Conventional wisdom has it that diversity helps creativity, in that people in homogenous groups are similar to one another with similar ideas and therefore less divergent thinking occurs. Also most research into group creativity assumes that creativity is unleashed by removing conventional constraints. This research, from Professor Jennifer Chatman of the UC Berkeley Haas School […]
Read More… from How Political Correctness Increases Creativity in Mixed-Sex Teams
Singapore is known for the diversity of its population, but you would never glean this from the boards of directors of its companies. A new report, from the NUS Business School's Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organisations working with BoardAGender, shows that Singapore’s boards continue to be overwhelmingly male-dominated and ethnically homogeneous. Based on data from […]
Read More… from Board Diversity Improves Corporate Results: Lessons from Singapore
Organizational values can exemplify the old saying that “words are cheap.” Inspiring words about ethics, diversity or sustainability etched on a lobby wall mean nothing if they are not reflected in the performance of actual practices within the organization. While such practices might seem to be developed and formulated at the top management level and […]
Read More… from Corporate Values: Translating Platitudes into Sustainable Practices
When in May 2013, software giant SAP announced that it would hire hundreds of people who were diagnosed with autism, the assumption among casual observers might have been that SAP was engaging in a laudable act of social responsibility. However, SAP executives, working with researchers and consultants in the field of autistic individuals in work […]
Read More… from Competitive Advantage through Individuals Outside the Norm
There are three key contexts driving the need for ‘inclusive leadership’: 1. Globalization Increasing globalization demands a new global mind-set from leaders, team members and organizations. The ability to engage with people from different cultural, social and educational backgrounds, is an essential skill for any leader. For multinational corporations developing business in emerging economies, the […]
Read More… from Inclusive Leadership: Aligning the Different
As documented by statistics of women in the workplace, entrenched gender discrimination — perhaps more subtle than in the past but just as damaging — continue to impede the careers of women. Although women make up nearly half of the workforce, only a paltry 14% of senior executive positions at Fortune 500 companies are held […]
Read More… from Why Women, Particularly Mothers, Miss Out on Mentors and Networking
The ‘2D:4D’ ratio — the ratio of the length of the index (2D) and the ring finger (4D) — is an established biomarker for the level of testosterone to which individuals were exposed before birth. It reliably differs by sex: on average, males have a lower digit ratio than females. (Their third finger tends to […]
Social change has made advertising that appeals to a broader range of consumers more important and desirable. A company’s ‘diversity and inclusion’ agenda does not, however, always transfer easily to the domain of marketing. Mass-media campaigns aimed at every social group that might buy a product or service can be complicated and costly to produce. […]
Read More… from Ambiguous Ads: Hidden Messages, Hidden Risks?
The next head of General Electric will be somebody who spent time in Bombay, in Hong Kong, in Buenos Aires. We have to send our best and brightest overseas and make sure they have the training that will allow them to be the global leaders who will make GE flourish in the future Jack Welch, […]
Read More… from Multicultural Experience: Better Performance, Better Job Prospects
Spending time overseas has long been associated with the development of a more open and optimistic view of humanity and the world. In his 1869 autobiographical work Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain described travel as “fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness”, arguing that “broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating […]
Read More… from How Travelling Abroad Builds Trust and Tolerance
