Diversity Journal - May/June 2002 by Diversity Journal

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Sharing Workforce Diversity Experiences $

Volume 4, Number 3 • May/June 2002

12.95 U.S.

McDonald’s Corporation Disabilities under the Arches

PricewaterhouseCoopers Observations on Generational Diversity

Ford Motor Company Bridging the Work-Family Gap

Georgia Power

Adding Speed and Focus to Diversity Initiatives

General Motors

A Dynamic Partnership The Coca-Cola Company and The American Institute for Managing Diversity Launch New Leadership Development Resource

From Cosmetics to Cars: Diversity Marketing

GE Capital

Networks: Nurturing Potential

Plus ideas from top thought leaders ... including Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., Six Sigma author Keki Bhote, and Dr. Ed Hubbard

WW W.F O R D .C O M

INGREDIENTS:

BETTER IDEA #29

D i ve r s i t y GLOBAL

The nice thing about our world is that there’s

room for everyone.

There’s something truly special about people who work tirelessly to make the world a kinder place. For this reason, we would like to offer both our thanks and appreciation to those who do so much to promote understanding. We’re proud to support you and your efforts to promote diversity. Marisela Reyes, Arvin Ramachandran, Marsialle Arbuckle, Lewis Thompson and Ellen Enloe are all actively involved in Diversity and Worklife initiatives. Making this a group that understands the importance of understanding.

www.ford.com

contents

Volume 4, Number 3 • May/June 2002

Raising The Bar

Corporate and Non-profit Perspectives

6 8 10 12 20 26

Bridging the Work-Family Gap Ford Motor Company found many ways to address the unique challenges of women in manufacturing.

The Changing Landscape

Ideas from Diversity’s Thought Leaders

PricewaterhouseCoopers takes an interesting look at managing the new mix of generations.

Igniting the Spark An embarrassing lawsuit created a sense of urgency for Georgia Power to gain a fuller understanding of diversity’s business implications.

Bringing the Knowledge Home

Effectively Managing Community Diversity

The Assault on IQ Differentiation

AGL Resources’ practices reflect the lessons of the Diversity Leadership Academy.

Helping communities address diversity is a matter of corporate self-interest, says Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr. When managers “think” and workers “do,” says Keki R. Bhote, the net effect is anemic profits, low productivity and a miserly return on human investment.

Measuring Results: Precision— How Much Is Required? A Diversity Metrics primer with Dr. Ed Hubbard.

Building Dynamic Leaders Coca-Cola’s Diversity Leadership Academy of Atlanta is the ultimate in community involvement, preparing area corporate and community leaders for success in the new global environment.

Building High-Performance Teams

Networks: Nurturing Potential

Global Perspectives 34

Collaboration is not a buzz-word at Deloitte Consulting, where dynamic teams create dynamic corporate solutions.

From Cosmetics to Cars No matter what you’re selling, the basic tenets of diversity marketing are the same. That is, if you’re going to do it right, says General Motors.

Europe: A History of Diversities Corporations and communities are a microclimate of global differences. Focusing on the local climate will show us how to work within the global community, states Spain’s European Institute for Managing Diversity.

An Evolving Curriculum

Some may think they’re passe, but GE Capital believes they’ve taken networks a step further.

The Value in Participation Cornell University’s work with the City of Ithaca Work Environment Task Force builds a case for inclusive, participatory change.

Legal Briefings 44

www.diversityjournal.com

Not Your Father’s Workplace: Diversity and “The Majority Male” Including white men in diversity is a tricky proposition.

Observations on Generational Diversity

Special Feature

Disabilities Under the Arches McDonald’s Corporation’s partnership with ODEP is but one milestone in their 20-year crusade to boost employment for the disabled.

Profiles in Diversity Journal

Diversity in Corporate Governance Examining the need for diversity in America’s boardrooms with Holland & Knight.

• May/June 2002

page 3

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; s possible when 70,000 people with diverse cultural, national, and family backgrounds, skills and life experiences work together toward one common vision?

Anything. Sharon Larkin, mother of two active boys and Divisional Vice President of Human Resources.

Abbott Laboratories. www.abbott.com

Diversity Journal Profiles in

Sharing Workforce Diversity Experiences

PUBLISHER / MANAGING EDITOR James R. Rector

pointofview From the editorial staff of Profiles in Diversity Journal

SENIOR EDITOR Katherine Sandlin EDITORIAL CONSULTANT Laurie Fumic PRINTING Master Printing OVERSEAS CORRESPONDENTS Dr. Myrtha Casanova, President European Institute for Managing Diversity, Barcelona Spain Graham Shaw, Director Centre for Business and Diversity London UK LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Commentaries or questions should be addressed to: Profiles in Diversity Journal P.O. Box 45605 Cleveland, Ohio 44145-0605 All correspondence should include author’s full name, address, e-mail and phone number. DISPLAY ADVERTISING 28263 Center Ridge Road Suite E-11 Cleveland, Ohio 44145 Tel: 440.892.0444 FAX: 440.892.0737 e-mail: profiles@diversityjournal.com SUBSCRIPTIONS U.S. $49.95 one year; $89.95 two years; in Canada, add $10 per year for postage. Other foreign orders add $15.00 per year. U.S. funds only. Subscriptions can be ordered on our web site: http://www.diversityjournal.com or call customer service at 800.573.2867 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.

Follow The Leader! As children, nearly all of us played "Follow the Leader." Single file, we followed our designated trailblazer through the treacherous obstacle course of the day—usually around parked cars, over fire hydrants, under lawn furniture. We relished the times we were chosen to lead, choosing our course carefully, and proud of the times we could inspire and delight our followers in their accomplishments. We all wanted to be known as a "good leader." While the obstacle course may have changed a bit, we all still have the opportunity to be a good leader every day. Our cover story, as well as many of the stories throughout this issue, testify to the power of corporate From the cover: (l-r) Juan D. Johnson, Coca-Cola Vice President and President of the Diversity Leadership Academy; Douglas N. Daft, Coca-Cola CEO; and Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr.

leadership in our communities. The Coca-Cola Company's 4-year sponsorship of the Atlanta Diversity Leadership Academy is a significant contribution to the cultural development of their community. By giving Atlanta's most capable leaders the tools necessary to effect major change within their organization, they have chosen the course that will truly inspire many.

• You'll also hear from organizations such as AGL Resources and Georgia Power, who had graduates in the inaugural class of DLA—who have applied the knowledge they gained, and have made an impact of their own. • You'll hear from McDonald's Corporation, whose 20-year participation in the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities has made meaningful changes in the lives of many across the nation. • You'll hear from Cornell University, where a participatory project with the City of Ithaca has not only altered perceptions of the inclusion change process, but has made a concrete change in the processes city employees use—as a team—to accomplish that change. And so many more ... this issue of Profiles in Diversity Journal celebrates the leaders among us, whose work with organizations and communities large and small make them an agent of change. May these stories inspire the good leader in all of us.

Profiles in Diversity Journal ® is published bi-monthly by Rector, Inc., Principal Office: P.O. Box 45605, Cleveland, Ohio 44145-0605. James Rector, Publisher, Rector, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and may or may not represent the views of the publisher. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Registered in U.S. Patent Office.

ISSN 1537-2102 www.diversityjournal.com

James R. Rector Publisher Profiles in Diversity Journal

•

May/June 2002

Katherine Sandlin Senior Editor page 5

Raising The Bar

Ford Motor Company

bridgingthe work-family gap W Ford finds transitional work arrangements and formal mentoring to be important steps in addressing the unique challenges of women in manufacturing. hen Deborah Coleman began her career at Ford Motor Company in 1987, relatively few women worked in the field of automotive manufacturing. By the time Coleman was promoted to manager of the Ohio Assembly in 1994, women were a growing presence in the plant envi ronment. “There still is work to be done,” said Coleman, who was recently named Group Managing Director and CEO of Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa. She is the first woman and the first African American to head a major multinational firm in the country. “However, this entire industry has grown significantly in its acceptance and utilization of women.” At Ford, we have taken many steps in the past several years to increase the number of women within this field. We know that women, as well as all underrepresented groups, bring unique, new perspectives to the ultra-competitive business of building cars and trucks. By creating a diverse environment, we bring in people who have fresh experiences, ideas, backgrounds, perspectives and life responsibilities. This helps us design and build a more diverse range of quality products that delight our diverse customers; our company is more successful and all our employees benefit.

Rosalind Cox Manager, Diversity and Worklife Planning Ford Motor Company One American Road Dearborn, MI 48126-2798 Tel: 313.248.7505 FAX: 313.390.0385

rcox4@ford.com page 6

Within manufacturing—the very heart of any automotive company—we face unique challenges. Plant schedules are more rigid. Night, weekend and holiday shifts are often the rule. Manufacturing is at the epicenter of new product launches, one of the most demanding events in our industry. And for many years, manufacturing had mostly been a career choice of men. But today, we are beginning to remove barriers and create a more diverse and flexible environment within our plants—not just for women, but for all employees. Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

Building Partnerships

Key to our diversity strategy is the company’s partnership with the Professional Women’s Network. The Professional Women’s Network is one of nine employee resource groups formed by employees with common interests, backgrounds or perspectives. Employee resource groups (ERGs) and the company work as partners to recruit and retain employees from diverse populations and to provide important market insight and assist the company with special projects.

One affiliate of the Professional Women’s Network is WIM (Women in Manufacturing). Although women started WIM, its charter is to address specific interests and concerns of all em ployees in manufacturing. WIM has been instrumental in the company’s efforts to promote worklife integration within manufacturing. In partnership with the company, WIM recently held a groundbreaking conference on worklife integration entitled, “Manufacturing: Finding a Better Balance.” The conference was co-chaired by Roman Krygier, Group Vice President, Manufacturing and Quality, and Anne Stevens, Vice President, North American Vehicle Operations. Both strongly endorsed flexible work arrangements— called Transitional Work Arrangements, or TWAs—as good business for both the company and its employees. Krygier admitted that the company—and manufacturing in particular—“hasn’t done very well in the past” to help employees balance the needs of work and family. He called the conference a “golden opport unity” to explore the concept of TWA arrangements and to demonstrate to employees that the program has support within the highest levels of Ford. www.diversityjournal.com

Bridging the Work-Family Gap Raising The Bar A number of manufacturing employees who take advantage of TWAs shared their stories with the audience. In each case, they discussed how satisfied they are—and how much more focused, productive and effective they have become on the job. These included: • Two women who share a job in plant vehicle scheduling so each has more time with her young children. • Two women who share a job in manufacturing engine ering at a truck plant, enabling one to spend more time with family and the other to pursue an advanced degree. • One man who transitioned to a part-time schedule to devote greater blocks of time to his aging parents. The message was clear: Transitional Work Arrangements are an asset not only to manufacturing employees, but also to the company as a whole.

Human Resources managers from throughout Ford. Participants are drawn from specific Ford organizations, as well as from our ERGs. This past year we worked hard to identify all the mentoring programs at Ford and create a network of key mentoring contacts. We established priorit ies and aligned our programs by developing a common definition and framework for mentoring. We also developed an internal employee website that includes an on-line application for prospective mentors and mentees. And we created consistent training for both mentors and mentees that can be adapted to suit the needs of each mentoring program.

Mentoring: Learning From Each Other Manufacturing employees also are encouraged to take advantage of the many mentoring programs that exist within Ford. Because employees who have mentors tend to be more satisfied with their jobs and the company, we consider mentoring programs an important part of our overall diversity, worklife and employee retention strategies. We recently have taken steps to strengthen and promote mentoring relationships wi thin all our organizations, including manufacturing. Central to these efforts is the Mentoring Roundtable, a network of mentoring and

We also explored new and alternative applications for mentoring . We believe mentoring should not be just top down, but multi-dimensional—lateral, bottom up, cross-functional and cross organizational. In our experience, effective mentoring is a shared learning, development and growth process, with the mentors learning as much or more than the mentees. We also are an active partner in MentorNet, an E-mentoring network for women in engineering and science. Through ema il-based mentoring relationships, this program pairs women who are studying engineering or science at participating colleges or universities with professional scientists and engineers working in business and industry.

For Our Families In 2001 we also celebrated the launch of a major initiative—our Family Service and Learning Centers. This monumental joint venture among Ford, the United Auto Workers and Visteon ultimately will create a network of family centers throughout the U.S. While some

Question-and-Answer period at the WIM conference, “Manufacturing: Finding a Better Balance.” The conference was co-chaired by Roman Krygier, Group Vice President, Manufacturing and Quality and Anne Stevens, Vice President, North American Vehicle Operations (seated at the left). Both strongly endorsed flexible work arrangements—called Transitional Work Arrangements, or TWAs— as good business for both the company and its employees. www.diversityjournal.com

Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

Deborah Coleman, Group Managing Director and CEO of Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa, is the first woman and the first African American to head a major multi-national firm in the country. “This entire industry has grown significantly in its acceptance and utilization of women.” centers will be new buildings near major Ford plants, others will consist largely of innovative programs held at existing community locations. Unprecedented in size and scope, this program will provide a range of services to more than 300,000 hourly and salaried employees, retirees and their families. It’s one of the most comprehensive unionmanagement partnerships ever negotiated to meet the needs of wo rking families. Three of the first centers to open are named for the union-company leadership that made the family centers a reality: UAW president Steve Yokich; Ford Chairman and CEO Bill Ford and Visteon CEO Pete Pestillo. Services generally fall into three categories: • Family and Education Services—including family and adult education programs, preteen and teen programs and health and wellness activities. • Early Childhood Education Services— including dedicated “best in class” childcare centers for infants through Kindergartners. In addition, local networks of high quality childcare providers will be established as needed to provide 24-hour emergency backup childcare, and to enhance the overall quality and accessibility of childcare in our communities. • Community Service Education and Outreach—supporting individual and family activities to encourage community volunteerism, identify volunteer opportunities and offer training to volunteers. We realize that no one program can change a culture. Building a more diverse employee base and attracting more women and underrepresented groups to the field of manufacturing will take time. We admit we aren’t there yet. Already, however, we’re seeing a change. At Ford, we’re pleased to say that more and more women are discovering just how fulfilling a career in manufacturing can be. PDJ page 7

Raising The Bar

McDonald’s Corporation

disabilities

under the arches “None of us is as good as all of us.”

Ray Kroc, Founder McDonald’s Corporation

ike most business strategies, McDonald’s diversity initiative is driven by a strong, yet simple statement. This statement is known throughout the organization as the People Promise—“We value you, your growth, and your contributions.” From this statement comes numerous strategies and programs that have garnered McDonald’s awards and recognition, including the hiring and retention of people with disabilities. McDonald’s recognizes the large market that comprises people with disabilities, their families and friends, and has worked hard to capture that market. When McDonald’s talks about a diverse and inclusive workplace, it strives to ensure that people with disabilities are part of the mix as both employees and customers.

History

Kevin Bradley Director of Diversity Initiatives McDonald’s Corporation Department 147 Kroc Drive Oakbrook, IL 60523 Tel: 630.623.5829 kevin.bradley@mcd.com

page 8

Including people with disabilities in the workplace and being involved in disability issues is nothing new to McDonald’s. McDonald’s worked with government, disability groups, and other corporations to ensure the 1990 passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Company has also been a member of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities for the past 20 years. The new Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) under the Department of Labor has recently absorbed that organization. Currently, Kevin Bradley, McDonald’s Director of Diversity Initiatives, serves as the Chairperson for the Employer Resource Group of ODEP. Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

McDonald’s has also reached out to the disabled community as potential employees through its “McJobs” program. McJobs was created to establish realworld jobs for individuals with disabilities by partnering with vocational/rehabilitation agencies, schools, and families. Because the hiring of people with disabilities has become a mainstream activity throughout the company, the program was eventually phased out except for in the D.C. region. People with disabilities have also been included in McDonald’s commercials, highlighting the fact that we realize people with disabilities are valued customers. To that end, McDonald’s was also the first in the QSR (Quick Service Resturant) industry to provide Braille menus for customers who are blind. Crew posters that offer tips on how to serve customers with vision, hearing, or speech impairments are also used at McDonald’s restaurants. In Japan, crew members are taught sign language to better communicate with hearing impaired customers. This effort has resulted in an increase in applicants who are hearing impaired applying at McDonald’s. For the past number of years, McDonald’s has been recognized by Careers and the disAbled as a good place to work for people with disabilities. This recognition is very important as the listing is created by surveying magazine readers and not by a submission by the companies on the list. Business Rationale Recognizing people with disabilities as valued www.diversityjournal.com

Disabilities Under the Arches Raising The Bar customers and including people with disabilities in the workplace makes perfect business sense to McDonald’s. People with disabilities are the single largest “minority” in the United States, numbering over 54 million and growing. When the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, many thought that new doors would be opened in the workplace for people with disabilities. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. While many people with disabilities surveyed indicated that they would rather work than stay at home and collect benefits, the employment rate for this population has remained woefully low. Industries that have historically high turnover are doing themselves a disservice if they do not explore the opportunity to hire people with disabilities who can perform the essential functions of the jobs that are available.

