An Appreciative Stance on Diversity as We Move into the 21st Century: A Timeline Exercise to Identify Key Experiences in Go... Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 AN APPRECIATIVE STANCE ON DIVERSITY AS WE MOVE INTO THE 21ST CENTURY: A TIMELINE EXERCISE TO IDENTIFY KEY EXPERIENCES IN GOOD WORK RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BLACK AND WHITE PEERS Angela J. Murphy, Case Western Reserve University ABSTRACT Positive peer work relationships provide oppor- tunities for black and white managers and pro- fessionals to accomplish their task objectives and further develop their interpersonal compe- tencies. The cross-racial focus of positive peer work relationships concentrates on what is working well in them as a way to ultimately spread their benefits to other people within an organization. These positive peer work relation- ships can become learning laboratories by utiliz- ing a timeline exercise to identify the key ex- periences, core competencies and best practices associated with them. The information gleaned from this exercise can enhance individual per- formance and organizational effectiveness. INTRODUCTION Due to the aftereffects of the Civil Rights movement, the Women’s movement and immi- gration, the traditionally White male workforce has become more diverse in terms of ethnicity and gender (Johnston & Packer, 1987). As a re- sult, people have more contact opportunities (Allport, 1954) to interact with diverse peers at work (Carnevale & Stone, 1995), school (John- son & Johnson, 1982) and in the community (Farley & Frey, 1994) to possibly develop posi- tive peer work relationships (PPWRs). The cri- teria for these types of relationships are met when two employees of the same organization, one Black and the other White: 1) Have worked together on an assignment or task; 2) Are ap- proximately the same level—not a boss or men- tor; and 3) Would choose to work together again. Due to the history and associated after- math of race relations in this country (Carne- vale & Stone, 1995), there is a tendency to util- ize a functionalist or problem-oriented paradigm paradigm (Burrell & Morgan, 1979) that em- phasizes the conflictual dimensions of cross- racial relationships. This is often done to the vir- tual exclusion of those cross-racial relationships that actually work well (Thomas, 1993). A problem paradigm (Burrell & Morgan, 1979) assumes that there is an inherent deficit or nega- tive challenge associated with establishing or maintaining cross-racial relationships at work, school, or in the community. According to this perspective, good cross-racial relationships rarely occur because people hesitate to spend time working to resolve the problems innate to these relationships and tend to prejudge unfa- miliar others (Cose, 1993). While this perspec- tive accurately describes some cross-racial ex- periences, it represents a singular approach to these types of relationships. There is another approach that takes an appre- ciative stance (Cooperrider & Srivastva, 1987) on these types of relationships. This perspective does not assume that these relationships by definition are inherently problematic. While it is possible that they can be difficult, it is also pos- sible that they can be affirming and effective tools for accomplishing work objectives. Par- ticipants in them are not automatically assumed to be prejudiced, rather there is an assumption that people are able to look at each other as equals. Each person has gifts that complement or supplement his or her peer’s talents. This paradigm assumes that good cross-racial rela- tionships exist in growing and perhaps abundant numbers at work, school and in the community. While examples of PPWRs exist, they are rarely the source of inquiry or learning in the organiza- tional literature (Thomas, 1993). PPWRs offer opportunities to meet work objectives by com- 340 Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 pleting project tasks or goals, while at the same time incorporating diversity by valuing the con- tributions of racially different peers and even perhaps building amicable relationships. When participants in PPWRs work on tasks they can: 1) Accomplish work that is directly related to fulfilling job responsibilities and achieving in- dividual and organizational performance; and 2) Develop competencies that support communica- tion, cooperation and a friendly rapport. There is an opportunity to address the paucity of this research by using an appreciative perspec- tive to define a benchmark of PPWRs. This benchmark identifies: 1) Key experiences that occur in life of the relationship, 2) Task and in- terpersonal competencies the participants use, and 3) Organizational programs or practices that contribute to these relationships. A timeline ex- ercise provides a concrete method to create this appreciative benchmark and learn about the spe- cific benefits of these types of relationships. Later in this paper, the author presents an exten- sive discussion of how to use the timeline exer- cise. The next section of this paper covers key theories that support PPWRs. LITERATURE REVIEW AND PPWR FRAMEWORK Up to this point, there has been little focus on PPWRs in the organizational literature, specifi- cally as these relationships occur between cross- racial participants. As organizations continue to downsize and flatten their structures (Janov, 1994), peer level relationships become increas- ingly important