Transcript stephan ch 4

Why are Diversity Initiatives Important
Census Canada 2001
Canada
Toronto
Total
29,639,030
4,647,955
Visible
Minorities
Aboriginal
3,983,845
13%
1,712,530
36.8%
976,305
.03%
20,300
.004%
Caucasian
25,645,422
86.5%
2,915,125
63%
Diversity Initiatives in the Workplace
• Negative inter group relations in workplace
still prevalent
• E.g., employment discrimination lawsuits in
Ontario
• In 2002-2003, 337 were due to race & colour, 177 were
due to ethnicity, 153 were due to place of origin
• In 2001-2002, 520 were due to race & colour, 228 were
due to ethnicity, 126 were due to place of origin
Psychological Consequences of Negative
Inter-group Relations
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Poor communication
Conflict
Stress
Dissatisfaction
Lowered Commitment
Intentions to Quit
Physical Consequences of Negative
Inter-group Relations
• Cost of Employee Withdrawal
• replacing employee, days absent, sick days
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Mental health care costs
Lowered employee productivity
Health care costs
Legal costs
• defending & settling lawsuits
• Lowered stock value
Positive Effects of Diversity
• Higher annualized returns
• Minority group members ~ collectivism
(group-orientation) ~ interpersonal skills ~
collaboration, cohesion, teamwork
• See also Cox
• Diverse groups ~ decision making, creativity,
marketing
• Women~ tolerance for ambiguity ~ cognitive
complexity
• Bilinguals~ cognitive complexity
Types of Diversity Initiatives
• Managing Diversity
• Changing org structure, policies, norms &
practices to create fairness
• Valuing Diversity
• Changing employee attitudes and behaviors via
emphasizing equality/fairness values and/or
providing training
Managing Diversity
• Changing structure by changing composition
of organization at all levels via
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Recruitment, hiring, promotion
Compensation for diversity-based performance
Grievance procedure
Encouraging communication across and within all
levels
Managing Diversity
• Other strategies
• Sponsoring caucus, advisory, and support groups
for different groups
• Offering benefit packages that appeal to minorities
• Being more flexible in social norms (see also Cox)
• Ensuring minority representation on internal
committees
• Creating career development programs for
minorities (e.g., mentoring)
• Community outreach to enhance organization’s
image and attract minority applicants
Valuing Diversity
• Org emphasizes fairness/equality values
• Provides training to
• Increase awareness (sensitivity)
• Cultural & historical information about groups
• Know about, and counteract stereotypes
• E.g., Diversophy board game
• Improve skills
• Interpersonal, conflict management, language,
mentoring
• Change attitudes & feelings
• Hardest to do
Types of Diversity Training
• What is culture?
• Beliefs, norms, customs, knowledge, habits of a
group
• Why is learning about cultural differences
important for diversity training?
• Increases awareness of role of culture in social
behaviors
• Awareness can improve interactions between
people of different cultural groups
Goals of Diversity Exercises
• Highlight differences in communication styles
• Culture-clash
• Inter cultural conflict resolution
• Owl sensitivity
• Increase cultural identity
• Pie chart, Backgrounds, Cultural circles
• Interpersonal stereotyping
• Diversity and perception, Car radio etc.
• Group stereotyping
• Gender & language, Cross-gender role-play
• Understand power differences & Gain empathy
• Disability Exercise
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
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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
Processes underlying Managing Diversity
• Changes in structure, practices, incentives,
norms to promote fairness changes behavior
and (maybe?) attitudes
• Reinforcement theory
• Cognitive Dissonance Theory
• Theory of reasoned action
• Negative sanctions toward discriminatory
behavior reduces it
• Reinforcement theory
• Theory of reasoned action
Processes underlying Valuing Diversity
Organizational Values
• When authority figures emphasize fairness or
equality values (e.g., in mission statement) and
follow up with own behavior or implement
relevant rules, behavior changes
• Theory of reasoned action
Processes underlying Valuing Diversity
Training
• Change knowledge of and understanding
about different groups
• Provide historical information about groups
• Info on group differences in values, behaviors,
norms, beliefs
• Self-insights into own biases ~ increased
motivation to regulate discriminatory behavior
• Provide experience or information that
contradicts stereotypes
• Create empathy (via role playing) ~ positive
changes in attitudes & behavior
Processes underlying Valuing Diversity
Difficulties with Training
• Adult attitudes and behavior hard to modify
bec
• Lifelong exposure and experience with mass
media’s stereotypes
• May react with defensiveness and avoidance to
info that creates change
• May feel they are being attacked or blamed during
training
Resistance to Diversity Initiatives
Individual Barriers
• Mandatory nature can be positive and
negative
• People who need it most get it vs. popularity is
reduced
• Change is experienced as threatening,
provokes anxiety , resentment, hostility
• Majority members may feel additionally
threatened (as being attacked)
• Minority members may feel uncomfortable
when focus of attention during training
Resistance to Diversity Initiatives
Organizational Barriers
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Traditional hierarchical structures
Standardized procedures, conformity norms
Selection & promotion based on ‘fit’
Informal networks of communication
Token representation of minorities
Perception of demographic change in org
composition as zero-sum game
Implementing a Managing Diversity Initiative
• Need cultural audit to examine climate,
history, current practices, need for new
policies
• Plan should be comprehensive, be in
collaboration with labor, have clear objectives,
measure progress toward objectives, specify
which programs address which issues
• Plan should fit with organizational climate
• Anticipate and plan for resistance
• Include training (valuing diversity)
Issues to Consider for Diversity Training
• Include
• Majority and minority members
• Members from all organizational ranks
• Diverse trainers on teams
• Emphasize similarity within groups and differences
• Know legal issues
• 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
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
• Decide on how to confront
• Prevalent organizational values
• Value differences between groups
• Be thoroughly prepared