ODEP: resources for maximizing diversity McDonald's Corporation is an active participant in the disability arena. Not only were they a member of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, but they utilize many ODEP resources:

tunities to learn more about careers in scientific, engineering, and technology-related fields.

vehicle when one of our employees became a wheelchair user as a result of an accident. • At a recent company-wide diversity symposium, panelists were invited to speak on a number of diversity issues in the workplace. Karen Meyer, a disability consultant and news reporter who is hearing impaired, spoke on disability issues. • Equip for Equality, an Illinois-based advocacy organization, recognized McDonald’s as a corporate champion for people with disabilities at their annual awards dinner. • Disability employment education is provided for restaurant management personnel through regional training classes, printed material, and

video. McDonald’s internal Service Center knowledge base also includes disability employment resources and information including the federally funded Job Accommodations Network. • Our Internet web site is linked to the Office of Disability Employment Policy web site through their job link page.

Job Accommodations Network (JAN)—a tollfree information and referral service on job accommodations for people with disabilities, Business Leadership Network (BLN)—a national on the employment provisions of the program led by employers in concert with state Americans with Disabilities Act, and on Governor’s Committees and/or other community resources for technical assistance, funding, eduagencies that engages the leadership and partici- cation, and services related to the employment pation of companies throughout the United of people with disabilities. In addition, JAN States to hire qualified candidates with disabilianalyzes trends and statistical data related to ties. This program offers employers access to an the technical assistance it provides. JAN can be overlooked domestic pool of applicants with accessed by calling 1-800-ADA WORK. disabilities, pertinent disability employment information, a network of companies sharing Workforce Recruitment Program—aims to information on specific disability employment provide summer work experience, and in some issues, the opportunity to provide training and cases, full time employment for college stuwork experience for job seekers with disabilities, dents with disabilities. Each year, recruiters Despite its low employment rate, this group of recognition for best disability employment prac- interview 1,800 college students with disabiliAmericans still controls over $175 billion of tices, and access to a largely untapped market for ties from across the U.S. and develop a database disposable income. This is even a larger poputheir goods and services. See www.usbin.com. listing the qualifications of each student. For lation and market when one includes family information, see www.WRPJOBS.org. members, friends, teachers, and colleagues of Employer Assistance Referral Network (EARN) people with disabilities. According to a survey —this toll-free telephone and electronic Youth Leadership Forums—assist states in done in 1997 by the General Accounting Office, information referral service became available to developing youth leadership training for high implementing the access provisions of the the public in March 2000. It is designed to assist school students with disabilities. There are Americans with Disabilities Act increased revemployers in locating and recruiting qualified currently Youth Leadership Forums in 21 states, enues in the hotel and hospitality industry by workers with disabilities. EARN can also the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. 12 percent. Some advertisers spend hundreds provide technical assistance on general of thousands of dollars on the teen market, disability-related issues. The contact number for Other programs under ODEP include the which has only $67 billion in spending power. EARN is 1-866-EARN NOW or online at Cultural Diversity Initiative, Disabled Veterans This is less than half that of the disability www.earnworks.com. Employment Forums, Project EMPLOY, and market. People with disabilities have the same the Small Business and Self-Employment for desires and needs as the non-disabled. At High School/High Tech—offers opportunities People with Disabilities initiatives. Detailed McDonald’s, we view this population as a for students with disabilities to explore exciting information can be obtained by going online to strong, viable customer and employment base. careers in science, mathematics, and technology. www.dol.gov and clicking on the Office of Our drive-through windows create an added Site visits, mentoring, shadowing, and paid sum- Disability Employment Policy page. convenience to these customers, along with mer internships all provide students with opporother tools like our Braille and picture menus.

Highlights • The McJobs program still exists in Washington, D.C. and the majority of restaurants in that area utilize the program to bring on new employees. • Overall, 79 percent of McDonald’s U.S. stores employ a manager or crew member with a disability. (Based on a 1999 regional staffing survey of 5,000+ managers) • Numerous accommodations have been made at our Home Office, including arrangements for service animals, interpreters at meetings and other events, remodeled washrooms, and replacing a company car with an accessible www.diversityjournal.com

Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

A Simple Recipe How has all of this happened at McDonald’s? The recipe for success is fairly simple as long as a company is inclusive and expansive in its definition of diversity. Here are some tips:

continued page 33 page 9

Raising The Bar

PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP

observationson

generational diversity Managing Workplace Diversity to the Advantage of All

hilosophies of inclusion and commitment to employee diversity affect every element of the business process, from the hiring of top talent to working with suppliers, delivering new products and services and attracting customers. Recognizing this, Pricewaterhouse Coopers and many other companies have established mentorship programs, flextime, telecommuting, tours of duty, parental leave and other programs designed to accommodate the varying needs of a diverse workforce.

Rick Berry Tax Americas Leader PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP 1301 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10019 For information, contact: Toni L. Riccardi Chief Diversity Officer Tel: 312.298.6401 FAX: 312.298.8771

Winning the war for talent is a top priority for every CEO today, because a company can only perform to the highest potential of its workforce. As part of this effort, we are constantly looking for ways to gain a competitive advantage, both by recruiting the best and the brightest and by identifying ways to integrate them effectively into our current workforce. Toward this end, PricewaterhouseCoopers took a new approach this year to college campus recruiting, focusing on understanding the values of the youngest entry into the American workforce, known as Nexters, Millennials, Super-Xers or simply Generation Y.

Generation Y Before designing a recruiting campaign to target these college students, we performed numerous interviews and conducted extensive research. We also visited college campuses from Massachusetts to the Rockies, meeting with accounting students and faculty to discuss their goals, aspirations and impressions of the accounting profession. What we learned validated our intuitive belief that this generation, like those it follows, has its own unique characteristics that must be recognized as part of the recruitment and employment experience.

toni.l.riccardi@us.pwcglobal.com page 10

Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

Generation Y grew up during the technology revolution, so for them, technology rules. They also value their independence and are generally optimistic. In a corporate setting, what makes Gen Yers different from their predecessors is not solely that they like to take risks and break the rules, which they do, but that they also seek the stability and security offered by a large organization. They want all the benefits of a clearly defined career and corporate safety net, including training, tuition reimbursement, defined advancement paths and even CEO involvement in the recruiting and development process. At the same time, Yers want flexibility, excitement and a variety of challenging career opportunities within that same firm. This is a group that also places a high value on personal relationships and a strong emphasis on friends and family.

The Preceding Generations The Great Depression and World War II shaped Traditionalists’ values. According to organizational development guru Morris Massey, Traditionalists are a private, silent generation, believing in “paying their dues” and often feeling that their career identifies who they are. Traditionalists have great respect for authority, and some may even subscribe to the very “social order” theories that diversity initiatives try to stamp out. Baby Boomers are the children of World War II veterans and did not go through the economic trials and tribulations of their forbears. Boomers are competitive and thrive on possibilities and constant change. Boomers were the first “workaholics,” not because it was the right thing to do, but because it was necessary to advance up the ladder. Body language is important to Boomers, as is team effort. Boomers don’t appreciate rules for the sake of rules and will be generally inclusive of people on an equal basis if everyone performs to key standards. www.diversityjournal.com

Observations on Generational Diversity Raising The Bar In our current mix of generations, a near-retirement

Traditionalist may be reporting to a Boomer, who in turn reports to a Gen Yer. With their diverse values and points of view, it is inevitable that organizational managers and staffers won’t agree on how work should be done.

Generation Xers are economically conservative, harkening back to double-digit inflation and the stress their parents experienced during periods of unemployment. As a result, Xers don’t trust institutions. To an Xer, loyalty means two weeks’ notice. Xers have access to information and need continuous feedback. Many Xers work harder so that they can create more time to engage in outside personal activities, not to find the Corporate Holy Grail.

Managing Generational Diversity for Optimum Results Balancing these diverse groups to achieve a cohesive workforce is not easy. Using their diversity to gain a competitive advantage is even more challenging; yet the results can be rewarding. In our current mix of generations, a nearretirement Traditionalist may be reporting to a Boomer, who in turn reports to a Gen Yer. With their diverse values and points of view, it is inevitable that organizational managers and staffers won’t agree on how work should be done. Older generations may seem inflexible. Younger staffers may exhibit what seems to be a lack of respect. Research like ours helps those of us in leadership positions understand what motivates individuals to join an organization and then stay, and it provides insight into what motivates these individuals to add value to the organization. The PricewaterhouseCoopers research also confirmed what many organizational leaders know intuitively: the workplace can’t be driven by the expectations of any single generation. Instead, it must be driven by business realities. Managers can’t force fit a style or approach into a generationally diverse workforce. They can, however, support a culture where all employees focus on a shared goal, allowing their people independently to develop their own methods

www.diversityjournal.com

for achieving it. Teamwork leads to optimal execution only through the integration of everyone’s talents, and these talents are the result of each group’s diverse set of values and needs.

Generational Diversity Makes Business Sense Each generation has traits that can help a business succeed under varying circumstances. Traditionalists, for example, provide stability and a tried-and-true method of tackling business issues. They bring with them a wealth of experience and are both loyal and committed to the success of the organization. Gen Xers, on the other hand, provide an out-of-the-box way of thinking that allows a company to react nimbly in an uncertain or untested environment. The value of Gen Yers is that they may possess the best traits of both of these groups, providing innovation and excitement, while staying committed to the success of the organization because of the personal relationships they have developed. Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

Admittedly, the most recent manifestation of generational diversity in the workplace may in part be the result of a topsy-turvy economy, where former technology CEOs are now populating middle-management ranks at larger firms. But integrating, nurturing and getting the most out of every generation in a workplace should not be just a response to an economic downturn. In a forward-thinking business environment, it becomes the logical and natural outcome of the simple notion that all employees have something to offer. Respecting and promoting diversity is simply good business. Richard J. Berry, Jr. is PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Tax Americas Leader and is also a member of the Firm’s U.S. Management Committee and Global Tax and Legal Services Executive Committee. Mr. Berry joined the Firm in 1974 and was admitted to the partnership in 1983. He is a C.P.A. and holds a Doctorate of Business Administration from George Washington University, an M.B.A. from Rutgers University and a B.A. from Catholic University. PDJ page 11

Raising The Bar

Georgia Power

ignitingthespark The lawsuit was embarrassing for a company that had long prided itself on an unwavering commitment to citizenship and fairness. But it also created

a sense of urgency

t was the summer of 2000, and things were going exceptionally well at Georgia Power. A heat wave had air conditioners humming and electric meters spinning. The company’s 8,000-plus employees were doing an excellent job executing the fundamentals of our business, meeting the record demand for electricity and serving the needs of almost 2 million customers. In other words, we were doing everything possible to honor the company’s commitment to be “a citizen wherever we serve,” a philosophy put forth more than 70 years ago by Georgia Power’s first president, Preston Arkwright Sr.

to deal with issues that were of vital importance to Georgia Power’s long-term success—far beyond the effects of a lawsuit.

Amid all this success, seven African-American employees filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against Georgia Power and our parent, Atlanta-based Southern Company. They alleged discrimination in pay and promotion and a racially hostile work environment and sought class-action status. (A federal judge denied class-action status in October 2001, and a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals let stand the lower court’s ruling in March.)

Frank McClosky Vice President Diversity and Workplace Ethics Georgia Power Bin 10230 241 Ralph McGill Boulevard, NE Atlanta, GA 30308-3374 For information, contact: Jim Barber Account Executive, Diversity Communications Tel: 404.506.7488 FAX: 404.506.2955

wjbarber@southernco.com page 12

At the time, diversity was an emerging business issue for Georgia Power Southern Company, one of the nation’s largest generators of electricity with almost 1.8 million customers in the Southeast. Earlier in the year, we had linked our executives’ incentive pay plan to a diversity goal to increase the number of minorities and women in leadership positions. We also were committed to: • Strong staffing processes, in which 74 percent of our jobs were posted and diverse candidate pools were emphasized. We used selection committees to fill virtually all of the posted job positions, including structured interviews that were facilitated by Human Resources professionals and scored.

Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

• Minority recruiting. More than 40 percent of professional new hires were minorities, and we had expanded our recruiting efforts to include more historically black colleges. • Senior management oversight, including annual sessions with the CEOs of both Georgia Power and Southern Company to review our progress on diversity issues. In short, we were taking actions that recognized the importance of diversity and we understood the importance of having a diverse workforce to help us understand the needs of our evolving customer base. The lawsuit was embarrassing for a company that had long prided itself on an unwavering commitment to citizenship and fairness. But it also created a sense of urgency to deal with issues that were of vital importance to Georgia Power’s long-term success—far beyond the effects of a lawsuit. From the very beginning, our CEO, David Ratcliffe, made it clear that the lawsuit and our commitment to diversity were separate business issues. In response to the lawsuit, the company took the allegations very seriously. We investigated the allegations in the lawsuit and conducted a thorough review of our practices and behaviors across the entire company. And we allowed attorneys to handle the lawsuit. Meanwhile, the company embarked on a journey to gain a fuller understanding of diversity and the business implications. Our first step was to create a Diversity Advisory Council made up primarily of senior officers, with a few external members to provide oversight and advice. The council had three major goals: • To significantly increase our extensive effort to review and analyze diversity-related information. www.diversityjournal.com

Igniting The Spark Raising The Bar • To identify America’s best companies in the area of diversity and learn from them. • To develop recommendations and strategies to create a culture that fully understands and values diversity in all of our activities and practices. Georgia Power is totally committed to accomplishing that goal. Once the council was in place, we moved immediately to create several work teams made up of council members and a crosssection of 73 employees from across the company to address several key areas: job selection processes, training and development, compensation, work environment and best practices.

were not selected. • Create formal employee retention, recruitment and development programs. • Add a career-planning component to the performance management process already used throughout the company.

that many of our shortcomings could be attributed to a failure to live up to the company’s values—known as Southern Style. Our values were sound; in fact they are behavioral standards of excellence that would be a model for any company.

One of the key process changes resulting from the 33 diversity initiatives was the creation of a new workplace ethics department. Both our internal investigation in the wake of the lawsuit and the findings of the diversity work teams had indicated a lack of trust in the company’s traditional corporate concerns and Equal Employment Opportunities functions.

The problem was that we didn’t always walk the Southern Style talk. The missing element was accountability for our walk, day-in and day-out.

The new workplace ethics process, based on Over the next 60 days, these five work teams innovative approaches developed at other evaluated a ton of data, conducted focus companies, created a new method for investigroups with employees and visited other gating employee concerns as well as new companies to learn about their diversity best avenues of appeal, including employee review practices. The five teams came back to the councils and a companywide review officer. Diversity Advisory Council with more than 90 recommendations to help improve the quality of the work environment for all employees. Because We’ve had to come to terms with the realization that many of our journey toward diversity may never reach an ultimate the recomdestination. In all honesty, that’s a difficult concept to mendations accept for our culture of technical and engineering were excellence. “We do the rocket science stuff duplicates very well. We struggle when it comes to or very talking about and dealing with real feelings.” similar in David Ratcliffe nature, they CEO, Georgia Power were consolidated Another initiative led to a comprehensive into 33 initiatives that were quickly approved salary review of Georgia Power’s non-union by the Georgia Power management council. employees. The three-month review found that while differences do exist between The 33 initiatives fell into two broad employees in the same job, the overall comcategories focused on processes and pensation structure was sound and competibehaviors, with a heavy emphasis on tive. Differences most often were the result of leadership accountability, supervisory and individual performance, the amount of time management training, and communication an employee had been on the job and with and awareness. Almost two-thirds of the the company, and effects of the external marinitiatives called for changes in processes and ket. As a result of the review, salary adjustpolicies. Among others, the process initiatives ments were made for 250 of the company’s were designed to: nearly 4,700 regular full-time employees. In • Develop a mentoring program for all new addition, the company improved communicaemployees and new supervisors. tion and education to help employees better • Change selection processes to increase the understand its compensation philosophy. selection committee’s diversity and eliminate nepotism, de-emphasize the “perforThe remaining third of the 33 initiatives mance” aspect of an interview by providing focused on the other broad category of behavinterview topics in advance, and provide ior. As we reviewed the findings, we realized candid, honest feedback to candidates who

Immediately, our CEO put forth an aggressive set of leadership and behavior expectations for the company’s officers, with an emphasis on leadership, teamwork and ethical behavior. We also tied a significant portion of officers’ pay to our success in meeting these expectations. As part of the measurement, we implemented leadership surveys. Two surveys were conducted in 2001, giving all employees opportunities to evaluate their respective organizational leaders. The first survey, at the beginning of the year, was used to determine baseline results and develop action plans for behavioral improvements. The second survey, at the end of the year, was used to evaluate each officer’s progress in improving their behaviors. Another initiative was diversity training for all 8,000-plus employees. Our initial training, called “Valuing Differences,” was a two-day class designed by J.O. Rodgers and Associates, one of the nation’s premier diversity consulting firms. The training focused on the importance of understanding different perspectives and frames of reference, examining how stereotypes are formed and exploring opportunities for changing these patterns. Scheduled for completion in August 2002, the initial round of training has earned rave reviews from the Georgia Power workforce. Early on in our diversity initiative, our Management Council opted to create a new organization, Diversity and Workplace Ethics. I was named vice president of the organization. My mission was twofold: To find out where the company’s diversity problems were and implement solutions. One of our most meaningful orders of business was to develop a definition of diversity and a business case for it. After lengthy consideration, we came up with not so much a definition of diversity but rather a

continued page 33 www.diversityjournal.com

Profiles in Diversity Journal

•

May/June 2002

page 13

Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr.

community diversity effectivelymanaging

Helping communities address diversity is a matter of corporate self-interest.

