Week 8 - Managing Workforce Diversity

what is the difference between equal opportunities and managing diversity?

- diversity management goes beyond what is required by legislation designed to promote equal opportunities and prevent discrimination (proactive approaches) - comprises an approach which recognises and values differences and aims to make positive use of the unique talents and perspectives within the workforce - focus is on individuals rather than minority groups

how do individuals differ?

- ethnic origin - gender - early family experiences - social and cultural factors - national culture - motivation - attitudes - personality traits and types - intelligence and abilities - perception

big five personality traits

- extroversion (being outgoing, sociable and assertive) - agreeableness (being good-natured, cooperative and trusting) - conscientiousness (being responsible, dependable and careful/meticulous - positive link w performance) - emotional stability (being relaxed, secure and unworried - positive link w performance) - openness (being curious, receptive to new things and open to change; are mor creative)

importance of individuals as a key feature of organisational behaviour and organisational function

- foster creativity - satisfaction at work BUT - can be potential reason for conflict and frustration

case study: B&Q - the business case for diversity

- founders are Richard Block and David Quayle - the demographic time bomb: there were concerns about employment; may be competition for younger employees - so B&Q decided to experiment and break stereotypes about older workers - in 1990 opened a store completely staffed by people over 50 - that store ended up having higher profits, reduced staff turnover, less absenteeism and less stock damage/pilfering - from then on developed a positive attitude towards hiring diverse ages (became a growing agenda to respect diversity of people)

types of workplace diversity issues: gender

- gender pay gap - no consistent male-female differences exist in problem-solving ability, analytical skills, learning ability - preference for work schedule - working mothers prefer part-time work, flexible work schedule to accommodate family (maternity leave etc)responsibilities - are men and women equally competent as managers? - a "good" manager is still perceived as predominantly masculine (eg in classical music - conductors are predominantly male)

workplace diversity initiatives: employee resource groups

- groups made up of employees connected by some common dimension of diversity - also called employee networks or affinity groups - formed by employees themselves, should recognise and support these groups

types of workplace diversity issues: race and ethnicity

- hiring decisions, performance evaluations, pay and workplace discrimination - tend to favour colleagues of their own race in performance evaluations, promotion decisions, and pay raises - substantial racial differences in attitudes toward affirmative action

types of workplace diversity issues: age

- inaccurate perceptions: sick more often, can't work as hard/fast - experience, judgment, strong work ethic, commitment or quality work - not being flexible or adaptable, more resistant to new technology managerial implications: redesigns tasks for them, and pair them with a younger one

why is managing workforce diversity important - strategic

- increased understanding of the marketplace, which improves ability to better market to diverse consumers - potential to improve sales growth and increase market share - potential source of competitive advantage because of improved innovation efforts - viewed as moral and ethical

components in the psychological contract

- individual (offers contributions) - serving needs of the organisation (effort, time, creativity, loyalty and commitment) - organisation (offers inducements) - serving needs of the individual (pay, training, benefits, opportunity, respect, security)

workplace diversity initiatives: diversity skills training

- made aware of the assumptions and biases they may have - increase sensitivity and openness to differences - how to communicate and work effectively in diverse work environment

workplace diversity initiatives: top management commitment to diversity

- make diversity and inclusion an integral part of the organisational culture - integrated into every aspect of business - workforce, customers, suppliers and communities served - policies and procedures must be in place to ensure that grievances and concerns are addressed

why is managing workforce diversity important?

