Diversity In The Present and Future–Ann Akiko Kusumoto, President of Kusumoto Consulting
Diversity in the Present
Why have you focused much of your professional life on the management of diversity strategies for individual and organizational growth? What is your motivation?
As a second generation, Japanese American woman, born shortly after World War II my life has been impacted by several diversity issues, not the least of which has been my race and ethnicity. I was born in a post-relocation center/community in New Jersey that was ironically a “global village” for Japanese internees, Eastern European, Russian & German war refugees and African American, Puerto Rican, Jamaican, Cuban, Haitian farm workers. Very few of our parents spoke English as a first language or at all. The basic socio-economic class in the village was poor and the jobs were in a food processing plant or on the farms picking the fruits and vegetables; yet, the village was a healthy and vibrant multicultural community. Families in that community had a common bond that transcended race and ethnicity; yet, each ethnic group maintained their cultural traditions and values.
Leaving that community, I found mainstream America was very different. My race, ethnicity, color, gender and socio-economic status were “issues” for other people and my status as an “American” was in question. I am fortunate that I have a vision of what is possible for multicultural communities and organizations. This is a part of my motivation for doing diversity work.
Needless to say, I developed an awareness about difference in my life and have always been passionate about human rights and social justice. These have always motivated my personal and professional life. As I became involved in the diversity consulting field, it became very apparent that everyone on the planet is impacted by diversity issues in some way, individually and organizationally, and unless we work to minimize their negative impact, we all suffer. I am most familiar with their impact in the business world, but have seen how diversity issues touch every sector of our society in the USA and globally. Yes, diversity competencies are a critical skill for success in all areas of life and more importantly, for the creation and maintenance of a healthy planet.
How have you seen diversity enhance productivity and creativity in the business world?
There have been studies done that have verified that diverse teams are more creative and essentially more productive than homogeneous teams. There have also been studies that have tracked companies on various dimensions of diversity competency that indicate they perform at a higher level than companies which have not valued and strategically managed diversity effectively. It seems almost too obvious that the more diversity of thought, experience and background you have on a team, the greater potential for more ideas and more thorough decision making. However, I have seen situations where the more diverse the group was on various dimensions of diversity, the more potential there was for conflict when the individuals involved did not value the diversity of their colleagues. Therefore, I am saying that numerical diversity alone will not produce greater productivity and creativity without basic competencies in valuing and managing that diversity.
You have sometimes focused on educating business leaders about diversity issues for Asians and Asian Pacific Americans. What kinds of diversity considerations are uniquely important for those groups of people?
First of all, “Asians” in the USA or in Asia do not see themselves as a “group” and have historically had more “inter-ethnic conflict” with each other, than with people of other races. This fact has ramifications in all segments of society. Many business leaders do not realize these realities when motivating and managing Asian employees. In fact, most US business leaders/managers are not familiar with Asian cultural values, communication styles or the diversity issues that impact our ability to be successful in this country. In the USA, issues such as US vs. Asia born, generational differences, the mixed race experience, ethnic/nationality differences, degree of acculturation, stereotyping, anti-Asian sentiment, etc. are playing out in the workplace and other parts of society on a regular basis.
A key statistical reality is that approximately 65% of all Asians in the USA are foreign born. Much of the development path for Asians in the USA is different from other ethnic groups because of this reality and other factors. I created a professional development program customized to the experience of Asians in US organizations generally and corporate America specifically because I realized that “one size does not fit all” when it comes to human development. In it, I emphasize the need for Asian professionals to see each other as a “community” and to support each other in organizational life. It is a new concept for both the foreign and US born Asians!
We, Asians, have much to learn about ourselves, each other and other ethnic groups we work for and with in order to be successful and productive. If you consider the fact that most Asians in the USA were not born and raised here, it is not surprising that most of us have had little contact or knowledge about other ethnic groups and are not very familiar with the racial history that has shaped US culture. In fact, what most of us learned about other ethnic groups came from the information sources controlled by Western society. One of my objectives in doing diversity work is to help close this information gap in order that more authentic relationships can be formed across race.
Fundamentally, corporate American has not done a good job of mining or maximizing the potential of most of its employees, Asians being just one of many groups that can benefit from a more customized approach to professional development. However, this is only half of the picture. Leaders, managers and colleagues also need to learn about the potential cultural differences that may be misinterpreted or not valued in the organization. The bumps and obstacles to the Asian employee’s success need to be addressed. If not, the net loss is usually with the organization because that employee will either lose incentive to be as productive as they could be or simply leave “quietly”.
