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Evaluation Form for Presentations/Managing Diversity
Team ____________________________
_
Written Assignment Options
Opening
Effective attention-getting strategy
Articulation of purpose
Brief discussion of credibility
Preview of main points
Kinesthetically involved audience
Kinesthetic Delivery
Used eye contact and gestures to engage audience
Matched voice volume/inflection and facial
expressions to reinforce the spoken message
Avoided distracting mannerisms
Used movement and varied location to reinforce
key elements of the message
Used a natural conversational delivery style—
extemporaneous, not memorized
Engaged audience appropriately and modified
based on audience reaction
Verbal Presentation
Used logical, easy to follow structure
Used smooth transitions between topics
Used a combination of evidence types
(facts, statistics, examples, stories, testimony)
Clearly referenced sources
Covered history, research, strengths/weaknesses,
and recommendations
Graphic Presentation
Used appropriate visuals for the situation
Visuals were simple, readable, and professional
Presented in a skillful, non-distracting manner
Closing
Summarized main points
Ended with an effective concluding device that
created a sense of closure
Concluding message was memorable
Handled questions and challenges thoughtfully,
candidly, and authoritatively
Final Grade:
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[PAPER ASSIGNMENTS]
INDIVIDUAL PAPER/OPTION 1:
Analysis of Diversity Article (Length: 3 Pages)
1. Task. Locate an article that addresses the issue of managing diversity in organizations that you
find particularly interesting. Examine the diversity issue within the article using concepts from
the reading.
2. Concepts. Use approximately three terms/concepts from the textbook’s “Introduction” and/or
Chapters 1 through 4 to analyze the specific diversity issue as discussed in the article. Your task is
to examine the article’s main claims in light of the material from your textbook; in this sense, the
textbook material becomes a lens through which you examine the issue in the article and your
own stance in relation to this issue.
Concepts you may incorporate into your paper include, but are not limited to, the following:
• access-and-legitimacy paradigm • integration-and-learning paradigm
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) • non-dominant groups
• Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) • organizational dimensions of diversity
• Affirmative Action • Pregnancy Discrimination Act
• business case for diversity • prejudice
• discrimination • primary dimensions of diversity
• discrimination-and-fairness paradigm • quid pro quo sexual harassment
• diversity • reasonable accommodation
• diversity management • resistance paradigm
• diversity paradox • secondary dimensions of diversity
• dominant group • sexual harassment
• dynamism • stereotyping
• the eight protected classes • systems
• essentialism • Title VII
• hostile work environment • valuing diversity
•integrated approach to diversity management (all components including leadership
commitment, communication, recruitment and retention, diversity affecting work outcomes,
metrics/DROI, external relations, and so forth)
3. Critical claim. Your article should have a main diversity issue; craft your critical claim in
reference to this issue. The critical claim should reflect your voice—your unique
stance/contribution to the discussion of diversity.
4. Sources. When looking for an article that interests you, there are many magazines and journals
from which to choose: DiversityInc. Magazine, HR Executive, Fortune, Forbes, Newsweek, Time,
Harvard Business Review, etc. Furthermore, you may be able to find an interesting article in a local
or national newspaper. Remember the helpful resource of diversity Web sites: vault.com,
workindex.com, diversityinc.com, diversity_executive.com, and so forth.
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5. Referencing. Be sure to define the terms/concepts that you wish to incorporate. When you do
any type of referencing (quoting or paraphrasing borrowed material), you must use either the
MLA or APA style manual.
INDIVIDUAL PAPER/OPTION 2:
Diversity Leader/double spaced (Length: 3 Pages)
Task. Your task in this assignment is to locate and examine an organizational leader who manages
diversity effectively (see leaders highlighted in the leadership exercise found in Part III of the textbook
on page 255; for example, Kenneth Chenault—Amex; Louis Gerstner—IBM; and Andrea Jung—Avon).
