Publications update 03
Diversity Management
Martin Hagen, Micha Pawlitzki, Edburga Weber
Gina the Giraffe has just won a prize. Her house has been named “Giraffe House of the Year”. The giraffe now receives a visit from a good friend and colleague, Eli the Elephant. The two of them plan to cooperate more closely in future and Eli would very much like to take a closer look at the prize-winning house. But that does not do either of them much good – neither Eli the Elephant nor the house... The giraffe then has an idea: “If we really want to work together here, you should lose some weight. I could make the entrance wider - it needs to be repaired now anyway - but things are a bit cramped with you in there. What would you say to membership of a gym?” Eli the Elephant thinks that this is a good idea, but first wants to view the upper floor of the premises. After the dust had settled from the inspection tour, the giraffe says in exasperation: “After the fitness course you should go straight on to ballet lessons so that you become lighter on your feet. Otherwise, we will hardly be able to cooperate successfully in this house.” But the elephant gets annoyed and says: “I hardly think that the gym and ballet lessons are a long-term solution for us. Haven’t you thought of making a few changes to this peculiar house of yours?”
In this little fable by R. Thomas, the giraffe and elephant are in a dilemma that we encounter time after time in our advisory work. For example:
In order to finally solve the problems that have existed for years in purchasing, the board of a German concern decides to fill the position of purchasing manager with an internationally experienced manager from the USA. The new holder of the position straight away sets about his work with great energy and dynamism – but his German is somewhat clumsy and he must frequently switch over to English in discussions with the employees. His colleagues have recently already started to complain about his disrespectful attitude, demonstrated by his unwillingness to learn German properly. It is also said that he has harassed employees wanting to take holiday. The works council is supporting the complaints of the purchasing employees. The conflict escalates.
In the very first conversation with the coach that is called in, it becomes clear that the pure facts do not explain the vehemence of the conflict. It is more the case that both sides have great difficulty in understanding and accepting the different ways of thinking and behavior of the other side.
This is where so-called “diversity management” is applied. Diversity refers to an attitude and a management approach developing from this that tries to react to recent social developments: that economic globalization and an increasing individualization are leading to increasing cultural diversity as well as ever more strongly varying individual circumstances.
Diversity management takes into account the differences of and between people, deliberately makes it the focus of attention and regards it as enriching the company, in terms of personnel as well as commercially. These differences can be related to sex, race, age, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disabilities, social and company-internal status, ways of thinking and working, education, marital status etc..
Now, it is often the case that diversity is mixed up with protection of minorities or well-meaning promotion of fringe groups: so “island solutions” are introduced for an increased proportion of women in management positions, special training seminars for older employees are offered, or several more disabled people are employed than is legally required. These are all commendable measures in themselves, but they are isolated – “Diversity Management” here goes a step further by integrating the unconnected measures and programs into an overarching strategy that utilizes the diversity of the employees effectively.
For example, since 1997, so-called diversity councils have been set up at Ford Deutschland, in which employees from different fields, hierarchy levels, and sites and of various private backgrounds come together to discuss particular challenges and problems.
Or Kraft Foods (Germany). Two years ago, a “Diversity Task-Force” was set up here with the aims of optimally utilizing the development potential of the employees, and promoting intercultural team work in preparation for a European rotation principle etc.
Also at Deutsche Bank, work-life balance initiatives, intercultural promotion programs and so-called diversity training & mentoring are driven forward by the company’s own “Global Diversity Team”. Other starting points at companies such as Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Shell, IBM, and Kodak are provided by the use of diversity in internationally orientated development of strategy and/or personnel, in a further development of the company’s own culture, with mergers or company buyouts etc.
However, the examples named above do not conceal the fact that diversity management is still an unknown term in most companies. Whereas 75% of the companies in the US with the highest turnover work with an individually designed diversity program, in Germany, people are only slowly becoming aware of the possibilities of “Diversity Management”, and the potentials and opportunities of this approach are only now being recognized and used. It is not about installing a general “We are tolerant towards everything and everyone” style, but instead about an active attempt to come to terms with the difference of the other person, in order to achieve an exchange of ideas, approaches and attitudes that is benefit to all sides.
Without doubt, it is true that severe conflicts between the participating employees, groups and departments can arise in “Diversity Management”, and that fear of previously unknown perspectives and ways of thinking can provoke conflicts. But these conflicts can also be used constructively; studies from the USA prove that the performance of such heterogeneous work groups is 20% higher than the homogeneous teams.
While hauserconsulting has been working on the subject of diversity, an approach has proven itself to us that has many similarities with our approach to other change management projects:
- In close cooperation with our customers, the key word “diversity” is translated to the individual customer. In an initial phase of stocktaking specific aims and focuses are defined that create genuine added value for the company.
- In the second step, we work out a diversity strategy together that distinguishes between subjects that promise short-term, successful implementation (“quick-wins”) and long-term implementation subjects.
- In the following concretization phases (from awareness of diversity to the successful positioning of individual subjects), it remains one of the central challenges to create and maintain a broad acceptance for the subject.
Especially in a time in which employees and managers are suffering from an overabundance of high-priority subjects, diversity must be clearly outlined for the individual. The individual must receive a clear impression of the contribution that diversity can make to the success of the company.
In this process, areas that were already known as weaknesses in the organization receive new attention, areas such as: e.g. cooperation between divisions (with other cultures, attitudes, behavior), integration of difference in teams (in the sense of a lively culture of dispute) or the positioning of the company in relation to international committees (cooperation at a European level).
Is Diversity Management now an independent new management approach or only the “latest fad” of self-appointed management gurus? Certainly neither one nor the other. We believe much more that diversity management cannot replace good management – but that it can make an important contribution to the successful handling of change over the next few years.