CIICPD 2023

in higher ranks. One of the managers believed that it was the Germans who tended to be conservative with respect to changes. He saw their biased views, and a “lack of willingness to change things” to be a result of “them never being abroad” and not being oriented in the local contexts. Another one brought up a contrasting view, seeing Czechs as having a tendency to be in constant opposition to anything new, pointing out a frequent Czech reaction “it is not possible” to unusual requests, innovations or suggested changes. One of the testimonies even indicated that change is difficult not only for the subordinates but also for the managers themselves, which he admitted in the following words: Personally, I do not think that I am against innovations. However, if an innovation is introduced, I have to confess that it is truly difficult for me to persuade myself that something, on which I have been working, putting energy into, taking care of in order to set the order and implement the innovation, that I should change it again. So, I can see first-hand that I do have problems with new innovations, since I already invested a lot of time into it. This quote indicates that managers, as agents of change in companies, sometimes also face conflicting interests between a need to set and optimise functional processes in their teams, and simultaneously, their willingness to change their own solutions for the sake of innovation or company progress as a whole. Leaders being aware of this perplexity and able to consciously fight personal discomfort, therefore, are key to company dynamics and resilience. Indeed, quality change management requires strong, progressive, well-informed, and experienced leaders with the ability to convince employees about the need for such change. The participants trained in diversity management proved to be better prepared. They not only realised that good change management within their teams is important for increasing the company’s “results and customer satisfaction” , but also were fully aware that “each change hurts, if one wants to change something essential” . Th ey also realised that as leaders, “if they want something from others, they must start with themselves” ; i.e. only through taking responsibility for the initiative, they can be a good role model to their teams. 3.1.3 Halo Effect Inspired by numerous good practices in the area of diversity, there is an increasing trend to enhance the diversity of company employee structures. ŠA underpins it as well. Building a strong and dynamic team based on a diverse workforce, however, starts before a candidate signs the employment contract. It is therefore crucial that recruiters can select their new employees without subjective judgements. The halo effect, a tendency to attribute positive or negative traits from one person to another, was not among the ones assessed as most frequently negatively affecting their managerial practice, but it caught increased attention in the discussions during the training sessions. Corresponding to the discrepancy between impact and significance, the participant contributions referring to the halo effect can be divided into two categories.

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