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Section VI

SECTION VI

MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DIVERSITY

VI - 1

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46. Leadership, Employee Resource Groups and Social Responsibility

LEADERSHIP, EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUPS, AND SOCIAL


RESPONSIBILITY:
WHAT ORGANIZATIONS CAN DO TO MANAGE DIVERSITY
Carol P. Harvey
Assumption College

Goals

• To examine corporate diversity leadership


• To consider the role of employee resource groups as organizational assets
• To understand the importance of supplier diversity programs
• To analyze corporate social responsibility and philanthropy initiatives

Outline of Key Points


I. Diversity leadership
A. Corporate level leadership provides vision and resources
B. CEO must value diversity
C. Board should be diverse and support diversity
1. Board membership in U.S. is homogeneous
a. May be harder to recruit diverse members
b. Networking and social capital issues
c. Board needs specific skills
2. Diverse board members need support
3. Different styles need to be valued
D. Chief Diversity Officers (CDO)
1. Responsible for strategic diversity leadership
2. Should report to CEO or a vice-president

II. Affinity groups/ employee resource groups (ERGs)


A. Provide organizational communities for diverse individuals
1. Affinity groups focus on socialization and mentoring
2. ERGs also utilize employees as a business resource
a. Product development
b. Recruitment of diverse employees
c. Marketing advice for diverse consumers
d. Can be a competitive advantage in global and diverse
markets

VI - 2
46. Leadership, Employee Resource Groups and Social Responsibility

B. Originated in the 1960’s at Xerox


C. Can increase morale
D. Require guidelines and open membership

III. Supplier diversity programs – buying from minority and women owned businesses
A Help develop minority and women owned small businesses
1. Tier I – direct contractors
2. Tier II – sell to Tier I
B. Often involves more than purchasing
1. Training and development
2. AT&T program
C. To be Tier I & Tier II requires certification by independent agencies

IV. Corporate social responsibility & philanthropy


A. Charitable giving to organizations whose mission includes serving
diverse populations
B. Employees can often volunteer on company time
C. Often linked to corporate mission
D. Provides tax breaks and positive public relations

Discussion Questions and Answers

1. Why is corporate and board involvement so crucial to the business case for
diversity?

The business case for diversity means that having a diverse workforce can and should
benefit the organization in some way (new creative ideas, lower employee turnover,
development of products for diverse markets, understanding languages and cultures
for global competitiveness, etc.). Diversity will only become an operational value if
there is the corporate and board leadership to make this happen. Managers do what
the organization values to keep their jobs and to get ahead. If the corporate officers
and the board are not willing to adapt to the needs of more diverse workers, clients
and customers, and to provide the financial resources for new programs, etc. it will
not happen.

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46. Leadership, Employee Resource Groups and Social Responsibility

2. Besides the legal considerations, why does locating the responsibility for
diversity initiatives in Human Resources limit the effectiveness of diversity
initiatives in an organization?
When organizations assign the responsibility for diversity initiatives to the Human
Resources department, the tendency is to focus the work more on the numbers of
diverse people and avoiding lawsuits. In most companies, Human Resources is a staff
department without line, i.e., direct, authority. In addition, if diversity is important
enough to an organization, it needs a distinct identity and sufficient financial and
people resources to accomplish its goals.

3. ` How can corporate boards which want more diverse members, recruit good
candidates?
Board membership is often as much about “who” you know as it is about “what” you
know. So, to diversify a board, first, it must be made clear to the members that the
board is looking for diversity. Second, each member should be responsible for
identifying possible good candidates by networking through his company,
community organizations and his other memberships to find the best candidates. In
no case should someone who is unqualified be appointed because of gender, race, etc.
That will only set the person up for failure. Once a few diverse candidates are on the
board, they can broaden the board’s network even further.

4. How can an organization minimize backlash and conflict about ERG


membership?
ERGs can be perceived as exclusionary by outsiders. To avoid this, ERGs should be
clear about their missions and goals, share progress with non-members, and be open
to any person with an interest. For example, an African American ERG should
welcome a white woman who is married to an African American man. She may be
able to contribute valuable insights and also learn from the discussion. It is
particularly important that white men, who usually have more power in
organizations, feel that membership in an ERG is open to them. With multiple social
identities, a white man might be interested in a generational ERG, or one for
caregivers, parents, etc. If ERGs are considered as “secret” societies they will not be
productive and may be counterproductive.

5. How can an effective supplier diversity program support the business case for
diversity?
The business case for diversity is all about maximizing the advantages that diversity
can bring to an organization. Through interaction with women and minority
suppliers, organizations have access to new ideas, new markets, and a diversity of
viewpoints. These suppliers can also be a source of networking for recruiting diverse
board members.

VI - 4
46. Leadership, Employee Resource Groups and Social Responsibility

6. Thinking as a consumer, does an organization’s social responsibility and


corporate philanthropy make a difference in your buying decisions? Why or
why not?
Answers here will vary, but the good publicity that results from these associations,
can be a positive influence on consumers. Notice that these relationships are often
used in promotional campaigns.

Writing Assignment
Find an individual who serves on a Board of Directors or a Board of Trustees (a non-
profit) and interview this person about board membership. Try to learn the answers to
the following questions:
1. How he or she was selected?
2. Did he or she know someone on the board?
3. Does he or she have a particular expertise that the Board needed (lawyer,
accountant, civil engineer, etc.)
4. Does he or she know how future Board members are selected?
5. How are members of this Board diverse or not diverse?
6. If this is a for-profit corporation,
What is his or her compensation for serving as a Board member?
If this is a non-profit Board,
What are the expectations for financial contributions?
7. Has recruiting diverse members to the Board been an initiative?
8. What types of diversity did the Board seek? If so, how was this done and was it
successful? Why or Why not?
9. If there are diverse members, do they participate fully in Board discussions?

Remembering that this is only one individual’s perception and that his or her position
may have some bias,
a) Analyze the material from this interview and write a two to three page essay
that evaluates this Board from the perspective of diversity.
b) Answer one of the following questions:
If the Board is diverse now, how does the board diversity link to the
organization’s mission and the business case for diversity?
OR, if this Board is not diverse, how could a more diverse board potentially
improve the link between the mission and the company’s business case for
diversity?

VI - 5
46. Leadership, Employee Resource Groups and Social Responsibility

Diversity on the Web


For examples of supplier diversity programs benefiting business owners, the local
communities in terms of job creation and the organizations for which they provide
services, go to http://makingittv.com. Click on “Tweets with Business Tips & Featured
Entrepreneurs with Free Streaming Videos”. Then, click on “entrepreneur success
stories”. Select “The Power of Partnerships” episode # 512 which features Linda Stone,
an Asian American female entrepreneur and “Frontier Electronics Systems”, episode
#511 which presents the story of Peggy Shreve, a female Native American business
owner who is a supplier to Boeing Aircraft.

VI - 6
47. Work-Life Balance Issues

WORK-LIFE BALANCE ISSUES:


CHANGING WHEN AND HOW WORK GETS DONE

Carol P. Harvey
Assumption College

Goals

• To understand how the changing composition and values of today’s workforce


impact traditional work schedules

• To present a business case for a more flexible workplace

• To illustrate successful business models for work-life balance issues


for parents, caregivers and mature workers

Outline of Key Points

I. Diverse workers need more flexible work schedules


A. To care for children
B. To act as caregivers for elderly and those with handicaps
C. To work past retirement age

II. Legislation
A. More progressive in other countries
B. U.S. Family Medical Leave Act - only provides for unpaid leave

III. Business case for work-life balance


A. Helps to attract employees
B. Decreases stress, burnout and unplanned absences
C. Workers feel using flexible work options can hurt career progress
D. Resentment from co-workers

IV. Work-life balance: parental roles and caregiving


A. Increase in number of working parents
B. Care of elderly and disabled family members

V. Work-life balance: flexible work models


A. Accenture – self-funded sabbaticals
B. Continental Airlines – work from home and rotating shifts
C. Raytheon – flexible hours
D. AstraZeneca – job sharing and part-time schedules
E. I-800 Contacts - telecommuting options

VI - 7
47. Work-Life Balance Issues

VI. Work-life balance: Mature workers


A. Many do not want to totally retire
1. Due to financial needs
2. Have healthier lifestyles
B. Limited number of companies who tap into this resource
1. Prejudice and stereotypes about older workers
2. Fear of age discrimination lawsuits
3. Outdated ERISA and IRS legislation
C. Redefining retirement-
1. Retirement in stages – working retirement
a. Part-time and flexible schedules
b. Phased retirement with current employer
2. Business case for older workers
a. Mercy Healthcare – weekend and rotating assignments
b. The Vita Needle Company – most of their workers are
past retirement age
c. CVS/Caremark – Snowbirds program meets consumer
demand in warm climates in peak seasons
d. L.L. Bean -- hires back retirees for seasonal work
e. Monsanto – hires their retirees, part-time, or as needed
f. The Aerospace Corporation – hires skilled workforce
back for special projects
D. Innovative Ideas – 10 til 2
E. Innovative ideas are needed to achieve work-life balance and more
flexible work arrangements
VII. Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967)

Discussion Questions and Answers


1. Analyze the need for work-life balance in terms of the forces promoting and the
forces resisting these types of programs.
Answers will vary according to students’ experiences and perceptions but possible
answers could include:
Forces Promoting – increasing numbers of working two-parent families and working
single parents; improved technology; shortages of workers in the medical, scientific,
technical, and engineering fields; improved worker retention; decreased absenteeism;
increased worker motivation; increasingly large numbers of Baby Boomers who are

VI - 8
47. Work-Life Balance Issues

healthy and may not have the money or desire to retire; need for efficiencies such as
experienced staff only when needed at times of seasonal and peak demand; cost
savings from having part-time employees or people working from home; etc.
Forces Resisting - resentment from other workers; unions that may resist these
programs; outdated legislation; pensions based on a worker’s highest years of salary;
managers who distrust the productivity of their telecommuting employees;
stereotypes about the productivity of parents or older workers; outsourcing of jobs to
other countries for cheaper labor, etc.

2. It is mentioned in the reading that even when organizations offer work-life


balance plans, some workers, especially men, often do not feel that they can use
them. Why might men feel this way more than women?
In our masculine culture, (refer to the Farough article here) care-giving is still
considered a feminine role. Courts routinely give custody of children to women.
Even working women are still responsible for more of the housework. Consequently,
some managers may suggest that a male worker should expect his wife to cover these
responsibilities. Male workers may worry that their careers may suffer if they take
time off for family responsibilities. In time, this may lessen because many younger
workers (Generations X and Y) have a more egalitarian philosophy about
childrearing and care-giving responsibilities.

3. What might the presence or absence of flexible work programs suggest to you
about the corporate culture and values of an organization?
The presence of flexible plans could suggest that an organization is proactive about
change and adapting to its environment. These are the companies that value and
encourage innovative thinking and are proactive rather than reactive. Such a culture
will be more apt to reward creativity and encourage moderate risk taking.
The absence of flexible work programs can suggest an unwillingness to adapt to
change in terms of the demographics of the new workforce, and a lack of recognition
of the cost saving advantages of such programs. Such cultures tend to be more
bureaucratic and value structure, and following the chain of command. At best, when
an organization does what it always did, it will get the results it always got. There can
be a high cost to stagnation in a changing global environment.

4. Apply the concept of the business case for diversity to offering more flexible
work arrangements for caregivers.
The business case clearly outlines the employee and organizational “costs” of
workers having to “call in sick”, leave early or be distracted by care-giving
responsibilities. Family emergencies are particularly disruptive in the workplace.
Over 21% of all U.S. households provide some type of care for elder relatives or a
person with a handicap, and this represents an annual productivity loss of $17.1
billion. The personal and organizational costs here are too high to ignore.

VI - 9
47. Work-Life Balance Issues

5. In spite of people living longer and healthier lives, stereotypes about older
workers being hard to manage and slow to adapt to new technologies still
persist. How do the media contribute to and reinforce these perceptions?
Too often on television and in films, mature people are still portrayed as bumbling,
forgetful, silly and ignorant about technology. This is an opportunity to ask students
for current examples of programs and movies that reinforce this stereotype.
In news articles both in print and on the web, the stories about accidents involving
older drivers are often written in ways that suggest their age was the cause of such
accidents. For example, a recent accident in Connecticut in which an 84 year old
woman was killed was reported in such a way that it “appeared” that she did not see
the oncoming car. A later police and insurance investigation revealed that the middle-
aged driver who hit her car was distracted because he was texting, but that update was
never published.

6. The organizations profiled in this article are quite different and represent a
range from small businesses, to huge corporations. What might they all have in
common that has enabled them to be innovative about their programs for older
workers?
This question illustrates that such innovative ways of structuring work can be
successful in any industry: manufacturing, service, medical, etc. What they have in
common is the leadership of managers who are willing to try new ways of
restructuring work and be proactive about the changing needs of today’s workforce.

