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Diversity of Diversity. A transdisciplinary consideration of a pivotal concept
No full textThe use of the word `diversity´ has become quite fashionable in several sub-disciplines of the social sciences (including economics) recently. Unfortunately this common usage hides the variety of meanings, which the concept `variety´ has in the different domains of scientific discourse - hence the title of this paper. It sets out to shed some light on this sometimes confusing situation by starting with a discussion of the two rather opposed uses of `diversity´ in the area of gender and race discrimination on the one hand, and in the area evolutionary economics on the other hand.
It turns out that despite the enormously divergent context of `diversity´ in these two scientific discourses there is a common denominator, which allows bridging the gap: coalition formation. Emergence and even necessity to build - at least transitory - new units consisting of heterogeneous members to improve welfare turns out to be an underlying theme in both areas.
The final part of the paper will generalize this issue beyond the example of the two specific scientific discourses. In particular it will direct the attention towards how to learn general properties using special cases. Since the formation of coalitions to strengthen progressive powers in contemporary global political economy is one of the most urgent tasks, the concluding part of the paper tries to draw some lessons in this respect
The role of unions as working-class representation
No full textIncreasing structural inequality in distribution Inequality develops by segregation of social groups. Groups can appear in different constitutions and often have an official and institutionalized form. An important link between social segregation and inequality is capital (Bowles et al., 2009). According to Bowles (2012), the only way of emancipating disadvantaged people is to install regulatory mechanisms which redistribute capital. Thus to pave the way for equality, group consciousness and redistribution processes need to be set in motion. But, the trend in Europe shows an opposite dynamic. There has been an increase in a skewed distribution of income and wealth, which has led to added inequality (Atkinson et al., 2012; Piketty, 2014; Piketty & Zucman, 2013; Therborn, 2012). The distribution of disposable household income since the 1980s has continuously become more unequal in OECD countries. In 1980 the top 10% earned seven times as much as the bottom 10% while in 2014 the top 10% earned 10 times as much. This is because the disposable household income of the top 10% rose further than that of others, and the bottom-income households had higher income losses during and after the economic crisis of 2008. Clearly income inequality has increased (OECD, 2015). This can be seen in the Gini coefficient. The Gini-coefficient shows how national income (or wealth) is distributed. A Gini-coefficient of 1 shows a maximal unequal income distribution in a country whereas a Gini-coefficient of 0 depicts that national incomes are equally distributed within society. Most often values lie between 0.3 and 0.5 (Wilkinson & Pickett, 2010). In the mid-1980s the Gini coefficient of the OECD countries stood at 0.29. By 2013 it had risen to an average of 0.32. Germany, for example, had an increase from 0.25 to 0.30, Sweden from approximately 0.18 to 0.27 and the USA approximately from 0.34 to 0.41 (OECD, 2015)
Die Bearbeitung von Diversität in Organisationen – Plädoyer zur Erweiterung bisheriger Typologien
No full textDen Ausgangspunkt des Beitrags bilden die typologischen Überlegungen von Thomas und Ely. Diese Typologie ist vielfach diskutiert und weiter entwickelt worden. Allerdings sind auch diese konzeptionellen Weiterentwicklungen mit Blick auf den Organisationstypus Unternehmen konzipiert worden. Nun implementieren aber auch aktuell immer mehr Organisationen der Zivilgesellschaft und Verwaltungen sowie Einrichtungen der öffentlichen Hand – und hier insbesondere Hochschulen – unterschiedlich ausgestaltete Diversitätskonzepte. Mit Blick darauf wird im Folgenden ein weiter Organisationsbegriff zugrunde gelegt, um eine erweiterte Typologie des Umgangs mit Diversität in Organisation zu entwickeln. Dabei werden Unternehmen und Hochschulen als zwei Pole eines Kontinuums im Umgang mit organisationsinternen wie -externen Diversifizierungsprozessen und ihre Folgen betrachtet: Während Unternehmen zusehends damit beginnen, mehr Eigenkomplexität innerhalb der Unternehmensorganisation zu erzeugen, geht es Hochschulen andersherum verstärkt darum, ihre Eigenkomplexität zu reduzieren, um ihre strategische Positionierung zu optimieren. Der übergeordnete Zielgedanke eines geglückten Diversitätsmanagements besteht in dieser Perspektivierung dann darin, eine optimale Balance zwischen diversitätsbedingter Umwelt und Organisationskomplexität herzustellen. Demgegenüber geht es einem neu aufgetauchten Typus, der hier als „inclusive & transformative“ bezeichnet wird, darum, seine Umwelt zu transformieren. Dieser Typus wird am Beispiel der University of Califonia, Berkeley konturiert
Gender and diversity in management education at Europe's largest university of economics and business: An evaluation of 12 years of teaching diversity management at the WU Vienna
No full textThis chapter explores the specific challenges of teaching diversity management courses in management education. It constitutes a critical reflection on the establishment of innovative course work and challenges stemming from the contradicting professional self-understandings of those employed as researchers and faculty members at established educational institutions. The chapter provides some lessons learned regarding the development of a curriculum of gender- and diversity-relevant courses in management education within the context of a university economics and business. One element in the decision-making process of students when choosing a degree course is the perception of subsequent "employability". For the business specializations (SBWL) in Diversity Management this means that the potential course participants consider closely whether the acquired competencies will improve their chances of finding employment and whether a formal certification of qualification gives a positive signal to potential employers. Each evaluation examines in detail the extent to which the educational goals and expectations of students have been realized by the SBWL
Konflikt und Kreativität: Eine Symbiose für sozialen Wandel?
Full text linkZur Bedeutung von Mikrokreditprojektenund empowerment von Frauen für nachhaltigensozialen Wandel am Beispiel von Mittelägypte
Diversity in Teams: Source of Conflict or Source of Creativity? Investigating Hidden Mental Models
Full text linkThe workforce in organizations today is becoming increasingly diverse. Consequently the role of diversity management is heavily discussed with respect to the question how diversity influences the productivity of a group. Empirical studies show that on one hand there is a potential for increasing productivity but on the other hand it might be as well that conflicts arise due to the heterogeneity of the group. Usually according empirical studies are based on interviews, questionnaires and/or observations. These methods imply that answers are highly selective and filtered. In order to make the invisible visible, to have access to mental models of team members the paper will present an empirical study on the self-understanding of groups based on an innovative research method, called “mind-scripting”
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