Twentieth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

Social service organizations (SSO) play a fundamental role within national welfare systems. In a trans-nationalizing and globalizing society SSO and their performances are changing. But how do these organizations deal specifically with migration? Debates on these questions can be found in terms such as “intercultural opening”, “diversity management” or “diversity and inclusion.” It is striking that the focus of the debates is often on the clients and not the organization itself. Diversity in the field of migration in relation to organizational culture in the field of SSO is still largely unexplored. Using the current case study of my doctorate I show how social transformation processes were addressed in an SSO. The case study was based on grounded theory methodology and combined several methods to obtain empirical data. Social statistics were produced quantitatively based on a survey. Qualitative data were collected in a total of 14 expert interviews at all levels of the organization. The analysis of the interviews showed that the respondents had a contradictory picture of migration. Among colleagues, migration is seen as an additional competence for e.g. “socialized skills” such as language. At the same time, migration of the clients is seen as a problem for the organization. Migration becomes a barrier because e.g. communication problems arise due to language. I consider the background and meanings of the different assessments of migration in social service organizations.