MGT 321

Diversity in Organizations

Stereotypes & Mirror Image Fallacy

Stereotype presumes that some person
possesses certain individual
characteristics based on their sex or
membership in a racial, ethnic, or age
group.
Barack Husain Obama
Lawsuit against Wal-Mart for discriminating
against women

In Mirror Image Fallacy, one presumes

that all other people are just like me.

Individual Differences
Homogeneity in workforce utopia or
reality?
Heterogeneity competitive advantage
research on how firms gain sustainable
competitive advantage consistently
identifies selectivity in hiring and an
emphasis on training as two central
characteristics of successful companies.
Selective to ensure heterogeneous
workforce

Discrimination

Discriminatory policy and practices

Sexual Harassment
Intimidation
Mockery or insult
Exclusion
Incivility

Levels of Diversity
Surface level diversity: the observable
demographic and other overt differences in
people, such as their race, ethnicity,
gender, age, and physical capabilities
(McShane & Glinow, 2010)
Deep level diversity: Differences in the
psychological characteristics of employees,
including personalities, beliefs, values, and
attitudes.

Diversity Dimensions
Biographical
Ability
Personality We will focus on it later

Biographical Dimension
Age

Biographical Dimension
Age

Source: US Census Bureau

Biographical Dimension
Age
Why is age becoming an issue for workforce?
Age & turnover ratio
Age & absenteeism
Age & productivity
Age & job satisfaction

Sex
Male & Female Roles
Work schedules, absence and turnover rate
Discrimination and stress

Approximate median weekly pay per occupation (2011)

$1,464

CEOs

$2,122

$1,129

Marketing & Sales Managers

$1,660

Male

$1,547

CIS Managers

Female

$1,595

$933

Financial Managers

$1,504

$1,280

HR Managers

$1,488

$0

$500

$1,000

$1,500

$2,000

$2,500

Source: Robbins, S.P. & Judge, T.A. (2015). Organizational Behavior, 16th edition,
Pearson.

Biographical Dimension
Race & ethnicity
Racial discrimination in workplace
Promotion decisions, evaluation
How can we relate it to Bangladesh context?

Disability
Physical and mental disability
What is the situation in Bangladesh?

Biographical Dimension
Tenure / Seniority
Seniority and job performance, absence,
productivity

Religion
Sexual orientation & gender identity

Ability
Physical abilities
Strength factors: Muscular strength
Flexibility factors: Movement quality
Other factors: Endurance, balance etc.

Intellectual or cognitive abilities

Verbal ability
Quantitative ability General cognitive/mental
abilities
Reasoning ability
Emotional intelligence
Contemporary cognitive
Cultural intelligence
abilities

Why are GMAs important for

organizations?
Research has shown that, in virtually any job where planning,
judgment, and memory are used in day-to-day performance,
individuals high in general cognitive ability will generally
outperform those who are low in this ability
Individuals who are high in general cognitive ability will learn the
job more quickly than their low-ability counterparts
Workers who are high in cognitive ability show much lower onthe-job accident rates
Individuals who are high in cognitive ability have also been found
to engage in less counterproductive behaviors at work, including
destruction of property and engaging in violent acts on the job

Contemporary Cognitive Abilities

Emotional Intelligence
Set of abilities, both verbal and non-verbal,
that enable a person to generate, recognize,
express, understand, and evaluate their own
and others emotions in order to successfully
cope with social demands and pressures
Leaders and managers who score high on this
ability tend to be perceived as more effective
by their subordinates, peers, and supervisors

Contemporary Cognitive Abilities

Cultural Intelligence
the ability to observe, interpret, and act
upon unfamiliar social and cultural cues
and function effectively in new and
foreign environments
Cultural intelligence is a critical
individual difference for organizations
that are trying to move into global
product markets

Correlation between intelligence

and job satisfaction is about zero

Diversity
Legal & Political Aspects
A recent study that sent out identical rsums of
hypothetical job applicants showed that those that
came from people with white-sounding names,
such as Neil, Brett, Emily, or Anne, were 50 percent
more likely to be asked for an interview relative to
those that came from people with blacksounding
names, such as Ebony, Tamika, Rasheed, or Khirese
Discrimination lawsuit
Discrimination in Bangladesh What are the
dimensions?

Diversity Management
Recruiting and selection policy
Training and development practices
Legal framework for equal employment
opportunity
Competitive advantage of diverse workforce

Do these programs work?

Research suggests one-shot training sessions
do not ensure effective results
Long term strategies to ensure
representation to diverse groups