Writing Assignment
Go to the Web site below and read the “Measuring the Impact of Workplace
Flexibility” study. Then, write a two-page memo to a past or present employer that
presents a suggestion for implementing some flexible work arrangement for parents,
caregivers, older workers, etc. currently not offered by that organization. Adapting
ideas from this report, develop a “business case” that stresses the measurable benefits
that this particular organization could derive from this new flexible work arrangement
that you are proposing. Your answer should take into consideration the demographics
of your local area and the size, mission, and resources of this organization.

http://bc.edu/cwf. Click on “publications”. Then, click on “Flexibility Work” 2008.

VI - 10
47. Work-Life Balance Issues

Diversity on the Web


Go to http://cvwf.org (Corporate Voices for Working Families). Click on “publications”
and then click on the report, “Business Impacts of Flexibility: An Imperative for
Expansion” (November, 2005).

This report details many arguments for increasing flexibility in terms of the way that
work is done. Select one company mentioned in this report as having a flexible way of
scheduling work. Go to that company’s Web site and attempt to find additional
information on this plan. You may have to be creative in trying to find this material but
be persistent. What does what you found or didn’t find indicate about the
implementation of this plan?

VI - 11
48. Diversity Training

DIVERSITY TRAINING:
IDEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORKS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPLICATIONS

Patti DeRosa
ChangeWorks Consulting

Goals

• To become familiar with six common approaches to diversity training

• To identify the ideological framework underlying each approach, and the likely
outcomes of training designed from this perspective

• To understand strengths and limitations in each framework and implications


for social change

Outline of Key Points

I. Overview of approaches to diversity training in organizations.

II. Presentation of six approaches to diversity training


A. Intercultural approach – development of cross cultural understanding and
communication between nations
1. Develops sensitivity to roots, values and assumptions of cultures
2. Uses simulation games and teaches culture specific world views and
values
3. Often used to prepare people to work/study abroad and for
immigrants to adjust to a new culture
B. Legal compliance approach – based in civil rights, compliance with
legislation and avoidance of lawsuits
1. Can reinforce “isms” and increase resistance to AA/EEO efforts
2. Downplays the value of differences
3. Can reinforce the dominant group’s worldview
4. Uses cases, presentations, lectures
5. Omits diversity not covered by federal law

VI - 12
48. Diversity Training

C. Managing diversity and inclusion – demographics are changing and business


must adjust to new labor pools and consumer bases.
1. Managing and inclusion are complex processes
2. Uses experiential activities but focuses on the business impact of
diversity and the bottom line
3. Corporations need to address change and policies not just the
business case
D. Prejudice reduction approach – focus here is on using Re-evaluation
Counseling model for emotional healing
1. Uses activities that promote emotional release
2. Focuses more on individual prejudice than institutional racism and
power differences
E. Valuing differences approach – recognizes and celebrates differences
because they can lead to creativity and innovation
1. Recognizes individual uniqueness but also acknowledges group
identities
2. Builds relationships, recognizes the importance of diverse work
teams and capitalizing on differences
3. People’s acknowledgement of differences can lead to consider the
experience of others
4. May treat all groups equally and ignore systemic oppression
F. Anti-racism/anti-oppression approach- political approach rooted in civil
rights, oppression, and privilege
1. Ignored the experience of other racial groups and other “isms”
2. Created power dynamics
3. Today evolved into dealing with other forms of oppression
4. Contemporary versions draw from the other approaches to promote
social change

III. Conclusion

VI - 13
48. Diversity Training

Discussion Questions and Answers

1. This article identified six approaches to diversity training. For each of the
approaches:
a. How is the problem defined?
b. What is the desired outcome or goal?
c. What kinds of training techniques are likely to be used?
d. What impact will it have for social justice?

Intercultural Approach
a. How is the problem defined?
Cross-cultural misunderstanding and miscommunication; value clashes

b. What is the desired outcome or goal?


Improved intercultural & international relations; enhanced cultural competency

c. What kinds of training techniques are likely to be used?


Presentations, experiential activities, and simulation exercises

d. What impact will it have for social justice/social justice?


Increased cultural understanding but limited impact on power inequities

Legal/Compliance Approach
a. How is the problem defined?
Lack of compliance with anti-discrimination law; legal violations

b. What is the desired outcome or goal?


No lawsuits; parity of representation; no workplace harassment or discrimination

c. What kinds of training techniques are likely to be used?


Presentation of legal precedents and requirements, lecture, case studies

d. What impact will it have for social justice/social equity?


Reduction/elimination of discrimination complaints; improved work conditions;
limited impact on issues beyond the scope of the law; does not deal with the
psychological/emotional aspects of discrimination; the law focuses on “sameness”
that impacts the ability to recognize and celebrate diversity

VI - 14
48. Diversity Training

Managing Diversity Approach

a. How is the problem defined?


Low productivity; costs of discrimination complaints; degree of influence in
increasingly diverse markets and with diverse customers

b. What is the desired outcome or goal?


Increased productivity and profitability; higher profits in global market

c. What kinds of training techniques are likely to be used?


Presentation; case studies, demographic and market data, some experiential

d. What impact will it have for social justice/social equity?


Better workplace climate for employees of diverse backgrounds; enhanced
customer relations, more services/products available and targeted to diverse
customer bases; limited (and potentially negative) impact on
socio/political/economic inequity when profit is the primary driver

Prejudice Reduction Approach


a. How is the problem defined?
Personal pain and social group hurt that results in prejudice and bias;
individual/psychological impacts of bias; those who are hurting hurt others

b. What is the desired outcome or goal?


Personal awareness, emotional expression and healing, improved
interpersonal relations; reduction of personal prejudices and biases

c. What kinds of training techniques are likely to be used?


Experiential activities leading to emotional release

d. What impact will it have for social justice/social equity?


Can be the catalyst for individuals to begin to reflect and desire to make
changes, but limited plan for activism and engagement.

VI - 15
48. Diversity Training

Valuing Differences Approach


a. How is the problem defined?
Inter-group conflict based in different values; lack of information about
differences and their value, misunderstandings; intolerance

b. What is the desired outcome or goal?


Greater understanding of self and others, more cooperative work relations,
respect for and acceptance of all kinds of differences

c. What kinds of training techniques are likely to be used?


Interactive and experiential, some presentation of data

d. What impact will it have for social justice/social equity?


Increased tolerance/appreciation for a wide variety of human differences;
limited to the personal level of change and acceptance when not tied to
societal power inequities (ie – equating the life impacts all kinds of
differences).

Anti-racism/Anti-Oppression Approach
a. How is the problem defined?
Historical and continuing inequities based on social group identities; power
imbalances that lead to unequal life outcomes; institutional/ systemic
oppression

b. What is the desired outcome or goal?


Societal transformation, equitable distribution of power and resources; social
justice and equity; connection between personal prejudice and institutional
power

c. What kinds of training techniques are likely to be used?


Presentation of historical and current conditions and socio-political analysis;
experiential and reflection exercises; action plans

d. What impact will it have for social justice/social equity?


Significant impact in terms of power differentials and unequal distribution of
resources; designed to foster civic engagement and inspire social and
political activism; may have limitations in terms of personal/emotional
impacts of bias

VI - 16
48. Diversity Training

2. Why are the concepts of racism and oppression avoided or minimized in many
approaches to diversity training? What could be the results of omitting this
perspective?

This conversation should help students explore how “diversity training” is sometimes
used to avoid naming, addressing, and correcting historical and current societal
inequities, power, and privilege, and is used instead to reduce pressures for structural
change and power imbalances, to promote assimilation to the dominant culture, and
to maintain the status quo. The Vincent Harding quote used at the end of the article
may be a useful starting point for dialogue:
“What we want is a new transformed society, not equal opportunity
in a dehumanized one”.

3. The author takes the position that an Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression analysis is


essential for authentic social change to occur. Why?

See above, as well as the excellent additional resources available at www.timwise.org


(the Tim Wise website)

Note: Responses to Questions 4 - 6 will be based on the personal experiences of your


students.

4. Have you ever experienced diversity training? lf so, which of the 6 frameworks
was your training based on? Justify your answer with examples from the training
session.

5. If you have attended diversity training, describe your own personal experiences as a
participant:
a. What approaches or techniques helped you learn? Why?
b. What approaches or techniques blocked your learning? Why?
c. What concepts made the greatest impact on you?
d. What concepts were difficult for you? Why?

6. Think of some company that you have worked for. How could it have benefited
from providing diversity training to employees? Which of the frameworks would
you recommend to the company’s management and why?

VI - 17
48. Diversity Training

ADDITIONAL CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES:

Activity #1 - Prior to the class reading this article:

Goal: to better understand the nuances of each training model and philosophy.

Introduce the activity with a comments such as “where we start out often determines
where we end up”. In other words, our basic assumptions shape our perspectives of what
needs to be done, how we do it, and the result we end up with.

In this activity, small groups will be given one of six basic assumptions about diversity
training, and they are to build their model based on that assumption. It is an important
activity in developing conceptual clarity.

1. After making your introductory comments, break the class in to six small groups and
give each group one of the following assumption statements: (10 minutes)

Assumption #1:
No culture is better than another and all cultural practices are relative and must be seen in
their cultural context. Each culture has its own traditions, values, beliefs, and worldviews that
affect thoughts, behavior, and interactions in conscious, as well as unconscious, ways.

Assumption #2:
Rules and policies are implemented unfairly and not all people have access to the system. People
should be "colorblind", treat all people the same, and help others assimilate to the organization.

Assumption #3:
The demographics of the United States are rapidly changing. Women and people of color
will make up an increasingly larger percentage of the population, and must tap into that new
consumer and employee base. Diversity is primarily a business issue, not a moral, legal, or
political issue.

Assumption #4:
Hurts we have experienced in our childhoods cause us to hurt other people in similar ways. Our
prejudices are learned and we can work to reduce them. Guilt is the glue that holds prejudice in
place.

Assumption #5:
All people have differences. These differences can sometimes create tensions and establish
barriers to communication and relationships. It is only by recognizing, understanding, and
valuing our differences that we can reduce conflict and reap the full benefits of diversity.

Assumption #6:
Racism (and other forms of oppression) is prejudice plus the institutional and historical power
to impose that prejudice on others in far-reaching, life-impacting, and cumulative ways.

VI - 18
48. Diversity Training

Power relations in society must be totally restructured. People must take an active stance to
challenge oppression.

2. Explain that they are to pretend they are a group of consultants, advocates, or trainers
who believe wholeheartedly in the statement on the paper they just received. Stress
that it is important for them to stay in the role of someone who believes the statement
given to their group, regardless of what their actual beliefs may be. They must
complete the activity in this mindset.

3. Their task is to develop a diversity training based on the core assumption that their
group was given. Ask them to then answer the following questions:

(1) What is seen as the source of the problem? How is it defined?


(2) What is seen as the solution?
(3) What is the desired outcome of the training?
(4) What techniques or strategies would be likely be used to achieve that outcome?

Teaching Tip
It is helpful if each group gets flipchart paper on which to write their response. This
visual tool makes the debriefing discussion flow easier.

4. Give each group approximately 20 minutes to complete their task.

5. Ask each group to post their chart, and report back to the large group (allow 5-10
Minutes per group for report back or up to 60 minutes in total).

6. Once all the models have been presented, have a discussion about what they see as
the strengths and limitations of each model. Then, conduct a discussion of their own
experiences, both positive and negative, with diversity training. Lastly, assign this
article to read for homework.

VI - 19
48. Diversity Training

Activity #2: (After they have read the article)

Goal: To experience how to identify, facilitate, and manage conflicting perspectives in a


consulting or planning group.

1. Have the class read the article.

2. In class, give each person a slip of paper with one of the assumption written on it
(see previous activity for the 6 assumptions), and distribute them randomly.

3. Break the class into 4 small groups, and give them this task:

Develop a diversity training based on the core assumption that your group has
been given. Ask them to then consider the following questions:
(1) What is considered as the source of the problem? How is it defined?
(2) What is seen as the solution?
(3) What appears to be the desired outcome of the training?
(4) What techniques or strategies would be likely be used to achieve that outcome?

4. Have each group present their answers and share what their process was like.

5. Debrief lessons learned in the large group.

RESOURCES

There is an excellent and extensive reading list on anti-racist activist Tim Wise’s website:
(www.timwise.org) that addresses: racism and privilege, the history of racism and
whiteness, white anti-racism, responses to the right, race and education, economics and
criminal justice.

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49. The Diversity Awards: What Do They Mean?

THE DIVERSITY AWARDS: WHAT DO THEY MEAN?

