Diversity management: key concepts

Abstract

Managing diversity is usually associated with preventing discrimination. Within the framework of the "repair action" implementation, there is applied assumption concerning the need for equalising chances of persons belonging to minority groups, excluded or deprived of access to different spheres of social life: education, labour market, executing power. In practice it leads to initiating various affirmative actions, or for example to the introduction of the quota system guaranteeing a fixed number of places at schools, universities, in companies, or in parliaments for the members of these groups. However, managing diversity does not only mean granting preferences or equalising chances of individual members of a particular group (although this also happens). Thus, managing diversity comprises taking advantage of diversified experience, knowledge, skills, predispositions, and sensitivity (purely professional, but also cultural) within the entire organization or company. The contents and dynamics of the debate concerning the role of diversity in shaping the quality of social, economic and political life were determined by gender and race. However, they are not the only dimensions of diversity. Currently various other diversity aspect are treated equally, such as: ethnic group, nationality, religion, age, disability, sexual preferences, or the so-called "black sheep", i.e. persons excluded because of their negative branding, for example history of serving prison sentence, alcoholism and addiction to drugs, or persons who had a history of psychiatric treatment. Nevertheless, the approach to the issue of diversity in business companies is not homogeneous. David A. Thomas and Robin J. Ely define three diversity paradigms: assimilation paradigm, variety paradigm, integration paradigm. (fragment of text)