Topic

X Diversity

10

Managementin Organisation

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to: 1. Describe the five components of fairness model in organisation; 2. Explain at least four importance of managing diversity, in organisation; 3. Apply the three approaches in managing the diversity challenges; and 4. Discuss five examples of individual strategies towards challenges in diversity.

INTRODUCTION

We have read articles, journals and books about diversity management. We even hear Organisations them in the news! Have you ever come across a statement that says O which manage their diversity well are competitive and productive? Think about this. So, we ask ourselves, What is diversity? The concept of diversity embraces acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individaul is unique. It is about recognising our individual differences like race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social-economic status, age, religious and political beliefs or other ideologies. In other words, it is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing the dimensions of diversity. The issue of diversity in the workplace is one of the buzzwords of today. The increasing diversity of population in organisations have more or less forced organisations to recognise the need to carefully manage this issue.

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10.1 FAIRNESS IN ORGANISATION

One concern of organisations these days is about the ability to manage diversity. As discussed earlier in Topic 3, we have noted that women or minorities are subjected to certain restrictions. Women make up quite a percentage in the workforce, hence the need to act fairly towards them. An organisation is acting fairly when issues such as pay, promotion and benefits are handled based on job-related criteria instead of criteria such as gender or age. The greatest concern regarding fairness is related to women and minority groups from entering managerial and professional positions. The question here is, how fairly are women treated once they are in the organisation or even before they enter an organisation (during interviews, tests, etc)? The progress of women or minorities moving up the corporate ladder has been documented as slow. It has been suggested that women or minorities have to outperform the majority or the stronger gender to get ahead in the organisation. This is not to say that women and minorities are always at a disadvantage in their quest to move upwards. But, as a group, women and minorities have experienced more restricted movement as in advancement and opportunites. Of course, there are employers who view women, for example, as concientious and detailed workers and consider them as better managers. A study by B. R. Ragins, B. Townsend and M. Mattis suggested that many CEOs may not fully appreciate the barriers to advancement that women experience. The study further reiterated that women with MBAs often have to prove themselves more than men, yet experience fewer managerial promotions and slower salary progression than men. So, again the question, Why have there been restricted career advancement for women and minorities? This leads to another question, Have assessment ratings been fair or biased against women or minorities employment? Several reasons could have contributed to this, which include: Higher performance rating being given to certain groups, majority of evaluators in the organisation may have been men, and simply the possibilities whereby different or additonal criteria have been used for assessment.

ACTIVITY 10.1
Do you think the experience of women differ from that of the minorities? Why? Why not?

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10.2 FAIRNESS MODEL IN ORGANISATION

It is important to note that restricted career advancement and opportunities are not experienced by all women and minorities. To explore this issue further, let us take a look at Figure 10.1: Fairness Model in Organisation. The model basically indicates reasons why women and minorities are more prone to restricted career advancement and opportunities. The model explains that cultural dissimilarities in organisations result in stereotypes, feeling of psychological distance and cultural misunderstandings. In turn, these results in another layer including differential treatment which represents lost opportunities in further developing job-related talents.

Figure 10.1: Model of organisation fairness in career advancement opportunities

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10.2.1 Stereotypes
According to Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, USA (http://www.colorado.edu): Stereotypes are generalisations, or assumptions that people make about the characteristics of all members of a group, based on an image (often wrong) about what people in that group are like. For example, one study of stereotypes revealed that Americans are generally considered to be friendly, generous and tolerant, but also arrogant, impatient, and domineering. Asians, on the other hand, were expected to be shrewd and alert, but reserved. Clearly, not all Americans are friendly and generous; and not all Asians are shrewd. If you assume you know what a person is like, and don't look at each person as an individual, you are likely to make errors in your estimates of a person's character.

Here are other examples of stereotyping: Helmi, a pilot is perceived to be detail-oriented with high level of commitment; Jimmy, a marketing strategist to be open-minded and good in talking; while Lim, an insurance agent is organised and calculative in nature. However, not all stereotypes are good. We can perceive otherwise. For example, we might instead perceive insurance agent Lim and marketer Jimmy as unethical and manipulative. Gender-characteristic stereotypes definitely persist in our contemporary society. Women are regarded to possess qualities that are not justifiable to be promoted to managerial and professional positions. While men are seen to be aggressive and confident, women on the other hand are perceived to be emotional and sensitive. Because of these stereotypes, women are expected to perform poorly in areas where jobs are thought to be manly in nature. Another issue where working women are often stereotyped is the fact that they have to juggle and balance between their career and family. Majority of men believe that women do better with domestic responsibilities such as organising a home and tending children.

