Molly B. Pepper

Using Needs Assessment to Resolve Controversies in Diversity Training Design

Needs assessment is an important element in training design, and organizational diversity training programs are frequently criticized for their lack of attention to the needs assessment process. This paper explores the link between needs assessment and diversity training design. First, a review of the needs assessment literature reveals that an emphasis on organizational analysis has led to the neglect of other kinds of assessment data. Second, a review of the diversity training literature identifies five areas of controversy. We describe the needs assessment questions that organizations can ask to resolve each controversy and better tailor diversity training to their own needs. Finally, based on the design controversies and needs assessment questions, we provide an agenda for future research on the effectiveness of various kinds of diversity training interventions

Assessing Instructor Cultural Competence in the Classroom: An Instrument and a Development Process

The ability to manage diversity effectively is important not only in organizations but also in the classroom. This article describes an instrument for assessing instructor cultural competence and the process used to develop the instrument. Using the critical incident technique, the authors developed a situational questionnaire that assesses behavioral intentions in response to classroom diversity incidents. Responses are scored using the Bennett model of cultural competence. The authors discuss ways in which the instrument can be adapted by instructors interested in assessing and improving their own cultural competence.

Close Encounters: Lessons From an Indigenous MBA Program

Entrepreneurship is perceived to be a key to revitalizing the economies of American Indian communities. Gonzaga University offers an MBA specifically designed to prepare tribal college instructors to teach entrepreneurship. Beginning with the relevant background on the need for and benefit of indigenous management education, this article describes the elements of this unique program such as the cohort system, on-line and on-campus courses, and culturally appropriate curriculum changes. The program is analyzed through a qualitative examination of an alumni survey. The survey reveals that the foremost challenge for the program is the integration of indigenous cultural values and management practices with mainstream business curricula. The most prominent success factor the survey reveals is the fit between the program’s goals and the mission of the Jesuit institution in which the program resides. Finally, the survey results provide some insight into the impact the program is having on indigenous communities.

The Electronic Water Cooler: Insiders and Outsiders Talk About Organizational Justice on the Internet

The boundary between organizational insiders (e.g., employees) and outsiders (e.g., customers) has become increasingly permeable due to Internet discussion boards that enable members of both groups to share experiences of organizational fairness and unfairness. We studied discussion board threads on Vault.com, focusing on threads initiated by postings containing organizational justice content and authored by an organizational insider or outsider. Consistent with predictions of the social identity model of deindividuation effects, organizational insiders capitalized on anonymity to post messages that were significantly more negative in both cognitive content (describing organizations as less fair) and emotional tone (using more negative emotional language) than messages posted by organizational outsiders. As predicted by contagion theory, cognitive content influenced the emotional tone of reply messages, especially when initial postings were from organizational outsiders.

Multicultural ethics and diversity discourse

Purpose – Responses to diversity management have resulted in disappointment to many organizations (Cox, 2001). Previous work has situated rational for diversity in deontological ethics by equality scholars, while the business case for diversity has commonly rested on utilitarian ethics (van Dijk et al., 2012). The purpose of this paper is to examine a possible shift in rational for diversity – to explore if and how the ethic of care has been utilized in the diversity statements of companies earning recognition as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2012. Design/methodology/approach – This study utilized visual rhetoric analysis and was designed to examine multiple elements of these diversity statements as published in the company web sites, including presence of the ethic of care, visual communication, and logistics. Findings – Of note are the results of the presence of the ethic of care as a primary or secondary rationale in 70 percent of the statements studied. Statistically significant resul...