Ryan Malabanan PA 6345 Dr.

Goodman October 20, 2010 Annotated Bibliography

Carrell, Michael and Everett Mann. Defining Workforce Diversity in Public Sector Organizations. Public Personnel Management 24, no. 1 (Spring 1995): 99-111. The main purpose of this article was to identify the way public agencies define the term diversity. Through this definition, the study sought to discern the difference between equal employment opportunity/affirmative action and diversity management. The study showed that the sample population split down the middle. Less than half of the respondents showed that a difference exists between EEO/AA and diversity management and the other less than half shows there is no difference. According to the article, this is a disagreement, not confusion. Diversity management, to those who answered there is no difference, is another set of policies that comply with EEO/AA mandates. While on the other hand, those who saw a difference stated that diversity management fell under the realms of which groups are targeted, the origin of such practice, daily operations implications, the general purpose, and the effects on behavior and culture of the organization. The article further discussed the terms of diversity. The highest-ranking characteristics were race, gender and culture. Regional origin and age fell on the lower priorities. During the conclusion, the authors make recommendations for future studies regarding diversity and public sector organizations. EEO/AA perpetuates the guidelines for workforce diversity, there are no standardized guidelines for diversity management yet and the organization should consider the meaning of diversity in the context of its own workforce and culture. The strength of this article lies in the attempt to define the word diversity and apply it in the public sector realm. However, through interview process only, the respondents limit the study by only presenting a summary of their responses and perceptions. Application of diversity in the workforce through public human resource management is not present. This article will be used in my research to aid in defining diversity and on how EEO/AA policies guide public administrations to make decisions to diversify their workforce.

Charles, Joann. Diversity Management: An Exploratory Assessment of Minority Group Representation in State Government. Public Personnel Management 32, no. 4 (Winter 2003): 561-77. In this article, the author noted the need for a diverse talent pool of applicants so the workforce in public agencies can accurately match the changing demographics of the United States. The lack of diverse public agencies completely undermines the concept of representative bureaucracy. Charles placed heavy emphasis on gearing up the workforce and preparing for the future. Diversity in this case refers to the aging workforce and the multiple ethnic labor pool. The state of New Jersey was the focus of the study. The article focused heavily on human resource management and strategic planning to overcome the foreseen barriers of diversity in the public sector. Taking initiative through recruitment, job advertising placement and incorporating the opinions of the existing workforce should ease the implementation of diversity management. According to the article, the implementation plan takes time and strategic efforts from top management. Through this, lower echelons of the public entity would buy into the diversity management plan. The strength of this article shows the difference between diversity management and the stigmas of affirmative action. A working model of how to increase diversity in age and race/ethnicity demonstrated the positives of diversity management. The article also included what barriers exist and recommends key ways to overcome them. However, a weakness shows that gender, religion and other components of diversity did not fit it into the strategic plan. This article will be used as part of the paper to help emphasize the difference between promoting diversity and simply complying with affirmative action. In addition, the proposed plan for implementation will help give structure to what diversity management should be and how affective it is when implemented on state level government. Hopefully, more other articles can help define what kind of plan all public agencies can take to start their diversity management.

Choi, Sungjoo, and Hal G. Rainey. Managing Diversity in U.S. Federal Agencies: Effects of Diversity and Diversity Management on Employee Perceptions of Organizational Performance. Public Administration Review 70, no. 1 (January/February 2010): 109-20. This article focuses on the effects of diversity on organizational performance. Diversity is higher on the priority list for public organizations when compared to private ones. The authors presented the challenges of diversity and wanted to find out how effective diversity management was in the organization in regards to culture and behavior. The direct effects of diversity, according to other literature cited in the article, are the sharing of more information and better problem solving skills. They cite that the diverse cultures and mindset of the individuals would not succumb to consensus decision making. The authors hypothesized that diversity will increase organizational performance and that diversity management will help raise the level of performance as diversity increases. Other hypotheses focus on diversitys effects on team processes, organizational tenure and organizational culture. The article readily presents the application of diversity management to public sector agencies. The authors note whether each hypotheses were supported by the data. The application of the findings can go for either public or private sector organizations. However, with the data and respondents coming from the public sector, applicability to the private sector may not align correctly. The specific issues dealt with in this article included the effects of diversity on different organizational facets. The strength of this article was in the definition of diversity management and showing actual data that supports or denies their findings. The focus on public sector employees and the effectiveness of diversity on the organization also has strong support. The weakness of the article is that in there is no prescription for how to make things better or how to change the perception of diversity in the public sector. This research will help in developing a strong background that promotes commitment to diverse work environments in the public sector. With this strong support, diversity management proves to not be an anomaly but rather a necessity in the changing work environment.

