MGMT Ch. 12

1. We will contract with an organization that will be tasked with reviewing our diversity strategy and offering any suggestions for ways to improve. 2. David, a man and the most senior executive at the company, will attend the Women in Business seminars that are put on by the local chamber of commerce for the next 3 months. 3. In an effort to reduce any detected stereotypical beliefs or attitudes, we will create diverse teams of two employees, who will be asked to complete a task together.

1. Diversity Audit 2. Minority Experience 3. Diversity Pairing

Upon discussing this article with a group of people at lunch, you find that you actually know someone who works for Kellogg's. Which of the following would this person most likely report about the work environment at the company?

Employees are pretty happy there—keeping their jobs for a long time and generally not missing a lot of work. Companies that promote diversity are known to experience a decrease in turnover and absenteeism, as well as an increase in growth through high-quality problem solving. Diverse work groups may have a hard time working together initially, but, over time, employees establish working relationships that allow them to identify problems and generate alternative solutions as a group, evidence of high-quality problem solving. Employees keeping their jobs for a long time and generally not missing a lot of work are indicative of decreased turnover and absenteeism, respectively.

Deep-level diversity depends on what are referred to as the Big Five Personality Dimensions: extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. Each dimension includes a range of personality traits, from one extreme to another. The following image represents the continuum for one of the Big Five Personality Dimensions. Bashful <------------> Communicative You are a manager reviewing information on job applicants. The test results show that one of your candidates is high on the dimension illustrated by the previous diagram, which is _________. Here are two positions you are considering this candidate for: Position 1 This position requires a person who can analyze complicated spreadsheets and create detailed reports on the selling trends for the company. Position 2 This position requires a person who can travel to various nutrition centers and convince store owners to stock the company's product. This candidate will likely excel in ___________ , since the position requires a great amount of _______

Extraversion Position 2 Social Interaction ************ Extraversion is the Big Five Personality Dimension described by the endpoints on the diagram. People who score low on extraversion are often described as bashful, shy, and reserved. In contrast, those who score high tend to be expressive, unrestrained, and communicative. A person whose personality is characterized to a high degree by extraversion would be best suited for a position that requires a greater amount of social interaction, which is more likely to happen for the person who is tasked with traveling to various nutrition centers and convincing store owners to stock a product.

The correct answers to the previous questions help to highlight which of the following about diversity?

In addition to being the right thing to do, supporting diversity is a profitable endeavor.

You were unable to attend all of the training, but your coworker has offered to fill you in on the details that you missed. Identify which of the following statements your coworker is likely to indicate as diversity principles discussed during your absence. Check all that apply.

In order to promote social integration, you should create activities during which employees are working toward a common goal. Remember to continue to adhere to all federal and state laws even when implementing a diversity program. Individual differences in productivity and performance, not group membership, should be the basis for training, development, mentoring, and promotion. ******** Your coworker is likely to indicate all three of these statements as diversity principles discussed in your absence. Following state and federal laws on equal employment will reduce time and money spent on lawsuits and will allow your company to focus on diversity instead. Creating activities during which employees are working toward a common goal will promote greater social integration, the ultimate goal of diversity. Basing training, development, mentoring, and promotion opportunities on individual differences in productivity and performance instead of group differences reduces the likelihood of continuing prejudice and discrimination based on group membership.

Select the scenario that includes an example of affirmative action.

Scenario 1 Because Hispanics are not currently well represented in her company, Juanita attends job fairs in Latino neighborhoods in hope of attracting more Hispanic job applicants ******* Scenario 1 is an example of affirmative action. Affirmative action is a deliberate, legal procedure for creating opportunities for women and minorities. The purpose of an affirmative action program is to either compensate for previous discriminatory practices, to halt any current discriminatory practices, or to provide for equal opportunities for all in the future. Recruiting certain groups of people is an example of the purposeful nature of affirmative action, whereas naturally attracting certain types of employees and clients is more indicative of the voluntary development of diversity.

Statement 1 You will be better able to get people to work together if you recognize surface-level diversity, but not to the extent of providing preferential treatment based on a person's age, sex, or race/ethnicity. Statement 2 A successful diversity program provides preferential treatment based on surface-level diversity, finally providing adequate recognition for a person's age, sex, and/or race or ethnicity. You should choose _______ as the more appropriate strategy for managing diversity, since it is an example of ______

Statement 1 treating group differences as important ******* You should choose Statement 1 as the more appropriate strategy for managing diversity, since it is an example of treating group differences as important. Diversity principles are those that help a manager do a better job of managing diversity. The implementation of a diversity program will be more successful if you recognize surface-level diversity, but without making it seem more important than deep-level diversity. Giving preferential treatment to surface-level diversity will not help integrate employees to a level at which all are comfortable to put forth their best work.

