SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS

Indiana University

V443 MANAGING WORK FORCE DIVERSITY

 

Sections 8313 and 8852                                                                                                                       SPRING 2000

 

INSTRUCTOR: PROF. LOIS R. WISE                               OFFICE:                 SPEA 453               TEL: 855-4944

                                                                                                OFFICE HRS:        TUESDAY 1:30 – 2:30 or by Appt.

 

TR           9:30 – 10:45            SPEA 276               (8852)

                11:15 – 12:30          SPEA 278               (8313)

 

Transformations in the composition and nature of the work force have been a focus of general discussion since the mid-1980s.  Anticipated changes in the population and labor supply have caught the interests of researchers and policy-makers, but it is managers themselves who must decide how to accommodate real differences among the members of their organizations.  This course seeks to provide information for practitioners who hope to integrate an understanding of work force diversity into their management style and professional behavior. 

The course can be divided into three main modules.  The first, The Changing Work Force, examines the effects of demographic changes in the work force, the leadership challenges of diversity management, and the trends toward multiculturalism.   Module 2 focuses on Special Groups of Workers including members of racial and ethnic groups, older workers, the working family, women, and the disabled.  Module 3, Interface between Management Tasks and Diversity Issues, takes a preliminary look at the way diversity impacts specific aspects of management.  It examines research and issues related to communication patterns within organizations as well as the management concerns of hiring, placement, and appraisal practices as they relate to diversity.  The course employs different media including films, novels, and current news items to present information about diversity in the work place.

 

Course Material

Text:                       Nancy J. Adler, International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, third edition (Cincinnati: South-Western, 1996).

   Text:                        George Henderson, Cultural Diversity in the Workplace, (Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 1994).

Book Review:        Tony Hillerman, Dance Hall of the Dead, (Reprinted New York: Harper, 1990).

Reserves:               In Business/SPEA Library

Videos:                   Students can arrange to view these items with Media Resources (5-2103)

 

Course Policies

                University policies with respect to academic misconduct will be observed in all aspects of course work.  The Indiana University Code of Academic Ethics, which defines and clarifies the concepts of plagiarism, fabrication, interference and facilitation, is printed on pages 182-183 of the Schedule of Classes.

Incomplete grades (I) are not offered by this instructor.  Students who are absent for class assignments should submit the assignment in writing by the next class for no penalty or within one week for a half-grade penalty.  Thereafter a full grade is deducted.  Homework assignments follow the same rule.  Material submitted by the next week is penalized a half-grade, thereafter a full grade is deducted.  Late assignments can be submitted any day until April 13th  (5:00 PM).  No work will be accepted after that.  In the event course work is missing, the final grade will be computed based upon whatever work has been submitted within the time deadlines.

 

Note that Wednesday, March 8th is the last day for automatic withdrawal with a grade of W (4:00 PM).

 

Grading

Students are evaluated in five different areas:               

A.            Classwork & Assignments                                                                                 10%                       

B.            Current Events                                                                                                     10%                       

C.            Book Reviews                                                                                                       10%                       

D.            Case Study Project                                                                                              20%       

E.             Exams                                                                                                                     50%                       

A.  Classwork

Students are expected to have prepared required assignments and readings for each class.  The class work grade is based on the quality of participation.  Students with repeated absences should contact the instructor regarding makeup for class activities.  Depending on the nature of the activity, students absent on a day when a specific exercise is assigned may be able to submit a written exercise as a replacement.

 

B.  Current Events

Assignment 1: Managing Diversity in the Contemporary Workplace (5%)               Due 1/25

Using the World Wide Web or field research, gather information about how a specific organization implements a managing for diversity strategy or other diversity program or strategy.  Public, private, or non-profit examples are all acceptable. Getting started:

                Use the Yahoo search engine: http://www.yahoo.com.

                Use the Lycos search engine for governments at all levels: http://www.lycos.com

Use the US Library of Congress Link http://www.loc.gov -- a major source of information on government at the federal level. 

Use the FedWorld Information Network: http://fedworld.gov or try The US Office of Personnel Management site at http://www.opm.gov

 

Assignment 2:  On the Slope or Still in the Mud? (5%)                 Due 3/23

For the period Jan 1 through March 15th, compile a log of news articles in   national newspapers (e.g., NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, L.A. Times, Village Voice, Christian Science Monitor) to find evidence regarding the status of efforts to value diversity in the American Workplace.  Based on your findings, make an assessment of where we are today:  1.  Still in the mud; 2. Just coming out of the ooze; 3. On the slippery slope; or 4. On the Plateau Where Diversity is Valued.  Copy or compile clippings and news stories and write-up a short news analysis of 2-3 typed pages for submission.  Be prepared to discuss your findings and conclusions in class.  Submitted clippings properly referenced (Title, date, page) and presentation quality determine the grade.  Be prepared to discuss your findings in class.

 

C.  Book Review Essay:  Tony Hillerman, Dance Hall of the Dead (10%)   Due 2/15

Prepare an essay that discusses the relevance of the book for understanding the issue of managing cultural diversity. How does the novel demonstrate or illustrate issues about diversity that we have discussed in class?  To what extent does the novel present you with new information about cultural differences? What insights might a manager draw from the book that would be useful in valuing or managing employees from different backgrounds or with different orientations?

