GM505: Diversity Training Action Research Project
Part One Final Project
Diversity Training Action Research Project
Veronica Powell
Kaplan University
GM505 Action Research and Consulting Skills
Prof: Heidi Gregory Mina
October 7, 2014
Part One Final Project
This project is created to improve the processes at Aera Energy, LLC to increase the effectiveness of diversity training within the workforce. Our goal is to effectively address the lack of awareness, limited skills, knowledge and appreciation of the individual differences within the workplace. The effort to develop, implement and execute a diversity training program that will transform our work environment to one of cohesiveness and fully engaged workers is our organizational objective. Incorporating a broader dialog to …show more content…
allow improved team work, eliciting creativity and innovation is crucial in our endeavors. Only when organizations allow diversity to materially affect underlying work practices can businesses be confident that they are being good stewards of a diverse workforce (Cocchiara, Connerley, & Bell, 2010).
The need for change is critical in our ability to retain and hire our most valuable resources, our talented employees. A description of the project’s primary stakeholders, their roles, and their vital contributions for the success of this project is also addressed. An initial project appraisal, expectations, the groundwork conducted, and a critical mass analysis is also presented within this documentation.
Scope and Purpose
Aera Energy, LLC has a commitment to promote diversity, equality and to attain a culturally diverse work environment that fully values and recognizes different backgrounds and experiences. In order for Aera to reach this objective of cultural diversity we must transform our current diversity strategy that will allow each member of our workforce to fully understand diversity and to permeate this knowledge and behavior throughout our organizational processes. It is a mandate that our organization become an environment where diversity is valued, respected and where we successfully recruit and retain employees throughout the globe and within the communities we serve.
Diversity understands that individual have both visible and non-visible differences and by respecting these differences everyone can feel valued for their contributions which brings about motivation, innovation, creativity and increased productivity vital to the success of our organization. Aera does not currently have a training process that provides individuals with the ability to recognize, understand, and respect individual differences. This challenge has caused employee tension within the workforce in addition to creating a loss of some of our most talented employees. It is important that Aera change the organizations’ overall attitude and behavior towards diversity because in today’s work environment it is urgent for sustainability (Gröschl, 2013).
Stakeholders
There are four stakeholders involved in the action research project that have been included with the Critical Mass Grid located on page ten The stakeholders include Gaurdie Banister the President and CEO; Bob Alberstadt, Senior Vice President of Business Resources; Sheri Riddle the Human Resource Administrator, and Veronica Powell, Information Associate. Each team participant and member roles have been listed below:
Gaurdie Banister, President and CEO of Aera, provides the approval for the implementation project and transformation for change. Gaurdie has the authority to mandate training improvements and resource approvals. Gaurdie’s goal has been to create a working environment of individuals, teams, and leaders who do not focus on cultural differences but see themselves as individuals working towards the same goals, sharing the same vision with joint responsibilities for getting the goals and objectives of the organization accomplished. Gaurdie has indicated that he is seeking a quick transformation not only to retain viable employees but also acquire new ones throughout the global job markets. As the Head of the organization it is an important requirement to retain and acquire talented individuals for every operation within our organization
Bob Alberstadt has worked for Aera for over 35 years and is key in the acquisition of personnel within the organization. Bob has a pulse on the job market, the type of environments that draw talent into the workforce, practices and attitudes that currently make up exceptional work environments. In the past couple of months Bob has indicated that a required change in how diversity is viewed and the need to address this through improved strategies in training is important to our future success. It is an important and necessary project otherwise we can lose our most valuable assets, our employees and reputation in the process. A strategy is required to make sure that a better way to is implement diversity training is created. Bob’s experience and years of knowledge is key to change and his views are vital to this project and the reason why he is a primary stakeholder.
Sheri Riddle has worked for Aera for 20 years and is a key factor in the policy and practices at Aera. She is the person responsible for incorporating Human Resource policies within the organization. One of her concerns is that the older workforce do not seem to quickly change their behaviors and often make the younger employees feel they have no value which adversely affects Aera’s productivity and full engagement of their workers. Sheri’s experience, knowledge and understanding of the requirement for the transformation make her valuable as a primary stakeholder within this project.