Concepts. Use approximately three terms/concepts from the textbook’s “Introduction” and/or the
Chapters 1 through 4 as a framework to analyze the specific diversity management leader. Within this
framework, the textbook material becomes a lens through which you examine the leader’s style,
philosophy, and diversity successes/challenges in relation to how he/she manages diversity within
his/her organizations.
Concepts you may incorporate into your paper include, but are not limited to, the following:
Access-and-legitimacy paradigm Linkage of diversity initiatives to bus. case
Affirmative Action Non-dominant groups
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Organizational dimensions of diversity
Communication Pregnancy Discrimination Act
Discrimination Prejudice
Discrimination-and-fairness paradigm Primary dimensions of diversity
Diversity as Integrated (all components) Quid pro quo sexual harassment
Diversity management Reasonable accommodation
Diversity paradox Recruitment and retention
Dominant group Resistance paradigm
Dynamism Secondary dimensions of diversity
Eight protected classes Sexual harassment
Essentialism Stereotyping
External relationships Systems
Hostile work environment Title VII
Incorporation of diversity into main work of org. Valuing diversity
Integration-and-learning paradigm Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act
Leadership commitment
Questions to Guide Research. As you write your paper, discuss/examine the following questions (feel
free to incorporate any other applicable information):
Background. What is the professional background of this leader? Is there any personal
information or experience that led to his or her passion for managing diversity?
Status of Organization. What was the organizational role of diversity before the leader
became a part of the organization?
Philosophy. What is the leader’s philosophy on diversity management?
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Strategies. What strategies did the leader implement to transform the way in which the
organization managed diversity?
Goals. What were the diversity-related goals implemented by the leader? What are his or
her future goals related to diversity?
Current Status. What is the current status of the organization in terms of diversity in
particular and overall success in general?
Critical claim. You should make a main point, or critical claim, in relation to diversity and leadership in
your paper. The critical claim should reflect your voice—your unique stance/contribution to the
discussion of leadership and diversity.
Referencing. Be sure to define the concepts that you incorporate from the textbook by clearly and
accurately quoting or paraphrasing. When you do any type of referencing (quoting or paraphrasing
borrowed material) from any outside sources, you must use either the MLA or APA style manual.
HELPFUL HINTS FOR WRITING INDIVIDUAL PAPER/OPTION 2
1. Reread the directions articulated in the “paper description” section of your syllabus.
2. Choose a business leader—known for effective diversity management—who interests
you. Locate three sources on this leader that specifically address his/her style and
philosophy of managing diversity.
3. Choose related concepts/aspects of the readings and use these ideas or concepts to
examine/discuss/analyze/critique the leader. You will, of course, need a comprehensive
understanding of the reading; this means that if you have not completed the assigned
reading, you will have difficulty writing this essay.
4. Organizationally, you should have an introduction, body, and conclusion.
5. In the introduction:
a. Begin with general information about your topic in light of business and
diversity.
Then, get more specific as you move into your critical claim. As a way to
formulate a critical claim, use the phrase: “In this paper, I will maintain
that . . . .” This will help you to make a claim rather than just have a
discussion in your paper. This claim is a reflection of your own voice—
what YOU want to say about this topic in relation to the leader and the
readings.
Note: Your claim should reflect your stance on the issue of diversity and leadership in
general or diversity and the specific leader in particular. In other words, you may make a
general claim about diversity management or you may make a specific claim about
diversity—reflecting a specific issue related to the organizational leader.
c. Offer a brief organizational setup of how you will go about discussing and
proving this claim: (i.e. “To prove this claim, I will discuss the following . . .”)
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6. In the body of your essay, you should include:
a. Offer full explanations and definitions of concepts. Include a brief definition and,
if necessary, an example to clarify your definition. When citing your sources, you
should use either MLA or APA formatting.
b. Write in fully developed paragraphs. For example, one sentence does not
constitute one paragraph; a paragraph is approximately five sentences. Also, the
content of the paragraphs should flow. Further, incorporate transitional
sentences to improve your coherence between paragraphs.
c. Generally speaking, in the body of your essay, you should examine the
organizational leader using the reading, the outside sources, and of course your
own voice.
