples on your own good and bad experience.

5.4. SKILLS 5.4.1. TRAINING TOPIC: STRATEGIES FOR GOOD COMMUNICATION AND FOR SOLVING COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS (ACTIVE LISTENING AND ADAPTED SPEECH) Exercise 9: Simplifying the message.

Participants will be organised in groups. They will be given excerpts from newspapers in which some sentences will be highlighted. All groups will have the same excerpts. Participants must focus on the message and simplify the way it is expressed as much as possible, removing

164

pieces of information which are not essential to the message. Results obtained by each group will be shared with the others, in order to see which group succeeded in using less words without altering the message. Exercise 10: Positive phrasing.

Group members must speak to the others using only positive phrases. One observer will be appointed in each group. He/she will check whether this rule has been respected by each group member, warning those who havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. Exercise 11: Finding cognates.

Participants must find as many words as possible which share the same root in at least two different languages (Spanish, English, French, Valencian, etc.).

Exercise 12: Vague language.

Two group members must discuss about a subject proposed by the session co-ordinator. The rest of the group members will be observers. In this case, they must take notice of those cases in which vague language, idioms or slang words were used. Group members will discuss on the importance of avoiding vague language, idioms and slang. Proposals for substituting these expressions will be jointly found. Different group members will play the speakers-observer role each time can be appointed in each group.

5.4.2. TRAINING TOPIC: RESOURCES TO FACILITATE COMMUNICATION (I.E. LANGUAGE COACH) Exercise 13

Discuss:

What needs does the management have for communication?

What needs do the employees have for communication?

What can disturb the communication at the workplace and make it difficult?

Who is responsible when communication breaks down?

At a multi-cultural workplace, how can the majority group adapt their way of speaking?

Exercise 14 165

As a leader, which techniques do you use to ensure good communication? Ask for examples, then give some:

Talk slowly

Pronounce clearly

Use short and simple sentences

Use many questions

Use following-up questions

Talk about concrete issues instead of abstract ones

Avoid idiomatic expressions like ”this is not my cup of tea”

Change the subject if the communication breaks down

6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY References used in national TforD Pilot Trainings, other essential reference material (language, ethnic and cultural background)

Language codes: DA Danish, CAT Catalan, CH Chinese, De German, NL Dutch, FI Finnish, ES Spanish, EST Estonian, GR Greek, FR French, IT Italian, PT Portuguese, FI Finnish, SV Swedish, Norwegian, PL Polish, EN English, ARA Arabic, RUS Russian, SA Sami Books and articles

Finland

Erilaisuus sallittu. Perehdymme monimuotoisuuteen – käsikirja työhön perehdyttäjälle ja työyhteisölle.

Perehdyttämällä

monimuotoiseen

työyhteisöön,

Petmo-hanke

(ESR).

Vartiainen-Ora, Päivi Petmopilottikoulutuksen pohjalta. SAK.

Lehtonen, Mikko ja Löytty, Olli. 2003. Erilaisuus. (Suom. Riitta Virkkunen et al.) Tampere: Vastapaino. (FI)

Matinheikki-Kokko, Kaija. 1999. Kulttuurikompetenssin oppiminen toisesta kulttuurista tulevien ohjaustyössä. Teoksessa A. Eteläpelto & P. Tynjälä (toim.) Oppiminen ja asiantuntijuus. Juva: WSOY. (FI)

Szekely, Radu. 2007. Eurooppalainen interkulttuurinen työpaikka: Suomi (Leonardo da Vinci). The European Intercultural Workplace: Finland. Karjaa: Västra Nylands Folkhögskola. (FI, EN) 166

Vartia, Maarit; Bergbom, Barbara; Giorgiani, Terhi; Rintala-Rasmus, Anita; Riala, Riitta ja Salminen, Simo. 2007. Monikulttuurisuus työn arjessa. Helsinki: Työterveyslaitos ja Työministeriö. (FI)

Vartiainen-Ora, Päivi. 2005. Monikulttuurisuus työelämässä. TSL – Taskumatti. Työväen Sivistysliitto TSL. (FI)

Greece

A positive challege ”How the multilanguage can enhance the Europe” Brussels 2008.

Douvli, G. (2004). “Didactic methods in multicultural class”. Ispection of Educational Subjects (GR).

Post J., Frederick W., Lawrence A. & Weber J. (1975). Business and Society. Eighth edition. Publication: McGraw-Hill, inc. (EN)

Papachristos, K., & Pantazopoulou M. (2006). Does the multicultural concern the all-day School? The opinions of Teachers of Primary Education.

Ministry of Employment and Social Protection (2005). Programs of Learning Greek Language in Certified Vocational Training Centers (CVTs) for unemployed repatriantsimmigrants-refugees and unemployed for whom the insufficient knowledge of Greek language is an obstacle to their social integration – B΄Circle

Ministry of National Education and Religions. Centre of Greek Language (2004). Examinations for the Certification of knowledge of Greek Language. Tome 1.

Ministry of National Education and Religions. Centre of Greek Language (2006). Examinations for the Certification of knowledge of Greek Language. Tome 2.

Ministry of National Education and Religions. Centre of Greek Language (2001). Certification of sufficiency of knowledge of Greek Language. Subjects for the practice of candidates. Level B.

Norway

Aakervik, Gunnhild and Lam Whyn. Kommunikasjon på flerkulturelle

arbeidsplasser. 2005 (Communication at multi-cultural workplaces, NO)

Poland

Gazeta uchodźców- http://www.refugee.pl (PL)

Jarco J., Dolińska G.,(2007) „Polskie stereotypy i uprzedzenia”, WyŜsza Szkoła Zarządzania ”Edukacja” we Wrocławiu, (PL) 167

Websites

Finland

Eurooppalainen viitekehys http://www.uta.fi/laitokset/kielikeskus/CEF/viitekehys.htm

(European

Framework

Reference for Languages, FI)

Maahanmuuttajat. Kouluttajan tukiaineisto. http://vsopphp.vsy.fi/opinto/maahanmuuttajat/ (Immigrants. Material for Trainer, FI)

Maahanmuuttajien koulutus http://www.oph.fi/SubPage.asp?path=1,17627,1563 (Immigrant Education, FI)

Ulkomaalainen töissä Suomessa. Tietoa Suomen työelämän säännöistä. http://www.mol.fi/finnwork (Foreigners working in Finland. Information on working life rules in Finland, FI, SWE, EN, EST)

Vähemmistövaltuutettu http://www.ofm.fi/ (Ombudsman for Minorities, FI, SWE, EN)

Yleiset kielitutkinnot http://www.solki.jyu.fi/yki/main.htm (National Certificate of Language Proficiency, FI)

Spain

Aula Intercultural. The intercultural education web site. http://www.aulaintercultural.org/sommaire.php3?lang=en (EN,ES,FR,IT,PT)

Centro de Estudios para la Integración Social y Formación de Inmigrantes (CeiMigra) www.ceimigra.net (ES)

Consorcio de Entidades para la Acción Integral con Migrantes www.cepaim.org (ES)

Diversity Working - Language barriers: bridging the gap http://www.diversityworking.com/diversityManagement/language_barriers.ph p (EN)

ESSOMBA, MIQUEL ÀNGEL (coord.) Sanduk, Guia per a la formació dels educadors i les educadores en interculturalitat i immigració Ed. Secretaria General de Joventut i Fundació Jaume Bofill, Barcelona, 2001.Págs. 421.CAT)

Libro. Unidad didáctica. Enlace al libro: http://www.entrecultures.org/04_calidos/04_sanduk.htm

Fundación Migrastudium http://www.migrastudium.org/php/index_en.php?idioma=En (EN, ES)

IKUSPEGI: Observatorio Vasco de Inmigración 168

http://www.ikuspegi.org/es/vinculos/vinculos_observatorios.php (ES)

Language trainers blog http://www.languagetrainers.co.uk/blog/ (EN)

Más iguales que diferentes. Materiales para la educación intercultural http://miqd.iespana.es/index.htm (CAT)

Observatorio de desigualdades Cataluña http://www.obdesigualtats.cat/ (CAT)

Red de recursos de educación para la paz, el desarrollo y la interculturalidad. http://www.edualter.org (ES)

Rodriguez, Cristina, "Language Diversity in the Workplace". Northwestern University Law Review, Vol. 100, 2006 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=939077 http://www.law.northwestern.edu/lawreview/v100/n4/1689/LR100n4Rodriguez.pdf (EN)

Stop Discrimination – Spain http://www.stopdiscrimination.info/index.php?id=412 (ES)

Verbal-non verbal language http://roble.pntic.mec.es/~msanto1/lengua/1venover.htm#m1 (ES)

Greece

Ministry of Employment and Social Protection http://www.ypakp.gr/ (information for programmes, legislation, GR).

United Nations Economic – Commission for Europe. http://www.unece.org/pau/epf/present/ts4/baldwinedwards.pdf

Presentation

for

Panel

“International migration: promoting management and integration” (EN) Norway

Integrerings- og mangfoldsdirektoratet http://www.imdi.no (The Directorate of Integration and Diversity, NO)

Poland

Stowarzyszenie Kobiet KONSOLA, http://www.bezuprzedzen.org/ (PL)

Fundacja Kultury Chrześcijańskiej ZNAK, http://www.tolerancja.pl/ (PL)

Razem przeciw nietolerancji- Amnesty International Polska- http://www.amnesty.org.pl/. (PL)

Dyskryminacja bierze się z uprzedzeń-

Pełnomocnik Rządu ds. Równego Traktowania-

http://www.rpo.gov.pl/pliki (PL/EN) http://www.rownetraktowanie.gov.pl/

(PL)

169

ORANGE APPROACH TRAINING MODULE 10, AWARENESS ETHNIC AND CULTURAL BACKGROUND Module 10: Ethnic and Cultural Background

INDEX 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. 2. LEARNING AIMS 3. TARGET GROUP 4. TRAINING TOPICS 5. PRACTICE SPACE 6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. COMPETENCES ADQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. Individual Level The individual has an inclusive and equal approach to people of different cultures, nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. The individual knows and is aware of the cultural differences and of how the culture and ethnic background influence peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comprehension of themselves and their behaviour. The individual can in his/her role (as a teacher, trainer and workplace instructor) take into consideration the different needs of various ethnic or cultural groups and can enhance cooperation between different cultural or ethnic groups.

Attitude: the individual is willing to treat people of different cultural or ethnic backgrounds equally, and ensure that the cultural interpretation of the student, employee or instructee is done in full cooperation and understanding

170

Knowledge: the individual has knowledge of and awareness of the influence of culture on personal behaviour, of cultural differences, of socially inherited models (for example the concept of ’work’ or ’learning’), and for the development of cultural values and norms

Skills: the individual is skilled in culturally interpreting students, employees and/or instructees from different ethnic or cultural backgrounds, the individual has skills to change or adjust education or workplace practices to meet the needs of the above-mentioned target group members

Organization Level The organization enhances an inclusive and equal approach to people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and these factors are taken into account in access to education, in training and instruction processes and in recruitment. There is knowledge and awareness in organization of the cultural differences and how culture and ethnic background influence the concepts and behaviour of students, employees and instructees. The organization aims at utilising the know-how and competence of people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Attitude: the organization has an inclusive and equal treatment policy in recruitment, in workplace instruction, in education and training activities for all people, including people of different ethnic or cultural backgrounds (minorities, immigrants, foreigners)

Knowledge: the organization has quantitative and qualitative knowledge of cultural and ethnic differences in workplaces and in education activities, the organization has knowledge and awareness of nationally integrative and inclusive positive actions, knowledge of the globalization and immigration facts

Skills: the organization is skilled in working in a multicultural workplace or training environment, members of the organization have skills to work out rising cultural differences, to network and cooperate with organizations/national bodies involved in and supporting the ethnic and cultural minority groups, and the organization has skills to utilize the cultural diversity within organizations and their network activities.

The learning objectives of the module "Ethnic and cultural background" are based on the individual and organizational competencies explained above. Following you have series of suggested training content to meet the competencies highlighted in this module. Subsequently, with a range of exercises based on any of the content set. These exercises are the basis for the organization of specific training activities.

3. TARGET GROUP Management board, HR responsible and other departmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; responsible people. Intermediate managers, staff in general.

4. TRANING TOPICS Attitudes prejudices, stereotypes and discrimination awareness and respect of cultural differences and similarities willingness to develop individual and organizational inclusive behaviour Knowledge anti-discriminatory legislation terminology, differences between inclusion, integration and assimilation inter-cultural communication the impact of globalization (i.e. demographic changes) knowledge of and co-operation with national immigrant organisations and bodies positive discrimination Skills

integration at the workplace as a reciprocal process

promote interaction between employees of different origin

172

inclusive adjustment of the workplace or a training organization (prayer practices, common work language, meals, working clothes)

to be able to identify, mediate and solve conflicts of intercultural nature

organizational diversity plans, e. g. recruitment practices

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. ATTITUDES

5.1.1. PREJUDICES, STEREOTYPES AND DISCRIMINATION Exercise 1: Dynamic “they think-they say” Aim: To get to know social views on immigration and immigrants. Analyse how the ”Best Light Phenomenon” (social desirability bias) influences the expression of feelings. Materials: Card stock, crayons and rubber bands to make masks and to paint/draw posters and strip cartoons. Process: Participants are divided in groups of 3-4 people, each group is asked to make a mask using crayons, cards stock and rubber bands, representing the face of a social stereotype (e.g. one of the groups would paint a businessman and another group would paint an unemployed immigrant). They will also have to express, using two pieces of card stock (as in a strip cartoon) what the character would say and what he/she really thinks about immigration in a certain context (e.g. in the labour environment). Subsequently, these stereotypes and the prejudices related to immigration existing in our society will be analyzed with all the participants.

5.1.2. AWARENESS AND RESPECT OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES Exercise 2: Case As a leader, you are talking to one of your employees from East- Asia. He looks unsure when he is told to do a specific work task. He is smiling, although he conceals that he feels 173

uncomfortable. You turn frustrated, because you do not know if the message you have given has been understood or not. Exercise 3: Discussion - Have you as a leader experienced such situations? - How do you feel when the one you are talking with is not expressing what he/she finds difficult? - How could you handle the situation in the best possible way? Exercise 4 Make posters Divide into groups consisting of 4 persons. Two of the groups write about typical Norwegian behaviour. Two of the groups choose another ethnic or cultural group they know well and write down what they think is typical behaviour. a. Compare what you have written about the different groups. - Do you find any similarities? - What about the typical Norwegian way of behaviour, can it be characterised as stereotypical? In this case, which are the stereotypes? - What about the other ethnic/cultural groups? b. To what extend can behaviour be explained due to cultural background? c. Do we have a tendency to exaggerate the importance of ethnic and cultural backgrounds? d. To what extent can we talk about what is typical for an ethnic/cultural group?

5.1.3. WILLINGNESS TO DEVELOP INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL INCLUSIVE BEHAVIOUR Exercise 5

174

Reflect over your own attitudes towards people from other cultures; especially if they are represented at your work place (write also down in your log book).

5.2. KNOWLEDGE 5.2.1. ANTI-DISCRIMINATORY LEGISLATION Exercise 6 What do relevant laws and regulations state about discrimination, racism and equal treatment at work? Exercise 7 Next, we propose you different situations related to foreigner’s rights; answer the following questions in the basis of your country’s current legislation: An Ecuadorian woman came to your country a year ago. Her 2 and 6 years old children came with her. She has a residence and work permit. - ¿Can her children be provided with schooling? ¿How must she do this? - Will she be able to access the sanitary system? And, can her children? - Has she the right of having an attorney even if she couldn’t pay it? - Make yourself the same questions for a person in an irregular situation Exercise 8: TRUE-FALSE Next, two different case studies will be analysed by means of statements related to foreigner’s rights. In the basis of your country’s current legislation, say whether these statements are true or false. An Ecuadorian woman came to your country a year ago. Her 2 and 6 years old children came with her. She has a residence and work permit. True or false? She cannot enrol her children in school.

175

She and her children can make use of the State Health System. They have the right to have an attorney even if she cannot pay for it. Now, let’s assume that this person is in an irregular situation: True or false? She cannot enrol her children in school. She and her children can make use of the State Health System. They have the right to have an attorney even if she cannot pay for it.

5.2.2. TERMINOLOGY, DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INCLUSION, INTEGRATION AND ASSIMILATION Exercise 9 - Discuss the terms integration and assimilation. What are the differences between them?

5.2.3. THE IMPACT OF GLOBALISATION (I.E. DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES) Exercise 10 ”European countries need work force from other countries to be able to develop economically” - Discuss the statement: To which degree is this relevant for your country? - To what extent has work immigration and globalization changed the conditions in your country? Give examples!

5.2.4. POSITIVE DISCRIMINATION Exercise 11. Case Study Civil service is obliged to invite at least one person with ethnic minority background for interview if the person has relevant qualifications. If two applicants have the same 176

qualifications, the person with ethnic minority background is supposed to be given priority, this is called positive discrimination. Discuss: Is this an appropriate measure to promote equality for immigrants at work? Exercise 12 Has your organisation the necessary knowledge of religious and national holidays important to the employees?

5.3. SKILLS 5.3.1. INTEGRATION AT THE WORKPLACE AS A RECIPROCAL PROCESS Exercise 12: Case Study In the lunch break a group of colleagues from the same country use to eat together. You want to get to know them better and you join them at their table. They greet you friendly and you talk about how long you all have worked at the work place. Then they continue to talk with each other in their mother tongue during the rest of the break. Discuss: - Is it usual that colleagues with similar cultural background use to eat together, or are they sitting together with other colleagues too? - How would you react in a situation like the one described in the case? - How would you act as a leader?

5.3.2. TO BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY, MEDIATE AND SOLVE CONFLICTS OF INTERCULTURAL NATURE Exercise 13

177

Describe briefly an intercultural conflict in which you have direct or indirectly been involved at individual or organisational level. - Which were the reasons that triggered the conflict? - Which where the interests or positions of the parties involved? - What solved the conflict? Do you think it could have been solved in a better way? If so, explain how. Exercise 14 Example of best practice: Below the guidelines for diversity management at the Post Terminal. Do you recognise any of these guidelines from your own workplace? 1. Integrate through common language 2. Non – tolerance for racism 3. Use cultural diversity as a resource 4. Register informal competence and utilize it 5. Recruit among people with different cultural backgrounds 6. The management has to show interest 7. The values of the enterprise have to be clear 8. Focus on multiculturalism - Is it important to have employees with diverse cultural backgrounds in many workplaces? In which sectors will this be particularly relevant? - How do you understand the expression “to mirror the population”? Why is it important? Exercise 15: Discussion How would you as a leader react if a woman in an interview situation does not want to greet you by hand? Exercise 16 When Yassir Arafat visited Norway, he and Gro Harlem Brundtland (Prime Minister in Norway at the time) were walking hand in hand. A Norwegian and a Palestinian would interpret such behaviour in completely different ways. 178

- How do you think you would react if you saw this? - Why can such behaviour be interpreted in different ways?

5.3.3. INCLUSIVE ADJUSTMENT OF THE WORKPLACE OR A TRAINING ORGANIZATION (PRAYER PRACTICES, COMMON WORK LANGUAGE, MEALS, WORKING CLOTHES) Exercise 17. Case Study. A young woman is dressed in black and wide burka, which almost covers her feet. She is attending a course for Immigrant women and Qualification. She is searching for a work placement or a job. Discuss: How do you think her dress code will affect actual employers in decision-making? What is your perception of the color black and a dress that covers the whole body (except the face)? How would you as a course leader /employer approach this issue? What advice would you give, if any? Whose responsibility is it to assist the woman in getting a work placement or a job? How can traditional clothes be a hindrance in daily situations? How can diversity be accepted and is an orientation of reality for those applying for a job?

5.3.4. ORGANISATIONAL DIVERSITY PLANS, E.G. RECRUITMENT PRACTICES Exercise 18 Organize a plan how to protect your employees from the difficulties that face in the work place. Exercise 19

179

Organize a study visit to a similar organization in order to exchange know how and practice in the field of culture and ethnic diversity.

6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY References used in national TforD Pilot Trainings, other essential reference material (language, ethnic and cultural background) Language codes: CAT Catalan DA Danish, DE German, NL Dutch, FI Finnish, ES Spanish, EST Estonian, GR Greek, Fr French, IT Italian, PT Portuguese, FI Finnish, SV Swedish, Norwegian, PL Polish, EN English, ARA Arabic, RUS Russian, SA Sami

Finland

Erilaisuus sallittu. Perehdymme monimuotoisuuteen – käsikirja työhön perehdyttäjälle ja työyhteisölle.

Perehdyttämällä

monimuotoiseen

työyhteisöön,

Petmo-hanke

(ESR).

Vartiainen-Ora, Päivi Petmopilottikoulutuksen pohjalta. SAK.

Lehtonen, Mikko ja Löytty, Olli. 2003. Erilaisuus. (Suom. Riitta Virkkunen et al.) Tampere: Vastapaino. (FIN)

Szekely, Radu. 2007. Eurooppalainen interkulttuurinen työpaikka: Suomi (Leonardo da Vinci). The European Intercultural Workplace: Finland. Karjaa: Västra Nylands Folkhögskola. (FIN, EN)

Vartia, Maarit; Bergbom, Barbara; Giorgiani, Terhi; Rintala-Rasmus, Anita; Riala, Riitta ja Salminen, Simo. 2007. Monikulttuurisuus työn arjessa. Helsinki: Työterveyslaitos ja Työministeriö. (FIN)

Vartiainen-Ora, Päivi. 2005. Monikulttuurisuus työelämässä. TSL –Taskumatti. Työväen Sivistysliitto TSL. (FIN)

Greece

A positive challege ”How the multilanguage can enhance the Europe” Brussels 2008.

180

Douvli, G. (2004). “Didactic methods in multicultural class”. Ispection of Educational Subjects (GR).

Post J., Frederick W., Lawrence A. & Weber J. (1975). Business and Society. Eighth edition. Publication: McGraw-Hill, inc. (EN)

Papachristos, K., & Pantazopoulou M. (2006). Does the multicultural concern the all-day School? The opinions of Teachers of Primary Education.

Ministry of National Education and Religions. Centre of Greek Language (2004). Examinations for the Certification of knowledge of Greek Language. Tome 1.

Ministry of National Education and Religions. Centre of Greek Language (2006). Examinations for the Certification of knowledge of Greek Language. Tome 2.

Ministry of National Education and Religions. Centre of Greek Language (2001). Certification of sufficiency of knowledge of Greek Language. Subjects for the practice of candidates. Level B.

