Diversity Praxis

Diversity Praxis: A Journal of Organizational Vitality and Individual Autonomy

A quarterly journal providing an ongoing blend of theory and practice for dedicated practitioners to dialogue with and learn from one another. Articles and features relevant to the following core topics will regularly appear. Click on the link (in Blue) for each topic area. In this edition we explore the challenging, perplexing recent and prominent phenomenon of the presence of religion in the workplace. In this comprehensive article we treat religion and secularism, including a look at the French Muslim 'scarf affair,'in the context of all three Constitutional Project perspectives: Work-World, Work-Place, and Work-Force. The article is presented in toto at all three links, although each link takes you to the section most relevant to that specific element. CORE CONTENT TOPICS: Click on the words in Blue to link to that topic. WELCOME: AN INTRODUCTION TO DIVERSITY PRAXIS Model for Diversity Praxis: Diverse representation - Values system - Ethical behaviors - Optimizing Diversity - Workplace Enchantment - Vitality and Growth Model Explanation Constitutional Project for Organizational Vitality Work-World (Context) (EXCERPT) On February 6, 2004, the intercom voice aboard American Airlines Flight 34 from Los Angeles to New York identified himself as the pilot. He asked all Christians aboard to raise their hands. He then suggested that the other passengers ask questions during the flight of those who had identified themselves as Christians. Many passengers were afraid, worried about their safety after being asked to openly discuss their religion. Is this a quirky footnote in an otherwise tranquil secular society free from religious evangelicizing?... Focus on Corporate Workplaces & Globalization, Healthcare, Education Deconstruct Case Histories, Issues, Stories for lessons learned Work-Place (Culture) (EXCERPT) Businesses are not merely instrumental associations of things for profit, but living social organizations of people with multiple and sometimes competing stakeholders (customers, employees, communities, shareholders or donors, and suppliers). Businesses are 'little societies' where citizenship skills such as civic tolerance, including religious freedom, can be deepened. It is at work where citizens of each country spend most of their lives outside of the home. And it is mostly at work where we learn and school ourselves after primary education. At work, the autonomy of the individual is conceptualized in relation to our shared form of life, of the common good, of the social and not of the egocentric. It is here, in organizations, that we have a chance to provide for a secular space based on the core moral (regardless of religion) values of human respect, integrity and justice... Ethical Pluralism - acculturation, the grammar of conduct, values driven multicultural collaboration, champions and improvement agents, accountability; the constitutional project Complex Adaptive organizations, communications competencies and dialogue - the safe space criteria, workplace vitality and re-enchantment Work-Force (People) (EXCERPT) Although these kinds of situations are unfolding differently in France and Europe than in the U.S., the dramatic need to separate public morality from private morality, the need to educate and enforce a 'secular code', is crucial. The U.S. has a long history of absorbing immigrants, acculturating them to the constitutional value system and integrating them into society. We also have a long history of failing at that, from slavery and racism, to women's and gay rights. Yet, in our struggles we have continued to press forward for individual identity recognition. For this reason, I believe that although this is a growing concern, we need to fully think through the notion outlined above on ethical pluralism and on professional conduct policies such as zero tolerance for intolerance. The American Airlines fiasco is an example of both the failure to regulate the grammar of conduct as much as it underscores the importance of pursuing a constitutional project in today's corporate workplaces... Diverse Identities and horizons - hybridity, multiculturalism, constitutional citizenship, autonomy, respect, dignity, responsibility, creativity Review Recent Diversity & Organizational Literature / Books: A Useful Synthesis and reader's guide A synopsis and Review of Quantum Organizations by Ralph H. Kilmann Davies-Black Publishing, 2001 (From the Dustjacket) Writing with a masterful command of the sweep of human evolution and the awesome discoveries of the new sciences, Kilmann shows why the old cncepts that served the industrial age must give way to altgether new categories - a new paradigm - for the age of global interdependence and self-aware consciousness. And he clearly explains how t use this new paradigm t see the increasing interconnectedness amng industries, markets, rganizations, and organizational members.; radically improve infrastructures, systems and processes; create new levels of organizational success and economic value; and reach new heights of personal meaning, fulfillment, and enlightenment... We Get Letters - Comments and Queries from Our Readers

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