The last and probably most important point I would like to make in this section is that I believe, as many global business leaders have said, that Asia has been and will continue to be for many years to come a pivotal influence in the global economy. Today, we have New York Times writer Thomas Friedman explaining how he came to the conclusion that The World Is Flat. Fundamentally, he awoke to the reality that, “This era of globalization is going to be built around an incredibly diverse rainbow of people, in particular people from Asian and India… who are going to be globalizing….on a technologically level playing field.” We can no longer have the luxury of being ignorant about Asian cultures and maintain our position in the global marketplace. Business leaders must develop diversity competencies as a matter of survival, not just about Asian cultures but about the globe.
What are some of the most innovative corporate practices that you have seen for honoring and capitalizing on diversity? How do you honor and capitalize on the diversity within your own multicultural consulting company?
This was a difficult question to answer because I don’t think corporate America has been very innovative in this area and has just begun to realize that diversity really does add value to the business. Efforts have been made to leverage the diversity of the workplace by utilizing the talents, information and relationships of various affinity groups in the organization. Some progress has been made in the hiring and promotion of a more diverse management team and more creative reward systems and training programs have been used to encourage the development and use of diversity competencies. Of course, I believe clients who commit to learning about cross-cultural competency and who customize their professional development programs are doing innovative practices that honor and capitalize on diversity.
I recently saw a story on television about the success of US Auto makers going to China to sell cars! I thought to myself, this was very smart since many Chinese don’t really want to buy Japanese cars. I don’t know if any strategic diversity competencies were used to make the decision to sell cars in China or not, but from a diversity point of view, I think they should make a lot of red cars!
As for my own consulting practice, I always work with a diverse team of colleagues when possible, even in a coaching format. I firmly believe that no matter how much experience and study I have done, I alone am limited in my ability to help my clients in a maximum way, especially when attempting to teach/consult on topics of diversity. I am conscious of the strategic need to have as many perspectives to work with as possible.
When you conduct corporate culture audits, what do you find is typically going well? In what areas do corporations more frequently struggle?
Most companies do a good job of creating policies and having a vision of valuing and managing diversity in the workplace. Senior management generally says the “politically correct” things about diversity and sincerely believes it is going to be the reality in the workplace. They often “don’t know, what they don’t know” about their own diversity competency and aren’t willing to commit the time and effort it takes to gain these skills. As leaders in the organization, they don’t realize the message they send and the impact they could have on others in the company.
With their battalion of lawyers, most large companies are good at “compliance issues”. Overt discrimination and illegal behavior are usually not tolerated and mechanisms are typically in place to make that position clear. Companies tend to encourage employees to use internal complaint procedures, conduct investigations and otherwise avoid external remedies, i.e., lawsuits. I believe strongly that we must be diligent in mitigating the impact of historical inequities and root out discrimination of all forms. Social justice issues have not disappeared. Equal employment laws and affirmative action are still necessary in today’s world.
The problem is that most diversity issues do not fall under the legal umbrella. They often involve more complex issues of human behavior. The legal mindset sometimes creates the position that treating people fairly means you must treat everyone the same. As an OD/diversity consultant I find that treating people fairly means providing them what they need to succeed for the benefit of the organization. Managing differences strategically is a competency that must be learned.
How are understandings of the diverse global market changing the way that American corporations do business?
I would say that it appears that corporate America understands that the global market is changing and becoming increasingly diverse and this understanding has certainly changed “where” they do business. It has taken them longer to understand what it means in “how” they do business. There’s no question that American companies see the business opportunities in Asia and other parts of the world and have tried to capitalize on them. Certainly, there are many examples of companies who have successfully “gone global” like MacDonald’s and Coca-Cola. I suspect there are many “trial and error” stories that go along with the successful ones and many who simply failed. I believe those who had diversity competencies succeeded and others did not (this might be a good research project for the Center).
In any case, what may have been a successful practice 10 years ago may not be successful today. The geo-political landscape of the world is constantly shifting and this along with cultural values must be taken into consideration when going global.
What are some of the constraints that hinder corporations from becoming diverse, drawing upon the strengths of diversity, or effectively interacting with diverse clients and communities?
The worst case scenario is that too many of the “isms” in society are operating in the corporation at both the leadership and operational levels. The best case scenario is a bad case of “cluelessness”; that is, a lack of diversity competency at both these levels. In either case, there is not the recognition that as William James said, “There is little difference between one person and another, but what little difference there is, really matters.”
Quite frankly, the constraint is a matter of motivation most of the time. Unless a company sees it is in their best interest financially to develop diversity competencies, it usually won’t happen.
The assumption that the USA is the center of the universe is a nail in that company’s coffin and the assumption that how “I” like to do business is how it should be done is also a fatal error. Some companies haven’t figured out that globalization is not just across oceans and continents; it is in their own neighborhoods and workplace. Unfortunately, we haven’t been effectively tapping into the diverse talents of the US workforce, let alone been effective doing business globally. The technological playing field may be flat, but the opportunity playing field still has its pot holes and land mines.
