United States Office of Administration
Environmental and Resources September
Protection Agency Management (PM-224) 1992
EPA Study of Cultural
Diversity
Literature Search
and Best Practices
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Table of Contents
Background 4
Findings In Brief 5
Recommendations 6
Introduction 7
Need for Valuing and Managing Diversity 8
Findings 9
Recruitment 10
Mentoring 10
Core Groups 11
Performance Management 11
Training 12
Cultural Diversity and Affirmative Action 13
Cultural Diversity and TQM 13
Resources to Implement a Diversity Initiative 14
Communications 14
Involvement/Inclusion 15
Knowledge and Skills IS
Information 16
Influence 16
Incentives 16
Recommendations 17
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Findings In Brief
The organizations we surveyed decided to
address cultural diversity to Improve their capability
to:
Address employee complaints about human
resources Issues (perceived inequities in
awards, promotions, training, etc).
Prepare to address the organizational
concerns related to the Workforce 2000
predictions.
Address business goals In an Increasingly
diverse market (le. minority and women
employees on the staff may be better able
to deal with minority and women custom-
ers).
Private and public organizations have used a
variety of techniques to help Implement the Diver-
sity Initiative within their organizations. The most
common Included;
An aggressive recruitment strategy to
attract qualified minorities and women.
A mentoring program to help employees
grow by developing a formal support
network
Core groups that help Individual or groups
of employees focus on needs, feelings or
attitudes that are of concern. These are not
Intended to be gripe sessions. The focus Is
on providing a forum for employees to be
In a support group setting that can serve as
a sounding board and fosters encourage-
ment and support In areas of need
Performance management criteria and
rewards for managers that advance diver-
sity efforts within the organization.
Comprehensive training strategies to
address diversity In the workplace.
The Diversity and Total QuaUty Initiatives have
been combined In several of the organizations
surveyed Their rationale, which Is very much In line
with the EPA strategy. Is that continuous review and
Improvement of work processes can be significantly
enhanced by Inclusion of employees with diverse
backgrounds and capabilities.
Organizations that are recognized as leaders in
Managing Diversity have Incorporated a comprehen-
sive communications strategy as part of their effort
They are careful to use every opportunity to
advance the concept of diversity in the workplace.
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Introduction
In May, 1990. the U. S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency (EPA) bunched a comprehensive
Initiative to address cultural diversity as a manage-
ment priority. This action was taken In an effort to
address employee concerns that the Agency was not
making the maximum use of available talents within
the Agency. The Initiative Is to be one of the
centerpieces of die management Improvement and
cultural change agenda set by William K. Rellly and
F. Henry Habldit, the Administrator and Deputy
Administrator of EPA. A taskforce was created to
develop the framework for an EPA Cultural Diver-
sity Study. The goal of the taskforce 'Is to con-
struct a profile of past practices and prevailing
attitudes with regard to staffing, staff development
and general sensitivity towards minority and
women's concerns. This process should also assist
In the Implementation of total quality management
principles which are based, In part, on creating an
Institutional culture that will draw upon the unique
contribution of each person In the workforce."
The Workforce Diversity Taskforce was
organized Into four working groups:
Literature Search and
Best Practices
Employee Survey.
DM Analysis, and
Training.
The Literature Search and Best Practices Work
Group developed and used a set of Interview
questions to guide the group's Interview process In
benchmarking organizations that have launched a
diversity Initiative. A systems perspective on
workforce diversity was the underlying principle of
the Interview guide. The guide followed a program
development format to include questions pertaining
to what prompted the search for managing diversity.
what activities or processes were used to assess the
diversity Issues, and what types of programs resulted
from their organizational assessment. The Inter-
views focused on the organizational reasons for
addressing cultural diversity, basic parts of their
Initiatives, methodologies used the effectiveness of
the Initiatives, and the organization's point of
contact for Cultural Diversity.
The group was briefed by several Federal
agencies on their diversity Initiatives. Including the
Central Intelligence Agency, the Internal Revenue
Service. Department of Labor. Department of
Transportation, and the United States Army. A
number of private corporations were visited.
Including the Digital Computer Corporation, the
Washington Post; Dupont, and Proctor & Gamble.
In addition, members of the group reviewed
documentation and had discussions with officials
from Hughes Aircraft. Corning, and Avon.
Through discussions with corporate senior
managers. Human Resource and Equal Employment
Opportunity staffs, we sought to obtain differing
views and experiences In managing cultural diversity
In the workplace. We were pleased with the open
and enthusiastic discussions that took place during
all of our visits.