Choi, Sungjoo. Diversity in the US Federal Government: Diversity Management and Employee Turnover in Federal Agencies. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 19, no. 3 (2009): 603-30. The article points how diversity, though more apparent in public organizations, can lead to turnover in different groups because of the high levels of diverse members. Due to diversity management, or lack thereof, the minority groups considered are still not completely part of the organization. Though many efforts help them in obtaining jobs, the tenure of their work shows to be inconsistent. In this study, the author tests the ideas of a direct association of diversity to high turnover and an indirect relationship between levels of diversity and job satisfaction of employees. This information is very specific to the needs of public organizations. Part of the study recognizes the different aspects of an organization and diversity. Findings in the private sector cannot overlap into the public. Therefore, the findings here in this study show that diversity management on the federal level ensues many implications for public managers and policy makers. It cannot go unnoticed at how a good idea may not last if organizational goals and managerial practices do not align. The strength of this article pinpoints the pitfalls of where diversity lies if not properly managed. It continues to show how diversity management effects employee satisfaction. Balanced organizations proved to be more stable in their employees commitment to the organization. However, the weakness of the article leaves out the causes and exact reasons as to why minority employees may have higher turnover rates compared to their majority counterparts. The author hypothesized too many variables to serve her point, but left out any type of remedial structures for organizations to improve upon. This article will be used to further strengthen the argument that diversity management is not an end, but rather a means to support diversity in public agencies.

Dobbs, Matti F. Managing Diversity: The Department of Energy Initiative. Public Personnel Management 27, no. 2 (Summer 1998): 161-74. This article is a case study of an actual federal bureaucracy, the US Department of Energys Diversity Initiative. The main point of this article shows that human resource management is the direct facilitator of diversity management. By focusing on the departments commitment to diversity, a reasonable foundation for developing a strategic plan is set. The article observes how a real-life organization can achieve diversity and retain their employees; all the while, they are accomplishing the mission of the organization. The main points of the article serve as basis for other public agencies to look into and model their strategic plans. The focus on human resource management helps focus the arguments to the public sector. Adaptation into the private sector can occur, but the specialized audience in this case is for federal agencies. Some of the key areas to focus for developing a research paper is this case studys ability to zone in on executive leadership, strategic planning and participation from the entire organization. Not only does the model reflect internal processes, but the external stakeholders also have a claim to promoting diversity. The model also prescribes ways to overcome barriers of diversity, whether it is historical or policy based. The strength of the article roots from the logical outline of a strategic plan that promotes diversity. Many other articles aim to define and seek out the pitfalls of diversity. This case study continues to lend assistance to other human resource managers and serves as an example for them to follow. The weakness is in the lack empirical support. All these findings work for this certain department; but this does not lead to widely accepted personnel practices. The main purpose of the case study will contribute to research by providing a guideline that lays out the efforts taken, the restraining forces and lessons learned from a HRM perspective. Arguing that diversity management is needed, coupled with a working model, this case study can help overcome the pitfalls of promoting diversity in the public sector.

