Organizational

policies,
practices,
& systems for D&I
AUŠRINĖ ŠILENSKYTĖ, PH.D.
U N I V E R S I T Y T E A C H E R , S C H O O L O F M A N A G E M E N T, U N I V E R S I T Y O F V A A S A
V I C E C H A I R , C O M M U N I C AT I O N S @ A I B T E A C H I N G & E D U C AT I O N S I G
C E O & C O N S U LTA N T @ A L LY H A P P Y P E O P L E
Time to submit your proposals for closing
ceremony – Tonight! (optional)
If you would like to be among two students who will present their ideas in
closing ceremony of the RUTA international program,
Submit a short proposal on “How to improve/develop diversity
management in Peru”.
Key ideas, NOT a full presentation are needed! Can be bullet points,
or few paragraphs. The plan no longer than 400 words!
Include: individual, team, organizational, and institutional issues.
If you are selected, you will develop a full presentation based on these
ideas.
SUBMIT HERE: https://padlet.com/ausrineee/diversityplanforPeru
Deadline – TODAY (20.8.2021) by midnight (Lima time)

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

Organizational level of DM. How to design
organizational policies, practices, and systems
to support D&I in organizations?

LO3: explore and learn to apply various ways to address diversity dimensions in both local and
international organizations;
LO4: design strategies to be inclusive when working in diverse organizations.

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

Why organizations may NOT consider the
importance of DM?

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

Why organizations may NOT consider the
importance of DM?
’SOCIAL JUSTICE CASE’
Pursuing Fairness is NOT the
key goal of the organizations
– Profit & Efficiency is the
ultimate goal
If decision making in
organizations are made
based on social justice &
fairness, it may have
negative effects on
operations and bottom line
© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021
’BUSINESS CASE’
Desire for ’Good business’
frequently allows ignoring DM
How to effectively measure DM
benefits to business remains a
challenge
Many benefits of DM are revealed
in long term, while business is
frequently evaluated by short-term
financial performance
Source: based on Noon (2001)
D&I versus
Affirmative
Actions (AA)

Ivancevich, J. M., & Gilbert, J. A.

(2000). Diversity management: Time
for a new approach. Public personnel
management, 29(1), 75-92., page 89

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

 Organizational DM continuum
Negative Minimalist Compliant Proactive

• Has no equal • Claims to be equal
opportunity or DM opportunity
policy employer
• Makes no claims of • Has no written
being equal equal opportunity
opportunity or or DM policy
inclusive employer • Has no procedures
• Might not be or initiatives, but
complying with law will react to claims
of discrimination as
they arise
• Has written equal • Has written policy
opportunity or DM backed up with
policy procedures & DM
• Has procedures and initiatives
initiatives in place • Monitors outcomes
to comply with of DM initiatives to
some aspects of assess their impact
good DM practice • Promotes equality &
and inclusiveness using
recommendations full set of good
practice guidelines,
and might even go
beyond these

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021 Source: typology based on Healy (1993) and Kirton & Greene (2000) in Noon (2001) & Certo & Certo (2016)
Diversity
management
implementation:
An integrated
process
Riccò, R., & Guerci, M. (2014).
Diversity challenge: An integrated
process to bridge the
‘implementation gap’. Business
Horizons, 57(2), 235-245.

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

 Power of perceptions of fairness
60% of respondents who perceived that performance
management system is fair also state that system is
effective!
(McKinsey, 2018 April)

Concepts fairness and equality highly influence, how

employees in the organization evaluate effectiveness of
the existing systems and procedures

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

Fairness & Equality
concepts while Collectivist strand
designing diversity Guiding principle –
special treatment
policies and DM according to social
group membership
procedures DIFFERENCE:
Making decisions Individualist strand
about, how to Guiding principle –
treat people SAMENESS: special treatment
based on… Guiding according to
principle – individual needs
Equal treatment

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021 Source: based on Noon (2001)

 Manager
beliefs, What
biases, &
values Political
influences
Industry
environ-
ment &
agenda of
individuals/
groups in
decisions
needs
Decisions the
organization
about Diversity
about Management
Organiza-
tional DM
Political
agenda in in the
the society
business
strategy &
(-ies) within
which
organizations?
culture External organization E.g. from Chang, Milkman, Chugh &
resides Akinola. (2018). Diversity Thresholds: How
legal, Social Norms, Visibility, and Scrutiny Relate
business & to Group Composition. Academy of
social Management Journal, (ja).
pressures
© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021
Example:
Industry affects our focus in DM Policies

‘Pink color jobs’:

https://www.facebook.com/
watch/?v=155089325209216

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

How organizations hire matters!
How job
Where the job What working
advertisements are
advertisements are conditions are
framed (e.g.,
posted (e.g., UN) offered
adjectives used)

How evaluation How skills &

committee is experience are
designed evaluated

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

 Why MNCs may have much harder
challenges while designing &
implementing DM Policies?
Each country has diverse type & extent of legislations

Different social evaluations of the legislations & norms upon which

company policy is designed

The way each country/culture has enacted the legislations and organizational
policies & procedures are different

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

 Global
diversity
management
framework
Nishii, L. H., & Özbilgin, M. F.
(2007). Global diversity
management: towards a
conceptual framework. The
International Journal of Human
Resource Management, 18(11),
1883-1894.

