As budgets get tight, fears mount and tempers flare. It is easy to see the work of diversity and inclusiveness as a luxury, fluff and irrelevant to survival.  Experts across the country remind us that creating an effective work environment is more important than ever in these difficult times. 

We need to capitalize on our most fundamental resource: our people.  By creating an environment that validates contributions and encourages innovation, we create the best potential for organizational success.  This is an inclusive environment that asks everyone to utilize their talents to the fullest, to think outside the box, and supports these activities.  This is the true work of diversity.

In “Should Diversity Pay the Price in an Unstable Economy?”1 key leaders in diversity from a variety of businesses discuss the importance of diversity in difficult times.
“An unsettled economic climate might cause some organizations to eye their diversity initiatives for cost-saving opportunities. A bit of belt-tightening is natural, but experts say it’s important not to cut back too much on employee-focused efforts when an organization needs to do more with less.” (Hastings, 2009)
“This is where the rubber meets the road, according to McCloskey.2   “This is the time—during the next 18 months—when we are all going to have to take an honest look at our diversity initiatives,” … “Are they built to last, or are they just nice, but not really required?”

When times get tight, Harris3 says, employees might let their fears get the best of them: “During those times it’s even more important for them to feel valued and feel important.”

During times of crisis there is a natural tendency for managers to just go out and do things and forget about the people, McCloskey says. He suggests that managers devote more time getting closer to employees. For example, he suggests that they ask themselves these questions:
• Do I have a trusting relationship with those who report to me—from their perspective?
• Am I doing a good job of giving the reasons why I make certain decisions?
• If the person doesn’t understand the why, am I able to manage conflict?
• Am I able to give and receive performance and career feedback?
“We are trying to build capacity for dealing with a more complex culture and workforce,” McCloskey says. “Our belief is that you need to teach managers to get business results in ways that were not critically important in the past, such as through collaboration and partnership.”
Harris suggests that companies emphasize the role employees have in helping an organization survive economic changes “rather than having them sit on the sidelines waiting to see what the company will do.”
“If there’s any time when we need development and innovation it’s now,” Walker says.

What does that mean to us here at Maricopa? How we manage our diversities as employees, students and communities, impacts our enrollment, retention, productivity, reputation and our student learning. 

Maricopa’s definition of inclusiveness is the intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity to create an environment that actively encourages full recognition of student and employee abilities and contributions in all aspects of the organization.  This is what spurs our best work, our finest customer service and our greatest innovation. 

“Andrew S. Grove, the co-founder of Intel … told an interviewer from Fortune, ‘When everybody knows that something is so, it means that nobody knows nothin’. In other words, it becomes nearly impossible to look beyond what you know and think outside the box you’ve built around yourself.” 4

It is only by bringing in different perspectives that we will achieve the results we want and need, now more than ever, at Maricopa.

"The world we have created is a product of our thinking.  It cannot be changed without changing our thinking."  Albert Einstein