Issues and Instruments of Diversity Management Flashcards
Explain how gender bias can influence job interviews. Which levels of analysis are distinguishes by Graves (1999)?. Name one finding for each.
Graves (1999) distinguishes how gender bias can influence job interviews on three levels. These levels are:
Applicants characteristic:
- unattractiveness of women, obesity and feminine style in dressing as detrimental to the evalaution of women’s applications
- physical appearance moderates gender effect in the judgement of interviewer
Recruiter Characteristics:
- gender similarity between applicant and interviwere (seems to affect women recruiters but not men recruiters)
- managerial experience as well as personality probably influence gender bias
Situational Factors:
- applicants whose gender matches with sex typed jobs are preferred (especially when they have the required qualification)
- interviwers’ evaluation are apparently frequently drawing on gender and gender linked traits such as femininity/masculinity
How do types of group work interrelate with gender composition,
according to Herrmann (2009)? Relate to the differences pointed out
with reference to cooperation, participation and control.
According to Herrmann (2009) types of group work often coincide with gender relations as teams are often determined by norms of masculinity an women disproportionately often work in groups without influence. It is differentiated between necessary group work, controlled group work, partly autonomous group work as well as group work without influence.
(1) Necessary group work:
- High requirement for cooperation
- Low participation and autonomy of the group members
- Example: construction site, police
- High share of men
(2) Controlled group work:
- High level of cooperation and participation
- Low autonomy of group members, external control
- Example: service technician
- More men than women
(3) Partly autonomous group work / teams (bid.)
- Self-determined work
- High level of autonomy and participation
- High level of cooperation
- Example: engineers
- More men than women
(4) Group work: without influence:
- Organize work on their own
- Control of outcomes
- But: no influence on changes in the work process
- Group work is required for flexibility (short term changes)
- Examples: assembly line, nurses
- More women then men (ibid.)
Describe and explain the four types of groups Moss Kanter identified with reference to their sex composition.
Kanter (1977) identifies four types of work groups based on sex composition. The first one being “uniform groups” in which either all members are female or all members are male. The second type is called “balanced groups” in which there is a equal number of female and male members. There also are “skewed groups” in which a dominant group exists with a ratio of 85:15 to 100:0. Then there also are “tilted groups” with dominants as a majority and minority referred to as ‘tokens’, in these groups there is a sex ratio from 65:35 to 85:15.
Which critique has been raised against this approach?
Kanters concept of “Tokenism” has been criticized, beause the quantity of members of one group is not itself determining exclusion or marginalization. Also there probably would be differences in the experiences of token women and token men. Further more power relations must be considered and “sex similarity effects” seem to be less likely when team work is stressed as opposed to independent acting within an organization.
Which recommendations do Graves & Powell give with regard to diversity management and group
work? Distinguish between the relevant levels of organizations.
Graves & Powell (2011) give recommandations with regard to diversity management and group work on the level of organization & leaders as well as on the level of team members. There are also different recommendations referring to majority group members and minority group members.
On the level of organizations and leaders they recommend selection on the basis of qualifications and not of demographic charactersistics, person valueing cooperation should be preferred, tasks should be structured in a manner that cooperation is required, use if technological device, tasks should not be assigned on the basis of gender, the rotation of roles should be promoted, team members should be encouraged to develop skills to perform future roles, cooperative performance should be rewareded, training in dealing with conflicts, publication of team members and leaders’ qualifications, coaching of leaders to encourage the expression of diverse points of view and to identify dysfunctional team processes.
On the level of team members Graves and Powell recommend to be aware of how your sense of yourself influences your interactions in teams, guard against your own stereotypes and prejudices as you evaluate others’ behaviour.
Members of the majority group should not subject minority members to performance pressure, be aware of own stereotypes when evaluating the performance of minority group members and they should not exaggerate differences based on minority or majority stereotypes.
Members of a minority group should take actions to enhance their own power position and be aware of stereotypes that limit their behaviour.
How is the “business case for diversity” management defined by Kossek et al. (2006)?
The Business Case for HR Diversity Management links recruitment, selection, development and retention of a diverse workforce to business goals, labour market shifst, globalization and competitive advantage.
Which outcomes of DiM as a business case are there at the organizational level according to Kossek et al (2010)?
Possible outcomes: organizational level
- “moral imperative” is fulfilled
- Reduce labor costs
- Reduce costs related to possible lawsuits
- Increase reputation of the company/organization
- Demographic changes are taken into account
- Attract and retain employees
- Cultural change is initiated coinciding with programs and measures
- Innovative approaches to problems are developed
- Business strategies can be reinforced through a committed work force
- Expectation that a diverse workforce may increase the range of customers
- Some findings indicate a relationship between workforce diversity and performance
Which outcomes of DiM as a business case are there at the individual and group level according to Kossek et al (2010)?
