Chapter 11

Describe diversity and explain why it matters.

Diversity exists in organizations when there are demographic, cultural, and personal differences among the people who work there and the customers who do business there. A common misconception is that workplace diversity and employment equity are the same. However, employment equity is more narrowly focused on demographics; diversity is broader in focus (going beyond demographics), voluntary, and more positive in that it encourages companies to value all kinds of differences. Employment equity and diversity thus differ in purpose, practice, and the reactions they produce. Diversity makes good business sense in terms of cost savings, attracting and retaining talent, and driving business growth (improving marketplace understanding and promoting higher-quality problem solving). The general purpose of diversity programs is to ensure that no one is advantaged or disadvantaged and that differences are respected and not ignored.

Understand the special challenges that the dimensions of surface-level diversity pose for managers.

Age, gender, race/ethnicity, and physical and mental disabilities are dimensions of surface-level diversity. Because those dimensions are (usually) easily observed, managers and workers tend to rely on them to form initial impressions and stereotypes. Sometimes this can lead to age, gender, racial/ethnic, or disability discrimination (i.e., treating people differently) in the workplace. In general, older workers, women, people of colour or different national origins, and people with disabilities are much less likely to be hired or promoted than are white males. This disparity is often due to incorrect beliefs or stereotypes such as “job performance declines with age,” or “women aren’t willing to travel on business,” or “workers with disabilities aren’t as competent as typical workers.” To reduce discrimination, companies can determine the hiring and promotion rates for different groups, train managers to make hiring and promotion decisions on the basis of specific criteria, and make sure that everyone has equal access to training, mentors, reasonable work accommodations, and assistive technology. Finally, companies need to designate a go-to person whom employees can talk to if they believe they have suffered discrimination.

Explain how the dimensions of deep-level diversity affect individual behaviour and interactions in the workplace.

Deep-level diversity matters because it can reduce prejudice, discrimination, and conflict while increasing social integration. It consists of dispositional and personality differences that can be learned only through extended interaction with others. Research conducted in different cultures, settings, and languages indicates that there are five basic dimensions of personality: extroversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. Of these, conscientiousness is perhaps the most important because conscientious workers tend to be better performers on virtually any job. Extroversion is also related to performance in jobs that require significant interaction with others.

Explain the basic principles and practices that can be used to manage diversity.

The three paradigms for managing diversity are


1. the discrimination and fairness paradigm (equal opportunity, fair treatment, strict compliance with the law)
2. the access and legitimacy paradigm (matching internal diversity to external diversity)
3. the learning and effectiveness paradigm (achieving organizational plurality by integrating deep-level diversity into the work of the organization).

* Unlike the other paradigms, which focus on surface-level differences, the learning and effectiveness paradigm values common ground, distinguishes between individual and group differences, minimizes conflict and divisiveness, and focuses on bringing different talents and perspectives together.

What principles can companies use when managing diversity?

* Link diversity to strategic business goals.
* Include diversity in human resource planning.
* Recruit a diverse workforce.
* Select a diverse workforce.
* Train and develop a diverse staff.
* Monitor the effectiveness of staffing for diversity.
* Provide work–life flexibility.
* Create an inclusive working environment.
* Encourage senior executive support for diversity.

The two types of diversity training are awareness training and skills-based diversity training. Companies also manage diversity through diversity audits and diversity pairing.

Diversity

A variety of demographic, cultural, and personal differences among an organization's employees and customers.

Employment equity

An ongoing planning process used by an employer to eliminate barriers in an organization's employment procedures and to ensure appropriate representation of specific members of the workforce.

Affirmative action

Purposeful steps taken by an organization to create employment opportunities for minorities and women.

Surface-level diversity

Differences such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, and physical capabilities that are observable, typically unchangeable, and easy to measure.

Deep-level diversity

Differences such as personality and attitudes that are communicated through verbal and nonverbal behaviors and are learned only through extended interaction with others.

Social integration

The degree to which group members are psychologically attracted to working with one another to accomplish a common objective.

Age discrimination

Treating people differently (e.g., in hiring and firing, promotion, and compensation decisions) because of their age.

Gender discrimination

Treating people differently because of their gender.

Glass ceiling

The invisible barrier that prevents women and minorities from advancing to the top jobs in organizations.

Racial and ethnic discrimination

Treating people differently because of their race or ethnicity.

Disability

An activity limitation or participation restriction associated with a physical or mental condition or health problem.

Disability discrimination

Treating people differently because of their disabilities.

Disposition

The tendency to respond to situations and events in a predetermined manner.

Personality

The relatively stable set of behaviors, attitudes, and emotions displayed over time that makes people different from one another.

Extroversion

The degree to which someone is active, assertive, gregarious, sociable, talkative, and energized by others.

Emotional stability

The degree to which someone is not angry, depressed, anxious, emotional, insecure, and excitable.

Agreeableness

The degree to which someone is cooperative, polite, flexible, forgiving, good-natured, tolerant, and trusting.

Conscientiousness

The degree to which someone is organized, hardworking, responsible, persevering, thorough, and achievement-oriented.

Openness to experience

Degree to which someone is curious, broad-minded, and open to new ideas, things, and experiences; is spontaneous; and has a high tolerance for ambiguity.

Organizational plurality

Work environment where all members are empowered to contribute in a way that maximizes the benefits to the organization, customers, and themselves, and the individuality of each member is respected by not segmenting or polarizing people on the basis of their membership in a particular group.

Awareness training

Training designed to raise employees’ awareness of diversity issues and to challenge the underlying assumptions or stereotypes they may have about others.

Skills-based diversity training

Training that teaches employees the practical skills they need for managing a diverse workforce, such as flexibility and adaptability, negotiation, problem solving, and conflict resolution.

Diversity audits

Formal assessments that measure employee and management attitudes, investigate the extent to which people are advantaged or disadvantaged with respect to hiring and promotions, and review companies’ diversity-related policies and procedures.

Diversity pairing

Mentoring program in which people of different cultural backgrounds, sexes, or races/ethnicities are paired together to get to know one another and change stereotypical beliefs and attitudes.