What is going on?
Inquiries into the contradictions of leading cultural diversity
Leading cultural differences and diversity in large organizations is quite a successful theme today and rests on well-established theoretical and empirical tools and models to leverage this cultural diversity. Yet, some researchers have recently advanced evidence that the management of differences is not as successful as it seems, despite scholars and practitioners’ best intensions. These researchers are preoccupied with understanding power structures in organizations and processes of social change, in the spirit of ‘critical management studies’. They point to empirical evidences and theoretical considerations indicating that the definition and management of differences are done in ways that can reproduce power inequalities and thus undermine the entire purpose of diversity and cross-cultural management. This means that the way cultural diversity management addresses its own fundamental questions and endeavor is said to undermine its raison d’être. Worse, some argue that cross-cultural and diversity management are dehumanizing employees and thus, are unethical.
How is this possible? We aim to investigate this state of affairs, this interconnection between an active leadership of cultural diversity and the alleged reproduction of inequalities and unethical practices. How can cultural diversity management theories and practices be said to contribute to something which so opposite to their endeavor? We aim at an in-depth (ethnographic) investigation of current practices of ‘diversity management’ in order to better understand ‘what is going on’ and to contribute to the further development of ethical inclusive leadership.
Read preliminary research findings
Read the full project description
Project leader:
Laurence Romani
Project team:
Laurence Romani, Katharina Pilhofer, Lotte Holck and Julie Lorenzen (CASL), Charlotte Holgersson (KTH & CASL), Sara Louise Muhr and Annette Risberg (Copenhagen Business School and CASL)
Publications
Barmeyer, C. Romani, L and Pilhofer, K. (2016), Welche Impulse liefert interkulturelles Management für Diversity Management? , in Petia Genkova and Tobias Ringeisen (Eds), Handbuch Diversity Kompetenz: Gegenstandsbereiche, Spinger.
Benschop, Y., Holgersson, C., van den Brink, M., & Wahl, A. (2015) Future challenges for practices of diversity management in organizations, in Bendl, R. et al (eds.) Oxford Handbook of Diversity in Organization. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bleijenbergh, I., C. Holgersson, & I. Ryan (2016) Diversity, diversity management and identity in organizations. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 35(1).
Holck, L and Muhr, S (2016, forthcoming): ‘Practicing inequality through welfare logics of equality and solidarity’, Scandinavian Journal of Management.
Holck, L.; Muhr, S. and Villesèche, F. (2016) ‘Identity, diversity and diversity management: On theoretical connections, assumptions and implications for practice’, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, 35(1), 48 – 64.
Holgersson, C., Tienari, J.; Bendl, R. and Meriläinen, S. (2016) Executive search as ethnosociality: A cross-cultural comparison. International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management. 16(2), 153–169.
Marfelt, M. and Muhr, S. (2016): ‘Managing protean diversity: An empirical analysis of how organizational contextual dynamics derailed and dissolved global workforce diversity’, International Journal of Cross Cultural Management. 16(2), 231-251.
Pilhofer, K. & C. Holgersson (2015) Diversity at work: The practice of inclusion Scandinavian Journal of Management, 31(3), 453-454.
Primecz, H., Mahadevan, J., Romani, L. (2016), Why is Cross-Cultural Management blind to power relations? Investigating ethnicity, language, gender and religion, International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, 16(2), 127-136.
Risberg, A. and Noerholm Just, S. (2015) Ambiguous diversities - Practices and perceptions on diversity in organizations.” In (Eds) Bendl, Regine, Inge Bleijenbergh, Elina Henttonen and Albert Mills. The Oxford Handbook of Diversity in Organizations. Oxford University Press.
Romani, L. and Holgersson, C., (forthcoming 2017) Inclusive leadership for sustainable work practices, in L. Zander (Ed.) Research Handbook of Global Leadership: Making a difference, Edward Elgar, UK.
Romani, L. Holck, L. Holgersson, C and Muhr, S. (Forthcoming 2016), Diversity Management and the Scandinavian Model: Illustrations from Denmark and Sweden, in J.F Chanlat and M. Özbilgin (Eds.) Management & Diversity: Main constatations in different countries. London: Emerald.
Conference contributions
Holck, L. and Romani, L. (2016) Inequality regimes of diversity and class: exploring the intersectionality of ethnicity, gender, and class in a medical company employing high-skilled ethnic minorities. Paper presented at the Second Workshop on Leadership, Diversity and Inclusion, Copenhagen, Denmark, May 26-27th, 2016.
Holck, L. & Muhr, S. (2016): ‘The social materiality of cross-cultural encounters: The case of Danish Police officers in the Greenland police service. Paper preseneeted at the 6th Organizations, Artifacts & Practice (OAP) Workshop.
Holck, L. and Muhr, S. (2015): From Diversity Management to Diversimilation: On how the Logics of the Welfare Model Obstructs Ethnic Diversity in the Danish Workforce
Muhr, S. (2014): ‘Creating women initiatives without explicit diversity management practices: Thoughts from a participatory study’. Paper presented at the 30th EGOS conference, Rotterdam, July 2014.
Muhr, S. and Ashcraft, K. (2014): ‘Military, Metaphors and Masculinity: The Construction of Gendered Practice in Leadership Studies. Paper presented at the 13th Studying Leadership Conference, Copenhagen, December 2014.
Muhr, S. and Ashcraft, K. (2016): ‘Masculinist Metaphor and Military Practice: Unsettling the Gender Binaries of Leadership Studies’. Paper presented at the 6th Conference on Rhetoric and Narratives in Management Research’.
Pilhofer, K., Holgersson, C., Romani, L. (2014) Inclusive leadership: Reconciling different views on leadership, Conference paper presented at the workshop on leadership, diversity and inclusion at the International Studying Leadership Conference in Copenhagen.
Pilhofer, K. and Risberg A. (2016.) A critical reflection on categorization in cross-cultural and diversity management. Presented at EURAM, June, Paris, and SCOS, July, Uppsala.
Romani, L. Holck, L. Holgersson, C and Muhr, S.L, (2015) Diversity Management and the Scandinavian Model: Illustrations from Denmark and Sweden, Paper presented at the Diversity Management and Equality Symposium, Paris, October 2015.
Romani, L.; Lorenzen, J.; Holck, L. and Muhr, S. (2016) Expatriate’s and Host Country National’s professional learning in adverse conditions: a case study of Danish police officers stationed in Greenland, Paper presented to EGOS annual symposium, Napoli, Italy, July 2016.
Status:
Financed by the Ragnar Söderberg foundation 2014-2017
