Making Excellence Inclusive - Case Study Example

Academic excellence cannot be achieved without the acknowledgement of diversity in all levels of management as well as student population (AAC&U 2009). Whereas the main course work in a curriculum is the core foundation to academic excellence, the environment within which it is offered is essential in terms of shaping the future prospects of the students. It is therefore necessary to prepare them early enough in matters concerning diversity so as to enable them cope with the challenges that may arise later in life as they carry out their professional tasks. This essay has expressed the significance of inclusive excellence, which is a terminology applied in higher institutions of learning to define the willingness of educational systems to accommodate and respect diversity as an important factor that enhances academic excellence as well as helping the students to excel in civic as well as their professional activities. Inclusive excellence Inclusive excellence is the approach that higher institutions of learning such as colleges and universities take towards the development of their student’s skills which are necessary in improving their academics as well as preparing them to adjust to the civic and professional world which is enriched with diversity. In this case, diversity is expounded to cover not only the cultural perspective but also other components such as gender, race, sexual orientation, etc (AAC&U 2009). Inclusive excellence is therefore a major factor that requires consideration as it has in the AAC & U, Denver University among others. This is due to the fact that people from different backgrounds such as religion, ethnic, nationality etc have a high potential of building the foundation for excellence in collaboration with the various stakeholders such as staff, former students as well as the current students (AAC&U 2009). In inclusive excellence, all these participants are allowed to contribute within their levels of association with the institution, by adding value through their diverse back grounds. Inclusive excellence deviates from the norm whereby higher institutions of learning for example apply a lot of significance to race while admitting new students (Pedersen and Musil 2006). By doing so, the minority groups are left out of the process thus denying them the chance to contribute to national economic growth which would be achieved by allowing them to join and complete their studies in these institutions. The hiring of the staff would also be enhanced to benefit the underrepresented groups in the society in order to make use of their human resources and expertise which could have otherwise gone to waste whereas they have the knowledge and skills which could be essential to the development of a successful environment favorable for academic excellence. In addition, the institutions would develop a culture of excellence by ensuring that all students irrespective of their race or cultural dimensions are given equal chances of utilizing resources thus enhancing healthy competition in academics as well as in the job market. Learning in an environment that has people from different cultural and economic back grounds helps a student to be able to perform and achieve in any form of society or take part in the upgrading of the society social status. For example, a student from a rich family back ground can learn a lot from a student with a poor family back ground. Similarly, it would helpful to accommodate gays and people with disabilities in an institution since they would help their fellow students with an understanding of their troubles which would as a result empower them with the ability to respect and see them as human and not as inferiors. Once they are through with their studies, students from these institutions that promote and respect diversity have a greater chance of excelling in any part of the world especially in international organizations and corporations that are challengeable due to their locations which are full of diversity (Pedersen and Musil 2006). This is as opposed to the earlier systems of institutional policies that discriminated against the minority groups by denying them equal chances or by assimilating them into their own way of life. Failing to acknowledge diversity can contribute to failure of individuals especially those intending to venture into international human resource management. This is a field that requires fulfillment and understanding of the various cultural dimensions for example as defined by Geert Hofstede (Workman 2008). Through his dimensions, he was able to attribute the failure of the American investments in France to lack of appreciation for cultural diversity. As a result, Disneyland Park did not survive for long due to the fact that the French could not accept to be assimilated to the American way of life due to patriotism towards their culture (Workman 2008). If the managers in Disneyland had been educated in an institution that practiced inclusive excellence, they would have found it easy to advise the owners on the need to respect diversity due to the positive attitude they would have gained from their experience with diversity in the universities. Conclusion Inclusive excellence is the practice of engaging diversity in the core functions of an institution whereby the underrepresented groups are given equal opportunities in the admission, staff recruitment, co-curricular activities etc so as to benefit from their experiences, which would provide the students population with the ability to participate fully in civic as well as professional fields. Failure to acknowledge diversity can lead to poor performance in various fields which are associated with diversity for example international human resource management. References Association of American College and Universities (2009).Making Excellence Inclusive, Retrieved May 20, 2009, from Pedersen A., Musil C. (2006).A Framework for Making Excellence Inclusive, Retrieved May 20, 2009 from Workman D. (2008) US cultural Trade in France, Retrieved November 9, 2009 from Read More