Norway

Aakervik, Gunnhild and Lam Whyn. Kommunikasjon på flerkulturelle arbeidsplasser. 2005 (Communication at multi-cultural workplaces, NO)

Poland

Konferencja „Rząd równych szans. Administracja przeciw dyskryminacji”http://www.rownetraktowanie.gov.pl/pelnomocnik/kalendarium_wydarzen_

Działania w zakresie przeciwdziałania dyskryminacji ze względu na rasę lub pochodzenie etniczne http://www.rownetraktowanie.gov.pl/pl/dyskryminacja/dyskryminacja_ze

Chrzanowska A., Gracz K., ( 2008) „Uchodźcy w Polsce. Kulturowo-prawne bariery w procesie adaptacji”, Warszawa

Websites Finland

Eurooppalainen viitekehys 181

http://www.uta.fi/laitokset/kielikeskus/CEF/viitekehys.htm

(European

Framework

Reference for Languages, FI)

Maahanmuuttajat. Kouluttajan tukiaineisto. http://vsopphp. vsy.fi/opinto/maahanmuuttajat/ (Immigrants. Material for Trainer, FI)

Maahanmuuttajien

koulutus

http://www.oph.fi/SubPage.asp?path=1,17627,1563

(Immigrant Education, FI)

Ulkomaalainen

töissä

Suomessa.

Tietoa

Suomen

työelämän

säännöistä.

www.mol.fi/finnwork (Foreigners working in Finland. Information on working life rules in Finland, FI, SV, EN, EST)

Vähemmistövaltuutettu http://www.ofm.fi/ (Ombudsman for Minorities, FI, SV, EN)

Yleiset kielitutkinnot http://www.solki.jyu.fi/yki/main.htm (National Certificate of Language Proficiency, FI)

Spain

Aula

Intercultural.

The

intercultural

education

web

site.

http://www.aulaintercultural.org/sommaire.php3?lang=en (EN, ES, FR, IT, PT)

Centro de Estudios para la Integración Social y Formación de Inmigrantes (CeiMigra) www.ceimigra.net (ES)

Consorcio de Entidades para la Acción Integral con Migrantes www.cepaim.org (ES)

Diversity

Working

Language

barriers:

bridging

the

gap

http://www.diversityworking.com/diversityManagement/language_barriers.php (EN)

Libro. Unidad didáctica. Enlace al libro: http://www.entrecultures.org/04_calidos/04_sanduk.htm

Fundación Migrastudium http://www.migrastudium.org/php/index_en.php?idioma=En (EN, ES)

IKUSPEGI: Observatorio Vasco de Inmigración

182

http://www.ikuspegi.org/es/vinculos/vinculos_observatorios.php (ES)

Language trainers blog http://www.languagetrainers.co.uk/blog/ (EN)

Más iguales que diferentes. Materiales para la educación intercultural http://miqd.iespana.es/index.htm (CAT)

Observatorio de desigualdades Cataluña http://www.obdesigualtats.cat/ (CAT)

Red de recursos de educación para la paz, el desarrollo y la interculturalidad. http://www.edualter.org (ES)

Rodriguez, Cristina, "Language Diversity in the Workplace" . Northwestern University Law Review, Vol. 100, 2006 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=939077

http://www.law.northwestern.edu/lawreview/v100/n4/1689/LR100n4Rodriguez.pdf (EN)

Stop Discrimination – Spain http://www.stopdiscrimination.info/index.php?id=412 (ES)

Verbal-non verbal language http://roble.pntic.mec.es/~msanto1/lengua/1venover.htm#m1 (ES)

Greece

Ministry of Employment and Social Protection http://www.ypakp.gr/ (information for programmes, legislation, GR).

United Nations Economic – Commission for Europe.

http://www.unece.org/pau/epf/present/ts4/baldwinedwards.pdf

Presentation

for

Panel

“International migration: promoting management and integration” (EN) Norway

Integrering, org mangfoldsdirektoratet http://www.imdi.no (The Directorate of Integration and Diversity, NO)

Migrant Integration Policy Index http://www.mipex.eu/

Poland

183

Stowarzyszenie Kobiet KONSOLA, http://www.bezuprzedzen.org/ (PL)

Fundacja Kultury Chrześcijańskiej ZNAK, http://www.tolerancja.pl/ (PL)

Strona ta jest źródłem informacji, dotyczących kampanii prowadzonej we wszystkich państwach Unii Europejskiej "Za róŜnorodnością. Przeciw dyskryminacji".http://ec.europa.eu/justice/fdad/cms/stopdiscrimination

Minority Rights Group International- http://www.minorityrights.org/ (EN)

Stowarzyszenie Kobiet KONSOLA, http://www.bezuprzedzen.org/ (PL)

Fundacja Kultury Chrześcijańskiej ZNAK, http://www.tolerancja.pl/ (PL)

Minority Rights Group International- http://www.minorityrights.org/

Latvia

Intergenerational Learning in Organisations. IGLOO Project http://www.iglooproject.eu/

184

ORANGE APPROACH TRAINING MODULE 11, AWARENESS AGE Module 11: Age

INDEX 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. 2. LEARNING AIMS 3. TARGET GROUP 4. TRAINING TOPICS 5. PRACTICE SPACE 6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY.

1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. Individual Level The individual relates equally to people of different age groups, the individual knows and is aware of the effects age may have on an individual’s skills and competences and on an individual’s capacity to function, and the individual can utilise the competence of people of different age groups according to the equal treatment policy Attitude: the individual is aware of the effects of age on individual skills and competences, is aware of the need for age management practices with his/her student, employee or instructee. Knowledge: the individual has knowledge on the effects and significance of age on learning, skills and functional capacity, knowledge of silent information development and usage, knowledge of different age categories (chronological, biological, psychological, social) 185

Skills: the individual has skills to cooperate with and meet the needs of people of different ages, the individual is able to optimize the work group composition between different age groups Organization Level

The organization relates equally and inclusively to people of different age groups and age is not an impediment in access to education or workplace processes. The organization has knowledge and consciousness of the effects age has on the individualsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; skills, competence and motives. The organization knows how to take into account the skills of people in different age groups (for example in work group composition and team building matters).

Attitude: the organization has awareness and consideration of challenges in connection with age questions (for example age-related stereotypes), the organization is willing to treat equally representatives of all age groups and age management is considered a necessity in all activities

Knowledge: the organization has knowledge of age as a reality (effects on working capacity, competences and skills), knowledge of organizational learning (tacit knowledge, the so-called â&#x20AC;?silent informationâ&#x20AC;?), the organization has information on the age structure of their personnel and its various groups (instructees, students, customers)

Skills: the organization has skills to utilise the competence of employees, students or instructees across age groups (mentoring), the organization has competence in the process of work/task placement of employees/students/instructees of different age groups, the organization also has skills in the process of identification and accreditation of prior learning in the case of older employees

The learning objectives of the module "Age" are based on the individual and organizational competencies explained above. Following you have series of suggested training content to meet the competencies highlighted in this module. Subsequently, with a range of exercises based on any of the content set. These exercises are the basis for the organization of specific 186

training activities.

3. TARGET GROUP Management board, HR responsible and other departments’ responsible people. Intermediate managers, staff in general.

4. TRAINING TOPICS Attitudes awareness of personal and organisational attitudes towards people of different age groups, i.e. prejudices and stereotypes the individual’s own responsibility to stay employable the importance of age management in the organisation Knowledge relevant legislation, i.e. antidiscriminatory laws, and regulations knowledge of age management practices and the rights of employees effects of age on learning and work capacity; facts and myths terminology, i.e. what is a “senior employee” statistics on demographic changes related to age over a certain period Skills measures to reduce loss of skills and knowledge (including tacit knowledge) flexibility at work and different stages of life access to professional development for all age groups recruitment practices

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. ATTITUDES 5.1.1. TRAINING TOPIC: AWARENESS OF PERSONAL AND ORGANISATIONAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS, I.E. PREJUDICES AND STEREOTYPES Exercise 1

187

Research for stereotypes that exist to your region about old age people in the working place. Exercise 2 Write the advantages and disadvantages for age over 50+ in society and more specific for an organization or business. Exercise 3 Write (as an employer) the opportunities that an old person has so as to take a better position in your organization. Exercise 4: Working in groups Write job opportunities and facilities in the new society

Exercise 5: Case Study Two senior employees are exchanging opinions about a junior employee who is in a temporary job. They agree in several things: that the young man often starts working too late in the mornings, especially on Mondays. He has frequent short term absences and although he works quickly, he is not systematically enough. He also avoids doing routine work he finds boring. Two managers are discussing what to do about a senior employee who has been working there for more than 30 years. They see he is gradually having less energy. He does not want to participate in ICT courses any more and he prefers to talk about his cottage by the sea rather than discuss business matters.

Do you thinkthese two cases show stereotypes and prejudices of younger/elder employees? Does this mirrow reality?

What is your experience with elder/younger employees at your workplace?

To what extend is the employee responsible for keeping himself updated?

Exercise 6 Divide in 4 groups Group 1 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Make a poster where you describe the strong sides of senior employees Group 2 - Make a poster where you describe the strong sides of junior employees Group 3 - Make a poster where you describe the weak sides of senior employees Group 4 - Make a poster where you describe the weak sides of junior employees Put the posters on the wall and compare the 4 different posters as to similarities and differences. 188

To what extent do you think the descriptions correspond with your experience and impressions? Exercise 7 7 myths connected to older employees: 1. Older employees are often tired and have weak health 2. Older employees have less intellectual capacity 3. Older employees have difficulties learning new things 4. Older employees have problems adapting to new situations. 5. Older employees are not so productive 6. It is the older employees themselves who want to leave work life early 7. Older employees are more expensive for the employers than younger ones - To what extent do you think these myths correspond with reality?

Exercise 8: Case Study A female senior employee is complaining over the fact that the younger employees who have small children always get advantages she does not get. Those with family are allowed to choose first when to have their summer holidays, they are also permitted to leave work earlier to fetch sick children in the kindergarten and stay at home with sick children. And she is the one who is asked to work extra hours. What is your experience at your work place concerning such matters?

5.2. KNOWLEDGE 5.2.1. TRAINING TOPIC: RELEVANT LEGISLATION, I.E. ANTIDISCRIMINATORY LAWS, AND REGULATIONS Exercise 9 Study relevant anti-discriminative legislation. What does it say about age?

5.2.2. TRAINING TOPIC: EFFECTS OF AGE ON LEARNING AND WORK CAPACITY; FACTS AND MYTHS Exercise 10 - What do you know about adult personsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; capacity for learning? - Discuss your own experience with learning at different ages.

189

- Discuss the management’s responsibility to include and give interesting and challenging tasks to employees independent of their age. - Give some examples of diversity management related to age. Exercise 11 Write how an old person can organize the working tasks in an organization or business.

5.2.1. TERMINOLOGY, I.E. WHAT IS A “SENIOR EMPLOYEE” Exercise 12 - What do you understand by the term ”age sensitive policy”? - What do you understand by the term ”senior policy”? - What can be defined as ”senior employee”?

5.3. SKILLS 5.3.1. MEASURES TO REDUCE LOSS OF SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE (INCLUDING TACIT KNOWLEDGE) Exercise 13 What can the senior employees themselves do to continue to be considered as interesting in a work context? Are the older employees discriminated by redundancy policies?

Exercise 14 Discuss: - In many European countries companies do not want to recruit employees of more that 50 years of age. What may be the reason for this? - What should a manager/instructor do to ensure that also senior employees have the possibilities to update their competences? - Does the organization make use of senior employees’ tacit knowledge? - What has been done in Norway to make senior employees work longer before they retire? - Has this given the expected results? Why/ why not?

5.3.2. FLEXIBILITY AT WORK AND DIFFERENT STAGES OF LIFE Exercise 15 Are any of these measures for the management of mixed age groups at use in your 190

organization? - especially designed schedules - special agreement about shorter working hours - flexible working hours for senior employees and employees with small children - partly retirement - special models for job rotation - use senior employees’ experience and special competence (for ex as coach and advisor ) - senior employees exempt from extra work - re-education Exercise 16 - Do the leaders in your organization carry out regular talks with their employees? - In your opinion what are the most important issues to focus on?

Finland

Airila, Auli; Kauppinen, Kaisa ja Eskola, Kaisa. 2007. Ikäystävällinen työyhteisö. Tietokortti. MONIKKO (ESR) Saatavissa: http://www.ttl.fi/NR/rdonlyres/F5F290C8-21F2-4EEB-9FE2140D2FDD0A5D/0/ika_tietokortti_final.pdf (FI)

Airila, Auli; Kauppinen, Kaisa ja Eskola, Kaisa. 2007. Ikäystävällisyys ja iän merkitys työssä – tutkimus hoito-, opetus- ja pelastusalalla. Helsinki:

MONIKKO (ESR). Saatavissa: http://www.ttl.fi/NR/rdonlyres/85B198FF-55E2-44E5-9A39A5324E7E7213/0/Ik%E4raportti_final.pdf (FI)

Halme, Pinja. 2005. Eri-ikäisyys ja ikäjohtaminen – Diskursiivinen tutkimus. EJBO Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies. Vol. 10, No. 2 (2005), pp 31-40.

Ikäohjelman monet kasvot. Kansallisen ikäohjelman 1998 – 2002 loppuraportti. 2002. Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriön julkaisuja 2002:3. Helsinki: Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö. Saatavissa: http://pre20031103.stm.fi/suomi/tao/julkaisut/ikaloppu/ikaohjelmankasvot.pdf (FI) 191

Nurmela, Juha (toim.). 2007. Tuottavaa työtä kaiken ikää – näkökulmia HKRTekniikan ikäohjelmasta. Raportteja 51. Helsinki: Tykes. (FI)

Greece

Pagoropouloy – Aventisian A. (1993). Phycology of age. Athens (GR).

Lianda, M. (200). Psychology of work. (Age and its consequencies to work, GR)

Poland

Stop dyskryminacji ze względu na wiek- Stowarzyszenie Akademia Rozwoju Filantropii w Polsce, Warszawa, 2007,- http://www.zysk50plus.pl

Szukalski P., Uprzedzenia i dyskryminacja ze względu na wiek( ageism) – przyczyny, przejawy, konsekwencje[w:]”Polityka Społeczna” 2004, nr2,

Marciniak J., Przeciwdziałanie dyskryminacji w zatrudnieniu: jak w praktyce zwalczać mobbing i inne formy dyskryminacji, Ostrołęka: ALPHApro, 2004.

Websites

Finland

Eläketurvakeskus, Tilastot ja ennusteet, työllisyys http://www.etk.fi/Page.aspx?Section=44447 (Finnish Centre for Pensions, Statistics, FI, SV, EN)

Työterveyslaitos, Aihesivut, Ikä ja työ http://www.ttl.fi/Internet/Suomi/Aihesivut/Ika+ja+tyo/ (Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Thematic Pages, Ageing and Work, FI, SV, EN)

Spain

Intergenerational

programmes:

Towards

society

for

all

ages

http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es/StaticFiles/StaticFiles/b1d9d404d98e6110VgnVCM1000000e8 cf10aRCRD/es/Llibre23_en.pdf (EN)

Age Positive – good practices in age diversity management http://www.agepositive.gov.uk/ (EN)

Age Positive – Age diversity at work http://www.stopdiscrimination.info/fileadmin/pdfs/Nationale_Inhalte/UK/documents/AgeDive rsityAtWork.pdf (EN)

Age Discrimination http://assets.aarp.org/www.aarp.org_/articles/money/employers/age_discrimination.pdf (EN) 192

Greece

The role and importance of age in modern economy

http://www.unipi.gr/katsanevas/arthra/articles/61.doc (GR)

Norway

Senter for Seniorpolitikk http://www.seniorpolitikk.no (Centre for Senior Policy, NO)

Poland Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy http://www.pip.gov.pl/ (PL) Ministerstwo Pracy i Polityki Społecznej http://www.mpips.gov.pl/ (PL/EN) Rzecznik Praw Dziecka http://www.brpd.gov.pl/ (PL) Wybrane wystąpienia/interwencje Pełnomocnika w obszarze przeciwdziałania dyskryminacji ze względu na wiek: http://www.rownetraktowanie.gov.pl (PL) Dyskryminacja ze względu na wiek- róŜne tematy- http://www.egospodarka.pl OŚKA – http://www.oska.org.pl (PL) Przeciwdziałanie dyskryminacji ze względu na wiekhttp://kadry.nf.pl/Artykul/9336/Przeciwdzialanie-dyskryminacji-ze-wzgledu-na-wiek (PL)

193

ORANGE APPROACH TRAINING MODULE 12, AWARENESS CONVICTIONS, VALUES AND OPINIONS Module 12: convictions

The individual has an open and equal approach to people representing different convictions, values and opinions. The individual knows and is aware of the basics of different ideologies (religious, political) and can justify his/her convictions, values and opinions in the form of a constructive dialogue.

Attitude: the individual is aware of and has respect for the variety of convictions, values and opinions he/she him-/herself or his/her students, employees or instructees may have (on themes like religion, military service, political viewpoint), the individual has awareness of the ways his/her own convictions, values and opinions influence the performance at work.

194

Knowledge: the individual has knowledge of constitutional rights, rights of opinion, equality planning and national positive actions (Equal Opportunities), the basics of different convictions (religions)

Skills: the individual has social interaction and dialogue skills, the individual is able to carry out a constructive discussion on convictions, values and opinions in educational or workplace activities

Organization Level The organization has an open and equal approach to different convictions, values and ideologies. There is knowledge and awareness in the organization of the principles and backgrounds of different convictions (religious, political). The members of the organization are skilled in encouraging the students, employees or instructees to constructively present their convictions and opinions to the other group/community members. In the organization openness to different convictions, values and opinions is considered a supporting factor for workplace atmosphere and job satisfaction. Attitude: the organization is willing and able to create an organization culture where people have equal rights to their convictions, values and ideologies, supported by the national legislation, the equality principle and the organizational guidelines Knowledge: the organization has knowledge of different convictions and their influence on work or education practices, the organization has knowledge of legislative obligations, such as Equal Opportunities planning Skills: the organization has skills to constructively utilise different viewpoints (based on convictions) in the workplace and education, the organization has skills to set up dialogues between people representing different convictions, values and ideologies

The learning objectives of the module "Convictions, values and opinions" are based on the individual and organizational competencies explained above. They include having a tolerant attitude towards different convictions, being consciousness about the convictions of the own company, knowing the laws and legislation about convictions and finding ways to solve conflicts due to different convictions and values. Following you have series of suggested training content to meet the competencies highlighted in this module. Subsequently, with a range of exercises based on any of the content set. These exercises are the basis for the organization of specific training activities.

3. TARGET GROUP Management board, HR responsible and other departments’ responsible people. Intermediate managers, staff in general.

4. TRAINING TOPICS Attitudes • prejudices, stereotypes and discrimination • consciousness about personal and organisational values and attitudes • reciprocal tolerance and consideration Knowledge • laws and legislation on national and European level on freedom of speech, opinions and religion and limits to these rights • anti-discriminatory legislation on the ground of religion, ideology • ethics at work, e. g. possible consequences for whistle blowers • basic knowledge of principle and background of different ideologies Skills • communicative skills

• routines to prevent conflicts and conflict mediation practices

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. ATTITUDES 196

5.1.1. TRAINING TOPIC: PREJUDICES, STEREOTYPES AND DISCRIMINATION Exercise 1. Case Study. One of the workers at the brewery has a tendency to talk in a negative and condescendingly way about immigrants in general. Many of his colleagues try to ignore him and they avoid discussing such matters with him. No one mentions it to the management before one morning when he comes to work wearing a â&#x20AC;&#x153;buttonâ&#x20AC;? that shows Nazi sympathies.

Discuss:

Are people allowed to wear a Nazi button at work?

Are people allowed to speak condescendingly about immigrants?

What is the difference between these two ways of behavior?

Where is the limit for expressing attitudes which can be insulting for other persons?

Which are the most common arguments against accepting political and ideological discussions at work?

What can you as a work instructor do to develop a work environment that allows discussing controversial topics?

5.1.2. TRAINING TOPIC: CONSCIOUSNESS ABOUT PERSONAL AND ORGANISATIONAL VALUES AND ATTITUDES Exercise 2

When you have a different opinion in the workplace, is it difficult to express it to your boss or the organizational rules are very strict and it is forbidden to do something? Write your personal experience. Exercise 3 Find out similar organizations and compare their behaviour and results with your organization. Are there many differences on the attitude to people with other convictions?

Exercise 4

197

Discussion: express your personal experience from the workplace, where foreign people had different convictions from the other colleagues. Exercise 5 Reflect in logbooks on your own attitudes towards colleagues with other religions, beliefs and opinions than your own. The environment expects us to be tolerant but is it always that easy? Exercise 6. Case Study. Two employees generally have very strong opinions and are always discussing politics at lunch. They are eager and noisy and their fellow workers have started to complain. They try to avoid them by sitting at other tables at lunch time.

Discuss:

Do you recognize this situation from your work place?

What can you as do a supervisor or trade union representative if some of your colleagues are complaining about such a situation?

Is it in your opinion important to discuss social issues and politics at work? Why/why not?

What do you think is acceptable as to a) topics to discuss, b) people’s behavior?

5.1.3. TRAINING TOPIC: RECIPROCAL TOLERANCE AND CONSIDERATION Exercise 7 Resolution of a practical case in which common agreements should be achieved between people showing different attitudes and opinions towards a subjective topic. Exercise 8 Analysis of the movie “Crash” from director Paul Haggis. Exercise 9 Browse through different websites for international agreements aimed at conciliating different ideologies 198eetotaler international conflicts.

Exercise 10. Case Study.

198

You are on your way to the canteen for lunch but you decide to wash your hands first. You go to the locker room and are very surprised to find a Muslim colleague on his knees praying. You decide to go elsewhere to wash your hands.

What does this situation tell you about different attitudes to religion and worshipping?

Should worshipping be practiced at work? Why/why not?

Do you have a good example of how the organization can arrange for the employees to practice their religion at work?

To what extent do you as a supervisor need knowledge about the different religions and convictions represented at work?

What can the organization do to show respect for the different religions?

Exercise 11. Case Study. An older lady who has been working as a cook at a hospital for several years is often singing religious songs while doing her job. When people say hello to her, she always says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;God bless youâ&#x20AC;?.

Would you as a colleague be annoyed by such behavior? Why/why not?

As a supervisor, what decides how much you can accept of such behavior?

Exercise 12 Some employees are teetotallers. Is it in your opinion correct to for instance arrange wine lottery during work hours? Why/ why not?

5.2. KNOWLEDGE 5.2.1. LAWS AND LEGISLATION ON NATIONAL AND EUROPEAN LEVEL ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH, OPINIONS AND RELIGION AND LIMITS TO THESE RIGHTS Exercise 13

Find out what international and national laws say about freedom of speech.

Are there limits to this freedom in your country?

Study the laws and conventions that treat the right to form labor unions and to be organized in one. What do they say about these rights?

199

Exercise 14. Case Study. A young man who newly has been employed at a restaurant decides that he wants to be organized in the trade union. He asks his colleagues and they warn him telling him that the bosses do not like trade unions.

What do you know about different work places and sectors in working life and the possibilities of being member of a trade union?

5.2.2.

Are there negative consequences of being organized? In that case, which are they?

