Internal Barriers to Implementing Diversity Management in the Air Force

<p>A number of factors in the Air Force's external environment provide a clear rationale for implementing diversity management. Unfortunately there is little evidence that the internal environment is as well understood; and this lack of knowledge about barriers and facilitators of change is problematic for program developers. This project examined one part of internal environmental analysis the likely barriers to implementing diversity to provide Air Force planners a set of considerations for effective program development. A review of literature revealed four common reasons for diversity management failure: 1) Failure to understand and articulate the relationship between discrimination and diversity management 2) The belief that sameness and difference are mutually exclusive 3) Failure to understand the legacy of fairness programs and 4) Failure to create and articulate a valid framework for evaluating which differences should be leveraged and which should be rejected. Each barrier to implementation is presented as a conversation with a typical airman to introduce the basic issues. Each conversation is followed by an analysis of the issue for planners which includes decisions that need to be made in the planning process.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>