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Education & Certification

Certification as an Ethical Diversity Practitioner

Register for Certification Here


Certification equips each participant to become an internal consultant and change agent at the strategic level, working with management in the creation and nourishment of a vital organization.

GDI certification is unique in its integration of diversity practice with emerging sciences in a
global context (e.g. identity theory, the organization as an adaptive system, critical social theory,
and interculturalism) capable of addressing issues relevant to 21st century business realities. 		Why A Diversity Certification Now?:
The Business Case (Click)

Certification guarantees that the successful graduating participant will be authorized to use the GDI certification logo to establish one's professional branding, much like similar certificates in professional and technical services. The complete certification process involves 80+ hours of intensive training offered in one of three ways:

1. On campus, with our partners at California State University, Long Beach for Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
2. "Suitcased" to your location if a minimum number of participants (15) are registered
3. A customized combination of 1 and 2

In the standard format, approximately 85% of the coursework is in group workshops, with the other 15% in modules delivered using the latest internet long distance learning technologies as preparatory material to the workshop sessions.

As the GDI methodology is anchored in ethical practices and behavior at both the organizational and individual level, ongoing applied research will be continually integrated into the GDI certification process appropriate to both workshops and specific courses.

The GDI diversity praxis certification process entails exposing the student to two main elements:

I. Core concepts and methodology including lecture, Q&A discussion, readings, and case studies:
II. Exercises and applications driven tools.

The following constitutes the foundational core concepts, methodology and objectives for the Diversity Champion Certification:
    Module 1: Background in Diversity Management
  • The Business Case for Diversity & Global Diversity Trends
  • The history of management approaches to diversity from EEO and Affirmative Action to the present - lessons and best practices
  • Similarities and differences between Interculturalism and Diversity Practice
  • Workplace Acculturation Models: from assimilation to pluralism, relativism, segregation, exclusion
  • Demographics and Recruitment: Immigration, Age, Skills Gap
    TOOLS: Designing for inclusion, talent recruitment, retention, and development. Diagnosing management approaches to diversity

    Module 2: Organizational Dynamics: Learning the latest organizational development tools through the new sciences
  • The principles of organizational complexity and systems thinking
  • The workplace vitality-chaos-rigidity continuum model
  • Understanding the competitive fitness landscape, the strategic role of diversity for success, and building for innovation against group think
  • A Global Approach to human identity, social psychology and business growth
    TOOLS: Diagnosing your organization for signs of workplace rigidity, chaos and vitality & Designing workplace solutions. Tools for rethinking diversity and organizational resilience.

    Module 3: Organizational People: Human Diversity and Identity
  • What is the diversity wheel, diversity categories, human identity
  • From a socially created individual identity to fractal identities. The role of cognitive and spiritual / religious diversity
  • Workplace processes of discrimination and inclusion; the anatomy of prejudices and social marginalization; understanding identity militancy and intercultural conflict
  • Employee needs, desires, contributions and motivation
  • Managing the workplace for people added value
    TOOLS: Diagnosing and intervening in difficult and emerging diversity issues: age, religion, sexuality, race-ethnicity, culture-language. Designing for inclusion and collaboration, ethical leadership.

    Module 4: Organizational Culture: Workplace sociology, interculturalism and vitality.
    Understanding and working with:
  • The elements of business culture, its drivers and its impact on business results, innovation, stakeholder relations
  • Workplace Business Ethics, pluralism, vitality, inclusion, acculturation and the grammar of conduct
  • Workplace enchantment to disenchantment drivers
  • The safe space for creativity and containing anxiety
  • Knowledge Management as a diversity tool: from inclusion to creativity and innovation: The 3Cs and 4Is of Innovation
    TOOLS: Templates for building a workplace culture of vitality. Building religious pluralism without religious intrusion. Working with Dialogue, ethical pluralism, fairness and anxiety containment techniques. Innovation Process Template.

    Module 5: Change and Change Agency: Champions, Leaders, Managers, Targets
    Understanding Your role and understanding:
  • How to navigate change, think strategically, build tactical alliances, distinguish change agents from sponsors and targets
  • Building a systems approach to organizational improvement
  • Ethical leadership in a time of uncertainty, legitimacy & trust
  • Disrupt-deconstruct-reconstruct methodology
  • The role of diversity councils, employee identity groups, vitality teams TOOLS: How to distinguish 3 main types of resistance. Learning to work with disruption. Knowledge management tools such as innovation platforms & idea cafes. Getting support, buy in, and funding.

    Module 6: Conclusion and Examination / Diversity and Intercultural Awareness Profile
  • Summary, case studies
  • Video based role modeling
  • Examination
  • Development of diversity strategic plan
  • Diversity and intercultural profile
  • Follow up coaching and workplace performance:
    This day of evaluation is followed up by a one time intervention observation with a GDI Professional before certification is granted.
Comprehensive List of Tools and Conceptual Methodologies Provided in the CEDP Certification

CLICK HERE for upcoming program schedule and cost.

This certification addresses the methodology of optimizing diversity in organizational vitality.

Initially we revisit the business case for diversity in the 21st century context of globalization and post-industrial technology. With this background, the certification education process builds a methodological foundation that includes a look at the consilience of various knowledge disciplines from the humanities and the physical and social sciences. First we cover the impact of complex adaptive systems theory on organizational dynamics; secondly, we investigate the science of social psychology to view identity theory for understanding diversity categories (race, religion, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, age, abilities, cognitive or cultural diversity, management styles, etc.), hybrid and fluctuating identities, identity militancy and identity fundamentalism. Thirdly, we use the humanist critical social theory to bring this all together in order to understand and utilize workplace tools of diagnosing the workplace social constellation to uncover the presence of any workplace disenchantment processes of discrimination, marginalization, victimization.

Next, we apply the methodology of disrupt-deconstruct-reconstruct vitality onto the workplace. We look at the disenchanting drivers that lead to workplace rigidity and chaos, including acculturation models, anxiety containment, workforce creativity variables, the 3Cs and 4Is of innovation, nihilist anti-diversity drivers, the diversity wheel categories, and finally how to construct a constitutional project for vitality that embraces enchantment drivers. This includes understanding how to build and use ethical systems, communicative practices and dialogue, regulatory systems for accountability, empowerment systems, decision making processes, and the grammar of conduct. This framework involves understanding the context for optimizing diversity in ethical pluralism in contrast to rigid heirarchal and assimilationist business practices or chaotic and fragmented relativist models. Exercises and practice sessions focus on students demonstrating a sound praxis orientation for workplace incidents that may arise and for proactively building healthy and vital organizations.

Participants will demonstrate a workable knowledge in the above topics and in the tools and techniques that spring from them if certification is to be granted.

Certification equips each participant to become an internal consultant and change agent at the strategic level, working with management in the creation and nourishment of a vital organization.

Certification will involve the standard 4 phase process of:
    Experience
    Ethics
    Education
    Examination
These phases will be co-developed with the individual or team participants. Certification guarantees that the successful graduating participant will be authorized to use the GDI certification logo to establish one's professional branding, much like similar certificates in professional and technical services.




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