I have argued in various presentations and writings that corporate leaders have four options for addressing “diversity:” (1) Managing Workforce Representation (assuring that the workforce has the appropriate demographic profile) (2) Understanding Workforce Differences (assuring harmony and sensitivity to differences among workforce participants) (3) Managing Workforce Diversity (assuring that workforce participants individually and collectively have the capability to make quality decisions in the midst of differences, similarities and tensions); and (4) Managing Strategic Diversity (assuring that organizational participants can address all diversity mixtures—workforce and others—strategic to the achievement of corporate goals). I also have contended that, historically, managers have tried only the first two of these approaches.

Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., DBA CEO, R. Thomas Consulting & Training 4153B Flat Shoals Parkway, Suite 200 Decatur, GA 30034 Tel: 404.212.5015 FAX: 404.212.5503

info@rthomasconsulting.com page14

When managers gain clarity about the four approaches, they often ask, “How can we use all four options when our communities are stuck on the first two?” They perceive society as being confused conceptually about diversity and equating it erroneously with affirmative action/equal opportunity efforts. I recently encountered an example of this kind of response. After a presentation, one senior corporate official came up to me and said, “The four approaches make a lot of sense, but I will never be able to use them as long as my community’s leaders require that I focus only on affirmative action and representation. That’s my reality.” Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

In response to this challenge, as they become convinced of the overall potential of Diversity Management with respect to workforce pluralism and other mixtures, executives are moving to educate community leaders. Their hope is to foster an external community climate that will enable them to move forward with the four approaches. Recently, while arranging executive briefings for their senior management, leaders of two companies also set up sessions for community leaders. These managers had a two-part objective. One, they wished to convey that they were not backing away from affirmative action and representation; but rather, supplementing these efforts with other approaches to assure sustainable progress with “the numbers.” They wanted room to move beyond being “stuck” with the traditional approaches. Additionally, by setting up the educational sessions, the sponsoring executives also were offering options that community leaders might find helpful in addressing society’s diversity issues. They sought to stimulate new thinking about challenges that are becoming increasingly complex. Immigration debates over the years have highlighted a set of issues characterized by growing complexity. Among the key questions have been the following: (1) Who should be allowed (encouraged) to immigrate? (2) How much assimilation should the United States require of immigrants, and (3) To what extent, if any, should the United States change its traditions and values as it www.diversityjournal.com

Effectively Managing Community Diversity adapts to the continuing flow of immigration? The “culture war” provides another example of complex issues challenging community leaders. For some, the culture war began in the sixties with the Civil Rights Movement, when many of the country’s traditions and practices came under intense scrutiny. Patrick J. Buchanan in his Death of the West asserts that the United States has lost the culture war. Buchanan sees the United States as divided by the culture war and uncontrolled immigration of people who retain allegiance to their homelands. These forces have generated a challenge of many values and practices that have been held dear. As a consequence, according to Buchanan, millions of Americans now feel alienated as the culture they grew up with disappears into a sea of political correctness. My point here is that the immigration debates and the culture war reflect diversity mixtures and issues that will prove increasingly challenging and complex for communities. Part

of their complexity stems from the fact that they do not focus on traditional black-white concerns, and that views do not line up neatly along racial lines. I recently observed a brief discussion about how much assimilation the United States should require of immigrants, and

Community leaders increasingly will face complex diversity challenges that will include the traditional and the non-traditional. To the extent they lack perception and fail to be effective in addressing these matters, these leaders will create an environment that will not be supportive of corporate diversity efforts. blacks, whites and recent immigrants could be found on both sides of the question. In other words, community leaders increasingly will face complex diversity challenges that will include the traditional and the non-traditional.

To the extent they lack perception and fail to be effective in addressing these matters, these leaders will create an environment that will not be supportive of corporate diversity efforts. More than ever, helping communities address diversity will be a matter of self-interest for corporations. So, in a very real sense, Diversity Management is likely to remain critical for society and its organizations. While it is true that, in the case of the Civil Rights and Women’s Movements, society prodded corporations, when it comes to Diversity Management business executives will likely have to provide self-interest leadership for their communities. The best-selling author of Building a House for Diversity, Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr. is America’s leading spokesperson on managing diversity, and founder and Senior Research Fellow for the American Institute for Managing Diversity, Inc. PDJ ©2001-2002 R. Thomas & Associates, Inc.

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• May/June 2002

page 15

The Changing Landscape

Keki R. Bhote

the

assault IQdifferentiation

DIVERSITY’S NEW FRONTIER From the author of The Ultimate Six Sigma

n the last quarter century, industry has been moving, slowly but steadily, toward equal opportunity for its minorities— women, people of color, the disabled and foreigners—through several constituencies of workplace diversity: • For people of color, affirmative action has been the saving grace. • For women, the National Organization for Women (NOW) has been a powerful voice. • For the disabled, new federal laws have afforded a measure of relief. • For the foreigner, the need for rare skills, such as software, has been the safety valve. The movement, known collectively as diversity in the workplace, has been gathering momentum. There is however, an important constituency in our pursuit of individual diversity that suffers from benign neglect. In fact, it is not even on the radar screen of the movers and shakers of business. It is the diversity in intelligence quotients (IQs).

Who Speaks for the Disadvantaged in IQ?

Keki R. Bhote President Keki R. Bhote Associates 493 Woodlawn Avenue Glencoe, IL 60022 Tel: 847.835.1983 FAX: 847.835.1989

krbhote@msn.com page 16

There is a wide gap between the high IQ achievers and the so-called low IQ dullards. This discrimination has been in existence since the advent of homo sapiens. It is the oldest form of discrimination, the most widespread and the most insidious. Yet, it has been shrugged off as God-given. It has been justified by the entrenched prejudices of many business executives who believe that the lowly line worker is only capable of marginal ideas for improvement. It has been institutionalized by the evil of Taylorism that believes that managers “think” and workers “do,” slavishly following the former’s orders and “never the twain shall meet.” The net effect on industry is anemic profits, low productivity and a miserly return on human investment. For the worker, it has resulted in boredom, alienation and the more serious social ills of alcoholism and drug abuse. Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

The Brain is Not Static or a Constant The brain—that computer between our ears— is under-utilized by every person on earth. The latest research tells us that even a genius only uses 10 percent of his God-given brainpower. The average person uses only 2 percent. What amazing advances could we, as industry, as a society, achieve if we could increase that brain power from 2 percent to 3 percent. Granted, there will always be wide gaps between the gifted and those left behind. But it is possible— no, it is imperative—for the whole spectrum of human intelligence to move forward, whether the metric be IQ or some other measure. We have witnessed the blossoming of late bloomers. We have heard of hundreds of cases of breakthrough achievements late in life. But what we have not done, especially in the industrial world, is a systematic cultivation and advance of human intelligence. That is the new frontier for the advocates of diversity to explore.

Freeing the Genie from the Bottle of Ignorance and Lethargy Today, we distinguish between managers—a dirty word—and leaders—an ennobling entity. There are several attributes that separate the two. But the most important is the leader's faculty as well as his prime responsibility to free the human spirit for all employees; to remove the chains of bureaucracy from them; to grant them freedom; and to help them grow and reach their maximum potential.

A Blueprint to Raise Human Intelligence and Reduce Differentials for All The $64,000 question, however, is can all of this be done? And, are there examples of success in raising the ability of employees—even at the lowest rungs of the corporate ladder—to reach out? The answer is an emphatic yes to both questions. However, it takes leadership not just at the CEO levels, but at all levels where people lead and influence others. www.diversityjournal.com

The Assault on IQ Differentiation The Changing Landscape 1. Trust: The Self Fulfilling Prophecy. In the corporate world, trust is a rare attribute. Managers don't trust their people. In return, the people don't trust their managers. True leaders trust their people and have an abiding faith in their inherent creativity. Trust begets trust. It generates a strong compulsion in the one trusted to live up to that trust. 2. Help and Guidance. In Japan, the CEO looks upon “the care and feeding of the young” as his primary responsibility. The help enabling people to grow is not a straitjacket master-toapprentice regimen. It is guidance with a loose rein. The mentoring programs, which progressive companies like Ford have institutionalized, are a good example of leadership guidance at all levels. 3. Freedom to Explore, Freedom to Make Mistakes. The true leader, recognizing that he is not God and does not have all the answers, gives his people freedom to explore their own pathways, create their own solutions, and—on the way—even make their own mistakes. Freedom, however, is not synonymous with anarchy. The leader has the duty to lead, set the direction, establish goals, and monitor results. Then, having done that, gets out of the way. The mark of an outstanding leader, according to Jack Welch, the legendary Chairman of GE, is 3Ds—direct, delegate and disappear! 4. Training—The Key to Continuous Learning. The great W. Edwards Deming said: “If you do not learn something new every day, you might as well fold your tent on Mother Earth.” Progressive companies allocate 3 to 5 percent of their payroll for training. Some make it mandatory for every employee to be trained for a minimum of 40 hours per year. Lower level employees may initially be reluctant to enter a classroom, but once the mental pump is primed, the appetite and stimulus can go on for life. 5. Team Synergy. Today, the basic building block of an organization is not the department but the team. Not only are teams more productive, they have more fun. The team culture is transformed from a rugged John Wayne independence to a symbiotic interdependence. An esprit de corps develops. This is nurtured in the world of sports; why not in the world of work?

www.diversityjournal.com

6. Problem-Solving. One of the unexplored areas of developing skills and competence is in problem-solving. This is important in white-collar areas but it is even more important in direct labor operations. Once a few simple but powerful techniques are taught and implemented, these line operators become so

When line workers have the

cancer of fear removed from their minds, are trained, given attention, supported, encouraged and feted, they will invariably respond to the productivity challenge. enthused about their success that it is hard to turn them off! 7. Support, Encouragement, Celebration. The psyche of the lower level worker is fragile. Any bossy attitudes, body language that demeans and displaying a tin ear to suggestions and ideas can ruin motivation and growth. So can harsh lay-off policies, and gross unfairness in income distributions for tangible gains by the workers. By contrast, if the leader displays warmth and humility, has listening skill, is more of a coach and teacher, supports the efforts of workers, encourages and cheers them on and celebrates their “wins,” the potential for an advance in intelligence in every worker is unbounded.

Case Study: Dendermonde, Belgium A few years ago, I was requested to “work my magic” of improved worker productivity at the Philips Electronics plant in Dendermonde, Belgium. The plant had been losing money— a 15 percent red ink each year. The workers were dispirited—300 of the 800 employees had been laid off.

same simple workshop exercises given to the technical staff. The women were thrilled with their success. They pleaded for the same training for the entire work force. A capable manager was selected as the DOE goal champion to train the line workers. DOE was combined with an imaginative initiative called “Kill the Waste.” Direct labor teams were formed. They selected their own team leaders, and the role of supervisors was changed to facilitators. The teams were given a half-hour each day to solve the previous day's problems on their own, if possible or with the help of engineering, if needed. The plant manager would personally attend as many of the team meetings as possible. The momentum built up. Three hundred of the four hundred line workers were trained in DOE. The team was able to solve 70 percent of the problems on their own power. Jokingly, they told the engineers, “Go do something else. We don't need you!” The quality improvements registered from 2:1 up to 100:1. The bottom line? After less than two years, the plant went from a 15 percent loss, as a percentage of sales, to a 4 percent profit.

“Create Joy in the Work Place” Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the towering quality guru, stressed that the role of a leader was to create “joy in the workplace.” When line workers have the cancer of fear removed from their minds, are trained, given attention (the Hawthorne effect), supported, encouraged and feted, they will invariably respond to the productivity challenge. Their eyes light up. There is a lightness and a bounce to their step. There is Joy in the Work Place and, incidentally, joy in the bottom line.

Keki R. Bhote is known worldwide as one of the fathers of the Six Sigma model. He is the author of fifteen books, including The Ultimate I focused on a simple, but powerful problem Six Sigma, and World Class Quality. In 1995, solving technique called Design of Experiments Mr. Bhote was named one of America’s “quality (DOE). The technical staff was readily trained. gurus” by Quality Digest. PDJ But when I suggested to the plant manager that a DOE seminar be given to the line workers he was reluctant. “They don't speak English and you don't speak Flemish,” he protested. But he selected 12 women with a smattering of English from among the line workers to attend my oneday seminar. All of them were able to solve the

Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

page 17

Special Feature

he latest diversity demographics are in. White men are the new minority. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, white males will make up 38 percent of workers by 2005. By 2008, they will be just 30 percent of all new entrants into the workforce. If the trend continues—as everyone expects it will—it is essential to bring white men into the diversity dialogue now. Otherwise, corporate America risks sidelining a unique storehouse of experience and wisdom, just as it did with women and people of color in the past.

NOT YOUR

FATHER’S

workplace

But including white men in diversity is a tricky proposition. For one thing, while they are becoming a minority statistically, white men still dominate corporate America realistically. Despite some high profile exceptions, there is still very little diversity in senior management, even less in the echelon from executive VP through CEO, and still less among the biggest corporate earners. Given these facts, aren’t diversity efforts targeted to white men a bit like helping the rich get richer? For another, diversity efforts to date have portrayed white men as the obstacle to be overcome. This attitude has helped turn questions into anger, reticence into resistance. Most white men don’t feel they have any place at the diversity table. But without everybody involved, companies compromise the core value of diversity from which all its rewards flow. What’s a company to do?

Diversity and "The Majority Male" Where Do White Men Fit In?

By Dr. Amy Aronson

page 18

Since its rise in the 1970s, diversity work has focused on traditionally marginalized groups, particularly women and people of color. By the ‘80s, definitions began expanding to incorporate older workers, gay and lesbian workers, the disabled, even working parents. But it has not until now reached out to white men. That Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

history, says Michael Wheeler, President of OEStrategies, a diversity research and consulting firm that focuses on the majority male, “has given white men the impression that they are excluded from the diversity dialogue and have nothing to gain from entering it.” While that feeling of exclusion is real, turning it around to offer inclusion is harder than it sounds. White men don’t see themselves as part of a group at all. Their race and gender, always the de facto standard, are invisible to them. Further, they don’t experience any group affiliation as the basis for privilege or an edge. “White men often say to me, ‘Where is this good old boy network?’” notes diversity consultant Marilyn Loden, co-author of the best-seller, Workforce America! Managing Employee Diversity as a Vital Resource. “I want to join it!” Yet the truth is both “whiteness” and masculinity have been powerful shapers of American history, politics, culture—and corporations. Dr. Michael Kimmel, author of Manhood in America and the Gendered Society, and a consultant on men and masculinity to organizations including the European Parliament and House of Lords, argues that “proving ourselves, testing our prowess—on the frontier, in the jungle, the battlefield, or in the corporation—has been a hallmark of masculinity for 200 years.” Moreover, masculine notions like “going it alone,” never asking questions, never needing help, pervade workplace standards and practices. Imbedded advantages are there, but they tend only to be visible to those who don’t share in them. “One thing I’ve realized personally,” says Wheeler, “is that as a white man dressed up in my suit and tie, I represent something to a lot of people. A lot of assumptions come with that. Now I’m aware of it; but earlier on, I was shocked to discover how powerful and packed that label is.” All employees can benefit from men’s accumulated knowledge, not to mention the psychological motivation to work hard and seek leadership—if only it could become part of a broader paradigm. That will require a new selfawareness on the part of white men and a new understanding on the part of others. “White men must become more conscious of what they don’t know,” says Bill Proudman, co-founder of the consulting firm White Men as Full Diversity www.diversityjournal.com

Not Your Father’s Workplace Partners. “They are not responsible for creating inequality, but they are responsible for seeing it.” It will also demand a newly cognizant corporate culture, ready to refashion standard operating procedures so the new realities can pay off all around. With that, Proudman says, “we can get past blame and guilt and start recognizing all that everyone has to gain from diversity.”

