Diversity and the Bottom Line: Prospering in the Global Economy
Author: Pamela K. Henry
List Price: $19.95
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ISBN: 0974003018
Publisher: TurnKey Press (May, 2003)
Sales Rank: 1,645,688
Average Customer Rating: 4.83 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
This is a great resource book!
This book has everything a person interested in the field of diversity would want and it's very comprehensive. First, it has probably the best business case for diversity I've ever read. I really liked the fact that the author stuck to the bottom line implications of diversity and didn't stray into the philosophical or moral issues surrounding diversity. She really tells companies how they can leverage diversity to increase their profits. Second, the author's style is very straightforward. She supplements her arguments with facts and current statistics, and not leaps of faith. If you look at the end notes, you will see just how much research has gone into writing this book, which really adds to its credibility. Her chapter on the war for talent was especially compelling. She tells us that the shortage of skilled, technical labor is increasing. Worse, the U.S. is producing far fewer engineers needed to narrow this gap than many Asian and European competitors. The data the author presents is both convincing and scary at the same time. The numerous examples of costly mistakes companies have made by not understanding the cultures of the customers they were trying to sell to is interesting reading. It serves as a call to action for companies doing business in the global economy. The author does a good job of outlining the cost benefits of hiring right the first time. Replacement and retraining costs come right off the bottom line. Since the emerging workforce is increasingly diverse, her insights on how to source and recruit diverse talent are valuable. I also liked the chapter on creativity and how diversity creates greater bandwidth in experiences and perspectives that makes for better problem-solving and innovation. The author likens diversity to the "DNA" of creativity. Having no diversity at the table, she warns, is missing an opportunity to arrive at the "most elegant" solution. The tools that she includes in the second part of the book are awesome. Like I said, this is a great resource book for anyone interested in starting or managing a diversity program.
Rating: 5 out of 5
A great resource book for diversity!
This book has everything a person interested in the field of diversity would want and it's very comprehensive. First, it has probably the best business case for diversity I've ever read. I really liked the fact that the author stuck to the bottom line implications of diversity and didn't stray into the philosophical or moral issues surrounding diversity. She really tells companies how they can leverage diversity to increase their profits. Second, the author's style is very straightforward. She supplements her arguments with facts and current statistics, and not leaps of faith. If you look at the end notes, you will see just how much research has gone into writing this book, which really adds to its credibility. Her chapter on the war for talent was especially compelling. She tells us that the shortage of skilled, technical labor is increasing. Worse, the U.S. is producing far fewer engineers needed to narrow this gap than many Asian and European competitors. The data the author presents is both convincing and scary at the same time. The numerous examples of costly mistakes companies have made by not understanding the cultures of the customers they were trying to sell to is interesting reading. It serves as a call to action for companies doing business in the global economy. The author does a good job of outlining the cost benefits of hiring right the first time. Replacement and retraining costs come right off the bottom line. Since the emerging workforce is increasingly diverse, her insights on how to source and recruit diverse talent are valuable. I also liked the chapter on creativity and how diversity creates greater bandwidth in experiences and perspectives that makes for better problem-solving and innovation. The author likens diversity to the "DNA" of creativity. Having no diversity at the table, she warns, is missing an opportunity to arrive at the "most elegant" solution. The tools that she includes in the second part of the book are awesome. Like I said, this is a great resource book for anyone interested in starting or managing a diversity program.
Rating: 4 out of 5
review
I'm tired of the hoopla about diversity. So when my colleague at work loaned me this book and encouraged me to read it, I did so reluctantly. In hindsight, I have to say I like the way the author got me involved from the beginning. She asks the reader to assume the role of a CEO whose company is in trouble. She wants to take me on a "journey" to help me understand how diversity can help turn my company around. I found that just a little hokey. But by business imperative #10, I was surprised at how the "journey" concept really had worked. I liked the idea that I actually did turn my company around and that it was selected as one of Fortune's most admired companies. That was clever on the part of the author. The reader is provided with lots of statistics on population trends and emerging market trends. It was almost too much, but the author certainly makes her point that the world's complexion is changing. That did get my attention. Although the statistics may have gotten a little exhaustive, her summary highlights at the end of each chapter are a great idea. Crib notes for executives, or anyone else, who don't want to take the time to read the entire book. She makes the important facts easy to retrieve. I thought the best chapters had to do with creativity and the war for talent. There was really some good stuff in there.The author's style is very direct and matter-of-fact, a plus for this subject which often gets emotionalized or overly philosophical for my taste. So, overall, I would say that this was a good read about a subject that was not of real interest to me, at least until now. I would recommend it highly to managers and human resource professionals.
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