Carl Hanlon Final Term

Multi-cultural Organization: Gender and Diversity Issues at Work

Final Term Paper

Brandman University
Managing Cultural Differences
Professor Rafael Hernandez

Submitted by: Carl (Cj) Hanlon

Student #1354534
Carl Hanlon Final Term
Multi-cultural Organization: Gender and Diversity Issues at Work
Question: “What do you foresee are the greatest challenges related to

multiculturalism and diversity in your intended profession or career, and how

do you intend to deal with them?”

The Merriam-Webster dictionary states “diversity” as “the condition of being

diverse: variety; especially: the inclusion of diverse people (as people of

different races or cultures) in a group or organization”.

When one thinks of the term "multiculturalism” however, we are referring to

the changing age, sex, ethnicity, physical ability, race, and sexual orientation

of people across all types and places of work in the United States. Thus I

tend to view the “multicultural” workforce as a descriptive term that,

correctly or not, has largely supplanted the term "diversity" in describing the

increasing heterogeneity of the workplace. Roosevelt Thomas, founding

president of the American Institute for Managing Diversity, qualified diversity

as a "comprehensive managerial process for developing an environment that

works for all employees."

Likewise the Portable MBA Desk Reference ended its definition of "diversity"

in a similar manner. "The challenge posed by diversity, then, is to

accommodate different groups by addressing their lifestyles, values, work

style, and family needs without compromising the goals and operations of

the organization." And Joan Crockett, vice president for human resources at

Allstate Insurance Co., viewed a diverse workforce as being about "unlocking

the potential for excellence among all workers." Allstate's diversity vision
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Multi-cultural Organization: Gender and Diversity Issues at Work
statement sums up this belief: "Diversity is Allstate's strategy for leveraging

differences in order to create a competitive advantage."

Diversity, (while including race and gender) also encompasses age, ethnicity,

physical ability, and sexual orientation. Additionally, secondary factors such

as education, geographic location, income, marital status, military

experience, parental status, religious preference, and work experience also

reflect the elements of a diverse or multicultural workforce.

One point to identify is that diversity within certain groups is commonly

confused with affirmative action. However one must remember that the

most striking difference between the two social schemes is that “affirmative

action is initiated by government regulation and legislation”, whereas

“diversity is voluntary”.

Why then are so many companies ‘voluntarily’ engaging in diversity efforts?

Because there is a very strong business case for those businesses’ to

support and pursue this work—the changing marketplace that consumes

their product. Example: Women consumers account for 85% of all consumer

purchases including everything from autos to health care. According to Road

& Travel Magazine, today’s women make up more than 50% of the

automotive market, spending an estimated $80 billion a year on new-car

sales, a number industry analysts expect to see rise to 60% in just a few

short years.
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Multi-cultural Organization: Gender and Diversity Issues at Work
Today, people of color in the U.S. amount to over 100 million people (about

one third of the population), and by 2050, their numbers will more than

double, growing to almost 220 million (over 50 percent of the population).

People of color already constitute a majority of the population in California,

Florida, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Texas. The political and social implications

of an increasingly diverse population and nation are vast and the

communities of color have a mounting influence on society and politics.

The largest and most daunting challenge before the motorcycle

industry however is actually identifying the need for diversity! The

industry is one of the least diverse segments of society today and obstinately

remains so based upon a deeply engrained, promoted and historic bias,

which pits a “Us” versus’ “Them” mentality. (NOTE: I am not referring here

to the lack of “diversity of people riding motorcycles”, i.e. Women, Blacks,

Hispanics, Asian, non-Hispanic Whites, etc but rather to the internal workings

of the V-twin industry as a whole).

