Diversity vs. conforMity
finDing a balance If conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth, why do businesses around the world over continue to put their success under lock and key? The 4th Webster Vienna Alumni Symposium tried to answer just that with its panel discussion Diversity vs. Conformity: Finding a Balance That’s Right for Business. Members of Vienna’s business community, along with Webster alumni, students and staff, tackled the topic’s effect within companies as well as the problems that can arise from having a diverse workforce and equally diverse clientele. University president Dr. Elizabeth Stroble and provost and senior vice president Dr. Julian Schuster highlighted Webster’s diversity. Dr. Eric Frey served as moderator and Dr. Benjamin Ola. Akande, Dean, George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology, Webster University; Prof. Thomas Hintze, Managing Director, UPC Austria; Mr. Felix Thun-Hohenstein, Managing Director, 3M Austria and Switzerland; Mr. Erno Karl, IBM Intellectual Property Licensing, Europe; Mag. Doris Tomanek, Head of HR Austria and CEE, Member of the Board, UniCredit Bank Austria; and Ms. Samantha Yarwood, Marketing Director, Switzerland & Austria, Starbucks Coffee Company made up the panel. Diverse working environments help spark innovation and creativity, but difficulties can arise. All agreed some conformity is needed for success, like common values, which Karl said could be the “glue” that holds a team together. “ We need to bring the positive view of diversity into our schools and grow it as a value,” Thun-Hohenstein added. “The question should not be how diverse your workforce is, but how much do they embrace diversity as a value.” Watch Diversity vs. Conformity and see pictures from the event at www.webster.edu/ notabene2012.
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