Individual Assignment Coversheet (Online version)

DETAILS OF ASSIGNMENT STUDENT NAME EMAIL ADDRESS UNIT CODE * NAME ASSESSMENT TITLE TUTORS NAME: WONG KAH LEONG, LESTER / TEO XIAOPING
7042914@student.swin.edu.au / 7042868@student.swin.edu.au

ID NUMBER PHONE CONTACT

7042914 / 7042868 +65 9369 2022 / + 65 9367 9474

LTE203KS Managing Diversity in Organisations Assignment 2 Group Report : Case Study Report Dr. Diana Rajendran
.

DATE OF SUBMISSION:

20th July 2011

DECLARATION

I declare that ( the first four boxes must be completed for the assignment to be accepted): This assignment does not contain any material that has previously been submitted for assessment at this or any other university. This is an original piece of work and no part has been completed by any other student than signed below. I have read and understood the avoiding plagiarism guidelines at http://www.swinburne.edu.au/ltas/plagiarism/students.htm and no part of this work has been copied or paraphrased from any other source except where this has been clearly acknowledged in the body of the assignment and included in the reference list. I have retained a copy of this assignment in the event of it becoming lost or damaged. (optional) I agree to a copy of the assignment being retained as an exemplar for future students (subject to identifying details being removed).

Student acknowledgement ( by typing your name you agree to the above):

DETAILS OF FEEDBACK

WONG KAH LEONG, LESTER TEO XIAOPING

Date:

20th July 2011

Office Use Only Date Received Total Mark / Grade Received by Marker

Individual Assignment Coversheet.doc

Case Study Report

Managing Diversity in Organisations

Teo Xiaoping [7042868] Wong Kah LeongLester [7042914] (Swinburne University of Technology / Kaplan)

Teo Xiaoping [7042868] Wong Kah Leong Lester [7042914]]

Most female drivers would probably be able to relate to an incident of being told of or commented about their inability to drive by male drivers. Is this actually true? Are all female bad drivers? Or is this plain unjust stereotyping of a group of individuals, who do not share the same characteristics as male drivers? Being bad drivers are just one of many stereotyped characteristics of the female gender. Slow, indecisive, emotional and being generally less capable are just some other common manners as well. Unfortunately, stereotyping is widely prevalent in our society and occurs between both genders. It is also the basis of all gender discrimination issues faced by female employees at the workplace. Although there are now more legal regulations in place to protect women from any form of discrimination, it is not ideal for organisations to comply out of fear or patronizing rather than respect for the individuals/gender. Gender diversity is an unavoidable issue at the workplace to create a heterogeneous environment in the already competitive market. To succeed, organisations need to look at the issues not from a stereotypical, men or womens view, but rather from an employees perspective.

CONTENTS
01 Executive Summary 03 Introduction 04 Problem Analysis and Justification 06 Solutions 08 Conclusions 13 References / Bibliography 14 Appendix

Teo Xiaoping [7042868] Wong Kah Leong Lester [7042914]]

I TRODUCTIO

The dynamics of the average workplace has evolved significantly, along with the effects of globalization in the past decades. Workforces globally are becoming increasingly diverse. In terms of gender, both male and female workers now populate various industries and fields that may have once been predominately male-dominated.

In the past, women in the workplace were observed to have been automatically assigned to temporary or low responsibility positions. This was due to the common perception that unmarried women are likely to quit as soon as they get married, or when married women became pregnant. Women with children were also perceived to care more about the children and family rather than about their careers. A common belief in both western and eastern culture, the traditional gender roles of men are the breadwinners while women as caregivers. In addition, there was widespread stereotypical belief that women were inferior as compared with men in terms of capability, either physically, mentally or emotionally.

Even in the increasingly progressive environment of todays workplace, gender conflict, and/or preconceived notions about gender roles continue to influence the ways that both employers and employees interact or view one another. Organisations needs to learn to accept or value employees and colleagues on personality and work performance rather than gender characteristics and roles are crucial towards achieving a truly gender diversified workplace.

There are various gender discrimination issues in an average workplace. These issues could result from an entire organisations stand/viewpoint towards the female gender or could be caused by individual staffs biased actions/views against the female colleagues.

Teo Xiaoping [7042868] Wong Kah Leong Lester [7042914]]

PROBLEM A ALYSIS A D JUSTIFICATIO

Gender Stereotyping

The most common issue faced by women at the workplace is gender stereotyping. Described as hidden in the core of stereotyping, is the idea of normal or typical behavior; that is the idea that people should behave in a specific manner just because they belong to an identifiable group. (York et al, 2008, p. 127) For example, women should act and speak in a gentle way while men should exhibit masculinity.

