Cash In On Diversity

By Susan Klopfer

If American business has been talking the language of diversity for over 20 years, why do we still hear shocking complaints of ethnic mistreatment and cultural misunderstanding? Business author Susan Klopfer asked this question after gathering diversity-related stories for her newest ebook, Cash In On Diversity; How Getting Along With Others Pays Off.
Klopfer, a civil rights author, journalist and professional book editor, is a storyteller and her ebook’s characters reveal unfortunate accounts of “what still goes on in far too many business environments, even when we’re told through corporate messages via countless blogs, seminars, speeches, books and videos that major diversity issues have long been settled.”
One of Klopfer’s stories focuses on a young man who wears tasseled shoes to work and is fired by a major pharmaceutical company because he doesn’t “fit in”; another, of an Island woman who is expected to cook a special meal every year so her cohorts can experience “true” diversity; and, still another story tells about a new employee who is asked to “set up” a “real quick diversity program” (“maybe write a blog or put up a Facebook page”) so the company will look good to its African American customers. “Try win a diversity prize!” his boss commands.
Cash In On Diversity blends practical experience with academic findings and provides do-able solutions, along with a diversity and psychology FAQ contributed by a social and clinical psychologist. Adding value to this easy-to-read 12-chapter ebook is a discussion of five common diversity mistakes companies frequently make, like seeking “one size fits all” training and solutions.
Readers also benefit from a specific tips for communicating with non-native speakers, as well as a unique diversity questionnaire, and an 11-Point Organizational Diversity Analysis. Also featured is the script from Klopfer’s popular diversity webinar, followed by a complete glossary of critical diversity terms (from Abrahamic religions to xenophobia). “When we have a better grasp of diversity terms, we can really understand current problems and then have a better chance of solving them,” Klopfer, a communication specialist, asserts.
In doing her informal research, the diversity author noticed that big businesses often do no better than small organizations when it comes to really understanding diversity, and making use of its benefits. “Too often, culturally naive business managers, even in large, sophisticated organizations, lead their companies into losing millions of dollars in lost opportunities due to problems stemming from simple cultural misunderstandings, which can lead to the mismanagement of employees. Just look at the lawsuits.”
Miscommunication and a lack of cross-cultural understanding are two main barriers organizations face when it comes to working globally, Klopfer states. “In an increasingly aggressive global business environment, there’s no time for the misinterpretation and blunders that result from failing to recognize and understand each other’s values.”
Klopfer holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and an undergraduate degree in Communication from Hanover College. A former journalist and technical writer, she is the author of an alternate book selection for the Book of-the-Month Club (Abort! Retry! Fail!) and worked as a computer book development and acquisitions editor for Prentice Hall. Klopfer recently lived in the Mississippi Delta where she wrote two civil rights history books, including the story of Emmett Till. From this experience, she became interested in diversity management and chose to blend her journalism, business and civil rights experiences and knowledge. Klopfer resides in Gallup, New Mexico where she recently opened a vintage and southwestern gallery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan Klopfer
• Release date: May 31, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458079671

Susan Klopfer

Susan Klopfer of Cuenca, Ecuador worked as a journalist in Texas and Missouri, winning state newspaper awards for investigative reporting. As an acquisitions and development editor for Prentice Hall, she also wrote Abort! Retry! Fail!, a Book of the Month Club alternate selection. Susan is a graduate of Hanover College and holds an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University. While living in the Mississippi Delta, she researched and wrote two books on the region's history, including a book on the murder of Emmett Till. She recently announced the publication of a new e-book, Cash In On Diversity; How Getting Along With Others Pays Off.

Book preview

Cash In On Diversity

How Getting Along With Others Pays Off

by

M. Susan Klopfer

SMASHWORDS EDITION

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY:

Susan Klopfer on Smashwords

Cash In On Diversity

How Getting Along With Others Pays Off

Copyright © 2011 by M. Susan Klopfer

Editor, Jay Mattsson

[e-mail]

www.susanklopfer.com

www.cashinondiversity.com

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

* * * * *

The information in this book does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as legal advice. If you have a legal problem, consult an attorney in your area concerning your particular situation and facts.

Reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information presented in this book is accurate. However, the reader should understand that the information provided does not constitute legal, medical or professional advice of any kind.

Neither the author, the publisher nor the distributor of this material shall be liable for any losses or damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, consequential loss or damage) directly or indirectly arising from the use of this product.

Dedicated to my father, John Orr

CONTENTS

Author’s Note

Part I

CHAPTER 1 Lori’s Story

CHAPTER 2 Sara’s Story

CHAPTER 3 Hank’s Story

CHAPTER 4 Greg’s Story

CHAPTER 5 Wednesday Spaghetti

Part II

CHAPTER 6 Changing Culture Roots

CHAPTER 7 Looking at the Now

CHAPTER 8 Changing to Diversity, Part I

CHAPTER 9 Changing to Diversity, Part II

CHAPTER 10 Culture Audit Results

CHAPTER 11 Small Celebrations

Epilogue and Final Thoughts

Bonus Chapter

Five Diversity Mistakes Companies Make

Appendix  

Communicating With Non-Native Speakers

Diversity Questionnaire

Diversity and Psychology FAQ

Are You Diversified? 11-Point Pre-assessment Analysis

Diversity Terms

Suggested Readings

Acknowledgements

Author’s Note

This book is intended for a general audience and most authorities have therefore not been quoted in the text. To do so would have broken the flow of words and is a practice suitable only for a more technical publication. But a number of original articles and books have been referred to in this manuscript and it would be wrong to present it without acknowledging their valuable assistance. At the end of the book, I have included a Suggested Readings appendix giving detailed references.