- people management - organisational performance - strategic

perceptions, personalities, attitudes, emotions and moods can have influences on individual behaviour: individual behaviour sets

- performance behaviours (task performance, customer service, productivity) - withdrawal behaviours (absenteeism, turnover, job disengagement) - citizenship behaviours (helping, volunteering, job engagement) - dysfunctional behaviours (antisocial behaviour, intentional wrongdoing)

perception: psychological contract

- person-job fit begins here - a set of expectations held by an individual about what will be given and received in the employment relationship - an ideal work situation is one with a fair psychological contract; balance of contributions and inducements (respect and equity of the exchange in terms of their efforts in the company, as well as the benefits and the kind of treatment workers receive)

why is managing workforce diversity important - organisational performance

- reduced costs associated with high turnover, absenteeism and lawsuits - enhanced problem-solving ability - improved system flexibility

three arguments in the job satisfaction and performance relationship

- satisfaction leads to performance (happy worker is a productive worker) - performance leads to satisfaction (productive worker is a happy worker) - performance leads to rewards leads to satisfaction, which then leads to future performance

perceptual tendencies and distortions

- stereotypes (occur when attributes commonly associated with a group are assigned to an individual - halo effects (occur when one attribute is used to develop an overall impression of a person or situation) - projection (the assignment of person attributes to other individuals; other people share the same needs as I do) - fundamental attribution error (overestimates internal factors and underestimates external factors driving individual behaviour; she came late bc she's lazy, not bc there was traffic etc) - selective perception (the tendency to define problems from one's own POV; should gather inputs and opinions from people w divergent POVs)

some inherent challenges in managing diversity

- stereotyping (judging a person based on a prejudicial perception of a group to which that person belongs) - discrimination (when someone acts out their prejudicial attitudes toward people who are the targets of their prejudice) - glass ceiling (the invisible barrier that separates women and minorities from top management position (many firms are not advocating for a higher proportion of female top managers -> beneficial to have check and balance w different perspectives)

two types of diversity

- surface-level diversity - deep-level diversity

job satisfaction

- the degree to which an individual feels positive or negative about a job - factors that affect this: - work itself - quality supervision - co-workers - opportunities - pay - work conditions - security - related to employee engagement (positive feelings about one's job and org; job involvement, org commitment) and organisational citizenship (willingness to "go beyond call of duty" and go the extra mile)

perception

- the process through which people receive, organise and interpret information from the environment - people can perceive the same things or situations differently - people behave on the basis of their perceptions

workplace diversity initiatives

- top management commitment to diversity - mentoring - diversity skills training - employee resource groups

technology personality

reflects levels of social media use and how media are used to connect to others - always on - live wires - social skimmers - broadcasters - toe dippers - bystanders - never-minders

types of workplace diversity issues: religion

religious beliefs can prohibit or encourage work behaviours - muslims pray 5 times a day, christians don't work on sundays recognise and be aware of different religions and their beliefs. don't view it as "special treatment

emotional intelligence

the ability to understand and manage one's own moods and emotions and the moods and emotions of other people

inclusion

the degree tow which an employee feels like an esteemed member of a group in which his or her uniqueness is highly appreciated

surface-level diversity

the easily perceived differences that may trigger certain stereotypes but that do not necessarily reflect the ways people think or feel (skin colour, ethnicity etc)

perception: employee value proposition

the organisation's intentions for creating value for both the employee and employer sides of the psychological contract - ideal EVP: exchanges made on both sides are perceived as fair by both parties

deep-level diversity

the perceived differences in values, personality and work preferences that can affect the way people view organisational work rewards, communicate, react to leaders negotiate and generally behave at work (essentially refers to perceived differences in our values, personality and work preferences; can affect our perceptions in terms of org culture, reward system, comm patterns and leadership approaches in orgs)

attribution

the process of explaining events - fundamental attribution error - self-serving bias ("it's not my fault")

personality

the profile of characteristics that makes one person unique from others

impression management

the systematic attempt to influence how others perceive us (be authentic, be curious, be expressive, be a listener, be similar - share interests, be familiar (mimic postures, gestures and expressions)

workforce diversity

the ways in which people in an organisation are different from and similar to one another

effective managers

those who are competent in selecting and developing individuals, despite their differences, to maximise their potentials and leverage on these variations in order to bring the best towards achieving organisational goals

types of workplace diversity issues: sexual orientation and gender identity

- LGBT; can workers be fired for being gay? - offer employees health insurance benefits for partners - respond to employees' concerns while creating a safe and productive work environment for all (gender neutral toilets)

workplace diversity initiatives: mentoring

- a process whereby an experiences member (mentor) provides advice and guidance to a less experiences member (mentee) - lower level diverse members lack someone to turn to for support or advice - mentor provide both career development and social support