Gender stereotyping is a problem because it creates morale problem within employees and it also prevent organizations from tapping into the benefits of diversity. For example, employees unhappiness due to unfair evaluation caused by stereotyping and preventing women from entering heavily stereotyped position/jobs (e.g. firemen, lawyers and top executive posts). Simply put by Lim & Cortina (2005), stereotyping reduces

performance and profit. (Malos, 2007, p.105)

According to Heilman and Eagly (2008, p. 394), biased evaluation and discrimination occurs when there is a mismatch between a group stereotype and a job role, a common example would be women and senior managers/ top level executives. High incidence of discrimination was observed when women try to apply for the more senior jobs that give higher status and wages. This could be the cause of the low numbers of women in top executive positions; the number of women in top management positions was less than hundreds in India (Vohra, 2009, p.96). Vohra (2009, p.96) also highlighted that this phenomenon results in the loss of contribution from the diversity and natural strengths which women bring to the table.

Although it is commonly known that performance have no relationship with gender difference, but why is it that there is still un-acceptance for women in high posts?

Teo Xiaoping [7042868] Wong Kah Leong Lester [7042914]]

Perrewe and Nelson (2004) too, relates them to gender stereotyping, they explained that in order for people to be successful in organizations, they are required to possess powerful political skills, these skills are commonly considered as stereotypically masculine. (York et al, 2008, p.127) Two examples were provided, Assertiveness is a vital trait in order for one to influence others, but when women act assertively, they are said to be aggressive, men often self promote to ensure that their accomplishment do not go unnoticed, but when the ladies do the same thing, they are seen as trouble makers. Heilman and Eagly (2008, p.394) also stress that people do not relate well to female stereotypical attributes, even the positive communal qualities of warmth and niceness with what is believed to be required for success in many key organizational positions.

Therefore, it is vital that organizations should come up with measures which can effectively eliminate or minimize the problems caused by gender stereotyping. Organizations should ensure that women are not under-represented and their talents are not under-utilized. (Vohra, 2009, p.96)

Pregnancy and the Workplace

Another very common issue we see being reported in recent years has been of women facing discrimination in the workplace due to pregnancy issues. This form of discrimination also has its roots from stereotyping as well, and in recent years, the issues with women and pregnancy have become controversial; with the changing demographics and increase in single parent families having resulted in more women entering and continuing in the workforce through their child bearing years. (Bragger et al, 2002, p.215) Although, these cases of alleged discrimination are not something that is just happening in the last few years, women in our generation are seen to have more understanding on their rights and are more willing to stand up for their beliefs. There have been more cases of women taking legal action against their employers due to unfair treatment during/after their pregnancy, or claims of dismissals for reasons relating to pregnancy or childbirth.

Teo Xiaoping [7042868] Wong Kah Leong Lester [7042914]]

These unfair treatments are sometimes a result of factors that employers believe are caused by pregnancy; biased perception of reduction in ones efficiency during pregnancy, extended absence from work due to childbirth and womens priorities being questioned after childbirth. In addition, with women making up an increasing percentage of the global workforce, managers and organizations in general, start to take unethical precautions against female employees. More specifically, some of the most common scenarios of pregnancy related discrimination include; you aren't hired because you are pregnant, being fired or laid off because you are pregnant or being turned down for a promotion because you are pregnant. (Wren, 1996, p.61)

Although we may find that some mangers may argue their cases on certain scenarios; like why would you employ new personnel who would only be able to serve a maximum of nine months before requiring to go on maternity leave. These managers need to however comprehend the fact that we need both men and women in the workforce. Each gender brings with them certain skills that the other may not be able to offer. Furthermore, the choice of childbirth is a decision made by two partners, so why should this combined decision between a man and a woman result in discriminatory treatment towards women?

Attempts to gain the equality of both men and female in the workplace have been ongoing for decades and have been successful to a certain extent. However, we cannot ignore the fact that only women have the potential to become pregnant. (Eichner, 2008, p.2) Thus the argument of equal treatment and benefits is not in certain sense logical in the first place. Thus, organisations must undertake the task to appreciate the qualities each gender brings with them separately. In particular, employers must re-examine policies and practices that impact female employees. (Gueutal et al, 1995, p.155)

SOLUTIO S

Most companies which are dedicated to attain diversity have diversity policies in place. 6

Teo Xiaoping [7042868] Wong Kah Leong Lester [7042914]]

York et al (2008, p.129) suggested that gender stereotyping prevention should start from human resource management processes. During selection of candidates, the applicants

knowledge, skills and abilities should be screened to match the job requirements instead of gender preference. New employees should also be socialized to the organizations way of doing things and not be subjected to any discriminatory attitudes and stereotypes during the process of orientation. When it comes to performance appraisal, merit pay and promotion, the judgment criteria should be as specific as possible while the evaluation process should also be properly structured. Appraisals should always be focus on whether the employee has fulfilled their intended scope of work, and the other qualities they have shown with initiatives. There should not be any direct comparison with another employee, let along one from a different gender.