Foldy, Erica Gabrielle. Learning from Diversity: A Theoretical Explanation. Public Administration Review 64, no. 5 (September/October 2004): 529-39. This article focuses on the learning capacity of employees so that embracing diversity becomes a natural part of their every day work environment. By learning as a team of different cultural perspectives, group performances might increase. By looking at diversity in a more inclusive and encompassing factor, instead of an objective to maintain, the article hypothesizes an organizations performance will increase. The article pulls from other literature to defend the necessity for group learning and cultural learning and embracing different perspectives. Through this, problem solving can enhance and more solutions may be presented when the group cohesively recognizes the many resources available through diversity. The author shows the affects of low learning and high learning and the projected measure of productivity an organization can have. She gives specific examples on what prohibits and what perpetuates growth through diversity. The article strongly suggests that learning differences and embracing them can help enhance performance of an organization. This article possesses general knowledge that other sectors and organizations can use. All levels of public management should consider the findings and implement the learning process of each employee. Diversity in this issue extends to all facets and degrees, ranging from gender, age, ethnicity to race and regional backgrounds. The strength of this article lies in the ability to prescribe a model and guide human resource managers in the public sector to utilize diversity. This article defends the overall proposal for including diversity management as an integral part of human resource management. The weakness in this article presents itself with the lack of case studies or success stories where the models worked. Though derived from legitimate sources, taking such models and adapting it in other agencies can more effectively prove its worth. This article will be used in defending the affectivity of diversity management with public HRM.

United States Government Accountability Office. Diversity Management: expert-identified leading practices and agency examples, 2005. Washington DC, 2005. This report prepared by the US Government Accountability Office outlines nine best practices that through research and expert advice. The nine practice are as follows: top leadership commitment, diversity as part of an organizations strategic plan, diversity linked to performance, measurement, accountability, succession planning, recruitment, employee involvement and diversity training. Each of these components reflects on multiple elements of diversity. The GAO took into account the works of various federal agencies and their respective programs to develop these top nine best practices. The GAO did not evaluate the effectiveness of each practice. Expert advisors aided in the verification of each practice. Diversity management connects human resource management so that the public organization can continue to work at its best. Diversity, then, should not hold a hindrance to retainability, commitment and performance. The GAO reported these standards as a summation of practices, not a recommendation. However, public and private organizations should consider these when implementing diversity management plans. This report will aid in supporting the reasons why diversity management is important in public agencies. Many of the nine practices are practices of human resource management departments. The strength of this article is in the originating source. The GAO, a government entity, setting aside these practices allows other public agencies to identify their position in diversity management. Because they did not evaluate the effectiveness of the programs, the actual outcomes are not measured. Therefore, projected results are suspect. This report will serve as another foundational piece of where diversity management should start. Hopefully, these recommendations can continue to support other models introduced in other articles.

Hur, Yongbeom, Ruth Ann Strickland, and Dragan Stefanovic. Managing Diversity: Does It Matter to Municipal Governments? International Journal of Public Sector Management 23, no. 5 (2010): 500-15.

This research seeks to determine the severity of diversity issues in North Carolina. Numerous articles concerning diversity management refer to the federal agency level. Municipal levels will help in bringing down the issue of diversity to the lower levels of government. The study found that bigger cities with diverse groups took into consideration diversity issues more than those cities with smaller populations or is less popular. Some factors that leveraged diversity issues on different levels included the urban population, the demographic makeup concerning race and ethnicity and the age of the city manager. The study takes into account different levels of strategic planning which included many elements of HRM. Those cities that actively pursued a diverse workforce were more popular and practiced in their organization higher efforts to increase diversity. This information is highly focused for states like North Carolina. Application of their findings may be suspect in other states where populations are more diverse, comparatively. Additionally, the usage of public employees contributes to the public sector human resources. This article is essential in developing human resource management practices in conjunction with diversity management. Knowing how some state level governments operate in the face of their respective changing demographics, other public agencies can learn from this state and apply their findings accordingly. It continues to support the need for better diversity management practices. The strength of the article is in the breakdown of where diversity initiatives have a negative connotation and where diversity can succeed. The weakness is the limitation of the area studied. While it holds many implications, delivering the same model to other regions prove suspect since their demographics are different, too. This article will be used in arguing for top-level management on the municipal level to really buy into the positives of diversity management.

