Transcript Top Ten Reasons Stereotypes are Bad for Business

TOP TEN REASONS
STEREOTYPES ARE BAD
FOR BUSINESS
A N A STAC I A K U RY LO , P H . D .
PRESIDENT
F O R T I F I E D C O M M U N I C AT I O N C O N S U LT I N G
STEREOTYPES
Stereotypes = Group + Characteristic
Stereotypes and generalizations are different.
Generalizations are qualified.
Qualifiers include “many” and “in my personal experience.”
Communicated Stereotypes
are said in conversation, often casually.
CUSTOMERS
In today’s economic environment there is a lot of talk about jobs. Henry Ford said,
“It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the
money. It is the customer who pays the wages.”
All efforts in business involve driving sales, even the most altruistic.
Customers are a company’s biggest priority.
Organizations like the National Diversity Council exist to help companies build
business through a sincere commitment to diversity. More diverse employees
spread a variety of perspectives, create outside-of-the-box ideas, and produce
more competitive products.
Diversity and Inclusion efforts are customer focused.
EMPLOYEES AS CUSTOMERS
Companies want to competitively recruit, keep, and promote diverse talent.
Employees are customers of
Diversity and Inclusion initiatives.
Despite best efforts, a 2006 study by three sociologists found that diversity
training may have little effect on the demographics of a company's
executives.* According to a 2010 report** by Senator Robert
Menendez,
3 out of 4 people seated in a board room at a
Fortune 500 company are Caucasian males.
*Kalev, A., Dobbin, F., and Kelly, E. (2006). “Best Practices or Best Guesses?
Diversity Management and the Remediation of Inequality.” American Sociological
Review, 71, 589–617.
**Corporate Diversity Report (2010) available at
http://www.menendez.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/CorporateDiversityReport2.pdf
DIVERSITY
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission 2007 Report
Diversity efforts are often based on
improving demographics through number
crunching.
So how can companies
change these statistics?
*U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2007) adapted by Robert
Benincasa and Alyson Hurt / NPR available at
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122329851
INCLUSION
Inclusion initiatives help.
According to Lilly Benjamin, Director of Global Inclusion at Avon, “Inclusion
drives diversity and not the other way around.” “Diversity doesn’t
translate globally.”
‘Inclusion’ translates across cultures.*
On August 18th an Executive Order (EO) was signed by President Obama
requiring each government agency to issue its own Diversity and
Inclusion Strategic Plan.
Clearly, inclusion should be considered important.
The problem with these initiatives is
SHOULD
*Full Lilly Benjamin interview available at
http://thedagobagroup.com/2011/12/interview-with-lily-benjamin/
STEREOTYPES
Businesses should engage in diversity and inclusion efforts
because of their customers.
But why?
• Two points are recommended as important for business. •
Diversity and Inclusion
• But, there is a third point that is often missing from these initiatives. •
Understanding Communicated Stereotypes
GOALS
A persuasive case for Diversity and Inclusion
• Focusing on why stereotypes are bad for business
• Providing research-based explanations
• Arguing for a self-serving investment in diversity and inclusion
• Speaking the language of brand reputation, sales, and customer relations
STEREOTYPES SLIP INTO CONVERSATION
Information Processing*
Humans categorize data from the environment in order to exist.
This categorization involves mental shortcuts.
Stereotypes are a shortcut that provide efficiency and allow for inference.
Mental Processes Extend Into Communication
Because stereotypes are so useful mentally, they slip into conversation.
People don’t even notice saying them.
Sometimes communicated with seemingly the best intentions.
Communication with customers should be strategic.
*Fiske, S. T., & Taylor, S. E. (1984). Social
cognition. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Reason #1
COMMUNICATED STEREOTYPES ARE UBIQUITOUS
Communicated Stereotypes are Functional
Stereotypes are just as functional as any form of communication.*
By communicating stereotypes people make jokes, give advice, bond, gain control,
communicate efficiently, manage impressions, reduce uncertainty, and relax.
Because they are useful for people, they are communicated casually and often.
People Use What is Useful
The communication of a single stereotype often has little to do with diversity issues.
Thwarting communicated stereotypes requires overt training specifically in this area.
Those who communicate stereotypes do not think diversity initiatives apply to them.
Stereotypes are not useful for customer relations.
*Rubin, R. B., Perse, E. M., & Barbato, C. A.
(1988). Conceptualization and measurement
of interpersonal communication motives.
Human Communication Research, 14, 602628.
Reason #2
STEREOTYPES ARE IMPERSONAL
Personal vs. Impersonal Messages
Stereotypes generalize characteristics to all members of the targeted group.
Stereotypes are impersonal one-size-fits-all messages.
Impersonal messages treat customers as interchangeable and unimportant.
Impersonal messages are easier and quicker to create than personalized messages.
The Easy Option is Not Always the Best Option
Customer retention can hinge on whether a customer feels sincerely valued.
Customer service adds to a company’s ability to be competitive.
Customers want to feel special.
Sales strategies work best when personalized.
Reason #3
YOUR EMPLOYEE COULD BE WRONG
Expectancy Effects*
People’s expectations can lead to biased behavior.
Stereotypes provide expectations for how to act and how others will act.
Self-fulfilling prophecies and hypothesis confirming questions can cause targets of
stereotypes to behave in ways that confirm those stereotypes.
Knowledge is Powerful, Stereotypes are Not
People can think they are right, even in the absence of evidence.
People can think stereotypes are accurate, even in the absence of evidence.
Customers are unique individuals
not generic stereotypes.