ETHICS AT WORK, E. G. POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES FOR WHISTLE BLOWERS

Exercise 15

In Sweden 70% of all workers are organized in labour unions. How is the situation in your country? What is the percentage of the employees that are organized at your work place?

What is the attitude concerning being organized at your work place?

5.3. SKILLS Routines to prevent conflicts and conflict mediation practices Exercise 16

As an employee, to which extent are you obliged to include colleagues with beliefs, values and opinions you have problems accepting?

How can the management promote and encourage tolerance between persons with different beliefs and opinions?

As leader/supervisor how would you handle conflicts between employees due to different religion, beliefs and opinion?

How is it possible to stop harassment and mobbing of employees due to religion, beliefs and opinions?

6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

200

Spain

María Fernanda Fernández López y Fco. Javier Calvo Gallego, La directiva 78/2000/ce y la prohibición de discriminación por razones religiosas. Universidad de Sevilla y Huelva: http://www.era.int/web/de/resources/5_1095_3377_file_en.4877.pdf (ES)

Greece

Papadatou, D., & Anagnostopoulos, F. (1999). Psychology in health (Understanding of behaviour in health subjects, GR).

McGrecor, D. (1960). The human side of enterprise. (The integration of Individual and Organizational Goals, EN).

Websites

Finland

Opetusministeriö, Kirkollisasiat, Uskonnonvapaus http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Kirkollisasiat/uskonnonvapaus/?lang=fi (Ministry of Education Finland, Church affairs, Freedom of religion, FI, SV, EN)

Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko http://www.evl.fi (The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, FI, SV, EN)

Suomen islamilainen yhdyskunta http://www.rabita.fi (Islamic • Suomen ortodoksinen kirkko http://www.ort.fi (Finnish Orthodox Chuch, FI, SV, EN, RUS)

Vapaa-ajattelijain liitto http://www.vapaa-ajattelijat.fi (Association of Freethinkers, FI)

Yhdenvertaisuus.fi -sivu http://www.yhdenvertaisuus.fi (equality.fi –page, FI, EN)

Spain

Diversity

Web-

Interactive

Resource

Hub

for

Higher

Education

http://www.diversityweb.org/ (EN)

Senderi Educación en Valores. http://www.senderi.org/index.php?newlang=spa (ES)

City College of San Francisco http://www.ccsf.edu/Resources/Tolerance/ (EN)

Norway 201

Likestillings-

diskrimineringsombudet

http://www.ldo.no

(The

Equality

and

Antidiscrimination Ombud, NO) Poland

Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich http://www.rpo.gov.pl/ (PL)

Rzecznik Praw Dziecka http://www.brpd.gov.pl/ (PL)

Pełnomocnik Rządu ds. równego Traktowania-

Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich- http://www.brpo.gov.pl (PL)

Poradnik antydyskryminacyjny- http://poradnik.interwencjaprawna.pl/artykuly (PL)

Handbook on European non-discrimination law - Przewodnik po europejskim prawie o

http://www.rownetraktowanie.gov.pl (PL)

niedyskryminacji. http://www.hfhrpol.waw.pl/dyskryminacja/inne/publikacje (PL)

Zainwestuj w róŜnorodność- http://www.diversity.com.pl (PL)

202

APROACH ORANGE TRAINING MODULES ON HUMAN RESOURCES

13. Diversity Management at the human resources operations 14. Positive action plan.

Coordination, compilation of materials and development by Pilar Ortega Leal and Carlos Gutierrez DĂez, Florida Training Cente

203

ORANGE APPROACH TRAINING MODULE 13, AWARENESS HUMAN RESOURCES OPERATIONS Module 13: Human resources operations

INDEX 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. 2. LEARNING AIMS 3. TARGET GROUP 4. TRAINING TOPICS 5. PRACTICE SPACE 6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY. 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. The organization knows the individual differences due to factors as: age, gender, ethnic and cultural background, language, health, disability, ideology and opinion and knows how to keep them in the HR Operations at the following HR operations: recruitment, training, promotion, compensations, work (performance) evaluation.

2. LEARNING AIMS To include or to improve the diversity management perspective at the recruitment, training, career development, induction, compensations and performance assessment processes.

3. TARGET GROUP Management board, HR responsible and other departmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; responsible people.

204

Intermediate managers.

4. TRAINING TOPICS HR operations and transversal perspectives in equal opportunity:

Recruitment,

Training

Career development

Compensations and performance assessment processes

Induction

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. RECRUITMENT The United Nations’ Global Compact in its Principle 6 says51”: "Businesses should uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. Discrimination can take many forms. It may be direct when, for example, laws or rules explicitly limit a person’s access to employment. However, most discrimination is indirect and arises informally through attitudes and behaviour. Some forms of discrimination may even have cultural roots. Non-discrimination simply means that employees are selected on the basis of their suitability to do the job and that there is no distinction, exclusion or preference made on other grounds. Employees who experience discrimination at work are denied opportunities and have their basic human rights infringed. This affects the individual concerned and negatively influences the greater contribution that they might make to society. A company that uses discriminatory practices in employment and occupation denies itself access to talents from a wider pool of skills and competencies. Discrimination can damage a company’s reputation, potentially affecting profits and stock value”.

Recruiting methods and practices with a focus on diversity include these topics: Legal responsibilities when recruiting employees. Based on our legislation, do we consider non-discrimination in our recruitment policies? Is 51

Global [22/10/2011]

Compact.

Link:

http://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/TheTenPrinciples/principle6.html

205

there a law that obliges us to employ people with more difficulties in accessing the job market? Promote the commitment to a more diverse workforce to wider groups of potential recruits. Are managers committed to having a more diverse staff? Are human resources employees aware of the benefits of diversity? Investigation of public support for recruitment and reasonable adjustments. For example, some posts must be adapted for certain disabilities. Are there any public subsidies or grants supporting the employment of groups with more difficulties, to carry out the necessary investment? Review and update the following to make sure they are fair and objective: a) Job descriptions/person specifications The job description should be based on a competence analysis and essential requirements. What are the tasks that the worker should do? Are we including specifications that can discriminate in a direct or indirect way? Are recruiting on the basis of diversity respect? b) Appointments - A review of the language used in the appointments is important in order to avoid all elements of discrimination. - A translation of the job vacancy in different languages is a solution for having a more diverse workforce. - A larger advert of the job vacancy reaches a more diverse poll. You can use different information channels: inter-office communication, NGOs, the internetâ&#x20AC;Ś c) Application process and paperwork - A document clearly defining the application and recruitment process will help avoid misunderstandings. - An anonymous CV is another way of ensuring an equality-based selection process. This type of curriculum is compulsory in France since 2006 for companies with more than 50 workers. - Multilingual CV form. This tool facilitates the collection of job applications filed by the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foreign employees. Apart from the language or languages of the country, the CV must be in the languages most widely used by immigrants.

206

d) Selection and interview procedures - The recruitment personnel must be trained in non-discrimination in order to have an open mind, diversity-wise. - The language used in the interviews must be simple and easy to understand, ensuring that questions or explanations are understood.

e) Terms and conditions The terms and conditions of the contract must be clear. Are they the same for everybody, or are there any personal conditions?

5.2. EXERCISES Exercise 1: Advertising a vacancy and job description. Review some of the latest job adverts in your company. Check if the job descriptions and person specifications observe the criteria (see list below) of a non-discriminatory recruitment process 52. Keep language simple and jargon free. Avoid anything that you think will put off a wide range of people who are actually capable of doing the job. Advertise in places and publications that fit the level of the job and the target audience. Look to advertise free through local exchange and job schemes. Consider advertising through local community venues, specialist ethnic minority and disability publications, web sites, colleges and local training providers. If using a recruitment agency, check that their procedures don’t exclude anyone your descriptions would normally attract. Include a statement about your employment ambitions “we welcome applications from all sections of the community”. Unless essential to the job, avoid terms that specify a certain gender, culture, age or health condition. Focus on the skills and experience needed for the job. Provide facts: pay, location and other key contract details. 52

Check list from: European Commission, Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. Report produced by: Focus Consultancy, EIM Business & Policy Research. (2008)Turning “Diversity” into talent and competitiveness for SMEs. Pag.61

207

Be clear how applicants should apply, the closing date and interview dates –ensure that you allow sufficient time for applications to be made. Make the advert enticing, strong text and eye catching, uncluttered by too much information – think what would attract you?

Exercise 2: Job position profiles and disabilities Complete the information that is missing in the following table related to each job position and answer the questions below. (You can adapt the column “job position” and add others)

People that Job position

can fulfil them

Physical/ Job functions

psychical requirements

Initial requirements

Administrative Slight and assistant

moderate physical disability; moderate psychic disability

Customer

Sensory

Attention

disability,

Service

poor vision,

employee

slight physical disabilities

Cleaning

Sensory

worker

disability, loss of auditory capacity, slight mental retardation, slight physical 208

disabilities

Answer the following questions: -

Have you found any difficulties in completing the professional profiles considering the disabilities shown above?

Do you think that, in case you hired a disabled person for one of these jobs, they would be able to carry out the work tasks as any other person who wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t disabled?

Which advantages and disadvantages can you think of when it comes to hiring disabled people for these positions?

Exercise 3: Recruitment and disabilities Below there are some questions related to legislation with regards to specific situations of disabled people at the workplace. Answer the following questions and discuss your answers. - Is a job applicant obliged to inform the company that he/she has any disability? - Do you know what financial advantages organisations can apply for when hiring disabled people? - Has the organisation any obligation to adapt the workplace depending on the employeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disability? - If an employee with disability must attend medical consultations, must these leaves be paid or not? Exercise 4: Interview procedures and Language Interview without words Instructions to the participants: You work in pairs. Choose one person you do not already know. You are going to interview each other, one at a time, without talking. You are supposed to use body language, use your fantasy and your creativity. When you believe to have received an answer to a question, write it down. Then present your partner for the rest of the group, this time with words. Is the information correct? - What does this exercise show? - Reflect on what it feels like not mastering the language well enough to communicate

209

Exercise 5: Recruitment and age - Discuss the consequences of not valuing the skills/competences of senior/junior employees - How important is it that the organisation endeavours an optimal distribution among young and older employees when recruiting? - What do you understand by the term ”positive discrimination”? - Do you think that positive discrimination is an appropriate measure when recruiting to get a better distribution of older and younger employees? Give reasons for your answer. - What could the leaders in your organisation do to keep the senior employees longer at work? Exercise 6: HHRR Operations and Age Work in groups: Participants are asked, taking into account positive indicators for age diversity management, to contribute with examples of current practices in their organisations, and the reasons why these situations occur (these will show the organisational limits). Later they are asked to suggest measures that could be put into practice in order to improve the situations in the previous column.

All Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge are covered with this activity.

PROCESS

POSITIVE

CURRENT

REASONS/CA

INDICATORS

PRACTICES

USES

MEASURES TO ADOPT (*)

(against positive indicators) Recruitment

•

and selection •

Age

diverse

from job adverts and

Job

application forms •

Job

vacancies

received from

publicised

all age groups

attract all age groups

Job

(both

descriptions

language and method)

are objective •

Age limits/data removed

staff

applications

•

Monitoring

regarding

number

regarding age

candidates from various

age groups participating

complaints

in selection processes

210

about

age

discrimination •

All

age

groups

are

represented in

selection

processes •

Staff selectors trained

equal opportunities Promotion

•

People

•

Avoiding age limits for

and

different ages

professional

development

levels

of performance which

Maintenance

can

of a balanced

regardless of age or

age

time in the organisation

•

different

•

profile

across •

promotion

the

•

Promoting on the basis

measured,

Promotion and training

organisation

opportunities open to all

Age does not

employees

play a role in

•

Adaptation of

promotion

methods

processes

groups

training all

and decisions •

Staff

all

ages

benefit

from

training

and professional development •

Key skills are present promoted

and in

employees of

211

age

all ages Redundancy

•

Redundancy

and

is based on

retirement

the

Considering alternatives to redundancy

•

Redundancy

organisation’s

based

requirements

criteria

and

and age does

needs

not play a role •

•

Retention

•

decisions job-related business

Ensuring vital skills are not

lost

with

older

key skills is

workers

ensured,

measures into practice

regardless of

for this purpose

–

putting

age •

Existence of a succession plan

ensure retention and transfer skills

of and

knowledge •

Retirement policy

has

been communicate d and is fairly applied •

Retiring employees have choices and flexibility, and they are appropriately guided

(*) the Measures to adopt included here will not be shown to the groups in the first time,

212

instead they will be asked to provide theirs, but these can later be shown as examples.

5.3. TRAINING Companies must take adequate measures for the training delivered by the organisation to be accessible by all members of staff. When we speak about training and development focused on a diverse staff, some of the next topics usually come out: a) Developing acknowledgement, feedback, coaching and understanding skills as solutions for culture and language differences: b) Guidelines and instructions about working habits, rules and culture. c) Design and format of training materials. Sometimes, audio-visual materials can be more accessible and user-friendly. We must be aware that some employees may have some type of sensorial impairment. d) Communicating and circulating to all members of staff the available training courses. e) Flexible training timetables, to conciliate work with instruction. f)

Training all employees on the need to develop skills related to diversity and work-team management with diverse workers. Some of the subjects that can be discussed in this training are intercultural communication, team work with people with disabilities, mentoring, among other.

g) Language. All materials should be in the preferential language and in any language deemed necessary for their understanding. h) Training spaces offer a good opportunity to promote integration. i)

Induction training for diverse employees. This point will be addressed later.

Exercise 7: Training and disability Discussion: between two persons or more about the experiences of working people with learning disabilities. Did a significant number of disabled persons have behavioural difficulties? Exercise 8: Training and language - In which way can you as a leader identify the employees who are in need of more language training? - How can employees acquire more language skills at work? Give examples. - Has your organization any experience in using a language coach/mentor? - Which are the criteria of success when using a language coach/mentor? - How can the organisation utilize the language competence of the employees? Give examples 213

Exercise 9: Training and age. - What do you know about adult persons’ capacity for learning? - Discuss your own experience with learning at different ages. - Discuss the management’s responsibility to include and give interesting and challenging tasks to employees independent of their age. - Give some examples of diversity management related to age and training.

5.4. CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT PROCESSES. Aspects related to diversity and career development: Evaluation and promotion criteria should be clear, simple and objective. The information that the company gives to the staff should be readily accessible. Promotion prospects must be clearly communicated to all members of staff. Implement knowledge, relationship and mentoring programmes with people with positions of responsibility, leadership or management who can be used as references in the development of professional careers.

Exercise 10: Career development and gender - Identify the percentage of male and women among the employees in your organization. What is the percentage of women and men in your organisation? In which positions do you find female employees? - Does your organization have a policy for promoting equality between the genders as to salaries, positions and career development? - Find statistics that show the number of men and women who are employed full time in your organisation. Are there differences between men and women as to full or part time employment? Think of possible consequences of systematic differences. - Find and compare the average income of men and women in your organisation. If there are differences, what do you think are the most important reasons for the differences in income between men and women? How can differences in income be overcome? - Is equality between genders reflected in the distribution of work tasks and responsibility in your organisation and in which way? And between other groups (people with disabilities, ethnics minorities…? - How can equality at work be encouraged and promoted? Give some good examples from your own workplace on how this can be done. 214

- How many female leaders are represented in the top management in your organisation? And how many people from others minority groups? - In which way can the leaders in an organisation promote equality related to salaries and promotion? Give examples from your own workplace on how this can be done. - Find out the organisational equality or diversity plan and study it.

Exercise 11: Case Study. Career development and sexual orientation A young man has just been employed at the local brewery. Some of the other employees are of the opinion that he is a homosexual and they are very soon cracking jokes on his behalf. What do you think they are telling each other about the new colleague? What can the consequences be for the young man? Discuss - What could you do to stop this behaviour being a leader? - Would it be possible to have a homosexual as a leader or manager at your workplace? If not, what would the reason be? - Is it more difficult for homosexuals than for others to get a job or to have a career development in your organisation?

5.5. COMPENSATIONS If we want to keep our staff, remuneration is important but it is not the only way. Some remuneration schemes can strengthen the bond between the organisation and the employees, from practices that are respectful of religious traditions to the way we reward or acknowledge work successfully completed.

Let us define some implications of rewards related to diversity:

Compensation policies and their relationship with DM

Non-economic compensation: Non-verbal communication applied to cultural diversity and to non-economic compensation; Diversity calendar; prayer rooms and gifts.

5.5.1. ECONOMIC COMPENSATION POLICIES ITS LINK WITH DM The Home Office is the leading government department for immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime, counter-terrorism and police in the United Kingdom. In the document â&#x20AC;&#x153;Think-Act

215

Framework Report53 (2011), support is given to voluntary gender equality reporting, and to commitment expressed towards fairness for women at work. We selected an excerpt of this document as an example of the measures intended to identify pay differences. We suggest to apply it to others groups that can suffer discrimination in our companies: “Pay Measures54: Measures that directly capture the pay differences between men and women, and reward measures capturing wider pay and benefits Measures and what it shows:

a) The difference between the average basic pay and total average earnings of men and women by grade and job type 1. This measure would provide detailed evidence of whether the pay gap is being driven by paying men and women who are doing similar jobs differently or by men and women doing significantly different jobs. 2. This measure would show the degree to which any gaps stem from differences in basic pay or differences in other components of earnings e.g. overtime payments or bonuses. b) The difference between men’s and women’s starting salaries 1. This could be a useful indicator of the extent of awareness of gender equality issues. 2. This measure would be of most use to organisations when identified by pay bands/ levels/ grade/ job type, or to give an overview of e.g. whether women are more likely to be recruited to lower paid roles.

c) Reward components at different levels 1. Different components of total reward (basic pay, overtime pay, bonuses, share options, pensions contribution and so on), for employees at different levels, by gender. 2. This measure would provide a broader view of how employees are rewarded than simply their hourly pay.

United Kingdom Home Office (2011) “Think-Act Report Framework”. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/equalities/womens-equality/gender-equality-reporting/think-act-reportframework?view=Binary. [23/10/2011] 54

216

d) Full-time gender pay gap 1. The difference between the median (or mean) hourly earnings of men and women calculated by reference to female full-time employees’ median (or mean) pay with male fulltime employees’ median (or mean) pay. 2. Compares like-with-like in terms of working patterns. 3. It can help organisations to identify any pay inequalities of which they were previously unaware. 4. Comparability with information from the public sector under the Public Sector Duty with potential to benchmark and sharing of good practice. e) Part-time gender pay gap 1. The difference between the median (or mean) hourly earnings of men and women calculated by reference to female part-time employees’ median (or mean) pay with male parttime employees’ median (or mean) pay. 2. Compares like-with-like in terms of working patterns. 3. It can help organisations to identify any pay inequalities which previously unaware of. 4. Comparability with information from the public sector under the Public Sector Duty with potential to benchmark and sharing of good practice. f) Overall gender pay gap 1. The difference between the median (or mean) hourly earnings of men and women calculated by reference to all female employees’ median (or mean) pay with all male employees’ median (or mean) pay. 2. The overall pay gap reflects the experience of all the organisation’s employees and therefore captures pay differences between full-time and part-time employees as well as differentials within those categories. g) Percentage change in gender pay gap 1. The percentage increase or decrease of the difference between median (or mean) hourly earnings of men and women calculated on the basis of the full-time, part-time or overall gender pay gap, measured this year in comparison with the pay gap last year”.

Exercise 12 Having the previous information as a reference, analyse your company’s remuneration measures. (This exercise may require legal authorization): - Define the groups that might be suffering inequality in your company and try to find differences with the majority group. 217

- Are there any gender differences? - Are there any differences between people with different ethnic backgrounds?

5.5.2. NON-ECONOMIC COMPENSATIONS The compensations are a way of recognition the work that a worker has done. There are other ways, besides the economical, to show that recognition. In this section we are going to emphasize the diversity calendar, the non-verbal communication and other ways of compensations.

5.5.2.1. DIVERSITY CALENDAR Companies tend to define their working calendar based on national festivities and the predominant religion. What about the preferences of our employees and customers? Do we take their religions and needs into account? Law protects worker’s rights to intimacy. For this reason, we fail to obtain specific information related to their religions. On the other hand, some signs may be indicative of their beliefs (e.g. foods habits). It is important for our staff to feel confident and inform us on the dates of their religious holidays. If the company show their concern, the staff will be more satisfied and we will be able to keep our employees.

See below the website of the University of Kansas Medical Center, as example of “diversity calendar”. http://www3.kumc.edu/diversity/april.html

Other example is the Graybridgemalkam multicultural calendar: http://www.malkam.com/en/15.0.asp?m=6

218

Image: Diversity Calendar- The University of Kansas Medical Center http://www3.kumc.edu/diversity/april.html

Exercise 13 If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any information about the preferences religion of your staff you can check the information that the NGOs have about immigrant people in your area. When you have defined the most relevant religions do revision of your labour calendar. - What are more important dates for others religions? - In order of your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s labour calendar, Is it possible to organize the vacation time for them in those dates? - What other questions can be important around this topic?

5.5.2.2.

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION APPLIED TO CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND TO NON-ECONOMIC COMPENSATION

Non-economic compensation must consider that there are different ways of expressing emotion depending on the culture of reference. For this reason, non-verbal communication is important in the compensation.

5.5.2.3.

OTHERS: PRAYER ROOMS, FOOD AND GIFTS.

Prayer Rooms Companies can have a prayer room for their staff. A prayer room is a quiet place that allows our workers to pray. If, according to their religion, the employees need to pray during the working day, this should be respected wherever possible. If it is not possible to have a specific room, other facilities may be used as a temporary prayer room, for example a meeting room.

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Food If the company has a canteen, having a varied menu catering for the different needs of the employees can be seen as an advantage over other companies. This can contribute to staff loyalty and avoid rotation costs.

Exercise 14 Imagine a situation in which you need a private room (for pray or a lactation room) but the company does not have one. How would you feel? What are the implications of having a prayer room at the company? What would a prayer room look like? Exercise 15 Find out about the customs of other cultures when they give gifts or presents. Interview people with a different background. What are the occasions/situations they give gifts on? Do companies give gifts? What type? What customs or traditions of the host country would be considered rude in the country of origin?

5.6. INDUCTION At the start of their work relationship, employees must get involved with corporate values, rules and habits. During this period the welcome and mentoring folder can be most useful: Welcome folder55. This tool helps new employees get involved in the corporate project, enabling optimum performance in the shortest time possible. It can be especially useful for foreign workers and so it should be multilingual, in the language used by the company and that of the employees. The organisation can analyse the different ethnic backgrounds in order to determine the preferential languages to be used in the folder. The folder may include the following contents: - Welcome letter. It is an obvious way of welcoming the new employee. - Manual with information about the company: Mission, vision and values; organisation chart; strategic lines; history; rules; philosophy; products and services; clientele; and communication protocols.

Base don CONFEBASK. “Guía para la realización de acogidas igualitarias y eficaces. Elaboración de un manual de acogida”. Basc Country, Spain.