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First, a true story. A recent California Supreme Court decision involved an experienced engineer who went to work for a giant corporation (the kind of company that one would think comprehends and practices diversity).

This engineer knew that going into a high-tech job would mean working in a youthful company, with fewer older workers. But he didn’t expect mistreatment he received by younger workers, including his boss, who immediately started called him names like fuddy-duddy and old man, he alleged.

The engineer, who had worked successfully for years in major corporations, was suddenly being taunted with words, including slow, fuzzy, sluggish and lethargic. Employees allegedly called him an old guy and stated that his ideas were obsolete and too old to matter and that his knowledge was ancient.

They allegedly joked that his office placard should be in the shape of an LP (i.e. a vinyl record) rather than the customary (then current music format) CD. For several years this inappropriate behavior progressed, the engineer alleged, and after a time, when his job was taken away, he left this company, but then sued for age discrimination.

While the case had not been settled at the time I read about it, the court issued a unanimous decision that could make it more difficult for California employers to win summary judgment in certain discrimination cases involving potentially discriminatory comments.

In fact, California courts must now evaluate such stray remarks together with all other admissible evidence to determine whether there is sufficient evidence of discrimination for a case to proceed to a jury trial.

This decision reaffirms that employers must do more than simply maintain policies preventing discrimination and harassment. They must take steps, including training of supervisors and non-supervisors alike, to ensure all employees are aware of such policies and the risk of liability posed by potentially discriminatory comments, in any context. In other words, they must learn to manage their company’s diversity.

This story left me wondering who raised these young employees to show such meanness and hostility toward an older, experienced co-worker? Did any professors ever discuss diversity at their schools? Or multiculturalism? Good manners? And what kind of managers and CEO led this company? Had they ever experienced any leadership education?

The failure to raise someone who tolerates people who are different, or who values the very skills and experiences others may have to offer, no matter how different they appear to be, has to land somewhere.

Someone failed these employees quite miserably, either their parents, teachers or employers. Perhaps all of the above tried and failed. I hope this book will help fill in gaps that are apparently missing for those who behave in this way and for others who tolerate or encourage this misbehavior, as well.

We are a diverse nation filled with people of many sizes, shapes, ages, religions and sexual preferences — people with missing limbs, stutters, mental challenges and so many other differences.

But too many of us still do not always recognize that all people are deserving of equal treatment. Or that even with differences, nearly all of us still have something to contribute, if allowed to participate. As the battles heat up at school and at work, and as the civil rights lawsuits keep piling up, isn’t it about time to change?

This book is an attempt to explain how our world is changing in the organizations where we work and spend much of our time each day — and will endeavor to describe where intolerance and hate come from, and why these attitudes and behaviors do not serve us well in the workplace. This book also shows many of the benefits we can achieve as individuals, and as organizations, when getting along with others, as we celebrate and appreciate our differences — as we embrace diversity.

People who care about getting along need to take a stand when intolerance is displayed. Leaders must help the people they manage with proper tools and guidance. This is the basic message presented, along with important explanations of themes, including cultural diversity, multiculturalism, cross-cultural communication and showing how all of us can become better human beings with this knowledge.

If you are new to these ideas, I hope that you enjoy this information and put it to use, because we are living in a world that demands we change.

If you already understand the message, hopefully you will learn some new skills and you will help others achieve success.

Susan Klopfer, M.B.A.

Part I

Chapter 1

Lori’s Story

I wonder if anyone at work even cares whether or not I get my kids dressed and fed breakfast this morning?

Lori Suva is a middle-aged woman living in a small Midwestern town. She is a native of Kadavu Island, Fiji's fourth largest island in the Southwest Pacific, and is usually in a good mood before getting her family up and ready each morning..

American tourism brochures typically describe Fiji’s 330 islands as the land of broad smiles, flashing white teeth, gentle relaxation and absolutely no stress.

But this morning Suva is not smiling and she is stressed, after being up all night preparing for a special company-wide multicultural dinner. Her company's annual affair is expected to help co-workers appreciate Suva's culture. Everyone will love her special sweet potato and pineapple bake; they always do. They will enjoy looking at slides of Suva's last trip home. They probably don't realize the extra hours it takes Suva to prepare for this annual event, especially since her children are very young and she must first tuck them into bed before she starts cooking.

Suva sometimes thinks about what it would like to stay below the radar and just do her work. Maybe next year everyone will be happy if she hands out her Fiji recipes and skips the cooking. Well, it is a thought, she muses, while packing up her car with food and the slide projector — and her children who she will drop off at the babysitter’s.

Managing diversity is still a very new idea for many companies. Granted, experiencing food from another culture is an important experience for Suva's co-workers who, mostly, have never traveled outside of their state.

Will this dinner meet expectations of the company’s CEO, a man who travels to many countries and who frequently shares his multicultural experiences with his employees? Will this dinner help employees learn to work together in groups and to consider the unique contributions from individuals? Will all employees experience empowerment once they have eaten Suva’s food? Will the company grow and prosper in today's competitive, global environment, once Suva’s food is consumed?

Easing Into Diversity From Affirmative Action

Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., considered the country's foremost diversity thought leader, would likely see some gain from Suva's meal, probably describing the event as a move from affirmative action into valuing differences, a necessary pathway for easing the transition into managing diversity.

Companies like Suva’s employer and other organizations are often sensitive to diversity,