Chapter 5 managing people and work

Natalia went to the general manager to file a complaint regarding something her supervisor said that implied she would be demoted or fired if she did not submit to a sexual request. Which step should the general manager take when investigating this complaint?

Get a neutral third party to investigate the claim.

What might make it especially difficult for women or minorities to receive promotions when the company's managers, especially those in top positions, are white men?

Implicit bias can lead to unfair treatment of diverse employees simply because they are different from the managers who are making decisions that affect their future.

_______ is the process through which people select, organize, and interpret sensory input to give meaning and order to the world around them.

Perception

What characteristic of perception explains why two different managers in a diverse environment may view an employee's potential very differently?

Perceptions are subjective and lead to different interpretations.

Marta realizes that her values differ significantly from some of her younger employees. What should Marta do to understand them better?

Seek out others' points of view and perspectives.

Sunny who is a manager at a fabric manufacturing is going to complete a four-week community-based internship to improve her diversity awareness and management skills. The company also offers periodic diversity training. What is the unique advantage of Sunny completing the internship?

Sunny will experience and learn to address the diversities first hand.

Yana worked hard, but she knew she would never obtain an upper-level position in her company because all managers were males. Yana was experiencing

a glass ceiling.

Two female managers suggest to a male colleague that he should model swimwear and the women then make comments about his physique, making him uncomfortable. This is an example of

a hostile work environment.

Alaina, a sales representative for a marketing firm, was laid-off after working for the company for ten years. Jalen, who had worked for the company for only two years, was not laid-off by his uncle who made the lay-off decisions. Alaina has data to prove that her experience, sales, and accomplishments were much greater than Jalen's. She believes that the selection process was

a violation of the principle of procedural justice.

A schema is

an abstract knowledge structure stored in memory, making possible the interpretation and organization of information about people, events, or situations.

To avoid sexual harassment, organizations should

develop and clearly communicate a sexual harassment policy.

Since becoming pregnant, Alisha has not been given any long-term, cutting-edge projects; rather she has been given short-term assignments that don't allow for learning new areas. Her manager says he believes short-term is better due to her starting a family. This situation demonstrates

discrimination in violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

Rashad consistently went above and beyond to meet his personal deadlines and to help other team members to ensure a recent product launch was completed on time. His manager was impressed and offered Rashad the opportunity for a coveted leadership position on the next-generation product team. The manager's action is consistent with _______ justice.

distributive

TechSmart employees receive annual pay raises and stock allocations on the basis of performance evaluations that assess individual achievement of goals. TechSmart managers are implementing _______ justice.

distributive

To achieve distributive justice within an organization, managers should ensure that

outcomes are not distributed based on a person's personal characteristics like race or age.

Liam has been working for a manufacturing company for the last ten years as a general maintenance worker. His job often requires heavy-duty work. Liam recently told his supervisor that he has back problems, and shortly thereafter his supervisor moved him to a light-duty maintenance job. This is an example of steps taken in support of the

Americans with Disability Act of 1990.

_______ refers to a grouping of people based on some shared characteristic such as national origin, language, or culture.

Ethnicity

An accounting firm conducts periodic reviews of the distribution of pay and other rewards granted to employees, such as promotions and increased office space. The goal of the reviews is to confirm that employees who received greater pay increases or other favorable outcomes have made significant contributions to the organization. This ensures the company uses _______ when rewarding its employees.

distributive justice

Gail is responsible for overseeing her company's anonymous tip line used by employees to share concerns regarding discriminatory behavior in the workplace. Being a _______, she ensures that all calls are recorded and timely action is taken to correct the behaviors.

disturbance handler

An appliance company is planning to open another manufacturing facility. Top executives, practicing _______, have ensured that the design team for the new site includes women to address any unique needs female employees may have.

diversity management

Colin, a regional sales manager for a pharmaceutical company, scheduled a critical meeting for all the sales reps in the region. After setting the date and time for the meeting, Jacob learned the date was a religious holiday for members of a certain faith. Jacob should change the meeting date in order to

effectively manage diversity.

Sanjay, the company's human resources manager, serves in a monitoring role by ensuring diversity is effectively managed by

evaluating the extent to which all employees are being treated fairly.

