Diversity processes
- 2. Article Review Public Relations is a complex field which involves jobs like crisis management, event planning, government relations, consumer/lifestyle public relations, media relations, and many more. This field involves a lot of quick, smart thinking, decisions that impact a large number of people or pretty important people, and tasks that will get a lot of attention from all over. The article I chose talks about the impact of African Americans in Public Relations and the changes they have helped make.
- 3. Article Review “Black practitioners have been performing PR duties for nonprofits, social movements, corporations, and other institutions for decades. Like every group, African-Americans practiced public relations before anyone even bothered to call what we do “public relations.”
- 4. Article Review The article continues to talk about the challenges people of minorities have in the business of PR and how they have been overshadowed by the majority of caucasians who have ran the field for many years. It questions these challenges and possible theories of why minorities were not as successful or abundant in the field. However, it does entail that the numbers are increasing of minorities joining the corporations of Public Relations and making big changes all around the field.
- 5. Chapter 12: Organizational Diversity Processes -When businesses first began a large number of the people who filled them were and are still composed of white males -More females and minorities begin to move into these organizations -Theorists start looking into how diversity affects organizations -They also begin looking at how diversity can be handled in positive ways
- 6. Chapter 12 Review This chapter looks at: -Organizational experiences of minorities in the workplace -How minorities are making differences in the workplace -Positives of diversity and how it helps organizations grow -Strategies for developing, managing, and celebrating culturally diverse organizations
- 7. Opportunities of a Diverse Organization “Cox & Blake’s six most important competitive advantages that can be gained through the insightful management of cultural diversity.” -AKA: The business case for diversity, suggesting an argument for how diversity helps in the workplace and exactly what benefits organizations gain from them -Many of these points can be argued, but lack of a common frame of reference may get in the way of appreciating how this celebrates diversity and impacts they may bring to the company
- 8. Cox & Blake’s six most important competitive advantages Opportunities realized through Diversity 1. Cost Argument 2. Resource-acquisition argument 3. Marketing argument 4. Creativity argument 5. Problem-solving argument
- 9. Stereotyping & Discrimination -A few people get confused with the definitions of these following terms so here are the definitions found in the text: -Prejudice refers to negative attitudes toward an organization member based on her/his cultural group identity -Discrimination refers to observable behavior for the same reason -A manager may believe based on stereotypes that mexicans are slower workers or japanese americans are unassertive
- 10. Stereotyping & Discrimination When stereotyping plays out in organizations it becomes friction and challenging for minorities to get jobs or progress in fields. It can be tough for minorities to shake impressions put on themselves and shine in an organization through their actual capabilities sometimes in certain organizations. Sophisticated stereotyping may seem more logical to some people but it is also dangerous. ex : “gays and lesbians tend to be politically aggressive”.
- 11. Relational Barriers in the Diverse Workplace “The experience of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination are typically seen as individual-level phenomena.” -Tokenism: The practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to do a particular thing, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of sexual or racial equality within a workforce.
- 12. Challenges of Diverse Organizations “African-American practitioners are still in the public relations trenches. It may appear that present-day practitioners have little in common with those who preceded us. We have a president who claims his African-American heritage; black men and women are CEOs of global companies. Although this is true, there remains a layer of invisibility for black PR pros and other practitioners of color.” Challenges of Diverse Organizations include: -Avoiding negative effects of diversity management programs & -Balancing work and home
- 13. Challenges of Diverse Organizations There are many challenges that minorities have faced and are still facing in small and even leading organizations, however a lot of progress has been made through learning about diversity impacts and programs sufficient to ending boulders for people of minorities. So stay positive: “A 2010 census of PRSA’s 22,000 professional members shows that 14 percent of the membership self- identified as Hispanic, black/African American, Asian/Asian American. That percentage has doubled since 2005.”
- 14. Managing/Celebrating Cultural Diversity “The sources of innovation remain mysterious; life experiences can serendipitously provide insights. By building diverse teams of employees, organizations increase their chances of making a breakthrough.”
- 15. F Y I -Most attention in the chapter is centered on women and racial minorities however other minorities(co-cultural groups) are around and affected in the workplace as well including: -Age Diversity -Disability Diversity -Cultural Diversity -Sexual Orientation Diversity
- 16. F Y I Two Major Amendments are discussed to protect employees with disabilities and LGBT(lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) employees: -American with Disabilities Act(ADA); This prohibits discrimination based on disability and requires organizations to make “reasonable accommodations” for this workers. -Employment Nondiscrimination Act(ENDA); This act, introduced in 1994, has not been passed but is making rapid impacts, having already 28 states backing the decision of imputing the amendment.
- 17. Questions on Article/Chapter The article does not really discuss other minorities, including co-cultural groups, which would add more impact to it. I wonder how well co-cultural groups like handicap persons do in the field and if the progress in the same. How diverse are most Public Relations teams? Do they differ with the range of minorities by which field it is? Ex. Are there more LGBT employees within the fashion realm of PR as opposed to the number of them in government involvement or crisis management fields?
- 18. Questions on Diversity in the Workplace How many major PR firms, companies, or positions are ran by minorities? Are there any companies that have a majority of minorities and if so what are these? Have people investigated why certain groups go to certain positions or fields? Since Public Relations is a fresher field, in a sense of being ‘in the know’ or up-to- date, I wonder if they have more diverse companies all over than most organizations? If there was a range of how diverse PR companies were in comparison to successful organizations where would they rank?
- 19. Future Research Ideas Finding how much minorities are impacting the PR field in recent years and why this might be a huge epidemic. Studies to determine when and how minorities have largely impacted corporations, maybe a feature on major bosses in PR who are under minority groups. The feature could include them answering questions on any struggles they may have faced or are still facing by being a minority in their field of study.
- 20. Citations Tindall, Natalie. "Diversity in the PR Field: Some Progress, Though Challenges Persist." Diversity in the PR Field: Some Progress, Though Challenges Persist. N.p., 07 Feb. 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.