7th Equality, Diversity and Inclusion International Conference, 8-10 June, 2014
Please register and submit online without exception: www.edi-conference.org
Stream proposal for the 7th Equality, Diversity and Inclusion International Conference,
8-10 June, Munich 2014
Diversity Policies and Practice: Cross-Cultural and Comparative Perspectives
Stream chairs:
Hussain Alhejji, University of Limerick, Ireland
Alain Klarsfeld, Toulouse Business School, France
Eddy Ng, Dalhousie University, Canada
Hussain.alhejji@ul.ie
a.klarsfeld@tbs-education.fr
Edng@Dal.Ca
Interest in managing diversity is growing among scholars, researcher and human resource
practitioners. Researchers and practitioners increasingly draw from a growing body of
knowledge about diversity policies and practices to improve team processes and organization
performance. However, the lack of attention to national/ethno culture and its dynamics can
create problems for human resource management practitioners when designing and
implementing diversity policies and practices (Klarsfeld et al. 2012). If diversity programmes
are to be effective, they need to consider the cultural context when implementing these
programmes or it could lead to unanticipated outcomes and misunderstandings (Aycan et al.
2000, Aycan 2005). To date, cross-cultural research has not yet been emphasized in diversity
policies and practices (Gelfand et al. 2007). It has been argued that cultures and institutions
influence various group characteristics, and may facilitate or hinder discussions about diversity
in the workplace (Tatli, Vassilopoulou, Al Ariss, & Özbilgin, 2012). Thus, it is extraordinarily
necessary that cross-cultural perspectives on diversity are implemented in order to facilitate the
advancement in knowledge of this area.
Furthermore, efforts to manage diversity are widely accepted, but the concept of diversity
management is translated and interpreted according to the local context (Calás et al. 2009).
Researchers from various countries have provided their respective national perspectives on
equal employment opportunities (Jain et al. 2003) or diversity management and equality efforts
(Klarsfeld 2010). Likewise, comparative research, however, remains relatively scarce
(Klarsfeld et al. 2012).
The proposed stream seeks papers that expand our understanding in the integration of cultural
norms and practices with diversity policies and practices. The cross-cultural perspectives help
us to understand some complementary questions: why do organisations adopt diversity
practices and to what extent are those policies and practices are similar or different due to the
influence of institutional and cultural factors? How does the cultural context explain the
antecedents, processes, and outcomes of diversity practices? To what extent can institutions
achieve cultural change? To what extent can a culture block the implementation of new
7th Equality, Diversity and Inclusion International Conference, 8-10 June, 2014
Please register and submit online without exception: www.edi-conference.org
institutional arrangements? Do cross-cultural factors explain variation in diversity policies and
practices? Cross-cultural theory provides us with insights concerning how organisations may
have different diversity policies and practices.
We particularly welcome papers that build on prior research on national culture generally and
which provide new insights into the cross-cultural generalization of diversity policies and
practices. We also seek papers that provide a comparative perspective (i.e., by drawing from
multiple countries) on efforts to manage diversity. All theoretical and empirical papers are
welcomed from varied international contexts. The following is a list of relevant questions, but
the list is by no means exhaustive:
1. How do cultural values explain the importance that is attached to diversity practices,
the content and the types of methods that are utilised?
2. Do HR specialists need to approach diversity practices differently to account for
cultural differences? Coercive forces differ in different regions of the world, but do they
still lead to similarity of diversity policies and practices?
3. What underlying processes explain the impact of normative influences? Do these
normative influences have their greatest impact at corporate headquarter or at
subsidiary level in MNCs?
4. How does culture influence the way in which individuals assess diversity outcomes? It
is possible that some cultures have short versus long-term orientations in assessing the
value of diversity? Or maybe they convey some taboos?
5. Are diversity practices more culture bound than other HRM practices? Given that many
development practices focus in interpersonal relationships it is likely that they will be
more embedded in the local culture.
6. Culture will likely influence what is discussed in diversity activities. It is possible that
individualist cultures will show a preference for discussing potential and performance
issues whereas in collectivist cultures, these issues are less likely to be considered.
7. What underlying processes explain the impact of normative influences?
8. Do these normative influences have their greatest impact at corporate headquarter or at
subsidiary level in MNCs?
9. What causes organisations to copy or mimic what other organisations do in the field of
diversity policies and practices?
10. How do different countries manage diversity on specific dimensions of diversity (e.g.,
age, nationality)? What are the variations in national efforts to promote diversity and
inclusion? Comparative work incorporating one or more countries would be
appropriate.
References
Aycan, Z. (2005) 'The interplay between cultural and institutional/structural contingencies in
human resource management practices', The International Journal of Human
Resource Management, 16(7), 1083-1119.
7th Equality, Diversity and Inclusion International Conference, 8-10 June, 2014
Please register and submit online without exception: www.edi-conference.org
Aycan, Z., Kanungo, R., Mendonca, M., Yu, K., Deller, J., Stahl, G. and Kurshid, A. (2000)
'Impact of culture on human resource management practices: A 10‐country
comparison', Applied Psychology, 49(1), 192-221.
Calás, M. B., Holgersson, C. and Smircich, L. (2009) '“Diversity Management”? Translation?
Travel?', Special Issue on "Diversity Management"? Translation? Travel?, 25(4), 349351.
Gelfand, M. J., Erez, M. and Aycan, Z. (2007) 'Cross-Cultural Organizational Behavior',
Annual Review of Psychology, 58(1), 479-514.
Jain, H. C., Sloane, P. J. and Horwitz, F. M. (2003) Employment Equity and Affirmative
Action: An International Comparison, M.E. Sharpe.
Klarsfeld, A. (2010) International handbook on diversity management at work: country
perspectives on diversity and equal treatment, Edward Elgar Publishing.
Klarsfeld, A., Combs, G. M., Susaeta, L. and Belizón, M. (2012) 'International Perspectives
on Diversity and Equal Treatment Policies and Practices' in Handbook of Research
on Comparative Human Resource Management, Edward Elgar Publishing.
Tatli, A., Vassilopoulou, J., Al Ariss, A., & Özbilgin, M. (2012). The role of regulatory and
temporal context in the construction of diversity discourses: The case of the UK,
France and Germany.