What’s a Company to Do? The business case is so simple, it can sell diversity to almost anyone. It says diversity is a competitive advantage that improves innovation, problem-solving, team effectiveness, recruitment, retention, market share, growth. It’s no trick to conclude that if the company does better, everyone benefits. But the business case is much more complicated where it is actually produced—in the workplace. “Whenever you introduce diversity in an organization,” says Wheeler, “you are introducing complexity.” To promote more comfort amidst the complexity, some advocate using the time-honored tactics of corporate life with which white men are intimately familiar: rewards, perks, and personal gain. Some companies are showing white men specific ways they can win with diversity programs already in place. Take work-life balance, a top diversity area nationally. The Families and Work Institute’s recent National Study of the Changing Workforce found virtually no difference between women and men in levels of stress over parental vs. professional commitments. A recent study by the Radcliffe Public Policy Center found that for younger men, this diversity area is a critical job characteristic—even more important than money, power or prestige. “Men have been saying that for years,” notes Kimmel, “but now they are beginning to walk their talk. They want balance, and some are embracing diversity in order to achieve it.” Another approach attaches diversity to employee development. This connection has selling power because it shows employees large and long-term benefits at a time when career paths are less stable than before. An American Management Association survey of 350 HR executives not long ago found that education and training-related benefits topped the list of retention tools, enhancing employee satisfaction as well as commitment www.diversityjournal.com

to the job. Diversity education and experience represents the latest dimension in that trend, offering the kind of cross-over skills that can enhance career mobility and set people apart in the job market. Re-framing can also be crucial. “White men have an instinctual flinch mechanism,” notes Proudman. “It’s important that they hear it’s not about ‘fixing’ this part of the population.” To emphasize the point, some suggest putting diversity into the context of “cultural competency,” which means having the ability to work effectively within a range of groups and cultures. In so doing, companies can make honest assurances that everyone needs

“Equality is not a loss for men because it will grant them the individuality that

everyone

wants and deserves.”

Special Feature

these mixed groups, she says, models a whole different way of interacting. “As those councils work together and build a rapport and build a plan, they get close,” she explains. “And they realize that they couldn’t have done it without each other. They realize it really is true: diversity did help us.” Wheeler points out that since most of us have lived all our lives in homogenous communities, surrounded by people who look like us, it’s no wonder white men are not aware of privilege or difference. They’ve never been exposed to these issues—until the workplace of today. “One of the most powerful things I’ve seen,” he says, “comes from getting white men involved in communities outside their own. Getting that exposure has changed lives and changed passion toward work within their companies.” The truth is, white men are like members of any other group: they do not all think alike. It has become axiomatic that the boys club does its work on the golf course, but not all white men play golf.

Dr. Michael Kimmel, Manhood in America and the Gendered Society

re-training for the global marketplace and the business realities of today—and tomorrow. These approaches bring white men into diversity’s uncharted waters through familiar channels or via new skill requirements that are being universally applied. They therefore avoid some triggers of resistance. In her new book Tempered Radicals: How People Use Difference to Inspire Change at Work, Dr. Debra Meyerson of Stanford Business School outlines a “small wins” diversity strategy that similarly seeks to involve majority males while averting refractory reaction. “The idea is to whittle away barriers using modest interventions that are feasible with the resources and allies you have,” she explains. “Then, you amplify.” Small wins have a way of snowballing, Meyerson says, but since changes are not revolutionary—many of them fly under the corporate radar until they are successful— “white men are more willing and able to join in as agents of change.” Some other diversity specialists prefer experience to patience. They say getting white men involved on a personal level will help bring them into diversity for keeps. Loden has seen great results when white men join diversity councils, for example. The trust they build in Profiles in Diversity Journal

•

May/June 2002

“White men often feel they are seen only as part of a group, not as individuals, valuable in their own right,” explains Kimmel. That is, they feel the way minorities and women often feel—invisible as individuals and hyper-visible as a group. “This is the essence of stereotypic thinking,” he continues, “and it is wrong no matter to whom it is applied.” Kimmel says white men are beginning to see that now. While diversity appears to be about groups, it is actually about being treated as individuals. That makes it as American as the self-made man. Surely, the organizations still dominated by majority males can get on board with that. If they do, diversity will be experienced by white men as much as anybody else as a bona fide source of both job satisfaction and success. Or as Janet Smith, President of the diversity consultancy Ivy Planning Group, says: “A diversity initiative done well empowers everybody in the organization, including white men, to have the opportunities they deserve.” Amy Aronson holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University and is the author or editor of five books, including the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Men and Masculinities, due out in 2003. PDJ page 19

Raising The Bar

AGL Resources

These questions have import for business and community. Think of Giraffe and Elephant as Company A and Company B, Employer and Employee, or Neighborhoods A and B. So simple, and yet so thought-provoking.

r. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr.’s story of the Giraffe and Elephant who try to share the same house is beautifully simple in concept; yet like any fable, its true meaning can bring insight into complicated matters such as diversity. In this story, Giraffe, who knows Elephant and shares his interest in woodworking, invites Elephant into his home so they can work on some projects together. But once inside Giraffe’s specially designed house, the behemoth finds he cannot fit. The house was built to meet Giraffe’s needs. Dr. Thomas’ story raises provocative questions: Is the relationship between Giraffe and Elephant worth pursuing? Should Giraffe have been better prepared for Elephant? Were Elephant’s expectations realistic? Why did Giraffe focus only on changing Elephant and not on changing his house to accommodate Elephant? Should Elephant consider Giraffe’s suggestions on how he could change himself?

I have found the fable to be but one example of how the Diversity Leadership Academy helped me in my professional and personal life. For me, an important teaching of the program is that many companies limit the scope of their diversity goals to ensuring diverse representation in the workforce. And while this goal must remain a constant in corporate America, broadening diversity goals to encompass strategic diversity management opens boundless business opportunities. Tension that naturally occurs among groups of people with diverse business as well as cultural backgrounds can be directed and used in positive and creative ways to expand business opportunities and solve challenges—and, more importantly, add to the bottom line. Diversity is more than gender and race. It is all sorts of people from all sorts of backgrounds. Yet once an organization has a diverse work force, management often thinks the job is done. According to Dr. Thomas, affirmative action is merely the airplane boarding pass. And as he puts it, it is not just the boarding pass that is now needed in corporate America—it is an upgrade—to affirming diversity. Diversity is part of good business practice, not an isolated business goal.

Melanie M. Platt Senior Vice President, Business Support AGL Resources For information, contact: Debra Furtado Director, Diversity and Volunteer Outreach AGL Resources P.O. Box 4569 Atlanta, GA 30302 Tel: 404.584.4774 FAX: 404.584.4646

dfurtado@aglresources.com page 20

At AGL Resources we have worked hard to ensure diverse representation within our workforce. Within our company, there is gender and racial diversity at the highest executive levels, including Paula Rosput, our chief executive officer who also is chairman of the board. In fact, 31 percent of our leadership team is female and 69 percent male. Our workforce is practi-

Paula Rosput, CEO and Chairman of the Board AGL Resources cally a mirror image of Georgia’s population according to the 2000 Census: In Georgia, minority ethnic groups—African American, Asian American and Hispanic—are represented by 35 percent of the population while 30 percent of the AGL Resources workforce comprises those minority groups. But changes in our industry and in our company showed us we needed to move to the next level—managing our workforce diversity strategically. Over the past six or so years, our company changed from being a regulated utility to a mixture of regulated and non-regulated businesses. In addition, we acquired a company in Virginia. We developed an energy asset management firm that is headquartered in Houston. We have an emerging telecommunications business. In the process of transforming our business, we created a senior management team and a corporate family of siblings with richly diverse backgrounds, and unique strategic diversity issues. Because we are now so organizationally diverse, we recently decided to conduct a cultural audit to determine exactly how our corporate family currently is experiencing

continued page 33

AGL Resources’ practices reflect the lessons of the Diversity Leadership Academy

bringing the

knowledge home Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

www.diversityjournal.com

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Raising The Bar activities for resource prioritization: these are all required skills for leaders intent on sustaining long-term success in diversity management. Yet, finding leaders who are applying these skills in their organizations, particularly in the context of diversity management, is clearly the exception rather than the rule. There are several reasons for this. First, there are few resources available for developing these competencies in the context of diversity management. Second, most development programs in the field of diversity target the pra ctitioner rather than the line management champion or senior members of diversity councils. Finally, leaders rarely have the opportunity to interact with their peers from other organizations in a safe environment in which they can grapple with the complexities of diversity management.

The Coca-Cola Company

he American Institute for Managing Diversity (AIMD), founded in 1984 by Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., has long sought to contribute to the development of the field of diversity management through groundbreaking research and education. Over the years, in working with many organizations around the country, the institute has emphasized the commitment of leaders as a critical factor impacting the success or failure of diversity initiatives. What has become increasingly clear in the dynamic business environment of the 21st century is that even the most committed leaders sometimes struggle to achieve sustained success with diversity programs. The reason is th at sustained The Diversity Leadership Academy (DLA) now success requires leadership competencies that offers resources for building diversity manageare not always developed in the typical execument leadership competencies . And what partictive’s business experience. Creating or shifting ipating leaders have quickly learned is that these organizational culture; understanding and competencies not only contribute to their ability managing the interdependent links of diversity to successfully and core business competencies, processes and lead their systems; differentiating high value-added

organizations’ diversity agendas, they also enhance their ability to lead their organizations in general. Resource allocation; product and service innovation; strategic alignment of competing functions: these are all common leadership responsibilities that are improved through building diversity management capabilities.

The Atlanta Community Fellows Model The DLA was created as what is now its flagship program: the Diversity Leadership Academy of Atlanta’s (DLAA) Community Leadership Fellows Program. Funded by a $1.5 million grant from The Coca-Cola Company to the American Institute for Managing Diversity, the DLAA is a five-day program spread over five months for leaders from all sectors of the metropolitan Atlanta community. Leaders of religious organizations, educational institutions, government units, law enforcement agencies, and non-profits as well as for-profits, come together in a program that includes classroom instruction, case studies, group assignments, and experiential learning, all focused on developing diversity leadership competencies.

BUILDING

Juan D. Johnson Vice President, The Coca-Cola Company President of the Diversity Leadership Academy American Institute for Managing Diversity, Inc. 50 Hurt Plaza, Suite 1150 Atlanta, GA 30303 Tel: 404.302.9226 FAX: 404.302.9252

jdjohnson@na.ko.com jjohnson@aimd.org page 26

LEADERS

Coca-Cola’s Diversity Leadership Academy of Atlanta meets the needs of committed leaders.

Leaders play a special role in supporting the success of diversity initiatives. The Diversity Leadership Academy provides cutting edge leadership development for champions of diversity from all parts of the business. It also has a unique program for under-served leaders from not-for-profit sectors like religious organizations, educational institutions, government agencies, and other nonprofit organizations. Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

www.diversityjournal.com

Building Dynamic Leaders Raising The Bar The DLAA holds two sessions per year: spring and fall. The cost per participant is $3500. However, the Coca-Cola grant provided for up to 350 fellowships over a four-year period for qualifying leaders. Leaders applying for fellowships may self-nominate or are recommended by DLAA fellows. Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., founder and president of the AIMD, who also leads facilitation of the sessions and the DLAA curriculum design (see page 28 for program description) commented, “Coca-Cola’s support of the community through the DLAA really models corporate commitment to diversity.” Through the DLAA, Coca-Cola and the AIMD seek to contribute to building an Atlanta community that works for all its citizens. The investment made in DLAA fellows is returned with a multiplier effect throughout the community as they apply their new leadership competencies in their own organizations as well as to communitywide opportunities and challenges.

The Partnering Aproach One unique aspect of the community fellows model is the partnering approach between organizations that come together to provide DLA resources for community leaders. In the Atlanta model, The Coca-Cola Company is the sponsor providing funding for course development, materials, facilitation, etc., and the AIMD provides the knowledgeware through the DLA. An additional partner is the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, which provides state-of-the-art facilities in an academic setting. The AIMD is seeking additional sponsors and partners to duplicate this model around the nation. Prime candidates for regional hubs include New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Phoenix, Chicago, Des Moines and Minneapolis/St. Paul.

The Corporate Executive Series The success of the community fellows program resulted in demand from corporate participants for a program targeting and addressing the needs of corporate leaders. Specifically, a program that meets the needs of executives who sit on diversity councils and leaders of line operations or business www.diversityjournal.com

Dynamic and Diverse Inaugural Class FRONT ROW: Rene M. Diaz, President, Diaz Foods; Tricia Harris, Managing Director, The King Center; Pat Upshaw-Monteith, Executive Director, Leadership Atlanta; Ayesha Khanna, Chief Executive Officer, YWCA of Greater Atlanta; Belinda Stubblefield, Vice President, Global Diversity, Delta Airlines, Inc.; Vicki R. Palmer, Senior Vice President & Special Assistant to the CEO, Coca-Cola Enterprises. SECOND ROW: Rabbi Arnold Goodman, Ahavath Achim Congregation; Robert E. Moore, Ph.D., Associate Dean, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University; Bernard Porché, President, 100 Black Men of Atlanta; Jerry Tipton, President, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta; Liane Levetan, Former CEO, DeKalb County; Fred L. Bradley, President & CEO, YMCA of Atlanta; Ronald E. Frieson, Chief Diversity Officer, BellSouth Corporation; Sandy Douglas, Executive Vice President & COO, Coca-Cola North America; C. David Moody, Jr., President & CEO, C.D. Moody Construction Co. THIRD ROW: Sherry Z. Frank, Southeast Area Director, The American Jewish Committee; Maritza Soto Keen, Executive Director, The Latin American Association; Melanie Platt, Senior Vice President, AGL Resources; James E. Kantner, Ph.D., Secretary, Office of Catholic Charities, Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta; Allison Vulgamore, President, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Fahed Abu-Akel, Ph.D., Executive Director, Atlanta Ministry with International Students, First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta; Lisa Rossbacher, Ph.D., President, Southern Polytechnic State University; Plemon T. El-Amin, President, Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam; Booker T. Izell, Vice President/Community Affairs and Work Force Diversity, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Ellen Spears, Associate Director, Southern Regional Council; Jacquelyn H. Barrett, Sheriff, Fulton County Sheriff's Department. BACK ROW: Lisa Cremin, Director, Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund; James K. Davis, Senior Vice President, Employee/Corporate Relations, Georgia Power; Lynn Walker Huntley, Executive Vice President, Comparative Human Relations, Southern Educational Foundation; Mark O'Connell, President, United Way of Metro Atlanta; Ingrid Saunders Jones, Senior Vice President, Corporate External Affairs, The Coca-Cola Company; Gary Miller, Executive Director, Jewish Family & Career Services, Inc.; Brenda Foye Cornelius, Commissioner, Governor's Office of Human Relations; Clinton Dye, Jr., Ph.D., President & CEO, The Atlanta Urban League, Inc.; Curly Dossman, Jr., President, Georgia-Pacific Foundation. NOT PICTURED: Sara Gonzalez, President, Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Harriet Hessam, Executive Director, The Girl Scout Council of Northwest Georgia, Inc.; Milton Nix, Jr., Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation. units who are champions for diversity in their organizations.

CMOs, COOs, General Counsels, Engineering Chiefs, Business Unit Heads, etc., have no accessible resources to build their capabilities to support While diversity practitioners can access workshops, their roles. The DLA’s Corporate Executive Series is conferences, and seminars designed to build their designed specifically for these leaders in the organskill sets, corporate senior leaders such as CFOs, ization that support the diversity practitioner. Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

page 27

Raising The Bar

Building Dynamic Leaders

Led by Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., the five-day program is split into two 21/2 day sessions with approximately one month between sessions one and two. During that interim month, teams of executives work virtually on real-time business issues to assess and analyze diversity issues and develop recommended action options. In the last session, the results of their analyses are reviewed and feedback is provided to help solidify learnings and reinforce the executives’ confidence in their ability to take action after completing the course.

global manufacturer of electronic instruments, among others. Another unique benefit is the opportunity to build a support network with other executives from varied businesses and backgro unds. The program is designed to build a sense of community among participants that can lead to lifelong relationships. As one participant in the Fellows program stated, “Recognizing the diversity-challenged parts of self and group, grappling with complex issues as a group, and then really applying the learning with top-notch peers ... very positive!”