7. In your conclusion, you should:
a. Summarize your discussion and main points.
b. Restate your critical claim.
c. End with a sense of closure—why was this discussion important?
8. Note: I grade on three levels—1) the strength of your critical claim; 2) the strength of the
paper’s content—how you prove the claim and explain your ideas; 3) grammar, referencing,
and writing style.
INDIVIDUAL PAPER/OPTION 3:
ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATION (Length: 5 Pages)
1. Task. Your task in this assignment is to examine an organization that has had a problem/issue with
managing diversity. Within the context of this assignment, “problem” can be defined as charges of
discrimination—gender, race, age, disabilities, sexual orientation, religion, etc. Or, the organization
may be struggling with how to manage diversity effectively. You must include at least five outside
sources, and they should represent a variety of types of sources.
2. Companies. You may choose one of the following companies, or you may choose another
company—you must, however, approve this choice with your instructor.
Amtrak (discrimination: African Americans)
Boeing (discrimination: women and African Americans)
CIA (discrimination: women and people of color)
FBI (discrimination: women and people of color)
NASCAR (discrimination: African Americans; current situation—
transforming their image and expanding their audience via diversity)
NFL (discrimination: African American head coaches)
NHL (discrimination: African Americans)
Wal-Mart (discrimination: multiple non-dominant groups)
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3. Part One
• The first section of your paper is a description of the problem(s) and how the
problem(s) developed in this company. Was it over a long period of time, or did the
problem emerge through one specific incident? Be sure to use details in your
discussion.
• In this section, describe all of the different methods the company used to manage its
problem. Describe, in detail, how the company dealt with the complexities of the
situation. In addition, describe the company’s current status.
4. Part Two
• Use your own expertise to analyze the situation (you do not need to answer all of
these questions in your essay; use them to guide your thought process).
What could the company have done differently?
How could they have avoided this problem?
What did they do effectively/ineffectively?
What strategies should the company have implemented to manage the
diversity problem/crisis?
Has the company really recovered? If so, how and if not, why not?
Does the crisis represent a leadership problem, and/or a management
problem?
• While examining the specific diversity case, utilize the textbook material as a
FRAMEWORK for your analysis. Specifically, integrate the diversity management
paradigms as found in Opportunities and Challenges of Workplace Diversity (i.e.
resistance, discrimination-and-fairness, access-and-legitimacy, and integration-and-
learning) as a theoretical framework for your discussion.
Note: Section One and Section Two should reflect a coherent, balanced discussion. You may write
the two sections separately, or you may INTEGRATE the two sections.
5. Sources. When looking for an article that interests you, there are many magazines and
academic journals from which to choose: DiversityInc. Magazine, HR Executive, Fortune, Forbes,
Newsweek, Time, Harvard Business Review, etc. Furthermore, you may be able to find an interesting
article in a local or national newspaper. Remember the helpful resource of diversity Web sites:
vault.com, workindex.com, diversityinc.com, etc.
6. Referencing. Be sure to define the concepts that you incorporate from the textbook by clearly
and accurately quoting or paraphrasing. When you do any type of referencing (quoting or
paraphrasing borrowed material), you must use either the MLA or APA style manual.
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[THE WRITING WORKSHOP]
Note: Students must bring a rough draft of the assignment to class in hard copy form.
Phase One: Review your paper expectations and discuss how you want students to perform peer
evaluations. When evaluating each other’s papers, what should the students look for? This is an
appropriate time to review Dr. Robyn Walker’s (Marshall School of Business, University of
Southern California) dimensions of effective writing and the feedback sheet (shown on next page).
