Managing race/ethnicity and gender diversity in the context of total quality management

This document serves as a means of enlightening organizations that are not practicing TQM/continuous improvement or managing race/ethnicity and gender diversity or that are practicing both but want to benchmark their practices against other organizations used in this study or against the program the researcher designed to assist organizations in the management or race/ethnicity and gender diversity about managing race/ethnicity and gender diversity in the context of large-scale organizational change efforts. Both TQM and race/ethnicity and gender diversity are defined in this document. Also discussed are the reasons why organizations should manage race/ethnicity and gender diversity as a means of improving overall organizational performance.

This document also contains an extensive body of knowledge review that discusses both phenomena extensively. Also outlined in this document is the research methodology used by this researcher to collect the necessary data for carrying out this research. Discussed in the research methodology section are the handling of the logistics~ practicalities, ethical issues and confidentiality related to entry into the organizations used in this research and data collection while in the organizations. This research methodology chapter also contains the data analysis techniques the research used to analyze the data.

In the results chapter of this document, the research presents a detailed case description about the data found in each organization pertaining to the research. The detailed case description contains: a brief overview of the organization, its TQM efforts, the endeavors that the organization uses to manage race/ethnicity and gender diversity, the means the organization uses to achieve the elements (working together; empowerment, participation, and involvement; and communication) that relate to both TQM and diversity management; and a summary. Also in this chapter is a comparison of each organization's endeavors and means to the other organizations used in the study.

Chapter 5 contains the conclusions and interpretations of the general findings pertaining to the information rendered from this research pertaining to how the organizations used manage race/ethnicity and gender diversity in a TQM environment.

Chapter 6 also contains the program this researcher developed to assist organizations in managing race/ethnicity and gender diversity in the context of large-scale organizational change efforts aimed at improving organizational performance. The information the researcher used to compile this chapter is based on the data, facts, information, knowledge, past and present experiences acquired while doing the research endeavor, and while a graduate student at Virginia Tech.