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10.2.2 Psychological Distance

We believe that every individual is different from each other, hence sometimes the difficulty to understand one another. It is difficult to motivate or influence someone whom we dont know very well. Psychological distance can instigate mistrust, and to a certain extent fear. This may be because of the fact that people who are different from us are more difficult to understand. Stereotypes can create psychological distance in people. Psychological distance can fortify existing stereotypes. Think about the case of Hannah for a minute. The Case of Hannah Hannah is stereotyped by her colleagues as unproductive and lacks job commitment. Because of these stereotypes, Hannah was deprived of opportunities to demonstrate her talents and strengths. Hannah felt less valued and hence has shown little enthusiasm or interest in improving her job performance. Her reactions were interpreted (and have been reinforced) as a lack of commitment towards her job. This whole scenario has resulted in her feeling an increased psychological distance.

10.2.3 Cultural Misunderstandings

Because of stereotypes, cultural differences and psychological distances, the tendency to misunderstand each other becomes even greater. Suzy may find Eda rather annoying when she refuses to cooperate with another colleague. A superior who lacks understanding of Asian culture may find the Asian obliging attitude as a sign of weakness rather than a sign of respect and modesty for another. Cultural misunderstandings can be exaggerated by language and conflicts. Think about the example below (Figure 10.2). It basically reflects the way information is conveyed in the cultural context of each nation. People of different cultures may have different understandings of how we understand things in our own context.

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Figure 10.2: Three translations posted on a lawn in Switzerland

The German sign reads, Walking on the grass is forbidden. The English sign reads, Please do not walk on the grass. The French sign reads, Those who respect the environment will avoid walking on the grass. Do you see how different people have different way of giving instructions? Perhaps the most critical consequence of sterotypes, psychologial distance and cultural misundertandings is our tendency to dismiss the the abilities of a person and how the person may be able to contribute towards organisational success in the future. If a particular person is seen as unqualified to undertake certain job commitments, then the unwillingness to invest time and effort may become obvious. Cultural diversity in the workplace can entail stereotyping, psychological differences, and conflicts. These will one way or another result in lost opportunities fo women, or a group in the minority to excel and to attain the ncessary skills and knowledge to advance.

10.3 IS DIVERSITY IN ORGANISATION VALUABLE AND IMPORTANT?

Managing diversity in the workplace is critical, as the world gets increasingly competitive and organisations even more diverse! Managing a diverse workforce well can: (a) (b) (c) Contribute to increased employee retention and productivity Can enhance the organisations responsiveness to an increasingly diverse world of customers Improve relations with the surrounding community

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(d) (e)

Increase the organisations ability to cope with changes Expand the creativity of the organisation

Two schools of thoughts affirm that organisations should be concerned regarding the issue of diversity in the workplace (Greenhaus, Callahan & Godshalk (2000). (a) The world and the workplace have become increasingly competitive. Since we cannot avoid this from happening, thus there is a great need to cope with the changes. The future outlook of organisations should be looking into hiring candidates of talent without fear or favour in an effective and fair manner. Organisations should not view diversity as a hindrance to succeed, instead take advantage of how workplace diversity may affect the organisation positively. The second thought affirms that organisational diversity is healthy and can benefit both the organisations as well as employees. It believes that employees who come from different backgrounds have different strengths, and bring in different ideas which in the long run could enhance the productivity and effectiveness of the organisation. This thought also asserts that women are more attuned to flexibility allowing more involvement of colleagues and subordinates in the process of decision making. The fact that women possess different qualities than men such as emotionality or intimacy will bring a breath of fresh air (e.g. approaches, perspectives, and understandings) to organisations.

(b)

Good management of a diverse work force can increase productivity and enhance an organisations ability to manoeuvre in this increasingly complex and diverse environment.

10.4 ORGANISATION APPROACH TOWARDS CHALLENGES IN DIVERSITY

To address diversity issues or challenges, it is apparent that the following directly related issues have to be focused on: (a) (b) (c) Policies Practices Organisation culture (ways of thinking within the organisation)

Most of us believe in the golden rule: Treat others as you want to be treated. The implicit assumption behind this golden rule is that Treat others as how we want to be treated. However, looking at this proverb through the perspective of

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diversity, we tend to ask questions like,Does diversity look the same to everyone? In general, there are three approaches which organisations can undertake in managing the challenges of diversity. According to Greenhaus, these approaches include affirmative action, valuing differences and managing diversity.

