Organizational Behavior Stephen P. Robbins & Timothy A. Judge Essentials of Organizational Behavior 13e Stephen P. Robbins & Timothy A. Judge Chapter 5 Personality and Values

Chapter 2 Diversity in Organizations

After studying this chapter you should be able to: Describe the two major forms of workforce diversity and give examples of how workplace discrimination undermines diversity effectiveness. Identify the key biographical characteristics and describe how they are relevant to OB. Define intellectual ability and demonstrate its relevance to OB. Contrast intellectual and physical ability. Describe how organizations manage diversity effectively. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Demographics of the U.S. Workforce Today’s workforce: Is more ethnical and racially diverse Includes more women and older workers Has a smaller wage gap between Whites and other racial and ethnic groups The demographics of the U.S. workforce has changed over the last thirty-plus years. Today’s workforce is not only more ethnically and racially diverse, it also includes more women and older workers. Wage gaps persist across genders and racial and ethnic groups; however, the gaps have begun to shrink. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Levels of Diversity Surface-level diversity - differences in age, race, gender, etc. Less significant over time Deep-level diversity - differences in personality and values More important in the long run While surface-level diversity can initially lead to stereotypes and assumptions about others, as people get to know one another, these differences become less significant, and deep-level diversity such as personality and values becomes more important. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Discrimination To discriminate is to note a difference between things. While this in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, when we talk about discrimination, we’re usually referring to stereotypes about groups of people and assumptions that everyone in a group is the same. This type of discrimination can be harmful to organizations and employees. Discrimination is one of the primary factors that prevent diversity, whether the discrimination is overt or covert. Recognizing diversity opportunities can lead to an effective diversity management program and ultimately to a better organization. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Biographical Characteristics Biographical characteristics include: Age Gender Race Disability Length of service Biographical characteristics including age, gender, race, disability, and length of service are some of the more obvious ways in which employees differ. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Age The relationship between age and performance is important because: The workforce is aging Mandatory retirement is outlawed The relationship between age and job performance is likely to be important during the next decade for two reasons. First, the workforce is aging. Second, U.S. legislature essentially outlaws mandatory retirement. Research shows that the older you get the less likely you are to quit your job, the more likely you are to have a lower rate of avoidable absence, the more likely you are to engage in citizenship behavior. Furthermore, job satisfaction increases among professionals as they age; however, that may not hold true for manual labor. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Gender Do women perform as well on the job as men? Few, if any, important differences, but: Women in male domains are perceived as less likeable, more hostile, and less desirable as supervisors Women are less likely to be assigned challenging positons Women often earn less than men in the same position Women face maternal wall bias Research shows that combatting age discrimination may be associated with better performance for the organization as a whole. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Race and Ethnicity U.S. Census Bureau: Recognizes 7 racial groups Distinguishes between native English speakers and Hispanics Research shows that: Individuals slightly favor colleagues of their own race in performance evaluations, promotion decisions, and pay raises Racial and ethnic minorities report higher levels of discrimination in the workplace African Americans tend to fare worse than Whites in employment decisions Some industries are less racially diverse than others The U.S. Census Bureau recognizes seven racial groups: American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Black or African American; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race; White; and Two or More Races. A distinction is also made between native English speakers and Hispanics. Studies show that individuals slightly favor colleagues of their own race in performance evaluations, promotion decisions, and pay raises. In addition, racial and ethnic minorities report higher levels of discrimination in the workplace. Furthermore, African Americans tend to fare worse than Whites in employment decisions. Finally, some industries are less racially diverse than others. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Disability Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for people with physical or mental disabilities After the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, the number of individuals in the U.S. workforce rapidly increased. The Act requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for individuals with physical or mental disabilities. Studies show that workers with disabilities receive higher performance evaluations, while at the same time, they also have lower performance expectations and are less likely to be hired. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Other Biographical Characteristics Tenure Religion Sexual Orientation Gender Identity Cultural Identity Tenure expressed as work experience is a good predictor of employee productivity. Seniority is negatively related to absenteeism. In addition, the longer an individual has been in a job, the less likely the individual is to quit. U.S. law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on their religion. Even so, religion is still an issue in OB, especially when it comes to Islam. Evidence shows that people are discriminated against for their Islamic faith. While federal law does not prohibit discrimination against employees based on sexual orientation, many organizations have implemented their own policies protecting employees on the basis of sexual orientation. In addition, many states and municipalities also have laws to protect employees based on their sexual orientation. Companies are also beginning to establish policies regarding transgender employees. Today’s global companies do well to understand and respect the cultural identities of their employees, both as groups and as individuals. A company seeking to be sensitive to the cultural identities of its employees should look beyond accommodating its majority groups and instead create as much of an individualized approach to practices and norms as possible. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Ability Ability: An individual’s current capacity to perform the various tasks in a job Intellectual abilities: Abilities needed to perform mental activities General mental ability: general factor of intelligence Physical abilities Ability refers to an individual’s current capacity to perform the various tasks in a job. Abilities are made up of intellectual abilities - the abilities needed to perform mental activities - and physical abilities. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Intellectual Ability The seven most frequently cited dimensions making up intellectual abilities are number aptitude, verbal comprehension, perceptual speed, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, spatial visualization, and memory. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Physical Ability Research on hundreds of jobs has identified nine basic abilities needed in the performance of physical tasks. Individuals differ in the extent to which they have each of these abilities. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Implementing Diversity Management Strategies Makes everyone more aware of and sensitive to the needs and differences of others Diversity management makes everyone more aware of and sensitive to the needs and differences of others. Diversity programs include and are meant for everyone. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Attracting, Selecting, Developing, and Retaining Diverse Employees Target underrepresented groups Ensure the hiring and promotion is bias free Develop a positive diversity climate Workers prefer organizations that value diversity To enhance workforce diversity, organizations should target underrepresented groups through ads in publications geared toward certain demographic groups, recruiting at universities and colleges with significant members of minorities, and forming partnerships with associations that represent women and minorities. Organizations should also take care to ensure that hiring decisions are bias free, and that career advancement decisions are fair and objective. Research shows that individuals who share personality traits with their co-workers are more likely to be promoted, but that in collectivist societies, similarity to supervisors is very important to career advancement, while in individualistic cultures similarity to peers is more important. Studies also show that a positive diversity climate is related to organizational commitment and lower turnover intentions among African American, Hispanic, and White managers. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Diversity in Groups Diversity can both help and hurt team performance Leverage differences for superior performance Transformational leaders are more effective in managing diverse teams Does diversity help or hurt group performance? The answer is both – it depends on the characteristic of interest. Diversity in some traits can hurt team performance, but in other cases can facilitate it. Transformational leaders are more effective at managing diverse teams. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Effective Diversity Programs Teach managers about the legal framework for equal employment opportunity and encourage fair treatment of all people regardless of their demographic characteristics Teach managers how a diverse workforce will be better able to serve a diverse group of customers and clients Foster personal development practices that bring out the skills and abilities of all workers Effective diversity programs have three distinct components. First, they teach managers about the legal framework for equal employment opportunity and encourage fair treatment of all people regardless of their demographic characteristics. Second, they teach managers how a diverse workforce will be better able to serve a diverse group of customers and clients. Finally, they foster personal development practices that bring out the skills and abilities of all workers. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Implications for Managers Understand your organization’s antidiscrimination policies thoroughly and share them with your employees Assess and challenge your stereotype beliefs to increase your objectivity Look beyond observable biographical characteristics and consider the individual’s capabilities before making management decisions Fully evaluate what accommodations a person with disabilities will need and then fine-tune the job to that person’s abilities Seek to understand and respect the unique biographical characteristics of your employees; be fair but individualistic Three variables - biographical characteristics, ability, and diversity programs - are of particular importance to managers. Biographical characteristics are readily observable, but have been shown to have only minimal effects on job performance. Diversity management must be an ongoing commitment that crosses all levels of an organization. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Summary Described the two major forms of workforce diversity and gave examples of how workplace discrimination undermines diversity effectiveness. Recognized stereotypes and explored how they function in organizational settings. Identified the key biographical characteristics and described how they are relevant to OB. Defined intellectual ability and demonstrated its relevance to OB. Contrasted intellectual and physical ability. Described how organizations manage diversity effectively. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.