Phase Two: Have each student perform a peer evaluation with another student. In terms of
providing feedback, have the students fill out the “feedback sheet” and write any other necessary
comments on the hard copy itself. I instruct students to:
First: read the paper first quickly to get a sense of the paper;
Second: read the paper a second time examining topics such as the critical claim in the
introduction, overall organization (introduction, body, conclusion), the use of evidence
and citations throughout, and overall professionalism.
Third: read the paper with a close eye on grammar including: sentence structure,
punctuation, spelling, word choice, and paragraph construction.
Phase Three: Have the students explain the written feedback verbally. They should begin with
the general strengths of the paper and then explain areas of weakness.
Phase Four: As the students critique and edit each other’s papers, the instructor should take the
time to read and provide feedback on each student’s opening paragraph. If the students are not
prepared to have you read their opening paragraph during the workshop, have them email just
their introductions to you so you can make sure they are on the right track.
[Note: Groups of three also work well. Have the students bring two hard copies of their paper to
class so that they can have two group members edit their document—two sets of eyes are better
than one.]
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[DIMENSIONS OF EFFECTIVE WRITING]
DIMENSIONS OF EFFECTIVE WRITING
Note: The following descriptions of the elements of effective writing are geared toward business
writing. If the writing assignment is more academic in nature, the instructor should review each
of the dimensions in light of how they relate to academic writing. We have offered a few helpful
hints under each section.
Task
Business writing: The “task” dimension evaluates how well the writer fulfills the assigned task
and reader expectations. It focuses on how well the writer presents specific recommendations
backed by support of the action. It also includes how well the writer interprets the assignment—
figuring out what is appropriate for the type of writing, the readers, and the situation.
Academic writing: In terms of accomplishing the “task” in academic writing, you should ask:
“Did the student follow the directions and accomplish all aspects of the assignment?” More
specifically, has the student effectively incorporated the textbook material, the outside sources,
and his or her own voice throughout the discussion?
Audience
Business writing: The “audience” dimension takes a reader perspective in articulating necessity,
desirability, or usefulness of the conclusions/recommendations. The writer must address possible
reader objections/concerns and must explicate reader benefits.
Be certain you know your specific audience—who is your reader? Orient your document toward
the reader. Think about how the reader will use the information and about what specific evidence
the reader needs to be convinced.
Academic writing: In terms of writing to the correct “audience,” the students should understand
that while you are the primary audience, they still must take the time to define terminology,
explain quotes, and reference correctly. Your expectations as the primary audience should be
clearly articulated in the Writing Workshops.
Coherence/Organization
Business writing: The “coherence/organization” dimension examines how well the ordering of
information supports the purpose. A coherent analytical document is built around a controlling
idea that is logically developed; it holds together. The reader can readily comprehend the
document because the text is unified and complete.
A writer facilitates this sense of coherence by providing sufficient context for interpreting the
piece of writing (such as “in my training at the X Company”); indicating the relevance of the
context to the situation (such as “causes of this problem”); and explaining the relationships
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using cohesive devices that connect words, sentences, and paragraphs together, such as
transitional words (for example, “therefore,”“yet,” and “however”).
Textual devices by themselves, however, do not ensure that the underlying meaning will be clear
to the reader. Although the factors contributing to coherence may be difficult to pinpoint, readers
can intuitively distinguish texts that are not fully coherent (often responding with “I don’t quite
get it”; or “It doesn’t stand together”). A coherent piece of writing provides all the essential
information the assumed reader will need at every point to comprehend the meaning—usually
without rereading. If many passages remain unclear even after rereading, the text usually lacks
coherence.
Academic writing: In terms of “coherence” and “organization,” students often have difficulty
crafting an effective introductory paragraph. We suggest breaking it down this way: 1) begin
your first sentence with general information about your topic; 2) get more specific as you move
toward your critical claim; 3) offer a brief organizational setup of how you will prove this claim.