 

D.  Term Project: Case Study of Managing Diversity in Action (20%)       Due 4/13

Working in groups of about six, students are required to develop an original case study examining the way a real organization deals with or fails to manage a particular issue related to diversity in the work force.  The case should provide a good context or background for the organization studied, an explanation of the specific area of diversity examined, a description of what did or did not happen, an assessment of the extent to which diversity benefits or hampers or organizational performance, and recommendations for change and improvement.  Students will present their work in class 4/25 and 4/27. 

 

E.  Exams

Four equally weighted exams are offered during the course of the semester – each is worth 12.5% of the course grade.  There will be no makeups for exams but students who miss the midterm exam can apply their grades on the final to replace or make up for 1 to 4 exams, up to the full 50% of course grade represented by exams.  The final grade on the final replaces any previous grade.  The final will be comprehensive. 

 

 

Students are encouraged to bring forward suggestions for changes in the syllabus. 


COURSE OUTLINE

 

                1/11         ORIENTATION TO COURSE/REVIEW SYLLABUS

                                                                Making Diversity Work

 

                1/13         Video:                     “Mosaic Workplace: Why Value Diversity?”  (25 minutes)  BCO406, VH

 

                                Reserve:                 R.R. Thomas, “The Concept of Managing Diversity,” The Bureaucrat 20:4 (Winter 1992), 19-22.

                                Reserve:                 R. Roosevelt Thomas, “From Affirmative Action to Affirming Diversity,”                                                                                                                Management Text, p. 6.

 

 

MODULE 1: THE CHANGING WORK FORCE

 

  A.  WORK FORCES IN TRANSITION

                1/18         Text:                       Adler, Ch. 1: Culture and Management

                                Text:                       Henderson: Introduction

                                Reserve:                 Cox and Blake, “Managing Cultural Diversity”

                                Reserve:                 J. Edward Kellough, “Integration in the Public Workplace,”                                                                                                        Public Administration Review 50:5 (September 1990), 557-566.

 

                1/20         Exercise (#1):         Dimensions of Diversity

 

  B.  THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE OF DIVERSITY

                1/25         Due:                       Current Events Assignment # 1

                                Video:                     “Champions of Diversity”  (30 minutes)  CC4263, VH

                                Text:                       Adler, Ch. 6: Global Leadership

 

                1/27         Exercise (#2):         Diversity and Leadership Styles (in class)

 

  C.  MULTICULTURALISM

                2/1           Text:                       Adler, Ch. 2: Do Cultural Differences Affect the Organization?

                                Text:                       Henderson, Ch. 6: Foreign Workers

                                                Reserve:                 Jean Phillips-Martinsson, “Cultural Differences Which Can Account for Misunderstandings,” in Swedes as Others See Them, (Lund: Utbildningshuset, 1984), 67-86.

                                Video:                     “Mosaic Workplace: Understanding Different Cultural Values and Styles”                                                                                                             (36 minutes)

 

                2/3           Reserve:                 Edward J. Perkins, “Diversity in US Diplomacy,” The Bureaucrat (Winter 1991-1992),                                                           31-32.

                                Video:                     “Managing the Overseas Assignment”  (58 minutes)  CA0246, 16

                                Case (#4):              Fred Bailey: An Innocent Abroad

 

                2/8                                          EXAM # 1

 

 

MODULE 2: SPECIAL GROUPS IN THE WORK FORCE

 

  A.  NATIVE AMERICANS

                2/10                         Video:                     “Hopi Songs of the Fourth World”  (58 minutes)  CC4648, VH

                                                Case (#5):              “The Navajo Transportation Planner,” in Using the Case Study Method

  B.  ETHNIC AND RACIAL MINORITIES

                2/15         Due:                       Book Review: Tony Hillerman, Dance Hall of the Dead

Text:                       Henderson, Ch. 2: Ethnic Minorities

                                Reserve:                 Paul Page, “African-Americans in Executive Branch Agencies,”                                                                                                                                Review of Public Personnel Administration 14:1, 24-51.

Reserve:                 “Managing Racial Anger: A Critical Skill in Cultural Competence,” Journal of

                                Multicultural Counseling

Reserve:                 Antonio Sisneros, “Hispanics in the Public Service in the Late 20th Century,”                                         Public                                                 Administration Review 53:1 (January/February 1993), 1-7.

                                Case (#3):              “African-American Assistant Director,” in K. Malec and E. Heler,                                                                                                                             Using the Case Study Method (Gary, IN: IU Northwest, 1992).

 

  C.  WOMEN WORKERS

                2/22         Text:                       Henderson, Ch. 3: Women

                                Reserve:                 Christopher Cornwell and J. Edward Kellough, “Women and Minorities in Federal                                                                                              Government Agencies: Examining New Evidence from Panel Data,” Public                                                                                                            Administration Review 54:3 (May/June 1994), 265-270.