Matthews, Audrey. Diversity: A Principle of Human Resource Management. Public Personnel Management 27, no. 2 (Summer 1998): 175-85. This article takes into detail how to include diversity management as part of human resources. This integration is important because human resource managers play a crucial role in an organization in allocating human capital to the right fit. One of the challenges lies in aligning organizational needs of personnel to match the serviced demographics. Proper management practices project higher productivity levels and increase the amount of services delivered. The information presented can fit many audiences in terms of HRM. Public and private sector organizations. The article presents different strategies that organizations can use to incorporate diversity more successfully. Some of these topics include benchmarking, diversity training, flexmanagement, and partnerships between line managers and supervisors. All these efforts seek to enhance diversity in the work force. The issues dealt with are not generally specific to the research of public organizations. The strength of this article shows multiple ways for managers to implement strategies to incorporate diversity in the work place. Especially in public organizations, the balance between social presentation and the need to fulfill affirmative action laws strike a troubling discernment. This article presents strategies and will be measured up against other suggestions in the same arena. The weakness of the article is that no real life examples or case studies show that these suggested strategies work. The article cites that increasing diversity increases productivity but no hard evidence backs it up. Hopefully, in future research or other articles, this finding can be confirmed or corrected.

Naff, Katherine C., and J. Edward Kellough. Ensuring Employment Equity: Are Federal Diversity Programs Making a Difference? International Journal of Public Administration 26, no. 12 (2003): 1307-36. This article addresses the need for an effective evaluating system of diversity programs in federal agencies. The two aspects of diversity taken into consideration include women in the workforce and people of color. They examine a number of federal agencies and argue that some of the organizations either lay down the law too hard or do not implement diversity management practices strongly enough. Broad programs prove to not have any affects on the organization in considering minority programs. Positive environments have not been fully established for minority populations as they work in public organizations. One part of their research does suggest that this article only serves as an opening for more discussion regarding diversity management. After examining the results from the surveyed organizations, a strong conclusion or recommendation for other public agencies was not made. The arguments in the article promote further study for diversity management and a more effective way to measure the effectiveness of such program. It is definitely geared towards public agencies and not for private sector. The information suggests that more efforts should be made to further the evaluation process. Once future studies are made, the more legitimate the results may sound. The weakness of the article is in the limited range of definition in diversity. This article focuses on women and people of color. When considering diversity, there are so many other factors such as age, religion, regional origination, and the like. Additionally, the consideration of successful diversity programs are only limited to promotion, dismissal and quitting ratios. Hopefully, this article can contribute to research by serving as a basis for preliminary evaluation systems. After presenting strategic initiatives to promote diversity, program evaluations will help in showing the importance of diversity management.

Pitts, David. Diversity Management, Job Satisfaction, and Performance: Evidence from U.S. Federal Agencies. Public Administration Review 69, no. 2 (March/April 2009): 328-38. This article seeks to review the effectiveness diversity management in federal agencies. Pitts uses a survey of different US federal employees to gain understanding of diversity management. Pitts measures job satisfaction and performance and finds that people of color find more benefits compared to the white workers. Pitts mentions that diversity management really emerged in the 1990s after the push of equal opportunity and affirmative action fell through in previous decades. The article wants to challenge how the performance and productivity weigh against the increase in diversity programming. The article states that performance does increase with well-managed diversity programs. Pitts suggests that HRM should focus on the management practices instead of just recruitment so that their organization can succeed. Because these findings prove successful to the hypotheses, the research of diversity management should continue so that future programs can witness the same, if not better, success. The strength of this article lies in the empirical data from federal agencies. The empirical data will be used for the proposed research as a way to support the need for diversity management. Also, the lessons learned can further enhance strategies to diversity management to increase production. The weakness of the article is in the limitations of the studies across different policies in different organizations. We note that, to a degree, diversity management increases productivity. However, best practices and in which arena they succeed are not known. This weakness will not take away from the articles importance in emphasizing diversity management. The suggestions made will further contribute to developing a model that can be applied in multiple public agencies.

Pitts, David, and Elizabeth Jarry. Ethnic Diversity and Organizational Performance: Assessing Diversity Effects at the Managerial and Street Levels. International Public Management Journal 10, no. 2 (2007): 233-54. Diversity is increasing drastically in the public arena. This article seeks to answer the question does ethnic diversity cause process problems that lad to weaker performance? Through statistical studies, the answer resounds with a no. The article does not examine exact cases or survey questions. What they did find was that more studies need to be done to help determine the exact causes of what levels of diversity and management practices lead to higher performance. The information is based on street level bureaucratic, the very first line of public agencies. What this information shows is that the difference in federal and street level agencies lie in what population is the agency trying to reflect. The more diverse the agency is, the greater amount of study is needed to evaluate performance. The findings are very specific to the research question at hand. How effective are diversity practices on the public agency level? This study contributes to the lower echelons of bureaucracy. The information can be applied in other realms, but users should be suspect on how they will apply the findings. Further research is recommended and will contribute greatly to the case for diversity management. the strength of this article, in reference to the research question, is that it seeks to make an evaluation of diversity management. Previous articles touch on federal agencies, but comparing it on the city and local levels can also make a stronger case for why diversity is important. The weakness of the article does not measure which strategies of human resources in diversity managements work well.