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- Health and safety reception manual. - Socio-labour aspects: Presence control system; working calendar; medical service; payroll and payroll concepts; coexistence rules (smoker areas, changing rooms, etc.); social benefits; conciliation of family/personal life and work. - Quality system: Quality policy and strategy; process map. - Prevention management: health and safety policy; rights and duties in health and safety; Information on specific risks of workstation. - Other aspects: Environmental management system; Ongoing improvement system; Equal opportunities policies; Person-management practices; where to find more information. Mentoring A mentor is a person that guides the new member of staff or a company’s employee in a new position or department. This person must be trained. He/she must be aware of the mechanism of prejudice and the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication, and must build trust in the mentee. Exercise 16. Welcome folder - Do you remember when you joined the company? Did they do some type of welcome event? What information were you given? - Analyse the initial information that you company gives to new employees. What information you consider the welcome folder should include?

6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Language codes: ES Spanish, , GR Greek, FR French, IT Italian, PT Portuguese, EN English, ARA Arabic Webgraphy and bibliography used in this training module

Emakunde/Instituto Vasco de la Mujer (2006). “Orientaciones para la Promoción No Discriminatoria" Vitoria. Ed: Emakunde. (ES) http://www.emakunde.euskadi.net/u72publicac/es/contenidos/informacion/pub_guias/es_emakunde/adjuntos/orien_prom_no_disc ri_es.pdf

CONFEBASK. “Guía para la realización de acogidas igualitarias y eficaces. Elaboración de un manual de acogida”. País Vasco. (ES)

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United Kingdom Home Office (2011) “Think-Act Report Framework”. (EN) http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/equalities/womens-equality/gender-equalityreporting/think-act-report-framework?view=Binary. Global compact- Principle 6 (EN, ES) http://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/TheTenPrinciples/principle6.html European Commission, Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. Report produced by: Focus Consultancy, EIM Business & Policy Research. (2008)Turning

“Diversity” into talent and competitiveness for SMEs. Available at:

http://ec.europa.eu/social/home.jsp?langId=en (EN) Pin, J.R; García,P.; Gallifa, A. (2007) Libro blanco sobre la gestión de la diversidad en las empresas españolas: retos, oportunidades y buenas prácticas. Madrid. Ed. IESE. (ES) European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (2009). Diversity at work. A guide for SMEs. Ed. European Communities. (EN)

Red Acoge (2008) Guía para la gestión de la diversidad cultural en la empresa. Propuestas para la acción y buenas prácticas. (ES) Other suggested webgraphy

European Institute for Managing Diversity. http://www.iegd.org (EN, ES) U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission http://www.eeoc.gov/ (EN) Xpert RH. On-line RH intelligence. (EN) http://www.xperthr.co.uk/faqs/topics/6,61/religion-or-beliefdiscrimination.aspx?articleid=66600&mode=open

Managing diversity in the workplace: competitive advantages for companies (EN, ES) http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/content/source/eu07007a.htm?p1=reports&p2=null

Diversity Central (EN) http://www.diversitycentral.com/leaders_toolkit/toolkit/resources2.html Diversity at Work - 8 steps for small and medium-sized businesses. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/fundamental_rights/public/pubst_en.htm Diversityinc http://www.diversityinc.com (EN) International Society for Diversity Management. http://www.idm-diversity.org Compétence Egale (FR) http://www.acompetenceegale.com/index.aspx?IdItem=19&IdDoc=4&IdLangue=1 222

Citizens Advice (EN) http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/jobopportunities/recruitment_selection_policy.htm

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ORANGE APPROACH TRAINING MODULE 14, AWARENESS AND OPERATIONS POSITIVE ACTION PLAN Module 14: Positive Action Plan

INDEX 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. 2. LEARNING AIMS 3. TARGET GROUP 4. TRAINING TOPICS 5. PRACTICE SPACE 6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. The organisation is aware of the importance of implementing a positive action plan and is familiar with positive actions and with the main measures used to address diversity aspects (gender, sexual orientation, health, disability, age, ideology and opinion, ethnic and cultural background, language). The organisation does count on the necessary skills for a Positive Action Plan.

2. LEARNING AIMS To learn about positive actions and why they are necessary. To implement a positive action plan at the company. To design and implement an action plan from any of its variables: gender, sexual orientation, disability, health, ideology and opinion, ethnic and cultural background, language and age. 224

3. TARGET GROUP Directors, and those responsible for human resources and other departments.

4. CONTENTS 1. Definition of positive action and Positive Action Plan 2. Why are positive actions necessary? 3. How to prepare a Positive Action Plan 4. Some steps to be taken when you write an action plan 5. Main positive action measures

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. DEFINITION OF POSITIVE ACTION AND POSITIVE ACTION PLAN. Exercise 1: reflection Lester throw56 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Imagine a race with two groups of runners of equal ability. Imagine that a handicapper gives each individual in one of the groups a heavy weight to carry. Some of those with weights would still run faster than some of those without weights, but on average, the handicapped group would fall farther and farther behind the group without the handicap.

Now suppose that someone waves a magic wand and all of the weights vanish. If the two groups are equal in their running ability, the gap between those who never carried weights and those who used to carry weights will cease to expand, but those who suffered the earlier discrimination will never catch up. If the economic baton can be handed on from generation to generation, the current effects of past discrimination can linger forever.

To have a fair race, it is necessary to (1) stop the race and start over,(2) force those who did not have to carry weights to carry them until the race has equalized, or (3) provide extra aid to those who were handicapped in the past until they catch up.â&#x20AC;?

L. Thurow(1980). The Zero-Sum Societr 188

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5.1.1. THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTION Positive Action is â&#x20AC;&#x153;a temporary strategy aimed at removing situations, prejudice, and cultural and social behaviours and practices that prevent an undervalued or discriminated social group (on grounds of race, gender, physical disability, etc.) from enjoying true equalityâ&#x20AC;?. i What is a Positive Action Plan? A Positive Action Plan could be defined as a corporate strategy aimed at attaining true equality at work in underrepresented groups.

A positive action plan is: - Voluntary: The implementation of positive action measures is the result of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voluntary decision. - Collective: The implementation of positive actions is intended to positively influence not only a particular group but a high percentage of the staff. - Dynamic: It is not fixed or immutable but progressive and constantly changing. - Systematic: The ultimate goal (real equality) is fulfilled by meeting specific and systematic objectives leading to specific quantifiable results. - Flexible: Each organisation devises a customised Positive Action Plan, based on its size, needs and possibilities. - Temporary: The Plan is completed once real equality has been accomplished in the underrepresented groups. Who is the Positive Action Plan targeted at? The plan is targeted at the whole staff and requires people from different areas to be actively involved, from directors to intermediate managers and with all employees working with each other. What companies are eligible? Any company with an interest can implement a Positive Action Plan but in some organisations implementation might be more necessary or easier to undertake. The following organisations are especially suitable: - Companies undergoing expansion and needing to increase their staff. - Companies under transformation or change, developing or planning to develop strategies involving vertical and horizontal movements in the midterm (possible vacancies, internal post transfers, newcomers, promotions). 226

- Companies in a recession needing to optimise resources. - Companies with a high number of homogeneous employees in a relevant diversity feature (ethnic background, age, gender...) - Companies with too homogeneous staffs, without relevant diversity elements. - Companies interested in or having difficulties in attracting diverse clients. - Companies concerned with staff development.

Exercise 2: Reflection Does my company need a Positive Action Plan? What factors could boost the Plan?

5.2. WHY ARE POSITIVE ACTIONS NECESSARY? Exercise 3: Reflection Why would it be necessary or interesting for your company to implement an equal opportunities policy? What corporate benefits can be drawn from this type of strategy? What can a diverse staff offer my company? What obstacles can be encountered in incorporating/promoting underrepresented groups? How can these obstacles be overcome?

5.2.1. THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTION What is a Positive Action Plan for?

- To ponder about prejudice and stereotypes. - To optimise Human Resources, raising the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efficiency and competitiveness. - To increase the number of job contracts with people from underrepresented groups. - To branch out the work carried out by these employees, representing diversity at all hierarchical levels. - To balance responsibilities up, aiming at an equal presence. - To create conditions to demonstrate capacities. - To adapt work to special needs. - To improve working conditions.

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Greater Effectiveness

What other reasons does my company have?

Greater Prestige

Equal Opportunities

Greater Competiveness

Optimisation of Human Resources

What other reasons has my company in seeking to implement a Positive Action Plan?

5.3. HOW IS THE POSITIVE ACTION PLAN ORGANISED? The success of a Positive Action Plan depends on the adequate organisation of its actions. Therefore, it is recommended to study each individual phase thoroughly prior to starting the plan.

5.3.1. PHASES OF A POSITIVE ACTION PLAN

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1. COMMITMENT

2. DIAGNOSIS

•Company directors express their commitment publicly. •The Positive Action Plan is communicated. •Appointing people responsible for preparing, implementing and following up the Plan •Plan timeline.

•Planificación del diagnóstico. •Recogida de información. •Análisis y formulación de propuestas para el Plan de Acción Positiva.

•Preparing a programme stating the objectives. •Definition of actions for achieving the objectives. •Selection of follow-up and evaluation criteria. 3. PROGRAMMING •Resource allocation and timeline.

4. IMPLEMENTATION

5. FOLLOW-UP AND EVALUATION

5.3.1.1.

•Implementation of actions. •Communication. •Follow-up and control.

•Regular follow-up of positive actions to make adjustments and corrections. •Analysis of results obtained by the Plan, quantitatively and qualitatively.

COMMITMENT

Commitment is the starting point in the way towards implementation. Success will depend on the strength of the Plan. Three steps can be differentiated in the commitment phase: decisionmaking, communication and building the working team.

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Decision

•Ensuring involvement by directors. •Considering the Plan as one more corporate strategy. •Setting a timeline.

Communication

•Informing employees. •Explaining what positive actions are and why the company has decided to apply this type of actions. •Insisting on the fact that positive actions are not intended to give privileges but to compensate.

Working team

•Appointing a person responsible for the Plan and building a working team. •Trying to get support from union representatives from the start.

The support of managers is decisive for the remaining members of staff to have a positive attitude with regard to the measures to implement. Commitment must be as formal and explicit as possible. It needs to be made public, both externally and internally. In doing so, the whole organisation will be commitment-aware from the start, getting involved in each individual step. Externally, we will not only improve our corporate image. The company will also be used as an example for other organisations that are not yet sensitive to these initiatives.

A letter of intent will be produced, clearly stating the signing parties and those responsible for implementation. To that end, it will be essential to rely on the whole organisation and its different levels, thus being fully represented. It is important for the involved personnel to include: company directors, the human resource department, staff representatives, and employees considered to be interesting for the Plan. In addition to commitment aspects, a plan timeline will be set, specifying the date of implementation, the scope of application, and the goals to fulfil with the plan.

Concerning those involved in the plan, it is most important to appoint a person responsible for the plan and to create a working team. Next is a possible way of organising the staff:

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Exercise: reflection What do the directors think about the possibility os implementing a Positive Action Plan? Who could they count on in the company for the implementation of a Positive Actional Plan? Are they qualified enough? Do I need to cooperate with an external party in the following phase of the Plan?

5.3.1.2.

DIAGNOSIS

The working team is responsible for the diagnosis. It consists of a study of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s situation, quantitatively and qualitatively, and should have the following goals:

- To identify major inequalities to be resolved, and to arrange them into areas of action. - To prove, with objective data, the need for positive actions in the company. - To define a starting point against which changes can be evaluated. - To involve the whole staff in our Plan.

As we saw in other modules, diversity features can be visible (gender, age...) or invisible (ideology and opinion, sexual orientationâ&#x20AC;Ś). Besides, many of these features are personal and

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consequently are not revealed by the company. For that reason, the quantitative diagnosis is partial. Some aspects related to the non-visible diversity elements of the staff will be drawn by the qualitative diagnosis. But social desirability may cause some problems not to be admitted, e.g. ideological or discriminatory discrepancy connected with a person’s sexual orientation.

Next is a list of the quantitative data to collect. A study is recommended of each of these aspects, segregating the following diversity variables: gender, age, disability, and ethnic and cultural background.

Quantitative data to be collected •General details of the company •Facilities •Staff distribution by age •Staff distribution by professional category and educational level •Staff distribution by type of contract •Staff distribution by shift •Distribution by department and hierarchic level •Movement of employees (number of new contracts, number of employees leaving the company. Reasons) •Family responsibilities •Number of children •Other dependent persons •In-house training (completed last year and foreseen for next year) •Training timetable and number of participants •Professional promotion •By category •Promotion for geographical reasons •Staff distribution by salary •Benefits and bonuses in monthly salary •Union representation

The quantitative analysis is used as a basis for the qualitative study. Apart from complementing the former, the latter provides us with relevant information on other diversity aspects. The “ValoDi Interview for Diversity Management” will collect basic qualitative information for us to determine the company’s degree of diversity management. Nonetheless, during the diagnostic phase of the Positive Action Plan, different aspects must be delved into so that the actions more in line with corporate needs can be accurately defined. Next is a table with different aspects related to the management of the staff and work atmosphere; they shall provide the analysis with relevant information. A number of questions

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are suggested, though these could be extended or modified depending on the company's characteristics. The quantitative and qualitative information collected will allow us to prepare a report with the identified needs. This report will be used as the basis for the programming of the Positive Action Plan.

Personnel Selection •What general features does your company seek to find in the candidates? •Are there positions in the company held by people with very homogeneous features? •Are the channels used to advertise vacancies diverse? Is the language used adequate? •Are contracts for people with diversity features underrepresented in the company promoted in all corporate positions and categories? •Do recruitment processes include tests or examinations not favouring certain groups of people? •Do personal interviews use a standardized questionnaire or set of questions, avoiding personal questions that might be discriminatory?

Training •Is there a plan in place in the company taking into account all staff characteristics? •Are those responsible for human resources trained/informed on or aware of equal opportunities? •How are the staff’s training needs identified? •Are training courses delivered within working hours or outside normal working hours? If, outside, what type of courses are they? For what jobs? •Do people with disabilities participate in the training courses? Are conditions facilitated for them to be trained (interpreter, classroom access…)? •Are training materials in different languages? Is the translation of materials considered necessary? •Have you noticed a lower participation level in a given group (gender, background, age…)?

Promotion •What methodology and criteria are used for employees to be promoted? Are the criteria objective? •Do you think that personal or family matters influence promotion within the company? •Do part-time employees benefit from the same promotion opportunities? •Are underrepresented groups informed, motivated and trained for them to participate in in-house promotion processes?

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Remuneration Policy •Is there a clear remuneration policy in place? •Are bonuses or corporate benefits accessible to all posts? •Are there any salary differences between different worker groups? What groups have the highest salaries? What groups have the lowest salaries? Conciliating personal/family life and work •Does the company have any conciliation mechanisms in place? Reduced shift, flexitime, shift coinciding with working hours, shared time (1 full-time job divided into 2 part-time jobs), other (specify)? •If an employee applies for a reduced shift or any other conciliation measure, does it affect the company? How? Social incentives, social relief or policy •Does the company know about social incentives or tax relief for employing certain groups? How many people have been contracted under such policies? •Are there any social incentives for the company to adapt workstations for people with disabilities? Has an application been filed? Communication •Is the yearly training plan circulated throughout the company? •Do information channels for vacancies leading to promotion ensure nondiscrimination? Occupational health and safety •Are ironic or joking comments made and generally allowed in relation with the employees' appearance, clothing or sexual identity? •Are there any posters/images of a sexist, racist or homophobe nature? •Are there regulations in place on sexual or moral harassment? •Are working routines, workloads and breaks adequate to personal situations? •Are instruments and furniture adapted to specific bodily characteristics (disability, gender, health)?

Exercise 4 The previous sections give guidelines on the quantitative and qualitative information to collect, for the company to diagnose the needs. To make an adequate diagnosis, each company needs to adapt to reality, taking the previous information as a reference. A document must be produced including the quantitative data and a semi-structured interview for collecting the qualitative information.

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5.3.1.3.

PROGRAMMING

Preparing a programme stating the objectives. The diagnosis identifies a number of needs. These needs must be analysed with a view to setting the goals to fulfil in promoting equal opportunities at the company. Needs can be divided based on the collective (gender, age...) or the affected area (remuneration, promotion...). Objectives must be reviewed and approved by the promoting committee.

Definition of actions for achieving the objectives. To fulfil each goal, one or several positive actions must be taken. Point 4 includes the “Main positive action measures”. This table is a positive action sheet: POSITIVE ACTION SHEET Area: Diagnosis: General goal: Action: Action plan: Activity: Recipients or Target group: Methodology: Resources: - Person responsible for implementation: - Other human resources: - Materials: - Financial: Timeline: Evaluation indicators: (How will compliance be measured?) Remarks: Proposals for improvement:

Exercise 5 Choose one of the positive actions in Point 4 and plan its implementation in your company using the “Positive action sheet”. Selection of follow-up and evaluation criteria. Follow-up and evaluation criteria must be laid down in the programming phase. This way, we make sure that the quantitative and qualitative information is collected, to then be able to objectively define the fulfilment of the plan’s goals. Resource allocation and timeline

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During this phase, we define the following elements more accurately: - Stages - Positive actions suggested - People involved at each stage and in each action - Action programme or timeline - Necessary resources

5.3.1.4.

IMPLEMENTATION

Once the plan has been designed, we can proceed to its implementation. Those responsible for the plan must: - Coordinate the departments and people involved in the implementation of the positive actions. - Administer the budget. - Allocate the necessary resources. - Control timeline compliance. - Establish follow-up mechanisms. - Suggest corrective measures if deviations from the plan are identified. Flexibility is important at the beginning but in a balanced way. The organisation must remain motivated even though goals might seem too ambitious. Similarly, excessive relaxation may cause the plan to be dropped. During this phase, communicating the plan is especially important, both internally and internally. If the Plan improves the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s image externally, greater support will be given to positive actions favouring equal opportunities.

5.3.1.5.

FOLLOW-UP AND EVALUATION

The Plan must have defined the type of follow-up and evaluation correctly, as well as the tools needed for such purposes. In doing so, we will avoid a lack of information that could hamper the determination of the results of the Plan and the validity of the method used.

The regular follow-up of the implementation of positive actions allows us to make adjustments or changes when necessary. An effective follow-up and evaluation system requires suitable data-collection instruments in order to determine the impacts of the measures and the design of satisfaction questionnaires. The analysis of the planâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s results will therefore include 236

quantitative and qualitative information. This chart includes the aspects that must be evaluated: 57

Planning actions •Is the plan in line with the company’s reality? •Are the suggested objectives adequate? •Are the foreseen actions consistent with the means and goals? Management evaluation •Have actions been taken on time (as per the timeline)? •Have the infrastructures been suitable? •Was the methodology used correct? Action results •Have the foreseen results been reached? •Are those who participated in the actions satisfied? •Have the set objectives been fulfilled?

5.4. MAIN POSITIVE ACTION MEASURES58 We will now go through some examples of positive actions that can be implemented in the organisation. They can be adapted and/or modified based on the identified needs.

5.4.1. PERSONNEL SELECTION AREA - Checking that the description of the job vacancies published does not include any filters on grounds of sex, age and other diversity variables, especially indirect ones.

EMAKUNDE/ INSTITUTO VASCO DE LA MUJER (1996); “Guía de desarrollo de Acciones Positivas”, Programme Óptima cofinanced by the European Social Fund, “Now” Employment Initiative, Vitoria. (p. 88) URL:http://www.emakunde.euskadi.net/u72publicac/es/contenidos/informacion/pub_guias/es_emakunde/guias_es.html 58

Adapted from GENERALITAT VALENCIANA. CONSELLERIA DE BIENESTAR SOCIAL (2008); Guía para la elaboración y obtención del visado de Planes de Igualdad en las empresas de la Comunitat Valenciana. ED. Geralitat, Valencia; Adapted from GUIA INFORMATIVA PARA AVANZAR EN LA GESTIÓN DE LA EDAD EN LAS ORGANIZACIONES.

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- Establishing the selective use of certain recruitment channels in order to have an adequate balance of candidates. - Putting in place mechanisms to review recruitment processes so that balanced participation percentages are reached in all selection processes. - Using job application models ensuring the collection of relevant data, without excessively going into personal information which could be discriminatory or irrelevant to covering the vacancies. - Reviewing the recruitment tests used: interviews, tests, etc. to ensure their neutrality. - Analysing the recruitment processes followed in recent years, disaggregating by variable (sex, age, disability, ethnic background) their results with a view to identifying any incidence as to the number of contracts and considering the implementation of corrective measures. - Creating a system to codify data from job applications, collecting information strictly related to the candidatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; education and work experience and avoiding to know their personal details before pre-selecting the CVs that are more adequate for the vacancy. - Standardising recruitment tests to ensure neutrality. - Training human resources employees in equal opportunities. - Incorporating equal opportunities technicians into the human resources team. - Statistical treatment of the results â&#x20AC;&#x201C;disaggregated by diversity variablesâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; of each phase of recruitment and selection. - Reviewing the appraisal and description of the organisation's jobs or positions, avoiding any bias. - Promoting work contracts with underrepresented groups in positions and categories lacking their profile.

5.4.2. CONCILIATION AREA - Informing all members of staff about any legal novelties regarding shift reductions, work leaves given to employees to take care of dependent persons, leave policies, etc. - Ensuring access to these rights to all members of staff, regardless of their gender, years in the company or contract model. - Encouraging the use of conciliation measures by men via specific information campaigns. - Improving rights legally established in relation with flexible working hours and labour conditions for women suffering abuse. - Favouring the build-up of breastfeeding hours to be entitled to exchange them for authorised days off.

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- Guaranteeing that people doing a shift other than the usual one are not relegated to jobs without responsibilities or decision-making power, and seeing to it that they remain entitled to in-house promotion. - Defining what the organisation understands for availability or disposal, clearly staking the boundaries of this concept. - Incorporating working-hour databases. - Avoiding, as far as possible, night shifts as well as training courses and meetings outside working hours. - Building a database of kindergartens, homes, babysitters, etc. to help the employees and to appoint conciliation agents who will coordinate all matters related to the staff's family needs. - Informing male employees on their rights as fathers, and spreading the use of parental leaves, to facilitate compatibility and co-responsibility with the mother. - Carrying out awareness campaigns about sharing responsibilities between men and women. - Establishing a leave policy for fathers, for them to take their children to the doctorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and to prepare for childbirth. - Considering special authorisations or services, to be able to deal with school holidays. - Remunerate leaves given to employees for them to accompany dependent persons to the doctorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

5.4.3. PROFESSIONAL CLASSIFICATION, PROMOTION AND TRAINING AREA Professional classification - Carrying out an appraisal and description of jobs, to establish the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s professional classification scale. - Neutral definition of the professional categories and/or groups that encompass all the jobs. - Reviewing the professional classification set in the collective agreement, where applicable, to try and identify possible indirect discrimination related to the staff's diversity.

