Question: This student workbook provides opportunities to integrate academic theories with professional practice and, to reflect upon the learning developed from the seminar activities and class discussions each week of the MN5073QA ‘Developing Inclusive Organizations' module.
Please reference all of your weekly answers with theories from academic textbooks and /or academic (peer-reviewed) journals (not sources such as Wikipedia). Also, follow both in text and in the academic references list the Harvard referencing format.
Learning outcome 1: Explain the different meanings of inclusion, and ‘the business case' for investing in developing an inclusive workplace.
Learning outcome 2: Identify key patterns of inequality in the workplace and competing explanations for these.
Learning outcome 3: Identify the different processes and practices that present barriers to inclusivity in the workplace across dimensions such as gender, race and ethnicity, disability and age.
Learning outcome 4: Critically evaluate different strategies for overcoming inequalities and promoting inclusivity in the workplace
Week 1. The meaning of Inclusion.
Question 1: Define the concept of Inclusion. Describe how inclusion is different from Diversity and Equal Opportunities using examples?
Question 2: Give three reasons why inclusivity may not lead to equality in the workplace?
Week 2: Equality and the Law.
Question 1: Explain the weaknesses of the ‘liberal' approach for creating diversity and change in education and organizations the UK? Provide some examples.
Question 2: Outline the strengths and weaknesses of the Equality Act 2010? Critically assess how the Equality Act of 2010 improves individuals' protection from discrimination in the workplace?
Week 3: The Business case for Diversity
Question 1: What is the Business case for diversity management in the workplace? Give examples of positive arguments for Business diversity in organizations?
Question 2: What are the criticisms of Business case diversity? Why despite diversity policies, are women who work flexibly/and or part-time under-represented in senior management in organizations?
Week 4: Segregation and sociological approaches to inequality in organizations.
Question 1: Explain the rationale for segregation in the labour market using either economic or sociological theories?
Question 2: How do cultural capitals (Bourdieu, 1986) reproduce class privilege in education and the workplace? Give three examples using a cultural capital.
Week 5: An Intersectional approach
Question 1: Explain how Intersectionality offered a different approach compared to the traditional feminist perspective in the US?
Question 2: Define an Inequality regime according to Acker (2006)? Give two examples, of how an inequality regime (Acker, 2006) makes invisible and legitimate gender, race or class inequalities in an organization?
Week 6: Gender inequalities: Choice and constraints
Question 1: Explain Hakim's (2006) preference theory? Do all women with children or caring responsibilities, make a choice to give up their career? How does this differ from Ackers (2006) ‘unencumbered male performance standard'? Discuss using examples.
Question 2: Undertake a Diversity Audit of an organization. Either one you know of; or using the internet to get information. For example, company reports.
Week 7: Social mobility and the class gap.
Question 1: Define social class. Explain how cultural capitals reproduce class privilege in education and, work in the UK? Give examples of inequalities exacerbated by recent Covid 19 in the UK?
Question 2: Why does the merit argument not enable social mobility and, equal the career ‘trajectories' in the professions? Discuss by applying theories of class, race and gender inequalities to entry stage and senior management levels in the elite UK professions.
Week 8: Migration and race inequality in employment.
Question 1: Define the terms migrant and race. Explain the differences between the two.
Question 2: Define positive discrimination and positive action? How could positive action policies, eradicate race discrimination for recruitment and promotion in organizations? Provide your suggestions.
Week 9: Age Diversity and inclusion
Question 1: Define age discrimination according to the Equality Act, 2010.
Question 2: What are the hidden, invisible age barriers older workers face which lead to discrimination for access to jobs? What HR diversity policies would you recommend to change age discrimination in employment?
Week 10: LGBT and inclusion and Disability and Neuro-diversity.
Question 1: How does the Equality 2010 Act prevent discrimination against LGBT workers?
Question 2: Define disability. Explain the differences between visible disabilities and invisible disabilities with examples?