Dr. Roosevelt Thomas is the author of "Beyond Race and Gender" and the founder and president of The American Institute for Managing Diversity, Inc.

A former university professor and administrator known widely for his work in the area of diversity, Dr. Thomas has written a new book, "Redefining Diversity," which moves from his concept of managing Diversity in "Beyond Race and Gender" to the concept of Diversity Management.

This is far more than a play on words, semantics or a subtlety. Not only does Thomas contend that we should expand our concept of diversity beyond race and gender, but that the notion of diversity management extends beyond Human Resources to all areas of management. For Thomas, this new notion of diversity is about more than issues of people (workforce diversity). It also includes such management concerns as globalism, acquisitions and mergers, work/family issues, cross-functional coordination, and managing change.

Thomas explains diversity and complexity as mirrors of each other: as complexity increases on any level, this broadened definition of diversity also increases. Far more discussion in "Redefining Diversity" focuses on diversity issues that extend beyond race and gender.

In order to further understand this expanded definition of diversity extending beyond people and human resources, Thomas introduces us to the Diversity Paradigm -- a tool for addressing an array of management issues. The diversity paradigm presents eight options for action which managers may use when addressing any given issue, problem or circumstance.

These eight choices form the core of the actions that are used in the diversity management process. The eight actions options are: Include/Exclude; Deny; Assimilate; Suppress; Isolate; Tolerate; Build Relationships; and Foster Mutual Adaptation.