Handbook of Diversity Competence: European Perspectives

This open access handbook provides the most current overview of the discussion on diversity competence, with a focus on Europe. Diversity competence has become a key area of interdisciplinary study because of the increasingly intercultural nature of institutions and organisations across the world. This important handbook reviews the conceptual and theoretical foundations of this concept and reflects on the scope of its application. It provides directions for further research in the theory, research and practice of diversity competence and includes country-wise perspectives as well. An international team of researchers brings together insights from research and best practice in psychology, cultural sciences, economics, pedagogical sciences, sociology, social work, medicine, theology, politics and law. This is an important resource for a wide readership of students, researchers and practitioners who research on or work with people from diverse cultures.

Petia Genkova is a professor at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and holds a habilitation in psychology and intercultural communication. She is a recognised migration researcher and expert in this field. She is co-editor of the Journal of Political Psychology, the Journal of Social Management, and the journal Acta Universitatis Agriculturaeet Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis. Furthermore, she is on the scientific advisory board of the Journal for Diversity Research and Management and a reviewer for several national and international journals. For her outstanding, innovative, and pioneering achievements, the author was honoured with the Höffmann Academic Award for Intercultural Competence for her life’s work. She has also been honoured for her outstanding basic and applied research and has conducted several research projects, including the validation of the first test for general and culture-specific intercultural competence Cult_Euro_1.

Matt Flynn is a professor at University of Hull and Director of the Centre for Research into the Older Workforce. He has conducted research for both the UK and Hong Kong governments on the impact of ageing demographics on the world of work. He has worked with organizations like the Trades Union Congress and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and he has produced good practice guides for employers on making work attractive to older workers; constructing phased retirement pathways; and making the best use of skills and talents in intergenerational work teams. Currently, he is working with partners in Spain, Italy and Poland on a European Commission funded project developing industry-specific approaches to workplace active ageing. He is also collaborating with British employers and armed services in supporting older veterans into high quality civilian work. Further, he published a book that examined the ways in which governments and companies in Asia and Europe are dealing with the issues associated with an aging labor force.

Michael Morley is a professor at the Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick, and holds the Chair in Management. Previously, he held various leadership roles at the Kemmy Business School and led curriculum initiatives, including the establishment of the Master of Science in Work and Organisation Psychology and the Master of Science in International Management and Global Business. He published in high-ranking journals and authored as well as published various books. Among others, he is Editor-in-Chief of European Management Review and had previously served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Managerial Psychology from 2007 to 2012 and Co-Editor of the Irish Journal of Management from 2001 to 2006. Further, he received several best paper awards and has been presented with the University’s Research Excellence Award in 1999, 2006 and 2010. Due to his contributions to the discipline and the academy, he was elected to Fellowship of the Irish Academy of Management in 2013.

Martina Rasticová is an associate professor at Mendel University in Brno and currently holds the position of vice-dean for internationalization. She leads the Department of Law and Humanity Sciences and has been working on gender, age and cross-cultural research projects since 1998. In 2006 and 2007, she received the Associated Research Scholarship at George Washington University. She is the author of several monographs concerning her research topics and contributed multiple chapters to the monographs edited by Michele Paludi, issued by Praeger Publisher, USA. She is a member of the management committee of COST Action IS 1409 Gender and health impacts of policies extending working life in Western countries. Moreover, she participated in the international project: Dynamics of Accumulated Inequalities for Seniors in Employment (DAISIE) supported by NORFACE, and she served as a provider of a few national projects focusing on extending working life.