There are many unique benefits to the Corporate Executive Series. First is a “These leaders are Atlanta’s genuine peer environment. Many senior leaders avoid professional development best and brightest. courses because they do not believe the We are pleased to partner in content and interaction is at the level of such a worthwhile endeavor. their decision-making responsibil ities. We committed to funding the program The Corporate Executive Series is designed for four years because we want it to have a specifically for senior leaders. The class sizes are kept relatively small and significant and lasting impact participants are expected to meet certain on our community.” admission criteria such as level of Douglas N. Daft, CEO responsibility within their organizations as well as level of responsibility for executing The Coca-Cola Company diversity initiative. The inaugural Finally, and perhaps most enticing to senior Corporate Executive Series, set for spring 2003, leaders, the program builds skills that are currently has enrolled, among its participants, a chief financial officer of an $8 billion business, a applicable not only to workforce diversity issues but to non-traditional diversity mixtures in senior partner in a “big 5” public accounting business as well. Issues around complex firm, a chief operating officer of a national diversity mixtures like union and nonunion; advertising agency and a division president of a

DLAA five-day curriculum Day 1—Laying the Foundation • Participants begin the j ourney of becoming Effective Diversity Respondents. Key diversity concepts are introduced, including an expanded definition of diversity, which is explored in the context of the workforce, the workplace, and the community. • Participants are introduced to new frameworks, processes and tools as they participate in a series of activities and group discussions to explore the journey to diversity maturity. • Dr. Thomas presents “America: An Historical Context,” which examines pluralism, desegregation, segregation and immigration and the impact they have had on the American Experience. As community leaders, Academy participants will explore how these four movements influenced the evolution of Atlanta and the impact the four have had on their internal page 28

organizational environments. Each day ends with a brief review and assignments. Day 2—Gaining Perspective • This day requires closer personal introspection as participants engage each other during the day’s activities and begin to examine their own organizations’ mixtures (groups, issues, and initiatives). • The Giraffe and Elephant Fable is presented, depicting an insider-outsider phenomenon that creates unexpected tension and complexity. The animated story provokes participants to begin looking at what actions are necessary to create a mutually beneficial work environment and culture and to achieve healthy working relationships while meeting organizational requirements. • Four fundamental approaches to diversity management are presented and participants engage in exchanges that allow them to share their perProfiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

functional integration, such as between marketing and production; post-merger rationalization of disparate business lines; etc. These challenges can be approached with the strategic diversity management process taught in the Corporate Executive Series.

The Associations and Affiliates Program As participants in the Fellows program have taken their experience back into their work environments there has been growing demand for DLA services. Some of the demand comes from organizations or groups that historically have not been the focus of diversity management skill building. One broad category of such groups is “Associations,” or “Affiliated Organizations.” Frequently, “Associations” are formed because of the common needs or interests of its members. Over time they become key resources for the members to add ress critical strategic issues such as lobbying around industry concerns, professional standards and codes of conduct, or simply capitalizing on economies of scale for purchasing products and services for its members. More and more these organizations are seeing a need to add diversity to their agenda of strategic priorities for their member entities.

spectives on a wide range of complex and controversial diversity topics while meeting others with differing opinions and communication styles. • A case study (e.g., Racial Profiling or the Columbine High School shooting incident) is examined with participants applying the diversity management concepts to diagnose and analyze critical diversity mixtures and underlying tensions that contributed to the situation. The key focus of this session is to encourage participants to examine their perspectives and to recognize others’ and understand how their perspectives may create barriers to becoming Effective Diversity Respondents. Day 3—Maturity Development • Participants begin this day by discussing their experiences of sharing one of the Four Approaches with a key person in their organization. They share key insights gained about themselves, their colwww.diversityjournal.com

Building Dynamic Leaders Raising The Bar These organizations are to be commended for making diversity a strategic priority. In some cases, diversity training is added to their certification or continuing professional education programs. In other cases, the “Affiliated Organizations” are looking for a leadership development experience for their particular “community-of-interest.” DLA courseware and content addresses these needs. An example of an organization demonstrating leading-edge commitment to diversity is CityCares. CityCares is an innovative alliance of volunteer organizations that plan and manage meaningful service opportunities in partnership with 3,600 non-profit organizations and schools across the country. Each year their 30 U.S. affiliates plan and manage more than 23,000 service projects involving more than 250,000 volunteers. In 2001, these efforts resulted in a commitment of more than 1.2 million cumulative hours of service. CityCares has established diversity as a strategic priority and, with support from a corporate sponsor, has partnered with the DLA to offer an extensive program for their national leadership. This plan includes the development of a strategic framework that can be adapted and implemented locally by their a ffiliates around the country. The DLA is particularly pleased to offer services and support for

leagues or the organization. • They then practice “walking in someone else’s shoes” during an activity that asks them to role-play a new identity. They discuss what it’s like to experience the world from other vantage points and the impact of assumptions and preconceived notions. • The bulk of the afternoon is spent analyzing four case studies from the perspective of the Giraffe (insider) and the Elephant (outsider): 1) Debra’s story—The Angry Elephant; 2) George’s story— The Assimilated Giraffe; 3) Mark’s story—The Angry Elephant; and 4) Kirk’s story—The Pioneering Giraffe. Each of the cases are examined in the context of Diversity Maturity Behaviors, where the individuals involved have or have not been successful, and what they need to do to address their situations.

www.diversityjournal.com

another non-profit organization committed to building and serving communities. Thanks to the generous support of a corporate sponsor, CityCares is able to make an important investment in the development of its leaders. The DLA sees the “Associations” field as a great lever for building diversity leadership capabilities, and can work directly with “Associations” or “Sponsors” in developing a program fo r particular communities-of-interest.

address broad diversity mixtures and develop solutions to complex diversity issues within the context of an overarching mission. The Academy is seeking sponsorship for this innovative program.

Finally, the Academy intends to respond to communities-of-interest that are simply seeking to create an awareness experience for their members. This program will be more of a summit that facilitates the coming together of thought-leaders to expose a “Your participation in this program helps community-of-interest to important concepts and pave the way to building the beloved resources. In that way, it is community of Martin Luther King., Jr.’s differentiated from the other dream ... I expect the programs that are more focused Diversity Leadership Academy to on capability development for leaders. produce inspired leadership for our

community, for our city, and our nation ... This is a program that should be duplicated in every city in America.”

With the Diversity Leadership Academy, the American Institute for Managing Diversity is seeking Mrs. Coretta Scott King to introduce a new piece of Founder, The King Center infrastructure on the landscape of diversity resources. However, Future Programs as a non-profit organization, AIMD’s focus is to Two additional programs are under developprovide products and services that contribute to ment at the DLA. One is Eleraffe University, a improving our communities and our society. youth leadership development program. The This is done primarily through research and program name, “Eleraffe,” is a play on the education. The Institute welcomes the support Elephant and Giraffe Fable developed by Dr. of sponsors and partners that are also committed Thomas. In this model the DLA will develop a to diversity. For information on sponsorship and weeklong program for a diverse cadre of stupartnership opportunities, please visit AIMD’s dent leaders from around the nation. In the website at www.aimd.org or call (404) 302-9226. program, students will learn to recognize and PDJ

Day 4—Leadership Practice • During this session participants spend the majority of their time applying the Giraffe & Elephant Model to contemporary and organizational issues. The day begins examining the case of “The Frustrated Leader.” Participants take on the roles of key players in the case, analyze action options and put forth recommendations. • They continue practicing applying the Giraffe & Elephant Model in an activity that requires them to examine an issue critical to their own organization and to identify factors that may hinder or facilitate forward movement. • Finally, participants conduct individual, group, and collective assessments of the level of diversity maturity of metro Atlanta and explore implications for Atlanta community leaders.

Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

Day 5—Capstone Presentation • During this final session of the Academy, Learning Circles demonstrate their comprehension of the concepts presented throughout the course and their ability to apply the processes, tools, and skills they have acquired. • Each circle will have met at least four times over the course period to develop Capstone presentations, which will focus on application of the Giraffe & Elephant Model to a real-time community issue. • The Capstone presentations are made before a panel of community leaders and diversity experts who provide feedback to the groups on their analyses and recommendations. • The day ends with graduation recognition for all participants who complete the course.

page 29

IntroduCIng thE CorporatE ExECutIvE SErIES A Vital Opportunity for Top Leaders

SENIOR EXECUTIVES • DIVERSITY COUNCIL MEMBERS • CHIEF MARKETING OFFICERS BUSINESS UNIT PRESIDENTS • ENGINEERING CHIEFS • GENERAL COUNSELS • CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERS AIMD’s Diversity Leadership Academy introduces the Corporate Executive Series, a new resource for senior management champions of diversity. While there are scores of resources available for practitioners who make diversity their day-to-day jobs, few resources exist for the top-level managers who are held accountable for managing diversity and its impact on business results. Now there is a resource for executives seeking the leadership competencies and skills needed to champion this increasingly critical component of effective organizations. The Corporate Executive Series is an intensive, two-part, five-day workshop that gives participants a unique opportunity to develop cutting-edge, practical leadership competencies in a peer-to-peer setting exclusively for top-level corporate executives. Participants in the spring 2003 session include: • A senior partner in a big five accounting firm • The Chief Financial Officer of an $8 billion manufacturing and marketing firm • The Chief Operating Officer of a national advertising agency • The Chief Marketing Officer of a global transportation company, and more... The series prepares organization leaders to: • Build organization cultures that support all-inclusive work environments • Access varied talents and perspectives and challenge conventional wisdom when attacking complex business challenges • Manage complex non-traditional diversity mixtures and tensions like, integrating disparate business functions, global expansion, post-merger/acquisition transition, union/non-union labor issues, business/brand portfolio resource allocation, etc. The first Corporate Executive Series workshop will be held March 1-3 and April 5-6, 2003 in Atlanta, Georgia. Tuition is $5,295. To request registration and application information, visit www.aimd.org, email aimd@aimd.org, or call 404302-9226. Dr. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., the nation’s foremost thought leader in diversity management and president and founder of the American Institute for Managing Diversity, leads the Corporate Executive Series. Dr. Thomas has been at the forefront of diversity research for over two decades and is recognized internationally for his groundbreaking work in the field of effective diversity management. He is the author of several published books including Beyond Race and Gender: Unleashing the Total Power of Your Workforce by Managing Diversity, Redefining Diversity and Designing a House for Diversity: A Blueprint for Personal Diversity Effectiveness.

Creating the of Diversity

Please mail inquiries to: Diversity Department, Ref Code 801PID, P.O. Box 10000, Lake Buena Vista FL 32830-1000 The Walt Disney Company and its subsidiaries and affiliated companies are equal opportunity employers. We encourage diversity in all aspects of our business. ÂŠDisney

© 2001 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. PricewaterhouseCoopers refers to the U.S. firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and other members of the worldwide PricewaterhouseCoopers organization. PricewaterhouseCoopers is proud to be an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer.

WE SEE THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS, AND SHE LOOKS GOOD. With your ability to deliver the best solutions to an evolving global market, it’s your talent that will take your career as far you want—as fast as you want. As the world’s largest professional services firm, we give you life-long learning and continuing education. We help you tailor your career by listening to your aspirations and through focused mentoring programs. And we value your individuality with initiatives like Minority Scholars, Mentoring Partnerships and Circles networking activities for women and minorities. We help you realize that your future—and ours—is what you make of it.

www.pwcglobal.com/uscareers

Join us. Together we can change the world.SM

igniting the spark

knowledge

Georgia Power Continued from page 13

AGL Resources Continued from page 20

commitment statement: “We welcome and value the differences among our employees, customer and the communities we serve—Our success depends on it!”

At Georgia Power, we liken our diversity effort to a journey. We’ve made gigantic strides in the past two years, but we also have a long way to go on our journey. One of the toughest issues with which we’ve had to come to terms is the realizaOur business case supported this commitment tion that our journey toward diversity may from start to finish. The business case helped us never reach an ultimate destination. In all honunderstand that our cusesty, that’s a difficult concept to accept for tomers and suppliers our culture of technical and engineering Leadership are becoming more Citizenship excellence. As our CEO says, “We do diverse, that our Ethical the rocket science stuff very well. business and Behavior We struggle when it comes to workforce are talking about and dealing with Superior changing and real feelings.” Performance that the availCustomer SouthernStyle able workFirst It’s a struggle we’re committed force demoto, however, because we Diversity graphics are understand that our current Shareholder success and reputation are no changing, too, Value as the competiguarantee for the future. Our tion to attract and future depends solely on our ability Teamwork Great Place retain top talent to maintain a strong focus on the to Work increases. Our next chalfundamentals of our business success while lenge is to expand the business case, to help us we create an environment where differences are move beyond race and gender and understand valued and everyone can succeed. PDJ how other dimensions of diversity are shaping our workforce and marketplace.

under the arches

McDonald’s Corporation Continued from page 9

1. Relationships are key. Develop partnerships The Braille Menu with national and local organizations and/or offered by agencies that can provide great candidates, McDonald’s is but training programs, consultation, and tools. one of the tools Many, if not most, of the services that these developed to assist agencies offer are free. These relationships disabled are truly "win-win." consumers. 2. Treat each individual with a disability as an individual. Not every blind person about hiring people with disabilities and requires the same accommodation or has the allow you to have fun while you are learning. same background. 7. Make sure your workplace is accessible and 3. Sometimes the person with a disability welcoming to employees and customers with can be your best resource in determining disabilities. accommodations. 8. If your state has one, 4. Be positive. Rather than looking at the JOIN A BLN! If it does disability and determining what the person not, talk to your cannot do, focus on abilities. Governor’s Committee on 5. Market to the market. Demographics Disabilities or contact the indicate that the disabled population is Office of Disability growing in numbers and income. Why Employment Policy would any company want to exclude over (202-376-6200) about 50 million Americans from buying their how to get goods or services? one started. PDJ 6. Learn and have fun while doing it. There are many great speakers and entertainers who can get some wonderful messages across www.diversityjournal.com

Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

our organization. The results of the audit will help us identify behaviors or practices that could hinder the achievement of our business objectives. In turn, the audit will aid in our diversity management business planning in a manner that is tailored specifically to the company and relates to our business culture, our community service and our business strategy. Of one thing I am certain: Diversity is a continuum. At AGL Resources, we will continue to refine and redirect our approach to strategic diversity management to reflect the demands of our business strategy, and we will build upon it as our company continues to grow and change. As I completed the five-day Diversity Leadership Academy last fall, I was probably the poster child for the Eureka! moment. There were MANY, but the building crescendo was the empowerment I felt as I discovered an approach to diversity that can benefit my company and my community—both culturally and financially. I am fortunate to be part of an organization whose management and workforce are dedicated to achieving and sustaining genuine—and strategic—diversity. Would I recommend the program to others? You bet. My only regret is that spots are limited, because the work of the DLA would benefit so many. PDJ Melanie M. Platt is Senior Vice President of Business Support at AGL Resources in Atlanta, Georgia, the largest energy holding company in the Southeast. She oversees human resources, corporate communications and community affairs, and also serves as Corporate Secretary for the company. In Fall 2001, Platt was a participant in the first class of the Diversity Leadership Academy.

page 33

Global Perspectives

European Institute for Managing Diversity/ Spain Instituto Europeo para la Gestion de la Diversidad

a history of diversities

EUROPE:

ifferent ways of hunting and surviving; diverse beliefs in a supreme power; different stages of development, learning, speaking; styles of community life; wars and conflicts for evolving reasons that go from survival to power; gender roles; colours of skin; attitude towards development. Diversities have written the history of our world in the past, even if the peoples of the time did not have information or awareness of the existence of other peoples on this same planet.

The one outstanding feature of the history of humankind has been the multiple diversities intrinsic to the peoples that have lived in this “one world.”

Has anything changed? Diversity still underpins the present global reality: diverse gender status, family units, races, lifestyles, nationalities, cultures, religions, languages, knowledge, productive life cycles, power, governance, competencies, degree of creativity and use of technologies. Nothing new! Only magnified by new emerging areas of diversities, the speed of change, and the fact that Information Technology has unveiled the awareness that diversity is the underlying cause and effect of all human behaviour. Therefore it is the root reason for everything that happens, every material that is created; every success and also every conflict that emerges; it is the cause and effect of the use and the destruction of the basic resources that make life possible.

Dr. Myrtha B. Casanova President The European Institute for Managing Diversity C/. Pedro i Pons, 9-11 08034 – Barcelona, SPAIN Tel: 00 34 / 93 205 51 11 FAX: 00 34 / 93 205 51 65

iegd@iegd.org page 34

A contradiction? No. Simply that there is a new paradigm. For the first time in history peoples can communicate at real time. Today it is possible to reach every corner of this one world. The evidence that we reside in a single space which all peoples share and where all things happen is totally new. And as peoples interact, the unique obvious evidence is that of the diversities that represent the core nature of humankind at the global level. Global diversities are the mega-dimension of

Profiles in Diversity Journal

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local diversities and realities. No way to ignore or escape from this reality. If global governance is the management of worldwide diversities, and companies (human communities/clusters) are a microclimate of global differences, then managing diversity is a compulsory, irreversible process in the sustainable development of any productive system. That is: of any company, corporate diversity management then is not an option: it is the key survival/success factor of any organisation. This importance is sure to increase in the future.

