Transcript diversity initiatives stephan-4all

Managing Diversity Initiatives
• What is Managing Diversity?
• Nature of Resistance to anticipate and plan for
– Promotion Roleplay
Types of Diversity Initiatives
• Managing Diversity
• Change organizational structure, policies, norms
& practices (e.g., hiring) to create fairness
• Similar to strategies to reducing discrimination (See Stephan &
Stephan ch. 2)
• Valuing Diversity
• Change employee attitudes and behaviors by
• Emphasis on equality/fairness values
• Providing training on awareness & skills
– Similar to strategies on reducing stereotyping & prejudice (See
Stephan & Stephan ch 2)
Examples of Managing Diversity
• Change structure by changing membership in
the organization across all levels via
• Recruitment & hiring (e.g., offer benefit packages
appealing to minorities so they would accept jobs in org and
stay)
– E.g., elder care & child care for sandwich generation, for people
with different values toward aging parents
– Promotion (e.g., Ensure minority representation on
internal committees so they would progress to higher levels
of org)
– E.g., to make decisions on purchasing benefit policies
Examples of Managing Diversity
• Change structure by changing membership in
the organization across all levels via
• Compensation for diversity-based performance
(Cox)
• Grievance procedure
• Encouraging communication across & within all
levels (e.g., Carnevale & Stone)
• Be more flexible in social norms (e.g., Carnevale & Stone)
Examples of Managing Diversity
• Sponsor caucus, advisory & support groups for
different groups
– e.g., student groups at universities
• Create career development programs for
minorities & women
• e.g., mentoring
• Community outreach to enhance organization’s
image and attract minority applicants,
customers
• E.g., IBM’s Aboriginal initiative
Managing Diversity Initiatives
• Examples of Managing Diversity Initiatives
• Nature of Resistance to anticipate and plan for
Individuals’ Resistance to Diversity Initiatives
• Mandatory nature
– Positive (e.g., rated as more successful, Rynes &
Rosen, 95)
– Negative= less popular
• Change is experienced as threatening, provokes
anxiety, resentment, hostility (Stephan & Stephan Ch 2)
– Can be possibly overcome with training (see Valuing
Diversity initiatives)
• Perception of demographic change in org
composition as zero-sum game (see also Plous)
Organizational Barriers to Diversity Initiatives
• Traditional hierarchical structures
• Standardized procedures, conformity norms
• Selection & promotion based on ‘fit’
• Remember Brief et al article!
• Informal networks of communication that
exclude visible minorities
• Token representation of VMs as sufficient
justification for not implementing Diversity
Initiatives
• Limited time for change to occur
Connect to Plous arguments
Managing Diversity Initiatives
• What is Managing Diversity?
– Examples of Managing Diversity Initiatives
– Some discussion of how it is different from Valuing
Difference Initiatives
• Nature of Resistance to anticipate and plan for
– Individual & Organizational Barriers
• Put it to practice: Promotion Role Play
Types of Diversity Initiatives
• Managing Diversity
• Change organizational structure, policies, norms
& practices (e.g., hiring) to create fairness
• Similar to strategies to reducing discrimination (See Stephan &
Stephan ch. 2)
• Valuing Diversity
• Change employee attitudes and behaviors by
• Emphasis on equality/fairness values
• Providing training on awareness & skills
– Similar to strategies on reducing stereotyping & prejudice (See
Stephan & Stephan ch 2)
Valuing Diversity
• Org emphasizes fairness/equality values
– Via mission statement, sponsoring equity
endevours etc.
• Provides diversity training to
• Increase awareness (sensitivity)
• Cultural & historical information about groups
• Know about, and counteract stereotypes
• E.g., Board games
• Improve skills
• Interpersonal, conflict management, language skills,
mentoring
• Change attitudes & feelings
• Hardest to do
Types of Diversity Training
• What is culture?
• Beliefs, norms, customs, knowledge, habits of a
group
• See “What are transparent aspects of culture” in
cultural circles)
• Why is learning about cultural differences
important for diversity training?
• Increases awareness of role of culture in social
behaviors (e.g., choice of partner; amount of eye-contact)
• Awareness can increase accepting which can
improve interactions between people of different
cultural groups
Goals of Diversity Training Exercises
• Increase cultural identity
• E.g., Pie chart, Backgrounds, Cultural circles
• Highlight differences in communication styles
• E.g., Bafa Bafa
• Inter cultural conflict resolution
• E.g., Owl sensitivity
• Interpersonal stereotyping
• E.g., Diversity and perception, Car radio etc.