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

How to translate all this in a DM Policy?
Discuss in the breakout rooms:
1. What are the essential features of
the DM Policy?
2. What is the layout and outlook of
DM Policy like?
3. To whom such DM Policy is
addressed?
4. I we were presenting the Policy to
Top Management Team – what
would we need to emphasize?

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

What are the essential features
of the DM Policy?
1. Introduction statement: core aim of the policy
2. How diversity is defined in the organization?
3. How this Policy benefits employees and other stakeholders?
4. How this Policy will benefit business, and therefore, stakeholders
5. Who will be accountable for its implementation?
6. What actions and why will be taken to achieve the D&I goals?
7. How everyone will be involved?
8. How D&I activities will be supervised, evaluated, measured, and further improved?

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

 Potential pitfalls of DM Policy
A popular diversity image—a photograph of diversity as a
mosaic—acknowledges difference while at the same time
it actually homogenizes it. The mosaic inscribes difference
within a sameness grid and commodifies it. (Swan, 2010)
Forced, obligatory trainings
Negative messages/asociations in communication (e.g.,
we want to reduce lawsuits)
Testing, if people are hired for their skills (inconsistently)

https://hbr.org/video/5108682441001/why-the- Grievance systems create backlash

most-common-diversity-programs-dont-work

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

What practices help implementing DM?
LO4: designing strategies
When some diversity
dimensions are gaining too
much attention, other diversity
aspects are underutilized

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

 Zero-Tolerance Policy

Jokes about ethnicity, gender,

sexual orientation, disability, age,
or religion
Slurs, name-calling and bullying (in
the office & virtually)
Any kind of harassment
Towards employees & Customers

Example: Same Sex Couple Discrimination https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve-VNv2wOzg

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

 Fairness in performance evaluation
Performance-management systems have much better chance of being
perceived as fair when they:

Link performance Include coaching by Have differentiating

goals to business managers compensation
priorities

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021 Source: McKinsey (2018) The Fairness factor in performance management
 Development Discussion templates
for each organizational level, e.g.:
Communication for
Communication for Line Managers
Designers

Your level of English: a) spoken, b) written Your level of English: a) spoken, b) written

Your ability to connect & understand your counterparts in Your ability to connect & understand counterparts in other
other a) country units, b) disciplines a) country units, b) disciplines

Your ability to explain technical terms to your

Your ability to communicate with customers counterparts in a) other disciplines, b) in other MNC
countries

Your ability to communicate your challenges in daily tasks

Your ability to communicate strategy to your subordinates
for line or project manager

UNIVERSITY OF VAASA | AUŠRINĖ ŠILENSKYTĖ

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

20.8.2021 23
 Provide ratings in structured way &
standardized suggestions for actions, e.g.:

5 4 3
Very good level of Good level of Moderate level of
skill/competence: skill/competence: skill/competence: if skill is
attention to attention to crucial for daily work –
maintaining it, less maintaining it, instant development plan;
attention to skill consider, how if not – plan to develop
development crucial to develop over longer period of time
it to level 5

UNIVERSITY OF VAASA | AUŠRINĖ ŠILENSKYTĖ

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021 24

Mentoring to manage diversity
Mentoring is a process in which more experienced
organizational member (mentor) provides advice and
guidance to less experienced member (protégé).

Mentoring usually has two functions: career

development and social support.

Mentoring is NOT Coaching! Mentoring is usually used

more from social and individual perspective. Coaching is
usually more focused on business matters and includes
less advising, but more facilitation in individual and
organizational development process.

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021 Source: based on Robbins et al. (2018), 14th ed.
Why mentoring for D&I?
• Taps into social networks of dominant group
• Learns about the way dominant group do
Perspective of things
help fighting
the protégé • Removes over-expectations about certain
groups (e.g., men are expected to know the certain
way and make decisions on their own)
biases and
wrong norms
• learn about the attributes and strengths of
in the
the minority groups organization
Perspective of • Start to see the advantages of differing
perspectives, personalities and experiences
the mentor and become influencers across the business

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021 https://hbr.org/2017/02/diversity-doesnt-stick-without-inclusion

 Provides
instructions

Develops
high-quality
Offers advice
How to be a good relationship
with protégé

mentor to support What a good

diversity mentor does?

management Shares
technical
Gives
constructive
efforts? expertise criticism

Helps build
appropriate
skills

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021 Source: based on Robbins et al. (2018), 14th ed.
 3 key rules to support DM
implementation
• DM in every strategy, system, and
practice that organization does and
Integrate report about it linking DM with other
business goals

• Adjust (at least partly) communication

about it and implementation tools
Contextualize according to the context of the unit

Relate to • Provide examples,

operational how DM is ‘lived’ in
work operational work

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

 Sharing DM steps for everyone

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

After-class activity:
Analyze two examples of D&I Policies

IBM: https://www.ibm.com/impact/be-equal/
Merck: https://www.merck.com/company-overview/diversity-and-inclusion/

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021

Thank you!
Let’s keep in touch:
Aušrinė Šilenskytė, Ph.D.

University Teacher, School of

Management, University of Vaasa
Vice Chair, Communications @ AIB
Teaching & Education SIG

Phone: +358 29 449 8295

E-mail: ausrineee@gmail.com
ausrine.silenskyte@uva.fi
Websites: https://www.univaasa.fi
https://tesig.aib.world/

© Aušrinė Šilenskytė 2021