Throughout our reviews, we recognized the
Importance of drawing sound conclusions about the
necessary conditions required to support and
develop a culturally diverse workforce. But. we also
recognized the need to maintain a degree of
confidentiality regarding specific problems or Issues
that were confided during our Interviews. The
conclusions generated In this report are based on
the thoughts and perceptions of the members of the
Best Practices Group, coupled with the experiences
and Ideas of the officials from die organizations we
contacted
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Findings
Through our benchmarking efforts, we have
drawn a number of pertinent conclusions on how
best to Incorporate cultural diversity into a compre-
hensive organizational effectiveness strategy at EPA:
To effectively Implement the Diversity Initiative,
a high degree of Involvement and commitment is
necessary from our senior managers. Through
example, they can set the new course toward
promoting cultural change within the Agency. By
example they should ensure that their hiring reflects
the work force demographics, and that promotions.
awards and other human resource decisions are
based on performance.
To accomplish this change, we will need
new skills and an enhanced level of aware-
ness. Thlslearnlnprocdevelopmentatall
organizational levels for all employees.
The change process wlK require an ex-
tended period of time to Implement and
maintain, contingent on the size of the
organization and the availability of re-
sources.
Successful Implementation will necessitate
the Integration of cultural diversity factors
Into the overall review, revamping and
utilization of agency human resources
policies and practices.
The Diversity Initiative needs to be clearly
articulated In written policies, practices
and procedures. A management strategy
that outlines specific programs, goals.
expectations, and methods of accountabil-
ity Is necessary.
In addition, organizations that are effectively
addressing diversity in the workplace have Identi-
fied two guiding principles. Rrst.lt Is Important to
recognize that management pbys a significant role
In setting and reinforcing the organization's culture.
Second, employee participation and Involvement Is
crucial for the successful Implementation of an
organization's management agenda.
Private and public organizations have used a
variety of techniques to help Implement the
Diversity Initiative within their organizations. The
following Is a brief summary of some of these
techniques.
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Core Groups
Performance Management
In an effort to help employees relate to one
another and gain interpersonal skills, the practice of
setting up "Core Groups" has been implemented by
one of the organizations surveyed. Several core
groups meet routinely to discuss information,
feelings, attitudes, and behaviors that are of concern
to the individual members. This vehicle allows
employees to experience feelings, express attitudes,
and demonstrate behaviors without repercussions
from the other members of the group. In essence.
the group is a laboratory for individual growth.
Participation in the groups is voluntary. How-
ever, participation in such groups is perceived to be
illustrative of an employee's interest in developing
stronger interpersonal skills. All members of the
organization have an understanding that building
interpersonal skills is a signal to management of the
person's interest and investment in building a
capacity for managerial responsibilities.
Core groups are comprised of either employees
or managers but are not mixed. This is done to
maximize confidentiality. The company did state,
however, that there could be exceptions if all of the
participants agreed.
In all of our discussions with the organization
representatives, the question of how to induce
managers to take the diversity issue seriously was
raised. Two of the private sector organizations
that we visited hold their managers accountable for
managing or addressing diversity. Management
bonuses are contingent on positive performance in
this area. The major inducement, however, is the
expectation of the management peer group to make
progress in this area.
In one particular organization, managers are
provided with yearly "health assessment" data
feedback to determine the manager's progress in
implementing diversity in his or her organization.
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Cultural Diversity and Affirmative Action
Cultural Diversity and Total Quality
Management
Most of the organizations make a distinction
between Managing Diversity and Affirmative Action.
it li Important, they believe, for the difference to be
apparent to those Involved In the diversity effort
Ahhough there I* no doubt In dielr minds that
Affirmative Action and Managing Diversity are
related Issues.
The general feeling Is that Affirmative Action
requirements are legally-mandated employment
criteria. Affirmative Action is also seen as a way to
redress discriminatory practices. Cultural dverslty
Is understood to be a resource utilization Issue.
Diversity Is seen as a strategy to ensure maximum
utilization of all employees. The focus Is on:
valuing and developing Indvfdual capabilities.
the employee's ability to work with groups.
the organization provtdng the resources, work
procedures, and management style to support
this effort.
Affirmative Acton and Diversity, working
together, form i major portion of the organization's
employment stratify for workforce planning and
utilization. The outcome "wlP Impact the
organization's overall performance.
