The cultural construction of affirmative action: A communication perspective

The practice of affirmative action, while controversial, permits organizations to realize an important employment objective: to establish an integrated workplace by hiring, training, and promoting a diverse workforce. Affirmative action programs redefine an organization\u27s culture by explicitly acknowledging a managerial imperative to sustain such integration, thereby refocusing organizational assumptions about white women, minority women, and minority men as employees. This dissertation reports on an empirical investigation of a federal agency\u27s values and beliefs concerning affirmative action, underscoring the multiplicity of basic assumptions that constitute organizational culture. Informed by the interpretive perspective on organizational communication, this study explores issues raised during a participatory research program sponsored by the agency. It also challenges the managerial focus of much scholarship on organizational culture. This study addresses the following research questions: (1) What are the values and beliefs concerning affirmative action espoused by a particular government agency? (2) To what extent are the espoused values and beliefs concerning affirmative action shared by various employee groups within the agency? Do women and men articulate similar views? Do minority employees and white employees? Data were collected by examining pertinent cultural artifacts: namely, 13 documents representing the agency\u27s official stance on affirmative action during a particular era; plus, employees\u27 views on the localized practice of affirmative action as recorded on a Needs Assessment survey. Official documents contain three themes, presenting a consistent message disseminated to several audiences. Affirmative action befits the agency; cultivates a diverse workforce; and improves the representation of all women and minority men. Despite efforts at strategic management, the espoused ideology is not adopted by all employees. Analysis of survey data reveals varying perceptions of affirmative action\u27s role in the agency. Ways of knowing and acting in relation to localized priorities are often gender-specific and race-specific. There appears to be no singular pattern of basic assumptions for conducting organizational life as a distinct agency of the federal government. Results are discussed in the context of the paradigmatic shift toward an interpretive perspective on organizations, as well as the shifting demography of the U.S. workforce. The research provides suggestions for revising notions of organizational culture