A case study of the Ellison model's use of mentoring as an approach toward inclusive community building

The Ellison Executive Mentoring Inclusive Community Building (ICB) Model is a paradigm for initiating and implementing projects utilizing executives and professionals from a variety of fields and industries, university students, and pre-college students. The model emphasizes adherence to ethical values and promotes inclusiveness in community development. It is a hierarchical model in which actors in each succeeding level of operation serve as mentors to the next. Through a three-step process—content, process, and product—participants must be trained with this mentoring and apprenticeship paradigm in conflict resolution, and they receive sensitivity and diversity training through an interactive and dramatic exposition. ^ The content phase introduces participants to the model's philosophy, ethics, values and methods of operation. The process used to teach and reinforce its precepts is the mentoring and apprenticeship activities and projects in which the participants engage and whose end product demonstrates their knowledge and understanding of the model's concepts. This study sought to ascertain from the participants' perspectives whether the model's mentoring approach is an effective means of fostering inclusiveness, based upon their own experiences in using it. The research utilized a qualitative approach and included data from field observations, individual and group interviews, and written accounts of participants' attitudes. ^ Participants complete ICB projects utilizing The Ellison Model as a method of development and implementation. They generally perceive that the model is a viable tool for dealing with diversity issues whether at work, at school, or at home. The projects are also instructional in that whether participants are mentored or serve as apprentices, they gain useful skills and knowledge about their careers. Since the model is relatively new, there is ample room for research in a variety of areas including organizational studies to determine its effectiveness in combating problems related to various kinds of discrimination. ^

Workplace Discrimination Climate and Team Effectiveness: The Mediating Role of Collective Value Congruence, Team Cohesion, and Collective Affective Commitment

This study explored the relationship between workplace discrimination climate on team effectiveness through three serial mediators: collective value congruence, team cohesion, and collective affective commitment. As more individuals of marginalized groups diversify the workforce and as more organizations move toward team-based work (Cannon-Bowers & Bowers, 2010), it is imperative to understand how employees perceive their organization’s discriminatory climate as well as its effect on teams. An archival dataset consisting of 6,824 respondents was used, resulting in 332 work teams with five or more members in each. The data were collected as part of an employee climate survey administered in 2011 throughout the United States’ Department of Defense. The results revealed that the indirect effect through M1 (collective value congruence) and M2 (team cohesion) best accounted for the relationship between workplace discrimination climate (X) and team effectiveness (Y). Meaning, on average, teams that reported a greater climate for workplace discrimination also reported less collective value congruence with their organization (a1 = -1.07, p < .001). With less shared perceptions of value congruence, there is less team cohesion (d21 = .45, p < .001), and with less team cohesion there is less team effectiveness (b2 = .57, p < .001). In addition, because of theoretical overlap, this study makes the case for studying workplace discrimination under the broader construct of workplace aggression within the I/O psychology literature. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis found that workplace discrimination based on five types of marginalized groups: race/ethnicity, gender, religion, age, and disability was best explained by a three-factor model, including: career obstruction based on age and disability bias (CO), verbal aggression based on multiple types of bias (VA), and differential treatment based on racial/ethnic bias (DT). There was initial support to claim that workplace discrimination items covary not only based on type, but also based on form (i.e., nonviolent aggressive behaviors). Therefore, the form of workplace discrimination is just as important as the type when studying climate perceptions and team-level effects. Theoretical and organizational implications are also discussed.

A Case Study of the Ellison Model's Use of Mentoring as an Approach Toward Inclusive Community Building

The Ellison Executive Mentoring Inclusive Community Building (ICB) Model is a paradigm for initiating and implementing projects utilizing executives and professionals from a variety of fields and industries, university students, and pre-college students. The model emphasizes adherence to ethical values and promotes inclusiveness in community development. It is a hierarchical model in which actors in each succeeding level of operation serve as mentors to the next. Through a three-step process--content, process, and product--participants must be trained with this mentoring and apprenticeship paradigm in conflict resolution, and they receive sensitivitiy and diversity training, through an interactive and dramatic exposition. The content phase introduces participants to the model's philosophy, ethics, values and methods of operation. The process used to teach and reinforce its precepts is the mentoring and apprenticeship activities and projects in which the participants engage and whose end product demontrates their knowledge and understanding of the model's concepts. This study sought to ascertain from the participants' perspectives whether the model's mentoring approach is an effective means of fostering inclusiveness, based upon their own experiences in using it. The research utilized a qualitative approach and included data from field observations, individual and group interviews, and written accounts of participants' attitudes. Participants complete ICB projects utilizing the Ellison Model as a method of development and implementation. They generally perceive that the model is a viable tool for dealing with diversity issues whether at work, at school, or at home. The projects are also instructional in that whether participants are mentored or seve as apprentices, they gain useful skills and knowledge about their careers. Since the model is relatively new, there is ample room for research in a variety of areas including organizational studies to dertmine its effectiveness in combating problems related to various kinds of discrimination.