Module 4: Managing diversity (questions)

According to the compulsory readings for this module, answer 2 of the following questions:

1. Is diversity management at IBM a source of competitive advantage? Why?

I agree completely with the diversity management in IBM as a source of competitive advantage. What IBM has done is exactly what diversity management is about, rather than attempt to eliminate discrimination by deliberately ignoring differences among employees, IBM created eight task forces, each focused on a different group such as Asians, gays and lesbians, and women. The goal of the initiative was to uncover and understand differences among the groups and find ways to appeal to a broader set of employees and customers. As mentioned in the summary of this module, we can see how the efficient diversity management of IBM has led them to take advantages of the opportunities presented in the market. "We made diversity a market-based issue....It's about understanding our markets, which are diverse and multicultural." –Lou Gerstner. A perfect example is the increase from $10 million in 1998 to $300 million in 2001 based on a recommendation from the people with disabilities task force, in October 2001 IBM launched an initiative focused on making all of its products more broadly accessible to take advantage of new legislation-an amendment to the federal Rehabilitation Act requiring that government agencies make accessibility a criterion for awarding federal contracts.

2. Do you think the IBM case reflects a strong organizational commitment to diversity? Why?

According to all this, we can say that IBM does reflect a strong organizational commitment to diversity. They broke the system of “equal opportunities” they had in the 90’s. They started by recognizing diversity and since then they have inserted that concept in the company which has led to many successful experiences. By doing so they have made the organizational culture of the company a culture where all the differences are assimilated and accepted. It wasn’t an immediate process, by contrary it took many time and effort from the whole company (which shows that an organizational culture can be changed but it needs to be done with a large process), working with task forces representing each demographic constituency (Asian, blacks, GLBT (gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender), Hispanic, white men, native Americans, people with disabilities and women. This work gave its fruits and has made IBM a real example of successful diversity management and, as it demonstrated the real interest of IBM in becoming into a real multicultural company, it showed its commitment to diversity.

References:

Thomas, David A. Diversity as strategy
http://www.opm.gov/img/comstock/diversity.jpg
http://newyork.corante.com/archives/IBM%20building.jpg
http://techfreep.com/images/ibm.jpg