*Hamilton, D. L., Sherman, S. J., &
Ruvolo, C. M. (1990). Stereotype-based
expectancies: Effects on information
processing and social behavior. Journal
of Social Issues, 46, 35-60.
Reason #4
STEREOTYPES ARE A POOR WAY TO COMMUNICATE
Stereotypes are Noisy*
Stereotypes interfere with the ability to hear a message.
Noise can cause miscommunication.
Messages filtered through stereotypes can be altered in unrecognizable ways.
Stereotypes make even valid points difficult to hear.
Messages Need Help to be Crystal Clear
People recall only about 10% of the actual content of a conversation.**
Peoples recollection is more aligned with expectations than with actual behavior.**
There is a better way to say what you want to say so the message is clear.
Sales pitches require precision.
*Shannon, C.E., & Weaver, W. (1949). The mathematical
theory of communication. Urbana: University of Illinois
Press.
**Stafford, L., & Daly, J. A. (1984). Conversational
memory: The effects of recall mode and memory
expectancies on remembrances of natural conversations.
Human Communication Research, 10, 379-402.
***Nisbett, R., & Wilson, T. (1977). Telling more than we
can know: Verbal reports on mental processes.
Psychological Review, 84, 231-259.
Reason #5
STEREOTYPES ARE CONTROVERSIAL
Political Correctness*
We know we ‘shouldn’t’ stereotype.
Celebrities are vilified in the media for communicating stereotypes.
We don’t like it when people stereotype the groups we belong to.
Avoid - Not Incite - Conflict With Customers
No matter how they are communicated, stereotypes are hot button topics.
Stereotypes open debate and encourage taking sides.
Stereotypes are deeply connected to historical roots and personal experience.
Brand reputation should be far removed from stereotypes.
*Thibodaux, D. (1994). Beyond political
correctness: Are there limits to this
lunacy? Lafayette, LA: Huntington House
Publishers.
Reason #6
STEREOTYPES IMPLY AN AGENDA
Prejudice and Discrimination*
Stereotypes imply social, economic, and political agendas.
Communicating a stereotype suggests belief in the accuracy of that stereotype.
Communicating a stereotypes suggests you are prejudicial against the targeted group.
Prejudice and Discrimination is Not Your Agenda, Is it?
With other appropriate ways to communicate, why associate with this agenda?
This agenda is not what the company represents.
An employee’s agenda should not be a part of the
company’s sales pitch.
*Allport, G. W. (1954/1979). The
nature of prejudice. Cambridge, MA:
Addison-Wesley.
Reason #7
COMMUNICATED STEREOTYPES
MISREPRESENT THE COMPANY’S PERSPECTIVE
Ingroups and Outgroups*
Communicated stereotypes promote differences between groups (us vs. them).
Diversity and inclusion initiatives seem superficial and hypocritical.
People assume employees speak for the company.
Communication Messages are Company Products
Products and services are part of what is produced by a company. Employees are also
products of the company.
Employee behavior reflects on the company.
Employee stereotype use reflects on the company brand.
* Tajfel, H. & Turner, J. C. (1979). An
integrative theory of intergroup
conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel
(Eds.), The social psychology of
intergroup relations. Monterey, CA:
Brooks-Cole.
Reason #8
THE IMPACT OF STEREOTYPES ON A CUSTOMER
CAN NEVER BE KNOWN
Cognitive Processes Cannot Be Directly Observed*
We assume because people look a certain way people will think a certain way
We assume people who look like us think like us **
People often keep their real opinions to themselves.
People can say they think one way an actually think an entirely different way.
You Can’t Predict How Customers Will Respond
Being offended once is enough to make you never go back to that company.
States, traits, and circumstances all impact how people interpret what you say.
Customers will not risk having a conflict just to stay with your company.
Customers maintain relationships over company loyalty.
*Shotter, J. (1981). Telling and Reporting:
Prospective and Retrospective Uses of SelfAscriptions. In C. Anataki (Ed.), The psychology of
ordinary explanations of social behaviour (pp. 157181). London: Academic Press.
**Hilton, J. L., & von Hippel, W. (1996).
Stereotypes. Annual Review of Psychology, 47, 237272.
Reason #9
CUSTOMERS CAN LOSE TRUST
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs*
People need to feel a sense of security and safety.
This security need must be met before meeting other life needs.
Stereotypes can make people feel uncomfortable and anxious threatening trust and security.
Years to Build, Seconds to Destroy
Lack of trust can hurt customer retention.
Trust is difficult to earn back once lost.
One communicated stereotype can damage a reputation.
Customer relations, sales, and brand reputation rely on trust.
*Maslow, A. H. (1943). A
Theory of Human Motivation.
Psychological Review, 50,
370-396.
Reason #10
THREE POINTS
Crunching numbers for diversity scorecard is persuasive.
Fostering large scale inclusion initiatives is invaluable.
Diversity and Inclusion initiatives miss one point
that is integral to carrying these out effectively:
Understanding Communicated Stereotypes
Communicated stereotypes can undermine these initiatives and
hurt customer relations, sales, and a company’s brand reputation.
ANASTACIA KURYLO, PH.D.
•
Taught 15 years at New York University, Rutgers, University, Pace,
University, and St. John’s University among other schools.
•
Founded the blog The Communicated Stereotype.
(www.TheCommunicatedStereotype.com)
•
Owns Fortified Communication Consulting.
(www.FortifiedCommunication.com)
•
Published over 25 articles on related topics.
•
Edited a textbook on intercultural communication with over 40
contributors talking about representation and construction.
(http://www.sagepub.com/books/Book234817)
•
Publishing The Communicated Stereotype: From Celebrity Vilification to
Everyday Talk this June (https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739167533)