Transcript Slide 1

Engaging Diversity for
Organizational Transformation
Approach
• Unique Approach to Diversity Education – Dialogue –
Talk Together
• Share the Problems/Burdens/Solutions
• We have to co-construct new relationships
– Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Religion, Class, Ability
• Engage in Diversity Education
–Fun, Intense, Emotion, Challenging, Rewarding;
– Mostly learning about self, not the other; enhancing capacity
to better relate to others
Understanding
American/Earth Identity
through Alien Eyes
• What would aliens think about how we do
social identity and intergroup relations?
What would they discover?
– Gender, Race, Sexual Orientation, Religion, Age,
Class
• Third Rock from the Sun
Theoretical Overview,
Rationale, Methodology
• Intergroup Dialogue – University of Michigan
– can be broadly defined as a face-to-face facilitated learning
experience that brings together people from different social identity
groups over a sustained period of time to understand their
commonalities and differences, examine the nature and impact of
societal inequalities, and explore ways of working together toward
greater equality and justice.
• Transformational Social Therapy
– Created by Charles Rojzman over the past twenty years as method
of engagement to transform both individuals and institutions for
improved coexistence and cooperation. TST utilizing group
psychodynamics to assist participants in developing the capacity to
change socio-institutional practices to achieve a profound
transformation of ways of living and working with others.
• Goal = Multicultural Competency
Theoretical Overview,
Rationale, Methodology
• Intergroup Dialogue
• The goals of IGD include the development of a “consciousness about
social identity and social group differences” by examining individual
and group identities, behaviors and power relationships and “forge
connections across differences and conflicts by building caring and
reciprocal relationships” where participants can “learn to listen and
speak openly, engage with one another seriously, take risks, explore
differences and conflicts, and discover common ground” as well as
build coalitions for social action.
• Unlike feel-good types of cross-group encounters that attempt to
promote understanding by avoiding, masking, or overcoming
conflicts, intergroup dialogue recognizes that communicating about
and, if possible, working through conflict are both positive and
necessary parts of the intergroup encounter. Such disagreements
and conflicts can become valuable opportunities for participants to
engage in significant conversations about different perspectives and
tensions shaping relationships.
Theoretical Overview,
Rationale, Methodology
• Transformational Social Therapy – Charles Rojzman
– TST involves the “harmonization of motivations”, where
participants are required to “express the negative” in order to bring
out “information we need to know about real needs and suffering” of
participants in order to know what is required to motivate people to
change”
– Rojzman argues that “We can’t change people, but people will
change if they are motivated to do so”. Rojzman says that TST is not
about changing people or relations, but to raise “awareness of the
lack of trust, fears and prejudices, so that people will become willing
to change themselves in ways they themselves determine”.
– For Rojzman, peace can only come about when groups move from
violence to conflict. For him, conflict is a natural, normal part of life
because of the diversity of experiences, thoughts, practices and
ideas. People are violent when conflicts are not able to express
themselves in a peaceful manner. He argues that “in order to avoid
violence, we should stop avoiding conflict. In practical terms and in
terms of practice, this means creating encounters between people
where there are no paranoid fantasies about ‘others’”.
Multicultural Competency
the awareness, knowledge
and skills needed to work and
live with others who are
culturally different from self in
meaningful, relevant, and
productive ways
Awareness
• A belief that differences are valuable
and that learning about others who are
culturally different is necessary and
rewarding
• A willingness to self-examine and,
when necessary, challenge and change
their own values, worldview,
assumptions, and biases
Knowledge
• Knowledge of diverse cultures and
oppressed groups (i.e., history, traditions,
values, customs, resources, issues)
• Knowledge about how gender, class, race,
ethnicity, language, nationality, sexual
orientation, age, religion or spirituality, and
disability and ability affect individuals and
their experiences
Skills
• Ability to identify and openly discuss
cultural differences and issues
• Ability to assess the impact of cultural
differences on communication and
effectively communicate across those
differences
• Ability to gain the trust and respect of
individuals who are culturally different from
themselves
Dimension of Identity
Race/Ethnicity
Age
Language/Culture
SocioEconomic
Status/Class
Ability (Dis)
Religion
Sexual
Orientation
Sex/Gender
Multicultural Self-Assessment
• Identify Groups/Issues
– Excel
– Limitations/Significant Areas for Growth
• Gender, Race, Sexual Orientation, Religion,
Age, Class
• Share Results with Partner
• What did you learn? Self or Other
Learning from the Aliens Again
Engaging Diversity – Gallery
Walk
• Examination of Multicultural Incompetency
and Bias
– Please identify an incident that you participated
in, observed or were the victim of someone’s
actions, behaviors or judgments that reflected
discriminatory or bias behavior against you, a
colleague/employee or customer/client. (Ex.
During the discussion of a candidate we were
considering hiring, one of the managers
questioned a women’s marital status.)
Engaging Diversity – Gallery
Walk
• Examination of Multicultural Incompetency
and Bias
• Place Responses on Wall
• Read the Responses - Silence
• Dialogue
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What surprised you?
How did it feel to read the comments?
Admission of Guilt – Perpetrators?
Revealing of Pain – Victims?
Commentary of Organization and Leaders?
Engaging Diversity – Gallery
Walk
• The males of the organization in leadership positions receive the title of
“officer of the company” as well as the title of VP and $25,000 bonuses
while females do not get either
• While being introduced by a Senior VP at my organization, I was
referred to as a “real smart cookie.” Would the same description have
been asked if I were male?
• During an interview the hiring manager assumed the applicant had an
accent and wanted his authorization to work in the U.S. without
sponsorship being checked simply because he had an Hispanic name
before he even spoke to him
• I was giving an employee a performance review and he was not happy
with the amount of his compensation increase. He told me not to “Jew
him down,” which is a term I had actually never heard before.
• A candidate’s age was discussed on whether he should be hired
because of it.
Value of Dialogue for Value of Dialogue for
Individual and Organizational
Transformation
• Confront Conflict/Focus on Problems
• Solving Problems
• Organizational Assessment - Collective
Intelligence
• Diminishing Tension/Conflicts
• Building Community
• Facilitating Professional Development/Healing
• Increasing Success – Numbers, Money, etc
Power of Dialogue
• How do you build community in your
organizations?
• How do you address issues related to social
identity?
• How could dialogue enhance your work
environment?
Educational Programs and
Contact
• www.temple.edu/ideal/sss
– Engaging Diversity, Keeping It Real: Introduction
to Intergroup Dialogue – May 20 8am-5pm - $50
– Graduate Certificate in Diversity Leadership – 12
Credits, 4 Courses
• [email protected] - 215-204-5509