Book Review: Managing Diversity and Inclusion

Book Title: Managing Diversity and Inclusion: An International Perspective (Second Edition)

Publisher: SAGE
Editors: Jawad Syed and Mustafa Özbilgin

Overview

A wide range of social and economic factors have led to greater diversity in the workplace. This means that the book co-edited by Professor Jawad Syed and Mustafa Özbilgin is ultra-relevant and set to become a standard text.

Entitled Managing Diversity and Inclusion: An International Perspective, the book’s chapters are written by global experts, including Professors Syed and Özbilgin. The book was shortlisted for the Management and Leadership Textbook category of the 2016 Management Book of the Year Awards organised by the Chartered Management Institute. The contest judges described it as a “hotly anticipated new text”.

Professor Syed explained that globalisation, migration, ageing populations and advances in gender equality have had a profound effect. Previously, the workplace was dominated by men of one ethnicity and age range. Now, there is much greater diversity but it is accompanied by widespread lack of understanding of the issues, said Professor Syed.

“With very few exceptions, people are well meaning and do not want to indulge in prejudice or discrimination. When they do, in nine out of ten cases that is because they do not understand how to deal with, for example, younger or older employees, or how to create structures and policies that are inclusive, or they do not know how they can encourage women into senior decision-making roles.”

If companies do fail to recognise or understand diversity, they are not only hurting minority communities, but are hurting themselves too, continued Professor Syed.

“They would be depriving themselves of skills and resources and there might be unnecessary conflict – for example women demanding equal opportunities. In some instances, aggrieved ex-employees might go to a court of law, so there would be an issue of reputation and lack of social responsibility.”

Description

Managing Diversity and Inclusion: An International Perspective offers an interdisciplinary and global view on how organisations can better manage and benefit from diversity. This second edition builds on the success of its predecessor and features expanded content from scholars and practitioners.

Chapter 1: Sociological and psychological perspectives on diversity (Lilian Otaye-Ebede and Loliya Akobo)
Chapter 2: Leadership and diversity management in a global context (Clifford Lewis and Ahu Tatli)
Chapter 3: Policy and practice of diversity management in the workplace (Darren T. Baker and Elisabeth K. Kelan)
Chapter 4: Gender equality in the workplace (Faiza Ali)
Chapter 5: Race and ethnicity in the workplace (Kurt April and Jawad Syed)
Chapter 6: Age diversity: Greying the Workforce (Justine Ferrer and Peter A. Murray)
Chapter 7: Disabled persons in the workplace (Charmine E.J. Härtel, Anna Krzeminska and Justin Carrero)
Chapter 8: Religious diversity in the workplace (Selçuk Uygur and Erhan Aydin)
Chapter 9: Sexual minorities in the workplace (Mustafa Bilgehan Ozturk and Nick Rumens)
Chapter 10: Work–life balance (Jawad Syed)
Chapter 11: Intersectionality in the workplace (Harry J. Van Buren III)
Chapter 12: Social class and diversity (Memoona Tariq and Jawad Syed)
Chapter 13: Conclusion: Future of diversity management (Mustafa Özbilgin and Jawad Syed)

Reviews

“Managing Diversity and Inclusion: An International Perspective could not have come at a better time. In tandem with an increasing emphasis on the globalisation of organisations, products and services, there is a critical need for a book that will expand how students and managers alike understand diversity and inclusion beyond the context of the US… Personally, I find this book a piece of work that is both academically valuable and a pleasurable reading… I recommend this book to human resource and diversity management practitioners, policy makers and scholars alike to develop a critical and contextual understanding of contemporary issues of diversity and inclusion.”
— Dennis Gabriel Pepple, European Management Review, Published On: 2016-08-19

“The book edited by our colleagues, Jawad Syed and Mustafa Ozbilgin, is quite refreshing and gives some important critical reflections on the issue of diversity in our contemporary organizations and societies. It deserves to be read by all of us who are interested and deal with Diversity Issues.”
— Jean-François Chanlat

“This book is an invaluable resource to help employers, managers and policy makers understand the challenges of moving forward in the diversity and inclusion space, and the ways in which to respond to different cultural contexts. It is a much needed piece of work which draws together various experiences and perspective on diversity and inclusion, to help really start thinking, reflecting and moving forward in a way that is not only socially responsible and ethical but also business-oriented. Combining academic work across various disciplines and cultures with numerous organisational examples, the book provides fresh insight to scholars and practitioners to understand this topic and be more confident, proactive and inclusive in their approach to diversity, rather than being constrained and limited to minimal legal compliance.”
— Dianah Worman

“Understanding of the depth and complexity of diversity management has grown considerably over the last decade. From a discourse which focused primarily on individualised rights and treatment, academic and professional thinking and writing has built on growing perspectives of workplace and societal cultures and hegemonies so as to inform discussion on addressing some of the more chronic, long-standing issues of under-representation and disadvantage. It is increasingly understood that successful strategies to improve the breadth and depth of diversity in organisations requires pro-active and compelling thinking and understanding, not just a list of dos and don’ts! The authors of this book have detailed and long-standing work and experience of these issues. The book brings together a variety of approaches which will add important context to current issues and debate.”
— David Ruebain

“Some really useful chapters.”
— Dr Rachael Fell-Chambers, Department of Education and Learning, Bishop Grosseteste University, July 9, 2021

“Managing Diversity and Inclusion Second Edition: An International Perspective. Valuable book to read and for referencing material.”
— Mrs Emma Marie Punter, Health and Social Care Department, East Coast College (Great Yarmouth), June 10, 2020

“Nice easy book to navigate through. Great resource.”
— Mrs Emma Marie Punter, Health and Social Care Department, East Coast College (Great Yarmouth), March 16, 2020

“The book Managing Diversity and Inclusion is an essential and comprehensive book in the leadership field. It covers the main topics in the description of many courses and it could be used in multiple ways.”
— Professor Farzaneh Soleimani Zoghi, Business Administration, SRH University, January 13, 2021

“Comprehensive, very relevant for our courses, interesting combination of authors and universities (non-American).”
— Dr Anne Keizer, Hotel Management School, NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, April 19, 2021

“Comprehensive and up to date text.”
— Mr Ronald Caddow, Department of Business Management, Glasgow Caledonian University, February 24, 2020

About the Editors

Jawad Syed is Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the Suleman Dawood School of Business, Lahore University of Management Sciences. His main research interests include international human resource management, diversity management, business ethics and organisational knowledge. He obtained his PhD in Business from Macquarie University and completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education at the University of Kent. He also attended the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education (MLE) at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. He has written more than 75 articles and book chapters in journals including the British Journal of Management, Human Relations, Business Ethics Quarterly, and Gender, Work and Organization. His books include: Employee Motivation in Saudi Arabia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018); Human Resource Management: A Global and Critical Text (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017), and Faith-based Violence and Deobandi Militancy in Pakistan (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016).

Mustafa Özbilgin is Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Brunel Business School, London. He also holds two international positions: Co-Chaire Management et Diversité at Université Paris Dauphine and Professor of Management at Koç University in Istanbul. His research focuses on equality, diversity and inclusion at work from comparative and relational perspectives. His work has a focus on changing policy and practice of equality and diversity management at work. He serves as the editor-in-chief of the European Management Review (EMR), the official journal of the European Academy of Management (EURAM).

Publisher web site: https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/managing-diversity-and-inclusion/book261950

https://www.amazon.com/Managing-Diversity-Inclusion-Jawad-Syed/dp/1446294641

South Asian Academy of Management