Are global or transnational companies at an advantage? Let us analyse some of the diversities that have a higher impact; for example, U.S. based companies. Many U.S. based corporations are presently aware of and developing strategic actions to address diversities that are considered to have a higher impact on their corporate climate and on company results. The aim is to turn these apparent problems into an added value for the corporation, for its employees, and for stakeholders in general. The managers of hundreds of companies have realised that diversity inclusion creates innovation, lowers costs, increases profit, and contributes to exercising the social responsibility required today from leaders of peoples. Some of the diversities addressed by U.S. based companies are: • Gender discrimination • Racial exclusion • Equal opportunities • Cross-cultural issues • Knowledge and competencies differences • Work/life balance Very successful schemes to manage these and other specific diversities of its peoples make up the cornerstone of corporate profitability and www.diversityjournal.com

Europe: A History of Diversities Raising The Bar the retention of best talents. These policies also are achieving increased loyalty of clients, suppliers, shareholders and stakeholders in general—all resulting in higher competitive position, better corporate results, and increased external visibility. With such positive achievements in their U.S. operations, some companies aim to expand their diversity policy, strategy and schemes to their subsidiaries all over the world. This is a major challenge. As diversity criteria and outstanding priorities of peoples vary from country to country, and from areas of the world, trying to duplicate abroad the same corporate diversity vision, mission, strategies and schemes generally does more wrong than right due, evidently, to what “right” and “wrong” mean for the peoples in different areas of the world.

Let us take the European Union as a reference. The first diversity to manage is that of hierarchical and leadership styles of local upper management and entrepreneurs—a style that was valid 40 years ago, but that definitely does not match the values of the peoples of the 21st century.

Europe has always been diverse. For over 6000 years the peoples “of the old continent” have been at war with each other. One could even say that the history of Europe is the history of its conflicts and wars. For example, to try to start understanding the present dramatic events of former Yugoslavia, it is necessary to go back to, at least, the 14th century. The construction of what today is the European Union started in 1950 with the Treaty of the Steel and the Coal, to facilitate the reconstruction of Europe after the Second World War (fought mainly on European soil). Today the European Union has 15 Member States, 212 regions, over 200 languages (even though only 11 are official), a multitude of ethnicity, religions, ways of life—and a long list of scars that thousands of years of wars and conflicts have left behind as a heritage for the peoples of this century to manage. The present European Union is being built from diversity, with utmost and exquisite respect to people’s cultural and national diversities. No attempt is ever made against any local culture, language, heritage, sovereignty or life style. Leaders of institutions and organisations have

For the past 20 centuries Europe has constantly searched to be a unified reality. • Greece imposed its classic culture • Alejandro Magno created the first empire with a universal vision in Europe • Roman Empire made a great contribution in infrastructure which united Europe • Christianity defined the Europe of the Middle Ages and, with the Crusades, founded a collective religious concept of Europe • Carlo Magno created an Empire which united nations and regions • Vikings from the North mastered the seas, which started the European expansion to new areas of the world • Commerce became the power that united Europe with a new morality in the14th century. Trade opened the way to globalisation • Charles V and I of Spain created a new political order. Ruled over an Empire where “the sun never set” which created a new political order in Europe and in the new world • Modern Times established by thinkers and scientists (Erasmus, Descartes, Leonardo da Vinci)—a new model of intellectual unity of Europe • Economic unity of Europe started in Venice and soon created a new alternative to political power in Europe with their banks, commerce and use of money • New technology era, with Galileo and Newton creating a new principle of unity through knowledge • Era of the Nations—A woman, Elizabeth I, set the basis of the British Empire, conquering seas and lands through alliances • French Revolution—Started the inclusion of peoples of Europe in a new spirit of unification • Napoleon is a reference of the times who aimed at a new unity of Europe, opening the way to a new socio-political era, until Marx created a new social conscience • First and Second World Wars determined the need for a new European unity of interests • In 1950 what today is the European Union was born through the Treaty of the Steel and the Coal and later in 1957 the Treaty of Rome. A vision of “freedom of movement of peoples, products and capitals” is the spirit defined by the founders of the new “community of European interests” • For the first time in history the European peoples have had over 50 years of peace www.diversityjournal.com

Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

always taken for granted the historically diverse nature of Europe. Companies in Europe must address these and specific local and corporate diversities in order to gain a sustainable position in the global scenario. The primary expectation when implementing diversity strategies in European companies is that of increasing corporate results. Lagging behind is commitment to social responsibility, as there is a general understanding that this is an issue that falls upon states and administrations to resolve. There is also diversity in the priority of aspects focussed among Member States. For example, in the Scandinavian countries, child and elderly care is not an incentive to attract, retain and integrate talent, simply because the state covers all these social areas. In Southern Europe, however, these are critical issues because the state is barely now starting to create supporting actions for this vital aspect of work/life balance. Yet companies are still far from addressing schemes for child and elderly care, or any other actions to improve work/life balance. Fortunately there are corporations that are an exception to the rule, such as Mercadona and Cluster in Spain, Lufthansa in Germany, SAS and Ikea in Sweden, Shell in The Netherlands, Swift in Belgium, Bank of Ireland in Ireland, Siemens in Germany, Danish State Railways in Denmark, Campi in Italy, and Rádio Televisão Portuguesa in Portugal. So employees in these regions have a problem—a barrier which has not been addressed collectively, considering the impact it has on company profitability as well as on work/life balance. Global players can and must roll out their diversity policy and strategy to all their subsidiaries, wherever they are, because it is a core strategy, any company that wants to be efficient and sustainable at both local and global levels must implement this scenario. In so doing, it is not advisable to impose a model that works well at company headquarters. While the vision and mission should guide the action, diversity strategies must focus first on local priorities, diversities and environments, before linking with global schemes and policies to effectively contribute to the worldwide corporate vision, mission and objectives. PDJ page 35

Raising The Bar

Deloitte Consulting

building high-performance teams Collaboration is not a buzz-word at Deloitte Consulting. Partnering in multinational, multicultural, and multifunctional teams enables them to find the best solutions to complex business problems.

eloitte Consulting is one of the largest consulting firms in the world. We are a global partnership that attracts diverse people with highly specialized talents and skills and exports talent to wherever it is needed on a moment’s notice. A significant percentage of our North American professionals are currently working outside their local geographies; many on assignments in another country.

Building a Third Culture Clients and the professionals on our teams share a common goal, but that doesn’t mean it is easy to work toward that goal. Often, cultures collide. So in May 2000, Deloitte Consulting introduced Building a Third Culture, a learning program designed to equip multicultural and multinational engagement teams to manage and leverage diverse capabilities.

Manoj Singh Managing Director, Americas Diversity Champion 1700 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 Christine Murphy HR Director for Diversity Programs Tel: 215.246.2518 FAX: 215.246.2545

chmurphy@dc.com page 36

Clients like the National Australian Bank and EuroTunnel have utilized the program with great success. “Grounded in academics— Geert Hofstede’s Dimensions of Difference, Peter Senge’s Fifth Discipline Field Book, the Iceberg Model by Edgar Schein, and Ladder of Inference by Chris Argyris—the Building a Third Culture program is designed to enable the project team to create a separate team culture that supports client results,” says Eileen Rogers, Manager of LearningEdge, Deloitte’s internal learning development and delivery department. Learning is team- and project-specific. Issues and challenges facing the team, which can be potential issues to the overall project, are identified. Then the team creates a team proProfiles in Diversity Journal •

May/June 2002

file on 10 dimensions of diversity such as approach to risk and decision-making, conflict resolution, and negotiation and communication style. “We don’t focus on the traditional ‘isms,’” notes Rogers, “but look at the values, assumptions, behaviors, and cultures people bring to their work.” The basic premise is that national, organizational, and functional cultures shape individual values and drive behavior. People judge others’ behavior by their own values and sometimes the inferences made are incorrect. “None of us can completely stop judging others,” stresses Rogers. “The program simply asks team members to pause and be aware when they are making judgments and to rethink their assumptions and conclusions—and that yields benefits.” Understanding follows. When diverse approaches are known and appreciated, these can be a source of team strength, rather than a source of conflict. People who are very different are suddenly pulling together. Teams are better able to reach the right decision and select the best course of action, and that’s the value of leveraging diversity.

Cross-Cultural Fertilization In the U.S., Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations were big business for consulting firms in the late 1990s. ERP software programs handle major functions for organizations —accounting, manufacturing control, customer contact, and human resources data—and they take time to install. But last year, the ERP business slowed in the U.S. and shifted to Japan. Deloitte Consulting followed the opportunities. In mid-2001, twenty senior male and female U.S. ERP professionals and their families transferred to Tokyo to launch an ERP practice, to recruit local talent, and to quickly build www.diversityjournal.com

Building High-Peformance Teams Raising The Bar expertise and marketplace credibility. To begin to manage the cross-cultural challenges, “practitioners and their families participated in three days of cross-cultural training,” reports Bob Andrews, Global Director for Partner Matters. “U.S. professionals would be leading, building, and collaborating with Japanese teams. Japanese practitioners would need to rethink some business processes and practices and embrace new tools. Sensitivity to the local culture was, therefore, essential, but so was the determination to change. Negotiating and leveraging differences was key.” Andrea Heaberg, Senior Manager, People Competency, agrees. “You need to build strong relationships, and that doesn’t happen automatically. The language barrier is enormous, and can be used by Japanese practitioners to close ranks. Practitioners who have not worked outside of Japan also tended to reject U.S. ideas as too western and not likely to work in Japan. And while the U.S. professionals needed to share their ERP expertise, they also needed to recognize that there really is more than one effective way to solve most problems.” Heaberg and her colleague Joni Swedlund, Principal, Financial Services, concur that they are learning a lot, are making many new friends, and, ultimately, are having a significant impact. “The Japanese practice is launching a Women’s Initiative based on U.S. efforts,” notes Swedlund. “The group has a budget and management support. The leadership understands the business case. Many Japanese recruits visit the Firm’s website and know about the Initiative. Local leadership clearly recognizes that it is a powerful recruiting tool.”

"Our Affinity Groups were addressing the development, advocacy, and networking needs of their constituencies. Still, we lacked a structure for driving diversity deeper into our organization. In 2001, our affinity groups gained formal leadership support, and the partner heading each group joined the ADAC." Christine Murphy, Human Resources Partner and the Human Resources Director for Diversity www.diversityjournal.com

A Cultural Revolution Ninety-one percent of respondents to our 2000 Global People Commitment Survey say the Firm is excellent/very good/good at understanding different cultures in developing solutions; and 84 percent judged them as high for managing diversity. Clients cite the Firm’s diversity as a deciding factor in engaging our services. For five consecutive years, the Firm has been named to Fortune magazine’s list of “The 100 Best Companies to Work For in America.” It wasn’t always this way.

“Our targets are aggressive, but don’t communicate the power of Vision 2005,” notes Lisa Caldwell, Partner and National Director for the Advancement of Women. “Coaching, mentoring, and development programs will prepare women for leadership and support their success.”

A Grass-Roots Movement In the early 1990s, women were leaving our Firm at a much greater rate than men. Clients were looking for increased ethnic, racial, and gender diversity on our engagement teams. New markets were emerging, but Firm demographics didn’t match the markets we were hoping to serve. A task force was formed in 1992 to tackle gender issues. Liz White, Partner and former Associate National Director for the Advancement of Women, explains: “Turnover among women was high and costly. Nearly 50 percent of the Firm’s workforce and the available labor pool were women. The demographics—and losses we’d suffer if turnover of women continued unchecked—made it easier to gain national and local leadership buy-in for the business case for diversity.” In April 1993, the Firm launched the Initiative for the Retention and Advancement of Women to address the task force findings, which included: perceived obstacles to advancement, a male-dominated culture, and a lack of sufficient work/life balance. In March 2001, Vision 2005 was launched to ensure proportionate representation of women at all levels of the Firm, including top leadership. The success of these Women’s Initiatives have exceeded our expectations. The gap between male and female turnover narrowed to one percent. We reinvented our culture and laid the groundwork for greater inclusion and both women and men found greater professional flexibility. We gained a great competitive advantage, as our gender diversity led to new business wins, attracted top male and female talent, and helped the Firm gain recognition as an employer of choice and a thought-leader on women’s workplace issues.

In the early 1990s, turnover was also high for African Americans, Hispanics, and members of other under-represented groups who didn’t feel a sense of belonging to the Firm. To address this problem, in 1994 we introduced minority recruiting, community and academic outreach programs, and several informal Affinity Groups began to emerge. In 1997, Linda Solomon, an African American Partner, wrote “Building Teams of Talent: A Deloitte Consulting White Paper.” Her work established the philosophy, definition, and infrastructure for valuing diversity. “The Americas Diversity Advisory Council (ADAC) was created to provide guidance and act as a diversity steering committee and oversight board,” notes Solomon. ADAC comprises 15 leading Partners, including the Firm’s Human Resources Partner and the Human Resources Director for Diversity, Christine Murphy, who was appointed in 2000. At that time, the Women’s Initiative was also aligned with Affinity Groups and our broader diversity efforts. “Our Affinity Groups were addressing the development, advocacy, and networking needs of their constituencies,” says Murphy. “Still, we lacked a structure for driving diversity deeper into our organization. That changed in 2001. Our Affinity Groups—the Women’s Initiative Network, African American Network, GLOBE (Gays, Lesbians, or Bisexual Employees), Hispanic Network, and the International Network (South Asian, East Asian & European Employees)—gained formal leadership support, and the partner heading each group joined the ADAC.” International Network/South Asian Affinity Group. Sam Balaji, Partner in San Francisco,

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Raising The Bar

GE Capital

NETWORKS:

potential

NURTURING

here are many secrets to GE Capital’s success. In a word, one of the key ingredients is diversity. Like our parent, General Electric, diversity can be found not only in our businesses, products and services, but also in our people, in their thoughts and in the skills and styles they possess. In fact, working for GE can give people the opportunity to work for dozens of different companies.

GE Capital is a diversified financial services company with $425 billion in assets, and operations in 45 countries. Realizing that people are at the core of our success, our focus on training, mentoring and coaching is never-ending. One of the tools that we use to help develop employees is networks. Some may think they’re passe, but actually we’ve taken them to new heights.

encourage employees to go faster and further in their careers. Employees involved in GE networks volunteer for participation on specific committees and projects that meet their needs or help address the needs of others. The networks are divided into regional hubs and much of the day-to-day activity is on a local or regional level, though hubs share best practices and insights globally, even partnering with outside organizations for particular events. GE Capital CEO Denis Nayden is closely involved with the networks, and sees them as a top priority in fostering leadership. He and other senior leadership members use them as one of a number of ways to stay close to employees and help grow top talent.

Advancing to New Positions There are four primary networks: GE Women’s Network, African American Forum, Asian Pacific American Forum and Hispanic Forum, which are run by employees and supported by the company and its senior management.

Sunita Holzer VP Human Resources Director of GE Capital Global Employer of Choice Programs GE Capital 260 Long Ridge Road Stamford, CT 06927 Tel: 203.357.4171 FAX: 203.357.4603

sunita.holzer@gecapital.com page 38

The networks vary in size and activity, but their purpose is universal. They help employees build relationships, develop professionally, overcome hurdles, gain exposure to senior management and ultimately advance their careers. And what’s more, they’re fun too! There is a host of formal and informal network activities, including presentation training, self-awareness workshops, mentoring programs, socializing functions, senior management lunches and roundtables, crosscareer lunches and community-based activities. The networks foster and Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

The networks can be used as a tool to help employees advance to new positions. Vicki Ho, a marketing manager at GE Capital Real Estate, is in charge of market research and sales effectiveness. She has been an active member of both the Asian Pacific American Forum and the Women’s Network for the past two years. According to her, one of the most rewarding aspects of being a part of the networks is to meet with others and learn about different careers in the company. For example, during Vicki’s time with the Asian Pacific American Forum, she found that some of her peers, working in an IT capacity, wanted to cross over into marketing positions. After Vicki made their interests known to senior-level management involved with the network, workshops were developed to address ways to bridge the gap between these two areas of business. www.diversityjournal.com

Networks: Nurturing Potential Raising The Bar The GE Women’s Network holds monthly cross-business career lunches to give members exposure to key leadership in the company. In March, Deb Elam, Managing Director, HR, GE Capital Commercial Finance, and Mike Pyles, Senior Vice President, HR, GE Capital Global Consumer Finance, led a Cross-Business Career Lunch on moving across businesses within GE. Both have navigated their careers across multiple GE businesses. Mike emphasized the value of a broad cross-functional, crossbusiness career path, as well as developing deep expertise in one business area. Deb provided advice on how to find careers in other businesses.

Reaching Full Potential in Current Roles Employees also feel that networks are instrumental in helping them hone the skills they need to advance. Mary Franco, Global Manager of Community Relations for GE Capital, and Head of the East Region of the GE Women’s Network, is a case in point. According to Mary, the GE Women’s Network helped her refine her speaking skills and improve her overall presentation of GE Capital’s mission, which has been helpful in her current position.

