Diversity Executive - September 2008 - (Page 43)

Jim Skinner McDonald’s McDonald’s is expanding on its golden reputation in an area entirely separate from the arches. The company has been working for decades on excelling in the realm of diversity and inclusion (D&I) within its plan to create a company as diverse as the customers to which it serves McGriddles and Big Macs. Paving the way for McDonald’s diversity endeavors is CEO Jim Skinner. “Diversity at McDonald’s means equal opportunity for all employees and applicants worldwide,” he said. “Inclusion is part of our heritage, and I am committed to continuing to create an environment where our entire system is even more diligent about identifying and developing diversity of thought, as well as diversity of the population we serve,” Skinner added. Diversity permeates the company’s worldwide employee pool of 1.6 million. As Global Chief Diversity Ofﬁcer Pat Harris said, “[At McDonald’s], diversity is everybody’s business. Jim Skinner is one of my biggest diversity champions, but I would say that for most of the leadership in McDonald’s.” Not only is Skinner committed to and involved in the diversity practices being implemented, all of senior management and the Board of Directors are included, as well. Indeed, diversity is ingrained in McDonald’s business philosophy “from the board room to the crew room,” Harris said. Among the strategies McDonald’s uses to create this diverse corporate environment are its employee networks, mentoring program, talent management and robust diversity education curriculum. There are a number of employee network groups at McDonald’s, which Harris said are business groups, rather than being social in nature. There are individual groups for AfricanAmerican, Asian, Hispanic, women and LGBT employees. These network groups collaborate on business ideas and advise the company on how new products or business strategies will affect their speciﬁc demographics. For example, the Asian Employee Network helps McDonald’s understand the Asian culture as it reaches out to those customers. For example, the group helped the company’s marketing department by sitting in on a roundtable that discussed how some targeted commercials would affect Asian customers. The company also has a dynamic set of courses in its diversity curriculum. Through this D&I education, McDonald’s employees interact with role models from inside the company. This teaches them how to work together in ways that are most effective. Course titles include Gender Speak — which address the ways in which men and women interact and communicate in the workplace — Winning With Inclusion and Diversity and Sexual Orientation in the Workplace. These workshops are open to all employees, and foundational workshops are part of McDonald’s new-employee orientation. As a result of implementation of these programs and management’s commitment to them, diversity is demonstrated in various departments and at all position levels. The company has the most minority- and women-owned franchises in the food industry, and 60 percent of its workforce is comprised of women and minorities. Further, the company’s 13-member board includes two African-American members, two Hispanic members and three women. On the supplier side, McDonald’s — which brought in $23 billion in revenue in 2007 — purchased $5.2 billion in goods and services from minority- and women-owned businesses. With representation such as this across departments and management lines, diversity at McDonald’s truly is everyone’s business. – Meagan Polakowski Dr. Daniel Vasella Novartis AG With approximately 100,000 employees in 140 countries and a customer base dispersed worldwide, global diversity and inclusion is crucial for success at pharmaceutical and health care company Novartis AG. “As a global company, we have the privilege to work in an environment rich in cultural, ethnic and gender diversity,” said Dr. Daniel Vasella, CEO. “Incorporating this diversity into our organization through our associates enables us to both understand and ultimately better meet the health care needs of patients and serve our customers. A corporate culture that respects everyone by valuing and including heterogeneity with a strong commitment from its leaders promotes innovation and customer closeness.” Health care has an all-encompassing patient-customer base, so it’s pivotal that organizations in this industry are inclusive, and Novartis’ senior leaders must be empowered to further the organization’s diversity and inclusion definition, which includes, but is not limited to, ethnicity, gender, thinking styles, religion and belief, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, education, nationality and life experiences. “At Novartis, our mission is to discover, develop and successfully market innovative products to prevent and cure diseases, to ease suffering and to enhance the quality of life September/October 2008 | www.diversity-executive.com | Diversity Executive 43 http://www.diversity-executive.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Diversity Executive - September 2008

Diversity Executive - September 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Leadership Connections Guest Editorial Diversity Executive Online 2042: A New Business Era Begins The Rules of Attraction Where to Look for Diverse Talent Like Minds Think Great Culture Teams Target Business Opportunities at Luxottica Retail Special Section Rebalancing Gender At ING Americas, the Color of Diversity Is Orange Profile Business Intelligence Case Study Strategies Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources

Diversity Executive - September 2008

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