M. June Allard
Assumption College
Worcester State University, Professor Emerita

Goals
• To explore the various types of diversity awards
• To examine the meaning of diversity awards
• To determine the criteria for selecting diversity winners
• To critically examine selection processes in choosing organizations to honor

Outline

INTRODUCTION

SECTION I. JUDGING THE AWARDS

A. Selection . . . Criteria and their Weights

B. Selection . . . Collecting the Data


1. Type of Information
2. Gathering the Information
3. Sources of Information

C. Selection . . . the Applicant Pool


1. Becoming a Contender
2. How Many Contenders?

D. Selection . . . the Judging Process


1. Blindfolded vs. Open-eyes
2. Transparency
3. Final Determination

E. Results and Outcomes


1. Interpretation
2. The Prize
3. Best Practices

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49. The Diversity Awards: What Do They Mean?

The numbers (1-15) in Sections II through VI below refer to the numbers assigned
to each of the 15 special awards described in the text. For example, the first award
described in the text is titled “Top 50 Companies for Diversity”.

SECTION II. COMPREHENSIVE DIVERSITY AWARDS


1. Top 50 Companies for Diversity

SECTION III. DIVERSITY INNOVATION AWARDS


2. Leading Lights Diversity Awards
3. International Innovation in Diversity Awards
4. Applause Awards

SECTION IV. SPECIAL INTEREST AWARDS: RACE AND ETHNICITY


5. Best Companies Awards
6. 40 Best Companies for Diversity
7. Consumer Choice Guide (ratings)
8. 50 Best Companies of the Year

SECTION V. SPECIAL INTEREST AWARDS: AGE, DISABILITY, SEXUAL


ORIENTATION & GENDER
9. Best Employers for Workers Over 50
10. Top 10 Companies for People with Disabilities
11. Corporate Equality Index for Workplace Equality Innovation
12. 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers
13. Catalyst

SECTION VI. SPECIAL INTEREST AWARDS: SUPPLIER AND MEDIA


DIVERSITY

14. “The DIV 50”


15. EMMA (Excellence in Multicultural Business Activities)

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49. The Diversity Awards: What Do They Mean?

SECTION VII. THE DECISION TO APPLY


A. Costs and Risks
B. Benefits to the Organization
1. Business Case for Diversity
2. Human Capital Benefits
C. The Pressures of Changing Demographics
1. The Minority Work Force
2. The Minority Consumer Force

SECTION VIII. THE AWARDS IN PERSPECTIVE


A. The Criteria
1. Exhibit I
2. Exhibit II
B. Quality Controls . . . Noteworthy Selection Practices
C. Questions To Consider

Teaching Tips

Partial Text Assignments. In lieu of reading about all fifteen awards, Instructors may
wish to assign only particular sections of the article (such as the Race and Ethnicity or
the Supplier and Media Diversity section) to accompany discussion of those topics.
Other countries also have diversity awards. For example, Canada’s Best Diversity
Employers is included in the “Best Employers Around the World “ study.
(http://was2.hewitt.com/best employers/pages/index.htm)

Additional Discussion Points. It may be instructive to explore the financing underlying


the awards. With the possible exception of awards made through on-line voting by
employees, award sponsorship is expensive whether selection is done in-house or by
contract with an external company. For some awards, some of the financing will be
apparent from the article in this text, which indicates those sponsors that charge an
application fee.
Awards are generally presented at dinners and the dinner charges may finance the
awards. Catalyst for example, posts hefty charges for required dinner attendance (posted
on-line) presumably to cover award sponsorship costs.

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49. The Diversity Awards: What Do They Mean?

The Web sites of award sponsors usually list the names of the organizations sponsoring
the annual meeting - names that may overlap with the list of award winners. Sponsor
Web sites also may list the names of organizations that sponsor the web site itself, for
example. SEIU reports that “out of the twenty ‘site sponsors’ whose company logos are
prominently displayed on the DiversityInc website, all but four of these companies
received DiversityInc awards in 2010 alone – and nine appear in the ‘top ten’ category”.
(www.seiu.org/2010/04/ click: Behind Sodexo’s “Awards” Sodexo and DiversityInc.)

Note that membership in an association is an official requirement for applying for some
awards, thereby potentially restricting the pool of applicants and possibly funding the
award selection costs.

Discussion Questions and Answers

1. DiversityInc’s list of Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees requires that any
company named to this list must have a CEI (Corporate Equality Index) rating
of 100 percent, thus linking this list to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation
corporate ratings. Do you think this is a good practice? Explain.

Opinion question. Some will think that linking to the CEI rating is a quality
assurance measure or confirmation for DiversityInc. Others will see the linking as
spoiling the independence of the awards.

2. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects people from discrimination based on race,
color, sex, national origin and religion. Employee affinity and resource groups
are common for all of these in organizations winning diversity awards with the
exception of religion. For example, only 18 percent of the 449 companies
applying for the 2010 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies list have religious
resource groups. Why do you think this is the case?
Answers may vary. The reasons according to DiversityInc: “Companies are scared
of polarizing one group against the other, appearing exclusive instead of inclusive,
and allowing an anti-LGBT backlash.”
(http://diversityinc.com/department/265/diversity-religion)

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49. The Diversity Awards: What Do They Mean?

3. The hospitality and travel industries target a diverse consumer market. If you
were to create a diversity award for one of these industries,
a) what would be your mission?
b) What criteria might you consider in making this award and why might you
select these criteria?
Answers should be concerned with a) inclusiveness within a diverse workforce,
b) diverse consumer markets and c) innovative diversity programs and policies.

4. In some companies, the human resources director selects the minority workers
who respond to the employee survey from the award sponsor. Evaluate this
practice.
Answers will vary. Some may feel that the human resources director or chief
diversity officer may know which workers would best reflect the opinions of most of
the members of that minority group. Others may point out the potential for bias by
selecting individuals most favorable toward company diversity policy.

5. If you were a potential employee such as a working mother or Asian man and
saw an award for your social identity group on a company’s web site
a) Prior to a job interview at that company, what would you ask a friend of
yours who works at the company and why?
Answers will vary, but will likely center on what kind of programs the company has
and how well they work; what the weaknesses and limitations are as well as the
strengths of the program; whether your friend feels included, i.e., a real part of the
company; what does he or she like best and least about the company and its
“climate”; do people in other parts of the company feel the same way or have the
same experiences, etc.
b) What questions could you then ask in a job interview concerning whether this
company actually implements the policies for which it received the award?
Based on what the friend said, the questions will probably focus on the program
weaknesses –for example, are there many members of the working mothers or Asian
ERG group? If not, why not? What do these groups do? How many people actually
have flexible scheduling (or whatever program is in place)?, etc.
c) Why should these questions differ from each other?
Official company policy and actual practice often differ. Actual practice may also
differ from one location to another.

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49. The Diversity Awards: What Do They Mean?

Writing Assignment
Select a diversity category (other than supplier diversity) and design an original
diversity award for organizations in your category. Specify:
a) Name of the award and type (list, profile, award, etc.)
b) Purpose of the award
a) Eligible organizations
b) Criteria (clearly relate to the purpose of the award)
e) Selection process

Starting Sources
* Section I. Judging the Awards (from the text article)
* CEI methods/sources for checking the self-reports of the organizations it
rates
* Considerations and Quality Controls (from the text article)

Instructor Note on the Writing Assignment: You may wish to make this a small
group assignment.

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49. The Diversity Awards: What Do They Mean?

Additional Writing Assignment (not in text)

Writing Assignment
Below are organizations that recently won diversity awards but also have
discrimination lawsuits filed against them. Select two of them.

a) Briefly describe each case.

b) How could you explain this apparent contradiction of winning diversity


awards and also being sued for discrimination at this time?

Starting Sources
Kodak
http://.adversity.net/kodak/default.htm
http://fiance.yahoo.com/news/Judge-OKs-Kodaks-settlement-apf-2502795686.html
search engine: Kodak diversity awards
search engine: Kodak diversity lawsuits

Sodexo
http://cleanupsodexo.org/2010/04 (Five Years After Landmark Class Action …)
http://cleanupsodexo.org/2010/01 (Diversity-Experts-More-smoke-and-Mirrors)
search engine: Sodexo diversity awards
search engine: Sodexo diversity lawsuits

Wal-Mart
http://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/release/10-1-10c.cfm
http://www.nationalreview.com (search box: April 29, 2010 the class action
lawsuit)
retailindustry.aboutcom (search box: despite massive sex discrimination class)
http:blogs.forbes.com/work-in-progress/2010/04/27 (Wal-Mart faces the largest
sex discrimination lawsuit in the U.S. history.)

Xerox
http://www.highbeam.com/Daily+Record+(Rochester%2c+NY)publications.aspx
http://www.xeroxcareers.com/docs_Diversity_Awards-Accolades
search engine: Xerox settles discrimination suit

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49. The Diversity Awards: What Do They Mean?

Diversity on the Web


The NAACP is revising its procedures for evaluating large corporations in 2010 (for
2011 Consumer Choice Guide Ratings) “the processes associated with these report
cards will be transparent.”
Visit the web site below to view the current methodology and the proposed changes.
Compare and contrast the new selection procedures with the old ones.
1. In what way(s) will the new method be more transparent?
2. Can you think of ways that it might be made even more transparent?
3. Can you think of other ways the evaluation process might be improved?

http://www.naacp.org/pages/naacp-corporate-fairness-scorecard

Diversity on the Web Instructor Notes


The Top Five corporations in each industry will be asked to participate in this revised
diversity analysis. The processes associated with the NAACP Report Cards on Corporate
Fairness and Diversity will be transparent in measurement, scoring, and reporting. The
primary change to the report cards is that the focal points of the instrument are the
measure of racial and ethnic diversity in the workforce (job loss, creation and
advancement), wealth building (inclusive business practices) and ownership, where
applicable.

Additional changes to the methodology include the following:


• Up to three industries will be analyzed each year, with a
stratified participation schedule that will begin in 2010.
• Sector analyses and overview will be included in the report.
• Data will be requested in a disaggregated format.
• Letter grades will be replaced by a scoring continuum.
• Increased time will be given to complete the survey.
• An elevation of best practices will occur.
• Opportunities for improvement will be identified.
• Rewards will be given for high performing corporations.

Instructor Note. You may wish to make this a small group assignment

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49. The Diversity Awards: What Do They Mean?

Additional Writing Assignment (not in text)

Writing Assignment
The American Worker Speaks

Most diversity awards rest upon management reports of organizational diversity


programs and initiatives.

In contrast, NUL (National Urban League) conducted a large-scale study in 2003-


2004, of employees. Among other findings it reported that workers were generally
favorable to diversity, but only about 30 per cent felt their company had effective
initiatives.

DiversityInc criticized the methodology in the NUL study. In 2009, NUL reported
the findings from a second study.

1. Discuss the findings of the two studies.


2. Evaluate the methodology in the latest NUL study.

Sources
NUL 2005 and 2009 studies:
Diversity practices that work, the American worker speaks
http://www.nul.org site search tool (bottom of page) The American worker
speaks; click: Attachments
DiversityInc criticism:
Frankel, Barbara. (2006). What’s wrong with the Urban League’s Diversity Study?
(search engine by title)

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49. The Diversity Awards: What Do They Mean?

Additional Diversity on the Web Assignment (not in text)

Diversity on the Web

There are multiple diversity awards for some of the special interest groups. Below
are some of them. Choose two categories below. How similar are the awards and
their winners within each category? How might you explain any differences?
A. Executive Women
* Top 10 Companies for Executive Women (DiversityInc)
http://www.diversityinc.com/article (click “The 2010 DiversityInc Lists” [L column];
then click link to “The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Executive Women”)

* Top 50 Companies for Executive Women (Nat’l Ass’n for Female


Executives (Working Mother Magazine)
http://www..wmmsurveys.com

* Catalyst (Catalyst)
http://www.catalyst.org (click “Catalyst Award”; then click “Apply for the Catalyst
Award”)

B. Blacks
* Top 10 Companies for Blacks (DiversityInc)
http://www.diversityinc.com/article/7369
* 40 Best Companies for Diversity (Black Enterprise Magazine)
http://www.naacp.org

C. Age
* Best Employers for Workers Over 50 (AARP)
www.aarp.org/work
* Champion Awards (Experience Works)
http://www.experienceworks.org

D. Asians
* 100 Best Employers for Asian Americans (Goldsea Asian American
Poll) http://goldsea.com/poll/employers.html
* Best Companies Awards (Asia society)
http://asiasociety.org (Click “Press Release”)

VI - 30
50. Evaluating Diversity and Inclusion: Conducting A Diversity Audit

EVALUATING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN THE REAL WORLD:


CONDUCTING A DIVERSITY AUDIT

Carol P. Harvey
Assumption College

Goals

• To provide a capstone learning experience for students that enables them to


see how the theory and cases studied during the semester apply in the real world

• To allow students to improve their critical thinking skills by developing and


applying criteria to the evaluation of an organization’s diversity initiatives

• To provide students with an opportunity to compare and assess the relative levels
of leadership commitment and resource allocation that organizations have to
implementing and managing diversity programs

• To help students to learn about the dynamics of working on a team

• To showcase the unique ways that organizations can manage diversity by finding
productive ways that diversity can impact their missions and to illustrate how
other organizations may be limiting their diversity initiatives to legal compliance

Time Required

This is a capstone team learning project that is designed to be completed over the course
of the semester. Introduce the assignment early in the semester by assembling teams and
explaining the instructions for the assignment and answering students’ questions.

