Workplace Diversity a Managers Guide to Solving Problems and Turning Diversity Into A...

Overview of book.Katharine Esty wrote an effective text for companies and managers that are concerned with diversity issues in the workplace. It covers topics like "how to handle or treat" gender, race and age discriminatory modes of thinking, valuing the differences diversity can offer a company, how to profit from diversity and how to treat and to be aware of the backlash created by affirmative action campaigns and government laws.Message to Managers. Katharine's message is that managers need to be open to(and make an effort to be aware of) the diversity issues and conflicts that may arise in an organization. That managers should value those differences for the benefit that "looking at things in a different way" brings to an organization. One benefit of diversity in the workforce is ensuring different modes of thinking. Different modes of thinking can lead to creative solutions to obtuse problems. Diversity leads to creative solutions. It took a farmer that was fed up with burrs sticking to his socks and a scientist looking at the burr underneath a microscope to develop "velcro". It took a botched adhesive experiment and marketing genius to develop the glue that backs "Post-Its". Innovation and creativity can be born through the mingling of people with diverse backgrounds, educational, racial, ethnic, gender and age differences.4 out of 5 stars. The book did not receive all 5 stars because it slightly lacked in two main areas. 1) It is advertised as a reference tool on the page preceding the introduction. Superior reference tools, at a minimum, come with a Table of Contents (which this book has), detailed topic description or searchable key words in the text and an detailed appendix that includes the page numbers of the topic description or key word phrase. Although this book is well-written, it lacks Q & A topic headings at the end of each chapter and lacks a detailed appendix that would provide the page numbers of keywords or phrases. This means that someone were to perform a search on what they should do about "a certain race of people arriving late to work" that they would have to thumb through, page by page, in the race chapter to find the answer. 2) Does not apply to all managers at all levels. Although the book should apply to all managers at all levels, it is focused to managers in larger corporations (20+ employees) that have more vertical management structures than say a typical start-up or small business. Katharine points out the legal implications, business and contractual benefits of developing a diversity program or value system within a corporation, but the most (if not all) the legal implications apply to larger corporations and developing a diversity program implies that a business has the resources to dedicate someone or some other consulting company to developing such a program. This implies that the organization be larger than 20 people.

Workplace Diversity provides business managers with the creative and effective solutions they need to success in today's multifaceted and everchanging workplace. With insights into the most difficult and sensitive issues managers encounter, Workplace Diversity offers timely, practical, and invaluable guidance.

Esty has written a very readable book on a complex topic. The issues of diversity are broader than race and ethnicity although those issues remain important. A significant driver in business is the diversified workplace to reflect the diversified market. Esty presents new ways of thinking about and addressing diversity in the workplace in some very practical ways. A great handbook for anyone committed to diversity.