Employees also gain help from mentoring programs that the networks provide. As an example, the Women’s Network identifies mentors on an individual level as well as in a group approach through Senior Management Mentoring Lunches and Dinners. At the group events, there are usually two senior executives and 12 guests from the network. During the course of the event, the women can raise company and career development questions. These events have been helpful to our employees in gaining senior level exposure as well as in forming new business relationships.

Serving the Community Apart from their internal value, most of the network hubs are also actively involved in the communities they serve. Many members benefit both personally and professionally from volunteering opportunities and community outreach initiatives. As an example, the GE Women’s Network began running “Professional Development/ Skills for Living” workshops for the Women’s Mentoring Network (WMN) just a few months ago. WMN is a Stamford, CT, nonprofit organization focused on improving the lives of women and families trying to get back on their feet. The workshop topics have included Conflict Management, Negotiation,

Managing Your Career and Getting Organized and Setting Priorities. To complement the workshops, the GE Women’s Network has also launched a mentoring program with the Women’s Mentoring Network. Both the community and our employees have gained valuable skills from this exchange. Likewise, Jennifer Ellenberg, VP of Airline Rotable Parts Financing, and co-head of the Stamford Hub of the Women’s Network, has become more deeply involved in the community as a result of her role with the Hub. It was through a cross-company Women’s Network event that she learned of the Sexual Assault Crisis and Education Center for which she is today a member of the board. She says that community events and activities provide a positive yet informal and fun environment for executives to meet each other and interact.

Socializing The networks also provide ways for members to socialize outside of work and meet colleagues they don’t interact with on a daily basis. In December, over 60 women from the Stamford and Fairfield GE Women’s Network hubs got together to enjoy a “Wine Tasting Evening.” The purpose was twofold: network with other GE women and have fun. Forming a network at your company is easy as long as someone has the right vision. The GE networks began small and have grown to include thousands of employees all over the globe. Start with small quarterly meetings and then expand to monthly meetings. Make sure the meetings are beneficial to all levels of employees and remember to keep them fun and interesting. It is key to engage senior leadership early to help carry the vision forward. As more employees become involved, the network will expand across your company.

The GE Networks are designed to be flexible, providing each member with a host of ways to benefit from their experiences. “There is a host of formal and informal network Ultimately, the networks serve activities, including presentation training, selfas another step in our path to awareness workshops, mentoring programs, socializing make GE a company where functions, senior management lunches and roundtables, everyone has the opportunity cross-career lunches and community-based activities. to live their career dreams. PDJ The networks foster and encourage employees to go faster and further in their careers.” www.diversityjournal.com

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page 39

Raising The Bar

General Motors Corporation

osmetics and cars? At first blush, it is difficult to recognize the connection between the two. Today’s automobiles are the pinnacle of complex design and engineering. It takes several years and millions of dollars to bring a new vehicle from drawing board to showroom floor. On the other hand, cosmetics have been around since the time of Cleopatra and while it also takes millions of dollars in research and development to launch new breakthrough products, functionally speaking, the engineering of lipsticks is far less complex than the engineering of an automobile. Despite this disparity, the automobile and cosmetics industries are connected by a basic business truism—diversity marketing is fueling their growth. Furthermore, there are lessons the beauty products industry learned several years ago that can be applied to today’s automotive market.

Growth through diversity Women and diversity groups are some of the fastest growing consumer segments. In fact, African Americans and Hispanics control almost a trillion dollars in purchasing power. Women are driving important purchase decisions. In the automotive industry, for instance, women influence 80 percent of all new vehicle purchases.

General Motors has developed marketing and sales programs that complement core business initiatives, yet appeal directly to these important audiences with targeted advertising communications, promotional programs and compelling product design features.

In the early 1990s, AVON, a leader in direct selling to women around the world, faced a similar challenge. The company recognized the need to While industries like fashion, packaged goods and cosmetics have traditionally targeted women expand its base beyond its traditional customer: and diversity audiences, new industries are recog- Caucasian, suburban, lower- and middle-class nizing the importance of these groups as a source women. AVON needed to address the incredible population growth and consumption of beauty of incremental business volume. products in diversity markets. Companies in the telecommunications, financial At the time, women of color, including services and automotive industries have all Hispanics and African Americans, accounted for “stretched” to reach a broader array of customers. This leads to an inherent challenge: how approximately 20 percent of the population, but do you attract new customers without alienating over 25 pecent of AVON’s sales and an even higher percentage of profits. The challenge for the core , mainstream business? AVON was how to shift from a suburban, general marketing approach to an approach that General Motors created the Center of Expertise and Diversity Growth Markets in direct response could attract a more urban, diverse and younger target. The shift had to be accomplished withto the population and economic growth of out taking the eye off of the base business, diverse consumer groups, including women, because it represented the engine that would youth and persons of African, Asian and fund expansion. Hispanic descent. As the number one automotive leader among these diverse audiences,

from cosmetics

toCARS

Miriam Muléy Director, Marketing & Sales to Women General Motors Corporation Global Headquarters 100 Renaissance Center Detroit, MI 48265-1000 Mail Code 4482-A24-C36 Tel: 313.556.5000 FAX: 313.667.2939

Whether you’re Avon or GM, the basic tenets of diversity marketing are the same. That is, if you’re going to do it right.

miriam.muley@gm.com page 40

Profiles in Diversity Journal

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www.diversityjournal.com

From Cosmetics to Cars Raising the Bar One of AVON’s largest diversity business units targeted women of color. A team of merchandisers, product designers and creative writers created and implemented a multifaceted and integrated business expansion plan to target this essential constituency. Working together, the team reversed a twoyear sales and share decline through a focused strategy of product development, merchandising, advertising and sales support and training that resulted in double-digit growth. Over 200 new products were introduced and the official sales estimates for these new products were exceeded by 57 percent. As proof that diversity marketing knows no bounds, there are at least eight key areas addressed by GM and AVON that can be applied to any company seeking to expand into diverse markets.

Communicate on a rational and emotional level Products like automobiles may be made of steel, rubber and glass, but they have a style and in many ways reflect the sensibilities and lifestyle of their owner. At GM, recognizing and embracing cultural nuances is at the center of diversity marketing. The resulting communications and marketing activities resonate with diverse groups and demonstrate that “GM understands and respects my world.” For AVON, recognizing that beauty is both an outer physical goal and a reflection of an inner sense of self was key. The “AVON-ness” that permeated the brand was a feeling that spoke to women in a way that acknowledged their world as unique and special.

Recognize the importance of having control over one’s destiny GM understands that marketing diversity means more than just selling products. The company has a long history of supporting its employees of all backgrounds through affinity groups and Human Resources, mentoring programs, networking events and job sharing efforts. An empowered organization creates breakthrough products. And a company that creates breakthrough products attracts new and excited employees.

chance to be empowered and be in control of their own destinies. The company was a pioneer in offering a flexible, easy to balance work/home life as an AVON Representative. For the first time, women had an opportunity to earn extra income and manage their personal and family responsibilities at the same time. Today, there are over 3 million AVON Representatives worldwide.

As proof that diversity marketing knows no bounds, there are at least

eight key areas

addressed by GM and AVON that can be applied to any company seeking to expand into diverse markets. Understand diverse needs One size does not fit all, in cars or cosmetics. One of the founding principles of General Motors is to provide a vehicle for every lifestyle and lifestage. This is accomplished by bringing to bear unique and diverse perspectives throughout the design and engineering process. The resulting products reflect their designers and appeal to a broad spectrum of consumers by incorporating versatil ity, style and functionality. As AVON expanded its product portfolio to target African-American women, new cosmetics with deeper skin tone shade and deeper pigmented colors for lips, nails, eyes and face products were developed. African-American designers created bolder jewelry and expressions of cultural heritage were incorporated into apparel and home fashions. These products were not only sold in the main AVON brochure, the company “store,” but also received incremental advertising and promotion support in a targeted merchandising book called the AVON Boutique.

There is diversity within diversity AVON offered women not only a terrific stateof-the-art line of beauty prod ucts, but also the

Women and diversity groups come in many shapes, colors, incomes, educational back-

www.diversityjournal.com

Profiles in Diversity Journal • May/June 2002

grounds, values, ages, lifestyles. The term African American, for example, embraces many cultures: including individuals with mixed racial ancestry (i.e., Caucasian/Black, Asian/Black, Indian/Black) and individuals who experience their culture through different contexts (i.e., African American; Afro-Caribbean; Afro-Latina). The business volume associated in reaching and appealing to each group must be evaluated for where there is the greatest return on investment. As such, GM and AVON researched and identified the segments in their respective industries that offered major growth opportunities and developed specific programs to reach them.

Representatives are the face of the company At GM, the Sales and Service Consultants at the dealerships are the company’s face to the consumer. GM is instituting comprehensive training programs to help the dealership community connect with the diverse automobile buying market that exists in their own backyards. AVON Representatives, too, were a critical link with direct access to the consumer. They needed up-to-date information and training on the changing beauty and fashion needs of women of color—whether or not they themselves were of African, Hispanic or Asian descent.

Give back to the community GM supports hundreds of organizations that make a difference in communities throughout the world and encourages its employees to do the same. Not just because automobile buyers are more likely to support a company that supports their community, but because it is the right thing to do. Likewise, the pages of the AVON Boutique always featured an up-and-coming African American artist, entrepreneur or designer. This grassroots support was central to the mission of the Boutique.

Link diversity success to overall success At both GM and AVON, diversity markets are a top business priority and are recognized as essential for overall company growth with aggressive performance metrics. After all, if it can’t be measured, it can’t be improved.

continued page 48 page 41

The Changing Landscape

Hubbard & Hubbard, Inc.

measuringresults

precision how much is required? A Author of such works as “Measuring Diversity Results” and “How to Calculate Diversity Return on Investment (DROI),” Dr. Ed Hubbard offers us all a self-teaching tool for discovering the power of diversity metrics.

ny time the subject of measuring diversity work comes up, issues of accuracy and precision invariably arise. It has been argued that to measure diversity activities convincingly or with any high degree of confidence is difficult. Diversity measures based on “report cards” don’t allow for competing hypotheses in assertions such as “managing diversity leads to increased profitability.” (Some would argue that other efforts could just as easily have caused the profitability to increase.) Another contention is that there is lack of control over thousands of factors that influence a large organization’s profitability. That is, lack of control over factors like inflation, labor market conditions, and the cost of money can make it virtually impossible to effectively measure diversity with accuracy.

Dr. Ed Hubbard President & CEO Hubbard & Hubbard, Inc. 1302 Holm Road Petaluma, CA 94954-1164 Tel: 707.763.8380 FAX: 707.763.3640 edhub@aol.com

page 42

In general, this argument is correct, though similar conditions prevail throughout the organization. Everyone knows certain factors are not controllable. The marketing department does not have control over the product or the customer; the finance department does not control the cost of money or inflation. Yet both departments are able to evaluate much of their work quantitatively. If we are willing, we might admit that there are more issues out of control than in the control of any organization. The task of management is to reduce the uncontrollable variables and to instill as much order as possible. Management does not require accuracy at the .05 level of statistical significance. In research, precision is critical, obviously. In pharmaceuticals or medicine, extreme care must be taken with procedures and measurement. Results are often required to be statistically valid beyond the .001 level. That kind of measureProfiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

ment with a capital “M” is not required in operational measurement. We are operating not in a laboratory, but in the field, with all the problems inherent in field research and experimentation. Accuracy is necessary, but precision is naturally limited by internal and external conditions. Though we can’t control the variables in the environment completely, we can still come up with usable numbers and “compelling evidence” of diversity’s contribution to the bottom line.

It is not necessary to introduce heavy statistics to persuade management and employees of the need for progress and accountability in diversity change initiatives and to highlight their impact on profitability. This does not suggest that “control group,” financial and “mental model” processes should be avoided. It suggests only that the optimum array of diversity measures should include a blend of data and levels of measurement. In many business situations, activity- and process-based (report card) diversity measures can play a vital role in the organization’s leadership agenda. Report card measures of diversity are like snapshots of the past. They can provide an historical reference to accomplishments or serve as milestones along the path to producing outcomes. Examples: the number of diversity-competent employees, cost per trainee-hour, and turnover by performance level by gender by length of service. These measures provide opportunities for personal feedback regarding achievement and measuring accountability for implementing new diverse workforce change or improvement activities and processes. These report card measures are a key part of a value chain for implementing change in an organization.

www.diversityjournal.com

Measuring Diversity Results The Changing Landscape The Time-to-Fill Formula: The Diversity Value Chain This value chain is composed of four basic components:

Diversity Activity / Process

Outcome

Impact

Added Value

Generally speaking, all diversity processes are begun for the purpose of producing value. Any other purpose would be wasteful. One of our objectives should be to develop more effective ways to measure and evaluate changes Outcome Impact Added Value Activity / made in the Process • Lower Hiring • Reduced organization to • Lower Costs Operating improve perform- • Increase Agency Rates • Jobs Filled Expense (1) Diverse ance based upon Faster (1) • Faster Talent diversity Human • Less Need Recruitment improvement to Use Resource to Sources activities/processTemporary Organization es, outcomes, Help (2) -al Need (2) impact, and resulting value. • Retention • Increase in • Reduced • Improve Savings as Reasons Time to Solve Diverse Some typical Compared Given in Work Team value chain to Rolling Survey for Problemexamples: Average of Long Solving Previous Service by Processes Years Diverse Members • Install Succession Planning for Diverse Workforce

• Fewer Emergency Minority Hires

• Less Recruitment Expense

• Lower Operating Expense

For every use of resources to improve an organization using a diversity activity/process, there should be an improvement in result. We call the result an “outcome.” The difference between this outcome and the previous outcomes before the diversity process improvement was implemented is the “impact.” The dollar improvement represented by the impact is the “value added.” An example might include changing the talent acquisition methods used to hire diverse workforce talent (activities/process), which shortens the time to fill jobs (outcome).

Time-to-Fill Formula: TF = RR - OD where: TF = Time to have an offer accepted RR = Date the requisition is received (e.g., January 4) OD = Date the offer is accepted (e.g., February 20) EXAMPLE TF = January 4 - February 20 = 47 days As jobs are filled faster (see impact 1), there is less need to use temporary or contract workers (see impact 2). The cost avoidance can be calculated and a dollar savings computed (see value added 1). If, through the diversity department’s effort to change acquisition methods, jobs are filled faster, not only does the organization reduce operating expense, but the cost of the human resource product is lowered and moved to market faster (see value added 2). Lower human resource (product) acquisition cost and shorter human resource asset delivery time to the organization can create a competitive advantage, especially in light of less successful competitors (based upon benchmarking analysis comparisons). Thus, report card measures of diversity activities and/or processes are vital in order to gain feedback on staff accountability for generating solutions to address such key business issues as inadequate diverse talent acquisition. Without these activities or processes, we could not produce the accompanying outcomes, impacts and results. Even if these activities or processes produced poor results, the diversity department can gain by knowing what else doesn’t work and then shift its efforts to more productive outcomes.

Creating an Effective Scorecard In addition to report card measures, it is critical to have “scorecard measures.” A notion popularized by Harvard professors Robert Kaplan and David Norton in a book entitled: The Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan and Norton, 1996), the diversity scorecard, unlike the “report card,” presents both lead and lag indicators of performance and profitability. Report card measures only tell of past performance (lag indicator). Scorecard measures, on the other www.diversityjournal.com

hand, reflect both “lead” indicators (such as diversity climate survey ratings that indicate if an employee plans to leave within the next six months) and “lag” indicators of diversity performance (such as the number of people who are diversity competent or financial measures of profitability). For the most part, any object, issue, act, process, or activity that can be described by observable Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

variables is subject to measurement. The phenomenon can be evaluated in terms of cost, time, quantity, or quality. The central issue in applying measurement to the diversity change process is this: to decide what is worth measuring and to agree on the measure as a fair representation of progress and accountability (given field limitations). Often, management will accept progress over perfection. PDJ page 43

Legal Briefings

Holland & Knight LLP

diversityin corporate governance NEW

Examining the need for

Y T I R O I R P A

Weldon H. Latham Senior Partner

diversity in America’s Boardrooms

quiet but positive revolution is taking place in corporate boardrooms. Diversity among board members is becoming an essential element of a successful global company and any real diversity program. In 2001, Fortune magazine's “50 Best Companies for Minorities” reported that, “At our average top50 corporation, ethnic minorities hold 11 percent of the board seats …,” with Darden Restaurants, Inc., owner of Red Lobster and Olive Garden, having the most diverse board— six of twelve members (or 50 percent) being ethnic minorities. According to a 1999 Korn/Ferry International Study, minority directors represented only 6 percent of major corporate directors. In January 2002, Hispanic Business reported that 82 Hispanics hold 114 board seats among the Fortune 1000— a 52 percent increase over the prior year. Long held as a feather in the cap of any corporate titan, selection for the boardroom is the ultimate measure of inclusion in corporate power and achievement. Successfully electing highly qualified minority and female board members, which elevates them to these coveted positions, may be the litmus test of a corporation's commitment to achieve diversity.