Option

Although instructors may choose to have students present their findings without writing
the paper, do not omit the class presentations. Much of the learning from this assignment
comes from comparing the results from one group’s organization with another. After
hearing several presentations, students often pick up on trends such as diversity by the
numbers, valuing diversity only in terms of the diverse customers it may generate, lack of
systemic organizational change, etc.

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50. Evaluating Diversity and Inclusion: Conducting A Diversity Audit

Instructions

Early in the semester, divide the class into teams of 4-6 members depending on the size
of the class. If there is minimal obvious diversity in the class, teams can be assigned
alphabetically by last name. When there is a more diverse student body, the instructor
may choose to group the students in teams that maximize their opportunity to learn to
work in diverse groups. Another alternative is to simply do it by random selection by
putting all of the names in a hat and drawing names (first five are team #1, etc).

However, my preference is to distribute a sheet that lists the “skills” needed to complete
the project (writing, organizing, researching, interviewing, preparing Power Point slides,
etc.) and then asking students to rank themselves on a scale of #1 to #5 with #1 being
their strongest skill and #5 being their weakest. I assemble the teams as functional work
teams with a strong writer, researcher, etc. on each team. Allowing students to self-select
teams can result in sub-groups, within the team, etc.

The instructor should explain his/her expectations for the assignment in detail. Begin by
discussing the goals of this learning experience. Then, work through the steps in the
“Evaluating Diversity in the Real World: Conducting a Diversity Audit” assignment
found in the text. The following notes that correspond to the titles and numbers 1-7 in the
student instructions in the text may help you.

Some instructors use peer evaluation forms that allow each member of the team to
evaluate every other member’s contributions to the project in terms of effort, cooperation,
productivity, quality of the work produced, etc. If you use such a system, now is a good
time to explain this requirement to the class.

1. Finding an organization willing to work with the group

Allow the class as a whole to brainstorm ways that student groups can get an organization
to cooperate with them. Since their jobs, internships, friends, and parents’ connections,
etc., may provide easier access to a contact within an organization, this provides a
learning opportunity to point out how being “privileged” through “social networks” and
social capital makes resources available to some and not to others.

Initially, students may worry about finding a company to work with them. However, this
has not proved to be a problem. Many organizations, even those with few proactive
diversity policies, are eager to talk about their efforts. Encourage students to use different
types of organizations: large and small, non-profit and for profit, etc. Discourage or
forbid students from using their own college. Making contacts and going out into the
real world to see how less familiar organizations operate are essential parts of the
learning experience. It is often helpful at the end of the class where this assignment is
explained to stop a few minutes early to allow the student groups to exchange phone and
e-mail contact information or to set up their first meeting.

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50. Evaluating Diversity and Inclusion: Conducting A Diversity Audit

The major problem to avoid at this stage is student procrastination. One way to do this is
to list a date on the syllabus when each student group has to tell the class what
organization they will be auditing and a little about the organization (type of business,
why they selected this particular organization, etc.). Remind them that the process of
contacting and gaining access to an organization is much like the process of getting a job
interview- persistence and manners pay off.

2. Conducting Secondary Research

Explain that secondary research is internal and external material gathered for another
purpose. Examples include corporate websites, annual reports, census data, newspaper
articles, reports of court cases, industry newsletters, employee handbooks, etc. While
these will not perfectly match the requirements of this assignment, they may provide
useful background to understanding the organization’s power structure, values, culture
and industry, policies, etc.

For example, annual reports, (if available) are designed as stockholder information
pieces. However, they often show photographs of the members of the board of trustees
and/or senior staff which helps students to determine if there diversity at the highest
levels of power in the organization and corporate value statements that reveal much about
the espoused culture of the organization.

If students are auditing a large corporation, be sure that they use library databases for
secondary research. Legal data bases and newspaper databases often provide helpful
material.

Point out to the students that organizations vary a great deal in the amount and type of
information they choose to keep confidential and what they are comfortable sharing with
outsiders.

NOTE: In the electronic age students often mistakenly think that the web is the source of
all the information that they need. Caution students that an organization’s web page is
the public face that it chooses to reveal. Student groups have found major contradictions
between the information that they learned on visits and through published source
compared to the information on an organization’s website. If your class has done the
web audit exercise in the text, they will be more aware of this and more critical of the
information on the organization’s own website.

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50. Evaluating Diversity and Inclusion: Conducting A Diversity Audit

3. Preparing to Visit the Organization

Secondary data often provides the foundation for many of the questions asked at the
actual visit. For this reason, all members of the team should be very familiar with
published material on this organization. It is important that each group develop their own
appropriate questions and criteria for the organization that they are planning to visit.
However, it may be helpful to review some basic principles of effective question
development and interviewing. (i.e., Avoiding “yes” “no” type questions in favor of
“how”, “why”, “could you provide an example of how your organization…” etc. Ask
easy to answer less challenging questions at the beginning of the interview, and work up
to the more probing questions later, etc.

To explain how to develop criteria for diversity management, tell the students that we all
develop criteria, or standards whether conscious or unconscious, that we use to evaluate
people, places, ideas and experiences. An effective way to communicate this is to conduct
a brief discussion of the “criteria” or standards that students use to evaluate a familiar
experience such as a movie. Ask, “How do you explain why you liked or didn’t like a
particular movie?” Students will give answers such as: “it was too violent”, (criteria = not
excessively violent), “it made me laugh”, (criteria = funny), “I really like one of the
stars”, (criteria = liking the actor), “I loved the music”, (criteria = good music), etc. This
can lead to a discussion of the conscious and unconscious criteria that we develop to
evaluate the worth of things.

Next, brainstorm as a class some potential criteria that a student team could use to
evaluate the diversity efforts of an organization. Initially, students may think of the make-
up of the board of trustees, and upper management. (i.e., are they really diverse in
obvious demographic ways?) Later, they develop more creative criteria. For example,

• Is the organization inclusive of many types of difference and is diversity linked


to the organizational mission? (Criteria = evidence of inclusive practices and
policies and a mission statement that reflects the contribution that diversity
makes to the organization.)

• What causes and charities does the organization support? (Criteria =


social responsibility efforts that support diverse groups not just the pet
charities of upper-management)

• What are the organizational values and how are these manifested? (Criteria = the
organization “walks the talk” in terms of operational zing these values into their
policies and practices or are the values only espoused?)

• Do their benefits and work scheduling practices recognize the needs of


diverse employees? (cafeteria plans, spousal health insurance for gay
and lesbian employees, day care, flextime, job sharing, phased retirement
programs, etc.)

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50. Evaluating Diversity and Inclusion: Conducting A Diversity Audit

• What is the content and scope of diversity training efforts, etc? Who gets
trained? Who conducts the training? How long does it last? Is it ongoing?
How are its outcomes measured? (Criteria = all levels of employees
receive meaningful, measurable, ongoing diversity training?)

• What is the organization’s motivation/reason for having diversity


initiatives? (Criteria = AA/EEO such as avoiding sexual harassment
lawsuits; the personal beliefs of a strong leader; recognition of the need
to have employees who relate to and understand target customers,
thinking that it is the right thing to do, etc.)

• Does the organization have an effective supplier diversity program? (Criteria = a


supplier diversity program that benefits women and minority owned businesses)

• Who is responsible for implementing diversity programs? (Criteria = having an


involved CEO, a diverse Board and a CDO who reports to someone on the
corporate level)

• Does the organization have an ERG program? (Criteria = employee resource


groups that are well organized, accomplish their goals and assess their
programs?)

• Has the organization won any significant awards for their diversity programs?
(Criteria = awards earned for successful diversity policies and practices)

Remind the students that they need to relate what they learn about and what they see at
their organization to the semester’s readings, particularly the theoretical pieces. Stress to
the class that the most valuable learning will come from their small group discussions
after they have gathered their primary and secondary data. This is when the students must
measure the company’s performance against their previously established criteria.

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50. Evaluating Diversity and Inclusion: Conducting A Diversity Audit

4. Visiting the Organization/Conducting Primary Research

Realistically, students’ busy academic, work and athletic schedules sometimes make it
impossible for every member of the group to visit the organization together. However,
those who can’t attend do miss a valuable part of the learning experience. For example,
one student group visited the headquarters of a large manufacturer whose diversity efforts
were reported as examples of “best practices” in several periodicals. So, the students
were looking for validation of the importance of diversity to this organization. The person
in charge of the whole diversity program appeared to be one notch above the secretarial
level and had an office in a hallway! This alerted the students to ask questions and
evaluate the situation. They discovered that its diversity efforts were valid but the contact
was merely located in a temporary place while her office was being redecorated.

Since they do represent the college/university, it is also helpful to remind students to


dress and act professionally on their visit, to be prompt for their appointment, to ask how
long they have for the interview(s) and to send a written thank you note later.

5. Post Visit Activity

This discussion is the heart of the diversity audit because now students need to evaluate
what they know from secondary sources, what they saw on the visit and what they
learned through the interviews., Here the groups also have the opportunity to add
additional criteria that they did not think of before visiting the organization and
conducting the interviews but that they now realize are obvious oversights. For example,
a group may find that an organization is very diverse in terms of race and ethnicity.
However, on visiting the company, they learn that turnover and lack of innovation are
serious problems. Although the company had visible demographic diversity, it did little
to use the power of diversity to generate new ideas or address the systemic needs for
training employees in terms of teamwork and intercultural communication.

One team audited an organization whose benefits and human resource policies did not
support the needs of the religious diversity of their employees. Although the company
had many Indian, Middle-Eastern, and Asian employees, the company observed the
traditional Christian and public holidays and had no floating holidays that could be used
on other religious occasions by its many Muslim and Buddhist employees. The cafeteria
featured no vegetarian dishes and employees sat together in their own ethnic groups.
Vacation time couldn’t be accrued and had to be taken in the year that it was earned. This
resulted in employees from India and the Far East taking unpaid leaves to extend
vacations with their distant relatives or to observe their religious practices. There was a
total lack of recognition that to capitalize on the positive aspects of diversity, an
organization has to do more than just recruit diverse employees.

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50. Evaluating Diversity and Inclusion: Conducting A Diversity Audit

Another group had not established any criteria for communication. When they visited the
organization’s website, they discovered that it featured photographs of its all white,
middle-aged male management team. In addition, even though these were individual not
a group photograph, every man wore a white shirt, no jacket and a similar tie! They
looked like clones. In the interview managers told the student team that they were willing
to hire women and minorities but had trouble recruiting them. Any diverse employee who
checked out the website first might be turned off early in the recruitment process!

6. Written report and/or presentation

The written report should be crisp and well-written. This is why the suggested length is
12-14 pages of text plus exhibits and a bibliography. There is an outline provided in the
text article. Allowing the report to be longer may encourage a lot of company history and
summary rather than analysis and evaluation.

Sometimes an organization will ask for a copy of the students’ report. This is a decision
that each instructor should make based on his/her own preferences, the abilities of the
class and the complex issue of using students (particularly undergraduates) as unpaid
consultants. In my experience, students do a more balanced assessment auditing an
organization and a better job when they know that the material will not be read by anyone
at the organization. Sometimes a good compromise is for the students to meet with their
contact and review only the recommendation section.

7. Presentation

The actual presentation can be done during the last week of class or during the final exam
period. In both the report and the presentation, it is important that the focus be on
evaluating the organization against the group’s criteria rather than on a long
organizational history. Groups are also encouraged to develop a list of recommended
actions. For example, in the two examples cited above, the students suggested: reviewing
holiday and vacation scheduling policies; conducting a survey on the cafeteria; providing
diversity training; and recommended that since web pages are often a first source of
information for job applicants, reviewing its contents and, layout in terms of their appeal
to a diverse applicant pool is a must.

After presenting their audit, the team should stop and ask the class to “grade” the
organization in terms of its diversity management. This technique insures that the entire
class pays attention to other groups’ presentations and adds an element of “fun” to the
class. Once students have shown by raising their hands how many gave the organization
an A, A-, B+…F, the presenting team should reveal its “grade” and rational for the
evaluation. The following Diversity Audit Evaluation sheet can be completed by the
instructor and copies returned to each member of the team for feedback.

