Transcript Chapter 11 - Routledge

Chapter 11
Sport Organizations and
Diversity Management
Learning objectives
• Define workplace diversity
• Explain factors contributing to workplace
diversity
• Describe the potential positive and
negative impact of diversity in the
organization
• Discuss the strategic management of
workplace diversity
Diversity in the workplace
• ‘the presence of differences among
members of a social unit that lead to
perceptions of such differences and that
impact work outcomes’ (Cunningham,
2007: 6)
• Perceptions of diversity may be based on
demographic or surface level differences,
and psychological or deep level
differences
Factors contributing to workplace
diversity
•
•
•
•
globalization
changing population demographics
legislation regarding hiring practices
changes in the nature of work that reflect a
more team oriented approach
• changing attitudes in society and the
workplace
Changing demographics
Projected population figures (%) of selected countries (ABS, 2004)
2005
Country
Under
15 years
2050
15-59
years
60 years
and over
Under
15 yrs
15-59
years
60 years
and over
Australia
19.6
62.6
17.8
15.1
53.2
31.7
Canada
17.6
64.5
17.9
15.7
52.4
31.8
China
21.4
67.7
10.9
15.7
53.3
31.0
Japan
14.0
59.7
26.3
13.4
44.9
41.7
New Zealand
21.3
61.9
16.7
16.0
53.9
30.0
United Kingdom
17.9
60.0
21.2
16.4
54.2
29.4
United States of America
20.8
62.5
16.7
17.3
56.3
26.4
World
28.2
61.4
10.4
20.2
58.1
21.7
Legislation
• local, regional, and federal government statutes
ensure equity and equality in hiring
• civil and human rights legislations and equal
opportunity laws make it unacceptable and
illegal to discriminate based on sex, age, race,
disability, and so forth.
• address surface level characteristics that were a
traditional basis for discrimination in hiring
Title IX of the Education
Amendments (1972)
• This landmark United States law prohibits sex-based discrimination
in educational programs that receive federal government funding males and females have to be given equal opportunities to
participate in athletics programs in high schools, colleges and
universities
• Title IX has had a major impact on the growth of female participation
in sport, particularly in high schools where girls comprised only 5%
of high school athletes in 1972 and 41% in 2002 (Acosta &
Carpenter, 2005)
• At the collegiate level, the average number of women’s teams per
institution rose from 2.5 in 1972 to 8.32 in 2004 (Acosta &
Carpenter, 2005)
• However as a result of Title IX, there has been a decrease in the
proportion of women in coaching - 90% coaches of women’s teams
were women in 1972 and only 40% by 2004 (Acosta & Carpenter,
2005)
Affirmative action
• government policy to redress past employment
discrimination by increasing the representation
of certain disadvantaged groups, particularly
women and racial minorities.
• affirmative action policies generally include an
‘all things being equal’ clause, where an
individual from a targeted group is selected if all
bases for selection are considered equal among
all candidates
IOC Gender diversity targets
• to increase the number of women in
leadership/administrative positions in Olympic sport, in
1997 the IOC set a target for National Olympic
Committees (NOCs), International Sports Federations
(IFs), and sports bodies belong to the Olympic
Movement to have at least 20% of the positions in all
their decision making structures held by women by the
end of 2005
• by 2004, 30% of the NOCs and 29% of the IFs achieved
the target
• end 2005, women comprised 6.6% of the IOC Executive
Board, 13% of IOC members (representatives to their
home nations), and 15.3% of IOC Commissions
• this represents a ‘marked increase’ yet is undoubtedly a
‘continuing challenge’ (IOC, 2004a, p. 2)
Proactive hiring
• actively increases diversity in the organization in
general, or with respect to a particular surface
level attribute (e.g., gender, age, race, physical
disability), with the intent of capitalizing on the
potential benefits of a diverse workplace
• benefits include increased creativity and
improved problem solving because of the
diversity of values, perspectives and attitudes
that are presumed to be brought to the table by
people who differ from each other
Benefits of diversity
• diverse insights and different perspectives (deep
level diversity) can contribute to increased
creativity and innovation, a broader range of
alternatives, and higher quality ideas in a
diverse workplace
• diverse individuals and groups may be expected
to ‘generate unique alternatives and challenge
old ideas and standard ways of doing thing’
(Doherty & Chelladurai, 1999, p. 284)
Challenges of diversity
• Anxiety, prejudice and even fear
generated among employees/volunteers
who are faced with the unknown
• may lead to reduced communication,
misunderstanding, ambiguity or confusion,
and destructive conflict where consensus
is not possible
Managing diversity
• creating and optimizing a diverse workforce
• legislation and organisation policies can protect
people who may be discriminated against
• Creating an ‘organizational culture of diversity’
(Doherty & Chelladurai, 1999) means having
respect for differences, flexibility, risk
acceptance, tolerance of ambiguity, conflict
acceptance and equifinality
The impact of diversity as a function of organizational culture
Organizational Culture
Similarity
High
Diversity
Low
Diversity
Diversity
Minimal benefits of diversity are
realized; negative consequences are
likely
1
Benefits of diversity are realized
3
No benefits of diversity are realized
4
2
Potential for benefits of diversity
Diversity training
• to educate employees and volunteers
about diversity-related issues
• Awareness training - to increase
employee/volunteer knowledge of and
sensitivity to diversity and diversity-related
issues in the workplace
• Skill-building - to provide
employees/volunteers with a set of skills to
deal effectively with workplace diversity
Summary
• Diversity is based on surface level or
demographic differences, and deep level or
psychological differences
• benefits of diversity – creativity, better quality
decisions as a result of different perspectives,
enhanced reputation as a diversity employer,
and greater marketing insights into the needs
and habits of diverse customers
• diversity training is a strategic program to
educate employees and volunteers about
diversity-related issues