Bill's company's CEO recently held a companywide meeting where he shared specific diversity goals and expectations for how individuals should support his goals. The CEO was performing a(n) _______ role in managing diversity.

figurehead

The salience effect is the tendency to

focus attention on individuals who are conspicuously different from others in a group.

As mentioned in the text, McDonald's success in various countries can be attributed to its managers

having relatively accurate perceptions about what customers want.

Whenever Nalini goes to the warehouse to pick up time sheets, she is confronted with whistles and lewd comments from male coworkers, making her uncomfortable. What type of environment is this?

hostile work environment

Every day Isaiah is finding it difficult to focus on his job due to insulting remarks regarding his gender identity and derogatory slurs from his coworkers. He is considering quitting his job. Isaiah is experiencing

hostile work environment harassment.

Jolene's office cubicle is next to a colleague who has a provocative calendar hanging on the wall and can be frequently overheard telling vulgar jokes. The colleague's behavior is an example of

hostile work environment sexual harassment.

Ryan is reviewing the credentials of job applicants and notices that Rune shares his interest in watching and playing golf. Ryan is demonstrating a form of _______ when deciding to offer Rune the position based in part on this common interest.

implicit bias

To increase diversity awareness within his new team of employees, Franco should

improve team members' understanding of others' experiences and perspectives.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination

in employment decisions on the basis of race, religion, sex, color, or national origin.

When hiring new employees, a manager reviews numerous résumés and interviews several applicants. If the manager denies employment opportunities to diverse individuals, the manager is engaging in overt discrimination that is

intentional and deliberate.

Glenda wants to ensure that her employees not only support diversity among themselves but also among all their customers. For effective management of diversity, Glenda schedules her employees so that diverse individuals regularly work together. The employees build relationships, learn from each other, and support each other. Amanda's management approach fits the _______ managerial role.

liaison

Selena facilitates a monthly forum that provides team members across various functions and locations throughout her company an opportunity to share ideas, concerns, and solutions related to the work environment. She is acting in the role of a _______ by enabling diverse individuals to coordinate their efforts.

liaison

At her new job, Nicole developed a supportive relationship with Sheila, who worked with the same real estate agency for several years. Nicole talked with Sheila about a problem she was facing in the workplace. Sheila suggested possible solutions and they discussed the strengths and weaknesses of each. This is an example of

mentoring.

Maurice and Barry work in an electronics store and are the only two African American employees. The store manager is authorized to randomly inspect employee lockers as part of store security protocols; however, he routinely chooses Maurice's and Barry's lockers to search. The manager also frequently spot-checks Maurice and Barry's timecards while not doing so for other employees. The manager's behavior exhibits

overt discrimination.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 requires that

reasonable accommodations must be made to enable disabled employees to do their job effectively.

One result of effectively managing diversity is the

reduction in employee turnover rates.

Sim's mother and sisters were quiet individuals who did not like to speak up in group settings. During his recent performance evaluation, his manager provided feedback that Sim seemed to interrupt his female peers frequently in meetings or speak for them even when not asked to do so. Sim's tendency to assume women are not comfortable speaking up based on his past experience shows his own personal

schema

One strategy to ensure that diversity is managed effectively in an organization is to

secure top management commitment to align human resources.

Ming believes that Lucas is more responsible and capable than Clive because Lucas is from the management team, whereas Clive is the company's maintenance supervisor. This is an example of implicit bias based on

social status.

Ricardo was tasked with filling the position of accountant for his company. He interviewed 16 people, but of the 8 he called back for second interviews, 7 were men. Ricardo realized that he was acting out his thoughts about _______, thinking men were better with numbers than women.

stereotypes

All decisions and actions of managers are based on their

subjective perceptions.

Kylie is the only woman in her work group and Justin frequently consults her on how women might respond to new product ideas. Kylie appreciates having her inputs deemed important, but also feels Justin expects that her inputs alone will ensure the product fully satisfies the needs of female customers. Justin is influenced by _______ in his interactions with Kylie.

the salience effect

What is considered a central factor in the success of diversity management initiatives?

top management's commitment to diversity