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50. Evaluating Diversity and Inclusion: Conducting A Diversity Audit

Teaching Tips

Mini Project. “Evaluating Organizational Commitment to Diversity by Auditing Web


Sites” (Diversity on the Web assignment) can be used as a mini project that allows
student groups to work together on a small project before conducting the longer, more
involved, diversity audit. If this is an online class, papers can be posted as an attachment
to a discussion board. Students can then discuss the different results on the discussion
board.

Writing Assignment
Assessing Group Diversity, Process, and Conflict Resolution
During the completion of this group project, you have had the opportunity to interact
with students who may be different from you in some less visible ways. In addition
to visible social identity group differences, such as race, and gender, often, differences
in terms of personality, time management, leadership styles, values, etc. can cause
conflict in terms of the quality, satisfaction and completion of group projects both in
classes and in the workplace. Since you are finishing a course on “diversity”
management, this is a good time to assess the issues of productivity, individual
difference and conflict resolution in terms of this work group.

Using the project journal that you have kept during the semester, write a 4-5 page
paper that analyzes your group’s performance in terms of the group process, i.e.,
how effectively this group worked together. In your paper be sure to answer the
following questions but do NOT use any actual names of group members:
• What were the primary differences in terms of working style that helped or
hindered this group from accomplishing their objectives for this project?

• How did the group effectively or ineffectively deal with these differences?

• Did someone assume a leadership role? Was the leadership style effective or
ineffective? Why?

• If there were conflicts or conflict avoidance in this group, apply Parker’s


article, “The Emotional Connection of Distinguishing Differences and
Conflict” to evaluate the resolution or lack of resolution of the conflicts.

• In retrospect, what could the group have done differently to produce a more
effective project? What could the group have done differently to do it more
efficiently?

• What have you learned from this assignment about diversity that can also be
applied to productively managing the differences that can be “invisible” in the
workplace?

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50. Evaluating Diversity and Inclusion: Conducting A Diversity Audit

Diversity on the Web

Evaluating Organizational Commitment to Diversity


by Auditing Web Sites

In the twenty-first century, Web sites are an important channel of communication


between organizations and their external stakeholders. If an organization is serious
about its commitment to diversity, one would expect that this would be reflected in
the design, content and graphics, of the Web site. Potential employees, customers,
suppliers, etc., often turn first to a Web site before initiating interaction with an
organization. If diversity is really integral to the mission and values of an
organization, information on diversity should be easily accessible, informative and
well integrated into the Web site.

Your instructor will select an industry such as healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing,


government, education, sports, etc. or specific Web sites that members of the class
will use for this assignment. Then, prepare a report on the following:

1. Evaluate how accessible diversity-related material is on this Web site. Is there


a direct link from the home page? What type of results does entering the term
“diversity” in a search box yield? Or, do you have to explore on your own?
Sometimes searching under “careers” or “press releases” will produce some
diversity-related results. On some Web sites, students will have to explore
deeply into Web pages to find material related to diversity. What does this say
about the organization’s commitment to diversity?

2. Evaluate the usefulness of the diversity information to potential employees,


customers and suppliers. Is the diversity material related to the organization’s
business case for diversity, core values, mission, i.e? the way that the
organization does business? How current is the diversity-related material? For
a good example explore Hewlett Packard’s Web site at
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/diversity

3. Evaluate the appropriateness of the photographs and graphic material that


relates to diversity. Some Web sites will feature photographs of diverse
employees and customers, yet not link this material to the verbal content. Some
reuse the same pictures on different pages, etc. On the Hewlett Packard Web
site, notice the photos they use and the diversity value chain graphic available at

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/diversity/value.html

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50. Evaluating Diversity and Inclusion: Conducting A Diversity Audit

Diversity on the Web cont’d

4. Using the Web site that you were assigned for this project, assume that
you are a) a potential employee, b) a potential customer and c) a potential
supplier or subcontractor. What perceptions might you have about this
organization’s commitment to diversity based solely on the website?
Looking at this Web site, do you think that it encourages or discourages
diverse employees to apply for jobs in this organization? Why or why not?

5. What internal management issues can affect the prominence that diversity
gets or doesn’t get on an organization’s Web site?

6. As these findings are reported to the class, students can briefly demonstrate
the best and worst features of the Web sites and the following question may
then be used for class discussion:
Assume that you are a (female or over 55 or racial minority or
person with a physical challenge or gay or lesbian, etc.) job
applicant and you have read ads for job openings for which you
are fully qualified in all of the companies presented in class.
What perceptions might you have of each company before you
even walk in the door? Would you still apply? Why or why not?

Teaching Tip

An evaluation form for the audit project follows. Simply cut and paste this form as a
Word Document. You can space the five criteria to allow room for your comments as
needed.

VI - 40
50. Evaluating Diversity and Inclusion: Conducting A Diversity Audit

DIVERSITY AUDIT EVALUATION

Group Members
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Name of the Organization

________________________________________________________________

1. QUALITY OF SECONDARY RESEARCH

2. QUALTIY OF GROUP’S CRITERIA

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50. Evaluating Diversity and Inclusion: Conducting A Diversity Audit

3. HOW WELL DID THE GROUP EVALUATE THIS ORGANIZATION


AGAINST THE STATED CRITERIA?

4. COMMENTS ON THE QUALITY OF THE PAPER

5. COMMENTS ON THE GROUP’S PRESENTATION

Group Grade _________________

VI - 42
51. The U.S. Air Force Academy: Organizational Culture and Diversity Issues

THE U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY:


ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND DIVERSITY ISSUES

Egidio A. Diodati
Assumption College

Goals

• To give students an appreciation of the cultural forces within an organization that


may drive member relationships and resulting actions

• To help students to understand the differences between organizational cultures


and how these differences require a greater range of tolerance in working within
such a culture

• To help students to understand the complexity and longer time frames sometimes
required to affect meaningful cultural/organization change

Summary
The case presents, via a chronology of recent events at the U.S. Air Force Academy, a
series of problems widely reported in the media. The factual presentation is a function of
research that examined a number of sources including media reports, press statements,
reports from private organizations, and official U.S. government documents. The case
presents the events and opinions of various parties.

In the description of the Air Force organizational culture, there are two relevant theories
that the student may use in completing the case analysis. Optionally, the instructor may
use these as a basis for discussion in order to give the students the necessary background
for the case.

Discussion Questions and Answers


1. Describe the organizational culture of the Air Force Academy as presented in
this case in terms of its similarity and differences to other academic institutions.

The organizational culture section of the case is intended to provide frameworks to


use in developing an understanding of the Air Force Academy’s unique culture. The

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51. The U.S. Air Force Academy: Organizational Culture and Diversity Issues

definition of culture found here can be used to analyze the culture of any
organization. However, the Air Force Academy as a military academy is a “strong
traditional institution” and as such can “produce dysfunctional blind spots” as well as
provide “a stimulus for wonderful selfless action.” It is these blind spots that may
have a causal role in the problems illustrated in the case. Interestingly enough, Carl
Builder’s statistics indicate that “nearly 20% of all Air Force personnel are women”
and that 99.7% of all jobs in the Air Force are open to women, may indicate that the
Air Force may be more progressive in gender integration than the other branches of
the military or even some non-military organizations.

The Academy’s culture is clearly consistent with Ziegler and Gunderson’s four
unique facets of military culture:

• Discipline is strongly enforced with a goal of “enhanced unit cohesion and strong
leadership,”

• Professional ethos exists through codes of conduct that establish a professional


identity.

• Common identity is established and maintained via uniforms, ceremony,


etiquette, etc.

• A strong esprit de corps is the goal of many of the activities.

Like the Air Force Academy, many academic environments could be described as
strongly traditional. They too may have the same blind spots and/or benefits as found
in military organizations. Although the culture may be different, often it is every bit
as strong. Any number of examples may come to mind from the Ivy League schools
through liberal universities to community colleges.

The elements mentioned above (discipline, etc.) define the significant differences
between the Air Force Academy and other more traditional academic environments.
The goals of unit cohesion, strong professional identity, and strong esprit de corps
are not as strong in many non-military environmental cultures. The absence of these
values would tend to allow for a greater diversity of ideas and tolerance of
differences in academic institutions.

Of the possible “feminisms” presented in Ziegler and Gunderson’s research, it seems


that the academy best exemplifies the liberal feminism, which essentially construes
equality as sameness. Further, this organization is not only resistant to change but is
actually designed, as are most military organizations, not to change easily. As the
case points out, to military organizations, change equals increased risk of death and
destruction. It appears that the Air Force in general and the Academy specifically,
will only change when pressured from the outside.

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51. The U.S. Air Force Academy: Organizational Culture and Diversity Issues

An examination of the Academy’s culture using Hofstede’s dimensions of national


culture would indicate the following results:

• A low tolerance for ambiguity that is reinforced by tradition, regulations, etc.

• An environment of high power distances where it is generally accepted


that power need not be equal and great deference must be given to
greater rank and seniority

• A collectivist culture, where people are integrated into strong, cohesive groups
and where members are protected in exchange for unquestioning loyalty

• A masculine culture where the male values of assertiveness and competitiveness


dominate

• A relatively short-term orientation culture where values like respect for


tradition, fulfilling “social” obligations, and protecting one’s image is of
great importance

2. List the personnel and organizational forces that contribute to resistance to


change at the Air Force Academy.

Personal resistance factors might include:


a. failure to recognize the need for change
b. a misunderstanding of the purpose, process, and outcomes of change
c. fear of the unknown
d. insecurity or fear of loss of status
e. any threats to existing social relationships
f. reluctance to give up old routines or habits.

Organizational resistance factors might include:


a. a reward system that reinforces the old ways of doing things
b. threats to the existing balance of power
c. inter-group conflicts that inhibit cooperation
d. incompatibility of the change process and organizational culture, and
e. heavy investment in previous decisions and courses of action.

3. Are the two major problems in this case, the 1993 and 2003 sexual assaults, and
the 2005 religious intolerance, related in any way? If so, how?

Clearly, due to the overwhelming similarity of events the first two problems are
necessarily related. Both of these involved the abuse of power by upperclassmen and
the inequitable treatment of the female victims by the command structure in place at
the time.

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51. The U.S. Air Force Academy: Organizational Culture and Diversity Issues

Linkage of the two earlier (sexual assault) events to that of religious intolerance does
indicate connection on a number of levels. First, it is clear that one of the cultural
factors causal to the religious intolerance situation was the power distance in the
organizational culture. The “abusers,” i.e., agents, were individuals whose
organizational position allowed them significant power over the less powerful targets.
This factor is common to both the sexual assault issues and the religious intolerance
issue.
A second factor, which may have had a lesser impact on the sexual assault problems,
but seems to have a more significant impact on the religious intolerance issue, is the
organization’s low tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. In organizations with low
tolerance for uncertainly, there can be significant problems with simultaneously
accepting multiple and possibly conflicting beliefs.

4. Evaluate the effectiveness of the changes that the Academy made after the 1993
and 2003 sexual assault scandals. Explain the reasons for your evaluation.
The changes put in place after the 1993 sexual assault scandal lacked effectiveness.
The mere fact that there were almost identical allegations in 2003 is a clear signal
that the Academy failed to make the appropriate cultural changes. Moreover, the
lesson to be learned here is that permanent behavioral changes in members of a group
or within an organizational must coincide with significant cultural changes.

The recommendations included:


• Setting up a Center for Character Development to promote ethical conduct,
• Establishing a twenty-four hour rape hot line

• Issuing a policy that stated to “ensure a climate exists that is free of


discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and assault of any kind.”

The 2003 complaints would indicate that these recommendations were ineffective in
their implementation. While these may be good public relations and contribute to a
perception of change, the recommendations did not accomplish significant
organizational change.
The responses to the 2003 sexual assault scandal included instituting new sexual
assault reporting procedures where victims are given full confidentiality in
counseling and medical care without triggering the possibility of the Academy’s
disciplinary process.
These are clear and concrete short-term efforts by the administration to deal with the
specific issues. If well implemented, these changes will take the fear of recrimination
out of making an allegation. However, these changes do not effectively deal with the
organizational culture roots of these behaviors.

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51. The U.S. Air Force Academy: Organizational Culture and Diversity Issues

Factors such as, large power distances, gender role expectations, strong cultural
values that give way to groupthink, etc. remain the same and fail to deal with the root
causes on a strategic level.

