Diversity Management - The Discourse on Diversity in Corporate America

With the ongoing diversification of American society, 'diversity' has become a buzzword in managerial literature and a major topic on business agendas throughout Corporate America. Diversity consultants are busy publishing advice books, major companies have added diversity statements to their web pages and corporate missions, and special interest magazines have established themselves successfully on the market. However, despite its wide popularity and alleged moral and business rationale, the diversity movement has always been subject to heavy criticism. Ever since the start of the 'diversity hype' in the late 1980s, advocates and critics have waged an open battle in front of the American public. Using the Civil Rights Movement as a starting point, this study presents and compares different concepts of diversity while discussing its rhetoric and major critique. Is corporate diversity management a matter of course? Or a means to cover up other unresolved societal issues? The book depicts the public discourse from multiple facets and is directed at everyone interested in American rhetoric and debates on multiculturalism.