Chapter 6: Valuing Diversity

Question 1

Demonstrate how workplace discrimination undermines organizational effectiveness.

Answer 1

Actual discrimination can lead to increased negative consequences for employers, including reduced productivity and organizational citizenship behavior, more conflict, increased turnover, and even increased risk-taking behavior. Unfair discrimination also leaves qualified job candidates out of initial hiring and promotions. Thus, even if an employment discrimination lawsuit is never filed, a strong business case can be made for aggressively working to eliminate unfair discrimination.

Question 2

Explain how stereotypes function in organizational settings.

Answer 2

Stereotyping is judging someone based on our perception of the group to which that person belongs.

Stereotype threat describes the degree to which we are concerned with being judged by or treated negatively based on a certain stereotype.For instance, older
workers applying for a job in a predominately millennial-age workforce may assume the interviewer thinks they are out of touch with current trends. What creates stereotype
threat is not whether these workers are or are not up to date with trends but whether they believe the interviewer will judge them based on this stereotype. Stereotype threat has serious implications for the workplace.

Stereotype threat can occur during pre-employment tests and assessments, performance evaluations, and everyday workplace exchanges. It can lead to underperformance on tests, performance evaluations, training exercises, negotiations, and everyday interactions with others as well as to disengagement, poor job attitudes, a reluctance to seek feedbacks, and poor performance in the employees experiencing the threat.

Question 3

Describe how key biographical characteristics are relevant to OB.

Answer 3

Biographical characteristics include:
Age
Gender
Race and ethnicity
Disability
Length of service

Question 4

Explain how other differentiating characteristics factor into OB.

Answer 4

Religion
Sexual Orientation
Gender Identity
Cultural Identity

Question 5

Demonstrate the relevance of intellectual and physical abilities to OB.

Answer 5

Ability: An individual’s current capacity to perform the various tasks in a job.
Intellectual abilities: Abilities needed to perform mental activities.
General mental ability: General factor of intelligence.
Physical abilities: Capacity to do tasks that require stamina, dexterity, strength.

Question 6

Describe how organizations manage diversity effectively.

Answer 6

Diversity management strategies:
Makes everyone more aware of and sensitive to the needs and differences of others.

Attracting, Selecting, Developing, and Retaining Diverse Employees;
- target underrepresented groups.
- Ensure that hiring and promotion is bias-free.
- Develop a positive diversity climate.
- Workers prefer organizations that value diversity.

Effective Diversity Programs;
- Teach managers about the legal framework for equal employment opportunity and encourage fair treatment of all people, regardless of their demographic characteristics
- Teach managers how a diverse workforce will be better able to serve a diverse group of customers and clients.
- Foster personal development practices that bring out the skills and abilities of all workers.