Syllabus for Diversity in a Global Environment

This class will introduce students to theoretical and practical ideas about diversity in organizations, increase understanding of the concept of diversity in organizations, reduce discrimination, and increase fairness and equality to employees, applicants, and customers. In this current work environment, cultivating an understanding of social justice and managing people for sustainability is imperative. It will improve students’ ability to understand and address diversity as a manager and employee with the intention of building new frameworks for people oriented responsible management. By taking this course you are joining many others in the world who endeavor to change our immediate surroundings for the better. To be specific, this course is aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We focus on Goals 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and 16 (Promote Peaceful and Inclusive Societies). Research relevant to organizations, and many functions within organizations including human resources (recruitment, selection, training and development, performance management and evaluation, safety and health, etc.), marketing, and customer relations will be discussed. We will study diversity issues in many different types of organizations. We will learn about historical bases of diversity in the United States and in U.S. organizations, about how to identify diversity concerns elsewhere, about legislation related to diversity, and about trends in diversity from a variety of sources. This is not a diversity-training course, although the knowledge from the course will be valuable for those interested in diversity training

An Investigation on the Role of Positive Psychological Constructs on Educational Outcomes in Business Schools

Business schools are increasingly interested in empowering students to be more competent and driven for social changes through service learning. However, studies examining the role of positive traits and cross-cultural differences of service-learning education are limited. As a result, we leveraged positive psychology reasoning to explore the relationship between positive behavior as indicated by compassion, ethical leadership, perceived supervisory support and service-learning benefits for students (N = 272; n = 59 teams) in the United States of America (U.S.) and Germany. We used hierarchical linear modeling (2-Level model) to find main effects of relational compassion, ethical leadership, perceived supervisory support, on judgements of service-learning benefits by students. We also observed differences between U.S. and German students on evaluations of ethical leadership, supervisory support, perceived community benefits, and service-learning benefits. The findings offer insight on the role of positively oriented education effects in two countries. We discuss implications for theory and research on service-learning benefits

Assessing Cross-National Invariance of the Three-Component Model of Organizational Commitment: A Cross-Country Study of University Faculty

Purpose: This study examines affective commitment, normative commitment, and continuance commitment in a cross-national context to identify if the effect of country-specific cultural orientation on organizational commitment of faculty in higher education functions invariably in different countries. Methodology: The work expands on Meyer and Allen's (1991) three-component model of organizational commitment. It includes a review of relevant literature on 10 countries and the results of a survey of university faculty members in 8 of these countries, assessing their institutions' human resources practices and their effect on organizational commitment. Findings: Though certain differences may exist between different countries and cultures with respect to the three-component model of organizational commitment, there is strong evidence of the existence of invariance and thus generalizability of the model across cultures. Research: Cultural studies have focused on differences in organizational commitment at national levels. Further attempts to identify the universality of factors leading to organizational commitment should account for culture in the study of employee-related globalization issues in higher education institutes. Knowledge of cultural impact is also useful from a managerial perspective, and for the design of relevant strategies. Practical Implications: National context plays a major role in shaping the nature of educational institutions. This study brings out the need for a deeper understanding of invariance in organizational commitment (inter alia, through the three-component model). Originality/Value: This study contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between organizational commitment and its various antecedents, including human resources management practices, for faculty in higher education institutes.div_BaM13pub5248pub

To Be or Not to Be an Ethnic Firm: An Analysis of Identity Strategies in Immigrant-owned Organizations

In this article, we develop a theoretical framework that draws on the concepts of liability of foreignness and social identity theory in the context of immigrant entrepreneurship

The Impact of Job Satisfaction and Organizational Context Variables on Organizational Commitment

Employee commitment continues to be an important issue for organizations. Even though prior studies link job satisfaction to organizational commitment, few have examined how job satisfaction together with organization context (formalization, organizational inflexibility, and satisfaction with organization structure) impact organization commitment. Using a sample of 504 professional accountants, regression results indicate that job satisfaction and organization context variables such as formalization, organizational inflexibility, and satisfaction with organization structure significantly impact organization commitment. Years in the accounting profession and growth needs strength are also significantly associated with organization commitment. Results provide insights on how firms can better manage organizational context variables to improve organization commitment

Influences on perceived career success: findings from US graduate business degree alumni.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of US MBA and specialist master's degree alumni to determine the influence that their degree program experiences had on subsequent perceptions of career success. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 318 alumni MBA and specialist master's degree recipients from a large university in the southwestern USA; more than half of them were male. The university provided independent demographic data used to match respondents' surveys. Findings – Evidence was found that men and women graduates perceived their post-graduate degree success differently, with women graduates reporting less salary gain but higher hierarchical levels and job satisfaction compared to men. Social capital and perceived discrimination indirectly affected the reported career success of graduates on hierarchical level salary gain. Research limitations/implications – Use of self-report data, for all model variables, puts the findings at risk for common-method bias. Additionally, while discrimination measure had acceptable reliability for this sample, it has not been widely validated. Practical implications – The findings that women viewed their graduate program as less effective for advancing their careers than men despite earning higher grades suggests that business schools emphasize improving graduate student experiences as well as managerial competencies. Organizations' leaders should make their diversity management practices readily apparent as women and minority MBA graduates are likely to view such practices as important during their job search. Originality/value – This study contributes to the knowledge of factors that influence career success

Personal reflections on African management: Looking in, looking out and looking ahead

The author was invited to give the 2011 Inaugural Conference address of the Africa Academy of Management (AFAM). The purpose of this paper is to summarize the remarks of the author's keynote address, so as to make them more widely available to varied audiences and to stimulate research and discussion about the future of African management. – It is a personal story of an African pioneer in African management education, research and practice. The author also shares personal thoughts for building business schools in Africa. – AFAM and its members have a role to play to advance Africa's management, leadership and overall development. – The idea is not for others to replicate the author's journey but to learn from it as they forge their own