Veronica Powell is an Information Associate and has been employed with Aera for over 16 years. In this project I will take the role of Action Researcher because I became aware of the attitudes, behaviors and inappropriate comments relating to different cultures and false ideas that are causing a lot of challenges and tension within the workforce. In addition, new workers already face difficulties in trying to get acclimated to their jobs and should not be required to endure pressure that is occurring due to lack of appropriate training in diversity. Therefore, I have asked to lead the efforts in the implementation of and transforming a change to the work environment. I have already acquired permission from Gaurdie to proceed with the project, and acquire the necessary stakeholders, material, resources, and assistance required for the successful accomplishment of the transformation.
Appraisal and Involvement
The initial appraisal and strategy in creating the action research project became apparent to transform our current diversity training platform due to challenges of communication failures and the losses our organization has been experiencing within the area of employee retention. Aera employees are recruited from various tactics which include college and university campuses, online and web-based strategies, and even word of mouth. Aera provides moving expenses, sign-on bonuses, credit, gas and other card incentives. It requires a lot of time and effort to acquire exceptionally talented individuals just to lose them due to the inability of workers to appreciate individual differences. We have a workforce comprised of diverse backgrounds and ethnicity who are valuable and vital to our business success. The importance of diversity, social capital and team work are increasingly recognized as skills vital to the success of business entities (Tight & Thomas, 2011).
Expectations
Effectively creating a transformation within our organization in appreciating the differences of individuals is vital to the success of the business. The issue of concern has posed a challenge because of the tensions that are occurring throughout our workforce due to lack of understanding and training. Action research can provide key strategies in resolving the situation of concern by incorporating both data gathering and team efforts. The expectation is that each primary and influential stakeholder will provide information that is both honest and factual. The action researcher will hold in strict confidence contacts, private information, and any agreements or contracts.
The research will be conducted without bias, deception, adhering to ethical standards, and include informed consent procedures as part of the process.
The ability to evoke credibility through trust is a mandate. Providing stakeholders with clear and concise methods of communication, factual information, quick response time, and methods to provide feedback that includes phone contact, email, face to face and open door policies is vital to the success of our endeavors. It is our expectation to focus on the successful transformation of our diversity training for retention of our employees and the sustainability of our organization. We expect our efforts to result in a changed work environment that will become a cohesive team committed to one goal which is becoming fully engaged workers jointly working together as a cohesive and unbreakable …show more content…
team.
Participants are to be treated with dignity and respect and breach of integrity during the development whether intentionally or not can seriously weaken or cause situations of concern for our action research. Personal interviews and focus groups will be utilized and begin for data gathering next week. The results will be compiled and made available one week after the completion of the data gathering has been done, critiqued, and processed for additional changes to allow us to begin the finalization of the project.
Plan to obtain data
The gathering of data will be utilized from primary resources that include personal interviews and through focus groups. Secondary information has already been acquired and reviewed. The tension between finding common ground and valuing differences is a group focus and critical area of concern within this project and will be acquired through qualitative research asking open-ended questions. The requirement for our project to be successful is to incorporate strategies that will provide stakeholders with credibility, trust, and evoke confidence in being able to discuss issues without being exposed (Stringer, 2007).
The information will be gathered from primary stakeholders who are Heads over divisions and have absolute knowledge of the importance of diversity training within our organization. Brainstorming to incorporate a successful transformation of the situation of concern is required to help implement appreciation diversity and for individual differences.
Laying the groundwork
The groundwork for our research has already been laid. We have contacted our primary stakeholders and created schedules for both the personal interviews and the day for the focus group session. We have sent emails with attachments indicating the purpose, information gathering strategies and timeframe for completions. We have requested our stakeholders help us in our efforts to acquire factual data and to incorporate strategies that will allow a successful transformation of our diversity training. Information that they may already gathered, best practices, and effective methods for inclusion will be key in our efforts. Sherri Riddle our Human Resource Administrator will provide the focus group with material that will help with this process. She is addressing the focus group on the need to quickly implement this critical and transforming change for the retention of vital employees and the sustainability of our organization.