10.4.1 Affirmitive Action

So, what exactly is affirmative action? According to Carnegie Mellon, (http://hr.web.cmu.edu/drg/overview/affaction.html) affirmative action is a series of efforts and/or strategies designed to provide equal consideration for all individuals within organisation activity including hiring, promoting and terminating. Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, founder of the American Institute of Managing Diversity, stated that affirmative action which was introduced during the US civil right movements in the 1960s was based on five assumptions which include: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Adult, white men make up the US business mainstream The US economy is solid and unchanging Women, minorities, and immigrants should be allowed to join organisation for reasons of common decency Extensive prejudice keeps women, minorities, and immigrants out of the organisations Legal and social pressure is required to bring women, minorities and immigrants into organisations

These five assumptions may no longer be valid. However, ever since the introduction of affirmative actions, organisations have been forced to become more competitive and seek individuals with talents and skills from all sectors of the society. Many Asian countries will need to work harder to fully benefit from the policies of affirmative action as well as the beliefs that come with it.

10.4.2 Valuing Differences

This approach is about trying to improve interpersonal relationships in a diverse workforce by achieving one or more objective.

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The objectives include: (a) (b) (c) (d) To understand differences between people To understand ones own feelings toward people who are different in some respect To understand how differences among people can be an advantage to an organisation To improve work relationship between people who are different from one another Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Founder American Institute of Managing Diversity

It was regarded that the approach of valuing differences can help improve the relationship between employees and reduce misunderstandings or conflicts.

10.4.3 Managing Diversity

Managing diversity is about acknowledging differences in people and recognising differences as something valuable. It is also about enhancing good management practices by preventing stereotyping or discrimination and promoting healthy work relations. Diversity is an integral part of the organisation. Because of this, organisation must be able to cope with the challenges it brings. The following are some challenges which may or may not come about: (a) (b) (c) Making a job attractive to people with disabilities Recruitment to effectively target the underutilised group Overcoming cultural bias during interview or promotion

ACTIVITY 10.2
Do you think discrimination can be eliminated from the workplace? Why? Why not? Do you think there has been enough progress in trying to reduce workplace discrimination?

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10.5 ORGANISATION POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES

This section is dedicated to discuss the policies and programmes which organisations can adopt to manage diversity. Some of the programmes were derived from affirmative actions itself. Table 10.1 suggests some critical components to manage diversity.
Table 10.1: Components to Manage Diversity Component (a) Communication regarding the meaning and importance of diversity Unbiased hiring system Identification of critical diversity issues Emphasis The need to know the meaning of diversity Mission statement Orientation Constant guard against discriminatory hiring practices Assessment of organisational culture Ongoing research Diversity task force Valuing differences The need to understand the difficulties stemming from language difference and to provide flexible solutions Career planning Mentoring and supporting relationships Developmental experience Legitimise work family issues To support and possess genuine commitment to cultural diversity Ensuring effective leadership runs across the organisation

(b) (c)

(d) (e)

Diversity training Language policies and programmes Use of career systems

(f)

(g)

Leadership and accountability

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10.6 MANAGING DIVERSITY, OPPORTUNITY AND CAPABILITY

This particular section addresses two pertinent issues: (a) (b) Should special programmes be made available for certain groups? Should preferential treatment be practised?

Perhaps there can be no direct answers to the question posed. If policies and programmes are made available to all employees, will there still be a need to ask such questions? Perhaps special programmes are still needed as the existing system may have worked only for the majority. We need to assert that stereotyping, bias and neglect have all affected women and minorities one way or another and these include exclusion from occupational rights. These of course have resulted in women being alienated and frustrated. One important note is to instil the importance of knowing what managing diversity means. Managing diversity is about ensuring that everyone is taken care of and not advantaged or disadvantaged because of unnecessary considerations. Thus, we still go back to competency. Competency should be the major consideration and yardstick for decision affecting the career path of all employees.

10.7

INDIVIDUAL APPROACH TOWARDS CHALLENGES IN DIVERSITY

We can all make a difference, even as individuals. In fact, several writers have recommended strategies for women and minorities and this includes the following: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) Develop positive self-concept Make contact and become part of the work group Network with othe minorities Be open-minded allowing ourselves to dwell into an issue before concluding that a negative experience is a result of discrimination Develop self-confidence Be aware of self and environment understand stereotypes, understand other people and their culture Formulate career goals, strategies and appraisal

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ACTIVITY 10.3
Can you think of any other strategies apart from the listed above?

Managing diversity is about recognising our individual differences which can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socialeconomic status, age, religious and political beliefs or other ideologies. In other words, it is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing the dimensions of diversity. Stereotypes are generalisations, or assumptions, which people make about the characteristics of all members of a group, based on an image (often wrong) about what people in that group are like. Psychological distance can instigate mistrust, and to a certain extent fear. This may be because of the fact that people who are different from us are more difficult to understand. Affirmative action is a series of efforts and/or strategies designed to provide equal consideration for all individuals within organisation activity including hiring, promotion and terminations

Affirmative action Career advancement Cultural misunderstanding Lost opportunities Performance assessment

Psychological distance Sex-characteristic stereotypes Self-concept Valuing difference