to understand and grow to sup- port the effectiveness of the organization. The PPWR timeline exercise has the potential to ad- dress this chasm in the literature by identifying individual and organizational benefits gained by their participation. Key concepts that support the framework of PPWRs are: 1) Appreciative inquiry, 2) Developmental relationships, 3) Su- perordinate goal theory, 4) Contact hypothesis and 5) Similarity-attraction hypothesis. In order to understand the fundamental concepts behind the timeline exercise, each of the above five will be defined and described. The goal of appreciative inquiry (Cooperrider & Srivastva, 1987) is to create organizations, groups and individuals in their own best images based on peak experiences of the past, as well as anticipatory images of the future. It is based on the assumption that organizations, groups or in- dividuals can enhance their current capacity by evoking and studying what works well or suc- cess stories. They can also build on and expand these positive events by creating an inviting and challenging vision of the future that engages the hearts and minds of those involved. In addition, they can establish forums that empower multiple levels of people to use systemic approaches to construct new processes, systems and/or policies that support this vision. This approach is an alternative or complement to the functionalist research tradition of correct- ing errors, minimizing defects or solving prob- lems (Burrell & Morgan, 1979). A scientific ap- proach to enhance peer work relationships usu- ally focuses on fixing bad relationships by un- earthing the obstacles and taking corrective ac- tion. Whereas, an appreciative approach to PPWRs assumes that organizations, groups or individuals can enhance these types of relation- ships based on past success and a driving image of the future. PPWRs are predicated on the be- liefs that: 1) Past success stories exist of cross- racial relationships; and 2) Organizations can proliferate these relationships by making a commitment to expand practices that maintain them. The author’s proposed timeline exercise focuses on what is working well. This focus is a direct contribution from appreciative inquiry. Much like literature on appreciative inquiry, lit- erature on developmental relationships also pro- vides key insights for participants in PPWRs. Although developmental relationships can occur within and across organizational levels, most existing literature describes them as hierarchical (Kram, 1988; Ragins, 1997). One person serves as a sponsor or mentor, and the other acts as a 341 Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 protégé. In a mentor relationship, protégés can receive career enhancing opportunities, as well as emotional support. Mentors can receive an opportunity to: 1) Expand their interpersonal skills by developing protégés; 2) Leave a per- sonal legacy through molding protégés in their own image; and 3) Forge a relationship with a potential future ally (Kram, 1988; Ragins, 1997). There has been research on cross-racial mentor relationships that might provide insight on PPWRs. Thomas (1993) studied the impact of racial attitudes in cross-racial mentor or sponsor relationships. His findings suggested that the task or career aspects and interpersonal or psy- chosocial aspects of these relationships were highest when both people shared a similar per- spective on how to deal with racial issues. It did not matter if this shared perspective was to: 1) Directly discuss or 2) Censure conversations surrounding race. However, when the perspec- tives were not the same, the interpersonal di- mension of these cross-racial mentoring rela- tionships dramatically decreased. As Thomas (1993) did not conduct his research in the con- text of peers, it remains uncertain if his findings would also apply to peer level cross-racial rela- tionships. The author of this paper suggests the use of a PPWR timeline to discover more about cross-racial relationships at the peer level. Far less frequently, there is an emphasis on de- velopmental relationships at the horizontal or peer level (Kram, 1988; Kram & Isabella, 1985). In contrast to mentoring, peer develop- mental relationships offer greater opportunity for mutuality because participants are approxi- mately the same level. Peers can exchange in- formation, feedback, friendship and provide emotional support, but can not provide promo- tions, visibility, etc. (Kram, 1988; Kram & Isa- bella, 1985). Kram and Isabella (1985) did an exploratory qualitative study with White participants on the quality of developmental peer relationships. They found that desirable peer relationships ranged along a continuum from information peer relationships to special peer relationships. The former had a predominant task orientation and the latter had both a task and interpersonal focus to a significant degree. The most popular type or frequently occurring peer relationships were information peers and the most intense were special peers. As Kram and Isabella’s (1985) participants were White, they did not ex- amine the impact of the peer’s race on their findings. The author of this paper provides an opportunity to examine how their findings might specifically present themselves in cross-racial pairs. Much like literature on appreciative inquiry and developmental relationships, the field of social psychology also offers a potpourri of concepts to explain factors