Conclusion
The action research project background, scope and purpose are important to the success of our organization.
Diversity training is vital, a key focus within our operations, and a mandate in our working environment. The tensions and failure to appreciate individual differences is causing Aera to lose our most valuable assets which are our talented employees and is the reason for the required change. The stakeholders, their roles, and titles were discussed and have been identified and listed as people vital to the success of the project.
The groundwork, plan, method for gathering data, expectations, why this challenge and stakeholders were chosen has been addressed. A critical mass analysis has been included in the last page of the paper. The purpose of this action research is clear and the need for change evident, our efforts must succeed for our organization’s sustainability.
References
Cocchiara, F. K., Connerley, M. L., & Bell, M. P. (2010). 'A GEM ' for increasing the effectiveness of diversity training. Human Resource Management, 49(6), 1089-1106. doi:10.1002/hrm.20396
Gröschl, S. (2013). Uncertainty, Diversity and the Common Good : Changing Norms and New Leadership Paradigms. Burlington: Gower.
Stringer, E. T. (2007). Action research (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage
Publications.
Tight, M., & Thomas, L. (2011). Institutional Transformation to Engage a Diverse Student Body. Bingley, U.K.: Emerald. Appendix
Critical Mass Grid
Action Research Project: __Diversity Training Improvement________________
Involvement
O = Current level
X = Desired level
Critical Mass Grid
ROLE: Make it Happen Help it Happen Let it Happen Not Involved
Name Position Gaurdie E. Banister Jr. President and CEO OX Bob Alberstadt Senior Vice President, Business Resources OX Sheri Riddle Human Resource Administrator OX Veronica Powell Information Associate OX Note: the Negotiation portion of this Form needs to be completed for those Inquiry Team members whose Desired Level is different from their Current Level (their “X” and their “O” are in different boxes). If the X and the O are in the same box, above, then you do not need to complete the negotiation form because you have no need to negotiate a change in the level of involvement in your action research project.
Note: be sure that each and every person has one “X” and one “O” and ONLY one “X” and one “O”. One X and One O per person. Every person needs One X and One O.
Diversity Training Action Research Project
Veronica Powell
Kaplan University
GM505 Action Research and Consulting Skills
Prof: Heidi Gregory Mina
October 7, 2014
Part One Final Project
This project is created to improve the processes at Aera Energy, LLC to increase the effectiveness of diversity training within the workforce. Our goal is to effectively address the lack of awareness, limited skills, knowledge and appreciation of the individual differences within the workplace. The effort to develop, implement and execute a diversity training program that will transform our work environment to one of cohesiveness and fully engaged workers is our organizational objective. Incorporating a broader dialog to …show more content…
allow improved team work, eliciting creativity and innovation is crucial in our endeavors. Only when organizations allow diversity to materially affect underlying work practices can businesses be confident that they are being good stewards of a diverse workforce (Cocchiara, Connerley, & Bell, 2010).
The need for change is critical in our ability to retain and hire our most valuable resources, our talented employees. A description of the project’s primary stakeholders, their roles, and their vital contributions for the success of this project is also addressed. An initial project appraisal, expectations, the groundwork conducted, and a critical mass analysis is also presented within this documentation.
Scope and Purpose
Aera Energy, LLC has a commitment to promote diversity, equality and to attain a culturally diverse work environment that fully values and recognizes different backgrounds and experiences. In order for Aera to reach this objective of cultural diversity we must transform our current diversity strategy that will allow each member of our workforce to fully understand diversity and to permeate this knowledge and behavior throughout our organizational processes. It is a mandate that our organization become an environment where diversity is valued, respected and where we successfully recruit and retain employees throughout the globe and within the communities we serve.
Diversity understands that individual have both visible and non-visible differences and by respecting these differences everyone can feel valued for their contributions which brings about motivation, innovation, creativity and increased productivity vital to the success of our organization. Aera does not currently have a training process that provides individuals with the ability to recognize, understand, and respect individual differences. This challenge has caused employee tension within the workforce in addition to creating a loss of some of our most talented employees. It is important that Aera change the organizations’ overall attitude and behavior towards diversity because in today’s work environment it is urgent for sustainability (Gröschl, 2013).
