Speaker Series 2007-2008

What's the Difference?
Making Sense of Diversity Constructs and Processes in Organizations 

David A. Harrison
Smeal College of Business
The Pennsylvania State University

Friday, September 7, 2007, 10:00 - 11:30 AM
Room 1528

Abstract: Research on organizational diversity, heterogeneity, and related concepts has proliferated in the past decade, but few consistent findings have emerged. The construct of diversity requires closer examination. Harrison will describe three distinctive types of diversity: separation, variety, and disparity. Failure to recognize the meaning, maximum shape, and assumptions underlying each type has held back theory development and yielded ambiguous research conclusions. He will present guidelines for conceptualization, measurement, and theory testing, highlighting the special case of demographic diversity.

David A. Harrison is University Distinguished Professor of Management & Organization in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State. He received a bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University, and masters' degrees in psychology and applied statistics, as well as a Ph.D. in social, organizational, and individual differences psychology, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Harrison has published and presented over 150 articles, book chapters, editorial reviews, monographs, and papers -- dealing with a) work role adjustment, b) team diversity, c) time, and d) executive judgment and decision making. He has been a National Science Foundation Fellow, and has received a number of research honors, including Sage Best Paper awards in 1991, 1992, 1995, and 2002 from the Research Methods division of the Academy of Management, and International Best Paper in 1995 from the Academy of Management. His papers have been finalists for the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research, the Dorothy Harlow Best Paper Award in the Gender and Diversity division, and the William Owens Scholarly Achievement Award from the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology (SIOP). He is currently Editor at Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, where he previously held the position of Associate Editor, and he serves on the editorial board of Academy of Management Journal (where he has been a guest editor). Previous board memberships include Personnel Psychology, Journal of Management, and Organizational Research Methods. Dr. Harrison has been involved in the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), where he served on the Scientific Affairs committee and was elected a Fellow. He is also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and Association for Psychological Science. In addition, he has been active in the Academy of Management, serving the Research Methods division as an award-winning web developer, Professional Development Chair (1996-97), Program Chair (1997-98), and Division Chair (1999-2000).

Dr. Harrison's page at Penn State