Diversity: how does it help? Over the past several years, managers of most types of organizations have been exhorted to increase diversity within the organizational ranks

Healthcare Financial Management, Feb, 2004 by Jim Summers, Michael Nowicki

Nonetheless, reasonable managers should consider carefully what diversity means and what goals are achieved from it. Clear thinking and appropriate organizational goals should prevail over political correctness. Proponents of diversity cite several goals: increased variety of ideas and perspectives, better marketing, better" organizational outcomes, and redressing past injustices resulting from discrimination, whether intentional or not. A review of policy statements from leading healthcare professional associations shows how their leaders justify their advocacy of diversity.

HFMA

The following is HFMA's statement on diversity (www.hfma.org/about/hfmastatements.htm):

   The Healthcare Financial Management
   Association (HFMA) values and respects
   diversity, individual differences are
   viewed as assets that pro mote the growth
   and success of HFMA and its members.
   In principle and in practice, HFMA
   encourages and supports diverse individual
   viewpoints and contributions. HFMA
   believes that a diverse membership is a
   quality membership.

HFMA's statement indicates that the organization's goal of diversity is to encourage a variety of viewpoints and contributions. HFMA does not specify in its statement how to achieve this diversity of ideas and talents or try Io justify its position.

ACHE

The American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) promotes diversity more aggressively, but the organization's goal of diversity is not so clearly the encouragement of a variety of viewpoints and contributions. In its policy statement "Increasing and Sustaining Racial/Ethnic Diversity in Healthcare Management," ACHE states (www.ache.org/policy/minority.cfm):

   The American College of Healthcare
   Executives urges all healthcare executives,
   board members, educators, and policymakers
   to actively strive in increase diversity
   within healthcare management ranks, especially
   in regard to race and ethnic back
   ground. ACHE should actively strive to
   increase representation of racially/ethnically
   diverse individuals in healthcare management
   and should work to create a
   supportive, collegial environment that
   encourages their membership and advancement
   within ACHE itself. All stakeholders
   should renew and strengthen their commitment
   to redressing the imbalance in representation
   of racially/ethnically diverse
   individuals in leadership in enhance our
   profession now and in the future.

ACHE justifies its policy in several ways, primarily through the evidence of disparate impact in the ranks of healthcare managers. The policy statement also describes diversity as a means to improve patient care: "Our country's increasingly diverse communities result in a more diverse patient population. Studies suggest that diversity in healthcare management can enhance quality of care, quality of life in the workplace. community relations, and the ability to affect community health status." Better patient care outcomes resulting from a workforce that is diverse in racial, ethnic, and gender terms would be a major motivation to improve the numbers. However, it would be important to know if this improvement applies to both managers and clinicians.

Tom Dolan, ACHE president, says that unintentional discrimination results from "our tendency to gravitate toward people who think and act like us." (a.) He says the result is an organization of managers who are mirror images, which maintains the status quo, stifles innovation, and perpetuates the perception that diversity is not a goal of the organization. Although we agree that a group of people who think alike will be less innovative and creative, we are less sure that diversity based on ethnicity, race, or gender will correct the problem. Nonetheless, the ACHE policy advocates that diversity is achieved by having a staff that mirrors the population, implying that this environment will have a causal effect on increasing innovation and creativity. ACHE then offers 16 steps healthcare managers might take to recruit, promote, and support a diverse workforce. These ideas can help managers who wish to achieve the types of diversity ACHE describes.

MGMA

The Medical Group Management Association (MCMA) makes the same causal link between diversity an d having a wide range of viewpoints and knowledge areas. MCMA's statement says (www.mgma.org/about/diversity.cfm):

   The Medical Group Management
   Association (MGMA) values and respects
   diversity among its membership. This
   Association is committed to maintaining
   a climate in which differing ideas, abilities,
   backgrounds and needs are fostered
   with an opportunity for members from
   divergent experiences to participate and
   contribute. This open environment assists
   MGMA in accomplishing its mission by
   ensuring a wide range of viewpoints and
   knowledge areas are actively present in our
   Association and strengthens networking
   and learning among colleagues. We welcome
   our members to encompass a full
   range reflecting variations in race, ethnicity,
   gender, religion, age, sexual orientation,
   nationality, disability, geographic
   location and professional level.