Rangarajan, Nandhini, and Tamika Black. Exploring Organizational Barriers to Diversity: A Case Study of the New York State Education Department. Review of Public Personnel Administration 27, no. 3 (September 2007): 249-63. This case study is effective as it seeks to define diversity and what gets in its way on the non-federal levels of government. The main argument of this article is that there is no one best way to promote diversity or to overcome the barriers that exist. The current definition in the article of diversity encompasses race, ethnicity, gender, age, ability, sexual orientation, and disability. They authors argue that different agencies must look at their current environment and find a way themselves to fit in diversity. After determining a definition for diversity, effective management must be taken into account to raise the amount of education, awareness and practice to embrace diversity. Through this, raising effectiveness in an organization and promoting diversity can work together. This case study does not try to suggest a solution to the issue, but it identifies what potential barriers exist. Once these barriers are recognized, the organization can continue to work toward a positive relationship amongst employees and embracing diversity. The strength of this article backs up the research topic by empirically proving that the barriers are. After this, this information can be used for to support the importance of diversity management, the pitfalls to weak programming and ineffective human resource management. The weakness of this article does not seek to suggest ways to not only overcome the barriers, but how to even avoid them. However, these weaknesses will not be used against the primary strength of the articles. The unresolved questions are also the same questions of the research topic. Hopefully, with more research, the a model to answer the questions can be found.

Soni, Vidu. A Twenty-first-century Reception for Diversity in the Public Sector: A Case Study. Public Administration Review 60, no. 5 (September/October 2000): 395-408. Though diversity is a huge issue for human resource managers, diversity practices in some organizations are not used. The article looks at race/ethnicity and gender as a way to measure the relationships between the acceptance of diversity and the support of management initiatives. The author finds that diversity is important. Its importance, however, depends on what type of diverse group it is. In areas where discrimination is historically known, acceptance of diversity practices is higher compared to other areas. More human resource management training needs to happen with employees and supervisors to help the organization understand why such initiatives are taking place. Skeptics will always exist. The author suggests that diversity practices must happen in the overall organization to increase productivity. The strength of the article lies in the case study of certain organizations. This provides a certain amount of legitimacy for the findings. There are clear-cut findings; in addition, that enhances the fight for diversity management. These strengths will be used in the course of the overall research by illustrating the current behaviors of organizations in regards to diversity. The weakness remains in the limited scope of diversity. The article only references gender and race/ethnicity. So many other types of diversity exist but are not considered, though this is a 21st century reception. This article may negate some of the findings from previous research, but having an overall view of the diversity management programs helps develop a holistic approach of diversity management.

Von Bergen, C.W., Barlow Soper, and Teresa Foster. Unintended Negative Effects of Diversity Management. Public Personnel Management 31, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 239-51. This article discusses the negative effects of diversity management. The main point of this article is to show that the increased efforts to raise diversity levels in the workplace may hinder the ability of the organization to perform. The article cites that diversity management is important if done correctly so that populations served can match the servers. However, the article also cites the following as negative effects: devaluation of employees, even more discrimination, demoralizing and reinforced stereotypes, and increased legal liabilities. This information will help to develop a total picture of diversity. The strength lies in that even though these negatives are considered, the importance of diversity remains. The usage of this information is applicable to all audiences concerned with diversity management, not just public agencies. it is also quite on the opposite where the proposed research is heading, but at the same time continues to strengthen the overall project. By citing both sides of the story, unbiased opinions are removed from the paper. Detractors of diversity management will have their voice but hopefully will not undo the important efforts of diversity management.