chapter 2 - diversity, equity and inclusion in organizations

Question 1

workforce diversity

Answer 1

refers to the heterogenous characteristics that make up organizations, work groups and teams.

Question 2

(on exam) two major forms of diversity

Answer 2

surface-level and deep-level diversity

Surface-level diversity: difference in easily perceived characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity or age that do not necessarily reflect the ways people think or feel but that may activate certain stereotypes.

Deep-level diversity: differences in values, personality and work preferences that become progressively more important for determining similarity as people get to know one another.
Evidence has show that people are less concerned about demographic differences if they see themselves as sharing more important characteristics such as personalty and values

Question 3

biographical characteristics

Answer 3

are personal characteristics– age, gender, race, ethnictiy– that are objective and easily obtained from personal records, These characteristics are representative of surface-level diversity.
HR files - data

Question 4

(on exam) prejudice

Answer 4

is an attitude representing broad, generalized feelings toward a group or its members that maintains the hierarchy between that group and other groups.

EX: Views of asian people as the “model minority” or women as “gentle and need of masculine protection”

Question 5

(on exam) discrimination

Answer 5

involves actions or behaviors that create, maintain or reinforces some group’s advantages over other groups and their members.

Tens of thousands of cases of employment discrimination are documented very year

Question 6

discriminatory policies or practices

Answer 6

actions taken by representatives of the organization that deny equal opportunity to perform or unequal rewards for performance

ex: targeted layoffs

Question 7

intimidation - discrimination

Answer 7

overt threats or bullying directed at members of specific groups of employees

ex: nooses in offices

Question 8

mockery and insults - discrimination

Answer 8

jokes or negative stereotypes; sometimes the result of jokes taken too far

ex: bomb jokes

Question 9

exclusion - discrimination (on exam)

Answer 9

exclusion of certain people from job opportunities, social events, discussions or informal mentoring can occur unintentionally

Question 10

incivility - discrimination (on exam)

Answer 10

disrespectful treatment, including behaving in an aggressive manner, interrupting the person or ignoring their opinions

Question 11

disparate impact and disparate treatment (how organizations engage in discrimination)
(on exam)

Answer 11

impact: occurs when employment practices have a discriminatory effect on a legally protected group of people. UNINTENTIONAL.

treatment: is intentional and represents employment practices intended to have a discriminatory effect on a legally protected group of people.

Question 12

social categorization

Answer 12

is a process through which people make sense of others by constructing social categories or groups sharing similar characteristics.

Question 13

sterotype threat

Answer 13

describes the degree to which we are concerned with being judged by or treated negatively based on a certain stereotype.

What creates the threat is whether they believe the person hiring them/the other person will judge them (the possible victim).

1. People might unconciously exaggerate the sterotype
2. Employees may engage in self-handicapping to avoid effort so they cna attribute falure to other sources
3. People may overcompensate so they can avoid confirming the stereotype
4. Sterotype threat can serve as brain drain for mployees and deplete their working memories so they do not perform well on tests or training

Question 14

system justification theory

Answer 14

suggests that group members may often accept, rationalize, legitimate or justify their experiences with inequality, prejudice and discrimination compared with other groups.

Question 15

social dominance theory and orientation (on exam)

Answer 15

Social dominance theory suggests that prejudice and discrimination are based on a complex hierarchy, with one group dominating over another and the dominating group enjoying privilege not afforded to the subordinate group.

Social dominance orientation (SDO): reflects whether people desire and support this hierarchy and whether they believe that some groups are inferior and others are superior.

Question 16

Hofstede’s framework (on exam)

Answer 16

Hofstede surveyed more than 116,000 IBM empolyees in the late 1970s in fourty countries to learn about their work-related values. They found that managers and employees varied on five value dimensions of national culture:

Power Distance
Individualism
Collectivism
Masculinity
Femininity
Uncertainty Avoidance

Long-term orientation: cultures tend to assume that preparation for the future is needed because the world is constantly changing.