5. Evaluate the effectiveness of the changes made after the 2005 religious
intolerance complaints. Explain the reasons for your evaluation.
A review of the Academy’s proposed “Recommendations” detailed in the case allows
for an up-close view of these changes. The first proposal is to develop a policy
regarding religious expression that contains specific guidelines for those who
exercise judgment in this area. This recommendation, apart from the others, seems to
have the potential for a minimal impact unless it becomes part of a regularly
conducted training program and/or sensitivity session on diversity at the Academy.
The next two recommendations involve re-emphasizing existing policies and
appropriate endorsement of groups in which Air Force members may participate and
the oversight of unofficial groups operating on Air Force bases. One may question
the potential effectiveness of these proposed changes. Re-stating existing failed
policies may have little effect on the organization and its cultural norms and values.
The next proposed change, is to re-emphasize the requirement that addresses issues
of religious accommodation when planning and executing Air Force operations. On
the policy level, this is a good beginning. However, it lacks specifics implementation
guidelines for individual or group actions from the strategic level to the operational
level. This same criticism might be leveled at the recommendation to develop a
policy to integrate cultural awareness into operating Air Force units. Evidence of
change from this recommendation may be minimal.
In the rest of the changes, the Air Force Academy proposes to expand its Character
Development program that purportedly promotes awareness of and the respect for
diverse cultures and beliefs throughout the Academy curriculum. Indeed, this has the
potential to be a very effective step, if the intent and results are to make it part of the
fabric of the Academy culture at large – “tolerance across the curriculum,” if you
will. However, this is much easier said than done, particularly in the more technical
the disciplines such as engineering, etc.
The recommendation that establishes a single point of contact for determining what
complaint mechanism is appropriate is indeed concrete, but may have a negative side
if the complainant’s anonymity cannot be guaranteed. Remind students what
happened to the women who filed the earlier complaints regarding sexual assault.
The recommendation to use internal controls to assess climate and implement
corrective action is fairly concrete, at least at face value. It does however beg the
question of whether these are the same internal controls that were in place (seemingly
ineffectively) during the three problems of 1993, 2003, and 2005. Assuming that
these are different, what has changed from the earlier controls or procedures?

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51. The U.S. Air Force Academy: Organizational Culture and Diversity Issues

6. Given the unique military culture of this organization, what recommendations


would you suggest at this point in time?

Note: Encourage students to link the personal and organizational factors that the
class listed as contributing to resistance to change in answering question #2 to this
answer.

Possible recommendations could include

• Increasing the diversity of the faculty, staff and student body at the Academy so
that they comprise a more representative population. As the data from the case
indicate, women comprise roughly 18% of the current academy population.
Additionally, women have lower acceptance rates than men. Moreover, women
have higher attrition rates for the upper classes (2008 & 2009). This
recommendation should somehow be extended to non-Christian minorities.
However, unless a student self-identifies as a non-Christian, the Academy is
banned, by law, from requiring this information.

• The Air Force should ensure that the proportionality of women and minorities
throughout the faculty, staff, and administration at all levels is more strongly
representative of the overall population outside of the Academy. (NOTE:
Information on the faculty, staff, and administration was unavailable at the time
of publication.)

• The Academy leadership should make sure that everyone at the institution fully
understands how these changes will promote the organization’s mission, which
should include: core values and beliefs, and the organization’s compelling
mission.

• The Academy could implement the use of internal change agents who would be
responsible for promoting the organizational change efforts. In the case of the Air
Force Academy, this should permeate all command levels. The primary
responsibility of these internal change agents should be effecting and maintaining
diversity sensitivity within the fabric of the Academy’s operations.

• External change agents, i.e., experts hired from the outside to lead or facilitate
change efforts, could be of significant value, particularly in a strong military
culture, if they have relevant expertise. Such consultants could provide an
opportunity for unfiltered feedback from both majority and minority members of
the organization. If they are from the outside, their roles are more facilitation
than implementation. These external change agents also represent the
expectations of external constituencies – important input to the change process
and progress.

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51. The U.S. Air Force Academy: Organizational Culture and Diversity Issues

• Regular cultural assessments should be conducted to gauge the status of norms,


beliefs, and values and their ongoing impact on Academy life. These may take
the form of anonymous surveys given regularly and/or focus groups conducted
by someone outside the chain of command and, if possible, completely external
to the organization. Regular feedback from these assessments should be
provided to all stakeholders: faculty, students, administrators and staff.

• It is essential that a climate of openness and trust be nurtured across the


institution. Immediate and appropriate action must be the institutional response
to any complaint. Attitudes that show any form of retribution towards the
plaintive must be avoided.

• Rather than simply excluding all religious expressions, the organization should
foster a greater sense of “inclusivity”. Regular gatherings on an ecumenical level
could go a long way toward signaling the value of all beliefs. A representative
committee of students, faculty, administrators, and staff should come together
regularly to shape ecumenical events. Clearly, this will be difficult at first but
once it becomes part of the fabric of the organization, it could be particularly
beneficial in terms of fostering a deeper understanding of religious based cultures
where military personnel may be stationed.

• Explaining terms like “ethnocentrism” and “groupthink” should become part of


the standard terminology at the Academy when stressing acceptance and the
pluralism of ideas and beliefs.

7. What impact do you think that the DOD’s new Sexual Assault Prevention and
Response (SAPR) program will have on the culture and the historic problems of
sexual assault/harassment and religious intolerance at the U.S. Air Force
Academy?

Opinion question; student answers may vary to this question.

Post-Script
In October of 2005, Brigadier General Susan Y. Desjardins was appointed Commandant
of the U.S. Air Force Academy.

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51. The U.S. Air Force Academy: Organizational Culture and Diversity Issues

Writing Assignment
Identify an organizational with which you have some experience.
1. Research the culture of that organization from talking to employees, managers,
researching HR policies, etc. i.e., what are the organizational values, mission,
etc.?
2. Does the organizational mission address the issues of tolerance, diversity, etc.?
If so, how effectively is it done?
3. For this organization, attempt to apply Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions and
evaluate where you would judge the organization is on each.
4. Could this organization and its relative positions on the various Hofstede
dimensions have any relation to the propensity of the organization to have
problems with sexual harassment/assault or intolerance of religious minorities?
Discuss your reasons.

Diversity on the Web


Visit the websites of at least five major organizations and examine their mission
statements that address diversity. These may be for-profit, not-for-profit, or
governmental/military organizations. Search other sources for additional
information on these organizations.
1. Do the other sources confirm that the organizations actually implement their
diversity mission statements?
2. Which of these organizations do you think seem to be doing the more effective
job of providing environments free of harassment and hostility?

VI - 50
Solution Manual for Understanding and Managing Diversity, 5/E 5th Edition : 0132553112

Section VI. Integrative Questions

INTEGRATIVE QUESTIONS FOR SECTION VI

1. Looking back on this course, specifically how can one worker or one supervisor
actually promote organizational change in terms of diversity?

2. In terms of the change model, what forces resist each of the following initiatives:
appointing a chief diversity officer, requiring all employees to participate in
ongoing diversity training programs, and offering a telecommuting option to
parents.

3. Review the leadership styles and the performance of any of the CEO’s from a
major case in this text. On a scale of A-F how would you grade this person now
as diversity change agents. Justify your answer.

4. What changes might you expect at the Air Force Academy as a result of the
recent repeal of the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and how should these changes
be implemented?

5. Select one of the diversity awards from the Allard article. Write new criteria for
that particular award that improves the validity and value of receiving this honor.

6. What did you learn about organizational diversity from doing the audit
assignment that might be helpful to you personally in the workplace?

7. Thinking about what effective Employee Resource Groups have done for
businesses, how could your college or university benefit from forming similar
groups?

VI - 51

Visit TestBankBell.com to get complete for all chapters


Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
Though the old lady’s kirk was four miles off—probably eight
English miles—she went to worship every Sunday. She was glad to
get some snuff, which is the luxury of a Highland cottage. In one
village of three huts, Dr. Johnson found a chimney and a pane of
glass.
Beside his road-making, with stone and concrete, General Wade
had notable success in dealing with the peculiar variety of human
nature that was so marked in the Celtic Highlanders. He so won his
way into their hearts that, with the tact that came of thorough
acquaintance with his subject, he slowly but surely disarmed the
clans. Turbulence and habitual brawls ceased, for the most part, and
there came an era of civilization and peaceful life, contrasting
amazingly with the state of affairs in Scotland before 1745. To the
Irish General Wade the world awards the title promised of God by
the prophet Isaiah, “The restorer of paths to dwell in.”
It was in 1745 that the road-builder in the Highlands, Wade, then
a field marshal, but in poor health and seventy years of age, when
attempting to deal with the insurrection of the Jacobites, was utterly
baffled by the perplexing rapidity of Prince Charles’s marches. He,
therefore, most patriotically, resigned in favor of the Duke of
Cumberland, the “Bluff Billie” of fame and story.
Though Wade won great victories in war, his greatest renown
was gained not on the field of blood, but in this peaceful triumph over
the Highlanders. In this, he gave an inspiring precedent to those of
our own American officers of the army and navy, who have done
such noble work in preventing riot and other outbreaks of violence
among the races in our composite nation, or who, by persuasion,
instead of bloodshed, have induced Indians to submit to law. In
digging canals, in achieving hygienic mastery over disease, in
surmounting natural obstacles, in ministering to the needy, sick, and
hungry upon the frontiers, and in time of pestilence, calamity, and
devastation, by storm and earthquake, they have shown their
heroism. May the time soon come when society and the world at
large will honor the heroes of peace and mark their bloodless
triumphs, no less renowned in peace than in war. Admirable in the
highest degree is now the Scottish camaraderie of Highlander and
Lowlander, but none, to gain it, would in these more enlightened
days, pay again the awful price at which it was won.
CHAPTER XVII
HEATHER AND HIGHLAND COSTUME