that can contribute to building peer work relationships across race. The similar- ity-attraction hypothesis (Byrne, 1971), su- perordinate goal theory (Sherif, 1958) and con- tact hypothesis (Allport, 1954; Cook, 1978) of- fer possibilities that influence the framework of PPWRs. The similarity-attraction hypothesis states that people, groups or organizations are more likely to be comfortable forming relationships with people whom they believe share attitudes, be- liefs or values most like their own (Byrne, 1971). This hypothesis influences the current study in that the cross-racial pairings include two people, who have worked together on a task and would choose to work together again. Based on this, it is possible that the choice to work to- gether again comes from perceived similarity in work style, personality or some other factor. The PPWR timeline exercise the author pro- poses can provide insight on what impact simi- larity plays in maintaining these types of rela- tionships and how people manage their differ- ences. A second concept from social psychology in- volves the role of superordinate goals. These are those “goals, which are compelling and highly appealing to members of two or more groups in 342 Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 conflict, but which can not be attained by the resources and energies of the groups separately” (Sherif, 1958, p. 349). They provide an opportunity to improve relation- ships or desired outcomes. Sherif (1958) suggests that disseminating information, increasing social contact and holding leadership conferences can be effective methods of improving interpersonal or intergroup in- teractions, if they are coupled with superordinate goals. Even though the Sherif study was published forty years ago, it is interesting that many current diversity ap- proaches use one or some combination of these meth- ods in their training (Loden, 1996) without the integra- tion of ongoing and/or relevant superordinate goals. Past and current tasks that the participants have worked together on serve as superordinate goals. In other words, tasks or superordinate goals are the raison detre that these relationships have a possibility to develop into good task and/or interpersonal work relationships. As Sherif (1958) notes, increased contact, information about racial groups and awareness of racial leadership from an activity, such as a diversity class, can help con- tribute to positive outcomes. At the same time, it is im- portant to note that the fundamental leverage point to develop better relationships is a shared task or goal. The PPWR timeline exercise asks participants to think of key experiences in the workplace as they relate to task and interpersonal dynamics associated with work projects or goals. As such, PPWRs directly apply the concepts Sherif suggests. The last social psychology concept to discuss is the contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954). It is a group level hypothesis that suggests that ignorance or limited inter- actions with those who are different creates conflict or negative perceptions of others. Therefore, raising awareness and/or increasing the frequency of interac- tions with those who are different eliminates conflict and helps build relationships. Cook (1978) goes on to suggest that mere contact is not enough; it is important that the contact: 1) Plays down or reduces status hier- archies; 2) Allows for individuation; and 3) Encour- ages cooperation or task interdependence. The scope of this author’s paper involves equal status pairs that have experience working together on a task. Appreciative inquiry (Cooperrider & Srivastva, 1987), developmental relationships (Kram, 1988; Kram & Isabella, 1985), similarity-attraction hypothesis (Byrne, 1971), superordinate goal theory (Sherif, 1958) and the contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954; Cook, 1978) com- bine to create the conceptual underpinnings for the timeline exercise for PPWRs. The PPWR framework suggests that the conceptual roots for the benefits associated with these relationships flow from the previously mentioned literature. Each theory, hypothesis or body of literature provides a sound analytical basis and a priori contributions to the PPWR timeline exercise on how to benchmark cross- racial peer relationships and identify desirable out- comes. Based on this framework, a timeline applica- tion exercise can create a context for data gathering on PPWRs. Framework of Positive Peer Work Relationships (PPWRs) Key Concepts ♦ Appreciative Inquiry (Cooperrider & Sri- vastva, 1987) ♦ Developmental Relationships (Kram, 1988) ♦ Superordinate Goal Theory (Sherif, 1958) ♦ Contact Hypothesis (Allport, 1954; Cook, 1978) ♦ Similarity-Attraction Hypothesis (Byrne, 1971) PPWR Timeline Exercise Individual and Organizational Benefits ♦ Key experiences in PPWRs ♦ Individual task and interpersonal compe- tencies that help maintain PPWRs ♦ Organizational practices that support PPWRs 343 Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 The timeline can be a training tool that graphi- cally depicts the historical and current twists and turns of cross-racial peer relationships. In addition, people in these relationships can use this tool as a basis to identify individual and in- terpersonal strengths and exchange feedback on developmental areas. APPLICATION OF TIMELINE EXERCISE The exercise begins with asking participants in PPWRs to draw a