Not only is diversity needed through out the motorcycle industry, it is simply

the right thing to do. It behooves industry leaders and individuals to keep up

with the rapidly changing demographics of the U.S. if the motorcycle industry

is to remain viable, thriving and relevant. Because of the lack of attention to

this issue, the motorcycle industry has missed a viable, rapidly growing and

diverse market despite economic factors that should have been favorable to

the industry, such as high gas prices and growing concerns about the
Carl Hanlon Final Term
Multi-cultural Organization: Gender and Diversity Issues at Work
environment.

What would the motorcycle industry look like if it were able to effectively

engage women and people of color and leverage their substantial support

and talents? These new participants would surely translate into more political

prowess, richer partnerships and more financial robustness for an industry

that has a history of substantial ebbs and flows brought on by economic

factors and buyer whims and preferences. In other words, the industry would

be substantially more successful and influential than it ever has been by

moving towards a more “inclusive” and “diverse” makeup.

Let’s start with gender. The motorcycle industry is one of the last bastions of

male dominance. While over 50% of all car purchases are made by women,

only 23% of women ride motorcycles, or 5.7 million our of 25 million riders.

The white, male majority labor pool has historically dominated the American

workforce, and especially the motorcycle industry. For a variety of complex

social and economic reasons, women did not begin making inroads into the

mainstream motorcycle industry until the mid-late 1990s—(in comparison

Carly Fiorina had already risen to the very top as CEO of Hewlett-Packard

from 1999 to 2005, computers being also strongly male dominated). Still, in

most cases minorities (ie. women in this case) are still viewed as second

layer castings and/or “bait” to attract the “real” target consumer-i.e. males,

and few things are proactively done from the major players to embrace and

accommodate them. While on a grass roots level, a number of dealerships,

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Multi-cultural Organization: Gender and Diversity Issues at Work
magazines, organizations, associations and manufactures are taking steps to

“include” or address the woman consumer, there is still a lack of “leading by

example” from the major motorcycle companies themselves. Which is a lost

opportunity for these companies. If the motorcycle companies were to study

more in-depth the habits and the “reach” of the women consumers

influence, they would quickly see that women not only take the lead in the

decision of consumables directly, (85% of ALL brand purchases are made by

women), but are having an indirect influence on the motorcycles industries

direct target market, (ie. male) in the decision on 1) whether to even

purchase a motorcycle, and 2) what type (cruiser, touring, off-road, dual

sport, sports, etc) or brand (Honda, BMW, Harley Davidson, Yamaha, etc) of

motorcycle to purchase.

Yes, while males today make most motorcycle purchases predominantly, the

industry fails to recognize the ‘veto’ power of the female in the purchase

decision. For every man that owns a motorcycle there are possibly ten that

want one and have not purchased because of strong opposition from the

women in their lives. The motorcycle industry does nothing to directly

market to these women’s objections, whether that is safety concerns or

image perceptions. Browse through any motorcycle magazine, the industry

still uses ‘women’ as either eye candy or in a provocative poses. Practices

that have not been seen in car advertising (TV, Websites or Print) for

decades. In the fear of losing its existing male market share, the motorcycle

industry is stuck between being current and relevant and fixated on the
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Multi-cultural Organization: Gender and Diversity Issues at Work
mindset of “yesterday” that by nature isolates them from the current

consumers. Basically a vicious struggle between “Past Habits” verses

“Present Opportunities”.

Despite all of this, some women are bucking the stereotype and are not

content to ride on the back of a man’s motorcycle, but becoming riders

themselves. And yet, motorcycle manufactures are still missing a

substantial opportunity to sell to women directly as they continue to

manufacture motorcycles built for the “male frame” and thus forcing the

female (and smaller consumers) to seek out models that best suit their size

and riding preferences. (Granted H-D did attempt to focus on the younger

market by purchasing the Buell motorcycle line- however their efforts were

misdirected as it was just a repackaged “V-Twin” model on a sport frame

and still was branded as a Harley. Which both the younger market didn’t

understand or like and women didn’t want). For clarification, while H-D’s full

size and heavier seat height is lower than their competitors, (BMW, Honda,

Suzuki) there is a very minute percentage of women riders who do ride

these fuller size motorcycles. However there numbers are not discernable.

