you have to tell employees how to apply that awareness to their jobs (Caudron, 1993). Needless to say, education and training are absolutely necessary, but will be ineffective if an organization does not change its systems (Johnson, 1992). Culture and Management Systems Changes Diversity needs to be a way of life, not just an organizational buzzword. Bond (1998), statesthat articulated values and team structures are important but not sufficient to support diversity in an organization. This element should include an assessment of the organizational culture and human resource management systems of the organization. Effective organizational diversity management needs to go beyond programs, processes and activities to develop a culture that recognizes and rewards those who value, promote and facilitate workplace diversity (Wong, 1999). The formation of a diversity team, consisting of predominantly non-management members from all areas of the organization with the leader of this group a person trained in diversity, is crucial. Management has to then create avenues that allow this group to make the changes they identify as necessary (Johnson, 1992). An organization should take stock of all training and development provided and then assess diversity’s link to the content and process of the training. Consider how diversity concepts such as cultural differences, stereotypes, and assumptions relate to the training’s topic; also, think about how differences in background, styles and culture influence participant receptivity and comfort. Next, adapt both content and process to suit the needs of a wide variety of employees working in a diverse environment (Gardenswartz and Rowe, 2000). Policies and practices need to be systematically reviewed to see how they can incorporate diverse needs and preferences and then, if necessary, changed to move diversity beyond the personal awareness level and integrate it into th...
