Diverse Organizations

Benefits of Diversity and Inclusion:

-Creativity and Innovation -Wider Range of Skills -Better Service to Diverse Customers -Ability to Recruit the Best Talent

Types of Diversity

-Demographic -Cognitive/Behavioral -Organizational/Structural -Global

Specific Military Benefits:

-Increased productivity and mission accomplishment -Recruitment and retention of good minds -Coalition warfare situations require a need for communication that promotes understanding, respect about forces working together. -Intelligence (Intel) situations including spies.

Issues that can arise from diverse organizations

-Under and Over protection of one group -Different consequences for the same actions -Failure to train and coach/mentor -Language barriers

Obstacles to overcome to create a diverse organization

-White Male Club -Glass-ceiling -Lack of accountability -Unwritten rules of success and failure

SOB: Summarize the elements, potential issues, obstacles, and benefits of diversity and inclusion in the organization.

Diversity: "The Air Force broadly defines diversity as a composite of individual characteristics, experiences, and abilities consistent with the Air Force Core Values and the Air Force Mission." Inclusion: "Inclusion is the process of creating a culture where all members of an organization are free to make their fullest contributions to the success of the group, and where there are no unnecessary barriers to success."

SOB: Discuss the importance of managing organizational diversity and inclusion.

Managing diversity is not about becoming like one another or melting into one cultural. It's about allowing differences and respecting differences until the differences don't make a difference anymore. Managing diversity is determining which differences matter in enriching a product or service.

Elements of Diversity

Race; ethnicity; regional; religion; lifestyle; gender; age; physically challenged; sexual orientation.

Steps to Create a Diverse Organization

Step one: Form common ground to shape the framework of how to communicate within the org. Step two: Increase awareness and expel stereotypes. Acknowledge the richness and benefits that diversity brings to your organization. Step three: Use everyone's experiences and backgrounds as a resource. Diversity ensures different ways of looking at problems.