horizontal line. At one end of the line, they put the date that corresponds to the beginning of the relationship. On the other end, they fill in the current date. Next, each person writes down a headline or brief description of the key experiences he or she had while working with each other and completing tasks. A person places this description at the appropriate chrono- logical point on the timeline. Key experiences include peaks events, successes, challenges, learnings, etc. Participants discuss how they were able to create and maintain a high quality relationship through successes and challenges. These discussions can include experiences, metaphors or descriptions of competencies. The below questions can guide the discussion of the timeline exercise: • What made the key experiences on the time- line stand out or memorable? • In what way, if any, did these experiences build on each other to impact the relation- ship? • What were the task and interpersonal com- petencies each person had or developed that supported the relationship? • What organizational practices, programs or trainings made a contribution to each per- son’s ability to maintain this relationship? • What were the key similarities between each person that contributed to the success or ef- fectiveness of the relationship? • In what ways did each person complement the other? • How did each person manage disagree- ments? • What similarities and differences were there in the events each person identified on the timeline and the responses to the above questions? • What did each person learn or become aware of as a result of this timeline exercise? At the conclusion of answering these questions, they will have a benchmark of the key experi- ences, competencies and organizational prac- tices that supported their PPWR. The organizational benefit of utilizing the time- line exercise is an assessment on the impact of current organizational practices or programs, such as diversity or quality, on PPWRs. In addi- tion, it can enhance managerial or task team training by incorporating the competencies as- sociated with PPWRs. Human Resource or Or- ganizational Development personnel can coun- sel managers on these types of relationships based on an understanding of what has worked well in the past. At the same time, participants in these relationships receive: 1) Opportunities to expand their comfort level and ability to work with diverse others; and 2) Learn and teach task skills, e.g., information exchange, performance feedback, etc as well as interpersonal skills, e.g., communication, support, etc. from another peer. If desired, the pair can move this exercise to an anticipatory level by repeating the steps to draw a timeline. This iteration of the timeline exercise depicts: 1) Desirable future, versus past, key ex- periences and 2) Competencies or experiences they want to have and actions to make them happen in a specified period of time. The ex- periences and competencies participants list on this anticipatory timeline can come from out- comes and discussions generated from the pre- vious timeline. A pair might have a key learning from the previous timeline that they tend to work well under time pressure and as a result do not incorporate much creativity into their work. They can use this information to identify future creative activities in the next timeline. They might choose to work on an activity or set of steps that will allow them to brainstorm innova- 344 Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 tive approaches to working on a project. This anticipatory timeline serves the function of setting performance goals because participants think of what they want to learn, experiences they want to have and competencies they want to develop in the context of their PPWRs. CONCLUSION The timeline exercise makes a contribution to the organizational literature by discovering a benchmark of key experiences, competencies and/or practices of organizations and individuals in PPWRs. The appreciative perspective on these relationships provides a complementary alternative to functionalist problem based per- spectives that focus on fixing problems or re- ducing prejudices. Much like businesses de- velop performance benchmarks based on opti- mal standards or best case scenarios, the time- line exercise for PPWRs uses a vision of past and anticipatory successes to establish a bench- mark of effective cross-racial relationships. REFERENCES Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of preju- dice. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley Pub- lishing, Inc. 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Ad- ministrative Science Quarterly, 38(2), 169- 194. 