business management chapter 13-2
Today, companies are embracing a more inclusive definition of diversity that recognizes a spectrum of differences that influence how employees:
- approach work - interact with each other - derive satisfaction from their work - define who they are as people in the workplace
Dividends include the following:
- better use of employee talent - increased understanding of the marketplace - enhanced breadth of understanding in leadership positions - increased quality of team problem solving - reduced costs associated with higher turnover, absenteeism, and lawsuits
In creating a culture of inclusion, managers may experience times of:
- tension and discord as people with different backgrounds bring different opinions and ideas
Heterogeneous teams and organizations, made up of individuals with different backgrounds and skill sets, increase the chances of:
getting a diversity of thought
Diversity is defined as:
all the ways in which people differ
The dimensions of diversity shown in the traditional model include:
inborn differences that are immediately observable such as race, gender, age, and physical ability
in creating a culture of inclusion, conflicts,, anxiety, and misunderstandings:
may increase
companies with more diverse top management teams:
outperform their peers financially
diversity of thought
provides a broader and deeper base of ideas, opinions, and experiences for problem solving, creativity, and innovation
Diversity wasn't always defined this broadly; decades ago, many companies defined diversity in terms of:
race, gender, age, lifestyle, and disability
By tapping into the strengths of diversity, teams are more likely to experience:
- higher efficiency - better quality - less duplication of effort among team members - increased innovation and creativity
One of the challenges of managing a diverse workforce is creating an environment where:
all employees feel accepted as members of the team and where their unique talents are appreciated
The inclusive model of diversity includes:
all the ways in which employees differ, including aspects of diversity that can be acquired or changed throughout one's lifetime
Inclusion creates a strong sense of belonging and a trust that all people
can have their voices heard and appreciated
Managers who cultivate a diversity of thought significantly increase the chance of:
creating hard-to-replicate competitive advantage
inclusion
degree to which an employee feels like an esteemed member of a group in which their uniqueness is highly appreciated
When managers create a feeling of inclusiveness, employees:
display more loyalty, cooperation, and trustworthiness
Managers who want to boost performance and jumpstart innovation agree that:
diverse teams produce the best results
Managers who build strong, diverse organizations obtain numerous:
dividends
Managing diversity, a key management skill in today's global economy, means creating a climate in which the potential advantages of diversity for organizational or group performance are:
maximized, while the potential disadvantages are minimized
a team's collective intelligence increases when there are:
more women members on the team
"Great minds think alike" but when it comes to achieving breakthrough levels of innovation and performance;
the best minds are those that don't think alike
In one survey of department heads and executives, 84% stated that they prefer heterogeneous teams because:
they lead to multiple viewpoints and more prolific ideas
According to the results of one study, companies that rate high on creativity and innovation have a higher percentage of:
women and nonwhite male employees than less innovative companies