Panel Discussion:  Diversity

Written by AAPAAN Board Member Joseph Nah

 

At the Signature Event, two Darden professors led an insightful panel discussion on the unique challenges that Asian-Pacific Americans face in the globalized economy. The panel consisted of Professor Ming-Jer Chen and Professor Martin Davidson.

Professor Ming-Jer Chen, Ph.D. –the Leslie E. Grayson Professor at The Darden School– is a leading authority in strategic management. He is recognized for his pioneering work in competitive dynamics and “ambicultural management,” a term that he coined. Professor Chen was born and raised in one of the smallest towns in Taiwan.

Professor Martin N. Davidson, Ph.D. –Associate Professor of Leadership & Organizational Behavior at the Darden School of Business– teaches, conducts research, and consults with global leaders on how they can use diversity strategically to generate superior business performance. His new book, “The End of Diversity as We Know It: Why Diversity Efforts Fail and How Leveraging Difference Can Succeed,” introduces a research-driven roadmap to help leaders create and capitalize on diverse organizations.

The panel explained that within diverse groups, it is imperative that business leaders find the common goal and the unifying agenda that transcends each individual and unifies the diverse group. As the world becomes increasingly “smaller”, diversity has become an important goal for change and moving forward, however, such increased diversity also presents many new challenges.

First, we are unaware that we each carry certain “identities” that constantly shift and change. As an example, when a prominent,  successful Asian American businessman went to Korea recently, he failed to achieve the similar type of success he achieved in the U.S. This was because he was unaware of and was betrayed by his “American-ness” identity. This “American-ness” identity consisted of very subtle yet powerful cultural norms and values that run contrary to the Asian culture. The challenge is that we cannot perceive such “American-ness” identity within ourselves unless we travel outside of America.

The second challenge is that these diverse identities clash and often times cause great irreconcilable conflict. As an example, two colleagues within a business are involved in a debate. One colleague is a yeller and the other is not. The non-yeller colleague is yelled at, causing that colleague to disengage and be detached from the debate. Obviously, the non-yeller feels insulted. The yeller, however, perceived the detachment as offensive because the other colleague did not have the courtesy to yell back. Both colleagues are deeply offended because the other colleague has deeply disrespected the other.

Business leaders in the Asia-Pacific region have to overcome these types of obstacles by identifying and focusing the group on the universal or unifying agenda. When the diverse group or individuals can focus on that, the whole group can move forward rather than “being stuck with hurt feelings and bad assumptions” of how to move forward.

When promoting diversity as a goal, the strategic management of human resources is paramount. Diversity causes differences of opinions as well as differences in the way people attain their goals. This is why the universal goal or identifying agenda is the key to re-direct and re-focus all of the different diverse groups. Since promoting diversity seems to be “in fashion,” it is not enough to simply add diversity to existing businesses and organizations, there must be a true unification of the diverse group.