Faculty of Business Administration 1

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B2301 Organizational Behaviour

• Diversity in the Workforce
• Wednesday January 31st, 2007

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Objectives

• What is diversity?
• Benefits of diversity?
• The dark side of diversity discrimination
• Legislation that protects individuals
• Case discussion

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Diversity

• One of the biggest organizational challenges
• Essentially, diversity is human characteristics
  that make people different from one another
• People bring a variety of backgrounds, styles,
  and beliefs as assets to the groups and
  organizations with which they interact.
• Important because increasing, bringing benefits
  but also increased likelihood of stereotyping and
  discrimination

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The Revised Diversity Menu

• Race
• Ethnicity
• Personality
• Skills
• Learning Styles
• Gender
• Physical Attributes
• Background
• Sexual Orientation

• Language
• Age
• Religion
• Mental Ability
• Parental Status
• Workplace
• Education
• Income
• Much More ...

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If The World Were 100 People there would be

• 57 Asians
• 21 Europeans
• 14 from North South America
• 8 Africans
• 52 would be female
• 48 would be male
• 70 would be nonwhite, 30 white
• 59 of the world's wealth would belong to 6
  people all 6 would be citizens of the US

• 80 would live in substandard housing
• 70 would be unable to read
• 50 would suffer from malnutrition
• 1 would be near death
• 1 would be near birth
• Only 1 would have a college education
• and only 1 would have a computer

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Workplace Diversity

• Can lead to organizational benefits
• Engaged, motivated and high performing staff
• Reduced turnover
• Diverse workforce reflecting customer base
• An enhanced corporate reputation
• Proactive in terms of changing composition of
  workforce
• Greater creativity flexibility
• Better problem solving

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What is a diversity-friendly workplace?

• Diversity friendly policies
• Organizational statements and policies about
  diversity are essentially value statement
• Policies and procedures to support diversity and
  diverse employees and customers/clients
• Commitment to diversity through training
• Recruitment of diverse individuals
• Focus on retaining diverse staff

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IBMs Diversity Statement

• At IBM we acknowledge, value and respect
  diversityAt IBM, we recognize individual
  differences and appreciate how these individual
  differences provide a powerful competitive
  advantage and a source of great pride and
  opportunity in the workplace and marketplace.

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What is Managing Diversity?

• Integrating non-traditional employees into
  workforce using diversity to enhance
  organizational effectiveness
• Identify diversity
• Identify current and desired future states
• Analyze present state
• Change systems, policies and practices
• Evaluate results
• Challenges for Management
• Valuing employee diversity
• Balancing individual needs with group fairness
• Coping with resistance to change
• Avoiding employee resentment and dealing with
  backlash
• Retaining valued performers

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Managing Diversity in the Workplace

• Responses to Diversity Initiatives
• Cultural Intelligence
• The ability to understand someones unfamiliar
  and ambiguous gestures in the same way as would
  people from his or her culture.

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Measuring Your Cultural Intelligence
Source P. C. Earley and E. Mosakowski, Cultural
Intelligence, Harvard Business Review 82, no. 10
(October 2004), pp. 139-146. Reprinted with
permission.
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Discrimination is

• Different treatment (distinction, exclusion,
  preference) due to irrelevant personal or social
  characteristics
• The denial or impairment of equal opportunity and
  treatment
• Rooted in fear, ignorance stereotyping
  (perceptions prevail over objective facts)
• Not isolated, sporadic act entrenched in
  institutions (practices, rules)

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When does it occur?

• In formal and informal work settings
• Entry to labour market (vocational guidance,
  training, recruitment, hiring)
• On the job (retaining, promotion, training,
  conditions of work, including equal pay for work
  of equal value, social security benefits, access
  to and representation in workers and employers
  organizations)
• At exit (dismissal)

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Real-Life Discrimination

• Discrimination in aftermath of September 11, 2001
• Contract mechanic, Osama Sweilan, at FedEx
  disappearing into flight-simulator room
• Investigation found fixing pipe, calling home,
  praying
• Told no longer needed

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Real-life Case

• Cirque du Soleil case
• November 2003
• Performer let go because HIV positive
• Complaint filed with Equal Employment Opportunity
  Commission
• January 2004
• Cirque du Soleil offers to reinstate this
  performer
• Found circus engaged in job discrimination

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Video Case

• What is this scene meant to focus on?
• What should the manager do in this situation?

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The Cost of Discrimination at Work

• Violates a fundamental human right
• Limits individual freedom and well-being
• Affects productivity and business competitiveness
• Perpetuates and exacerbates poverty
• Compromises economic growth
• Affects social cohesion and political stability
• Does Diversity Training Work?
• Diversity training alone is not enough
• Need organizational commitment to fostering a
  diversity-friendly work environment includes
  policies and procedures, investment of resources,
  and commitment beyond one program or workshop.

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Legal Considerations

• Canadian Human Rights Act prohibited grounds of
  discrimination
• Race, national or ethnic origin, colour,
  religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital
  status, family status, disability and conviction
  for which a pardon has been granted
• NL Human Rights Code
• Race, religion, religious creed, sex, marital
  status, physical disability, mental disability,
  political opinion, colour, ethnic, national or
  social origin, sexual orientation and age (19-65)

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Legal Considerations

• Bona fide occupational requirement (good faith
  limitations) is the only exception
• Deals with employment, accommodation, and
  provision of goods services
• Sexual orientation was added to Canadian Act in
  1996

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Group Exercise

• Work in teams
• Read case (distributed in class), and take 20
  minutes to answer questions
• We will go over each case as a group
• Be prepared to share your answers
• Submit one answer sheet per group

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Case Questions

• What is the main problem that the
  organization/supervisor/manager must deal with?
• What are the issues that relate to diversity and
  discrimination?
• If you were the person responsible to deal with
  this organizational situation, what would you
  recommend and why?
• What are the potential business implications of
  your decision?
• Are there any other potential positive or
  negative repercussions?

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Next Class

• Motivation
• LR Chapters 4 and 5
• SA What motivates you? (p. 154)
• PC Money as motivator (p. 191)