Items of Interest

Tuesday, February 12, 2008 

Dialogue Group plans 3-part series on Guns, Germs and Steel

The First Presbyterian Dialogue Group, in its 10^th week, will begin a 3-week series on Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel.  The series will feature a video presentation each week followed by discussion for three weeks.  

The group welcomes visitors and new participants who want to expand their knowledge, interact with others and learn about history as told from Diamond's perspective.

They meet each Tuesday at 6:30 pm in the Conference Room of the Church. Use the Second Avenue entrance.

Contact: Annettte Morrison at 706-562-8889 or msnetta1@aoo.com  

Wednesday, February13, 2008 - Race Relations Breakfast

Contact: Lee Brantley at 706-494-5400 or lbrantley@wtvm.com

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One Columbus offers Corporate Dialogue Groups to businesses, non-profits and community organizations.

One Columbus - One Vision Overview

One Columbus is not-for-profit community service organization whose mission is to find common ground around which individuals can communicate toward improving race relations and building respect for each other through constructive dialogue.

Bridge Building is one of several programs of One Columbus designed to promote and encourage multi-cultural dialogue among all sectors of the community. Although there are several strategies employed in bridge building, Dialogue Groups are structured to get people involved in small group discussions where they can help each other learn, grow, and become more effective.

Corporate Dialogue Groups Program

The Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce and One Columbus have collaborated to create a program that would facilitate and encourage the use of Corporate Dialogue Groups. The program's objective is to achieve a high degree of teamwork, reduce friction and enhance employee relations by fostering a deeper understanding of the diverse points of view that exist today in the typical workplace. Through dialogue groups, management gets a more realistic view of some the challenges and opportunities that face them and can build effective and productive teams toward greater profitability.

I.              Initiating Corporate Dialogue Groups

The following steps provide a suggested sequence of events for initiating Corporate Dialogue Groups:

§  A company's Chief Executive Officer would be asked to initiate a dialogue group within the company's office and/or plant facilities.  

§  Managers and supervisors would be asked to commit their support for the program.

§  Weekly Dialogue Group meetings would be scheduled, typically in a series of five, one hour sessions. Unique discussion topics might be chosen based on the company's demographics and a topic's relevance to company circumstances.

§  A group of 8 to 12 participants would be ideal.

§  Dialogue group meetings would be scheduled during working hours whenever possible.

§  Employees would be invited to attend a dialogue group meeting and encouraged to participate.

II.            Benefits to the Company

We believe that Corporate Dialogue Groups would provide both tangible and intangible benefits to the company/organization:

§  Improve employees' satisfaction with the workplace.

§  Reduce the "Us and Them" mentality.

§  Foster better team work.

§  Improved communications that will lead to improved productivity.

§  Better employee relations through reduced friction.

§  Provide an opportunity to develop leadership skills.

III.           Benefits to the Participants

We expect that employees who participate in Corporate Dialogue Groups would benefit personally and professionally.

§  Enlightened self-awareness.

§  Possibility of cross cultural friendships.

§  Improved self respect created by mutual understanding.

§  Enhanced quality of life.

IV.          Workplace Dimensions of Diversity

Although every company/organization is different because of the demographics of its workforce; its management style and philosophy and its unique processes and products, the dimensions of diversity represented in the workplace may be fairly common:

§  Educational background

§  Race

§  Gender

§  Generational differences

§  Life Experiences

§  Work experience

§  Ethnic diversity

§  Socio-economic differences

If you would like to consider a Corporate Dialogue Group for your organization - profit, non-profit, community group, medical, educational or other institution, email us at onecolumbus4@msn.com or call Michael Dunbar.

Corporate Dialogue Groups Ad Hoc Committee

Michael Dunbar, Chair 706-257-1189  

Lorna Headley

Reather Hollowell 

David Millen

Bill Miller

Allen Page, III

Mark Rice

Robin Snipes

Gerald Wyatt

Berrien Zettler

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In recognition of Black Hisory Month, the following may be of  interest to you.