Let us look at the characteristics of Caledonia’s principal


garment, the heather: or, shall we say, rather, the hue upon Scotia’s
cheeks? Scotland is a land of colors. Her robes and cosmetics are of
many dyes. On her flowers are the flushes of the temporary blooms,
on her rocks the tints of eternity. Her tarns, her lochs, her bogs are
as dye vats, so rich, yet so changeful, are their hues, over which
artists thrill and glow.
Scotland’s richest hues are at their full between spring and
winter. Then, in nature, pink and purple are the reigning fashions.
Over the larger part of the land’s surface grows the plant called, in
homely word, ling, or heather, which botanists name Calluna
vulgaris. These evergreen shrubs flourish all over northern Europe,
but other members of the great family are found also in Africa, where
they reach the size of large bushes, while one favored child, in the
south of Europe, grows to the proportions of a tree.
Some of these species brought from southern lands ornament
British gardens, and produce their flowers in great profusion in April.
In fact, some flower-fanciers rear in greenhouses the different
varieties of heather, both exotic and native, with the enthusiasm
which others devote to orchids. There are special buildings, called
heath-houses, erected for the cultivation of the many varieties.
Blessed is the heather, for it enlivens the sterile lands of northern
and western Europe, which otherwise would be almost appalling in
their vistas of desolation! Great masses of heather give, even to the
most forbidding landscapes, a beauty suggesting something like
human sympathy. The common heather, like the man suddenly lifted
to fame and fortune, is apt to show the lack of early advantages, but
give this plant of the moors a sheltered place and kindly care, and it
will grow erect and “heave out its blooms”—as said an old mariner—
so as to touch the top of a yardstick. With purple stems, close-leaved
green fruit, and feathery spikes of bell-shaped flowers, this Calluna
vulgaris is one of the handsomest of the heath flowers. Some
heather is white, but most of the plants are of a lilac rose color,
varying through pink to purple. It is this varying depth of color in the
blooms which adds to the glory of the August moors and hillsides.
Under ordinary environment, most of the plants have no human
care to give them comfortable growth. Out on the desolate moor, or
on the arid slopes, each bush has to wrestle with the tempest and
withstand the bombardment of sand and gravel hurled by the wind.
Though like the pine of Clan Alpine, “the firmer it roots him, the
stronger it blows,” yet the life of the heather is a constant struggle.
Even though it rise but a few inches above the surface, its roots must
be anchored deep in the ground to prevent its being blown away. Its
white stalk must become gray, hard, and tough, if the plant is to live.
The blossoming of the heather, even though it be “the meanest
flower that blows,” is hailed with delight as the opening of Nature’s
floral calendar. With its clusters of pink, in the time of flowering in
midsummer, and its mass of purple later on, it has a strange power
to awaken deep-lying thoughts. To the natives, more especially, this
wee, modest flower has a mystic potency to please and charm. It
rouses among them, at home and abroad, a feeling of patriotism. It
becomes, in the Scotsman’s associations, a link between his soul
and the ground out of which he came and into which he will go.
Probably no toiling and homesick Scot, pining in a foreign land, longs
for anything in the old homeland so much as for a sight of his native
heather. To hold before his dying eyes a sprig of “the bonnie” has
been known to light there a gleam such as nothing else can.
Virtually unknown, except to the scientific, in America, where it
has never been native, the ordinary or Scottish variety of heather,
wherever seen, has been largely imported by the sons and
daughters of Scotland. Heather is now found sporadic on the Atlantic
Coast from Newfoundland to New Jersey. More welcome than the
thistle, in which many hillsides of Scotland “are very fertile,” as Dr.
Johnson remarks, the heather has brought beauty to the eye and
charm to the landscape, instead of calamity, as in Australia, where it
“is nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned.”
As for usefulness, the heather to the Scots is almost what the
bamboo is to the Japanese, in its myriad applications to rural
purposes. It is, first of all, to the women, a broom plant. The largest
stalks are made into a broom; or, as the Scotch say, the “besom,”
which readers of Isaiah associate chiefly with destruction. The
shorter stems are tied into bundles that serve as brushes. It is
Scotch humor that calls a low, worthless woman a “besom,” while the
proverb declares that “there is little to the rake to get, after the
besom.” The long trailing shoots of the heather are woven into
baskets. Dug up with the peat about its roots, the “cling heath” not
only makes good fuel, but it often supplies the only material for
heating and cooking that can be obtained on the dry moors.
In primitive days, the “shealings,” or huts of the Highlanders,
were constructed of heath stems connected together with peat mud,
and worked into a kind of mortar, with dry grass or straw. Even to-
day hunting-lodges, temporary sheds, and cattle houses are often
built in the same way and roofed with the same plant. The luxurious
bed of the ancient Gael was made by spreading the heather on the
floor or bunk, with its flowers upward, making a soft and springy
mattress. To-day, many a deer-stalker, hill shepherd, or tramping
tourist is glad to make bedding of the same material. In former times,
before Scotland had become almost a synonym for whiskey and her
glens for distilleries, the young shoots were used in brewing, as a
substitute for hops, while for tanning material they have always
served.
After the heather ripens, the seeds remain a long time in the
capsules, and furnish food to serve all kinds of birds, but especially
to the red grouse, which finds here the major portion of its
sustenance. The tender tops yield a large part of the winter fodder of
the hill flocks; for, when the mountain grasses and rushes are no
longer luscious or accessible, the sheep will perforce crop the
heather. This fact is the basis of one of those cherished notions,
which local pride, especially when “there’s money in it,”—and of like
nature all over the world,—has so generously furnished. It is a
notion, almost dangerous in some localities to dispute, that the fine
flavor of Scotch mutton comes from the sheep’s diet of heather tops,
which menu, however, exists much more largely in popular
imagination than in actual reality.
Despite the pressure of the trade and the demand for the daily
square miles of newspaper stock required for an insatiable reading
public, manufacturers have not yet been able to make heather stalks
compete with other materials in making paper. The stalks are not
sufficiently fibrous for this special purpose.
Two of the four hundred and twenty known species of heather
yield great store of honey, furnishing a plentiful supply to the bees in
moorland districts. To secure a good crop, thousands of hives are
annually transported to the moors during heather-blossom time. It is
highly probable that from this honey the ancient Picts brewed the
mead, said by Boethius to have been made from the flowers
themselves.
In the long stretch of the æons and centuries, through the
alchemy of sun and water, the heather has deposited the peat which
to-day serves for fuel, and of which recent science has, with the aid
of molasses, made food for horses and cattle.
Of the known species of the genus Erica, most are native to the
south of Africa, but the British Isles produce seven species, of which
some have been found only in Ireland. The heather “bells,” so often
alluded to in British song, are the flowers of the cross-leaved and the
five-leaved heather. Apart from song, these blooms flourish in the
field of rhetoric and conversation sparkles with references to them.
“To take to the heather” is a euphemism for absconding. To be “on
one’s own native heather” is to be at home. “The heather has taken
fire” when a man is in passion, an orator is eloquent, or the populace
is in anger.
The heather, or “heath,” as many natives call it, has its own
inhabitants. The little sandpiper is called the “heather peeper.” Then
there is the heath fowl, or moor hen,—its young being called the
“heath polt,” or pullets,—and the “black grouse” is her husband.
According to Thompson, in his “Seasons,”—

“O’er the trackless waste


The heath hen flutters, pious fraud, to lead
The hot pursuing spaniel far away.”

In America we call this heath hen the pinnated, ruffled, or


Canada grouse.
The game bird which is peculiarly associated with Scotland is the
“grouse.” The word means literally “speckled,” “grizzly,” or “gray,” and
when popularly applied includes almost all of the rough-footed
scratchers that wear feathers and have wings. The red grouse, of
old, was called “moor fowl,” or “moor game,” and in common speech
is said even to influence legislation; for in popular tradition,
Parliament adjourns on the day when the law allows this bird to be
shot. On the 12th of August, throughout Scotland, one is likely to see
in the tailor shops and in many stores sprigs of heather decorating
the cloth or other merchandise. In the show windows will probably be
seen pictures of grouse hunters at work with their guns, and the
graceful birds rising “up from the valley of death” to fly, if possible,
beyond the reach of man. An immense number of Scottish acres are
set apart as grouse moors. When there are no rocks, bushes,
gullies, or other natural features for a covert, short bits of wall or
lunettes of stone are built, beyond which the hunters hide. These
make a prominent feature in many a square mile of desolation.
Though the guns are not by law allowed to blaze at the birds
until August 12 is fully come, yet at the railway stations one may see,
loaded on the first train of the day before, hampers packed full of this
material for enjoyable dinners, to appear in the London markets, with
startling if not legal punctuality.
It is said that the red grouse is rarely or never found away from
the heather, on which it chiefly subsists. On the contrary, the willow
grouse, with which we are acquainted in the New World, where
heather, in the strict sense, is unknown, prefers the shrubby growths
of berry-bearing plants, and is found numerously among the willows
and branches on the higher levels and mountain slopes. The snow-
white ptarmigan is the cousin to the red grouse.
It seems strange, at first, that the heather does not bulk more
largely in Scottish imagination, as shadowed forth in poetry and
popular song. Yet there is one poem by Jean Glover, entitled “O’er
the muir amang the heather,” which tells of coming through “the
craigs of Kyle,” and how she charmed the poet’s heart, who then
swears:—

“By sea and sky she shall be mine,


The bonnie lass amang the heather
O’er the muir,” etc.

Another song, “Heather Jock’s noo awa’,” by an unknown author,


tells of a famous pickpocket who could creep through “a wee bit
hole” and quietly pilfer eggs and cheese, for “Jock was nae religious
youth,” who yet lived at a bountiful table spread with his spoil. Having
often broken jail, the judge at last, without delay, sent him off to
Botany Bay and bade him “never more play Heather Jock.”
Nevertheless, the allusions and references to the heath flower, in
song, poetry, and conversation, are numerous. Scott speaks of the
heath-bell “which supplied the bonnet and the plume,” and of the
harebell,—of which our “shepherd’s purse” is not the contraction,—
and again of other dew-begemmed blooms:—

“A foot more light, a step more true,


Ne’er from the heath flower dashed the dew.”

Between the world of heather and the Highlander’s costume,


there is a close and subtle connection. Since in the evolution of
Scottish dress the heath flowers—before the introduction of garden
favorites, of exotic and modern flowering plants, or the more
elaborate plaids of recent days—“supplied the bonnet and the
plume,” it seems evident that art took her hints from nature. “A wide,
billowing series of confluent hills, that for half a year mingled tints of
brown, russet, and dun in a rich pattern,” is a description of the hilly
landscape of the border region, out of which, for the most part, the
development of the plaids, on a large scale of production,
proceeded. These, blending with the best work and most cunning
textiles of the Highlands and of the islands, have made the actual
Highlander’s costume of which the modern reader thinks. It must
always be remembered that the most striking difference in the daily
dress of Lowlander and Highlander was in the cut, form, method of
wearing, and general appearance, rather than in color or material.
Roughly speaking, the abundant variety of tints and patterns is
almost wholly modern.
For centuries, until banned by law, the most striking external
mark of difference between the northland Scot, or the mountaineer,
and the Lowlander, the man of the plains, was in the male costume.
Scotland, though in Roman times inhabited by Celtic tribes, shared
with the northern or Teutonic nations in the good providence that
enabled her people to work out their natural life, not under Latin
forms, nor according to the genius of classic paganism, but under
the Christian religion and civilization, into whose school they came
as young, docile pupils. Christianity is Scotland’s alma mater. Hence
her people rejoice to-day in an art which has remained free from
Mediterranean infusion. It is certainly wonderful that such an
æsthetic dress as the Scottish costume should have grown up as
something almost unaided; to say nothing of other interesting forms
of artistic industry and decoration, which are wholly indigenous.
The tartan, though Scottish in its development, was hardly an
original invention. The word comes from the Spanish and French
“tire taine,” meaning in the former language something thin and
flimsy, from “tire tar,” to tremble, or shiver, with the cold. In French,
the term “tire taine” refers to the mingled fibres of linen and wool, or
linsey-woolsey. Probably no word is known in either Gaelic or
English, before the fifteenth century, describing the finer sort of
tartans. After this date, the vocabulary is rich and the industry greatly
developed. It is certain that the Highlanders by the eighteenth
century possessed these peculiar textiles and their patterns which
were varied to a wonderful degree, so that each clan had its own
special tartan, by which it was distinguished. The Scots made the
tartan the fit substitute for a heraldry that expresses itself in the
“arms” and in a system of symbolical decoration copied from plants,
animals, or the implements of war or industry. It is probable that
European heraldry arose out of the crusades, which gave also to
Scottish blazonry a tremendous impetus.
When, however, the modern world at large, attracted by the
beauty and solid value of the Scotch tartans, used these as articles
of dress for their own personal decoration, or for purely commercial
advantage, then the heraldry of the tartan suffered confusion and
decay. Manufacturers, for the sake of the money to be gained in the
new enterprise, began to design new and purely imaginary tartans.
This proceeding gave rise to the jests and ribaldry of the shallow
skeptics, who throw doubt upon the reality of these distinctive
patterns as ever having been, as at one time they undoubtedly were,
distinctive as the particular badges of particular clans. The truth lies
midway between the enthusiast and the doubter.
In political history, when conquest, subjection, or subordination of
all to the supreme government must be secured, it seems necessary,
at times, to suppress or abolish certain outward symbols or forms of
dress which ally the thoughts and feelings of those subordinated to
the insurgent past. It seems best to ban these, at least until the time
when, order and uniformity having been secured, the resumption of
the old liberty of dress, which has no longer any political significance,
may be harmless. In the old Scot’s land we have heard about “the
wearing of the green”—long proscribed, then allowed.
The Highlander’s costume has to-day no political significance,
though it was once the badge of the insurgent, and later for a time
under ban. After Culloden, in 1745, the British Parliament passed
laws by which the Scottish hill people were deprived of their
weapons. Then, also, the Highland dress was prohibited under
severe penalties. Happily however, that ban was lifted in good
season.
The turbulence of the clans was at once diminished when they
were disarmed and the way was thus paved for peaceful
compromise. The ways of peace became more attractive to both
kerns and chiefs after roads had been made in the mountainous
region. Then the economic situation steadily improved and industry
was associated with allurements nearly equal to those of war.
One of the first things to be done, to command success in this
new venture in statecraft, was to make a clever adaptation of the
Highland dress, which should take away all idea of conquest or
servitude, but rather suggest ancestral freedom. In this, the success
was instant and marked. Attracted also by the high pay, the hardy
men of the glens enlisted by thousands in the British army.
It was the wise and far-seeing statesman Pitt, who, acting upon
the suggestion of Forbes of Culloden, saw that all that the
unemployed Highlanders needed were new outlets to their energies.
For over two-centuries the United Kingdom had no more loyal
soldiers than the Scots, whose valor in every land has been tried and
on a hundred fields of glory proved. The prohibitory acts, already a
dead letter, were, in 1782, formally repealed.
Since that time the tartan plaids have come into fashion on an
international scale. These are no longer thought of as a thing purely
Scottish, yet the credit of such a notable contribution to the taste, the
fashion, and the joy of the whole world belongs to Scotland. It is one
of the many gifts which this land and people have made to the race
at large. In the Empire’s struggle for life in 1914–16, among the first,
most valorous, most numerous, and most efficient, were the Scots.
Even for a “service” uniform, the modified Highland dress holds
handsomely its own.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE NORTHEAST COAST—ABERDEEN AND
ELGIN

