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Presents a research design on why and how states should manage cultural diversity with the emphasis that different combinations of neutrality and recognition work better depending on the circumstances. The concept of difference, reason for toleration, the concept of harm and the ends of toleration are discussed. Research design from case selection to material is briefly brought up. L. Pitkaniemi

During the 1990's the diversity idea entered the Swedish socio-political debate under the name 'mångfald'. The concept originated in the United States and discusses how organizations can be more efficient if they combat discrimination and acknowledge differences. This development attracted the attention of mass-media and led to the publication of books, articles and reports that advocated or commented the concept. It had also had effects on policymaking and various types of consultancy work. The present thesis focuses on studying the dissemination of the diversity concept. This is a way of describing how change takes place through the introduction of new ideas and practices and how various forces and obstacles influence this process. In this dissertation it is the ethnic dimension of the diversity concept that is under the spotlight because this is the aspect which has been given most attention in Sweden. Another limiting factor is that the main object of interest it is diversity as a question involving working life and organisation. This thesis consists of three parts. The first part focuses on how the concept was developed in the USA and discusses the prerequisites in Europe for the dissemination of the diversity idea. The conclusion is that although some economic and structural developmental trends are basically the same in Europe and the United States, there are some obstacles due to contextual differences. In the second part the introduction and the dissemination of the diversity concept in Sweden in the 1990's is studied. The main conclusions of this study are that the idea is 're-invented' in a number of different ways as it is diffused in the Swedish context. The idea, that can be labelled as an essentially contested concept, is modified by different actors in several ways. The contextual differences between the USA and Sweden are another reason that the idea becomes modified and watered down during the dissemination process. The third part investigates how the diversity concept is disseminated and implemented in the municipal organization the City of Malmö. Several obstacles to the dissemination process are revealed, for example the complex nature of the organization and the different views on the benefits of a diversity management strategy. These studies of the dissemination of the diversity idea in Sweden points to the fact that the impact of the idea is rather shallow despite the attention that it has attracted in different arenas.

Environmental organizations play an important role in mainstream debates on nature and in shaping our environments. At a time when environmental NGOs are turning to questions of gender-equality and ethnic diversity, we analyze their possibilities to do so. We argue that attempts at ethnic and cultural diversity in environmental organizations cannot be understood without insight into the conceptualizations of nature and the environment that underpin thinking within the organization. Serious attempts at diversity entail confronting some of the core values on nature-cultures driving the organization as well as understanding the dimensions of power such as class, gender, and race that structure its practices. We study what nature means for one such organization, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, and the ways in which thinking about nature dictates organizational practice and sets the boundaries of their work with diversity in their projects on outdoor recreation. We base our analysis on official documents and interviews, analyze how ''diversity'' and ''gender-equality'' are represented in the material and reflect on the interconnections as well as the different trajectories taken by the two issues. Our study shows that the organization's understanding of nature is a central and yet undiscussed determinant of their work with diversity that closes down as much as it opens up the space for greater inclusion of minorities. We argue that for environmental organizations wanting to diversity membership, a discussion of what nature means for people and their relationships to each other and nature is vital to any such efforts.

The growth of cultural diversity in Finnish social and health care workplaces challenges to develop not only ways of working and interaction but also organizational structures. Work communities as a whole are facing new challenges. The aim of this book is to help work communities develop well-functioning practices for intercultural work. Effective interaction between cultures provides the foundation not only for the well-being of staff and customers, but also for the financial success of the organization. The paper presents five action studies in the social and health care organization, which analyzed the abrasion points of everyday interaction, developed functional practices and corrective measures, and evaluated the effects of interventions. The aim of the project was to bring about structural reforms in support of inter-cultural work, since only the changes would become permanent. - Kulttuurisen monimuotoisuuden kasvu Suomen sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon työyhteisöissä haastaa kehittämään paitsi työskentely- ja vuorovaikutustapoja myös organisationaalisia rakenteita. Työyhteisöt kokonaisuudessaan ovat uusien haasteiden edessä. Tämän teoksen tavoitteena on auttaa työyhteisöjä kehittämään hyvin toimivia käytäntöjä kulttuurien välisen työn arkeen. Toimiva kulttuurien välinen vuorovaikutus luo pohjaa paitsi henkilöstön ja asiakkaiden hyvinvoinnille myös organisaation taloudelliselle menestymiselle. Teoksessa esitellään viidessä sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon organisaatiossa toteutettua toimintatutkimusta, jossa selvitettiin arjen vuorovaikutuksen hankauspisteitä, kehitettiin toimivia käytäntöjä ja korjaavia toimenpiteitä ja arvioitiin interventioiden vaikutuksia. Hankkeen tavoitteena oli saada aikaan kulttuurien välistä työtä tukevia rakenteellisia uudistuksia, sillä vain siten muutoksista tulee pysyviä.

The aim of this dissertation is to examine inter-ethnic relations between organizationally active people with different ethnic backgrounds. I focus on relations that are based on a mutual interdependence between parties, mutual respect, common procedural rules, real opportunities that expressly approve or reject a proposal in a decision or deliberation situation free from compulsion, where people, who have different ethnic backgrounds, strive after insight and understanding in their relations. In this dissertation I present three empirical cases about cooperation, consultation and participation as forms of inter-ethnic relations from the organizational fields in the society. These cases are examples of what I characterize as "organizing inter-ethnicity", or organizing people with different ethnic backgrounds around common concerns. Organizing inter-ethnicity is in turn a part of organizing and integrating diversity in society. Drawing on the results of three case studies, I distinguish between opportunities and barriers. My case studies clearly illustrate that the tensions that influence the patterns of and variation in opportunities and barriers have sources that reach well beyond ethnicity. Tensions between old and new organizations, between working immigrant organizations and refugee organizations, between organizations from same group or between organizations that have conflicts from their members' countries of origin provide some examples of the difficulties that generate barriers to broad interest constellations between organizations.

