Blending Content and Contact: The Roles of Diversity Curriculum and Campus Heterogeneity in Fostering Diversity Management Competency

Abstract

Managers must understand, embrace, and leverage the demographic differences among their employees if they are to succeed in today's multicultural organizations. Thus, diversity management competency (DMC) has become a necessity. Two tools for developing DMC among students during their business education are the provision of diversity content and structured contact with dissimilar others. This article reviews and integrates research from several literatures in the context of Raelin's (1997) model of work-based learning to assist faculty in developing diversity courses.