Travis Barker

A System's Thinking Approach to Workplace Diversity Innovation Travis Barker

A System's Thinking Approach to Workplace Diversity (2nd Edition): Workplace diversity is no longer a competitive advantage. It is required in order to compete in an ever complex world of service and produce offerings. Using a system's thinking approach, workplace diversity can help companies to provide industry leadership and pave the way for inclusion, engagement, and business agility. An ongoing commitment to corporate engagement and iterative learning is crucial. Supporting workplace diversity is also no longer considered sufficient to compete in today's business environment. Past efforts to support workplace diversity often failed to achieve the goals of inclusion that were necessary to integrate the wisdom, experience, and competencies available. A new and more inclusive approach is still needed. Inclusion is just the first step. This is why a system's thinking approach is needed; the entire system needs to be involved in leveraging the assets, competencies, and tools that drive excellence throughout the corporate structure. The evolution of the modern models of management recognizes that business is changing, the evolution of current humanitarian values requires the rethinking of supervision methods, and the trends of employment require different strategies in order to retain the talent that is essential to the company's competitive edge. One of these challenges includes how to develop a competitive edge within an increasingly complex climate. Current trends reflect shorter periods of employment, increased specialization of skills are necessary for competition, and employers having to work that much harder to recruit as well as retain the talent that already exists. A systems thinking approach to workplace diversity: A workbook - provides tools, templates, and free PowerPoint presentations that can be used to support workplace diversity. Three PowerPoint Presentations available for download: Addendum: Supporting Inclusive & Diverse Workplace Communities: Manager's PPT Presentation (link for download) Addendum: Diversity Awareness Workshop: Employee PPT Presentation (link for download). Addendum: Emotional Intelligence: Leading with Sensitivity - Employee PPT Presentation (link for download) Author: Travis Barker, MPA GCP