Diversity Lessons Go the Distance
True lessons in diversity can be difficult to bring inside the classroom. That changed when a group of Bentley students collaborated online with peers at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Md.
The exercise in virtual teamwork emerged from a redesign of the required Human Behavior and Organizations course, launched in fall 2010 as part of the new General Business core.
“We wanted to teach the class through a diversity lens, examining issues and dynamics that result from the increasing diversity of the work force,” explains Bentley Professor of Management Duncan Spelman, who served as course coordinator along with Vicki LaFarge, associate dean for academic affairs and former Management Department chair.
To ensure that students’ study of the issues would be more than academic, Spelman and LaFarge developed a project for teams that were themselves diverse.
The pair worked with Earl Avery, special assistant to the president and ombudsman, to identify an academic partner for the assignment. Avery drew on Bentley’s membership in the Management Education Alliance, which comprises representatives from historically black colleges and universities and a few majority institutions, to recommend Morgan State.
“Historically black colleges don’t typically interact with traditionally white institutions, so I looked forward to seeing the results,” observes David Zoogah, the Morgan State professor of business administration whose students would work with Spelman’s.
Together, the professors created 22 teams of four to six students, each with members from both universities. Their assignment: Complete a presentation on an organizational behavior topic such as motivation, intergroup conflict or organizational design. One project, for example, explored barriers to individual and interpersonal communication and how to overcome them. Another focused on stereotypes in the workplace and how to avoid being labeled.
Initial Hurdles
Though texting and social media have made virtual communication ubiquitous for Gen Y, students from both universities had early concerns about technological hurdles.
“I’m a visual learner and the online compilation of brainstorming ideas and project proposals was difficult,” recalls Bentley student Carla Borrelli ’13. “I had to adjust in order to offer my best effort to my team.”
The students’ challenges will sound familiar to anyone who does business in the global marketplace. For example, coordinating schedules: The Bentley contingent was studying full time, while most Morgan State students were holding full-time jobs and attending school part time. There was also a learning curve for the project’s Centra web conferencing software.
“It took some trial and error for us to be able to use the software and take advantage of its features,” notes Sheila Okororie, who took the course at Morgan State during her senior year.
Personality, too, came into play. “Since group members did not know each other and had never met face-to-face, it was difficult to determine roles within the group,” says Borrelli, a Corporate Finance and Accounting major. “We didn’t want to overpower one another and establish leadership roles so early into the project.”
Strengths in Difference
While race presented an obvious facet of diversity, others also came to light. Regional differences (Baltimore vs. Boston) and differences in institution type (public vs. private) became additional fodder for class discussion.
“We explored models like the ‘ladder of inference’ that happens so often in the workplace, as people reach generalizations from a small piece of abstract information,” explains Spelman, who was Bentley’s director of diversity from 2005 to 2009, after 12 years as co-coordinator of diversity initiatives. “It took students’ understanding to a deeper level.”
Students’ reflections suggest that Spelman’s observation is on point.
“Our different backgrounds made each of us think and analyze information differently. I enjoyed hearing the varying opinions of each group member,” says Baltimore native Okororie, who was surprised to discover cultural differences on her own team, with a Morgan State classmate who grew up in Trinidad. “It was a good example of how to interact with different individuals to achieve a common goal.”
Borrelli agrees. “Initially, I was nervous about the project and partnering up with students from a university hundreds of miles away. I learned not to buy into stereotypes and to keep an open mind and stay positive, even when I am hesitant about beginning a task such as this.
“Our team worked incredibly well together,” she adds. “Our meetings were not simply work related. We discussed other things, made jokes, and truly became friends.”