In Chapter 19, Thomas and Ely (1996) talk about three different paradigms for managing diversity, the discrimination-and-fairness paradigm, the access-and-legitimacy paradigm and a new approach which the authors have termed the learning-and-effectiveness paradigm.
The discrimination-and-fairness paradigm, the authors note, has been one of the most prominent ways of understanding diversity. When leaders view diversity through this paradigm, they typically look at issues of equal opportunity, fair treatment, recruitment, and complying with equal opportunity laws with the main goal of increasing the demographic diversity in the workforce. One of the key problems with this paradigm occurs when all individuals are viewed the same, which consequently masks the important differences existing in the workplace (Thomas & Ely, 1996).
The paradigm that emerged during the 1980's and 1990's was the access-and-legitimacy paradigm which basically recognized the increasing multicultural diversity in the country and consequently diversified the workforce to reach different segments of the population. One key limitation of this paradigm is that different individuals are hired for the workforce, new market niches are established and maintained, but the results of these efforts are not fully integrated with the rest of the company. For example, the company, Access, asked the question ... "If the French team resigned tomorrow, what would we do?" (Thomas & Ely, 1996, p.277).
The learning-and-effectiveness paradigm, or the emerging paradigm, looks at all employees in the company and opportunities for how diverse perspectives can be integrated throughout the organization. For example, the law firm of Dewey and Levin ended up expanding the issues and cases they looked at from the diverse perspectives in their workforce. The main theme of the emerging paradigm is integrating the diverse perspectives of all employees so the company and others can learn from these diverse viewpoints.
I do look at what Thomas and Ely (1996) are arguing for is the recognition and integration of diverse viewpoints in the workplace, that all views have legitimacy, and need to be integrated in the day-to-day operations and values of the workplace. I did enjoy the article and would be interested to see how this type of leadership not only manifests itself in organizations, but higher education as well.
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Dena -
ReplyDeleteYou say that you would like to see how this type of leadership works in higher ed, but do you not see anything like this in your current work? I think I might be revising it a little, but it sounds a little like authentic leadership.
Dena,
ReplyDeleteGreat summary of the different paradigms! I like to encourage you to read Amanda's blog that talks about reflections. I believe this is another way to focus on diversity in the work place is to realize the different perspectives and worldviews that exist.
Grace and peace,
Wylie
Great post Dena. I agree with your comments and the connections to higher ed would be very interesting to measure. I even wonder about a 10 year study for observing this integration process over a longer period of time.
ReplyDeleteDena,
ReplyDeleteI too enjoyed the post. I am thinking about your last paragraph and wondering about how the leader sets the stage for this. It's definitely a leadership behavior - maybe authentic - but the question is how does the leader model acceptance? How does the leader legitimize all viewpoints but still maintain focus on the goal at hand? At what point does the leader have to say, thanks, I heard you, but we need to go in this direction? Does that undervalue people?
It's a tough juggling act. If you look at chapter 21, which of the 4 categories of leadership would this fit in to - behavioral? I appreciate your thoughts.
Dena,
ReplyDeleteGreat posting and good question. I think we have started to see more or the learning and effectiveness paradigm in higher ed through, in a t least a small scale, programs that emphasize learning across the curriculum (like writing programs or technology integration), concepts like learning communities, and increased interest in interdisciplinary degrees.
Dena –
ReplyDeleteGood post. I also see the emerging paradigms consistent with moral and ethical leadership. A moral and ethical leader will maximize the talents and thoughts of their workforce for the benefit of the organization as well as the employee.
Ed