The northeast coast of Scotland is pacific in climate, as


compared with the Atlantic storminess that rules the sea-girt land on
the west.
Montrose, which has twenty places in America named after it,
lying at the mouth of the river South Esk, is attractive because of its
splendid golf and cricket grounds. It is historically interesting, on
account of the checkered fortunes of its dukes and earls. On its face
we discern a Netherlands influence, for the old architecture reminds
us of Dutch towns. Indeed, this may be said of many east coast
places, though in Holland the architecture is all brick. In Scotland it is
almost wholly stone.
So much land at Montrose is left bare at low tide that it seems a
waste to have it lie unused by any living thing but gulls and fishes.
Once, expert dyke-makers were brought from Holland to embank
and enclose the area thus left dry at ebb tide; but when nearly
completed their work was destroyed in a few hours by a terrible
storm setting in from the east.
It was from Montrose that Sir James Douglas embarked for the
Holy Land in 1330, with the heart of King Robert the Bruce. Its
people were Jacobites in 1745, when “Bonnie Prince Charlie” made
the town his headquarters and Captain David Ferrier captured His
Majesty’s sloop-of-war Hazard. Montrose boasts also of being the
first place in Scotland where the Greek language was taught and
where Andrew Melville, the Reformer, received his education.
Stone Haven we found a lively place in summer, because of its
sea-bathing. This town has had a history. Not far away are the ruins
of Dunottar Castle, which, perched on a rock overhanging the sea,
was in ancient times probably impregnable. Even when the castle
surrendered to the English army, it was because of famine, and not
from weakness of the garrison. It covers three acres, which are now
left in the gloom of desolation. The iron rings and bolts, that held the
culprits for security or for torture, still witness to the barbarous
methods of our ancestors.
Out at sea we caught a glimpse of the Bell Rock Light House,
which rises one hundred and twelve feet above water level. It is often
literally buried in foam and spray to the very top, even during ground
swells, when there is no wind. Sometimes the pressure of the waves
is equivalent to nearly three tons to the square foot. In one instance,
at a height of eighty-six feet, an iron ladder was wrenched from its
fastenings and washed round to the other side. At times, stones,
more than two tons in weight, have been cast up from the deeper
water upon the reef.
Aberdeen is popularly called the “Granite City,” because many of
its dwellings and public buildings are built from the native rock. Yet
for the vision and fulfilment, one must see the place, not only in the
purple light of the setting sun and in the ordinary hours of the day,
but also after a heavy rain, which not only has washed the air, but
has cleansed the house-fronts. Then Aberdeen is, indeed, the “Silver
City by the Sea.” One may see how well the name is bestowed, for
then the stately public structures and private dwellings gleam pure
and white under the brilliant sunshine.
Despite the heavy annual rainfall, the Granite City is not only the
most prosperous, but one of the healthiest in Scotland. For three
hundred years its delvers have been quarrying the durable gray
granite, which, when cut and polished, is, to the extent of a quarter of
a million tons, exported to all parts of the world. Nearly a hundred
firms are engaged in the industry. The process of putting a lustre
upon this very hard stone, though known to the Egyptians, seems to
have been lost for thousands of years. When recovered in Aberdeen,
about 1818, it became the chief source of the town’s prosperity.
Then Scotland’s rocky base was transmuted into new values, as of
gold mines, which the Aberdeenians have found in both sea and
land, for Aberdeen’s greatest source of wealth is in her sea power.
Twenty-five millions of dollars worth of food are extracted
annually through the fisheries in the deeper waters, which have been
improved, first by the method of beam trawling, begun in 1882, and
then by the steam line fishing in 1889. Trains loaded with
nourishment from the great deep are despatched to London daily,
and the fish market is a lively place.

INTERIOR OF COTTAGE, NORTHEAST COAST


How full the North Sea is of these trawlers those know who have
seen them and kept pace with the efforts of philanthropists to
minister to the needs of the men on board the ships. In recent years
we have learned, moreover, how soon, in time of war, these toilers of
the deep are called upon to show their courage as well as their
industry, and have thus realized the danger ever surrounding these
modest heroes. The Russian Baltic fleet, in 1904, which was full of
officers nervous about the existence of Admiral Togo’s torpedo
boats,—supposed to be alert and active, seven thousand miles away
from home,—fired into the Scotch trawlers and shed blood. How
happy we were to see our British brethren keep cool! Instead of
rushing immediately into war, like barbarians and savages, John Bull
and the Muscovite came to an amicable understanding. In the world-
war of 1914–16, the trawlers have not only caught fish, but in their
new capacity, as mine-sweepers, have kept the North Sea
measurably free from “the hell hounds of the deep,” besides
themselves suffering awful devastation of life and property from
hostile aeroplanes and submarines.
An amusing glimpse into the life of the town in mediæval days,
when its people lived in that other world of thought, which in northern
Europe has utterly passed away, is given in the public records. For
example, as showing the status of the crafts and guilds, to which the
labor unions of Great Britain have succeeded, the Aberdeen Council
register has the following:—
“It was found by the old lovable custom and rite of the burgh, that
in the honor of God and the Blessed Virgin Mary, the craftsmen of
the same, in their best array kept and adorned the Procession from
Candlemas yearly.”
The ordinance declares also that “they shall in order to the
offering in the Play [miracle or pageant] pass two and two, together,
socially: first the fleshers, barbers, bakers, shoemakers, skinners,
coopers, wrights, hatmakers and bonnet makers together; then the
fullers, dyers, weavers, tailors, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, and hammer
men; and the craftsmen shall furnish the pageants; the shoemakers,
the messenger; the weavers and fillers, Simeon; the smiths and
goldsmiths, the three kings of Cologne; the dyers, the Emperor; the
masons, the three Knights; the tailors, Our Lady, St. Bride, and St.
Helen; and the skinners, the two Bishops; the two of each craft to
pass with the pageant that they furnish, to keep their gear.” Each
craft, by long custom, became identified with certain characters in
the procession. Eleven shillings was the fine against those who
failed to do their part.
To the north and west of Aberdeen lies Elgin, which has in its
name so many associations of classic and Oriental lands, in addition
to those with the Timepiece City in Illinois.
The eighth Earl of Elgin (1811–63), James Bruce, was great both
in America and Asia. He served not only as Governor of Jamaica,
but also as Viceroy and Governor-General of Canada. His warm
relations with the United States and his conciliatory treatment—in
spite of the mob pelting his carriage with stones—of those who
suffered in the troubles of 1837, were not at first appreciated. “He
rewarded the rebels for their rebellion,” as the then fiery Mr.
Gladstone declared in Parliament. Yet it was the efforts of this Lord
Elgin, with those of our Millard Fillmore in Congress, that gave
permanent effect to that provision in the Treaty of Ghent, which, for a
hundred years, has secured, between two great friendly nations, a
peaceful frontier, three thousand miles long.
It was Thomas Bruce (1766–1841), the father of this Lord Elgin,
who secured the sculptures in marble from Athens, which are now in
the British Museum.
In India, George Bruce, another Earl of Elgin, enabled a handful
of white men, fighting for civilization against fearful odds, to break
the back of the Sepoy Mutiny, in 1857, even before British
reinforcements arrived. In China, James Bruce negotiated the Treaty
of Tientsin. In Japan, he followed up the work initiated by the
Americans, President Millard Fillmore, Commodore Perry, and
Townsend Harris, using their interpreters and profiting by their
precedents. He thus inaugurated British influence in the most
progressive country of Asia.
While Elgin returned to England, his brother George and the
allied forces attempted to proceed to Peking with the ratified treaty.
In front of the Taku forts, built at the mouth of the Pei-ho, they were
fired on and the flotilla of British gunboats was nearly destroyed, on
the 25th of June, 1859. Then it was that our own Commodore
Tatnall, technically violating neutrality, came to the aid of the British,
not only to offer his surgeons for the scores of wounded that lay on
the decks of the shattered ships, but to blink at his boat’s crew of
American sailors, as they served the one British gun on the flagship
that was left unhurt.
Later on, he lent the aid of his boats to land detachments, which
turned the Chinese defences from the rear. Tatnall gained world-wide
reputation by his declaring that “Blood is thicker than water.” This
phrase, now international, in its original form, was an old Scottish
proverb, and as used by Sir Walter Scott more than once, it reads,
“Blood is warmer than water.”

“For course of blood, our proverbs deem,


Is warmer than the mountain-stream,”—

says Scott in his introduction to Canto vi of “Marmion.”


Lord Elgin was sent again to China to demand apology, the
execution of the treaty, and an indemnity from the Chinese. Then
took place that awful sacking of the Imperial Summer Palace, by
which the accumulations of art and taste for centuries were given
over to the British and French common soldiers for plunder and
devastation. The purpose in view was that the punishment for perfidy
should fall, not on the common people, but immediately and
personally on the faithless rulers. When, later, Elgin was sent as
Viceroy and Governor-General of India,—the first appointed directly
by the Crown,—he showed wonderful energy, firmness, and dignity,
but died in the midst of his labors.
The last, or ninth, Earl of Elgin was Viceroy of India from 1894 to
1899, and in 1905–8 was Secretary of State for the Colonies in the
Cabinet of Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman, where he was somewhat
overshadowed by his brilliant under-secretary, Winston Churchill, of
whom we heard in 1916, in a soldier’s uniform. Elgin retired from the
Cabinet when Mr. Asquith became Prime Minister.
Elgin, like most other similarly vertebrated Scottish towns,
consists of a backbone, the High Street, from which numerous ribs
or alleys diverge. This principal highway contains the ancient
buildings and extends about a mile from east to west, though its
uniformity is broken by the parish church, which obtrudes into the
causeway. The town has long been famous for its schools, while of
all the Scottish cathedrals, except that in Glasgow, this at Elgin is the
most magnificent and certainly the most ornate. One of the most
imposing ruins in the kingdom, it has great interest for the architect.
It was founded in 1224, during the reign of Alexander II, who also
gave the town its charter. “Proud” Edward I stayed at the castle
twice, and the building was destroyed immediately after national
independence had been reasserted at Bannockburn, in order that
the memory of his visits might be blotted out. The hill on which the
castle stood was re-named the “Lady Hill.” On the scanty ruins of the
castle now stands a fluted column surmounted by a statue of the fifth
Duke of Gordon.
Elgin has had a surfeit of history, with the unhappiness therefrom
accruing. Ravaged, burned, plundered, and rebuilt, the place
survived all degrees of devastation, to settle down into a sleepy
cathedral town for generations, until touched by the spirit of the
nineteenth century which has swept away much of its
picturesqueness. So often had it been fired and robbed that when, in
1402, Alexander, Lord of the Isles, burned the town, he, the canny
Scot, for a consideration, spared the cathedral. The Elginers, acting
on the principle of “small favors thankfully received,” erected the
“Little Cross”—so named to distinguish it from the “Muckle,” or
“Market Cross,” which was restored in 1888.
In the vestibule connecting the chapter house with the choir, a
poor, half-crazy creature, a soldier’s widow, named Marjorie
Anderson, took up her quarters in 1748. She made her infant’s
cradle of the stone basin or niche, in which the priest formerly
washed the chalice after administering communion; that is, in the
“piscina,”—named after the ancient fishpond attached to a Roman
villa,—and she lived on charity. In time, her baby boy, grown to
manhood, joined the army, and went to India. He rose to be major-
general and amassed a fortune, amounting to what would now be a
half-million dollars, and with this he endowed the Elgin Institution,
which is called after its benefactor. The Anderson Institution for the
Education of Youth and the support of Old Age in Elgin has also a
romantic story of origins.
Nothing could kill Elgin. It might well take for its motto,
“iterum,”—again. The “Garden of Scotland,” with its fine climate,
cheap living, and good schools, rose into prosperity, especially since
many of her former sons have been generous to their mother. In
1903, Mr. G. A. Cooper presented his native town with a public park
of forty-two acres containing lakes, which represent, on a miniature
scale, the British Isles. The public library occupies what was once
the mansion of the Grant family.
There is a church at Birnie, not far away to the southwest, built in
1150, which is believed to be the oldest house of public worship still
in use in Scotland. Here is preserved an old Celtic altar bell of
hammered iron. Such is the odor of sanctity of this ancient edifice
that there is a local saying that “To be thrice prayed for in the kirk of
Birnie will either mend or end you.”
CHAPTER XIX
THE ORKNEYS AND THE SHETLANDS

In the days of the great world-war of 1914–16, the Orkneys rose


into fresh notice, especially because here the British cruisers, that
had intercepted the neutral steamers to Holland, Scandinavia, and
Denmark, took their semi-prizes and detained mails and passengers,
causing much exasperation. Here, too, was the western terminal of
the line of blockade, with ships and steel netting, by which passage
into Germany was made nearly impossible. During this period many
Americans were involuntary and not over-happy visitors to these
islands, which to them were, literally, the Bleak House of the British
Empire.
“Orcades” was the name the Romans gave to this northern
extremity of their world. Their existence had been unknown, nor was
it suspected that Britain was an island, until the time of Agricola in
a.d. 78. Then the fleet of triremes ploughed the waves, unveiling the
contour of the country, centuries later called Scotland.

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