The Cultural Diversity and Total Quality
initiatives have been combined by several major
corporations and a Federal agency. Their rationale
Is that continuous review and improvement of work
processes an be significantly enhanced by Inclusion
of employees with diverse backgrounds and capabili-
ties. Diverse employees are apt to provide a range
of different perspectives that would have a positive
Impact on the work processes.
This way of thinking Is very much In One with
Mr. Habiohf s vision regarding the two processes.
"This process should also assist In the Implementa-
tion of total quality management principles, which
are based In part, on creating an institutional
culture that wiB draw upon the unique contribution
of each person In the workforce."
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Involvement/Inclusion
Knowledge and Skills
The Best practices work group has Identified
the principle of Involvement/Inclusion as salient In
managing cultural diversity. This principle Is further
defined by four underlying attributes. These
attributes Include: Knowledge and Skills, Informa-
tion. Influence, and Incentives. From the manage-
ment perspective. Involvement entails having the
organization provide programs or management
Initiatives that Increase the level of these factors
among the Agency's employees.
In our assessment of other organizational
approaches to managing diversity, we Identified the
Involvement/Inclusion principle operating at varying
degrees. As a point of reference, the Best Practices
Work Group conducted an Illustrative appraisal of
EPA practices to demonstrate this factor In opera-
tion here at the Agency.
The EPA Institute and Superfund Academy are
Illustrative of current operations whose purpose Is
to enhance our employees work-related knowledge
base and to increase work performance skids.
Improving the knowledge and skills level has positive
effects on work performance and effectiveness.
GLO (Greater Leadership Opportunities) Is another
program that demonstrates die enhancement of
EPA employee knowledge and skills levels. It
provides visibility for women and minorities and
opportunities to enhance their leadership and
management skills dtrough formal dassroom training
and developmental/rotational assignments, thereby
enabling them to compete more successfully for
supervisory positions. One of the fundamental
activities used to raise this knowledge and skill level
Is die mentoring process. One salient outcome of
this mentoring process is a higher degree of under-
standing of die Agency's mission and goals.
The Minority Academic Institutions Task Force
has provided a framework and action plan for die
Agency to have a more proactive relationship wldi a
number of Colleges and Universities. Through this
Initiative Agency employees wlB have die opportu-
nity to work with diese Institutions to teach, help
develop curriculum and to promote environmental
careers. The Agency will also benefit by employing
faculty and students for a variety of positions.
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Recommendations
Based on the Information gathered through our
survey, a number of factors will be critical for
success In our dvenity Initiative at EPA:
Continued Involvement and commitment
from our senior managers. Through
example, they can set the new course
toward promoting cultural change within
the Agency. By example they should
ensure that their hiring reflects the work
force demographics, and that promotions.
awards and other human resource deci-
sions are based on performance.
Increased Inclusion/Involvement by our
employees.
Recognition and understtndng, up front.
that a quality effort will require time to
Implement and carry out as part of the
Strategic Planning effort.
Appropriate level of resources need to be
devoted to the Initiative. Should provided
for a senior manager and staff to carry out
the Diversity Initiative. Should also ensure
that the Diversity manager has the neces-
sary support and endorsement from top
rvtiittgement
Adoption of a comprehensive strategy to
Implement dlverslty-by ensuring continuous
assessment and Improvement of how we
use our human resources programs and
policies.
Develop the necessary training and Incen-
tive programs to meet the needs of both
managers and employees In the Agency.
All facets of organizational training and
development should include a cultural
diversity component
Establish the mechanisms to develop formal
mentoring and core group programs for
employees that are Interested In getting
additional support
The Diversity Initiative need* to be dearly
articulated In written potctes. practices, and
procedures. A management strategy that
outlines specific programs, goals, expecta-
tions, and methods of accountability Is
necessary.
Need to continue wHh an aggressive
recruitment program coupled with pro-
grams to Increase retention and develop-
ment of our diverse mff.
The Agency Include managing diversity
criteria In supervisory and managerial
performance standards. As reinforcement.
bonus decisions should consider positive-
performance In this area.
Communications on the Agency's Change
Management Triad (TQM. Strategic
Planning. Cultural Diversity), needs to ake
place at all levels of the organization and
should be integrated as a common theme
to facilitate the organizational change
process.
Need to foster a decentralized approach to
promote cultural diversity creativity and
innovation across EPA.
BRA Cultural Diversity Best Practices
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