Articles, White Papers and Publications by Mark Kaplan and MGK Consulting Partners

"The Business Case for Diversity"
Mark Kaplan
President, MGK Consulting LLC

A frequently asked and important question is:

“What is the business case for diversity?”

While it can be difficult to precisely measure the impact of many human resource related initiatives, it is not hard to conclude that an organization that is intentionally inclusive to a diverse employee workforce and customer base will gain a competitive advantage. This is certainly true given these important demographic and socio-cultural trends:

• The significant increase of women in the workplace, at all levels, and the resultant increase in dual career couples.
• Immigration trends and competitive trends bring more immigrants into the U.S., both as customers and employees.
• More People of Color in the workplace, at all levels.
• More visible and prosperous social identity groups, such as Asians, African-Americans, Hispanics/Latinos and Gays and Lesbians.
• Increased global competitiveness and globalization.
• Rapid growth of off-shoring and outsourcing.

It would be short-sighted to assume that organizations and leaders naturally and easily adapt to these changes – Or that positive and inclusive intent translates into effective behavior and a competitive advantage. Focused and intentional building of competence is required to gain the synergies and competitive advantage of diversity. Request complete text

Diversity Resources

"How (Un)Ethical are you? How Good Managers Make Unethical Decisions Without Even Knowing It." (Harvard Business Review)

"Woman Leaders and Organizational Change" (Harvard Business School: Working Knowledge)

"Making Differences Matter:  A New Paradigm for Diversity" (Harvard Business Online)

"The Business Case for Diversity" by Mark Kaplan

Diversity Inc A great publication, with regular updates on emerging issues and trends. Also does the Diversity Top 50 annual survey.

Catalyst women.org is an organization that focuses on gender workplace issues

The Diversity Factor (diversityfactor.Rutgers.edu) Quarterly periodical with a broad array of articles about diversity theory and practice

The Diversity Factor Language Guide
http://diversityfactor.rutgers.edu/lang_guide1.jsp). The best, more complete and detailed exploration of terminology related to diversity that I have ever seen…gives the history behind the words.

NTL’s Diversity Practitioner Certificate Program
http://ntl.org/training-cert-div-program.asp An in-depth, 18 month training program for those wishing to become skilled diversity practitioners.

Do you think you are unbiased? Try taking Harvard bias test. https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/