Managing Diversity: Opinions of Managers,

Academic and Administrative Staff at Giresun

University
Eray Kara
The Drive

▪ An older colleague said once ‘it’s easy to handle the paperwork, use your energy
to understand people’
▪ Notice the weird one, acceptance is the key, odd ideas may result well
▪ We don’t need theory, we need to be understood
Research Questions

1. In which ways do managers, academic and administrative staff at Giresun

University see themselves different?
2. What do they think about diversity management at the university? Are these
opinions positive or negative?
3. What are the diversity management strategies used by the managers/felt by the
staff?
a. Training
b. Enforcement
c. Exposure
How is diversity defined?

▪ DeMeuse and Hostager (2001) talked about four layers of diversity:

▪ Personality: These are the characteristics of a person’s identity, including an individual's likes and dislikes, values, and beliefs. Personality
is shaped early in life and is both influenced by, and influences, the other three layers throughout one's lifetime and career choices.
▪ Internal dimensions: These include aspects of diversity over which we have no control (though "physical ability" can change over time
due to choices we make to be active or not, or in cases of illness or accidents). This dimension is the layer in which many divisions
between and among people exist and which forms the core of many diversity efforts. These dimensions include the first things we see in
other people, such as race or gender and on which we make many assumptions and base judgments.
▪ External dimensions: These include aspects of our lives which we have some control over, which might change over time, and which
usually form the basis for decisions on careers and work styles. This layer often determines, in part, with whom we develop friendships
and what we do for work. This layer also tells us much about whom we like to be with.
▪ Organizational dimensions: This layer concerns the aspects of culture found in a work setting. While much attention of diversity efforts
is focused on the internal dimensions, issues of preferential treatment and opportunities for development or promotion are impacted
by the aspects of this layer. The usefulness of this model is that it includes the dimensions that shape and impact both the individual
and the organization itself. While the "Internal Dimensions" receive primary attention in successful diversity initiatives, the elements of
the "External" and "Organizational" dimensions often determine the way people are treated, who "fits" or not in a department, who
gets the opportunity for development or promotions, and who gets recognized.
The possible problems arising from diversity

▪ Managerial Confusion: A group of people having the same ideas will obviously
have less conflict. There will be no need for new or different leadership styles.
▪ Justice: Each individual or culture may have defined their own justice. In the
workplace, some groups need to be backed up or protected. This may lead the
employees’ mistrust.
▪ Diversity vs similarities: People tend to work with the people who has the same
ways of thinking. This paves the way for grouping, and exclusion for others.
▪ Identity and Belonging: People are more comfortable with people to whom they
do not have to introduce themselves. Also, when they are not worried about
being accepted the working life will be a lot easier.
How to handle diversity?

Ann Morrison (1993) leads the managers to create strategies for handling diversity
after her study with 16 different companies following these 3 steps:
▪ Training: Creating awareness
▪ Enforcement: Using legal sanctions
▪ Exposure: Forming a culture of working together
 The Method

The qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews to find answers for the
research questions.
The 12 manager participants of the study were asked 13 questions, and 26 academic and
administrative personnel opinions were obtained through 9 questions.

Some example questions:

• How do you think that your employers differ from each other?
• In what ways do you think that you are different from the other staff at the university?
• How do you assess the performance of the employers?
• How does your head of the department do the assignments?
• What do you do to learn more about the employers?
• When your manager say ‘we’, who are included in?
First research question: Diversity defined by managers

▪ Internal Dimension:
“The men are outnumbered here. Gender, age, culture and personality make difference (M5).”
“The staff differs in age, to me (M9).”
“The most important diversity is gender and age here (M11).”
▪ External Dimension:
“The staff may differ in many organizational and personal aspects (M1).”
“Creativity makes the difference here (M2).”
“Grouping is the diversity here. Every group has a different character (M3).
“Peoples’ being married or having kids make them different, I think (M6).”
“Current staff differ in their academic interests, socio-cultural backgrounds, marital status or having kids (M7).”
Diversity defined by academic staff

▪ Internal Dimension:
“I come from Canada, which makes me different (A2).”
“Experience, age, qualification (A4).”
“I only belong to the same mammal classification with these people (A9).”
▪ External Dimension:
“My cultural background and perspective are so different. This is because of my educational background (A2).”
“My experience makes me different. I am an easygoing person, this is also a difference( A3).”
“I don’t know others’ religious beliefs, but I know people like my, and we are not many (A5).
“My perspective is different (A6).”
“Personality traits. I think I am more focused than more people here (A10).”
“Educational background and my values (A8).”
“I belong to the minority who come from the places other than Black Sea Coast (A12).”
Diversity Defined by administrative staff

“I am the youngest personnel at the university (AD5).”