McKinsey Insights article (Hunt, Yee, Prince, Dixon-Fyle, 2018) Delivering through diversity

- advocate for the business case of workforce diversity and inclusion initiatives in organisations - research confirms that gender, ethnic and cultural diversity (esp among the executive team members/top management committee) - helped improve financial performance of the orgs - bc the efforts are able to correlate with how companies are able to attract top talent, improve customer orientation, employee satisfaction as well as decision making

types of workplace diversity issues

- age - religion - gender - race and ethnicity - sexual orientation and gender identity - others: obesity, disability (disorders), SES background etc

idiographic approach

- approach that insists managers to take into acc a "whole" (holistic) understanding of an individual - may include understanding the societal context the individual is in - regards personality development as a process and is open to change

why is managing workforce diversity important? - people management

- better use of employee talent - increased quality of team problem-solving efforts (minimises inherent biases that enter the discussion) - ability to attract and retain employees of diverse backgrounds

managing diversity: quick tips

- use online collaboration tools to add interaction for extroverts and provide a safe platform for introverts to engage - help leaders identify their introvert and extrovert tendencies, and areas where they may need extra help - emphasise in leadership development; the need for a mix of introvert and extrovert tendencies in leadership - train leaders not to stereotype introverts and extroverts - two types of people can be capable of acting against type, and may even do so naturally depending on the situation - use teambuilding activities to teach leaders and their work group about one another; including how best to make their personalities gel - offer strategies for having difficult conversations, and remind leaders and their work groups that a mix of personalities in the organisation is best - use 360-degree performance reviews to show leaders how they are perceived, for better and worse, by everyone they work with

4 imperatives/strategies that develop inclusion for diversity

1. articulate the commitment of top management to a diversity-inclusive agenda to inspire everyone at every level in the organisation; hold those below you accountable (midlevel managers etc) 2. define inclusion and diversity policies and priorities that contribute to business-growth strategies (invest in research on the links between diversity and growth; which qualities will benefit the org? then hire from there) 3. craft a targeted portfolio of inclusion and diversity initiatives to transform the organisation; go step-by-step, which will lead to sustainable change 4. tailor the strategy to maximise local impact; adapt wherever you go - socioculturally, economically, etc

ten key points to remember for managers managing individual differences and diversity

1. the individual is a central feature of org behaviour, so managers need to be competent at selecting and developing individuals of value to the org 2. individual diff can be potential source of problems and conflict, and managing interpersonal relationships is riddled w complexity and contradictions 3. a significant diff among individuals is in terms of their personality - those stable characteristics explain why a person behaves in a particular way 4. studies of personalities can be divided into nomothetic or idiographic 5. people vary in abilities and intelligence (EI) - range of individual's interpersonal skills and emotional qualities 6. attitudes provide a state of readiness or tendency to respond in a particular way; managers should assess attitudes, as it is vital when selecting employees 7. psychometric tests and personality questionnaires may be helpful to understanding a person but are subject to criticism 8. valuing differences amongst people is not easy and demands the effective management of diversity 9. an increasing number of org appear to recognise the biz case for diversity but there are potential criticisms (moral and social issues) 10. effective organisational performance demands an understanding of, and response to, a work climate that respects and values individual differences and diversity

nomothethic approach

a measurable and specific perspective that looks at the identification of traits and personality as a collection of characteristics, which can be described, identified and measured - useful for managers when they are involved in selection, training and development of individuals - tend to view environmental and social influences as minimal, but personality is consistent, largely inherited and resistant to change - major aim is to predict behaviour

positive link with performance means

being more productive and perform better than others