345 Table of Contents Volume 26, 1999 ABSEL's Historical Research Interests Back From the Future: An ABSEL Merlin Exercise for the Year 2005 The Contributions of ABSEL During the 1980's ABSEL's Contributions to Experiential Exercises in the 90's ABSEL's Contributions to Experiential learning/Experiential Exercises: The Decade of the 1970's Business Simulations - Algorithms and Model Enhancements: A 25 year Review A Study of the ETS General Field Test as an AACSB Assessment Tool and the Impact of Experiential Exercises and Simulation on Learning A Framework for Assessing the Competencies Reflected in Simulation Performance Developing A Learning Culture: Assessing Changes in Student Performance and Perception Financial Simulation Using Distributed Computing Technology Analyzing Managers' Judgements and Decisions with an Educational Business Simulation Understanding Your Business through Home-Made Simulator Development An Examination of a Reanalysis of the Impact of a Market Leader on Simulation Competitors' Strategies Applying Shocks to TE Simulations: A Demonstration Increasing Efficiency of Management Skill Assessment A Testbank for Measuring Total Enterprise Simulation Learning Developing Leadership Skills - Video Live! LEADSIMM: Collaborative Leadership Development for the Knowledge Society A Team Approach to Producing Multi-Media Laptop and Video Formatted Presentation Tinkertoys Revisited: Exploring Trust Based Relationships Overall Dominance in Total Enterprise Simulation Performance Success or Bankruptcy: The Relationship between Personal and Goal Orientation and Simulation Performance Assessing the Effects of Feedback: Muti-method and Muti-directions in Multi-pedagogical Courses The Missing Ingredients in Experiential Learning Purpose and Learning Benefits of Business Simulations: A Design and Development Perspective Building Capabilities for Change through Laboratory Simulations Modeling Innovation as a Process of Design in Educational Business Simulation The Need to Measurer variance in Experiential Learning and a New Statistic to do so Assessing Effectiveness of an Experiential Oriented Course Over Time Developing Participant Satisfaction Models of Experiential Exercises in Business Education Perceptions of Learning in TE Simulations Students' View on the Use of Business Gaming in Hong Kong Management Gaming's Lost Opportunity: Meditations about the Russian Experience and Prospects for the Future Unanticipated Enhancements in the Business Strategy and Policy Game when Running in Windows 95 Using a Business Game to Demonstrate Broad Business Concepts A New Model for Business Courses (Getting the Student Connected) Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Integrating Knowledge Using Large Scale Simulations in Capstone Business Strategy Classes Is It Here To Stay? A Roundtable Discussion of the Inter-Group Interaction Interactive Tools Used in Applying Financial Concepts Strengthening Essential Skills through a Finance Exercise: Calculation of Beta A Model of Currency Exchange Rates Understanding Currency Exchange Rates: A three-part Exercise Student Experiences in the World Intercollegiate Business Game Competition Student Experiences in the International-Collegiate Business Policy Game Competition Using Boards of Directors in Simulation Environments: Comments From Board Members Sharing Best Practices: Teaching Smarter, Not Harder Star Power: A Simulation for Understanding Power and Empowerment The Marketing Game: A Marketing Principles Simulation Alexander Islands: GSSM Tiny Business Simulator on the WWW Putting Strategy into Strategic Business Games Industry Analysis, Porter's Five Forces Model and Strategic Group Maps in the Business Strategy Game Simulation The Use of Concept Mapping to Improve Student Performance and Understanding of Strategic Management Concepts: A Comparison of Techniques Transformational thinking in the Organizational Behavior Course: The Use of Metaphor as an Assessment Tool Creation of a Virtual Learning Community for the Global Virtual Enterprise Project Inter Institutional use of Educational Resources: Joint Use of Management Simulation Games Business Insights: Theory and Practice with the Aid of a Business Simulation Progress: An Experiential Exercise in Development Marketing The ABC's of teaching the Theory of Constraints to Undergraduate Business Students Demonstrating Principles of Organizational Purchasing Behavior through an Experiential Exercise The Virtual Manager: A Different Simulation for Managing Complexity When the Rules are changing and Chaos Breeds Innovation: Recapturing the Value of Constructive Thinking and Play in Simulation Training The Pitfalls, and Potential, of Actual Events as Problem Drivers Using Business Games to teach Environmental Awareness and Green Management: The International Experience with the ENSIM Game A Review of my ABSEL-Related Work Simulation of Government: A Workshop Using GEO Creating Internet-Based Games Using Perl and JavaScript Who's on First? Exploring the Concepts of Problem-Based Learning, Experiential Learning, and Lifelong Learning Students Learn Customer Service and Selling while Conducting Research So You Want to Run an NFL Football Team–An Honors Interdisciplinary Project Supervised Internship: The Employer's Perspective Using Computer Assisted Simulation to Teach International Business Strategy: A Case of the Multinational Management Game (MMG) Multi-Cultural Experiential Learning: A Computer Simulation in China An Appreciative Stance on Diversity as We Move into the 21st Century: A Timeline Exercise to Identify Key Experiences in Good Work Relationships between Black and White Peers A Day in the Life of an Interactive, Real Time, and Internet Delivered Course: A Demonstration Comparing Internet Search Engines: An Experiential Learning Exercise Total Enterprise Simulations and the Internet: Assessing Student Perceptions and Preferences Teaching Accounting Information Systems in a Practicum Format Providing Experiential Learning in Accounting through a Field Study Payroll Project A Spreadsheet Based Business Simulation Game Computer-Behavioral Simulations Training for Project Managers Simulation Scenarios - Rationale and Illustration