Thus despite many barriers, women, as a percentage of the motorcycle

industry labor force and consumer market, continue to grow, although slowly

and sporadically. According to Motorcycle Industry Council in 2009, female

ownership of motorcycles crossed the 10-percent mark, increasing from 9.6

percent in 2003 up to 12.3 percent in 2008”. That is 2.7% growth over a 5-

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Multi-cultural Organization: Gender and Diversity Issues at Work
year period. Compare these to the number of women who attend Winston

Cup races each year: 40% of the 6.6 million attendees! Or the 47.2 % of

major league soccer fans: 46.5% of MLB fans, 43.2% of NFL fans, 40.8% of

fans at NHL games or 37% of NBA fan’s who are women!

Laurie Dougherty, one of the editors of The Changing Nature of Work, noted

that the image of the American workforce is rapidly changing from

essentially a white male image, as exemplified by the "man in the gray

flannel suit" and the hard-hat construction worker, to one of men and women

of all nationalities and races—in essence, a change from a homogenous

image to one much more diverse or multicultural.

All of the diverse characteristics of a multicultural workforce can be used to a

strategic advantage for the motorcycle companies that have the willingness

and creativity to make use of them. According to "African Americans

Revealed" - a study of more than 80,000 African-American consumers over

18-month span broken down into several individual research reports African-

American buying power increased more than 55% during the same period to

$913 billion. By the year 2013 black buying power will reach $1.2 trillion

dollars, a whopping 35% increase versus 2008, according to BET.

Hispanics spent over $900 billion as a consumer group in 2009 and this

buying power is projected to surpass the $1 trillion mark by the end of 2010.

Asian American buying power was estimated at $397 billion for 2005, an
Carl Hanlon Final Term
Multi-cultural Organization: Gender and Diversity Issues at Work
increase of 240.4 percent since 1990. It's forecast to reach $579 billion

nationwide by 2011.

As Thomas McInerney, the president of Aetna Retirement Services and the

companies Diversity Steward said in an interview with DiversityInc.com,

“Those companies that are able to tap into this growth now, with the right

products and services as well as the work force expertise to serve these

markets, are looking at an unbelievable business opportunity,"

The rise in the spending power of these minority groups has increased

employment opportunities for minorities by ironically creating positive

stereotyping, or what Frederick R. Lynch, author of The Diversity Machine,

called "identity politics." According to Lynch, companies spend a great deal

of money and marketing energy on the idea that Mexican Americans can

best sell products and services to other Mexican Americans and that African

Americans can best sell products and services to other African Americans.

Workforce editor Gillian Flynn concurred, "These companies have a stake in

the belief that people of a certain race or gender think similarly, and they

favor diversity programs that support that belief."

The big “elephant in the room” however that the motorcycle industry must

face head-on is: “Will diversity make good business sense for us?” In

other industries it evidently does!

The “Fortune Magazine’s Top 50 best companies for Blacks, Hispanics and
Carl Hanlon Final Term
Multi-cultural Organization: Gender and Diversity Issues at Work
Asians” list, cites Advantica, the parent company of Denny's, as No. 2 on the

list, with BankAmerica, Fannie Mae and Marriott International rounding out

the top-five best companies for Blacks, Hispanics and Asians. At No. 1, Pacific

Enterprises in Los Angeles works hard at maintaining a workforce that

reflects the urban area it serves. "We have a smorgasbord of customers and

a smorgasbord of employees," says company treasurer Dennis Arriola, who is

Hispanic. "The best salespeople are the ones most like the customers they

serve." At the typical "best" company, minorities account for 11.7 percent of

the board, 7.6 percent of corporate officers, 13.9 percent of officials and

managers, 7.2 percent of the 25 highest-paid employees, 24.9 percent of the

total workforce, and 23.8 percent of new hires. Charity donations to

programs that primarily benefit minorities average 35.3 percent, and 4.4

percent of purchasing is done with minority suppliers.

