Chapter 6: Asians/Asian Americans

Asian Employment Level

* 3% more Asian men participated in the workforce, Asian women were less likely to participate in comparison to White males/females (pg 200-201) * Concentration on managerial an-d professional specialty occupations * 15% surgeons/physicians; 39.3% managerial/professional occupations * Asians are slightly more likely than Whites to work in service occupations

Asian Educational Level

* Asian Americans have more education than other racial/ethnic groups * 52% have college degrees; more likely to complete high school * Either highly educated or poorly educated - moderate levels of education * Education level is related to country of birth

Asian Income Level

* Asian women make more than White women * Asian men make less than White men * Asians sometimes have higher earnings than whites

Implications of being the "model minority"

* Asians are the most understudied and diverse minority group * They have worked hard, with determination, and strong cultural values to achieve education and financial success

Asian cultural values

* Collectivism * Maintenance of interpersonal harmony * Placing others' needs ahead of one's own * Educational and occupational achievement * Ability to resolve psychological problems * Respect for elders and ancestors

Organizational practices that improve the employment experience of Asians

* Don't overlook them * Don't exclude them from organizational treatment * Discrimination and language barriers * Culture of inclusion

Diversity aspects in the Asian American group

* Multiple nationalities and languages * Social and political viewpoints * Dual-culture life

Which of the following is accurate of the stereotype of Asian Americans as being the "model minority"?

* Some jobs held by Asians contradict the stereotype of Asians as successful and high earners * Asians are sometimes perceived as the "model minority" while at the same time they experience the glass ceiling and other forms of discrimination * Some Asian entrepreneurs are self-employed because of a lack of opportunities in formal organizations

What are some common threads in the CNN stories

* The people have to assimilate to American culture in order to fit in * They are also questioned on their honor to America * Minority born in the US so people automatically assume they were not born here

Hofstede's 5 Dimensions of Culture

1. Power Distance 2. Individualism versus Collectivism 3. Uncertainty Avoidance 4. Masculinity versus Femininity 5. Long-Term Orientation versus Short-Term Orientation 6. Self-Restraint versus Stratification

Asian US Population

5% and 15.5 Million

Asian/Asian American population is about

5% of the US population

Model Minority

A minority group whose members are perceived as having achieved success through hard work and determination and who are perceived as being suitable models for other minorities to emulate.

What is NOT a common thread among the Asian American stories told in the CNN article?

Expected to become leaders in the workplace

"Positive" stereotypes of Asian Americans may contribute to their overrepresentation in higher-level organizational positions

False

Asians are over-represented in senior management positions in technical industries

False

Asians with college degrees earn more per year than Whites with college degrees

False

Bimodal distribution of educational attainment

It is the misperception that all Asian Americans are well educated, when in reality some are actually poorly educated

Long-Term Orientation versus Short-Term Orientation

Orientation toward savings, thrift, and future plans vs. a need for immediate gratification

Individualism

Preference for a loosely-knit social framework in which individuals are expected to take care of only themselves and their immediate families.

Collectivistic

Preference for a tightly-knit framework in society in which individuals can expect their relatives or members of a particular in-group to look after them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty

According to Jane Hyun in Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling, which of the following values is NOT shared by Asian cultures:

Self-expression more valued than self-control

Model Minority Myth

The erroneous perception that U.S. Asians are free from concerns that plague other minorities (e.g., employment) and have all succeeded through hard work, determination, and commitment to education.

Uncertainty Avoidance

The extent to which a culture socializes its members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating uncertainty.

Power Distance

The extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally

Regarding Asian Americans and education, which of the following is true?

There are higher percentages of Asians with college degrees and higher percentages of Asians without high school degrees than Whites

Masculinity versus Femininity

This dimension looks at the relationship between gender and work roles

According to Jane Hyun, the differences between Asian Americans go beyond nationalities and languages.

True