Diversity in the Future
In light of the changing demographic patterns in the United States, as well as the expanding global marketplace, what new challenges or opportunities will exist for corporate America?
Corporate America must be willing to change and learn at an exponential rate. Diversity skills must become a required competency. As more workers in the USA come from other parts of the world, age and generational issues change, our customers and colleagues come from every continent and all the traditional diversity issues continue or morph, the ability to manage change and differences will become even more imperative. Most of the “challenges”, i.e., the ability to value and manage diversity, have been around for decades, but the “opportunities” that an increasingly diverse workforce and expanding global marketplace is creating has new ramifications for corporate America.
One of these age old diversity challenges is the ability to build effective relationships across difference. In most cultures around the world, “relationship” is still a key component of business success and those relationships take time to build. The task or business transaction will not get done until the relationship has been thoroughly explored. In Japanese culture, the relationship issue is about trust. In other cultures, there may be other key issues, but it is still about some aspect of relationship. Even in this country, the mantra is the same for major business figures. At a recent “millionaire” expo in Los Angeles, major moguls such as Robert Kiyosaki (author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad), Donald Trump and even Russell Simmons, said the 3 Golden Rules of business success are “relationship, relationship, relationship”. Thomas Friedman calls these “collaboration skills”. Cross cultural communication and relationship building skills will be even more critical as the world gets flatter.
The new opportunities that have emerged from the growing diversity in this country and the “flattening” of the global marketplace are that more small businesses have been formed to serve general and specific markets and that potential customers are anywhere on the globe. Anyone, especially those with cultural competencies, can succeed with a new idea, product innovation or value add service. One of the ramifications for corporate America is the ability to see talent in any human packaging will be important. The person they feel doesn’t “fit” their success profile, may be the person who goes to the competitor or starts their own business and eventually puts them out of business (or at least, gets the deal or market share).
What are the critical diversity issues that must be addressed in the future to achieve diversity, productivity, or social justice in corporate America?
First of all, diversity competency must be personal before it can become organizational. The ability to build effective relationships across difference, to recognize talent in all forms, etc. are fundamental diversity competencies that are important in every area of society and critical if we are to achieve diversity, productivity and social justice in corporate America. Individuals, especially senior management, must be willing to change if we are going to see major change in the organization. It is this individual, inner journey that is the most difficult but necessary aspect of reaching our goals.
When Thomas Friedman says “the world is flat” technologically, he also emphasizes the “collaboration” skills on multiple levels. Fundamentally, these are diversity relationship skills that are necessary core competencies in business today and in the future.
The historical issues of race and ethnicity are both the same and different in today’s world and I suspect the same will be true for the future. The same is true for gender, but I have a renewed sense of urgency about the need to face the global implications of sexism in all societies. The cost of excluding women worldwide and the potential value of their greater inclusion were explored recently in the March issue of DiversityInc. This exclusion has not only had an impact in business, but on the quality of life in the world generally.
Unfortunately, the issues of religion and sexual orientation are getting even more twisted up and recent events like Microsoft’s backing off on supporting social justice legislation for the GLBT community have grave implications for the GBLT worker. Social justice for the GLBT community in the USA is still an unconquered frontier in our country’s journey toward full equality for all people.
Another unconquered frontier is the “fair” treatment of people with disabilities. Our country has made major progress regarding the “physical” access to public places for individuals with impaired mobility, but less around the full utilization of these individuals in the workplace with visible or invisible disabilities. Hopefully, in the growing technological world there will be more opportunities to participate.
We need to address age/generational issues, in particular, the impending impact of the “baby boomer” generation on the workplace and the economy. Scott Burns of the Dallas Morning News wrote, “Increasing the labor force participation of workers 55 and older is critical to maintaining American productivity. It has been estimated that if older workers continued working at the same rates as they did in 1980, the U.S. would add 3.6 million experienced workers to its labor pool.” This data is startling when we consider how many people over 55 were “encouraged” to “take a package” in the 1990’s to make room for younger/cheaper workers. I only raise this to point out that these issues of age will continue to loom large in the next several years.
The issue of “immigration policy” will continue to be a critical diversity issue in decades to come. It has always been linked to questions of race and ethnicity and has a direct impact on corporate America and its ability to fill labor shortages. Ironically, as the debate about the state and future of the Social Security system rages on, I recently read a quote from the National Foundation for American Policy. In it they said, “A 33 per cent increase in legal immigration (264,000 a year) would reduce the size of the Social Security deficit over 50 years by 10 per cent and would also increase revenues to Social Security by a present value of $169 billion over 50 years”. Corporate America (and the Center for Institutional Diversity) will need to be more involved in the shaping of these immigration policies.
How do you think that the roles of chief diversity officers will change in the future?