Promotion - Definition and use of accessible communication channels to inform on vacancies, ensuring non-discrimination. - Giving the same promotion opportunities to part-time employees as those offered to fulltime workers or those with a steady contract. - Setting out criteria for all departments to benefit from the same in-house promotion possibilities. 239

- Analysis and evaluation of difficulties and obstacles in gaining access to certain managerial or intermediate posts, and planning of actions to eliminate any obstacles. - Motivating and giving incentives to underrepresented groups for them to gain access to jobs and sections in which they are little represented or not represented at all. - Regular publication, via any accessible means, of potential vacancies to be filled by the company's employees through promotion. - Definition of career plans within the organisation, together with the objective criteria observed by the company in its development, the necessary training, and other related characteristics. - Design and implementation of career plans for older employees (over 50 years of age).

Training - Analysis of the training needs of all jobs, particularly of those positions held by women, older employees and/or people with disabilities. - Organising specific courses for groups with special needs for them to be prepared and be promoted in the jobs or duties in which they might be underrepresented. - Reporting to all members of staff through internal communication channels on the contents of the yearly training plan, for this information to reach all employees in a clear and accessible way. - Implementing mentoring schemes (a person mentors another one for the latter to make progress at work or in his/her knowledge or thinking). - Offering training courses during working hours; in any other situation, alternatives could be arranged such as online courses, distance training... - Making up for the time devoted to training outside normal working hours. - Designing training plans in such a way that they explicitly address the needs of the staff based in auxiliary premises or sites geographically distant from the training venue. - Designing training plans so that they include solutions aimed at bringing closer the family and work life of the employees attending the courses. - Giving information on the training actions of the yearly training plan to any employee even if in an extended leave of absence for family reasons, maternal or paternal leave, or if in any type of absence from work, especially on the worker's return to his/her job. - Clear definition of links between training plans, career plans and internal promotion. - Translating training materials into other languages according to staff needs. - Informing with sufficient notice about learning means and possibilities. - Designing and taking into account teaching methods especially targeted at adults.

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- Regular evaluation of training programmes with a view to adapting them (contents and method) to any changes in work conditions.

5.4.4. REMUNERATION AREA - Preparing a chart with professional categories and salaries. The chart shall be examined by an expert in equal opportunities in order to find possible direct or indirect discrimination. - Publication or circulation of the chart so that any salary discriminations can be detected and reported. - Giving training incentives to managers for them to take courses on equal opportunities, so that non-discriminatory practices are introduced in the human resources departments of companies. The managing staff must be involved. - Establishing a remuneration system based on the evaluation of each position and the results obtained, regardless of the people holding such positions. - Defining professional classification systems including descriptions and definitions of the roles and duties in each category. - Laying down salary complements according to objective criteria. - Regular checking of the salaries of the employees. Such checks will consist of: – A comparison of salaries. – Identification of differences. – Elimination of any unjustified differences. - Application of corrective measures if remuneration imbalances are found on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, etc. - Informing the whole organisation on the economic appraisal of all the activities, as well as on the criteria used. - Incorporating the cross-sector principle to all systems of job appraisal.

5.4.5. HEALTH AND SAFETY AREA - Design and re-design of work stations and equipment (screen, keyboard, chair). - Rotation of posts. - Introduction of breaks. - Suitable environmental conditions, ventilation, lighting. - Preventative maintenance of installation equipment. - Promotion of work conditions avoiding sexual harassment, gender-based harassment and moral harassment.

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- Drafting a letter of intent showing the commitment jointly reached by managers and worker representatives

preventing

and

eliminating

sexual

harassment,

gender-based

harassment and moral harassment. - Effective circulation of the letter of intent to all members of staff, underlying the responsibility of the parties in guaranteeing a harassment-free work environment, thus fostering a climate in which it would not be likely to occur. - Creating and publicising an ÂŤAction protocolÂť to regulate sexual harassment, gender-based harassment and moral harassment, including a definition, prevention and action procedures and sanctions. - Ensuring the urgent and confidential nature of this process as well as respect, and the prohibition of any type of retaliation against those involved in the process. - Guaranteeing participation by staff representatives in the commission in charge of the abovementioned process. - Appointing a person responsible or a mediator in sexual harassment issues, his/her duties including receiving harassment complaints, counselling for monitoring and investigating any reported cases, and implementing measures to raise awareness and prevent sexual harassment and gender-based harassment. - Launch awareness campaigns for the staff to be more sensitive to sexual harassment, gender-based harassment, and moral harassment. - Publication and distribution of educational materials, conducting workshops on harassment prevention, etc. (In several languages). - Adapting working hours and conditions temporarily, including the timing and frequency of breaks, etc. - Adapting and monitoring working times, workloads and work pace, for them not to be excessive; ensuring the availability of seats. - Ensuring a change of jobs for pregnant women, if the functions usually carried out are dangerous, both to their health and the health of the foetus. - Ergonomic adaptation of furniture, tools... used by the employees in their daily tasks, adapting them to the specific body features of men and women. - Annual medical check-ups should include radio-diagnosis and other gender-specific tests. - Ensuring regular health checks as from 45 years of age and before for those doing heavy work. - Adapting working conditions to the characteristics of the employees (redesign of jobs, changing jobs, technological aids, changing working hours, etc.). - More flexible working hours and retirement age. Reduced working hours as from 60 years of age, shorter working weeks... Managing breaks in an innovative way (regular minibreaks). 242

5.4.6. COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE AREA - Development of a communication guide or manual setting out the rules of communication for equality. This guide should be available to all staff in the company and its rules must be clear and understandable. - Those holding positions of responsibility within the organisation must know, support and implement the communication criteria for equality. - Integration, both in processes and in organisational structures, of mechanisms for correcting and reviewing internal and external communication. - Incorporating, into the company’s staff development policy, the subject of communication for equality. - Carrying out training courses on «Non-discriminatory uses in language and advertising» - Adapting formats, sheets and memos addressed to the general public as regards the use of neutral language or feminine or masculine forms.

5.4.7. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AREA - Formalizing knowledge transfer systems between people who retire and those who join the company by means of joint working groups for the transfer of experiences. - Making computer tools available, to store data, contacts, projects, etc. - Incorporating a mentor or tutor figure in order to assist the transfer of knowledge in the workplace.

6. RECOMMENDED WEBSITES AND LITERATURE Language codes: ES Spanish, EU Basc, GR Greek, FR French, IT Italian, PT Portuguese, EN English, ARA Arabic

EMAKUNDE / INSTITUTO VASCO DE LA MUJER (1996); “Guía de desarrollo de Acciones Positivas”, Programme Óptima, cofinanced by the European Social Fund, “Now” Employment Initiative, Vitoria: http://www.emakunde.euskadi.net/u72publicac/es/contenidos/informacion/pub_guias/es_emakunde/guias_es.html (ES, EU)

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EMAKUNDE / INSTITUTO VASCO DE LA MUJER (1996); “Catálogo de Acciones Positivas”, Programme Óptima, cofinanced by the European Social Fund, “Now” Employment Initiative, Vitoria: http://www.emakunde.euskadi.net/u72publicac/es/contenidos/informacion/pub_guias/es_emakunde/adjuntos/cat_acc_pos_es.pdf (ES)

Miguel Escalera's Foundation of Training and Employment. Madrid: CCOO Trade Union, 2004. http://www.forem.es (EN, FR, PT, ES, ARA)

GENERALITAT VALENCIANA. CONSELLERIA DE BIENESTAR SOCIAL, (2008); Guía para la elaboración y obtención del visado de Planes de Igualdad en las empresas de la Comunitat Valenciana. ED. Geralitat, Valencia. http://www.bsocial.gva.es/portal/portal?docid=5900 (ES)

EQUAL DIME. Guía I.O. Dime. Acciones positivas para la Igualdad de oportunidades en las empresas de la Comarca de l’Horta Sud. http://www.dimeequal.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=84&Itemid=56 La gestión del factor edad en las empreas europeas. Fundación europea para la mejora de las condiciones de Vida y del Trabajo: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/pubdocs/2006/08/es/1/ef0608es.pdf (ES) L. Thurow(1980). The Zero-Sum Societr FUNDACIÓN FORMACIÓN Y EMPLEO MIGUEL ESCALERA. Agente de Igualdad de Oportunidades I. Madrid: CCOO, 2004. (ES)

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APPROACH GREEN: TRAINING MODULES ON INNOVATION AND DIVERSITY

15. Introduction to innovation and its link with diversity 16. Model and best practices in innovation and diversity 17. Innovation and diversity 18. Creativity techniques

Coordination, compilation of materials and development by Amparo Camacho Sánchez, Enrique García Peña and Pilar Ortega Leal. Florida Centre de Formació, CV.

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GREEN APPROACH TRAINING MODULE 15 INTRODUCTION TO INNOVATION AND ITS LINK WITH DIVERSITY Module 15: Introduction to innovation and its link with diversity

INDEX 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. 2. LEARNING AIMS 3. TARGET GROUP 4. TRAINING TOPICS 5. PRACTICE SPACE 6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY. 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. The organization considers diversity management as an element to extract the precise components to be able to innovate; knows the conditions that must have in order to innovate, the different types of innovation and the benefits of all of them.

2. LEARNING AIMS

To acquire the necessary knowledge about what is innovation

To set up a link between diversity, innovation and productivity

To know the conditions a company must have in order to innovate

To know the different types of innovation and apply them to the company.

246

3. TARGET GROUP Management board, HR responsible and other departmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; responsible people. Intermediate managers, staff in general that are involve in innovation & diversity process.

4. TRAINIG TOPICS What is innovation and its link with DM Why is important a transformation DM as element generating opportunities to innovate Work atmosphere and motivation to innovate Conditions for innovation Types of innovation

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. WHAT IS INNOVATION? 5.1.1. SOME DEFINITIONS Innovation is generating or finding ideas, selecting, implementing and marketing them. A process in which, starting from an idea, invention or need recognition a product, techniques or a useful service are commercially developed and accepted. Set of activities in a period of time and a place resulting in the successful introduction in the market, for the first time, of an idea in the form of new or better products, services or management and organisation methods.

5.1.2. LINKS BETWEEN INNOVATION AND DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT. The European Commission has carried out several surveys concerning the links between diversity and innovation. Thus, in the paper â&#x20AC;&#x153;Diversity and Innovation. A business opportunity

247

for allâ&#x20AC;?59, the following conclusions have been drawn:

â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a positive link between diversity and innovationâ&#x20AC;? Previous research and indeed commentary from business leaders suggests that there can be a positive relationship between diversity and innovation in a business context. For example:

Adler (2002) notes that diversity in multicultural teams is associated with positive group outcomes such as increased levels of innovation, creativity and problem solving.

Hennessey & Amabile (1998) suggest that diversity, when combined with an understanding of individual strengths and weaknesses, and working relationships that are founded upon sensitivity and trust, enhances creativity and problem solving capability.

Niebuhr (2006) found higher levels of research and development and innovation in regions of Germany that had higher levels of cultural diversity than regions with lower levels of diversity.

In a most comprehensive study of 1000 international teams, Gratton (2007) found that innovation was positively correlated with equal gender ratio within work teams and negatively correlated with an unequal ratio.

Moreover, the internationalisation of innovation renders cultural diversity a reality for innovative teams.

The linkage between diversity and innovation is a function of different mindsets, perspectives and individual resources There are a number of ways in which diversity contributes to innovation> 1) Flexibility, creativity, and the ability to innovate are enhanced by the existence of dissimilar mind sets, that is to say that like-minded people make like-minded decisions, [limiting] the breadth and depth of innovative and creative thinking (Ozbilgin 2208). 2) While situations where individuals and groups find their existing mindsets, beliefs and knowledge sets challenged will produce effective learning, this is more likely to happen when there is diverse mix of participants and an environment in which all individuals feel their views are valued. 3) Diversity can contribute to more effective decision-making and problem solving capability by providing a diverse range of perspectives, a broader spectrum of expertise, 59

European Commission, For Diversity Against Discrimination, Focus Consultancy: Diversity and Innovation- A business opportunity for all.

248

and more robust critical evaluation (Bassett-Jones, 2005). 4) Teams characterised by diversity have the capability to access broader networks of relationships, cultural capital and bicultural competence and bring these assets into the innovation process. Increased productivity, innovation, and creativity are about making effective use of this capacity.”

Exercise 1 Some important questions to answer in your company: - Is innovation discussed in our organization? - Do we think it is important? - Is it referred to in our strategic plan? - Does the company favors a “climate” of innovation? - Is it occasionally developed following the initiative of a person/some people? - Do we wait for it to happen or do we encourage it?

5.2. WHY IS IMPORTANT A TRANSFORMATION? The need to innovate is not new; what has changed is the pace we must innovate at (faster than the competition). The main factors of this change are: - Globalisation has consolidated. Globalisation is now consolidated. Though many companies prefer the domestic market, they still have to face competition from foreign companies operating in the same territory. - Growing rate of technological breakthroughs. “The impact generated by the Digital World is equivalent to that of the Industrial Revolution. The main difference is that the former took many generations while digital change is taking place over just one generation and a half, or two.” Bill Gates. - Managing global networks to create new value. - Changing habits. Mass markets transform into numerous niches. New paradigms mobilise existing products. Customers demand products that are portable (e.g. laptops), small (ipod), personal (customised), and with creative elements, among other. Exercise 2 Faced with this change in consumerism, is my company preparing some transformations? Is it adapting to new internal/external customer needs and requirements? Is it applying the new paradigms? Does it take into consideration the needs of diverse clients?

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5.3. DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AS ELEMENT GENERATING OPPORTUNITIES TO INNOVATE. Exercise 3 Have you thought that diversity could be an element for innovation in your company? Is your clientele homogeneous? Are your products/services adapted to a diverse clientele? Next is a chart with the most relevant aspects of diversity. Analyse the products/services offered by your company and try to define what diverse groups it addresses. Now analyse if such products/services are too general or if there is a diverse group you could adapt to.

Variables of diversity

Product

or Product

Service 1:

Service 2:

or Product

Service 3:

Gender Sexual orientation Health Disability Language Ethnic and cultural background Age Ideology and opinion

5.4. WORK ATMOSPHERE AND MOTIVATION TO INNOVATE. (HOW TO BEAT IDEA KILLERS) “A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man's brow.” Charles Browder Innovation can give way to tension in the company. Opinions differ between those who find benefits in innovation and those who are more sceptical. Disputes may arise and sometimes ideas that can bring out innovation are turned down. “Idea killers” are like the prophets of doom, people who can only see the negative side of things, problems and difficulties, rejecting any project before it can even come true. They do not come up with any ideas; they do not take risks and they choose the easiest options. They allege that the purpose is not clear, that others failed before, etc.

250

Ways to kill ideas60

There may, as Paul Simon sung, be forty ways to leave your lover, but there are even more ways to kill a new-born idea. Here are just a few. You can probably fill in the rest. Ignore it Say nothing. Pretend that it was not said. Let it die in silence. Most people can take this hint that they have said something that is not wanted. Criticize it Say how bad an idea it is. Show yourself to be an expert in such things and that the person offering the idea is not an expert and hence unable to offer any idea of any use. Faint praise Damn it with faint praise. Say how very interesting it is. Or how it might just work (with the wind in right direction). And by implication how useless it is. Laugh at it Smirk, giggle, laugh, chortle. Say how funny the idea is. This will be very effective at preventing anyone else taking it seriously. Analyse it Ask searching questions about it. Of course, as a simple idea, the person offering it will not have thought it through. If you probe far and fast enough, you can tie them up in knots. Then just leave it hanging, like the lawyer who has just crucified a witness. Tried it Say how the idea has been tried before and found to be completely ineffectual. In doing so, you show how the person in question is only good at coming up with ideas that are of poor quality and are old hat. Compete with it Come up with a better idea that shows the idea to be not that good. As the new idea is yours, you can either now get the credit or drop it quietly as it has done its job. Change it Take up the idea enthusiastically and adjust it so that it is no longer recognizable. Shoot the messenger Instead of attacking the idea, have a go at the person bringing it up. Tell them that they are no good at creating ideas. That they should not be offering such thoughts here. This is particularly effective at putting off other people from offering ideas. Give it to a committee This is the death kiss for almost any idea. Ensure the committee is made up of people who 60

Creating Minds. Ways to kill ideas. http://creatingminds.org/articles/killing_ideas.htm [21/02/2011]

251

will argue or delay and end up with nothing in particular being created. Exercise 4 We have all been ideas killers at some point, and we tend to repeat our methods. From the above techniques, which is the one you use the most to kill ideas? You may also think about the people in your company that usually kill ideas. What’s their strategy? How can you change their attitude?

5.5. CONDITIONS FOR INNOVATION Ways of generating a favourable climate for ideas

The company must rely on leaders who are not only creative but who are also able to encourage and support creativity in their employees.

Incentives must be given to innovative ideas.

The organisation must tolerate errors, to create a climate of trust.

A culture must be developed neutralising the attitude of those who “kill ideas”. Everybody in the organisation must understand that the company must change to be able to innovate.

Exercise 5 The previous point, “Ways of generating a favourable climate for ideas” has given you some clues as to the ideal conditions for innovation. Imagine the ideal company, innovation-wise. Think of its premises, the organisation of the staff, the psychological atmosphere, etc. Complete the following chart about such a company: PHYSICAL

ORGANISATIONAL SOCIAL

ENVIRONMENT STRUCTURE

PERSONAL

ORGANISATIONAL

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES BEHAVIOUR

Can you implement these ideas in your company? What people would you need to do so? What are the necessary steps? Exercise 6: Case study Life at Google61 61

http://www.google.com/intl/en/jobs/lifeatgoogle/

252

“Google is not a conventional company, and we don’t intend to become one. True, we share attributes with the world’s most successful organizations – a focus on innovation and smart business practices comes to mind – but even as we continue to grow, we’re committed to retaining a small-company feel. At Google, we know that every employee has something important to say, and that every employee is integral to our success. We provide individuallytailored compensation packages that can be comprised of competitive salary, bonus, and equity components, along with the opportunity to earn further financial bonuses and rewards. Google has offices around the globe, from Bangalore to Zurich, but regardless of where we are, we nurture an invigorating, positive environment by hiring talented, local people who share our commitment to creating search perfection and want to have a great time doing it. Googlers thrive in small, focused teams and high-energy environments, believe in the ability of technology to change the world, and are as passionate about their lives as they are about their work.”

Exercise 7 - Carry out a research on the work environment at Google or other company that you consider to be innovative or who have a good management of diversity. - Generate ideas through creativity techniques (see module 18) in order to promote an innovative work environment at your company.

253

5.6. DIMENSION AND TYPES OF INNOVATION 5.6.1. DIMENSION OF INNOVATION Incremental innovation: Small changes aimed at increasing the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s functionality and performance; if cumulative, they can make up a strong basis for progress. Semi-radical innovation Radical innovation: Breaking away from established things, new products or processes that cannot be understood as the natural evolution of existing ones.

5.6.2. TYPES OF INNOVATION Goods or services, introduction of new or significantly improved products as far as functional features or uses are concerned. Processes, implementation of new or significantly improved production or distribution methods, generally developed by means of equipment, techniques or software. Marketing methods (product / price/ market / promotion), involving significant changes in the design, packaging, sale, positioning or price of a good or service. Organisational methods, implementation of new methods in business practices, organisation of the workplace or the way the organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s external relations are developed. Exercise 8: reflection 254

Dimensions of innovation in my company? Innovating in order not to lose? Or innovation in order to win? What is the type of innovation that we need?

6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Language codes: FI Finnish, ES Spanish, EST Estonian, GR Greek, NO Norwegian, PL Polish, SV Swedish, EN English, ARA Arabic, RUS Russian, SA Sรกmi Document: European Commission, For Diversity Against Discrimination, Focus Consultancy: Diversity and Innovation- A business opportunity for all. Websites Innovation Tools: http://innovationtools.com/weblog/innovation-weblog.asp (EN) Idea

Champions

http://www.ideachampions.com/weblogs/archives/2010/08/50_ways_to_fost_1.shtml (EN)

Creating Minds (tools) http://creatingminds.org/tools/tools_ideation.htm (EN)

Creating Minds: (Ways to kill ideas). http://creatingminds.org/articles/killing_ideas.htm (EN)

About Google: http://www.google.com/intl/en/jobs/lifeatgoogle/ (EN)

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APPROACH GREEN TRAINING MODULE 16 MODEL AND BEST PRACTICES ON INNOVATION AND DIVERSITY Module 16: Model and best practices on innovation and diversity

INDEX 1.1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. 2.1. LEARNING AIMS 3.1. TARGET GROUP 4.1. TRAINING TOPICS 5.1. PRACTICE SPACE 6.1. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY. 7.1. ANNEX 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. The organization is proactive towards diversity; knows the methodologies to innovate through diversity; and know how to apply in the company to innovate.

2. LEARNING AIMS

To know the methodologies to innovate from DM

To set indicators in order to assess the innovative activity’s final result.

To know good practices of innovation as a reference

3. TARGET GROUP 256

Management board, HR responsible and other departmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; responsible people. Intermediate managers, staff in general that are involve in innovation & diversity process.

4. TRAINING TOPICS 1. Rules for innovation management 2. The organization ambidextroux: exploration-explotation; 3. Systematising Innovation in Organisations. 4. Florida Training Center's innovation methodology 5. Roles of the staff involved in the innovation process. 6. Indicatiors of innovation 7. Good practices in innovation in companies

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. RULES FOR INNOVATION MANAGEMENT. The following rules facilitate innovation management: a. Strong leadership in innovation strategy and decisions. Innovation must be at the highest organisational level, to ensure that innovation spreads throughout the organisation. b. Integrating innovation in the basic business mentality of the company. Innovation must be an integrated component in the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daily operations. c. Aligning quantity and innovation type to the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business. Innovation can be the key to a successful overall business strategy; innovation types and amount must be determined in order to support business strategy (more is not necessarily better). d. Handling natural tension between creativity and value capture. A company must be strong in both dimensions. Creativity without the skills needed to turn it into usefulness can be fun but unsustainable; usefulness without creativity is rewarding but only if it works in the short term. e. Neutralising organisational antibodies. Having a clear position and strategy to neutralise and build upon reactions to change. Innovation needs changes, but change causes explicit routines and cultural rules to either block or deny change. f. Recognising that the basic unit (the basic building block) of innovation is a network consisting of people and knowledge both inside and outside the organisation. A successful organisation knows how to pool internal and external resources. g. Creating an adequate system of innovation mediation and reward. People react to positive and negative stimuli, innovation in a company is not the exception; the required innovation level will never be reached, if people are not adequately rewarded. 257

Exercise 1 Based on the above rules and on the knowledge of your company's current situation, build a SWOT matrix and define the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats your company would have if it were to implement a system for innovation management. Apart from the rules, you can include aspects from your organisation or from the current situation. Take into account the influence of diversity in this situation.

