Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - University of Wisconsin-Platteville professor of business administration, Marge Karsten, has recently published a book titled "Management, Gender and Race in the 21st Century." The text was published in December by the University Press of America of Lanham, Md., which is affiliated with Rowman-Littlefield Publishers.

Instead of simply making minor changes to update previous books she had written in 1992 and 1994, the author, who has taught at UWP for 25 years, decided that the extensive changes in gender and race issues in management since the 1990s warranted an entirely new book. "Though half of all U.S. managers are now women and the percent of racial and ethnic minorities in the workforce is growing rapidly, equal opportunity in advancement into the most powerful positions of major corporations is still a concern," said Karsten. "'Management, Gender and Race in the 21st Century' explores why this is true more than 40 years after a comprehensive law was passed to end employment discrimination."

According to Karsten, mainstream business management has evolved from the top-down autocratic approach in favor of participative, team-based techniques and win-win solutions. Besides achieving business goals, progressive organizations now must create an environment in which each employee's contribution is valued because of, not despite, differences. Flexibility to "have a life" outside work is increasingly important to a diverse workforce, and businesses have responded by offering greater flexibility.

In an online section of her Management, Gender and Race course, Karsten required graduate students to prepare original case studies. She included some of these, credited to students, in the book. "Every student I asked was delighted to have his or her case published," said Karsten. Topics covered in the book range from landmark cases that have reshaped the affirmative action debate to an inclusive career planning model incorporating issues women and ethnic minorities face throughout their lives and a stress model. Pay equity, links between workplace romance and sexual harassment, and the latest findings about racial, same-sex,and gender harassment are explored. Karsten discusses the pervasive impact of stereotypes on perceptions of applicants' suitability for management positions as well as power, politics and tokenism in the workforce. Trends in developmental relationships, such as networking and mentoring and its alternatives, are presented. Karsten chronicles experiences of women and of specific ethnic and racial minorities in leadership positions in U.S. organizations since World War II, with emphasis on the past 10 years. She also examines reasons why certain groups have faced extreme challenges breaking into management.

Two other UW-Platteville professors have written or co-authored chapters in Karsten's book. Joan E. Riedle, professor and chair of the department of psychology, prepared a chapter on socialization processes, and Frank P. Igou, assistant professor of business, co-authored a chapter on equal employment opportunity.

Anyone who would like a copy of Management, Gender and Race in the 21st Century may obtain it online at www.univpress.com. Karsten is also editing a three-volume collection of essays entitled "Gender, Race and Ethnicity in the Workplace" for Greenwood Publishing, which will be available in the summer of 2006. Anyone interested in learning more about Karsten's work may contact her at (608) 342-1749 or karsten@uwplatt.edu

Contact: Marge Karsten, professor, department of business administration, (608) 342-1749,karstenm@uwplatt.edu

Prepared By: Evelyn Martens,UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194,martense@uwplatt.edu; and Dan Lehnherr