Intercultural Communication Institute

20 | Diversity as Culture Change: A Strategic Approach

Gaining maximum advantage from diversity requires much more than training. Diversity can best provide a strategic advantage when it is dealt with as a long-term organizational change process. This workshop will help participants grapple with the seven steps necessary to achieve meaningful culture change and make progress toward developing a strategy that creates a culture of inclusion and is suitable and relevant to each participant's unique organization.

Designed for
Intercultural consultants, diversity coordinators, diversity council members and trainers, human resource professionals, or anyone who has the responsibility for leading and implementing a diveristy initiative.

Identify the steps involved in implementing a diversity strategy
Develop an approach to getting buy-in at all levels of the organization
Learn to develop a productive diversity task force/council
Design effective diversity training that is based on both awareness and skills
Develop clear evaluation and measurement techniques and processes
Sample a variety of diversity change tools and methods
Experience designing a change initiative

Learning Activities

Practice in diagnosing needs and identifying objectives for a diversity change process
Design of a marketing approach to sell a diversity initiative to and gain commitment from staff at all levels of the organization
Use of a case study approach to apply learning to one’s own organization
Development of an assessment
Discussion of some of the most perplexing diversity dilemmas, such as holding employees accountable and demonstrating executive commitment
Sharing best practices regarding diversity management

Faculty: Anita Rowe and Donna Stringer

Dr. Anita Rowe is a partner in Gardenswartz & Rowe, where for over twenty years she has helped a variety of regional and national clients manage change, handle stress, build productive and cohesive work teams, and create intercultural understanding and harmony in the workplace. She has helped clients such as Cox Communications, Starbucks, Shell, Boeing, and the IRS manage diversity and create cultures of inclusion. Together with Lee Gardenswartz, Anita has co-authored a series of articles and books on diversity themes, including Managing Diversity: A Complete Desk Reference and Planning Guide, The Managing Diversity Survival Guide, The Diversity Tool Kit, and Diverse Teams at Work. She is also a co-author of The Global Diversity Desk Reference: Managing an International Workforce.

Donna M. Stringer is president of Executive Diversity Services (EDS), an organizational development company specializing in cross-cultural issues, located in Seattle. A social psychologist with over thirty years’ experience as a manager, teacher, researcher, and writer, Donna specializes in cross-cultural instructional design, executive coaching, and work team interventions for organizations in the U.S., Asia, Latin America, and Europe. In addition to articles in the areas of diversity and inclusion, cross-cultural communication, gender differences, values, and organizational development, she recently authored a book, 52 Activities for Exploring Values Differences, and an article on preparing the next generation of diversity trainers for the 2007 Pfeiffer Annual Training Series.