•___________ •___________ •___________

Weaknesses

Strengs •___________ •___________ •___________

Threat

Opportunities •___________ •___________ •___________

5.2. THE AMBIDEXTROUS ORGANISATION Thusman and O'Reilly’s definition (1997): “Ambidextrous organizations establish project teams that are structurally independent units, each having its own processes, structures, and cultures, but are integrated into the existing management hierarchy” This model suggests a balance between efficiency-supporting activities (oriented towards exploitation of current opportunities) and explorative activities, to give way to innovations and to be able to face new competitive scenarios in the mid-long term. To that end: • Separate new units, of the explorative type, from those that are more traditional, of an exploitative nature, permitting in each of them to apply different types of processes, structures and cultures. • At the same time, keep strong relational links (vision, common values and incentives) between units at a managerial level. 258

Strong competition obliges companies to constantly review their structures and processes. Main features:

Main features:

Favours Incremental and Radical innovation.

Allows growth between units while preventing cross contamination between them.

Coexistence of processes, culture and structures.

Permits harmonic, agile and rapid coexistence of daily activities (organisation for execution) with innovation project activities (organisation for creation)

Allows to pay attention to processes and products from the past and at the same time to look ahead, preparing for those innovations that will define the future.

Exercise 2. Reflection:

Can we focus on exploration only?

What are my companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs in exploring and exploiting innovation?

259

Exercise 3. Case Study FLORIDA, AN AMBIDEXTROUS ORGANISATION. By Enrique García and Amparo Camacho (innovation area, Florida Training Centre) "At the end of 2007, Florida decided to integrate into the organisation the features and operation of the “ambidextrous organisation”. This required the company to clearly differentiate exploitation and exploration areas. Exploitation includes activities which have been carried out by the company for a long time; they are consolidated and constitute known business models. On the other hand, it was necessary to define, structure and bring contents to the exploration area, for it to identify new market opportunities and to analyse their implementation as the innovation processes taken on by this company area became systematised. To that end, an Innovation Committee was set up as an instrument pivoting on Florida’s exploration side. Apart from a structure, this committee was provided with procedures and methodologies for it to run smoothly. “

5.3. SYSTEMATISING INNOVATION IN ORGANISATIONS Why is it necessary to systematise innovation in organisations?

It contributes to avoiding innovation being a “spark” by a single person in the company.

It makes innovation a consistent “daily practice”.

It permits to establish processes of innovation that can be planned, managed and measured.

It permits to define an innovation strategy.

260

The following steps help us systematise innovation in companies: 1. Committed management team: It permits a culture of innovation to be made visible. Necessary for incorporating innovation into company strategy. Innovation spreads from top to bottom. (See point 4 for more information) 2. Align innovation with company strategy Consider innovation one more element in the strategy. Define

the

organisation’s

Strategic

Plan

for

Innovation

(strategic

options,

implementation and control) Task, responsibility and budget allocation. 3. Plan of communication, Staff development and incentives Disseminate importance of organisation among organisation members. Empower them to become motivated in this task (training, practical tools) Establish mechanisms for recognition. 4. Spreading a culture of innovation Companies do not innovate, people do... Innovation is exploring “the unknown”, doing different things… Do not “punish failure”. 5.Creation of a process to manage ideas Establish a formal process (non-bureaucratic) Necessary for collecting ideas from organisation members. Reduces time from collection to implementation. 6.Defining a process for idea evaluation Complementary to process of idea generation.

Establish criteria for idea evaluation and selection:

How are ideas evaluated,

Criteria to be met, Who makes decisions,… 7.Defining structure and roles that support innovation This structure must be defined to let ideas ‘enter’ the company’s innovation process.

Existence of “leaders” who stimulate the “entering” of ideas.

Person responsible for coordinating this structure.

8. Establishing innovation indicators

Indicators are needed in this process to measure things:

Input indicators (people who participated…)

Process indicators (ideas processed, time…)

Output indicators (projects implemented…)

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Exercise 4 These activities are intended to help us systematise innovation in the company. If your company seeks to promote diversity management, it is interesting to connect all these processes to this value, to make the most of synergies. 1.Committed management team. (See activity in section 4) 2.Align innovation (and diversity management) with company strategy Define your organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Strategic Plan for Innovation (strategic options, implementation and control). Please, include task, responsibility and budget allocation. 3.Communication plan, staff development and incentives Design at least 3 actions for communicating the innovation process in the company. Define: Who are they targeted at? What is the chosen communication channel? And which is the objective of this communication measure? 4.Spreading a culture of innovation (and tolerance through diversity) Using creativity techniques (see Module 19) and preferably in groups, define actions aimed at promoting a culture of innovation in the company. 5.Creation of a process to manage ideas (See signal panels in Module 18 point 2) 6.Defining a process for the idea evaluation Establish criteria for idea evaluation and selection:

How are ideas evaluated,

Criteria to be met, Who makes decisionsâ&#x20AC;Ś 7.Establishing innovation indicators (See point 5 in this module and its activity).

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5.4. FLORIDA TRAINING CENTER'S INNOVATION METHODOLOGY Florida have systematised their innovation management. This systematisation has been defined as a process of innovation. Next are the steps taken in the process:

5.4.1. SIGNALS The process starts by receiving signals. We understand as a "signal" all information, whatever its origin and format that can be analysed in depth and may be considered to be indicative of a possible business opportunity. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget:

All members of the organisation must contribute to collecting them.

Signals can be provided both in physical or virtual support (tools must be available for this purpose).

Panels must be located in a visible place for all the organisation.

There can be specific panels about diversity (see module 18)

Role of the PANEL RESPONSIBLE

(Please, review module 18 for more information)

5.4.2. AMPLIFICATION OF SIGNALS The signals must be amplified. This process which seeks to deepen the information (qualitative and quantitative) to obtain more reliable data. Search for further information (sources):

Sales force

Technical staff

Distribution channels

Providers

Advertising agencies

Staff hired from competitors

Professional associations

Industrial associations

Market research companies 263

R+D centres

Universities

Articles

Newspapers and magazines

Public administration documents

Management speeches

Analyst reports

Patent register

……

Role of the RESPONSIBLE FOR SIGNAL AMPLIFICATION

5.4.3. EXPLORATORY PROJECT Subsequently an exploratory project is developed. An exploratory project can be described as a document which, in a brief but concrete way, gathers information collected in the previous phase (signal amplification) and helps illustrate key aspects of a possible future business unit including: - Product or service offered. - Target customer of the product /service. -

Needs to be satisfied.

- Distinguishing elements intended to be offered. - Analysis of competitors / substitute products. - Business model/concept.

RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EXPLORATORY PROJECT role

5.4.4. CREATIVITY TOOLS This exploratory process is enriched by the application of creativity techniques. See Module 18 “Creativity Techniques”.

5.4.5. ELABORATION OF A BUSINESS PLAN After the application of creativity techniques, a business plan is prepared. This document outlining the key elements that will allow us to effectively manage our business or

264

enterprise. It gathers the main elements in the development of the future enterprise or business. It allows to validate its financial viability. It must be clear, simple and concrete. Annex 1-includes a guide on the aspects to be included in the business plan.

5.4.6. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION The information in this section is extended in Module 18 Point 4 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Management of the innovation projectâ&#x20AC;?. At this stage the project is launched. - It is important to appoint a responsible / manager for the project. - As far as possible, the responsible will be in charge of creating a team. - In the early stages, the new business project will have some special requirements that must be taken into consideration Role of RESPONSIBLE FOR BUSINESS UNIT

5.4.7. EVALUATION The process also includes an evaluation system with a number of indicators. Indicators should be established in order to measure results as they are being achieved. It is very likely that, in the process of putting these new business projects into practice, corrective actions have to be implemented to correct deviations. Exercise 5

Application of the innovation methodology to the diversity management Based on the results of the activity at module 16, section 3 or on a signal on diversity related with your company (module 18, section 3), explain the steps that you would take for the application of the innovation methodology. Remember this methodology is not only for the development of new products or services but can be also applied in the improvement of the internal management

5.5. ROLES OF THE STAFF INVOLVED IN THE INNOVATION PROCESS. HOW CAN THE PARTIES INVOLVED BE ORGANISED?

265

The staff involved in the innovation process can play some of the following roles or be members in some these groups: Innovation Committee, Coordinator of the committee, In charge of the signal panel/s, Responsible for signal amplification, Responsible for the exploratory Project, responsible for the Incipient Business Unit (IBU). Lets delve into each individual role and their functions:

5.5.1. COORDINATOR OF THE COMMITTEE Designate by: General Manager Functions:

To Produce the Innovation Committee’s annual manager plan

To call and monitoring the committee’s meetings. .

Report to the Committee Manager the activity developed

Inside the Innovation Committee: the beginning or the situation of the incipient business units (IBU).

Monitoring the exploration activities and the IBU.

Give a response to the Manager Plan aims achieved.

Provide the responsible of the exploratory projects or IBU, with the necessary resources for its correct development.

5.5.2. INNOVATION COMMITTEE Designate by: General Manager, pick up interesting topics, motivations and technical capacities. Functions:

To Dynamize innovation in the company. Expand the innovation culture.

Active reception of signals.

Amplification of signals contrasting internal and external information.

To decide, in team, what exploratory projects are going to start up.

5.5.3. RESPONSIBLE/S OF THE SIGNAL PANEL/S Designate by: Innovation Committee. Florida Centre de Formació. Functions:

Pick up / organization/ sieve and gather signals (by different ways, face to face, online, …)

266

Presentation of the gather signals to the Innovation Committee ( First contrast).

Dynamizate the signal contribution.

5.5.4. RESPONSIBLE OF AMPLIFICATION OF SIGNALS Designate by: Innovation Committee. Florida Centre de Formaci贸. Functions:

Identification of sources (internal, external, potential clients, competitors,...) of signal amplification..

Internal and external contrast of signals.

Guarantee that if in an internal level there is somebody who can contribute about the signals that are going to be amplificated, contrast this signal with this person.

To inform to the Committee about the amplification results.

5.5.6. RESPONSIBLE OF THE EXPLORATORY PROJECT Designate by: Innovation committee. Florida Centre de Formaci贸. Funtions:

Definition/ Design the business model (5 pages max.)

Need that it covers or satisfies.

Differential characteristics.

Client typology or client profile.

Investment necessary.

Start up Plan.

To present/ to inform about the exploratory project to those people that can give value information for its development.

TOOLS: Model of exploratory project.

5.5.7. RESPONSIBLE OF INCIPIENT BUSINESS UNIT (IBU) Designate by: Innovation Committee Functions

Elaborate the business plan

To start up the incipient business.

Preparation, together the Innovation Committee, of the report

about the

consolidation/viability of the business, for the Manager Committee.

To create a team for the development of the IBU. 267

Tools: Model of Business plan.

Exercise 6

Think about your organisation and draw up a draft with those involved in the process of innovation. Remember that it is important for these people to have a proactive attitude towards innovation and diversity management. They may need some previous information, for them to identify the necessary skills for the different process functions.

COORDINATOR OF THE COMMITTEE

INNOVATION COMMITTEE

RESPONSIBLE/S OF THE SIGNAL PANEL/S

RESPONSIBLE OF AMPLIFICATION OF SIGNALS

RESPONSIBLE OF THE EXPLORATORY PROJECT

RESPONSIBLE OF INCIPIENT BUSINESS UNIT (IBU)

5.6. INDICATORS OF INNOVATION62 “Measuring Innovation 2009. The need for action” is a document by The Boston Consulting Group that provides a picture of the indicators of innovation that should be taken into account. “The innovation-to-cash (ITC) process (all of the efforts required to take an idea and turn it into cash) comprises many activities. Not all of them can or should be tracked—the cost-benefit trade off does not warrant it. But there are specific elements of each company’s innovation efforts that do need to be measured. These will vary depending on the company’s specific innovation objectives and strategies. Not surprisingly, many companies struggle to identify what to target.” Thinking about the ITC process through the lens of inputs, processes, and outputs - and asking some targeted questions—can steer companies in the right direction. For example, 62

Andrew, J., Knut, H., Michael, D., Sirkin, H., Taylor, A. (2009). Measuring Innovation 2009. The need for action. The Boston Consulting Group.

268

questions relating to inputs might include the following:

What financial resources are committed to the effort?

What nonfinancial resources (including time and people) are committed?

Regarding processes, companies might ask:

Are our processes too slow?

Are they functioning as designed?

And questions regarding outputs might include:

Are the new products, services, and improvements being generated through our innovation efforts actually helping the business?

Are they helping to the degree we expected?

The analysis carried out by BCG shows the measurement system used by one of their clients, a technology based organization, that gives an idea of what such a suite of metrics might look like. Of course, this system was designed on the basis of this particular companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business strategy and objectives, typical project types, and innovation performance. It would not be suited to all companies, but it works quite well for this one: Inputs

Number of new ideas

Business-unit investments by type of innovation

R&D as a percentage of sales

Full-time technical staff and how (and where) it is used

Processes

Idea to decision time

Decision to launch time

Projects by type and launch date

Sum of projected net present values

Outputs

Patents granted

Launches by business segment

Percentage of sales and profit from new products

Innovation ROI

269

Exercises 7 Carry out a survey of those companies in your sector that are developing an innovation process. Are there any companies implementing innovation processes related to diversity management? What competitive advantage can your company obtain by providing a diverse clientele with products? As we saw, each company has its own indicators. Define the indicators that your company will consider in evaluating the effectiveness of the innovation process. .Indicators are needed in this process to measure things: -

Input indicators (people who participated…)

Process indicators (ideas processed, time…)

Output indicators (projects implemented…)

5.7. GOOD PRACTICES IN INNOVATION AND DIVERSITY IN COMPANIES. The paper “DIVERSITY AND INNOVATION. A BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL” of the European Commission through 'For Diversity Against Discrimination’ and ‘Focus Consultancy’ offers six cases of companies that managed to innovate through diversity. The following case study has been drawn from the paper:

Hewlett Packard – Spain

The development of new products and services

The innovation For Hewlett Packard, diversity and inclusion encompasses all the differences that make people unique and different. It is seen as a key to the company success. A critical benefit of this diversity for HP is that it encourages creativity, innovation and better problem solving capabilities. The development of its new Latex Printing Technology is a good example of the way in which HP leverages diversity to develop new products. The product of itself is a revolutionary, environmentally friendly, large format printing technology.

Link with diversity

The new technology was developed by 120 engineers working together in four different countries. For example, ink and supplies developed in the US, printer and systems integration

270

in Spain, and operations integration in Singapore. All the teams were tremendously diverse and HP believes this was critical to its success.

Critical success factors Diverse people means new ideas and managers in HP understand that being open to different ideas means at time taking risks. As Scott Norum, one of the project’s leaders mention “It means taking risk - the risk of making mistakes and the risk of trying out ideas that might initially sound off track - but this is how breakthrough innovation occurs." HP’s customer diversity was also a critical success component. HP invited customers to provide their feedback and expectations. They relied on a diverse pool of customers who represented different countries, businesses and profiles.

Challenges There were many different challenges when collaborating across geographies. These can be logistical from working in different time zones and working weeks, or simply communication ones from not sharing the same work space environment.

Impact of the innovation The new ink technology was successfully pre-launched at the Drupa event in June 2008 – the biggest printing equipment exhibition in the world. HP was awarded for the innovation both a green (Planet-Friendly) and a blue (innovation) award by FESPA

6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Andrew, J., Knut, H., Michael, D., Sirkin, H., Taylor, A. (2009). Measuring Innovation 2009. The need for action. The Boston Consulting Group. (EN)

7. ANNEX 7.1. BUSINESS PLAN MODEL SPECIFICATIONS OF PRODUCT / SERVICE

271

1. Project definition 2. Project goals 2.1. Grounds 2.2. Improvement sought with product / service • Basic features • Value-added features 3. Product / service prospects 3.1. Background to current products / services • Draw historic map of product / service: evolution, introduction of novelties, technological changes / means, and acceptance. • Complete the information with previous and current product / service catalogues, photos, ... • Prepare a panel with real products / services 3.2.

Positioning of the new product / service in respect of the rest of the service

range or family in the organisation 3.3.

Similar products / services of the competition

• Prepare a table with the positioning of the competition’s products / services, current product ranges, complementary products, price levels, markets, and sales. • Collect data on the competition’s business strategies in respect of similar products / services. 3.4. Rules that the product / service must comply with • Prepare an excerpt with regional and national regulations, safety measures and legislation in force or underway that must be complied with or which may significantly affect the product / service. 3.5. Legal aspects • Compile existing regulations on similar products / services 4. Market 4.1. Target market 4.2. Product / service user USER NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS FROM THE PRODUCT / SERVICE (Interviews with potential users, identify expectations) 4.3. Distribution channels • Draw the map of the current distribution of the product / service supply and demand, with volumes per geographic areas and modalities. 4.4. Communication

272

• Prepare the communication plan for the product / service, catalogues, leaflets, rates, advertising... • Product / service image to transmit. 4.5. Price level • Draw a positioning map of prices / quality / contracting at regional level. 5. Specifications 5.1. Functions that the product / service must fulfil • Prepare a functional definition of the product / service, differentiating between the main function and secondary ones (entertainment, education...) 5.2. Expected shelf life 5.3. Maintenance 6. Organisation processes 6.1. Materials and facilities needed • Draw a map with the materials / facilities to be used taking into account how critical they are, their quality, price and availability • Safety systems in premises and facilities. 6.2. Necessary organisational structure

6.3. ‘Human’ resources available 6.4. 'Human’ means accessible SUBCONTRACTING 6.5. Training ‘human' means 6.6. Critical processes and/or phases of the product / service 6.7. Launching the product / service 6.8. Evaluation of the service / customer satisfaction • Establishing indicators. • Measuring satisfaction. 7. Costs 7.1. Cost objectives • Collect costs of launching the product / service. • Cost distribution: materials, facilities, transport, direct and indirect labour, etc. 7.2. Number of product / service replications per year 7.3. Return of the investment for materials, staff training

273

7.4. Investment in facilities, training and materials â&#x20AC;˘ Which and how much 8. Opportunities and constraints (more information on the company as regards the product / service) 8.1. Initially favourable aspects in the company in respect of the product / service 8.2. Initially unfavourable aspects in the company in respect of the product / service 8.3. Company strategy in respect of the product / service 8.4. Other

Remarks

274

APPROACH GREEN TRAINING MODULE 17 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MODEL OF INNOVATION AND DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT IN THE COMPANY Module 17: implementation of the model of innovation and diversity management in the company

INDEX

1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. 2. LEARNING AIMS 3. TARGET GROUP 4. TRAINING TOPICS 5. PRACTICE SPACE 6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY.

1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. The organisation knows its level of innovation management; knows how to apply methodologies and get the results to innovate and generate new business opportunities from DM.

2. LEARNING AIMS Identification of the company's level of innovation by means of evaluation tools To apply methodologies in order to foster innovation To manage innovation projects

275

3. TARGET GROUP Management board, HR responsible and other departments’ responsible people. Intermediate managers, staff in general that are involve in innovation & diversity process.

4. TRAINING TOPICS 1. Tool for evaluating the company's innovation level 2. Signals 3. Signal panels and DM 4. Management of the innovation project 4.1.

Planning the project.

4.2.

Project implementation

4.3.

Completion and review

5. PRACTICE SPACE 5.1. TOOL FOR EVALUATING THE COMPANY'S INNOVATION LEVEL From: Innovation Questionnaire. Source: Ramis Pujol, Juan; Anetcom and IMPIVA. Guia páctica de la innovación para PYMES. Valencia.

The following questionnaire can be used by companies for them to determine their innovation skills. The objective is not to have an in-depth analysis of such skills, as this could only be achieved by means of adequate auditing and diagnosis. The questionnaire consists of 40 questions included into 9 different blocks: 1. Innovation from the conceptual point of view 2. Innovation from the strategic point of view 3. Organisational conditions for generating innovation 4. Innovation and organisational structure 5. Innovation and processes 6. Technological innovation and product / service 7. Management of innovation project 8. Management of knowledge and learning 9. Dynamic management of innovation The questionnaire will allow the company to quickly determine two important aspects: 276

1. To know if innovation skills are globally present in a clear way or if they are absent. 2. To have a picture of the aspects to boost in order to improve such skills. Such aspects can be analysed in blocks; or by considering the individual aspects in each subject. To answer the questionnaire, readers must choose the answer A, B, C or D that better represents reality in the company. All questionnaires, however, have some ambiguity. In which case, it must be noted that most of the items in the questionnaire can be consulted in this manual. Similarly, each company can have differential aspects, this meaning that some items might not be applicable to a particular case.

1. CONCEPTUAL INNOVATION 1. Does the company know the basic requirements needed to define an activity as innovative? A There is not an innovative effort or know the elements that identify it. B The company carries out innovation activities in an intuitive way. Innovation and exploration activities are not clearly differentiated. C Innovation activities are clearly distinct and project teams are established to manage them. D The company knows that the basis of innovation is in the added value created for the client. Innovative activity is clearly systematized

2. Are the key elements of innovation known from a conceptual point of view? A No one speaks of innovation or innovation is a frequently unknown topic B The concept is known only from an intuitive point of view

C They know that innovation is an important and differentiated effort with respect to daily activities. D The company understands that innovation involves questioning the systems, implies a break of paradigms and is usually accompanied by profound changes

3. Does the company have a broader view of innovation? A No one speaks of innovation or it is a very unknown topic

277

B Innovation is associated with the technology (R & D)

C Various types of innovation beyond R & D are known D We know the different types of possible innovation and the potential benefits of each of them.

4. Does the company understand what a global management of innovation means? A There is no explicit management effort from the company B Innovation management is rudimentary and generally associated with the development of new products / services. C Various types of innovation are managed independently but without understand the interrelationships between them. D There is a global model of innovation. It is known that one type of innovation will generate more value if accompanied by other types of innovation. The organization evolves following a comprehensive innovation strategy.

2. STRATEGIC INNOVATION 5. Is there a strategic debate on innovation in the enterprise? A

There is no strategic thinking at all

There is strategic thinking without following clear guidelines regarding innovation.

The

company's

strategic

thinking

includes

some

monitoring

innovation trends in the market D

Strategic thinking is based on a systematic process of tracking of the technology trends. The evolution of other competitors and the market are also essential.

6. Is the innovative effort a calculated and deliberate effort within business strategy? A

The managers focus solely on ordinary activities of the undertaking.

278

Business strategy does not include clearly an innovation policy although it reference to it.

Business strategy often results in the creation of innovation projects

The business strategy provides a coherent framework that includes the implementation of projects of short-term innovation and development of skills over time.

7. Is the company aware of the innovative effort needed in your industrial sector? A

No one speaks of innovation or it is a very unknown topic

The company knows intuitively the degree of relative importance of innovation in your industrial sector

The company follows the development of innovative efforts in its sector and tries to adapt to market developments.

