Diversity - a business proposal

By Sarah Daponde Interim Asst. Arts & Features Editor The Center for Inclusive Excellence hosted “Diversity as a Driver of Success,” a panel of speakers who discussed different ways diversity impacts the business industry on Jan. 25. The event is one of several in January and February to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and educate students on his ideals of equality. Jorge Riveras, professor of business, began the discussion with an introduction of the rest of the panel which included Laura Lamontagne, professor of economics, John Palabiyik, professor of hospitality, and Erastus Ndinguri, professor of management. Ndinguri first discussed how many organizations either have barriers to stop inclusion of certain people or policies that are ineffective in creating diversity. He said many policies about equality are made without the input of the groups who are affected by the policies, are not implemented well, or are never improved or updated. Ndinguri added that there is a disconnect between “what leaders think is diversifying the organization and what the employees think is diversifying the organization.” Palabiyik then discussed how he views diversity in the hospitality industry, saying he could not think of any other industry that aligned so much with King’s dream of equality. He gave the example of a cruise ship. “1,700 employees from 60 different countries - if this is not diversity, what is?” he asked. He added there are different levels of affordability on a cruise ship, different options to include more customers. Palabiyik connected tourism to King’s view of diversity, saying “Dr. King says it's like connecting to each other, including everybody, using all these languages, using all these cultures.” Diverse customers bring access to more markets, he added, which allows the industry to grow. Lamontagne then shifted the discussion to an economic perspective, saying, “Any firm that is choosing to partake in discrimination is going to essentially run itself out of business.” She said any company that only chooses their employees out of a certain kind of people limits their options and will be beaten out by other companies who are willing to hire the best overall candidates. This is why many firms have made commitments to strengthen their diversity and inclusivity, she added. Lamotagne gave the example of inclusivity in sports and the evidence of diversity being an advantage to teams. “Teams that integrated first were the most successful - besides the Yankees, and they incurred the extra cost,” Lamontagne said. “Acceptance correlates to a better outcome.” The conversation turned to Riveras, who discussed his past career in business with a company with offices in 50 different countries. “What that brought to our company was a multitude of perspectives and ideas,” said Riveras, discussing how companies like this have the advantage of more innovation and creativity because of the different cultures of the employees. He noted Elon Musk’s impact on American companies, saying, “Many in the industry, they were actually foreigners … and they have really impacted our industry in our nation.” Without immigrant workers, there would be less supply. Therefore, demand would increase and so would product prices, said Palabiyik. He said immigrants are helping the economy in America by working here, not taking jobs from others. “Einstein - whose job did he steal?” Ndinguri added. The panel concluded the conversation by telling the audience how to promote King’s visions of diversity and acceptance. Instead of making an argument on the importance of diversity through a social viewpoint, make the argument through a business perspective, they said. Instead of being political, Riveras said to use facts and have sources to back up arguments. He then held up a sheet of paper with references for the information he discussed at the event. He said making diversity in the business industry important to everyone is all about how to advertise it. “Everybody wants more money and diversity has a case for it,” said Ndinguri.