Short-term orientation: prefder to maintain a link to their past by honoring traditions, fulfilling social obligations and upholding and protecting their image.

Question 17

new dimension proposed by hofstede

Answer 17

Indulgence versus resistant: a new additional dimension proposed by Hofstede which refers to a national culture attribute that emphasizes enjoying life and having fun versus regulating conduct through strict social norms.

Question 18

globe framework (on exam)

Answer 18

They built upon Hofstede’s work by identifying 9 dimensions on which national cultures differ.

Power Distance
Uncertainty avoidance
Future orientation
Institutional collectivism
Ingroup collectivism
Gender egalitarianism: extent society deemphasizes traditional gender roles
Assertiveness
Humane orientation: extent society values kindness
Performance orientation: extent society values producing results

Question 19

cultural tightness-loosness (on exam)

Answer 19

refers to the degree to which there are clear, pervasive norms within societies, a clear understanding of sanctions for violating those norms and no tolerance for deviating from those norms
This is because of a great deal of threat a country may have faced
EX: Japan and natural disasters

impacts expariates

In tight cultures, there are strong norms in place so workers follow them and HR works more effectively

Question 20

cultural intelligence (cq)

Answer 20

is the worker’s ability to effectively function in culturally diverse settings and situations.
The understanding of cultural differences and the ability to perceive and adapt to situations in order to avoid cultural mishaps

High CQ indivudals feel more comfortable voicing their ideas with culturally dissimilar peers and supervisors

Question 21

implementation of diversity management: dei (on exam)

Answer 21

Organizations have begun to focus on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as three strategic and principled goals to strive toward.

A focus on diversity involves celebrating rather than denigrating the difference between people and enhancing the representation of diverse people in the workforce

A focus on equity involves striving to provide access to the same opportunities for all workers, recognizing that some people are afforded advantages while others are confronted with barriers and obstacles.

A focus on inclusion involves creating an environment in which all people feel valued, welcomed and included

Question 22

common ingroup identity (vs. outgroup)

Answer 22

is the idea that bias can be reduced and inclusion can be fostered by transforming workers’ focus on what divides them (us and them) to what unites them (we).

outgroup is them (others)

Question 23

contact hypothesis

Answer 23

proposes that the more people from diverse backgrounds interact with one another, the more prejudice and discrimination between the groups will decrease over time. (group members not just individuals).

Question 24

(on exam) what managers should do to increase DEI

Answer 24

managers should develop their own cq and eq

Advocate for diversity as a resource
Promote positive intergroup interactions
Stimulate discussions and conversations among those of different background to manage the organizations’ knowledge
Encourage continuous reflection on the organizations diversity practices, processes and goals

Question 25

diversity climate

Answer 25

is the shared perceptions of diversity-enhancing policies, practices and procedures among members of an organization

Question 26

tokenism

Answer 26

is when management makes only a perfunctory effort, non-genuine effort to enhance representation to make it seem like the company values diversity

Hiring token women, Black people, etc. to reach a certain number
By engaging in tokenism, organizations may fall prey to a moral licensing effect, where employers are more likely to engage in prejudicial or unethical behavior when they have initially behaved in a morally acceptable way (such as in believing that selecting or including one minority member is “proof” that the group is nondiscriminatory).

Question 27

(maybe on exam) what managers should do to promote inclusion

Answer 27

(1) facilitate belongingness by supporting all workers as members of the team and including them in decision making and
(2) convey that their uniqueness is valued by encouraging diverse contributions and helping all members fully contribute

Question 28

diversity management

Answer 28

involves the use of evidence-based strategies to manage and leverage the inherent diversity of the workforce.
Organizations would do well to broaden their scope to focus on what can be done to ameliorate inequity, unfairness and exclusion.

Question 28

diversity management

Answer 28

involves the use of evidence-based strategies to manage and leverage the inherent diversity of the workforce.
Organizations would do well to broaden their scope to focus on what can be done to ameliorate inequity, unfairness and exclusion.