My hope is that there will be more emphasis on change management, organizational development and talent development skills as well as *ethics management. The chief diversity officer will need to focus on qualitative as well as quantitative issues in the organization. It is not enough to have numerical diversity. The individuals involved must be able to bring the value of their difference to the organization. Corporate culture, policies and practices are qualitative issues for exploration.
As you consider current diversity-related trends in the workplace and marketplace, how will corporate America be different in five years from now?
My hope is that it will become more entrepreneurial in culture and behavior in order to be more globally competitive and more able to recruit and retain a more diverse and changing type of workforce. Corporate America will always have people willing to work for it, but will it get the best and the brightest that it needs and wants. My hope is also that there will be a greater representation of all types of diversity at all levels, and especially in leadership positions. The changes in the global marketplace are happening so fast, the next five years will be critically important to corporate America.
The Future Work of the Center for Institutional Diversity
How can higher education contribute to the success of corporations and businesses in drawing on the value of diversity? (You might want to consider the development of curricula, the preparation of future employees and citizens for a diverse society, research on the effectiveness of diversity, etc.)
Higher education must create and maintain a robustly diverse learning community because it is the training ground for so many of our future leaders in business and other sectors of society. I have heard countless white/Euro-Americans in corporate America say that their first personal experience with a person of color was either in the military, in the workplace or on the college campus. This is also true for persons of color, especially those coming to the USA; that is, their experience with someone of another racial group most often came from the college campus or workplace. If higher education does not provide a richly diverse learning experience based on the student population, faculty perspective and curriculum offerings, than corporate America will lose an important source of diversity and individuals with a diverse learning experience.
Higher education must, of course, keep up with the changing scientific and technological landscape if we are to compete successfully in this “flat world”. I also believe that education generally must be more holistic in perspective; that is, students should see the interrelatedness of all sectors of society and disciplines. For example, a US petroleum engineer/oil company executive/political leader should not ignore the geo-political history and culture of the country it wants to do business with and its relationship with the West when making decisions about how and where to find, buy or sell in that region. Business cannot be conducted in a silo fashion from other aspects of society. Future business leaders need to make decisions with a larger and longer context in mind.
How can the anticipated Center for Institutional Diversity—drawing upon the resources of higher education—collaborate with you and other business leaders to take action on critical diversity issues in the workplace and marketplace?
The Center must teach the emerging business leaders the realities of the global marketplace and that in order to compete in it they must have key diversity competencies. The Center should be a place where these competencies are taught and continuously explored for all sectors of society.
The Center should also be a place where the methods of developing the talents of all types of people are also explored and taught. Whereas, there are basic issues that all humans face in the development process, I do not believe that “one size fits all”. I have seen the benefit of customized talent development and am sure there is more to learn and improve upon in this area.
The Center should address the cost of exclusion as well as the value of inclusion for many types of diverse people, such as the exploration done recently by DiversityInc about women. The topic of “immigration policy” should be included in this analysis.
The Center should articulate and explore the linkage between the issues of “ethics, power and leadership” in all sectors of society as they relate to issues of diversity. These are cutting edge concepts that even diversity professionals have barely begun to surface. The Center could be part of this cutting edge exploration and its resources would be invaluable.
*We need to understand the relationship between the issues of “power”, “ethics” and “leadership” and how they are directly linked to the success of our businesses, the state of our economy and the quality of life in America. It is no secret that un-ethical business leadership has caused damage to thousands of workers and even more customers, and yet, it is rarely recognized that ethics is a diversity issue. In the December 2003 Harvard Business Review, an article entitled, “How (Un) ethical Are You?”, explored four related sources of mostly unintentional unethical types of decision-making. They are: (1) implicit bias – judging according to unconscious stereotypes rather than merit (2) in-group bias – favoring people in one’s own circles (3) a tendency to over claim credit (4) conflicts of interest. Each of these behaviors is an example of the more subtle forms of bias very common in corporate America that impact people of difference regularly.
It is imperative for leaders in all sectors of society to see what Alvin Toffler described 15 years ago in his book The Power Shift. We are now living in the new millennium which he said would be an era “when the entire structure of power that held the world together is disintegrating…….and is happening at every level of human society.” Certainly, one of those shifts in the business world is the impact of Asia on the global economy.
We need to explore what “leadership” in this century is all about. How is it connected to ethics and power? How is it connected to diversity competencies? What is the current paradigm? What other paradigms should we consider?
What challenges would the Center face in supporting efforts to make an impact for diversity in the workplace and marketplace?
The motivation for change must be greater than the benefits of the status quo. Business leaders must see the benefit of change in terms of profits, shareholder equity, etc. Unfortunately, the current paradigm for success rests largely on Wall Street which judges business success in terms of the aforementioned. Much of the criteria are very short term and many business leaders are not willing to risk their personal success for the long term benefit of the organization. The Center must be able to illustrate and articulate the short and long term benefits of valuing and managing diversity.