Voices of Diversity: Real People Talk About Problems and Solutions in a Workplace Where Everyone Is Not Alike

415 Pages·1994·0.89 MB·English

by  Renee Blank

Voices of Diversity : Real People Talk
title: About Problems and Solutions in a
Workplace Where Everyone Is Not Alike
author: Blank, Renee.; Slipp, Sandra.
publisher: AMACOM Books
isbn10 | asin: 0814402178
print isbn13: 9780814402177
ebook isbn13: 9780585032795
language: English
Minorities--Employment, Multiculturalism,
subject Communication in personnel management,
Interpersonal relations.
publication date: 1994
lcc: HF5549.5.M5B55 1994eb
ddc: 331.6
Minorities--Employment, Multiculturalism,
subject: Communication in personnel management,
Interpersonal relations.
Page iii
Voices Of Diversity
Real People Talk about Problems and Solutions
in a Workplace Where Everyone Is Not Alike
Renee Blank
Sandra Slipp
AMACOM
American Management Association
New York Atlanta Boston Chicago Kansas City San Francisco Washington, D.C.
Brussels Mexico City Tokyo Toronto
Page iv
This book is available at a special
discount when ordered in bulk quantities.
For information, contact Special Sales
Department,
AMACOM, a division of American
Management Association,
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative
information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the
understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal,
accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other
expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional
person should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Blank, Renee.
Voices of diversity / Renee Blank and Sandra Slipp.
p. cm.
Include bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8144-0217-8
1. MinoritiesEmployment. 2. Multiculturalism. 3. Communication
in personnel management. 4. Interpersonal relations. I. Slipp,
Sandra. II. Title.
HF5549.5.M5B55 1994
331.6dc20 94-13517
CIP
© 1994 Renee Blank and Sandra Slipp.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
This publication may not be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in whole or in part,
in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of AMACOM,
a division of American Management Association,
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.
Printing number
10 9 8 7
Page v
Dedicated to our
parents
whose values guided us
and
To Bob and our loving family
R.B.
To Sam and Elena
S.S.
Page vii
Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments ix
Part One The Changing Workplace 1
1Introduction 3
2Group Identity, Group Tendencies, Individual 6
Differences, and Stereotypes
Part Two The Diverse Voices 13
3African-Americans 15
4Asian-Americans 36
5Latinos 56
6Recent Immigrants 75
7Workers with Disabilities 95
8Younger and Older Workers 114
9Gays and Lesbians 138
10Women 151
11White Men 171
Part Three Guidelines for Better Relationships 187
12When You Are Not a Member of the Dominant Group in189
Your OrganizationWhen You Are "The Other"
13When You Are the Manager or Supervisor 192
Epilogue 196
Notes 197
Suggested Readings 201
Index 207

Page ix
Preface and Acknowledgments
How did Voices of Diversity come to be? What made us take on the
exhilarating but difficult task of interviewing hundreds of people,
reviewing existing research and information on managing diversity,
simplifying the complex issues of group and individual identity and
stereotyping, and, finally, crafting a book that would provide
understanding while being immediately practical?
Our impetus came from two directions: first, our academic
backgrounds, and second, a professional need. We met as graduate
students in New York University's Department of Human Relations
and Social Policy in the late 1960s, a period of tremendous social
turmoilespecially over the issue of race. Both of us were drawn to this
department because it was one of the few places in the United States
that focused on applied behavioral scienceusing the accumulated
knowledge in the behavioral sciences to solve the social concerns of
society. As graduate students, we designed field projects in
organizations and read and researched widely in interdisciplinary
areas: sociology, psychology, anthropology, and management. Our
interests crystallized in management and organizational behavior,
group dynamics, and social policy. We were trained to go out into the
world, help create the emerging field of what was then called
intergroup relations, and become change agents!
And we did just that. In the mid-1970s, we formed our own
management and training consulting firm, Organizational, Planning
and Training Associates, Inc. (OPT). Those were the years of class-
action suits against large corporations for discrimi-