The company follows the market's evolution and try to anticipate the future evolution future basing on its competences development plan and through systematic contact and experimentation with its clients

8. Does the company know how to combine the efforts of exploitation and innovation (exploration) over the time? A

The company focuses only on the company's usual activities of exploitations

The company develops some innovative projects without reflecting on the interrelationships with the ordinary activities of exploitation.

The company is aware of the difficulty in generating innovation and promotes the formation of project groups for each innovative effort.

Innovation project management is systematic. Project management is systematic innovation. The company also focuses on the final stages of the innovation project to ensure that the organization integrates the proposed innovations in its usual running.

3. ORGANIZATIONAL CONDITIONS

279

9. Does the company responsible look for possible innovative initiatives emerging that may end up becoming innovation projects? A

There is neither an effort nor awareness of the possibility of using emerging innovations.

Emerging innovations are exploited simply by chance.

The importance of emerging innovation distributed throughout the organization is recognized. The company tries to capitalize and recognize these efforts.

The different members of the organization are encouraged to develop innovative initiatives. There is a systematic monitoring of those initiatives. Project groups are created for those who show good potential

10. Does the company avoid getting into "superficial" innovation dynamics? A

There is no an structured innovation effort.

Innovation initiatives are followed with no or strategic thinking or ensuring an added value. Members of the organization feel intuitively that it is not worth spending time on these initiatives

The company is aware of the need to analyze each innovation project in order to avoid wasting resources on useless projects.

The Company globally manages the flow of innovation initiatives. Each project is valued in line with the strategy and the add value that provides. Projects are monitored to ensure their proper development. The members feel that their time is well spent.

11. Does the company seek a balance between market demands and its own initiatives for innovation? A

The connection between innovation and market signals are not taken into account

The demands of the market are taken into account but the innovation teams give priority to their own initiatives.

280

Managers require innovation teams to take market demands into account but there us not a clear monitoring.

The market demands are taken into account from the start of projects. During

the

project

development

there

are

ongoing

verification

processes.

12. Does the company generate internal information in order to feed its innovative policy? A

There are no indicators or systematic information is generated about the activities of the company

There are departmental indicators that pass on not always clear information and are not taken into account.

There are indicators for each process that can be used to make decisions on innovation projects.

There is a framework of process indicators and innovative activities. Correlations have been established among them.

13. Does the company have a leader able to promote and generate innovation?

There is no clearly defined leadership in the enterprise

There is a clear leader who lacks the competences to build up an innovative culture and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t devote time or resources to innovation.

The leader promotes innovation in the enterprise. Resources are devoted to innovation, although there is no clear frame of reference.

The company has a charismatic leader, visionary and consistent over time. He/She provides a framework for innovation and point clear goals that guide the rest of the organization.

14. Do they members of the company have the time and incentives to get involved in innovation activities? A

Innovation is not a priority for the company

281

Innovation is considered as something positive but there are not time or incentives to develop it.

The company allows its personnel to spend time on innovation activities. Neither the resources nor the incentives are often enough.

The company recognizes the time spent on innovation activities. Members of the organization voluntarily get involved in innovation activities and are recognized for it.

15. Do the processes of selection, training, compensation and promoting take into account the necessary competences for the development of innovation? A

These processes are not clearly defined.

The company focuses these processes to other different priorities.

The company recognizes the importance of innovation and the responsible of these processes take this into account.

These processes have been designed with the aim of promoting both innovation activities as ordinary exploitation activities.

16. Can it be considered that the company has an innovative culture? A

The culture of the company is not innovative. It has not a background on innovation

The leaders are determined to create an innovative culture but they give contradictory examples to the rest of the organization.

Innovation projects have existed in the past. The organization recognizes some past successes without a support innovation.

There is a clear innovation stream which gives way to innovative behaviours in the members

the organisation. The organisation informally

acknowledges those who get involved and obtain results in innovative activities.

4. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE 282

17. Does the company have an organizational structure ready for innovation? A

The company has a rigid structure focused on control.

Some parts of the company manage to develop some innovation projects but the rest of the organization creates significant barriers that make such activities difficult.

There are continuous innovation projects in the company with some occasional problems

The company has a flat structure that allows the generation of innovation. The R & D department is strong and flexible project groups with big room for action are organized. Information flows freely.

18. Does the company innovate in organizational terms when the innovation projects require it? A

The company is primarily focused on itself.

B The company establishes generic relationships with other organizations without considering explicitly the topic of innovation. C The company tries to innovate together with those agents that are part of the productive process (customers, suppliers, etc.). D There is a systematic process of strategic alliances to promote innovation with multiple actors (associations, government, customers, etc.).

19. Does the company look for synergies with other organizations in order to promote innovation? A

Innovation is not a priority for the company.

Some innovation projects that are developed usually fail because the organization is unable to adapt to the needs of this type of project.

The company partially adapts to the demands of innovation projects so that they end up creating value. 283

The company follows organizational change processes when any innovation project requires it.

20.

Does

the

company

promote

the

development

teamwork

competences? A

There are no teamwork competences. Teamwork is not fostered.

The company promotes teamwork but there are no processes, or the methods, or tools, or incentives that can support this kind of work.

The company has promoted teamwork in the past and there are informal methodologies. The company faces difficulties in large-scale projects involving different departments.

There is a background on teamwork supported by processes, methods and tools. The teams work smoothly and there are mechanisms to solve situations of conflict between departments.

5. INNOVATION AND PROCESS 21. Does the company innovate in its core processes (management of the supply chain / service providing process)? A

The company has not defined its processes and changes are made in fundamental processes only when serious problems are detected.

The company knows its core processes and concentrates its efforts especially in the ordinary activities of exploitation providing incremental improvements regularly

The company has reliable indicators for its key processes and promotes innovation projects when the results are far away from the established goals

The company uses innovation in their core business processes as a competitive tool. It works closely with its customers and suppliers to innovate along all the key processes

22. In the case of processesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; innovation, is the proper functioning of the new processes ensured?

284

The processes’ innovation is not a priority for the company No one knows exactly what it is.

Some process innovation projects with limited scope are developed. The proposed new ways of work often do not get to be established.

The company recognizes the importance of processes’ innovation. The company devotes resources to innovation projects but sometimes some energy is waste when it reaches the implementation stage.

The company is aware of innovation producing benefits only through a successful implementation. Sufficient resources are devoted in the final stages of the project to support the running of the new process, responsibilities and established and monitoring indicators are set.

23. Does the company consider innovative solutions for the customer relationship processes? A

The company has not identified those processes and the relationships with clients are managed without predetermined patterns

The company has identified the importance of these processes and has purchased a CRM program that seems to not work and has generated great confusion in the company.

The customer relationships processes have been identified and improvements have been made in some of them.

The company consistently seeks consistency between client processes and the generation and supply provision processes

24. Does the company integrate the customer’s view when designing new processes? A

Customer’s voice is not listened

The company just hired a new free customer service number without knowing exactly how to organize it.

The company has integrated the customer's view since some time ago but it is not always taken into account in the process design

285

The company has a clear process of capturing customer’s views and uses it for both the design and the running of their processes.

6.TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTION AND SERVICE INNOVATION 25. Does the company monitor the technologies related to their core competencies? A

The company doesn’t make any kind of monitoring

Some people in the company make some kind of unorganized monitoring.

The company has a formalized process of technological monitoring

The company knows and foster the monitoring of key technologies. There is a plan of development of technological competences for the medium and long term

26. Is the company interested on finding out how different technological advances can benefit its innovative trend? A

Innovation is not a priority for the company. All the organization’s energy is focused on the ordinary activities.

Some technological developments have been incorporated into the company without any prior analysis of its implications

The company appreciates technological innovation and tries to adapt it to the different innovation initiatives.

Each innovation project considers and systematically applies the most appropriate technologies

27. Is project management used on product innovation? por proyecto? A

The company doesn’t innovate or just incorporates the demanding improvements

the

market

and

customers

their

products

occasionally

286

Product innovation happens but out of a project management framework. It is an informal innovation.

Project management is used to get the most of the knowledge of the different departments and solve problems in the development process as soon as possible.

There is a systematic process of project management with indicators for continuous improvement in every project of innovation. There is a department or an internal project "school" that supports the different projects.

28. In the case of innovation in product / service, do the project groups know the most appropriate tools and methods? A

In the company they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work in project groups

The groups responsible for a new product use different methods and tools that are informally chosen by some of its members.

The company has identified some methods and tools for the development of new products that are not always used in the different projects.

The members of the organization know the methods and tools recommended

the

company.

The

company

supports

them

methodically during the innovation projects.

7. MANAGEMENT INNOVATION 29. Does the company manage globally the company's portfolio of innovation projects? A

The company is not organized by innovation projects.

There is some kind of informal organization by project with no working framework

The company has a track of the different innovation projects. Monitoring is not regular or systematic.

The company knows the different projects currently running. We seek a strategic balance of the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s portfolio.

287

30. Is there a steering committee of the project portfolio? A

Innovation is not a priority for the company. Ordinary activities concentrate all the organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy

Some innovation informal projects are simply introduced into the organization without a formal control.

The company makes an informal monitoring of the innovation projects. Control points are variable but the final result must be approved.

There is a steering committee that sets the monitoring rules for the innovation projects. This committee approves the projects to be funded, follow their evolution and see the final results.

31. Are the project groups properly formed and are they controlled in some stages of the project? A

The company doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t innovate or simply generates some kind of improvement without any formal organization.

Some project groups are settle without any specific pattern. Control systems are not formally defined.

The project organization defines some checkpoints of the projects. The project groups have to be approved but not always achieve a suitable composition.

The composition of the project team is deeply studied in order to assure the best results. Each project has perfectly defined control stages.

32. Is the organization capable of managing innovation projects for different types of innovation? A

They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work working in project groups.

There are no formal guidelines for the organization of different projects.

The company knows the formal guidelines of product innovation project organization

projects.

Other

innovation

projects

informal

guidelines.

288

The organization recognizes the importance of different types of innovation, and has produced different organization guidelines.

8. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT LEARNING 33. Is there in the company a clear idea of how to generate knowledge and learning? A

These issues do not generate interest in the company. The daily management issues take all the attention.

They have heard about these topics and it is believed that software could help generating knowledge.

The company knows that the generation of knowledge is difficult. It focuses most of the resources in databases and sharing information

The company knows the basis of the knowledge generation. The project groups are promoted pilot probes to generate learning. There is a culture of experimentation

34.

Does the company develop the necessary competences and

conditions for knowledge management and learning? A

Learning is not a priority for the company. It focuses on everyday activities.

Promoted competencies do not work.

The competences promoted by the organization offer limited results. The resources invested in databases do not provide a clear benefit.

The members of the organization have the time to experiment. There are informal relations with other organizations where similar problems arise.

35. Does the company provide a suitable environment for the generation of knowledge? A

The company is not interested in knowledge generation. It focuses on everyday activities..

Everydayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emergencies doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make reflection easy.

The organization promotes the generation of knowledge but the environment of urgency and stress are a major barrier 289

Members have time to experiment. The environment is relatively relaxed. It is allowed to make mistakes.

36. Are creativity and innovative concept generation promoted in the company? A B

It is not a priority. They talk about creativity not being sure about what it is or what conditions are necessary to promote it.

The company promotes creativity and the generation of new concepts but they are often disconnected from a systematic effort to innovate

The organization lets members operate freely at the early stages of innovation projects. There are environmental monitoring processes to incorporate new concepts. The creativity and the generation of concepts are an important part of the projects

9. INNOVATION DINAMICS 37. Do the company anticipate the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s necessary organizational effort for the different innovative initiatives? A

The Company doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think of these aspects.

There are informal innovative efforts in which some members may anticipate some aspects

The company has guidelines for the management of innovation, but doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t foresee the effort required

The company knows the differences between different types of projects and tries to manage the projects accordingly

38. Does the company take into account the degree of social acceptance of those innovations that imply deep changes in ways of working? A

Innovation is not a priority for the company.

290

Some informal innovation projects are simply introduced in the organization without any analysis of the consequences.

The company focuses mainly on technical aspects of the projects. The

social

aspects

appear

significant

barriers

during

the

implementation and are solved gradually D

They attempt to foresee the degree of social acceptance as much as possible. The degree of social acceptance may determine an innovative solution

preferred

then

others.

Changes

during

implementation are accepted to adapt it to social expectations

39. Does the company know in which stages of the different innovation projects a bigger provision of time and resources is needed? A

The company does not innovate or simply generates some kind of improvement without any formal organization

Some project groups arise without any specific guideline.

The project management defines some guidelines that are clearer in the case of product innovation..

The company has extensive experience in managing different types of innovation and know when it will require a greater effort in terms of time and resources

40. Does the company ensure the performance of the proposed innovations after finishing the projects? A

There is no a clear framework for innovation, there is no monitoring and no one knows what the results might be

There are no formal guidelines for the organization of different projects. The potential result is expressed in a qualitative way.

The company defines some indicators of the project performance but there are difficulties in measuring the overall benefits

The organization has very clear guidelines for measuring project performance and project impacts. It also establishes routines and indicators for the organizational performance after innovation.

291

Interpretation of results Once the questions that are not applicable to your company have been excluded, count the number of answers in each position, A, B, C or D. If you have a majority of A and B answers, the company is at a very early stage in the development of innovation skills. If necessary, the development of such skills should be accompanied by a deep transformation in the company. Such an effort represents an organisational change that may last many years before the company is considered to be innovative. A majority of C answers shows a company that is aware of the importance of innovation but has difficulties in addressing it effectively. The progress made is relevant but there is still a long way to go. Achieving excellence in innovation means investing a great deal of resources. Once in this situation, the existence of a leader with a clear vision will be fundamental to ensuring the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s positive evolution. A majority of D answers points to a company in a very advanced phase. In this case, the only recommendation is to regularly implement incremental improvement to prevent innovation processes from deteriorating. If answers are highly variable, a first diagnosis is difficult. However, the company is still very likely to need deep changes to reach greater consistency in its innovation management policies. In this case, the positive aspect could be the identification of the most advanced areas, to use them as an example for the rest of the organisation. It is important to remember that the interpretation of the findings is merely tentative. The interpretation is like a hypothesis, one that needs to be verified by a true audit and a deep diagnosis consisting of more than that the initial analysis suggested by the questionnaire. Exercise 1 Fill in the previous questionnaire with your company in mind. Based on its results, analyse the level of innovation management in your company. What are its strengths? And the main drawbacks?

5.2. SIGNALS A â&#x20AC;&#x153;signâ&#x20AC;? is all the information, regardless of its origin and format, susceptible of being analysed in depth and that can be considered an indication of a potential business opportunity.

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WHERE ARE THE SIGNS?: Family, friends, colleagues, readings, clientele, workshops, companies organisations, competition, suppliers, any means that can give your ideas for innovation SIGN PANELS Are fields of exploration defined by the company with a view to examining in them (catching signs). The whole organisation must collect them and can be provided physically or virtually (dedicated tools). Panels must be visible at the organisation. The person who is responsible of this task is the PANEL COORDINATOR. Amplifying signs This process seeks to go deep into the information (both qualitative and quantitative) for data to be more reliable. Information search (sources): • Sales force • Technical staff • Distribution channels • Suppliers • Advertising agencies • Personnel hired by competitors • Professional associations • Industrial associations • Market research companies • R&D centres • Universities • Articles • Newspapers and magazines • Governmental documents • Management speeches • Analyst reports • Patent records • …… Role: SIGN AMPLIFICATION COORDINATOR

5.3. SIGNAL PANELS AND DM

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Exercise 2 Design a panel showing your company’s diversity 1. What is the most adequate way of collecting signals in your company? A virtual panel or a physical one? Think about it and prepare a proposal defining the panel format and the type of data to be collected. 2. Have a look at the previous panel. Analyse if it is suitable for your company or if it requires to be modified for application. The diversity features included in the panel make reference to the aspects underlined by the European Commission, but you can include other aspects of visible or invisible diversity that you may find convenient for the company. If you need ideas, you can go back to Module 1.

5.4. MANAGEMENT OF THE INNOVATION PROJECT63 This point is an extension of the section “Project Implementation” of the development of the methodology for managing innovation used by Florida Centre de Formació (www.floridauni.es), see Module 17 Section 4. It can be especially interesting for those companies looking to develop a project based on innovation management methodology. “Project implementation” can be divided into the following phases: 1. Planning the project 63

Basado en la Albio, R.; Ferràs, X. y Palmer, J. (2002) Guia de la Gestió de la Innovació. Part II: La gestió de projectes”. Barcelona. CIDEM- Generalitat de Catalunya.

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2. Project implementation 3. Completion and review

5.4.1.

PLANNING THE PROJECT

Innovation projects must be planned like any other project undertaken by the company. If the company has a procedure in place for planning projects, the same steps used in other projects could be followed. If the company does not have any system, we suggest the next steps: 1. Breaking the project down into tasks of work packages. For the project to be controlled more operationally, it must be broken down into subprojects. In turn, these subprojects must be divided into tasks or work packages. 2. Allocating each work package with a person responsible. Each work package will have a coordinator. Depending on the work load, working teams â&#x20AC;&#x201C; preferably multidisciplinary- will be set up. 3. Estimating duration, resources and costs. A schedule is prepared with the tasks or work packages. The necessary dedication of each person, department or team is estimated. It is better to allow for time before hand, given the uncertainty of this type of projects. Similarly, the necessary resources and the costs of each activity will be estimated, either globally or individually in different budget items. The more detailed the estimations, the better the control over the process. 4. Control plan for work packages and deliverables. For each package or deliverable, precise quality standards will be defined. If possible, a check list will be used to verify compliance. If possible, a person responsible for verification will be appointed and the necessary registers created. 5. Network planning. Once the tasks and their estimated duration have been defined, they must be given a timeline, to known when they are to start. Any dependence between them must be identified, i.e. what tasks must be finished for other tasks to start. It is useful to do this in the team, together with those responsible for each task. After defining the order and sequence of the tasks, a Gantt chart can be drawn or a computer programme can be used (e.g. MS Project) to facilitate the circulation and follow up of the plan. 6. Risk management. It is interesting to systematically review all the events that might have a negative impact on the project, to try to avoid them or mitigate their consequences. To that end, a five-phase approach will be applied: 295

a) Identify risks: write a list of potential events. b) Evaluate their impact and likelihood: classify events according to the impact they may have on the project and their estimated likelihood. c) Possible actions: for high risks and likelihood, analyse possible actions that may improve the project's success possibilities. -

Changes aimed at eliminating or reducing occurrence.

Contingency plans, to reduce the impact.

d) Control and follow up: implement the actions devised. e) Documentation: For learning purposes or for a use in subsequent projects. 7. Resource balance. It is essential to assign the project with resources. For this reason, it is basic for managers to ensure the allocation of resources to the project. Such resources are mainly human. Assigning a person with several tasks or not foreseeing any dedication to the project may give rise to conflicts, project delays and even project failure. 8. Determination of a critical chain. The â&#x20AC;&#x153;critical chainâ&#x20AC;? consists of those main tasks that determine the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total duration. Project managers shall concentrate on the management of these tasks. Keeping this chain controlled is essential to controlling the project. Incorporating time contingencies will allow us to protect the critical chain from the incidence of the rest of tasks. 9. Activity and cost plan. After the planning, we are prepared to identify when a task must be started and finished. Together with the definition of the resources and costs related to the task, this information allows us to prepare a plan for activities, use of resources and costs. 10. Communication and documentation. The results of the different phases are no use if they are not recorded and reported to those involved in the project. It is essential for these people to have participated in the planning but they must also be informed on the final outcome of the planning and the commitment they must reach. Communication must be therefore sustained during project implementation and project monitoring. Exercise 3 Based on the results of the activity in Module 17 Point 4, prepare the planning for a product or service related to diversity or diversity management internally or externally.

5.4.2. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION All projects may have deviations. It is important to ascertain whether such deviations are 296

important or not. Good follow up or monitoring will allow us to determine the importance of such differences and to make the right decisions. Steps to be taken to attain good control and success: 1. Use the project programme (Gantt) as the main element for project coordination. It is important to update it, for it to show the actual progress. In addition, we must identify, on a regular basis, any possible deviations so that we can anticipate needs. 2. Communication and information are key to controlling the project. This way, we will also involve the participants to a greater extent. 3. We must be flexible with changes in the implementation period and work plan, to be able to keep the project within the starting parameters. 4. Progress and changes must be recorded. This information must be circulated among all the people involved. 5. We must make the most of the progress made by some activities so that others can start earlier. If we take advantage of positive deviations, we will be able to make up for negative ones. It is important to hold regular follow-up meetings. These meetings must concentrate on the project, avoiding other issues. They must be short and focused. Write minutes of meeting including all the agreements reached. Circulating the minutes among all team members can be positive, communication-wise. While meetings allow us to monitor efficiency and deadlines, budgets and costs may require special follow-up methods like: control by activity, control over total project contingencies, or gain value method. Exercise 4 Based on the findings from the previous activity and the knowledge you have about your company, think about the aspects that require more attention during project implementation. Which are the weaknesses in implementation (planning, communication, changes in the implementation of the work plan, documentation, other)?

5.4.3. COMPLETION AND REVIEW Upon project completion, we must evaluate the development of the project, to be able to consider both good and bad experiences in future projects. We must consider three stages: 1. Project completion. Check compliance with requirements and planned deliverables in a process that requires to be administratively closed, and guarantee customer satisfaction (of internal or external client). This list may include: administrative settlement, termination of supplier agreements,

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subsequent follow-up plan, data collection on team members and clients, holding a project review meeting with directors, acknowledgment of contributions by all team members, etc. 2. Post mortem analysis. The post-mortem analysis is conducted upon project completion. It is intended to review all aspects throughout the project and to draw conclusions that can help us improve our planning and implementation of future projects. It consists of a meeting with the whole team in which all project aspects are reviewed (chronologically, by task or by department), trying to promote criticism. 3. Knowledge management. The knowledge used and generated during a project can be of three types: explicit, implicit and tacit. By means of suitable techniques, knowledge management aims to code and convert each person's knowledge into explicit knowledge for the benefit of the whole organisation, thus enhancing the collective problem-solving ability.

Exercise 5 If your company manages projects, think about the completion phase and review what you usually do. Based on the information in the previous point, is there any room for improvement? On the contrary, if your company does not manage projects, and based on the previous information, define the main positive aspects your company would benefit from when adequately completing and reviewing projects.

6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Ramis, J. Guía práctica de la innovación para pymes. Valencia. Anetcom e Impiva. (ES) Albio, R.; Ferràs, X. y Palmer, J. (2002) Guia de la Gestió de la Innovació. Part II: La gestió de projectes”. CIDEM- Generalitat de Catalunya. Barcelona (ES)

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APPROACH GREEN TRAINING MODULE 18 CREATIVITY TECHNIQUES Module 18: Creativity techniques

INDEX 1. COMPETENCES ACQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. 2. LEARNING AIMS 3. TARGET GROUP 4. TRAINING TOPICS 5. PRACTICE SPACE 6. RECOMMENDED WEBGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY.

