ch 2 Managing demographic and cultural diversity Flashcards
diversity
the ways in which people are similar or different from each offer
may be defined by any characteristic that varies within a particular work unit such as gender, race, age, education, tenure, or functional background
benefits of diversity
- higher creativity in decision making
- better understanding and service of customers
- more satisfied workforce
- higher stock prices
- lower litigation expenses
- higher company performance
challenges of diversity
- similarity-attraction phenomenon
- faultlines
- stereotypes
specific diversity issues
- gender diversity in the workplace
- earnings gap
- glass ceiling
- race diversity in the workplace
- age
- religious
- disabilities
- sexual orientation
suggestions for managing demographic diversity
- build a culture of respecting diversity
- make managers accountable for diversity
- diversity training programs
- review recruitment practices
- affirmative action programs
4 affirmative action programs
- simple elimination of discrimination
- targeted recruitment
- tie-breaker
- preferential treatment
culture
values, beliefs, and customs that exist in a society
expatriate
someone who is temporarily assigned to a position in a foreign country
individualistic cultures
cultures in which people define themselves as an individual and form looser ties with their groups
ex. US, UK, Australia
collectivistic cultures
cultures where people have stronger bonds to their groups and group membership forms a person’s self identity
ex. China, Japan, Latin America
power distance
the degree to which the society views an unequal distribution of power as acceptable
uncertainty avoidance
the degree to which people feel threatened by ambiguous, risky, or unstructured situations
masculine cultures
cultures that value high achievement, competitiveness, and acquisition of money and other material objects
ex. Japan, Hungary
feminine cultures
cultures that value maintaining good relationships, caring for the weak, and emphasizing quality of life
ex. Sweden, Netherlands
suggestions for managing cultural diversity
- help employees build cultural intelligence (a persons capability to understand how a person’s cultural background influences one’s behavior)
- avoid ethnocentrism
- listen to locals
- recognize that culture changes
- do not always assume that culture is the problem
