The purpose of this application essay is to explore the "business case" for diversity. While we can all agree that diversity is a moral imperative in our multi-racial and multi-cultural society and that companies need to present a tolerant face to the world for purposes of public relations and political acceptance, management researchers see a real opportunity to use diversity in building competitive advantage. The article in the Harvard Business Review on "A New Paradigm for Managing Diversity" develops three "paradigms" to explain the evolution of diversity policies. It presents a way of thinking that suggests using diversity as a business strategy that can improve overall organizational effectiveness and performance. This, to my way of thinking, takes diversity out of the realm of political correctness and puts in into the mainstream of business policy. However, this is not always easy to do. In your essay, you can explore approaches to diversity that support this "new paradigm" and might help to make the diversity policies on your organization more effective. Some points to consider:
- What exactly is a paradigm and what is a "paradigm shift" and why are they useful ideas in showing how an organization works?
- Diversity is akin to equal employment and affirmative action, but it is also different in fundamental ways.
- Diversity is a vast field and has many dimensions, some of which have been around and others that are new: race, religion (for example, current issues touched off by the "Muslim ban" that is being aggressively opposed by many major firms), sexual orientation (including transgender accommodation), age (generational differences and the persistence of older workers in the labor force), and disability. You may want to focus on one of these to develop your points and examples in greater detail.
- There are examples of diversity challenges all around. Use some of them to bolster your points.
Put your ideas and information together in an essay of 1200 - 1500 words.