Pillars of Human Resource

Management
I. Management Exercise
II. First Pillar – Legal
III. Case Point: Fat Chance
IV. Second Pillar – HRM Practices
V. General Models for Diversity Management
VI. (If time): Moving to an Integration Model of Diversity
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 Managerial Exercise Debriefing

Pratt (2006)
 Pillars of HR: Legal
 Legal structures provide broad guidelines for
HRM practices

 While states may have additional laws,

federal laws are referred to as Equal
Employment Opportunity (EEO) legislation,
which are administered by the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC)
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 Broad Overview Important EEOC
Laws (Noe, et al, 2006 and Kulik, 2004)
Covers Enforcement
Acts Content / Requirements Agency

XIII Amend. Abolished slavery Everyone Court System

Employers >15
Civil Rights Act Prohibits discrimination based on race, employees (as well as
(1964, 1991) color, religion, sex, or national origin labor unions and
(applies to majority, too) employment agencies)
Title VII
Age Forbids employment Same as above
Discrimination in EEOC
Employment Act discrimination based on age for as well as
(1967) those 40 and older federal govt.

Forbids discrimination based on

Americans with physical or mental disabilities; EEOC
Disabilities Act requires “reasonable
(1990) accommodation” of qualified
applicants
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 Other Important Laws & Regulations
(Noe, et al, 2006 and Kulik, 2004)

 Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978) – amends CRA and

treats pregnancy as a “temporary disability.”
 Family & Medical Leave Act (1993) – employees can take
up to 12 weeks off (unpaid) to attend to various family
matters and still retain same or comparable (equal status &
pay) job.
 Executive Order 11246 – requires government agencies and
federal contractors (& subcontractors with contracts >$2,500)
to engage in affirmative action when hiring women and
minorities. Overseen by Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Procedures (OFCCP).
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 Laws & Discrimination (Cascio, 2006; Kulik, 2004;
Noe, et al., 2006)
Disparate Treatment
• Domain: for intentional
discrimination; retaliation
• Prima Facie Case: individual
from protected group had proper
job qualifications, was turned
down, and the job remained open
• Employer’s Defense: legitimate
nondiscriminatory reason for
decision or bona fide occupational
qualification (BFOQ)
•$$: compensatory and punitive
damages
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Reasonable
Adverse Impact Accommodation
• Domain: unintentional • Domain: when reasonable
discrimination; same standards accommodations are
had different consequences for intentionally not met
groups
• Prima Facie Case: employee
• Prima Facie Case: statistical suffered adverse consequences
disparity (e.g., 4/5ths rule – when for having a reasonable
selection rate for one group is accommodation denied
<80% of that for the highest
selected group) • Employer’s Defense: job-
relatedness; undue hardship; or
• direct threat to health and safety
• $$: compensatory and punitive
• $$: equitable relief (e.g., back damages
pay)
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 Cityside Financial: Case in Brief

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 Spencer Owens & Co.: Case in Brief

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 Discussion Questions

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 Pillars of HR: HRM Practices
 Practices “fill in” the broad sketches provided by
legislation, and allow organizations to cultivate core
competencies (see Pfeffer & Veiga’s 7 best
practices).

 Diversity management has begun to move away

from a predominantly passive, legal stance to more
proactive (e.g., affirmative action), practice-based
stances. [However, many organizations still ignore
the problem].
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 Three General Models of Diversity
(Thomas & Ely, 2002, Thomas, 1990)

 Assimilation (Discrimination & Fairness)

Paradigm - Organizations should be “color blind.” Hire
diverse people but encourage similar behavior. (Most
dominant and closest to the “legal” model of managing
diversity).
 Metaphor:
 Advantages: Promotes fair hiring / gets diverse
individuals into the workplace.
 Disadvantages: Does not transform diverse opinions into
creativity / innovation; may not do a good job in
promoting individuals. Employees can feel detached.

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 Three General Models of Diversity
(Thomas & Ely, 2002, Thomas, 1990)

 Differentiation (Access & Legitimacy)

Paradigm – match diverse employees to niche
markets. (Also a common model – this was a
reaction to the assimilation model.)
 Metaphor:
 Advantages: Expands markets; utilizes cultural diversity.
 Disadvantages: Motivation for diversity is short-term.
Diverse “identity groups” remain separate and
knowledge does not impact the company as a whole.
Employees can feel exploited and underutilized.

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Pratt (2006)
 Three General Models of Diversity
(Thomas & Ely, 2002, Thomas, 1990)

 Integration (Learning & Effectiveness)

Paradigm – creates a diverse workforce and then
changes business practices to reflect new cultural
learning (e.g., law company takes on language issues at work).
 Metaphor:
 Advantages: Combines and extends advantages of first
two paradigms (recruitment and marketing niches) while
incorporating cultural knowledge learning to change how
business is done and fully harness diversity.
 Disadvantages: Few “benchmarks;” high investment of
organizational resources.
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Pratt (2006)
 Moving to an Integration Model
(If time permits) (Thomas & Ely, 2002)

 Leaders must truly value and understand the

challenges and opportunities inherent in
diversity (e.g., must be motivated by more than fear of compliance,
must value critique)
 Organizations must have have a culture that
supports & nourishes performance through
diversity (e.g., expects high standards, stimulate personal
development, encourage openness, have clear mission)
 Organizations should be relatively egalitarian
and non-bureaucratic

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 Any Questions?

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