BUSN304 - Working with Diversity and Conflict

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Completion of 80 cp

Incompatible

BUSN202 Professional Ethics

Teaching organisation

150 hours over a twelve-week semester or equivalent study period

Unit rationale, description and aim

Diversity and inclusion in organisations are not just window dressing to tick boxes in corporate compliance, but contributes to the achievement of strategic business objectives and increases effective decision making and innovative problem solving. All organisations must also manage the potential conflict that comes from complex interactions between staff, customers, and stakeholders of various diverse backgrounds in a globalised economy. Conflict management is an essential skill that managers need to enable functional and inclusive teams within the workplace.

This final year capstone unit draws on the knowledge and skills developed over the course of a student’s program of study. Students will explore exemplary diversity and conflict management practices as they relate to both the workplace and the wider society. Students will develop knowledge of demographic, cultural, social and organisational diversity. Based on the principles of solidarity, this unit provides a business-case for diversity and conflict management and how it contributes to corporate social responsibility.

The aim of this unit is to develop knowledge, expertise and understanding of diversity, conflict, and the effective management of these to contribute to the mastery of their business disciplinary study.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Evaluate diversity management policies and practices of an organisation in your primary field of study and propose recommendations for greater inclusion (GA2, GA5)

LO2 - Synthesise and propose holistic solutions to improve organisational diversity and inclusion based on principles of solidarity (GA5, GA8)

LO3 - Appraise and evaluate the concepts, theories, principles and models of conflict management in the context of workplace and society (GA1, GA5)

LO4 - Critically reflect on and evaluate the theories, principles and models of diversity and inclusion management to develop greater self-awareness in the context of workplace and society (GA4, GA5)

LO5 - Develop communication strategies, conflict management techniques and problem-solving skills through effective collaboration (GA5, GA7)

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society

GA4 - think critically and reflectively

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA7 - work both autonomously and collaboratively 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information

Content

Topics will include:

• introduction to organisational diversity and inclusion: business case and social justice perspectives
• diversity: a global and Australian legal perspective
• working with human diversity: diversity dimensions and discrimination
• ethical diversity
• leadership
• diversity and conflict management as a form of corporate social responsibility
• inclusive intercultural communication
• critical self-awareness building using self-assessment models and tools
• unconscious bias and building respect for human diversity
• conflict: definition, types, sources and management
• holistic organisational diversity management: an integrated approach
• revision

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit takes an enquiry-based learning approach to guide students in the development of knowledge associated with managing diversity and conflict. Students are able to explore the knowledge base underpinning international management in a series of workshops. These workshops are designed to support students to actively participate in the development of this knowledge both individually and in groups. By participating in these workshops, students will systematically develop their understanding of the critical aspects of managing diversity and conflict and how to design solutions to contentious diversity-based conflict issues. This unit takes an experiential approach to support students in developing the skills required to effectively manage diversity and conflict by sharing stories and insights and reflecting on experiences. This approach is designed to interest students who prefer to learn within a social environment and builds in expert support for skills development.

Mode of delivery:

This unit is offered in different modes to cater to the learning needs and preferences of a range of participants and maximise effective participation for isolated and/or marginalised groups.

Attendance Mode

This unit takes an active learning approach to guide students in the development of knowledge associated with diversity, inclusion and conflict management. Using face-to-face workshops, students are able to explore the knowledge base underpinning organisational diversity and inclusiveness policies and practices. These face-to-face workshops are designed to support students to actively participate in the development of this knowledge both individually and in groups. By participating in these workshops, students will systematically develop their understanding of the critical aspects of organisational and society diversity, inclusiveness, and conflict management and how develop and evaluate policies and enhance practices in order to responsibly resolve conflict challenges.

Blended Mode

This unit takes an active learning approach to guide students in the development of knowledge associated with diversity, inclusion and conflict management. Using a combination of face-to-face and online workshops, students are able to explore the knowledge base underpinning organisational diversity and inclusiveness policies and practices. These combined workshops are designed to support students to actively participate in the development of this knowledge both individually and in groups. By participating in these workshops, students will systematically develop their understanding of the critical aspects of organisational and society diversity, inclusiveness, and conflict management and how to develop and evaluate policies and enhance practices in order to responsibly resolve conflict challenges.

Online Mode

This unit uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of the essential knowledge associated with diversity and conflict management. Students can explore the essential knowledge underpinning organisations and develop knowledge in a series of online interactive lessons and modules. Students may be given the opportunity to attend facilitated synchronous online seminar classes with other students and participate in the construction and synthesis of knowledge, while developing their knowledge of diversity and conflict management. By engaging in online interactive sessions, students will systematically develop their understanding of the critical aspects of organisational and society diversity, inclusiveness, and conflict management and how to develop and evaluate policies and enhance practices in order to responsibly resolve conflict challenges. This approach allows flexibility for students and facilitates learning and participation for students with a preference for virtual learning.

ACU Online

This unit uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of knowledge essential to the discipline. Students are provided with choice and variety in how they learn. Students are encouraged to contribute to asynchronous weekly discussions. Active learning opportunities provide students with opportunities to practice and apply their learning in situations similar to their future professions. Activities encourage students to bring their own examples to demonstrate understanding, application and engage constructively with their peers. Students receive regular and timely feedback on their learning, which includes information on their progress.

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to pass this unit, students are required to complete and submit three completed assessment tasks and must achieve an aggregate mark of at least 50%. Marking will be in accordance with a rubric specifically developed to measure students’ level of achievement of the learning outcomes for each item of assessment. Students will be awarded a final grade that signifies their overall achievement in the unit.

The assessment strategy for BUSN304 allows students to sequentially develop knowledge and skills in to contribute to a critical development of self-awareness, conflict management and diversity management. First, students will explore diversity policies, in order to understand the social and business case for diversity. Second, students will collaborate to produce a video on an issue for diversity and inclusion to demonstrate capacity for teamwork and diversity management. Finally, students will draw on self-assessment models and tools to critically reflect on conflict management experience to demonstrate a development of self-awareness as well as a mastery of diversity and conflict management. All assessment is the same regardless of mode of delivery.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Bendl, R, Bleijenbergh, I, Henttonen, E & Mills, AJ (eds) 2016, The Oxford handbook of diversity in organizations, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Chen, L 2017, Intercultural communication, De Gruyter, Boston.

Daft, R 2018, The leadership experience, 7th edn, Cengage Learning, Boston.

DuBrin, AJ 2016, Leadership: research findings, practice, and skills, 8th edn, Cengage Learning, Boston.

Eunson, B 2015, Communicating in the 21st Century, 4th edn, John Wiley and Sons, Milton.

Mensi-Klarbach, H & Risberg, A (eds) 2019, Diversity in organisations: Concepts and practices, 2nd edn, Red Globe Press, London.

Livermore, DA 2016, Driven by difference: how great companies fuel innovation through diversity, American Management Association (AMA), New York.

Mor-Barak, M 2017, Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace, 4th edn, SAGE, Los Angeles.

Özbilgin, M, Bartels-Ellis, F & Gibbs, P (eds) 2019, Global diversity management a fusion of ideas, stories and practice, Springer, Switzerland.

Steers, R, Nardon, L & Sanchez-Rundle, C 2017, Management across cultures, 4th edn, Cambridge University Press, UK.