Stakeholders
There are four stakeholders involved in the action research project that have been included with the Critical Mass Grid located on page ten The stakeholders include Gaurdie Banister the President and CEO; Bob Alberstadt, Senior Vice President of Business Resources; Sheri Riddle the Human Resource Administrator, and Veronica Powell, Information Associate. Each team participant and member roles have been listed below:
Gaurdie Banister, President and CEO of Aera, provides the approval for the implementation project and transformation for change. Gaurdie has the authority to mandate training improvements and resource approvals. Gaurdie’s goal has been to create a working environment of individuals, teams, and leaders who do not focus on cultural differences but see themselves as individuals working towards the same goals, sharing the same vision with joint responsibilities for getting the goals and objectives of the organization accomplished. Gaurdie has indicated that he is seeking a quick transformation not only to retain viable employees but also acquire new ones throughout the global job markets. As the Head of the organization it is an important requirement to retain and acquire talented individuals for every operation within our organization
Bob Alberstadt has worked for Aera for over 35 years and is key in the acquisition of personnel within the organization. Bob has a pulse on the job market, the type of environments that draw talent into the workforce, practices and attitudes that currently make up exceptional work environments. In the past couple of months Bob has indicated that a required change in how diversity is viewed and the need to address this through improved strategies in training is important to our future success. It is an important and necessary project otherwise we can lose our most valuable assets, our employees and reputation in the process. A strategy is required to make sure that a better way to is implement diversity training is created. Bob’s experience and years of knowledge is key to change and his views are vital to this project and the reason why he is a primary stakeholder.
Sheri Riddle has worked for Aera for 20 years and is a key factor in the policy and practices at Aera. She is the person responsible for incorporating Human Resource policies within the organization. One of her concerns is that the older workforce do not seem to quickly change their behaviors and often make the younger employees feel they have no value which adversely affects Aera’s productivity and full engagement of their workers. Sheri’s experience, knowledge and understanding of the requirement for the transformation make her valuable as a primary stakeholder within this project.
Veronica Powell is an Information Associate and has been employed with Aera for over 16 years. In this project I will take the role of Action Researcher because I became aware of the attitudes, behaviors and inappropriate comments relating to different cultures and false ideas that are causing a lot of challenges and tension within the workforce. In addition, new workers already face difficulties in trying to get acclimated to their jobs and should not be required to endure pressure that is occurring due to lack of appropriate training in diversity. Therefore, I have asked to lead the efforts in the implementation of and transforming a change to the work environment. I have already acquired permission from Gaurdie to proceed with the project, and acquire the necessary stakeholders, material, resources, and assistance required for the successful accomplishment of the transformation.
Appraisal and Involvement
The initial appraisal and strategy in creating the action research project became apparent to transform our current diversity training platform due to challenges of communication failures and the losses our organization has been experiencing within the area of employee retention. Aera employees are recruited from various tactics which include college and university campuses, online and web-based strategies, and even word of mouth. Aera provides moving expenses, sign-on bonuses, credit, gas and other card incentives. It requires a lot of time and effort to acquire exceptionally talented individuals just to lose them due to the inability of workers to appreciate individual differences. We have a workforce comprised of diverse backgrounds and ethnicity who are valuable and vital to our business success. The importance of diversity, social capital and team work are increasingly recognized as skills vital to the success of business entities (Tight & Thomas, 2011).
Expectations
Effectively creating a transformation within our organization in appreciating the differences of individuals is vital to the success of the business. The issue of concern has posed a challenge because of the tensions that are occurring throughout our workforce due to lack of understanding and training. Action research can provide key strategies in resolving the situation of concern by incorporating both data gathering and team efforts. The expectation is that each primary and influential stakeholder will provide information that is both honest and factual. The action researcher will hold in strict confidence contacts, private information, and any agreements or contracts.
The research will be conducted without bias, deception, adhering to ethical standards, and include informed consent procedures as part of the process.
