Building on the promise of diversity : how we can move to the next level in our workplaces, our communities, and our society / R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thomas, R. Roosevelt.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Diversity in the workplace--United States--Management.

Diversity in the workplace.

Organizational change--United States--Management.

Organizational change.

Minorities--Employment--United States.

Minorities.

Strategic planning--United States.

Strategic planning.

Social change--United States.

Social change.

Physical Description:

xvii, 238 p.

Edition:

1st edition

Place of Publication:

New York : AMACOM, American Management Association, c2006.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Diversity is the reality of America today. Whether you let diversity be a drain on your organization or a dynamic contributor to your mission, vision, and strategy is both a choice and a challenge. Building on the Promise of Diversity gives you the insights and skills you need to navigate through simmering tensions -- and find creative solutions for achieving cohesiveness, connectedness, and common goals. Building on the Promise of Diversity is R. Roosevelt Thomas’s impassioned wake-up call to bring diversity management to a wholly new level -- beyond finger-pointing and well-meaning “initiatives” and toward the shared goal of building robust organizations and thriving communities. This original, thoughtful, yet action-oriented book will help leaders in any setting -- business, religious, educational, governmental, community groups, and more -- break out of the status quo and reinvigorate the can-do spirit of making things better. The book includes a deeply felt analysis of the sometimes tangled intersections between diversity management and the Civil Rights Movement and affirmative action agendas . . . a personal narrative that charts Thomas’s own evolution in diversity thinking . . . and a roadmap for mastering the powerful craft of Strategic Diversity Management™, a structured process that helps you: * Realize why multiple activities and good intentions are not enough for achieving sustainable progress. * Recast the meaning of diversity as more than just race and gender, but as any set of differences, similarities, and tensions -- such as workplace functions, product lines, acquisitions and mergers, customers and markets, blended families, community diversity, and more.* Accept that a realistic goal is not to eliminate diversity tension but to use it as a catalyst to address key issues. * Recognize diversity mixtures, analyze them accurately, and make quality decisions in the midst of differences, similarities, and tensions.* Build an essential set of diversity skills and develop your “diversity maturity” -- the wisdom, judgment, and experience to use those skills effectively.* Reflect on the ways you might be “diversity challenged” yourself.

Contents:

Cover

CONTENTS

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION

1 Diversity: In Search of the Next Level

PART TWO: CONTEXT

2 The United States: An Experiment in Diversity

3 The Civil Rights Movement: In Pursuit of the ''Beloved Community''

4 Diversity and Affirmative Action: Past, Present, and Future

5 Current Status of the Diversity Field: Just Plain Stuck

6 A Personal Odyssey

PART THREE: THE CRAFT OF STRATEGIC DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT

7 Strategic Diversity Management: Undergirding Concepts

8 Strategic Diversity Management: Five Fundamentals

9 Strategic Diversity Management: The Decision-Making Process at Tjax Company

10 Strategic Diversity Management: Foundation for Success

11 Getting Started

PART FOUR: THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

12 Becoming a Diversity Leader

APPENDICES: MASTERING THE BASICS: A CRITICAL STEP TOWARD DIVERSITY MATURITY-YOUR PERSONAL COACH

Appendix A: A Letter from the Author

Appendix B: Responding Instructions and Common Perception Response Items

Appendix C: Tallying, Scoring, and Interpreting Scores

Appendix D: Rationales and Interpretations, Five SDM Undergirding Concepts, and Five SDM Fundamentals

NOTES

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-223) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9786611126407

9780814429129

0814429122

9781281126405

1281126403

9780814417058

0814417051

OCLC:

437158192