“Knowledge, experience, work ethic and culture make me different (AD1).” “I am working hard, helping people
and I have godd relations with people. This makes me different (AD2).”
“My disability doesn’t make me different, but it affects my job here (AD3).”
“I am kinder and wiser than others (AD4).”
“Understanding, kindness and tolerance. The others here don’t have them (AD7).
“My hard and dedicated work (AD9).”
“My personality, family, expectation and educational background( AD10).”
“Trying to be fair. This is the most important one (AD11).”
“My technical skills, and I help with technical problems here. Most of the staff are women, so that makes a
difference( AD12).”
Handling diversity: positive

“Exchanging ideas and open communication help employees to feel more relaxed
(M2).”
“I try to include them in decision making processes (M3).”
“My friends and the dean know that I am different, and they appreciate it (A3).”
“The lecturers, office workers and the managers can talk around the same table.
Last year they celebrated my birthday I felt valued (AD3).”
Handling Diversity - Negative

▪ Managers all think that they have positive attitudes towards handling diversity.
“Diversity is not valued here. It affects my motivation. (A4).”
“Diversity is perceived as deficient here. This perception does not mean anything to me because know that it is the same all over
Turkey (A5).”
“The thing making me different is not something that my collegues are aware of. Our reactions to certain events or news make
difference, and cause isolation. I don’t feel that I am understood correctly. (A6).”
“It doesn’t mean anything (AD1).”
“It is not considered. Working hard, being qualified or dedicated mean nothing to them (AD2).”
“The matter is what lecturers want at the university, we, office workers are nothing (AD4).”
“All academic staff feel that they are our managers. We are not different for them (AD7).”
“Diversity is seen as a problem, something not so important (AD10).”
“There is not such an attitude. If someone works he does the work, if someone doesn’t work noone can make them work (AD11).”
Strategy Forming – Training – Enforcement – Exposure
(Managers)

“ We support in service trainings, conferences and workshops (M1).”

“We support the staff so that they can participate in the conferences. We always
encourage them to get a postgraduate degree as well(M2).”
“There isn’t an institutional policy. We try to keep equal distance to everybody. Fairness
is important for us. But it is impossible to make people happy (M6).”
“The staff’s postgraduate studies, ages, gender, marital status and having kids require a
positive discrimination. We did not encounter a serious problem, if any positive attitude
will hepl to solve (M7).”
“I can get to know people best through Project works. Only then I can see peoples’
different abilities or personal traits better (M12).”
Strategy Forming

▪ “I can reach any trainings. There aren’t any specific ways supported by administration but
they do not have a restricting attitude (A5).”
▪ “I don’t feel safe with the legal basis. Lately, mothers and family life are protected, but not
me. I am not tolerated (A5).”
▪ “Assigning changes in accordance with the Project budget. If it is a big one the administrative
staff pick their friends, but if it a small one research assistants are assigned (A4).”
▪ “Managers don’t do anything. My colleagues help me to find the needed information (AD11).”
▪ “I don’t think that the problems are solved. They are covered and ignored mostly(AD12).”
▪ “We means lecturers. When there is a problem we don’t talk a few days then we have to talk
again (AD4).”
Conclusion

▪ The results of the study revealed that there are consensus and clash of ideas in some points. While
the academic and administrative personnel’s diversity definitions were centered under personal
qualifications (culture, personality, disability, ethnic background), the managers’ diversity
definitions cover more of personality.
▪ Second, the academic and administrative personnel stated positive, objective and negative ideas
about the diversity management practices at the university, the managers’ ideas were all positive.
▪ Last, the academic and administrative personnel did not feel satisfied with a training strategy;
however, the managers think that they apply training strategies quite well. When it comes to legal
basis and policies about managing diversity, there is a consensus between the managers and the
academic and administrative personnel: they both find them inadequate.
▪ The third strategy, exposure, is found to be working for managers; however, academic and
administrative personnel do not think that the managers apply the exposure strategies well.
Thank you