Holland & Knight LLP 2099 Pennsylvania Avenue Suite 100 Washington, D.C. 20006-6801 Tel: 202.663.7252 FAX: 202.663.7249

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page 44

A corporate board should be drawn from the brightest, most accomplished individuals from not only the business community, but also from other similarly demanding endeavors, to best protect and advance shareholders' interests. Current and former CEOs are the preferred candidates, given their invaluable experience. In the past, however, there were few, if any, minority or female CEOs, and some corporate boards used this fact to justify their white-male-only composition. Others limited minority and female board membership by hold ing these candidates to a higher standard Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

than their white male counterparts and limiting participation to token status, i.e., only one African American, or one female, or even just one female or minority seat. The status quo is beginning to change. Now, absence of diversity on a major corporate board ipso facto evidences a lack of “diversity of thought and experience” and disadvantages the company and its shareholders. A factor currently influencing the board selection process is the “new markets” phenomenon, i.e., the increasing reliance on minority and female consumers to enhance profitability and market share of mainstream corporations. This growing reliance on minorities and fem ales as customers has elevated the importance of diversity in most major companies. The ascension of African Americans to the CEO/COO level evidences the major change on the horizon. The list currently includes: Franklin Raines of Fannie Mae; Kenneth Chenault, American Express; Richard Parsons, AOL/Time Warner; and Stan O'Neil of Merrill Lynch. They are not alone—even earlier, women began benefiting from the “new markets” concept. There are currently eleven female CEOs in the Fortune 1000, including Carleton Fiorina, Hewlett-Packard; Anne Mulcahy, Xerox; Patricia Russo, Lucent; Meg Whitman, eBay; and Andrea Jung (an Asian female) at Avon. Hispanics and Asians are similarly rising through the ranks of major corporations. At McDonald's, for example, three of the sixteen senior executives are Hispanic. At Levi Strauss, Albert Moreno, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, has made inroads in a corporate culture that is also one of Fortune's “Best Companies for Asians.” In an increasingly interdependent global economy, issues of diversity are both more evident and important. To maintain a competitive edge, facwww.diversityjournal.com

Diversity in Corporate Governance: A New Priority Legal Briefings tors such as different ethnic, racial, cultural, and world perspectives have become vital, and corporate boards that reflect the diversity in society are becoming increasingly relevant indicators of the company's credibility.

case of Armando Codina, a director may choose the traditional director's role, without regard to race or gender. The fact that most minorities and women have a s ignificantly different experience base, however, usually

All successful revolutions (or more appropriately, in this case—evolutions) have a stated purpose, a mission that legitimizes the replacement of the old with the new. In Ameri ca's boardrooms, the primary objective never wavers—enhancing profitability and market share. Corporate leaders are judged in the media, in the market, and ultimately in the minds of shareholders based on the company's growth and profits. As long as diversity makes financial sense, minorities and women should continue to make strides in these once allwhite-male bastions of power and influence.

There are still numerous Fortune 1000 companies with no women and no minorities on their boards. In these companies, the selection of even a single minority or female, although grossly inadequate for purposes of diversity, would be a significant improvement on the status quo.

As Arman do Codina, an Hispanic corporate board veteran who currently serves on seven major boards (from Pitney-Bowes to General Motors), recently stated in Hispanic Business, “I consider my constituency (to be) my shareholders.” Such commitment to the board position has not been unusual, but some may argue that the responsibilities of a successful minority or female director should extend beyond the boardroom. Certainly, a smart corporation that elects a minority to its board recognizes that board members with ties to their communities provide the additional benefit of positive visibility that can foster stronger relations with minority segments of the buying public. A diverse board represents a win-win-win situation for board membercommunity-company! “Boards are not looking for the token … anymore,” says Merle Pollak, Executive Director of Corporate Board Placement for Catalyst. Pollak's statement is the appropriate position of the future, but a position that is not currently close to reality. There are still numerous Fortune 1000 companies with no women and no minorities on their boards. In these companies, the selection of even a single minority or female, although grossly inadequate for purposes o f diversity, would be a significant improvement on the status quo.

enhances the diversity of perspective and provides a different basis of sensitivities. By contrast, some “new” directors will choose to aggressively insert their special perspectives into the corporate dialogue and policy development process. Dolores Wharton, the first African American woman and the first female on the boards of Michigan Bel l Telephone, Phillips Petroleum, and Gannett in the 1970s (who founded two organizations promoting women and minorities in business), in 1978 told the New York Times, “I have a sensitivity to the causes of women and minorities, but that is not my sole role.” Clearly, the minority and female board members selected to date have had superior credentials, and their perspectives on race or gender are purely a dditional benefits.

The ultimate impact of diversity in the boardroom on the greater society, while conjuring images of equality of opportunity and economic parity, remains to be seen. As in the

Traditionally, board vacancies have been filled by persons with associations or relationships with management, former or current board members, or by executive search firms that specialize in this arena. An empty board position is rare, and a lengthy search usually ends with the election of a director whose stellar credentials include other board memberships and executive responsibil ities in another major company. To achieve greater success in securing more minority and female board members, corporate board nominating committees need to develop an appreciation that the required skill sets for success on corporate boards need not be restricted to successful achievement in the business community alone; there are other

www.diversityjournal.com

Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

fora where the same essential skill sets are indicative of success in other endeavors. Until recently, few minorities and women were considered for boards, even though an elite group of minorities and women who possess outstanding traditional credentials did exist. Additionally, an even broader cross-section of talented minorities and women can be found either just below the highest levels of the corpora te hierarchy or in other enclaves of power, such as government, law, or academia. This broader group has worked successfully in a range of venues and offers unique skills and valuable experience despite not serving as CEOs. These minorities and women have been consistently ignored, but some enlightened corporations have begun to realize that in order to expand the pool of talent, they must utilize alte rnative but equally rigorous criteria to secure diverse board members. “If a minority professional is a manager in an important firm, even if they are not at the top of the executive ladder, chances are he or she has had to work at least as hard or harder to achieve goals …,” says Kenneth Aaron in The Times Union on May 14, 2001. A board committed to reflecting its community, shareholders, and most importantly, its consumers, will find a way to be more inclusive, with no degradation of board quality. This approach is clearly in the best interests of the company. Partners from the nation's large, prestigious law firms; presidents and deans of major universities; former ranking Federal, state, and local government officials—all are frequent exceptions to the standard CEO profile. These individuals wi th impressive records of performance in alternative venues must be aggressively pursued to attract more minorities and women to the highest level of corporate policy positions. It will take years for this “revolution” to achieve its ultimate goal, i.e., making diversity in the boardroom the norm. Nonetheless, the demise of the “strictly white male boardroom” is inevitable, because diverse boards are defi nitely good for business. PDJ

Weldon Latham is a senior partner and Practice Area Leader of the Holland & Knight LLP Corporate Diversity Counseling Group. He serves as Counsel to the Coca-Cola Procurement Advisory Council and is a Founding Member and General Counsel of the National Coalition of Minority Businesses. page 45

An Evolving Curriculum

Cornell University

uch has been written about the critical role of top organizational leadership in diversity change. Leadership must understand the nature of the change initiative, articulate its strategic significance, authorize resources, compel accountability, and model consistency. We like to recall a simple encounter at a company dinner dance. The company had just extended language in the non-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation and instituted domestic partner benefits. When the dancing began, one gay couple approached the dance floor. No other couples joined them until the company president led his wife onto the floor and began to dance as well. That’s leadership.

With diversity, however, responsibility extends beyond leadership. For any organization that reflects the norms of our current society, successful diversity change implies a significant culture change, one that infuses the expectation to learn from difference. It transforms the stories people tell one another about how the organization operates and what—and who—is “really” valued. If an organization’s goal is to create an inclusive community where diversity is recognized and valued, where daily interactions are guided by mutual respect and where differences of perspective are utilized to improve performance, a top-down or consultant-delivered solution has limitations. While this approach may compel compliance, its substance often fails to become part of the living fabric of the organization. It may, in fact, be met with increased cynicism and undermined by mixed messages. How might an inclusive process of collaborative change offer advantage?

Susan Woods Senior Extension Associate Co-Director, The Workplace Diversity Network Bob Rich Senior Extension Associate Employment and Workplace Systems Cornell University ILR Tel: 607.255.7119 (Rich) 716.852.4191 ext 123 (Woods) rer3@cornell.edu (Rich)

City of Ithaca Work Environment Project This was exactly the question considered by the City of Ithaca, New York when it initiated the Work Environment Task Force. Ithaca is a small city of just over 29,000 people. The latest Census Data reports a population that identifies as roughly 15 percent Asian, 8 percent African-American, 5 percent Latino and 76 percent White. It is home to Cornell University and Ithaca College. The university environment attracts people from around the world, creating a cultural atmosphere in city life that reflects the diversity and ethnic traditions of its residents. The City employs 420 permanent employees, in 12 separate departments, represented by six different unions, including police and fire. In response to several allegations of bias and discrimination in the workplace, the City decided to take a highly participative approach. The City’s Common Council formed a Work Environment Task Force, a diverse crosssection of management, union representatives, and the rest of the workforce in a collaborative process of research, data analysis and policy recommendations. Special emphasis was directed to perceived issues of oppression and intimidation. City leadership supported the process by offering time off and overtime to participants. The process unfolded in several distinct stages. First a Survey Design Team was established, composed of a cross-section of the workforce, invited to participate in the questionnaire development phase of data collection. Working with expert facilitators, the Team developed a

Can we expect a workforce to take diversity change seriously if the methods used to create change are not inclusive? Can diversity change be genuinely diffused without participation? Jane Maestro-Scherer, President, Fathom, Inc. Co-facilitator, City of Ithaca Project

thevaluein

participation

sew13@cornell.edu (Woods) page 46

Profiles in Diversity Journal

• May/June 2002

www.diversityjournal.com

The Value in Participation

A New Curriculum

comprehensive work environment survey, then “As a result of utilizing the participative process, the City of Ithaca obtained a significant amount of served as survey administrators, setting up ownership for the project. Additionally, the involvetimes for employees to complete the survey, ment of front-line employees in the survey design explaining the background of the project and phase resulted in a 68 percent response rate. The tool answering questions about confidentiality and itself turned out to be very comprehensive and I believe intended uses of survey data. The effort built if the employees had not designed it themselves we confidence, communicated the intent of the would have received great resistance.” change process and resulted in a 68 percent Schelley Michell-Nun voluntary response rate. Director of Human Resources, Ithaca, NY Once the data was compiled, information analysis sessions were convened. Employees were able to view the data, ask questions and manipulate the data to look for relationships they thought were relevant to the issues under investigation. For example, they could request to see the relationship between gender (or tenure, employment status, etc.) and reported experiences of intimidation. They could then refine their understanding by looking at the sources of these negative experiences. As city employees gained more familiarity with the statistical tools used in these sessions, their information requests became more sophisticated. In each session, a series of findings that the group could agree on was documented.

work.” Perhaps the same can be said for diversi- legitimacy with the remainder of the workforce, who regarded it as “informed” decision-making. ty culture change.

The City of Ithaca experience demonstrates that Diffusion. Communicating is one of the biggest challenges. Involving significant numan inclusive change process offers several bers of employees from various organizational advantages, both procedural and substantive. roles and levels promotes an “organic” diffusion effect. In the City project, over a third of the Credibility. Confidence in a change process is workforce was involved in survey development, strengthened when employees at all levels data analysis or action planning. This active perceive that their particular perspective and participation increased awareness and readiness circumstance was expressed authentically and in a way that vision statements, newsletters, taken into consideration in decision-making. memos, training or directives alone could not In the City of Ithaca project, initial substantial have achieved. skepticism dissipated as the authenticity of participation was realized. Competency. Engaging a broad representation of employees in an inclusive change process Since the range of issues that surfaced was Acceptance. Diversity and inclusion reach enhances group process, builds analysis and broad, the Task Force decided to choose three to deeply into personal territory, challenging problem-solving skills, and develops a more begin working on immediately—supervision/ employees to examine their own values, belief discipline, oppression/intimidation and health systems, norms and social interaction patterns. sophisticated awareness of organizational systems and complexity. and safety. Employee groups, called Issue In this context, resistance to change is natural. Action Teams, were pulled together again to The City project affirms our thinking that a Success using a participative approach to review what had been found, ask additional combination of strong sponsorship from the culture change is not automatic. Expectations questions of the data, and develop recommen- top with an involvement process that creates generated by this process may not be appropridations for action. These Issue Action Team opportunity for employee groups throughout ate for organizations whose main focus is legal sessions involved over 50 employees, from sen- the organization to do their own learning compliance and litigation prevention. It is, ior management to rank and file, and generated reduces change resistance. however, consistent with organizations where 67 specific recommendations for change, all of there is already a culture of autonomy and which were adopted by the Common Council Ownership and Accountability. Successful self-direction. It is well suited for organizations and budgeted for staged implementation. change implementation requires commitment that have adopted employee involvement, Recommendations included training on sexual from the workforce. Especially in the context utilize teams, or function with a joint harassment and diversity, the development of of diversity and inclusion, workers who are labor-management process. uniform standards which all managers underengaged early and authentically take ownership stand and enforce, a mentoring-coaching profor the change process. Participation requires the understanding, supgram, and research study of bullying. port, involvement, commitment and emotional Decision-making Validity. We found in the Building the Case for Inclusive, Ithaca project that front-line workers were often intelligence of top leadership. And while the upfront time required to organize and engage Participatory Diversity Change best equipped to interpret survey data because Are the methods used in a diversity change of their intimate knowledge of the context from involvement is greater, the time usually required process as important as the message? To be which it was generated. No outside consultants to build awareness and understanding, overcome resistance, and implement change is effective, a diversity change should include or upper-level management group could have everyone in an organization, top to bottom. The provided the richness and depth that was pos- greatly reduced. When well designed and facilitated, the upfront time of a participatory late William Foote Whyte, founder of Cornell’s sible through this inherent knowledge. The approach to change is an investment in Program for Employment and Workplace utilization of this internal knowledge resource increased probability of success. PDJ Systems, once wrote: “Those who know the not only improved the “product” of the effort most about the work are those who do the but also contributed significantly to its www.diversityjournal.com

Profiles in Diversity Journal • May/June 2002

page 47

high-performance teams

Deloitte Consulting Continued from page 37

African American Network. Lovie Jackson has been with Deloitte Consulting since 1979. She became a partner in 1985. In May 2001, she was named Senior Partner, and, as she puts it, “In the twilight of my professional years, I decided it was time to do more in the Firm about the part of diversity leadership that represents me.” Her passion led to the June 2001 launch of the “A national and virtual Supplemental Mentoring African American Senior Manager Coaching Program, which focuses on one-on-one coachpilot launches in June 2002. It augments the Firm’s formal coaching program to deal specifi- ing, information-sharing, and networking. cally with the characteristics and needs of South Available to all African American Senior Asians,” explains Balaji. “Soft-spoken, South Managers, the program outlines, and helps parAsians are often overlooked. Senior volunteer mentors will be available to junior practitioners ticipants to meet, the criteria for advancement to Partner or Director, as well as build an action for phone, online, and face-to-face advice and guidance. We’ll help our members to maintain their identity while building visibility, gaining kudos for their hard work, and preparing for advancement.”

founded and leads the South Asian Affinity Group, which consists of 200 professionals from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Networking to build awareness and business, recruiting and retention, internal and external marketing, and professional development are the group’s objectives.

plan to enhance/create their value proposition for the Firm.

A Look To The Future What’s next? More work and a lot of it. Representation of diverse individuals at all levels of our Firm is not yet what it must be. Minority and women recruiting programs will help us to capture the best people from all available talent pools. Development opportunities and work/life flexibility will help us to retain the best. We must identify the qualified women and minorities who want to advance to leadership, prepare them, and support their success. And we must go beyond metrics to measure our success. PDJ

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The bottom line As diversity-marketing programs flourish across myriad industries, best practices are established and lessons are shared across industries. Some basic building blocks of diversity marketing are illustrated in the GM and AVON experiences, such as the importance of understanding cultural nuances, communicating in a respectful manner and fostering diversity internally as well as externally. Without commitment, these building blocks will topple. Many diversity programs have failed because funding was tenuous or the commitment from the top and support from the bottom simply wasn’t there. Others, like those at GM and AVON, are destined to succeed because they are bigger than marketing—they pervade the organization, they are part of a long-term strategy and they are built using solid business fundamentals that will reap a positive return on investment. PDJ That’s the b ottom line. page 48

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