VALUING DIVERSITY COMMUNITY BUILDING MODEL
The community model suggests the following:
1. When humans are faced with diversity, they experience anxiety because of their fear of the unknown.
2. In order to reduce their anxiety, humans attach themselves to others who are similar to themselves, i.e. they form identity groups on the basis of some or other diversity dimension like race, gender, age, religion, or sexual orientation.
3. The typical behaviour between identity groups relate to the projection of bad parts onto each other – this projection forms the basis of stereotyping and prejudicing.
4. Prejudice leads to conflict. In the case of identity groups, conflict often takes the form of exclusion and discrimination.
5. In the organisational context, exclusion and discrimination destroys the organisational community, impairing the performance of employees.
6. This chain of events relate to the normal human response to diversity.
7. What does the work of valuing diversity entail?
8. We create opportunities for employees to cross identity group boundaries.
9. We want them to discover their sameness, to develop the liberty to explore their differences and to get to know each other.
10. When the fear of the unknown disappears, employees are bound to develop compassion for each other as humans and to display more inclusive behaviours within functional boundaries.
11. When employees feel they belong to the task group despite their membership of identity groups, the organisational community is built and performance is enabled.
The community model suggests the following:
1. When humans are faced with diversity, they experience anxiety because of their fear of the unknown.
2. In order to reduce their anxiety, humans attach themselves to others who are similar to themselves, i.e. they form identity groups on the basis of some or other diversity dimension like race, gender, age, religion, or sexual orientation.
3. The typical behaviour between identity groups relate to the projection of bad parts onto each other – this projection forms the basis of stereotyping and prejudicing.
4. Prejudice leads to conflict. In the case of identity groups, conflict often takes the form of exclusion and discrimination.
5. In the organisational context, exclusion and discrimination destroys the organisational community, impairing the performance of employees.
6. This chain of events relate to the normal human response to diversity.
7. What does the work of valuing diversity entail?
8. We create opportunities for employees to cross identity group boundaries.
9. We want them to discover their sameness, to develop the liberty to explore their differences and to get to know each other.
10. When the fear of the unknown disappears, employees are bound to develop compassion for each other as humans and to display more inclusive behaviours within functional boundaries.
11. When employees feel they belong to the task group despite their membership of identity groups, the organisational community is built and performance is enabled.
