Transcript mgt-diversity-stephan4 - University of Toronto Scarborough

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