1.COMPETENCES ADQUIRED WITH THE COMPLETION OF THIS MODULE. The organization management and employees are aware of and take a positive stand for creativity, know different creativity techniques and how to apply them to the company business and to DM.

2. LEARNING AIMS To learn creativity techniques. To apply creativity techniques. To create an adequate atmosphere for the development of group actions aimed at increasing creativity.

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3. TARGET GROUP Management board, HR responsible managers and other departments’ responsible people. Intermediate managers, members of staff in general that are involved in innovation & diversity processes.

4.CONTENTS What is creativity Methods for generating creative ideas. Team features required for promoting the company's creativity.

5. PRACTICE ESPACE 5.1. WHAT IS CREATIVITY? 5.1.1. THEORETICAL INPUT Definition of creativity: 64 There are numerous ways of defining creativity based on the emphasis placed and the sense we may look for. A relatively brief, integrative definition is: Ability to make combinations, establish relationships or restructure known elements with a view to reaching original and relevant results, ideas or products. This ability can be found in people, groups, organisations, and also in a whole culture. To a great extent, creativity is a way of using whatever is available, making an infinite use of necessarily finite resources. Two well-known, frequently quoted definitions are those proposed by Paul Torrance and Donald MacKinnon. For the first author, the creative process is a sign of a type of sensitivity to problems, shortages, knowledge gaps, overlooked elements or a lack of harmony. It is a way of collecting valid information, defining difficulties, identifying neglected areas, finding solutions, formulating hypotheses, examining and re-examining them, changing and checking them, perfecting them and finally reporting on their results. Strong motivations can be found in 64

López Pérez, R. (2001) Dictionary of Creativity. Concepts and Common Expressions, DICCIONARIO DE LA CREATIVIDAD Conceptos y Expresiones Habituales de los Estudios Sobre Creatividad. Santiago.

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this process. MacKinnon thinks that for creativity to occur three conditions must be met: 1. Original response or idea, or at least one which is statistically infrequent. 2. Original thinking or performance but in line with reality, a problem or a well-defined aim. 3. Delving into an original idea or project, and developing it to achieve a final outcome.

Exercise 1

¿How many squares are there?

Activity explanation: Grooves of thinking. Faced with this type of problem, our brain usually gives a first simple answer -16- but after a few minutes we find a higher number of squares. Our brain tends to create ‘grooves of thinking’. We must come out of the grooves to encourage creativity. Exercise 2: reflection Think for a few minutes on the situation showed in the picture:

From: http://jonwchin.com/2009/03/30/what-is-creativity/

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Exercise 3: reflection “When you are depressed, your thoughts are totally different from those you have when you are happy. When you feel rich and successful, your thoughts are totally different from those you have when you feel poor and unsuccessful. Similarly, if you feel creative your ideas are totally different from those you have when you do not feel creative."65 Do I have a positive attitude towards creativity?

5.1.2. DEMYSTIFYING CREATIVITY. 66 Trying to encourage creative thinking in our environment, a number of myths may be encountered. They are unreal.

Creativity can be developed, it can be learned. -"To be creative, you must have special skills naturally" Creativity is not a natural gift. Although natural conditions (by birth) favour (or hinder) a higher (or lower) degree of development, all individuals can boost (or atrophy) their creativeness based on training and environmental conditions. To start with, what we call ‘intelligence’ or ‘creativity’ should be queried, and the same applies to the procedures to measure them. “The more intelligent, the more creative”. According to studies conducted in this respect -though not coincident-, to some extent67 creativity and intelligence grow together (with positive though low correlation) and then they become independent. To sum up, creativity does not directly depend on intelligence. Creativity requires some intelligence (and ability in a given area) but they are two differentiated concepts. A creative product must be adapted to reality (“valuable innovation”). -“To be creative, you have to be a bit loony”. Creativity is not synonymous with insanity. It is a deliberate and systematic process. Although we refer to ‘escaping reality’ at some point in the creative process, you must keep your ‘feet on the ground’ at other moments. A creative idea must be satisfactory, socially accepted, backed 65

Michalko, M. (1991); Thinkertoys A hand book for business creativity for the 90s. Berkeley: Ed. Ten Speed Press. 66

Materials by Guzmán López, author of “Serendipity. ¿Por qué algunos tienen éxito y otros no?”. Ed. Alienta, 2009. 67

120 I.Q. according to Getzels and Jackson (for divergent thinking), and 130 according to Guilford.

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by reality, and must pass the scope filter (Systems model: Person, Field, Scope)… Being creative does not mean you can do “anything”68 (even if it is useless, inadequate) provided it is different. Being “loony” is not an end; it is a means to a creative idea (“...a valuable creative idea is perfectly logical -even obvious- when considered later".) -“Creativity is for rebels”. Creativity is not exclusively related to rebelliousness, even though it is true that to be creative, you must “go off track” a little bit. You also need to have command of the field and adapt to reality. -“Creativity resides in the right hemisphere”. Creativity is not exclusive to the right hemisphere of the brain (it also requires concepts and perceptions from the left hemisphere). When a person works creatively, both hemispheres operate simultaneously. Using creativity requires intentional work -"To come up with a creative idea, you must be inspired". Creativity is more than inspiration or intuition. Creativity can lead to valuable contributions but it must be boosted by means of “intentional and systematic” work (5) (creating is not “wait and see if I come up with something”). Inspiration must be found (When inspiration comes, I must be working (6)). -“To be creative, you just need to be uninhibited and to get rid of your castrating education”. Disinhibition (or liberation) is important but not enough. It must be supported by deliberate creative work, to allow us to surpass our ‘normal’ or usual creativity level. -“Having a creative idea is a matter of luck.” Creativity is not merely sustained by a random search. It is not frivolously achieved. It is not just a matter of coming up with ideas in the hope that one of them might be brilliant. Creativity has many sides. -“To create, you need to do group work”. Ideally, individual and group work should be combined, as both processes have advantages and values which are perfectly compatible (provided the group runs smoothly at task level but also socially and emotionally). -“Creativity is for geniuses”. It is a capacity in all of people, more or less developed, which we can all use. We need both ‘big leap’ creativity (to establish new paradigms) and ‘small leap’ creativity (to produce new products without sudden concept changes). 68

Sidney Parnes (1975).

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We can tell when a person is bright (expresses aspects that are unheard of or interesting), personally creative (contributes creative products known to them only), and simply creative (produces changes in a specific field). We can also differentiate personal creativity or p-creativity (when its influence is constrained to everyday life and a person’s immediate context) and historic creativity or h-creativity (when it leads to changes in our culture). -“Creativity is for artists and advertising people”. Creativity can be developed in all fields. It has multiple applications. It has more to do with our attitude and our lifestyle (it is a decision), and with the mutual influence between the person and the context.

5.1.3. CREATIVITY QUOTES Sometimes we see things from the wrong viewpoint as far as creative ideas are concerned. Next are some quotations by people who have had a very restricted vision, with hindsight their comments can be used as powerful examples of what can happen if you don't allow creative thoughts to flourish. 69 "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." --Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943 "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." --Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977 • "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." --Western Union internal memo, 1876 "We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." --Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962. "640K ought to be enough for anybody." -- Bill Gates, 1981 There is a second category from people who have had a much more creative, open view of life: "If at first, the idea is not absurd, there is no hope for it." -- Albert Einstein "In the long history of humankind (and animalkind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed." -- Charles Darwin. "The 'silly' question is the first intimation of some totally new development." -- Alfred North Whitehead. 69

http://www.mycoted.com/Creativity_Quotes

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"Problems cannot be solved by thinking within the framework in which the problems were created." -- Albert Einstein. "Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream." -- Malcolm Muggeridge. "Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different." -- Albert Szent Gyorgi. "Think before you speak is criticism's motto; speak before you think, creation's." -- E M Forster. Exercise 4: reflection Think of outrageous ideas for the products or services offered by your company. You can use some of the creativity methods in Point 2. It is best to do this exercise individually first and then in teams. Do you think the opinions about these ideas are really far from the opinions in the first group of quotations?

5.2. CREATIVITY TECHNIQUES. 5.2.1. TYPOLOGY Into the creativity techniques we can find sub-categories which will identify Techniques for70: problem definition, idea generation, idea selection, idea implementation and processes.

5.2.2. EXAMPLES OF CREATIVITY TECHNIQUES 5.2.2.1 PROBLEM DEFINITION including problem analysis, redefinition, and all aspects associated with defining the problem clearly. Backwards Forwards Planning71 Backwards forwards planning is a process to help ensure you start your exploration of ideas 70

MYCOTED. Creativity Techniques. Backwards Forwards http://www.mycoted.com/Category:Creativity_Techniques [25 January 2011].

MYCOTED. Creativity Techniques. Backwards Forwards http://www.mycoted.com/Backwards_Forwards_Planning [25 January 2011].

Planning

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from the most appropriate place. The process is appropriate to open ended problems; where there is no right or correct answer. The intention is to help you gain perspective and to develop a gut feeling of the avenue to start your exploration. For example, if you come out of your house and your car does not start the logical answer is deductive analysis. Check the fuel, electrics, mechanical to find where there is something that was working and is now not working. However, that process will not get you to the meeting on time. You may need to call a taxi or borrow a car or put your running shoes on! If you are in a creative process defining the problem is going to put you in a box. You want to define wishes and outcomes and then figure out how to achieve them. The process has three stages. 1.

Write down the short version of the problem, preferably starting with "How to…"

If you were to solve the problem in statement 1, what higher level problem would it also

solve? Write this down. Continue asking what higher level problem it solves and writing them down. Try to obtain at least 3 statements. 3.

Going back to statement 1, ask what other benefits would flow from it, if it were a solution.

Make sure these are different from those in stage 2. You can then look at the various definitions and decide which is the most appropriate statement of the problem. As an example, you are at home, your car is at the garage for repairs and you feel you really need to go and do the food shopping. Your first statement might be: -

“How to get into the shops”

If you were to work down the list of additional problems this would solve, you might write down -

“I could get all the food and drink for the week”

Followed by -

“I could relax and not worry any more about where the food was”

Which may lead you to -

“ I could finish that painting I want to hang in the living room”

Working the other way, what benefits would you also have if you could get to the shops may lead to; -

"I could have a look at some clothes whilst I was there”

“I could enjoy some retail therapy” and

“I could call in on my friend for a chat since they live near the shop”

Place the words "how to or I wish" in front of each of these plusses and they become new potential places to start problem solving from It may be that your original statement is the problem to be solved, or it may be that "How to find time to complete the picture I'm painting" is more important to you. Using this process with literally hundreds of people I have found that about 80% of the time they choose a new task 306

headline

CATWOE 72

‘CATWOE’ is a mnemonic for a checklist for problem or goal definition (Checkland and Scholes, Soft Systems Methodology in Action, 1990). CATWOE is applied to the system which contains the problem, issue or solution, rather than to the problem or goal itself – i.e. to: ‘A system to ...’ ‘A system for ...’; or ‘A system that ...’. Such a definition should include: C The ‘customers of the system’. In this context, ‘customers’ means those who are on the receiving end of whatever it is that the system does. Is it clear from your definition who will gain or lose? A The ‘actors’, meaning those who would actually carry out the activities envisaged in the notional system being defined. T The ‘transformation process’. What does the system do to the inputs to convert them into the outputs. W The ‘world view’ that lies behind the root definition. Putting the system into its wider context can highlight the consequences of the overall system. For example, the system may be in place to assist in making the world environmentally safer, and the consequences of system failure could be significant pollution. O The ‘owner(s)’ – i.e. those who have sufficient formal power over the system to stop it existing if they so wished (though they won’t usually want to do this). E The ‘environmental constraints’. These include things such as ethical limits, regulations, financial constraints, resource limitations, limits set by terms of reference, and so on. Just working through CATWOE, adding each element as you go, can lead to an unwieldy definition. It may be better to look at which are the important elements of CATWOE for any given system and use the relevant sub-set.

5.2.2.2. IDEAS GENERATION - THE DIVERGENT PROCESS OF COMING UP WITH IDEAS. Forced relationships a) Concept: It consists in relating our problem or main subject with the characteristics derived from randomly selected concepts or elements, finding new ideas that can help us develop original 72

MYCOTED. Creativity Techniques. CATWOE Available at: http://www.mycoted.com/CATWOE [25 Jan 2011].

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solutions.

b) Methodology: The first step of this technique is to choose a word representative of our problem. After this, we must draw a table with three columns. The title of the left column is: “Stimulus concepts and elements” and the contents are the stimulus words chosen at random. The middle column is “Characteristics”. It lists the qualities of the concepts on the left column. Finally, the right column includes the new ideas obtained by relating the previous characteristics with our problem or main subject.

Stimulus

concepts

and elements

Characteristics

New ideas

These are the steps to follow: 1- Complete the stimulus column with things chosen at random. You may choose as many words as you wish. 2- List the qualities or characteristics of each stimulus. Your descriptions must not only include words but also representative sentences. 3- Complete the ideas column by means of associations, taking each characteristic individually and relating them with the key word (the one representing our problem). 4- Lastly, we must choose the most interesting ideas and improve them, working on them.

For example, this is a table whose main subject is the “launch of a new shampoo".

Stimulus concepts and elements

Characteristics -Coffee granules

New ideas -Powder shampoo

Instant coffee -To water

mixed

with -It is prepared by mixing it with water

-Can be more diluted for -Can be stronger or children or a frequent milder depending on use 308

amount

c) Fundamental slogans and distinctive aspects: When choosing a stimulus word, we recommend you to select at least five, so as to have a considerable number of ideas. This technique is intended to break the perceptive pattern and to extend the creative horizon by finding concepts without an obvious connection.

d) Usefulness •

Creating new products or services.

•

Creating new lines of the same product.

•

Boosting originality (it allows us to find distinctive features or differentiated products.

5.2.2.3 IDEAS SELECTION - THE CONVERGENT PROCESS OF REDUCING ALL THE MANY IDEAS INTO REALISTIC SOLUTIONS NAF73 This is a simple way of scoring / assessing beginning ideas following brainstorming and potential solutions to a problem after they have been explored and developed. Give a score out of 10 for each of the three items, New, Appeal, Feasibility. It is not scientific. It is gut feel which, in the context of creativity is important. When we originally developed these NAF ratings it was to try and understand the probability of the person who had responsibility for implementing the idea of taking action. We called it clientship, which revolved around your "power to act". The amount of Novelty was not as important as how new the idea was to him/her. It did not even have to be novel. The key point was it something the problem owner had never thought of. Appeal is a gut level reaction more emotional than attractiveness which always seems to me to be more of a cerebral consideration. The reason for these NAF ratings was to identify the probability of implementation because if something is not very new, not very appealing, but very feasible the probability of implementation is very low. Where as if something is very new (to the problem owner), has a lot of appeal and low feasibility it is worth further exploration to see if more feasibility can be 73

Reference: Synectics Creative Problem Solving, skills, process and techniques, Practice of Creativity by George Prince. Founder Synectics Inc.

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invented. After developing a range of ideas through brainstorming, it is important for the problem owner to choose something that is very new, very appealing and not to worry about feasibility. Low feasibility means there is further opportunity for invention, build in feasibility by developing ideas to overcome the shortfalls.. We developed these ideas because we found that while suspending judgement worked to help generate ideas, the problem was in the "either or thinking" that people would use to select promising ideas for further exploration. We found most often they would slip into "that is a good idea and that is not". This mental attitude got in the way of idea development and removed the possibility of getting a seed of an idea and developing it to something more useful. When NAF ratings are used with a group, when what seems to be a satisfactory solution is reached, they can be used to quickly identify different participants' opinion about a specific outcome. For example, if somebody finds an answer very feasible and another does not, we will have identified a further issue that needs to be resolved. This is of particular importance if you need commitment to a solution in order to get real implementation. Newness: (to the problem holder) How new is the idea to you. It may not be new to the world, you may just not have thought of it. Appeal: How much do you like it at a gut level. This has to be high. If it is not, it means you do not really like the idea, for what ever reason. However, if it has 50/50 sort of appeal it is worth exploring because some of the things you do not like about may be possible to deal with or change and thereby increase your level of interest in the idea Feasibility: How feasibly is it to put this into practice? on a scale of 1-10 it has to be 80% plus in order to be worthwhile trying. If it is 80% it means that while the idea is not perfect you can see how to do it and the problems, the remaining 20% are to do with implementation. Things like getting others involved, agreement, funding, time, etc. If it is less than 50% feasible, but you like it and it has high newness, then it is worth being specific about what it is that bothers you about it and turn those into new wishes or problem definitions in order to build in more feasibility.

5.2.2.4. IDEA IMPLEMENTATION - TURNING THE REFINED IDEAS IN REALITY. Visualisation 74 74

"Fundaci贸n Neuronilla para la Creatividad http://www.neuronilla.com/content/view/98/70/ [07/01/2011].

Innovaci贸n"

[online]

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The basic feature of this method is the preponderance of non-verbal communication. It is based on the idea that speech structures the way we think in a logical way to ensure communication, and such a process slows things down and controls our conscious thinking. But if the non-verbal or visual dimension is given priority, we can be faster and more versatile. Another possible application is to anticipate the feelings that will be experienced in the future in a conference, a project presentation or a sports competition. In this way, we can reduce anxiety and improve performance, as we can better control the highly influential environmental variables. It is also useful in foreseeing future spaces, that is, in leading our imagination towards idea production. To make things easier when we try something for the first time, it is very important to visualise things, that is, to see the object in your mind and to keep that view in mind. It is also important to think with images and feelings. Let them flow; do not use your internal language..

5.2.2.5. PROCESSES Schemes and techniques which look at the overall process from start to finish (or at least 3 of the above 4 areas).

Productive Thinking Model75

The model is used in groups, businesses, non-profits as well as by individuals The process The Productive Thinking Model has six steps: Step 1: "What's Going On? Establishes a context for the problems or opportunities being addressed, exploring different ways of stating the so-called "itch", exploring what factors, circumstances, and entities are involved, and what a solution might look like. There are actually five sub-steps to this phase: "What's the Itch?", generating a long list of perceived problems or opportunities, often restating similar ones in several different ways, and then looking for patterns and clusters with the mass in order to select one key "problem" to address "What's the Impact?", digging deeper into the issue and identifying how it affects the world

Hurson, Tim (2007). Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking. New York, New York: McGrawHill.

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"What's the Information?", describing various aspects of the problem in detail "Who's Involved?", identifying other stakeholders in the issue "What's the Vision?", identifying what would be different if the issue were resolved, in the form of a "wish" statement (e.g., "If only my dog didn't run away when I let him outside.")

Step 2: "What's Success?" The second step establishes a vision for a future with the problem solved or the opportunity exploited. In this stage often active imagination is used to imagine, explore, and describe how things would be if the issue were resolved. This vision then informs a process of creating a clearly articulated view of the future, using a tool called "DRIVE", short for: Do - what do you want the solution to do? Restrictions - what must the solution NOT do? Investment - what resources can be invested? Values - what values must you live by? (e.g. environmentally friendly, etc.) Essential outcomes - what are the essential outcomes? Step 3: "What's the Question?" The third step frames the challenge by turning it into a question. This is accomplished through brainstorm-like techniques eliciting as many questions as possible, and then clustering, combining, and choosing the question or questions that seem most stimulating. Step 4: "Generate Answers" Through the use of brainstorming and other idea-generating techniques, the fourth step is designed to create a long list of possible solutions problem question. One of those solutions (or several, combined) is selected for further development. Step 5: "Forge the Solution" Uses a specific tool called "POWER" to develop the selected solution into something more robust. POWER is short for: Positives - what's good about the idea? Objections - what's bad about it? What else? - what does it remind you of? Enhancements - how can what's good about it be made better? Remedies - how can the things that are bad about it be corrected? Step 6: "Align Resources" The final step translates the selected, developed solution into an action plan that may include, 312

among other things: to do lists timelines and milestones lists of people who need to get involved lists of issues that need further work Further reading: http://www.mycoted.com/Category:Creativity_Techniques Exercise 5 Use the forced relationship technique for generating new ideas that can be applied to your products/services, adapting them to the needs of your diverse clients. Find new ideas to develop original solutions. To that end, link one of your products or services in your company to one or several of the following diversity aspects: gender, sexual orientation, health, disability, speech, ethical and cultural background, ideology and opinion, age.

5.2.3. TEAM FEATURES REQUIRED FOR PROMOTING THE COMPANY'S CREATIVITY76 To make the most of collective creativity, the following must be borne in mind: 1. Focus on an aim: all participants must have a clear idea of the aim pursued. What do we seek? 2. Group size: ideally, from 6 to 8 people. A team with more members could be detrimental, as it may add confusion. Fewer members in a team make it less effective. Fewer ideas and associations are produced. 3. Heterogeneity: the best creativity team is one consisting of people with different personal and professional features. 4. Hierarchy: ideally, there should be no hierarchy between the participants. Subordination may prevent ideas from being shared between members. 5. Working periods: creativity sessions have a set period of time and they are regular. Sessions should not last longer than three hours. 6. Integration of new members: the atmosphere in the group must be flexible so as to allow other people to join in, though ideally creativity teams must be maintained a relatively long time in order to optimise their operation. 7. Work atmosphere: the members of the team must trust each other, to ensure its stability and cohesion. 76

Future Trends Group (2006).C reativity tools. Zaragoza, Spain: Edited by: Future Trends Group

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All these variables have positive repercussions on the group’s performance. Their absence may hinder the effectiveness of the techniques.

López Pérez, R. (2001)

Dictionary of Creativity. Concepts and Common Expressions,

DICCIONARIO DE LA CREATIVIDAD Conceptos y Expresiones Habituales de los Estudios Sobre Creatividad. Santiago. (ES) Michalko, Michael (2006) Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques. California: Ten Speed Press. (EN, ES) Synectics Creative Problem Solving, skills, process and techniques, Practice Of Creativity by George Prince. Founder Synectics Inc. Hurson, Tim (2007). Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill. Future Trends Group (2006).C reativity tools. Zaragoza, Spain: Edited by: Future Trends Group

Websites

MYCOTED. Creativity Techniques. Backwards Forwards Planning

Available at:

http://www.mycoted.com/Category:Creativity_Techniques. http://www.mycoted.com/Creativity_Quotes Fundación neuronilla para la Creatividad e Innovación www.neuronilla.com (ES) Cre8ng People, Places and Possibilities www.cre8ng.com (EN) Selection of websites about innovation and creativity: www.creax.net (EN) Creating Minds: http://creatingminds.org/ (EN) Alden B. Dow Creativity Center http://www.northwood.edu/creativitycenter/ American Creativity Association http://www.amcreativityassoc.org/index1.htm Creativity- portal http://www.creativity-portal.com/ (EN) Explorando el Kilimanjaro (ES) http://explorandoelkilimanjaro.blogspot.com/ Innovation Network http://www.thinksmart.com/index.html (EN) Serendipity http://www.serendipityweb.es/ (ES)

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The European Association for Creativity and Innovation http://www.eaci.net/ (EN, DE, FR)

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