Engaging complex diversity in academic institution: The case of “triple periphery” in a context of a divided society

• Published date: 01 June 2021
• Author: Michal Raz Rotem,Daniella Arieli,Helena Desivilya Syna
• Date: 01 June 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21305

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Engaging complex diversity in academic

institution: The case of “triple periphery”

in a context of a divided society

Michal Raz Rotem

1,2

| Daniella Arieli

3,4

|

Helena Desivilya Syna

3,5

1

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem,

Jerusalem, Israel

2

The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College,

Yezreel Valley, Israel

3

Department of Sociology and

Anthropology, The Max Stern Yezreel

Valley College, Yezreel Valley, Israel

4

Department of Nursing, The Max Stern

Yezreel Valley College, Yezreel Valley,

Israel

5

Department of Organizational

Development and Consulting, The Max

Stern Yezreel Valley College, Yezreel

Valley, Israel

Correspondence

Michal Raz Rotem, The Max Stern

Yezreel Valley College, Yezreel Valley,

Israel.

Email: michalr@yvc.ac.il

Abstract

This research examines how faculty members working

in complex sociopolitical context cope with campus

diversity. Through 20 focus groups comprised of faculty

members representing all of the departments at one

academic institution, we investigated the participants'

experiences with student diversity. The findings show

that the protracted Israeli–Palestinian conflict seeps

into classroom interactions. This infiltration of the pro-

tracted conflict is particularly salient during escalations

of the conflict. The participants feel they are unable to

address these difficulties, experience isolation, fear, and

a lack of support. The study expands understanding of

how employees cope with political tensions in a real-

life setting.

KEYWORDS

academic institution, diversity, divided society, inter-group

conflict, real life

1|INTRODUCTION

The 21st century features growing diversification of organizations and communities in most

parts of the world due to migration trends and globalization (Kristeva, 1991). In most societies,

this transition occurs concomitantly with existing or emerging intergroup tensions, social divi-

sions, and inequalities—widening the gaps among the privileged social groups and the excluded

ones (Geiger & Jordan, 2014; van Laer & Janssens, 2011). Understanding the ramifications of

the complex social relations on diversity management in organizations constitutes an important

Received: 12 November 2020 Revised: 5 April 2021 Accepted: 8 April 2021

DOI: 10.1002/crq.21305

Conflict Resolution Quarterly. 2021;38:303–321. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/crq © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC. 303

research endeavor in the current era (Desivilya et al., 2017; Holck, Muhr, & Villesèche, 2016;

Raz-Rotem, Desivilya Syna, & Maoz, 2019).

Yet, the domain of diversity management praxis, evolving in real-life settings characterized by

social divisions and intergroup tensions, remains largely understudied (Arieli, 2019; Desivilya

Syna, 2015; Desivilya Syna, 2020; Friedman, Arieli, & Aboud-Armali, 2018; Hargie, Dickson, &

Nelson, 2003; Janssens & Zanoni, 2014; Raz-Rotem et al., 2019; Roos & Zanoni, 2016). How do

organizational members conceptualize, experience, and actually manage diversity in their organi-

zations? What theoretical frameworks underlie diversity management? How does the specific

organizational context inform the practical approaches to diversity management, especially the

design of interventions attempting to improve organizational capacities to deal with social, cul-

tural, and political complexities? Extant responses to the preceding queries are scant.

The current paper sheds light on these pertinent issues, drawing insights from an action

research project, designed to promote the capacity of an academic institution, operating in a

divided society to manage diversity. The aim of this paper is to examine the experiences of aca-

demic staff (tenured and adjunct staff) in coping with diversity that characterizes the student

body. It tackles the implications of social divisions and diversity for institutions of higher educa-

tion in complex sociopolitical contexts. The specific context of this case affords a unique oppor-

tunity for studying a timely and scantly studied phenomenon of intricate power relations

among organizational actors in a peripheral institution and its ramifications on organizational

practices (Desivilya et al., 2017; Desivilya Syna, 2020; Prasad, Pringle, & Konrad, 2006; Raz-

Rotem et al., 2019; Zanoni & van Laer, 2015).

The article builds on a case study situated in an academic institution with socially and cul-

turally diverse student population, positioned in “triple periphery.”The notion of “triple periph-

ery”denotes three layers of the faculty's positioning:

1. Faculty employed in an organization located in a socio-geographic area populated by a high

percentage of low-socioeconomic status residents, minority citizens, and immigrants from

the former Soviet Union and from Ethiopia;

2. Academic staff employed in the Israeli higher educational system, who aspire to be a part of

a hegemonic, mainstream “western”academia, under pressure to embrace the European

and American standards of excellence including the priority of the English language;

3. Faculty at a college rather than a university, controlled by the universities and enjoying less

prestige as a higher education institution.

Wefocusoninterventionwiththemain employees of the organization—the academic staff.

This research expands the knowledge base in theoretical and practical realms. In the conceptual

domain, it promotes understanding of the phenomenon that is dealing with diversity in intricate

sociopolitical contexts, while focusing on complex power relations. On the practical level, the study

nourishes evidence-based policies and actions, aimed at enhancing the organizational capacity to

engage with diversity in ways that foster inclusion while maintaining distinctiveness—allowing

organizational members to express their diverse voices (Leonardelli, Pickett, & Brewer, 2010).

1.1 |Engaging diversity in divided societies

Studies on organizational diversity have drawn on two main orientations: the essentialist (etic)

approach, based on social-psychological perspective, and the emic approach, derived from social

304 RAZ ROTEM ET AL.