Commentary: Celebrating Diversity Management

• Published date: 01 November 2014
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12292
• Date: 01 November 2014

Celebrating Diversity Management 789

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 74, Iss. 6, pp. 789–790. © 2014 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.12292.

Commentary

Nancy R. Hernandez serves as Deputy

Comptroller for the Division of Diversity

Programs in the New York State Off‌i ce of

the State Comptroller. She has worked in

New York State government on issues of

diversity and equal employment opportunity

for 10 years. Previously, she served as a

schoolteacher, a councilwoman in her

hometown, and a business owner for more

than 25 years.

E-mail: nhernandez@osc.state.ny.us

Deborah D. Richards is an assistant

comptroller for the Division of Diversity

Programs in the New York State Off‌i ce of

the State Comptroller (OSC). Previously,

she was the Director of the Hearing

Administration and Matrimonial for the

New York State and Local Retirement

System. She has worked in New York State

government for more than 30 years. She

was a partner in a private law f‌i rm before

working for OSC.

E-mail: drichards@osc.state.ny.us

Nonetheless, the article presents practical applica-

tions for us. It is encouraging to know that cross-

sectional analyses of diversity management strategies

can be useful, as longitudinal analyses are dif‌f‌i cult

to obtain and assess when managers and policies

change frequently. For example, a discrimination

complaint procedure may be changed when a new

manager takes over.  e change may be for the bet-

ter, but the dif‌f erences make it dif‌f‌i cult to compare

the ef‌f ects of previous experiences and f‌i ndings.  e

study uses data from a large group of federal agencies.

 e f‌i ndings show that employees felt an increase in

cooperation, more satisfaction, and better-quality

work as a result of a commitment from managers to

a diverse workplace. Employee perception may be

subjective, but it is also essential, and these f‌i ndings

are heartening.

Oberf‌i eld’s article also refers to studies showing that

our work in the f‌i eld of diversity management can

produce valuable and useful changes in the workplace.

Diversity helps expand the variety of ideas, experi-

ences, and backgrounds that inform the workforce.

Diversity adds to the ability of an organization to

respond to challenges. More studies in the public sec-

tor, such as this one, will help us embrace and expand

diversity to better adapt to change and improve per-

formance in the workplace. When the understanding

of diversity’s impact becomes more generally known,

diversity managers will be sought out for guidance in

workplace decisions.

Zachary W. Oberf‌i eld’s article “Accounting for

Time: Comparing Temporal and Atemporal

Analyses of the Business Case for Diversity

Management” introduces some new considerations for

work in the f‌i eld of diversity management.

Upon initial reading, the study appeared to have little

relevance to our actual work in the diversity f‌i eld.  e

article uses diversity management as a business case

to examine whether the passage of time changes the

understanding of management strategies.  e results

of the study are not intended to provide guidance

to diversity management professionals but rather

to assess whether incorporating temporal analysis

into the study of public management generally will

improve our understanding of the ef‌f ects of manage-

ment actions.

 e case study f‌i ndings are limited to the cultural

side of diversity management—certainly an impor-

tant focus of New York State Comptroller  omas

DiNapoli’s Division of Diversity Programs. We create

and promote programs and initiatives to encourage

inclusiveness as well as to foster communication.

However, our mission, “to establish and maintain a

work environment that provides equal opportunity

and access, embraces diversity, and values the con-

tributions and talents of all . . . employees,” is also

heavily focused on recruitment and promotional

opportunities and policies, which are not part of

this study.

Celebrating Diversity Management

Nancy R. Hernandez

Deborah D. Richards

Off‌i ce of the New York State Comptroller