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Competitive Advantage Through Diversity: Organizational Learning from Difference. By P. Herriot & C. Pemberton. London: Sage.1994. Pp. 240. Cased, L37.50. ISBN 0 8039 8884 2; paper, L12.95. ISBN 0 8039 888 5 0.
Today, the holy grail for the business strategist is the search for that elusive source of competitive advantage. The phrase `competitive advantage' was introduced into the management lexicon in 1985 by Michael Porter in his book, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, which analysed a firm's market position in respect of a five forces model and provided examples of the strategies a firm could follow in the hope of achieving above average returns. Since then, the formula for obtaining competitive advantage has changed several times: total quality management, benchmarking, re-engineering, empowerment, the network organization, the learning organization. Herriot and Pemberton's formulation is that a diverse work force can help give you the leading edge if everyone pulls together in the organization. In the United States, the need to manage a diverse workforce is thought to have become a practical necessity because of the demographic shifts in the composition of the population and the further globalization of world markets. At least that is the theory, but actual US practices are still a long way from those that are thought to be desirable. Even with affirmative action programmes, the glass ceiling for ethnic minorities in the USA is still a fact of business life. Notwithstanding this fact, the Republicans are presently campaigning to remove affirmative action legislation on the grounds that it has proven to be ineffective and that cases of reverse discrimination have created a backlash of white male resentment.
So, in a book with the full title Competitive Advantage Through Diversity: Organizational Learning from Difference, one might expect some echoes of the US arguments and strategies. Looking at Britain's diverse population, this is a subject where we might expect to learn some lessons from the USA and perhaps pick up some tips on how we might avoid a similar backlash. However, Herriot and Pemberton's book is not really about the ethnic diversity of Britain's workforce, but instead focuses on the vertical diversity in status and presumed knowledge of employees in the hierarchical organization. Issues regarding the ethnic diversity of UK society...