Työyhteisösovittelu on tuore ja vähän tutkittu sovittelun osa-alue, joka ottaa oppia rikos- ja koulusovittelun tuloksellisista kokemuksista. Kilpailu- ja suoriteyhteiskunnan kielteisten ilmiöiden vastapainoksi tarvitaan hyvinvointia edistäviä välineitä, toivon näkökulmaa ja uskoa ihmisyyteen. Tutkimuksessa kuvataan työyhteisösovittelun mallin muodostuminen kuntatyöyhteisössä ja työyhteisösovitteluun osallistuneiden kokemuksia työyhteisösovittelusta ristiriita- ja ongelmatilanteiden ratkaisumenetelmänä. Työyhteisösovittelua lähestytään postmodernin organisaatioajattelun ja tulkinnallisen paradigman näkökulmasta kvalitatiivisella tutkimusotteella. Tutkimuksen aineistona on kuusamolaisen työyhteisösovitteluhankkeen ohjausryhmässä sekä hankkeen tiedotus- ja koulutustilaisuuksissa käydyt keskustelut, jotka katsotaan narraatioiksi. Saatua aineistoa täydennetään haastattelemalla työyhteisösovitteluun osallistuneita narraatiossa syntyneiden teemojen pohjalta. Tutkimusaineisto analysoidaan käyttäen narratiivista ja sisällön analyysiä. Tutkimuksen päätuloksena esitetään työyhteisösovittelun malli kuntatyöyhteisössä liittäen sen organisaatioteoreettisen ajattelun kehittymiseen modernista postmodernin moniäänisyyteen. Parhaimmillaan työyhteisön destruktiivinen ristiriita muuttuu konstruktiiviseksi dialogiksi työyhteisösovittelun keinoin. Fasilitaattorina toimiva sovittelija voi arvostavana kuuntelijana tukea niiden äänien vahvistumista, joilla henkilöt eheyttäen koostavat yhteistä todellisuuttaan. Työyhteisösovittelun jatkuvuus turvataan työsuojelun ja työterveyshuollon organisaatioiden koordinointivastuun myötä. Saadun tiedon avulla lisätään työhyvinvointia ja sitä kautta työn tuottavuutta, tuloksellisuutta ja vaikuttavuutta. Lisää hallintotieteellistä tutkimusta tarvitaan työyhteisösovittelun mallin ja periaatteiden toimivuudesta ja yleistettävyydestä monenlaisissa organisaatioissa, kuten myös työyhteisösovittelun tuotteistamisen mahdollisuudesta Britannian ja USA:n tapaan. ; Workplace mediation is a fresh and less studied part of mediation. The excellent results of crime and school mediation is encouragment to move towards this type of mediation in regards to workplace conflicts. As a counterbalance for the disadvantages of the competative society we live in, a balance of wellbeing, hope and trust among peers is needed. The purpose of this study is to describe how the model of workplace mediation is formed in a municipality workplace and how the people taking part in this mediation, experience it as a dispute resolution model. Workplace mediation is approached from the aspect of postmodern organization theory with qualitative research method. The empirical evidence for this study is collected from the discussions within guidance group meetings and also complemented with interviews from participants of the workplace mediation meetings. The collected evidence was analyzed by narrative and content analysis. The main result of this study is itself the model of the workplace mediation in municipal workplaces connecting it to the development of the organization theory from modern to postmodern diversity. The most encouraging result of the mediation is that the destructive conflict then turns into constructive dialogue with the help of the facilitative mediators present. Respecting listener can reinforce those voices the participants use to build their common reality. Workplace mediation is seen as a possible dispute resolution method within the workplace environment. The results of this study within the workplace wellbeing and results of the work can be approved. Further research would be beneficial in finding out if these same results can be achieved within other organizations. As well the possibility to make business of workplace mediation would be interesting.

This book is the first Finnish-language collection of research on superdiversity. At the core of the book is the growing migration to Finland since the turn of the 1990s and its numerous effects on Finnish society. The interdisciplinary examination of superdiversity is important at the current moment: Finland as a society has reached the point where certain social categories, such as ethnic background, country of birth, mother tongue or gender, are not necessarily sufficient to understand the increased diversity and its consequences.
The book consists of a comprehensive introduction to the topic and thirteen chapters. In Finland, research on superdiversity is carried out especially in critical sociolinguistics and applied language studies, education, cultural studies, social sciences, and urban studies. Therefore, these disciplines are strongly represented in the collection, and the chapters approach a variety of topics including refugees' mental health, experiences of multilingual families, the diversity of education and working life, discursive practices in social media, issues of urban planning and pro-asylum activism.

Equal pay for equal work and equal opportunities for promotion, the theme of this study, serves to highlight the conditions for equality in one of the most important areas in most adult lives; work. Why study gender? One answer is that the ability to achieve equality in the social hierarchy, given equal qualifications, is a moral intuition that appears to be a necessary condition for steering a progressive society. Adapted from the source document.