The ability to evoke credibility through trust is a mandate. Providing stakeholders with clear and concise methods of communication, factual information, quick response time, and methods to provide feedback that includes phone contact, email, face to face and open door policies is vital to the success of our endeavors. It is our expectation to focus on the successful transformation of our diversity training for retention of our employees and the sustainability of our organization. We expect our efforts to result in a changed work environment that will become a cohesive team committed to one goal which is becoming fully engaged workers jointly working together as a cohesive and unbreakable …show more content…
team.
Participants are to be treated with dignity and respect and breach of integrity during the development whether intentionally or not can seriously weaken or cause situations of concern for our action research. Personal interviews and focus groups will be utilized and begin for data gathering next week. The results will be compiled and made available one week after the completion of the data gathering has been done, critiqued, and processed for additional changes to allow us to begin the finalization of the project.
Plan to obtain data
The gathering of data will be utilized from primary resources that include personal interviews and through focus groups. Secondary information has already been acquired and reviewed. The tension between finding common ground and valuing differences is a group focus and critical area of concern within this project and will be acquired through qualitative research asking open-ended questions. The requirement for our project to be successful is to incorporate strategies that will provide stakeholders with credibility, trust, and evoke confidence in being able to discuss issues without being exposed (Stringer, 2007).
The information will be gathered from primary stakeholders who are Heads over divisions and have absolute knowledge of the importance of diversity training within our organization. Brainstorming to incorporate a successful transformation of the situation of concern is required to help implement appreciation diversity and for individual differences.
Laying the groundwork
The groundwork for our research has already been laid. We have contacted our primary stakeholders and created schedules for both the personal interviews and the day for the focus group session. We have sent emails with attachments indicating the purpose, information gathering strategies and timeframe for completions. We have requested our stakeholders help us in our efforts to acquire factual data and to incorporate strategies that will allow a successful transformation of our diversity training. Information that they may already gathered, best practices, and effective methods for inclusion will be key in our efforts. Sherri Riddle our Human Resource Administrator will provide the focus group with material that will help with this process. She is addressing the focus group on the need to quickly implement this critical and transforming change for the retention of vital employees and the sustainability of our organization.
Conclusion
The action research project background, scope and purpose are important to the success of our organization.
Diversity training is vital, a key focus within our operations, and a mandate in our working environment. The tensions and failure to appreciate individual differences is causing Aera to lose our most valuable assets which are our talented employees and is the reason for the required change. The stakeholders, their roles, and titles were discussed and have been identified and listed as people vital to the success of the project.
The groundwork, plan, method for gathering data, expectations, why this challenge and stakeholders were chosen has been addressed. A critical mass analysis has been included in the last page of the paper. The purpose of this action research is clear and the need for change evident, our efforts must succeed for our organization’s sustainability.
References
Cocchiara, F. K., Connerley, M. L., & Bell, M. P. (2010). 'A GEM ' for increasing the effectiveness of diversity training. Human Resource Management, 49(6), 1089-1106. doi:10.1002/hrm.20396
Gröschl, S. (2013). Uncertainty, Diversity and the Common Good : Changing Norms and New Leadership Paradigms. Burlington: Gower.
Stringer, E. T. (2007). Action research (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage
Publications.
Tight, M., & Thomas, L. (2011). Institutional Transformation to Engage a Diverse Student Body. Bingley, U.K.: Emerald. Appendix
Critical Mass Grid
Action Research Project: __Diversity Training Improvement________________
Involvement
O = Current level
X = Desired level
Critical Mass Grid
ROLE: Make it Happen Help it Happen Let it Happen Not Involved
Name Position Gaurdie E. Banister Jr. President and CEO OX Bob Alberstadt Senior Vice President, Business Resources OX Sheri Riddle Human Resource Administrator OX Veronica Powell Information Associate OX Note: the Negotiation portion of this Form needs to be completed for those Inquiry Team members whose Desired Level is different from their Current Level (their “X” and their “O” are in different boxes). If the X and the O are in the same box, above, then you do not need to complete the negotiation form because you have no need to negotiate a change in the level of involvement in your action research project.
Note: be sure that each and every person has one “X” and one “O” and ONLY one “X” and one “O”. One X and One O per person. Every person needs One X and One O.