Transcript brief-acad of mgt exec

Individual and Organizational Causes
of Discrimination
• Examining findings from a research study
• Questioning its implications
Definition of discrimination
• Unequal treatment or behavior toward members
of different groups (Stephan & Stephan 02)
Measures of discrimination
• Differences in
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Income
Percent in management & senior executive ranks
Recruiting & retention rates
Hiring rates, performance ratings, promotion rates
• Via differential access to social networks, mentoring,
training
– Percent allocated to same-race supervisors
• See also Dear White boss
– Self-reported discrimination
– Satisfaction
• Bystander reports See also Human Rights doc
Discrimination Measures
used by Brief et al
• Rating of Black applicants’ qualifications
• Number Black applicants hired
One Organizational Factor: Brief et al Study 1
Organizational Directives
Discrimination
Study 1
• Hypothesis (H): Do all comply with directives?
• Finding (F): Yes
– Those who received business justification not to
hire Black candidates rated Black candidates lower
than those who did not receive such justifications
Why do all employees comply w/directives?
• Organizations provide employees with much
needed resources
• Employees believe person-organization ‘fit’
arguments
– Cohesiveness leads to better functioning
– Clients prefer employees of a certain kind
Brief et al Study 1
Organizational Directives
Discrimination
An individual factor: Brief et al Study 2&3
Prejudice
Discrimination
Stereotype
Stephan & Stephan 02 model tested by Brief et al Study 2 & 3
Traditional definition of prejudice
• Negative attitudes Stephan & Stephan 02
– Evaluations & feelings
• E.g., Evaluations: They are bad…
• Feelings: I hate..
Contemporary manifestations of Prejudice
Adding to traditional definitions…
• Positive + negative feelings
• E.g., sympathy & aversion
• Negative feelings + value
equality
• Negative feelings+ perceived
value differences
New Prejudice
• E.g., in self-reliance
Stephan & Stephan 02
A type of New Prejudice: New Racism
• Endorse equal opportunity values but oppose
equal opportunity policies
• Believe that…
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Blacks do not value self-reliance, self discipline
Racial discrimination no longer exists
Blatant racism is bad
Blacks have moved too fast
Discriminate when justified
• E.g., employee-customer match, employee-organization
fit
One measure of new racism
• Modern Racism scale previously validated in other
research
– Learning Check (from Research Methods):
• What does it mean to be validated?
• What does it mean to be reliable?
• What is the relation between reliability & validity
• Example items
– Discrimination against Blacks is no longer a problem
– Blacks age getting too demanding in their push for equal
rights
– Over the past few years, Blacks have gotten more
economically than they deserve
Individual & Organizational Causes
Brief et al Study 2 & 3
Prejudice
Discrimination
Organizational Directives
Why do new racists discriminate more?
• Non-racists comply even if it conflicts with
personal values because they feel obliged to obey
authority
• New racists comply because it confirms their
attitudes and justifies their discriminatory
behavior
• Is acting in line w/own beliefs stronger than
obeying authority?
Study 2
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H: Do new racists comply more with
directives?
F: Yes,
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New racists selected fewer Blacks when they
received business reasons not to hire Blacks when
compared to those who were non-racists and those
who did not receive justifications
Implications: Implement Principle Disobedience
• Disperse authority
• E.g., Immediate line manager & HR are responsible for
personnel decisions (see also Cox)
• Re-define loyalty of subordinates
• Encourage questioning of orders
• Encourage dialogue on how to articulate doubts &
respond to troublesome orders
• Create norm of openness
Implications:
Establish clear selection criteria?
• “Fit” justifications for hiring should
– Not be used or
– If “fit” is a bona-fide occupational requirement,
then it dimensions of fit be clearly articulated
• Job-person fit
• Person-organization
Gladwell New Yorker Article
suggests this is not a good
strategy
Changing criteria for admission
• Scores on College entrance exam board/SAT
• Indicators of personal, academic,
extracurricular, athletic excellence
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Reference letters
Personal essays demonstrating leadership aptitude
List of extra curricular activities
Emissaries’ ratings of character
Indicators of background & breeding
• Speech, dress, deportment, physical appearance
Gladwell article
Changing criteria for admission
• Success DURING college (e.g., law students)
• Success AFTER college (e.g., lawyers)
– Personal inner force, personality, athletic ability,
social skills, motivation in addition to academic
achievement
• Be good graduates
– Be Generous & loyal as alumni
Gladwell article
Validity of admission criteria
• Are they measured well?
– Not as well as academic achievement
Validity of admission criteria
• Ability to predict salary
– Those admitted into both types of schools but
chose non-ivy League schools earned the same as
those who chose Ivy-league schools
– Male athletes with lower SAT scores earn more
than peers
• Choice of job: high paying financial services
• Personality traits competitiveness, determination,
outgoingness, team player confidence: measurement
issues
Validity of admission criteria
• Ability to predict job performance
– LSATs don’t predict lawyer success
• Restriction of range on LSAT scores reduces correlation
• LSAT only measure some of the skills needed to become
a successful lawyer
Conclusions from Gladwell article
• Establishing clear criteria is not sufficient
• Establishing valid criteria is not sufficient if
they result in ‘adverse’ impact
– Legal requirement is that if it has adverse impact it
should be a job requirement (i.e. valid)
Final Conclusions
• Individuals and organizations can cause
discrimination
– Individual=prejudicial attitudes
– Organizational
• Ability to extract compliance from employees,
• Ability to determine & validate criteria for ‘fit’