Imagine what could happen if the motorcycle industry would more

aggressively work on inclusion strategies. One of the benefits outside of

greater sales to these growing demographic groups would be their support

and passion. For example it is documented that people of color support

specific industry issues of interest to them at a higher level than their white

counterparts.

So, how does an industry initiate a change to embrace diversity

within itself? If the motorcycle industry is to seriously work on the lack of

diversity, the industry leaders will need to effectively tackle the cultural

mindset of itself and those that participate. While industry leaders such as
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Multi-cultural Organization: Gender and Diversity Issues at Work
Harley Davidson, Honda, Triumph and Victory have made efforts to capture

the attention of these communities, (mainly focusing on the clothing arena

and to a lesser extend actual vehicles) it is seen as either “lukewarm”, “half

hearted” or at least an after thought. Nothing within the present scope of

advertising, initiatives to dealers, motorcycles themselves or even the

refocus of the use of women as anything other than “male magnets”

validates a serious effort towards inclusion.

Smaller independent companies will have to address their own efforts first

hand and the industry as a whole will have to put forth nothing short of a

comprehensive strategy that will sufficiently address the diversity crisis and

create sustainable and lasting change, as well as lay a road map for others

to follow.

Many different elements would be necessary to create a climate of inclusion

and to incorporate the genuine value for diversity. From my own unique

perspective from within the industry “circle” there are four elements I

believe would strengthen the diversity efforts. They are; increased

awareness of the need (ie. communication), targeted minority initiatives by

industry leaders, training, and mentoring.

Communications about the value of inclusion and diversity that come from

the top of an industry or company are critical in the success of a diversity

initiative. While this communication is frequently written, the use of

Carl Hanlon Final Term
Multi-cultural Organization: Gender and Diversity Issues at Work
technology can quickly show the companies efforts towards diversity. Such

is the case with Allstate Insurance who employs teleconferencing to

communicate multicultural values across the country. Participating in

industry round tables or panels (where I have been a panelist in past) also

helps shed light to the issues facing the industry (both to internal

participants and consumers) and shows the need for such diversity to the

masses. Which in time becomes acceptance.

Targeted minority initiatives by industry leaders, in a direct manner, shows

the industries interest in that targeted demographic. However it also shows

to the “general public” that this companies interest is real and part of their

business strategy and life.

Training engages industry leaders, management and employees in the

process of dealing with multicultural conflicts, needs, and industry dynamics.

While training may operate at high levels within the industry many

companies are involving employees at all levels of the company in

formulating policies and guidelines.

Mentoring programs directly connect multicultural employees with traditional

employees across racial and gender lines. IBM, for instance, uses a formal

mentoring program while Corning employs a more informal "coaching"

program.

True change in any industry, and specifically the motorcycle industry, begins
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Multi-cultural Organization: Gender and Diversity Issues at Work
at the top tier of manufacturing food chain (ie. Harley Davidson, BMW,

Honda, Victory, Yamaha, etc) and also within it’s rank and file (small

builders, manufacturers and suppliers).

Diversity efforts cannot succeed without long-term commitment from its

leaders and forward-thinking individuals who are seen as “influencers” within

the industry. Everything the diversity program does must be linked to

business and industry success; diversity strategies must be part of "the

businesses purpose and vision."

My own strategy in addressing this issue in my industry is pretty

straightforward. Which is to speak on these disparities at seminars that I

participate in annually, as well as blog about it on website as well as write

articles which are published in national publications. Also have discussions

with fellow builders and consumers when at events. In addition, while I do

use female models in my clothing line I do refrain from putting them in

compromising situations (shirtless, scantly clothed, etc). This movement hast

to start someplace, so why not with a small shop like Guilty Customs!