                                Reserve:                 Mary E. Guy, “Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Backward: The Status of Women’s Integration into Public Management,” Public Administration Review 53:4 (July/August 1993), 285-291.

 

  D.  OLDER WORKERS

                2/24         Text:                       Henderson, Ch. 4: Older Workers

                                Exercise (#6):         Age Discrimination Role-Play

 

                2/29         Video:                     “Working Late with Elliot Gould”  (28 minutes)  BC0364, VH

                                Reserve:                 American Association of Retired Persons, How to Manage Older Workers                                                                                                             (Washington, D.C.: AARP 1986).

                                Exercise (#7):         The Older Worker

 

  E.  DISABLED WORKERS

                3/2           Text:                       Henderson, Ch. 5: Workers with Disabilities

                                Reserve:                 M.D. Esposito, “Access for the Disabled,” Law Practice Management 17                                                                                                                (October 1991), 29-34.

                                Reserve:                 Sue Tucker, “Mainstreaming Employees Who Have Disabilities,” Personnel Journal                                                            8/92: 43-49.

 

                3/7           Video:                     “(Dis)Ability Awareness”  (25 minutes)  HV1568,V538

                                Case (#8):              The Employee with AIDS

 

                3/9                                          EXAM # 2

 

 

 

                3/14 & 3/16                          SPRING BREAK

 

 

 

                3/21         Case Study (#9):  Enemy Mine (view video or read paperback on reserve)

 

                3/23        Due:                       Current Events Assignment # 2

 

MODULE 3: INTERFACE BETWEEN MANAGEMENT TASKS AND DIVERSITY ISSUES

 

  A.  FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

                3/28         Text:                       Adler, Ch. 4: Cultural Synergy

                                Text:                       Henderson, Ch.7: Barriers to Diversity

                                Text:                       Henderson, Ch. 11: Epilogue

                                Reserve:                 Audrey Mathews, “Diversity: A Principle of Human Resource Management,” Public Personnel                                         Management 27:2 (Summer 1998), 175-185.

                                Reserve:                 “Managing Diversity: The Department of Energy Initiative,” Public Personnel Management 27:2, 161-174.

                                Exercise (#10):       Cultural Diversity and Management

 

  B.  CAREER MOBILITY

                3/30         Video:                     “The Mommy Track”  (22 minutes)  BC0363

                                Text:                       Henderson, Ch. 3: Women

                                Reserve:                 Felice N. Schwartz, “Management Women and the New Facts of Life,”                                                                                                                    Harvard Business Review 89:1 (Jan/Feb 1989), 65-76.

                                Reserve:                 Frederick A. Miller, “Strategic Cultural Change: The Door to Achieving High                                                                                                         Performance and Inclusion,” Public Personnel Management 27:2, 151-160.

                                Case (#11):            “Single with Elderly Parent,” in Using the Case Study Method

 

                4/4                                          EXAM # 3

 

  C.  COMMUNICATING

                4/6           Text:                       Adler, Ch. 3: Communicating Across Cultural Barriers

                                Video:                     “American Tongues”  (58 minutes)  CC3558, VH

 

                4/11         Text:                       Henderson, Ch. 8: Communication in Organizations

                                Text:                       Henderson, Ch. 9: Words that Hurt

                                Reserve:                 Theodor Kallifatides, “Language and Identity,” Viewpoint Sweden 11 (July 1992).

                                Exercise (#12):       Giving Feedback (3 mini-cases)

                                Exercise (#13):       Gender Talk – Reinforcement Assignment

 

  D.  STAFFING ISSUES

                4/13         Due:                       Case Study: Managing Diversity in Action

                                Text:                       Adler, Ch. 5: Multicultural Teams

                                Reserve:                 Charlene Marmer Solomon, “Testing is Not at Odds with Diversity Efforts,”                                                                                                           Personnel Journal 72:3, 100-104.

                                Reserve:                 Gill Robinson-Hickman and Ann Creighton-Zollar, “Diverse Self-Directed Work                                                    Teams: Developing Strategic Initiatives for 21st Century Organizations,” Public                                                                        Personnel Management 27:2, 187-200.

 

                4/18         Video:                     “Mosaic Workplace: Managing a Diverse Workplace, Recruiting and Interviewing”                                                                                             C0399, VH

                                Reserve:                 Christopher B. Daly, “Teamwork: Does Diversity Matter?” Harvard Business Review                                                                                          74:3 (May-June 1996), 10-11.

                                Exercise (#14):       Recruiting Diverse Employees

                4/20                                        EXAM # 4

                4/25 & 4/27                          CASE STUDY PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

                5/2                                          FINAL EXAM (8852)          8:00 – 10:00 a.m.

                5/4                                          FINAL EXAM (8313)          5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

 

 

V443 Recap

 

                1/25  Current Events #1 due

                2/8  Exam #1

                2/15  Book Review due

                3/9  Exam #2

                3/23  Current Events #2 due

                4/4  Exam #3

                4/13  Case Study (written) due

                4/20  Exam #4

                4/25 –4/27  Case Study presentations

 

Team member Information: