Chapter 8: Managing Diversity and Inclusion Through Managerial Interpersonal Skills (Mips)

There is no doubt that we are living and working in a more diverse environment today than ever before. The labor force of the United States and other industrialized countries is increasingly diverse in terms of race and ethnicity, gender, and age, among other dimensions (e.g., Berger, Essers, & Himi, 2017; Roberson, 2012; Truxillo, Fraccaroli, Yaldiz, & Zaniboni, 2017). A variety of macro-level trends from globalization to technological advancement and global labor force migration are related to the increasing multiculturalism of the modern workplace (Kossek & Pichler, 2007). While human resources are perhaps an organization’s most important asset (Barney & Wright, 1998), there is conflicting evidence as to the benefits of diversity in human resources (Kochan et al., 2003). The academic and business presses are replete with suggestions as to how to manage diversity and inclusion. These often focus on certain policies (e.g., nondiscrimination policies, Pichler, Beenen, Livingston, & Riggio, 2018), practices (e.g., diversity training, King, Dawson, Kravitz, & Gulick, 2012), change initiatives (Stevens, Plant, & Sanchez-Burks, 2008), or the role of top executive support (Ng, 2008; Pichler, Ruggs, & Trau, 2017) as means by which to manage diversity and inclusion.