For some time now there has been a sea of confusion vis-a-vis the U.S. and European nations as to what is meant by cultural diversity. Discussions with trainers, a reading of the literature, and listening to different perspectives have amply demonstrated that the term cultural diversity has different meanings and different applications in the U.S. and also betwixt and between the variety of European nations. Our views of each other's definitions and treatments reflect a keen lack of accurate knowledge and understanding about one and other. And, while it is true that there have been a great number of books of varying degrees of quality written about diversity in the United States, little to nothing has appeared about European diversity.
Now, George Simons and his authors have brought a great deal of sense to the dilemmas of diversity and have made a successful attempt to clarify the air, explain the differences, and to provide positive comparative insights. This book is a first step but it is a very important step in awakening us to some of the fundamental issues of EuroDiversity . Additionally, he and the other authors place diversity in a broader scope.
In the Prologue Simons says:
Diversity is about globalization, organizational learning, and the
growing importance of knowledge management just as much as it is
about recruitment, equal opportunity, workforce demographics, and
social integration. It concerns the information technology that is almost
daily revolutionizing communication. It affects interactive networking and
transport. It is perhaps the critical issue in many mergers and acquisitions
- and often the least attended to. It is at the root of how organizations
transform themselves.
With this broad, and I believe perceptive, vision of diversity, Simons and his other authors have provided us with ten chapters that introduce some of the fundamentals of the diversity picture in Europe. Simons in the first chapter aptly entitled Patchwork: The Diversities of Europeans and Their Business Impact paints a picture of how diversity and diversity management in Europe focuses on their own objectives, philosophy, tools, and methodologies and how these may differ from the U.S. and other models.
The data in the next three chapters (The Legacy of the Past: How National and Regional Differences Continue to Effect Trade, Cooperation, Politics, and Relationships; Current Cultural Crises, Fears, Fantasies, and Foreseeable Futures; and Managing Diversity to Create Marketable Value Added from Difference ) represents the structure and responses from a questionnaire that was submitted to a select group of managers and professionals throughout Europe. The survey aimed at identifying the principle challenges that diversity faces in Europe, to recognize how these challenges affect business and organizations in Europe, and to help them report the best practices that have been developed in response to these challenges.
As we are learning in the United States, diversity impacts all aspects of corporate activities and in the next chapter, Europe Online: The "New" Economy and Virtual Collaboration from a Cultural Perspective, the impact and influence of technology has significant meaning for diversity concerns. Here the book looks at the future of European diversity in a wired world. It examines the changing nature of commerce, organizational learning, and expatriation and provides insight into some of the leading efforts and technologies.
More often than not diversity issues in the U.S. have focused on avoiding litigation, human resources development, and in more recent years enhancing the bottom line. Chapter six, Corporate Best Practice: What Some European Organizations Are Doing Well to Manage Culture and Diversity, offers us a much more inclusive picture as it presents an overall view of how diversity is thought of, acted upon and managed in some European countries. It also, very importantly, depicts the missing links in the corporate response to being and working in a diverse environment.
Getting to the nitty-gritty in chapter seven, The Cross-Cultural Transfer of Best Practices: Learning from European and American Experiences of Knowledge Management, the author looks at diversity from a different perspective from the historical role(s) it has had in the U.S. Here, we find an examination of knowledge management aspects of three European based global organizations which pays particular attention to how these companies look at the complex cross-cultural challenge of transferring knowledge, experience and values throughout their organizations worldwide. This chapter has particular value for American diversity professionals.
The succeeding chapter Sustainable Entrepreneurship in a Changing Europe: Pedagogy of Ethics for Corporate Organizations in Transformation, brings up the issue of "corporate citizenship" and social responsibility within our globalization efforts. These become essential ingredients of a framework for diversity in Europe, and hopefully elsewhere.
The penultimate chapter, Equal Opportunity for Women and Men in the European Union: The Case of E-Quality in Belgium, deals with gender relations in the European workplace and offers us a valuable case study.
Chapter ten, Who is the European? Prognosis and Recommendations, brings the whole book together. It looks at the difficult question of identity as an agenda for determining the both the social and the economic future of Europe and of the diversity initiatives that the present and future will require.
The book is indexed, has excellent chapter references, an extensive bibliography including Internet resources, and five appendices: Declaration on Cultural Diversity; Commission of the European Communities; Declaration on a European Policy for New Information Technologies; Survey of Diversity Challenges in the E.U. Region; and Benchmarking Initiative.
The book offers the American reader (and I dare say, many European readers) keen insights into the complexity of diversity issues in the E.U. It also offers all diversity professionals some major considerations in regard to the wired world and knowledge management in facing diversity issues. This is a first rate thought provoking work! It is a basic primer and should be required reading in national and international and global organizations!
