Mid-term: Diversity and Inclusion
SOWK 681: Managing Diversity in a Global Context
Crystal D. Gordon
University of Southern California
Background and Motivation
This paper will examine an organization (i.e., non-profit) with headquarters in the United States, which has inclusive practices and policies at various inclusion levels (e.g., within the company, with the community, with state/federal programs, and internationally). For the purposes of this paper, Goodwill Industries Inc. will be analyzed to determine whether the company demonstrates an understanding and respect for diversity. Goodwill Industries Inc. was founded in 1902 and is currently based in Rockville, Maryland. According to the company 's "About Us" (2016)
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Goodwill Industries Inc. works to strengthen dignity and the quality of life for people by fortifying communities, removing barriers to opportunities, and “helping people in need of reaching their full potential” obtain education and employment (About Us, 2016). Goodwill provides help on many levels for training, attaining, and retaining "good jobs". This is the motivation behind everything Goodwill Industries does, in terms of their inclusive practices. At Goodwill, the belief is that work is the essential factor in the potential of people to achieve desirable life outcomes. Out of that belief, “independence, pride, self-esteem, and sense of purpose" transpires (What We Do, 2016). This illustrates the company’s motivation toward service and success, which is designed to permeate the culture of the organization while continuing to grow and serve the …show more content…
This highlights the company 's nature of empowerment via employment. Goodwill Industries demonstrates their ethical and moral values to help potential job seekers and provide benefits to the surrounding community (e.g., tax-deductible charitable donations or partnership opportunities). This company makes positive contributions to the surrounding community’s well being via corporate collaborations, giving it more than a local reach and constituting the fourth level of the Inclusive Workplace model. From a "macro" system level of international relations, Goodwill Industries incorporates inclusion into their workplace as well by collaborating with others across boundaries. According to Kim (2016), this company has been operating on a global scale since the 1970s with partners in the US and Canada, as well as 14 other affiliates in South Korea, Brazil, Panama, Mexico, Finland, West Indies, Venezuela, Philippines, Thailand, Italy, Taiwan, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and