Managers should strive to create a work environment where all employees feel comfortable and able to do their jobs. However, they must do this with the understanding that people's initial impressions and stereotypes are based on a person's_________ , or surface-level diversity.

age, sex, race/ethnicity

While reading the newspaper one day, you come across an article discussing the diversity strategy presented by the cereal and food producer Kellogg's. The main theme of the story is that the company strives to both produce the best product for its customers and create an environment that values and utilizes the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and ways of thinking of its employees and customers. Recruiters for Kellogg's can expect _____ in applications from talented workers after the publication of this article.

an increase Researchers have identified that companies that promote and support diversity are able to attract a diverse pool of talented workers. Therefore, a recruiter for the diversity-friendly company highlighted in the article could expect an increase in applications from talented workers after the publication of the article.

Brian is conducting the last in a series of diversity trainings and has asked attendees to once again complete an association test. They are now discussing their results as a group, and most people found that their pattern of responses showed a decrease in biased associations. Brian is happy with these results and would like to think they are a result of the weeklong diversity training just completed. There are two basic types of diversity training programs: awareness training and skills-based diversity training. Brian's training session is an example of _________ , the goal of which is to ____________

awareness training break down misconceptions The focus of awareness training is on bringing diversity issues to the attention of employees and breaking down any misconceptions they may have about others. This type of training aims to challenge underlying assumptions and stereotypes a person may have about others. Brian's training involves bringing attention to people's biased associations and how they can change, which is an example of awareness training. Skills-based diversity training focuses more on teaching employees basic skills for managing diversity, such as flexibility, adaptability, negotiation, problem solving, and conflict resolution. This is not the intention of Brian's training.

One of the previous scenarios is an example of affirmative action, while the other is an example of diversity. Now you can compare the two scenarios in order to recognize one of the differences between affirmative action and diversity: Affirmative action is more of a ______ process, whereas diversity can be __________ in nature.

deliberate voluntary ****** Affirmative action involves deliberate steps taken by an organization to create employment opportunities for certain groups of people. However, promoting diversity is often a more organic, or voluntary, process. Juanita is involved in a deliberate action to hire certain groups of people, whereas Clancy's situation is an example of the more voluntary nature of diversity.

After running some analyses, the owner of Loose Leaf Delight is happy to report that her business has benefited greatly from the implementation of this diversity strategy. For one, the strategies that fall under the discrimination and fairness paradigm have primarily benefited the company by providing an increase in ___________

demographic diversity The primary benefit of the discrimination and fairness paradigm is an increase in demographic diversity. This is a result of the efforts to provide equal opportunity to women, people of different racial/ethnic backgrounds, or other underrepresented groups.

Managers, as well as employees, can make assumptions about others based on surface-level diversity. Deborah has been evaluating a local marketing company and has discovered that no women hold executive positions at this company. While she can't find any particular reason for the lack of diversity at this level, she is including in her report that recruiting and hiring efforts at the executive level should include this underrepresented population. This is an example of sex discrimination, and the findings from Deborah's evaluation seem to suggest the presence of a ______ for women at this marketing company.

glass ceiling

Basing your impressions of a coworker on deep-level diversity means that you _________the person. This is likely to create an environment where coworkers are__________ .

know and understand motivated to work together

Review this sentence: "We will recognize the unique potential in each of our individual employees, creating a diverse work environment where all employees have a sense of ownership and respect for the work they are doing." This section from the diversity strategy is an example of the __________ paradigm, the focus of which is __________ .

learning and effectiveness integration The learning and effectiveness paradigm presents methods for integrating deep-level diversity differences into the actual work of an organization in a way that maximizes employee performance. This method focuses on individual differences instead of group membership. The Loose Leaf Delight company presents these same sentiments with the highlighted statement about recognizing the unique potential of employees and creating a diverse work environment where all employees have a sense of ownership and respect for the work they are doing. This method focuses more on individual differences than group membership, creating heightened integration.

A person's ______ is most often the focus of discriminatory actions.

race/ethnicity