Vohra (2009, p.98) also suggests that enactive experiences can help to change peoples stereotyping mindset. This could be done by an introduction of a job rotation plan where men and women can try out different jobs (especially the highly stereotyped ones). Doing so can help them to learn the inaccuracy of stereotypes by feeling through experiences.

There are already various Laws in place to protect women in general from unfair treatment due to pregnancy. Although these laws varies from country to country, their main objectives are similar; to protect women from unjust discrimination. Thus we can see an organization operating in a country with such laws would have little choice but to comply with these legal requirements. However, this would be more of a fear of noncompliance rather than a true desire to truly understand or help women during an already tough and trying time. Thus any diversity training and policies an organization puts in place must start with the basic principles on why there is a need for diversity, and in particular on pregnancy issue, why we should not discriminate pregnant women. The main point being, it must not be some regulations that employees must follow, but something that they truly believe is the right and ethical manner of behavior.

Teo Xiaoping [7042868] Wong Kah Leong Lester [7042914]]

CO CLUSIO

Men and women being different is an inevitable fact. Thus from this view, we have to understand that certain policies with regards to employee rights, benefits and entitlement will be different as well. The reason behind why each gender is given certain advantages should not be viewed as preferential treatment but a logical fact that everyone needs to comprehend.

Overcoming and looking past stereotypical views is a challenge for organizations and also for people of both genders. Stereotyping has become a habit to many people, it usually happen so naturally that people seldom realized they are doing it. After all, we have has the notion of sex roles encoded in us since we were just young boys and girls. Mum stays home to cook and feed us, while dad goes to work every day. Almost everyone has been exposed to this typical gender roles, thus to change the way people think would certainly takes more than a diversity policy sitting on our office desk.

Every individual should be judged based on merit alone and given equal opportunity to the same training, equal career development and have their remuneration based on qualities, skills and experience rather than gender. Only then would the opportunity for people to advance in the workplace without being weigh down by the pre-conceived views and stereotypes related to gender be possible.

Teo Xiaoping [7042868] Wong Kah Leong Lester [7042914]]

REFERE CES / BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bragger, J,D., Kutcher, E., Morgan, J., Firth, P., 2002, The Effects of the Structured Interview on Reducing Biases Against Pregnant Job Applicants, Sex Roles, vol. 46 Issue 7/8, p215-226. Eichner, M., 2008, Parenting and the workplace: The construction of parenting protections in United States law, International Breastfeeding Journal, 2008, vol.3, p1-3. Gueutal, H.G., Luciano, J., Michaels, C. A., 1995, Pregnancy In The Workplace: Does Pregnancy Affect Performance Appraisal Ratings?, Journal of Business & Psychology, vol. 10 Issue 2, p155-167.

Heilman, M.E., Eagly, A.H., 2008, Gender Stereotypes are Alive, Well, and Busy Producing Workplace Discrimination, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, vol 1, p. 393-398.

Malos, S, 2007, Appearance-based Sex Discrimination and Stereotyping in the Workplace: Whose Conduct Should We Regulate?, Employee Responsibility & Rights Journal, vol 19, p.95 111. 134. Vohra, N, 2009, Gender Behaviour of Men and Women in the Workplace: Time to Move On, Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, vol 34:4, p95 98. Wren, A. O., Kidwell Jr., Roland E., 1996, Managing Pregnancy in the Workplace, Business Horizons, vol. 39 Issue 6, p61. York, K.M., Tyler, C.L., Tyler, J.M., Gugel, P.E., 2008, The Ever Changing Face of Sex Stereotyping ans Sex Discrimination in the Workplace, Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, vol 15:2,p.123

SECTIONS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION : - DESCRIBE THE SITUATION OF DIVERISTY IN THE WORKPLACE - GENDER ISSUES IN PARTICULAR : - HIGHLIGHT POSSIBLE DIVERSITY ISSUE FACED BY WOMAN IN GENERAL : - NARROW SCOPE OF DISCUSSION TO MAIN PROBLEMS FACED BY WOMAN PROBLEM ANALYSIS & JUSTIFICATION POINT OUT 2 GENDER RELATED DIVERISTY ISSUE COMMONLY FOUND IN THE WORKPLACE FROM ARTICLES ANALYSE AND EXPLAIN PROBLEM IN DEPTH ANALYSE THE METHODS COMPANYS USED TO MANAGE GENDER DIVERISTY ISSUES : - Gender Stereotyping : - Pregnancy at the Workplace ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION PROPOSE ALTERNATIVE OR REFINE SOLUTION TO EACH OF PROBLEMS AND THE METHODS TAKEN BY COMPANIES TO MANAGE THEM : - Gender Stereotyping : - Pregnancy at the Workplace CONCLUSION LINK SUGGESTED SOLUTION TO PROBLEMS

HANDLE BY LESTER

LESTER

XIAOPING LESTER

XIAOPING LESTER XIAOPING

10