DIVERSITY II

For the United States, the Melting Pot of the world, the diversity of its people is growing at a rapid rate, and the trend is accelerating. Since this diverse population will be the fuel that powers Corporate America, then that is the fuel that Corporate America must utilize. There is no choice in the matter. The choice that these companies can make is whether they are committed to diversity, but whether they are ready to look at their internal systems, i.e. operating engines, to see how they are functioning. Corporations have spent many years designing and optimizing these engines in times when the workforce had less diversity. Will the CEOs be agreeable to a tune-up? Will the executives be prepared for an engine overhaul? Lastly, will the stockholders be willing to support an engine replacement?

CARRYING COALS TO NEWCASTLE

Since the dawn of the Industrial Age, the technological advancement of mankind can be chronologically traced to the advancements in fuel and engines. The sun did not rise on this era until a Scottish inventor by the name of James Watt obtained a patent in 1769 for the Modern Steam Engine. This engine would convert heat energy to mechanical energy and generate the power to run the mills, which produced the goods, which were delivered to consumers using railroad cars that rumbled behind the steam locomotives. Not only was the steam engine a technological breakthrough; it could be deployed anywhere in the world because abundant supplies of fuel were universally available to power them. Wood and coal would power these engines for generations to come.

The locations where the steam engines were deployed were greatly determined by the availability of fuel. Coal enabled the engine to perform more efficiently than wood because it was a better heat generator. The availability of coal was a critical selection criterion for building a factory. Some areas of the world became predestined winners in this Industrial Age because they had access to abundant supplies of coal right at their doorstep. For this reason, England raced to the lead, and areas of the country shared disproportionately in the success of the era. England's North Country received the greatest benefits, because there was no need to "Carry Coals to Newcastle."

THE CORPORATE ENGINE

From the Industrial Revolution to the Information Age, corporations made investments and acquisitions, which they deemed to be tactically and strategically important to the company's success. First the investments were focused on the manufacture of products, as was done in the mills and factories of New England. It gave life to the mill towns that were located on the many rivers in the region. This model continues, but the product-manufacturing model has been augmented by the knowledge and service-based economy that we have today. Human capital has taken on a profoundly new meaning.

The bricks and mortar infrastructure of the manufacturing age was considered to be a major asset of the corporation as well as a competitive advantage and differentiator. Many economists have moved these assets to the liability side of the ledger. Since the end of the Cold War, it seems that everything has changed. Warfare is now based on adaptability, mobility and intelligence, having replaced the model based on size and strength. The paradigm shift for the military followed the lessons learned from the industrial sector. Instead of utilizing humans to optimize the function of machines, the two were reversed. Human capital is what drives armies, agencies and economies in the millennial age.

DIVERSITY — THE HIGH OCTANE WORKGROUP

If we could think of the people who work in corporations, government and education as the fuel that drives these institutions, then it is an easy leap to realize that there must be engines that are powered by this fuel. In this case, the engines are not physical; rather they are the techniques of Organizational Development and the processes of Business Management. These techniques and processes are employed to optimally utilize the corporate fuel, i.e. physical assets, financial assets and human assets, to achieve corporate objectives. To carry this analogy forward, think of all human assets in the context of gasoline.

There are many manifestations of the internal combustion engine. Each has been optimized for a specific purpose and application such as a lawnmower, motorcycle or automobile. In turn, the fuel is then optimized for the engine. The final step is to optimize the two while the engine is operating, known as "tuning" the engine. Tuning an engine attempts to calibrate the optimal point at which the engine operates at maximum efficiency, the fuel is utilized most effectively and the negative byproducts of heat and pollution are minimized.

When an automobile requires a tune-up, the technician tweaks the engine to reestablish the optimum combination of all criteria. A tune-up may be required for various reasons, but the most recurring would be that the settings have drifted over time. With modern automobiles, electronic sensors and processors constantly adjust for these variations, which is why the tune-up has almost gone the way of the buggy whip.

When a car is purchased, the manufacturer notifies the owner that a particular octane of gasoline must be used. This is very important because the engine was designed for that fuel octane and the engine was tuned to operate most efficiently at that octane. An engine could operate using fuel of another octane rating, but problems and inefficiencies would develop. If there is a mismatch between the octane rating and the engine specification, consequences result:

1. Fuel reacts badly to the engine pressure and the engine "knocks".
2. Costlier fuel does not produce an increase in performance. Money is wasted.
3. Exhaust and pollutants increase.
4. The engine operates less efficiently.
5. Engine life is shortened due to poor operation.

IF THE OCTANE CHANGES…YOU NEED A TUNE-UP!

Imagine if you will that over time oil refineries began to blend its gasoline into one octane that exhibited the best qualities of all the previous grades. One fuel octane would then be the best-of-all-worlds. It should be applicable and beneficial to everyone.

However, the fuel that powers these engines is not the fuel that the engines were designed for. The fuel may have better qualities and be more plentiful, but the engine would need a tune-up if it is to operate to its performance specifications. If a tune-up cannot return the engine to the designed performance levels, a tune-up may not suffice. An engine overhaul may be required. You can think of a tune-up and an overhaul in a human context. A tune-up is analogous to a visit to a doctor for a check-up that results in a prescription of medication or behavioral change to improve your health. An overhaul, on the other hand, can be viewed as a minor surgical procedure.

Should these two measures prove to be ineffective, there is a third option that one might consider. As a last resort, you may learn that your engine is incapable of operating effectively using the available octane fuel. This will require the drastic measure of an engine replacement. Prepare yourself for the possibility of major operational disruptions because this is similar to receiving major surgery.

Due to the explosive population trends that are taking place in the United States, Corporate America has embraced Diversity Programs because its employee, customer and supplier base is part of that population. These programs have had a major impact on the fabric of corporate personnel. However, it cannot be assumed that the corporation's performance has improved, simply because the octane of its personnel has changed. It is imperative that corporate operations undergo a tune-up to ensure that the operations are functioning with the efficiency for which they were designed. Unless the diagnostics are performed and the tune-up takes place, there is no way to know whether diversity is fueling or fouling the corporate engine.

Vincent M. Cramer is the author of Cramer's Cube. He is also the founder of Winchester Consulting Group, an Organizational Development and Training Company specializing in the principles of Cramer's Cube and its application to Diversity Asset Management™.