Many times I’ve heard authors talk about their latest publication as
“their baby” –in fact, I have used this metaphor several times, especially when
I show the results of my efforts with colleagues or friends, after months of
thinking, writing, analyzing, submitting manuscripts and responding to
reviewers and editors. Well, a few
days ago, I received my newest “baby,” the “ba-BJHR” or Business Journal of Hispanic Research, first issue of its fifth
volume, and I can hardly wait for opportunities to talk about it!
The funny thing is that I only wrote one page in this
issue. But I can tell you that I
spent many more hours, energy and effort as Editor-in-Chief of this issue than
I have for many other publications, even those in which I am single or first
author. Coordinating the efforts
of twenty-six highly qualified individuals who so conscientiously wrote their
manuscripts to be scrutinized by our editorial boards –another forty, highly
qualified, well known individuals from industry and academia—and several ad-hoc
reviewers is an experience in interdependence that I had never had before. I sure hope that many conscientious
managers and researchers will agree with us that this issue is full of helpful,
relevant advice, distilled through rigorous methodologies.
I believe that this is one of the clearest ways in which NSHMBA
distinguishes itself from other organizations that only have a yearly event or
two to serve their stakeholders! And this is one that creates a tangible legacy
for generations to come!
Let me share with you how this journal is different from other business
publications. First and foremost,
most of the authors are highly trained individuals: you will notice in its
index and Contributors section that all have finished graduate school and most
–over 80%--have doctorates. Secondly, there are five sections in this journal, three of
them written mainly for the thoughtful manager who wants her or his practice to
stay away from fads and “intellectual snake oil” –the Executive Articles,
Summaries, and Book Reviews—and the other two sections –the Academic or
Scholarly Articles and the Research in Progress—are written mainly for business
scientists and researchers, who report their work in a more technical
fashion. All the content is
intended to document how Hispanics in business have different sets of
circumstances than the rest of our society, and provide information that will
not just be rigorously distilled, but also highly usable. Lastly, while the BJHR, like most
journals, is distributed through libraries and electronic databases, it is also
sent directly to NSHMBA’s sponsors and partners, both academic and industrial;
to chapter presidents and to subscribers.
This increases the chances that it will be read and used actively, not
just found occasionally.
Contributions
Have you ever noticed how some blue-collar workers seem to be more
stressed than others? Dr. Carol
Howard and her co-authors from Oklahoma City University and from the U. of
Tennessee -Knoxville surveyed not just workers but also their supervisors to examine
whether ethnical matches made any difference on job stress and burnout. They found measurable differences in
stress levels, on burnout and on intent to turnover, but Hispanics appeared to
be more vulnerable to ethnic mismatches than their Anglo counterparts; for that
reason, they recommend a focus on job design for Anglo workers and on perceived
ethnic fit for Hispanic workers.
But don’t take my word for it; read the full article on pp. 54-71 so you
can draw your own conclusions!
You might also have noticed that some organizations have Diversity
Management initiatives that are readily accepted, whereas other organizations
struggle to find support for them, even among the employees that are expected
to benefit. Dr. Richard Herrera
from Texas A&M in Texarkana and his collaborators from Our Lady of the Lake
and UT-Dallas have been able to find empirical support for a number of
relationships that link cultural descriptors with leadership preferences and
ratings of diversity management.
Among their recommendations, Human Resource and other managers of people
might do well by promoting a collectivistic rather than individualistic culture
to increase the acceptability of their diversity practices. Again, I invite you to read the full
report on pp. 72-85.
Now, if you have been following the debates over illegal immigration
and how the local and state debates may impact businesses –hey, your business
might have experienced some of these concerns!—you will be interested in a case
study that Dr. Mark D’Antonio and his colleagues from Northern Virginia
Community College wrote. This
review of the legal precedents and justification for Affirmative Action
programs, not just for compliance but from a competitive advantage perspective
will put you –or your trainees—in the driver’s seat. In addition to the case printed on pp. 86-97, there is a
full set of teaching notes available from the Managing Editor of the BJHR; they
are free for qualified instructors with a current subscription to the BJHR, but
others who are not so close to NSHMBA may also purchase the teaching notes in
electronic or print form.
Our Executive sections include articles on entrepreneurs and services
offered to them, on academy-business collaborations and academic inequality, a
couple of summaries that address differences on Hispanics’ happiness and
job-related stress levels, in addition to two reviews of highly relevant books. From well-known to recently minted academics
from universities like Indiana, Tulane, UT-San Antonio, Saint Xavier, Quinnipiac,
Marymount, and Clarion are present in these articles.
And, did I mention that NSHMBA Premier and Executive members have
online access to the electronic version of the journal included as a benefit of
their membership? All you need to
do is login to the NSHMBA site and continue your professional development
through reading and internalizing the information in this multi-disciplinary
effort by businesspersons and academics.
As always, I look forward to hearing from you via email or through my
social networking pages (please remember to let me know that you’re a fellow
NSHMBA member if you send me a connection request).
¡Hasta la próxima!
