Managing Diversity (2235.YR.006252.2)

General information

Type:	OPT	Curs:	1,3,4	Period:	S semester
ECTS Credits:	5 ECTS

Teaching Staff:

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
Year 1	Conxita Folguera Bellmunt	Dirección de Personas y Organización	ENG

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
Year 3	Conxita Folguera Bellmunt	Dirección de Personas y Organización	ENG

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
Year 4	Conxita Folguera Bellmunt	Dirección de Personas y Organización	ENG

Teamwork is a key element of this course. Attendance is therefore very important since students are expected to contribute to their group projects over the course. Students must attend at least 80% of the sessions to pass the course and attendance is obligatory for all students in the presentation of the final Team Project (session 10)

The course consists of ten face-to-face sessions. These sessions include professor lectures, team activities and discussion. Guest speakers will be invited to share their experiences with you.

Work outside class (included in the hours corresponding to the 5 ECTS) is required for individual reading, thinking, writing, and individual and / or teamwork preparation.

Over the course participants are expected to reflect on several questions, and upload these reflections to the Moodle.

Has diversity become an issue in our societies and in our organizations? Does diversity mean the same for all of us? What is our understanding of this term?
Over the last two decades multinationals and large companies have adhered to the "business case of diversity? discourse. However, are their policies really contributing to making our society more equal and diverse? What do they mean by that? Are organizations providing equal opportunities to all employees? Should they? What are small companies doing regarding diversity in our societies? Does it matter to them?
This course addresses these and other related questions. Students will be required to analyse data on different dimensions of diversity in contemporary societies and organizations and organizational policies and their proposed practices. Using critical analysis, we will identify the gap between existing policies and those required to achieve equality and full participation of employees in organizational life. Students will propose policies and specific actions to effectively address this gap between rhetoric and reality.
This course is an opportunity for individual development and teamwork. It should be noted that teamwork does not mean cutting and pasting individual tasks. It involves collective thinking, building on the ideas and knowledge of the different members of the team and including them in the common project.
Links between diversity and innovation will be discussed. It is often assumed that diversity in teams leads to innovation. Is that the case? Students have an opportunity to analyze themselves and their behavior in teams. While respecting the privacy of what individuals decide to share about their own personality and personal views and opinions, teamwork offers an opportunity for learning about oneself and others.

At the end of the course, participants will:
- Understand and properly use the concepts of identity, diversity and inclusion in our societies and organizations.
- Be able to critically analyze the reasons why diversity has to be managed: legal compliance, business case, Corporate Social Responsibility.
- Be able to identify the different dimensions or categories of diversity (race/ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, age, language and culture, socio-economic status, religion or beliefs and gender) and distinguish these dimensions from others used in the organizational context such as professional background, attitude and behavior in the workplace, etc.
- Be able to identify which of the dimensions/categories of diversity are critical for a specific organization, in a specific market and society and develop awareness about the voices that are heard and those that are silenced in organizations.
- Be able to identify different views regarding the relationship between diversity and innovation.
- Understand the change process involved in managing diversity and become aware of the opportunities and challenges involved in managing diversity.

- Competences to be developed:

As well as providing theoretical reflection and practical knowledge, the course provides opportunities for participants to develop key competences such as analytical skills, communication skills and critical thinking.

1. Description 1. Diversity in our societies. Diversity in our organizations. Diversity in teams. 2. The dimensions of diversity. Diversity and identities. 3. Intersectionality. 4. Equality and diversity. 5. Exclusion and inclusion. 6. Diversity and innovation. 7. Organizational tools. Organizational change.

Teams will be created in the first session of the course.

Specific aspects of teamwork:

- Teamwork requires individual participation and commitment by team members. Attendance is therefore required.
- The team project should apply and include concepts presented and discussed on the course in lectures and articles suggested to the students.
- Students are expected to play an active role in searching, proposing and developing ideas in teams. The professor's role is to facilitate and provide guidance.
- Although guidelines are proposed, creativity, initiative and imagination are expected from students. Students are about to enter the organizational world, where such guidelines are not usually provided!
- Students are expected to use all the tools that they have acquired on previous courses in different management fields. Therefore, while some guidance will be provided, they are expected to use their knowledge from different management fields.
- Alternative forms of sharing and presenting ideas should be explored by participants, including video recordings and role play.

Ammerman, C., & Groysberg, B. (2021). How to close the Gender Gap. Harvard Business Review, 99(3), 124-133.

Babcock, L., Laschever, S., Gelfand, M., & Small, D. (2003). Nice girls don't ask. Harvard Business Review, 81(10), 14-16.

Folguera-Bellmunt. C; Fernández?i?Marín, X. and Batista?Foguet, J. M. (2018) "Measuring the Impact of an Organizational Intervention on Absence of Employees with Disabilities: A Quasi?Experimental Design?. International Labour Review, 157(4), 651-669.

Fraser, N., Arruzza, C., & Bhattacharya, T. (2019). Feminism for the 99%. London: Verso.

Georgeac, O. A., & Rattan, A. (2022). The business case for diversity backfires: Detrimental effects of organizations' instrumental diversity rhetoric for underrepresented group members' sense of belonging. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Georgeac, O and Rattan, A. Stop Making the Business Case for Diversity. Harvard Business Review. June 15. 2022. https://hbr.org/2022/06/stop-making-the-business-case-for-diversity

Koh, E. (2008). Gender issues and Confucian scriptures: Is Confucianism incompatible with gender equality in South Korea? Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 71(2), 345-362.

Konrad, A. M., & Pringle, J. (Eds.). Handbook of workplace diversity. Sage. 2006.
Nkomo, S. M., Bell, M. P., Roberts, L. M., Joshi, A., & Thatcher, S. M. (2019). Diversity at a critical juncture: New theories for a complex phenomenon. Academy of Management Review, 44(3), 498-517.

Nishii, L. H. (2013). The benefits of climate for inclusion for gender-diverse groups. Academy of Management Journal, 56(6), 1754-1774.

Shi, F., Teplitskiy, M., Duede, E., & Evans, J. (2019). Are politically diverse teams more effective? Harvard Business Review, 2-5.
Thomas, D. A., & Ely, R. (1996). Making differences matter: A new paradigm for managing diversity.Harvard Business Review September-October 1996 Issue

Thomas, David A. (2004) "Diversity as strategy." Harvard Business Review Issue 9 .
https://hbr.org/2004/09/diversity-as-strategy

Yun, J.-Y. (2022). Escaping the Corset: Rage as a Force of Resistance and Creation in the Korean Feminist Movement. Hypatia, 37(2), 257-275.

Zanoni, Patrizia, et al. "Unpacking diversity, grasping inequality: Rethinking difference through critical perspectives." (2010). Organization 17(1)

Group	Teacher	Department
Year 1	Conxita Folguera Bellmunt	Dirección de Personas y Organización

Group	Teacher	Department
Year 3	Conxita Folguera Bellmunt	Dirección de Personas y Organización

Group	Teacher	Department
Year 4	Conxita Folguera Bellmunt	Dirección de Personas y Organización