• Group stereotyping
• E.g., Gender & language, Cross-gender role-play
• Understand power differences & gain empathy
• E.g., Disability Exercise
Identifying goals of an example training exercise
• What are goals of the online-discussion group in a
class?
• Highlight differences in communication styles
• Of People’s preference for communicating orally vs. online
• Inter cultural conflict resolution
• Increase cultural identity
• Learn about each other’s culture
• Interpersonal stereotyping
• E.g., Bec. you are muscular you must be athletic
• Group stereotyping
• E.g., Bec. you are Chinese you must be conservative
• Gain gain empathy
• For people who are too shy to speak out in class
Evaluation of Diversity Training Programs
• Tansik & Driskill 1977
• 20 hrs of lectures, case studies, role-playing
• Small changes right after, positive changes 5 weeks
after, negative attitudes 12 weeks after
• Sorcher & Spence 1982
• 10 week prog of watching videotapes of effective
behaviors, role playing with reinforcement
• No changes immediately or 6 weeks after, but
positive changes 20 weeks after
Evaluation of Diversity Training Programs
• Dunnette & Motowildo (1982)
• 3-days of small group discussions, readings,
seminars, videos on sexist attitudes & behaviors
• No changes for men, but positive changes for
women
• Alderfer (1992)
• Upward mobility program, balanced composition
of promotion committees, workshop had lectures,
role-plays and experiential activities
• Increases in minorities in management ranks
• Dominant group members evaluated program
more negatively than minority group members
Evaluation of Diversity Training Programs
• Ellis & Sonnenfield (1994)
• 1 day of watching videos of culturally insensitive
behaviors and discussing them
• 59% evaluated seminar positively
• Tan, Morris, & Romero (1996)
• 3 days of case studies, simulations, videos,
discussions
• Increased knowledge of
• diversity issues
• barriers to change
• sensitization to and knowledge of how to prevent
negative effects of prejudice & stereotypes
Evaluation of Diversity Training Programs
• Hanover & Cellar 1998
• Videos, role playing, examination of diversity
practices, action planning
• Increased ratings on diversity practice measures
(e.g., open discussions of group differences,
discouraging comments perpetuating stereotypes)
• Rynes & Rosen 1995
• 33% of HR managers surveyed rated diversity
programs as successful but 18% rated them as
unsuccessful
• Mandatory prog were rated as more successful
Evaluation of Diversity Training Programs
• Layng 1998
• Analysis of commonly used video in diversity
training programs
• Introduced new stereotypes to replace old ones
• Too much focus on incompetence of White male
managers can alienate intended audience
• Suggests that diversity leads to communication
problems
Why such few Evaluations of Training Programs
•
•
•
•
Trainers do not like sharing techniques
Trainers do not know evaluation techniques
Evaluation requires time and money
Some evaluations take more time away from
trainees’ jobs, are resisted by organizations
• Showing no change (or negative change) is
disadvantageous to trainer
Challenge for Diversity Trainers
• Changing established norms & practices of
adults in organizations is difficult
• Limited time for change to occur
• Teach legal & inter group aspects of diversity
• Participants are resistant to change
Issues to Consider for Diversity Training
• Include
• Majority and minority members
• Members from all organizational ranks
• Diverse trainers on teams
• Emphasize similarity & differences within
groups
• E.g., cultural circles
• Know legal issues
• E.g., discrimination scenarios exercise
Issues to Consider for Diversity Training
• Anticipate
• Conflict between majority & minority groups
• Resentment from dominant groups
• Negative reactions re: slow pace of change from
minorities
• Avoid displays of favoritism
• Present diversity policies in ways palatable to
all participants
• E.g., business case
Issues to Consider for Diversity Training
• Focus on training skills bec. employers are
legally responsible for employee behaviors
• Cover a broad range of groups
• Attend to trainees
• Inter group relations
• Age, status, strength of ethnic identities
• Similar to strategies to reduce negative intergroup contact
Issues to Consider for Diversity Training
• Decide on how to confront
• Prevalent organizational values
• Value differences between groups
• Be thoroughly prepared
Resistance to Diversity Initiatives
Individual Barriers
• Majority members may feel additionally
threatened (as being attacked)
• Minority members may feel uncomfortable
when focus of attention during training
Resistance to Diversity Initiatives
Individual Barriers
• Mandatory nature can be positive and
negative
• People who need it most get it but popularity may
be reduced
• Change is experienced as threatening,
provokes anxiety, resentment, hostility
Managing Diversity Initiatives
• What is Managing Diversity?
• Nature of Resistance to anticipate and plan for
– Promotion Roleplay