Reference no: EM132289635

1. This week's lecture materials revealed to you a wide range of programs and best practices in the area of diversity and inclusion (D&I) that are utilized by leading companies, such as Microsoft, Google, and PwC. Let's assume that your organization has asked you to design a highly innovative D&I program. Informed by the insights that you obtained from the above companies' approaches, develop and explain the overall structure and primary objectives of your proposed program with an emphasis on how it might create value for the company. Remember that any new program can either fulfill a known gap/problem in the firm (e.g., declining female employment rate) or simply initiate a fresh set of activities towards the promotion of D&I while enhancing organizational performance in a specific area (e.g., improving the company's innovative capabilities by expanding the pool of multicultural talent through internship programs). Please keep in mind that your ability to cross-pollinate ideas (e.g., integrating a best practice from Microsoft with another method from PwC to create a whole new and creative approach) can help you come up with an innovative proposal.

2. A common concern regarding some companies' D&I initiatives relates to how some employees feel that top managers promote such programs solely to protect themselves against potential lawsuits, meet a requirement, and check a few points on their checklist. Simply said, some employees have a difficult time finding "genuine" intentions and beliefs behind the firm's D&I programs. Share your personal thoughts on this matter and offer some solutions that could possibly resolve the above concern.