In terms of the body of the paper, it is important to remind students to write in fully developed
paragraphs; one sentence does not typically constitute one paragraph; a paragraph is
approximately five sentences. Importantly, overall content should flow—from sentence to
sentence and from paragraph to paragraph. Further, coherence is improved through the
incorporation of transitional sentences. In the concluding paragraph, students should: 1)
summarize their discussion and main points; 2) restate their critical claim; 3) end with a sense of
closure—why was this discussion important?
Content/Reasoning
Business writing: The “context/reasoning” dimension examines how adequate and appropriate
your claims and support are and how logically convincing the reader finds what you say. This
dimension involves the extent to which the document maintains a clear and consistent direction
or focus. All information should support clearly related topics that are guided by a central
purpose. A claim is a viewpoint or position statement, an opinion that the writer is trying to
support, or a conclusion that the writer is trying to establish.
Support (e.g., data, examples, comparisons, etc.) provides evidence or proof for claims. Often
times, the writer must provide clear definitions and explanations when substantiating claims. A
reader who is easily persuaded requires less evidence than one who is reluctant to accept your
position or perhaps even hostile to it. Do not expect your reader to “read your mind” regarding
where to find information or how to relate data and/or other information to your claim. Check to
see that claims are explained and supported with sufficient and relevant evidence, clearly
referenced, described, and easily located.
Academic writing: In terms of “content,” students need to focus on integrating the material from
the textbook in addition to the other outside sources in a way that makes sense to the reader. The
students should offer full explanations and definitions of concepts, and if necessary, an example
to clarify the definition. Students need to remain focused on their critical claim when developing
the content of their papers; proving their claim is the essence of their task.
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Verbal Expression
Business writing: The “verbal expression” dimension evaluates how well the “voice” of the
writer matches the writing situation. In your documents, the style and tone will be business-like,
professional, and positive.
Academic writing: In terms of verbal expression, the tone should be professional yet critical in
nature.
Visual Impression
The “visual impression” dimension evaluates the effective use of design and format options.
How the document impacts readers visually—overall appearance, design features (headings and
lists), layout, graphics, use of space—can help or hinder their response.
Academic writing: Visually, academic writing is typically double-spaced with one-inch margins.
In addition, in lengthy papers students may want to incorporate headings and subheadings to
enhance the organizational quality of their papers.
Mechanics/Error Interference
Business writing: The “mechanics/error” dimension assesses if errors interfere with a writer’s
clarity and credibility. A writer’s communication may be judged partly on how closely the
language follows conventions in sentence structure, grammar, usage, mechanics, spelling, etc.
Severe and frequent errors (and in some circumstances even milder forms and degrees of error)
can negatively impact a writer’s communication and/or credibility. All errors are not equally
intrusive or offensive to all readers, however. Below, errors are categorized by severity,
beginning with the most and ending with the least severe.
Disruptive Errors (e.g., unintelligible sentences, unclear pronoun references, incorrect
verb forms, run-on sentences, wrong words) tend to make the reader’s task more difficult,
even intruding on the reading process. Disruptive errors may also interfere with
communication, preventing the reader from comprehending what the writer means.
Credibility Errors (e.g., faulty subject/verb agreements, some punctuation errors, spelling
errors) do not usually disrupt communication, but they tend to reflect negatively on the
writer’s credibility, reducing the reader’s confidence in what a writer has to say.
Credibility errors become serious errors if they cause the readers to judge a writer’s
character or management ability by the frequency or mere presence of certain violations
of Standard English.
Etiquette Errors (e.g., substituting “I” for “me” after prepositions; substituting “someone
left their report,” instead of his/her; misplacing apostrophes; confusing it’s and its) are
errors that many readers—but not all—hardly notice, especially if reading quickly for
meaning. However, etiquette errors can reduce a writer’s credibility, especially with
those readers who are concerned about professional image or those who believe that
critical thinking is reflected in the observance of grammar rules.
