Corporate Tribalism: White Men/White Women and Cultural Diversity at Work - Hardcover

"Kochman and Mavrelis provide analyses, anecdotes, and examples from their research and training experiences that give richness and credibility to their reasoning. As a consequence, their discussions are vivid, insightful, and stimulating. Their arguments about the connections between the culture of racial, gender, and ethnic groups and the conflicts that can surface between and among members of these groups merit consideration. And their timely conclusions will be relevant in the workplace and to society at large." - R. Roosevelt Thomas, author of Building on the Promise of Diversity: How We Can Move to the Next Level in Our Workplaces, Our Communities, and Our Society"

The 2008 Democratic primary pushed race and gender back to the forefront of our national consciousness. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's shattering of historical precedents - and the ugly reactions their success sometimes elicited - dramatically reflected ongoing conflicts over diversity in our society, especially in the venue where people are most likely to encounter them: work. As more and more people who aren't white men enter corporate America, we urgently need to learn how to avoid clashes over these issues and how to resolve them when they do occur. Thomas Kochman and Jean Mavrelis have been helping corporations successfully do that for over twenty years. Their diversity training and consulting firm has helped managers and employees at numerous companies recognize and overcome the cultural bases of miscommunication between ethnic groups and across gender lines - and in "Corporate Tribalism" they seek to share their expertise with the world. In the first half of the book, Kochman addresses white men, explicating the ways that their cultural background can motivate their behavior, work style, and perspective on others. Then Mavrelis turns to white women, focusing on the particular problems they face, including conflicts with men, other women, and themselves. Together they emphasize the need for a multicultural - rather than homogenizing - approach and offer constructive ideas for turning the workplace into a more interactive community for everyone who works there. Written with the wisdom and clarity gained from two decades of hands-on work, "Corporate Tribalism" will be an invaluable resource as we look toward a future beyond the glass ceiling.