Possible outcomes: individual and group level
- Higher job satisfaction and performance
- Increased awareness of employees
- Problem solving capacities are enhanced
- Capacities to cooperate with diverse groups are improved
Which outcomes of DiM as a business case are there at the group level according to Kossek et al (2010)?
Group outcomes
- Some research indicates positive effects of diverse group composition o creativity and cooperation (Cox, Lobel & McLeod 1991)
- Findings show also a lower group cohesion in more diverse groups (e.g. Tsui & Gutek 1999)
- Benshop (2001) concludes that much of this research is based on experimental methods in laboratory experiments and is not analysed within organizations
Which HRM Strategies for groups are named?
- Since work group diversity can lead also to conflicts, trainings in dealing with difficult interpersonal processes can be helpful
- Network groups for minority group members can enhance their position in organization
- Affinity group: “communities within corporations that are organized around employees’ similar circumstances and common goals”
- Employee resource group (ERG): support minority group members
- Networks like affinity groups can lead to a higher level of satisfaction and motivation of employees (ibid.: 333)
- Networks need to have support in management (sponsor)
- Clear guidelines and policies, agreements about organizational resources are vital
- These network groups are also perceived as threatening by majority group members and lead to backlash
Which HRM Strategies at the organizational level are named?
Diversity strategies should address organizational culture enhancing “teamwork, participation and cohesiveness”: collective organizational culture
- E.g. diversity council
- Diversity strategy should be integrated in the business objectives
- Establish a formal measuring system for diversity climate
- Significant resources and commitment of leadership are required for longterm changes
- Effectivity of diversity strategies is dependent on environment and a firm’s expectations of its employees (Richard 2000): ‘contingency perspective’
Supplier Diversity Programs
-Women’s and minority group member’s businesses are disproportionally included in contracts
-Diversity supplier programs refer to contracting with these groups’ businesses
-Tier I suppliers: direct contracts with women’s and minority groups’ businesses
-Tier II suppliers: requires that Tier I supplier have contracts themselves with non-dominant providers
→ Advantages for the purchasing organization as well as for the suppliers (ibid.)
Corporate Social Responsibility
- Foundations of companies, supporting diversity related issues
- Often these activities are linked to the company’s stakeholders, values etc. (Harvey 2012a: 335)
- Harvey argues that work-life balance and work-life flexibility are good examples for the business-case for diversity, since these programs may attract employees, reduce stress, turnover and absenteeism (Harvey 2012b: 339)
- A further study (Catalyst 2004) showed that only a small minority of employees (15% of the women and 20% of the men surveyed) expressed that they would use these programs because they feared to jeopardize their careers (cited in Harvey 2012b: 340)
- Frankel (2007) found out that often companies discourage particularly male employees to use these programs (cited in Harvey 2012b: 340)
Flexible Work Programs (Harvey 2012b: 241)
-Sabbatical arrangements
-“Expanded Shift Program”: certain share of the workforce may take three to four days off on a rotating basis
-Job sharing in combination with part time
-Working from home (call center jobs)
Programs for mature workers (Harvey 2012b: 242f.)
-Phased retirement: gradually reducing work time in a specific organization
-Special “Weekender Program” for nurses (ibid.: 243): working only on weekends and special traveling options
-“ultimate flex-time” arrangement: part-time senior employees and workers, have a key to the building and may work when it suits them best (cited in Harvey 2012b: 343)
Which HRM-Strategies regarding individuals were named by Kossek et al (2006)?
Diversity Training
-Intention: change employees’ attitudes and behaviour regarding diversity (KOssek et al. 2006: 63)
-Little research on effectiveness of different trainings
-Even though diversity training has been experienced to promote different attitudes toward diversity, only a minority of the organizations found a lasting change after having conducted diversity trainings
-Possible reasons are that diversity trainings
+Reinforced dominant culture in organizations
+Focus is on helping the minority group members
+ Training context might be too different from organization to transport experiences to the workplace
Mentoring
-Support of a minority group member through senior majority group member
-Formal mentoring programs have been shown to be more effective, if combined with an informal mentoring
→ Social psychology findings show that diversity trainings are more likely to lead to changes in attitudes when social desirability is low
→ As well as when persons are able to link their personal beliefs to stereotypes
→ Instead of only announcing the importance of diversity issues, active participation in public activities seems to have a higher impact on attitudes,
Define teams and groups according to Mateev (2017).
Group (Mateev 2017: 77)
- Cooperation between two or more individuals
- Shared rules of conduct
- Common goal
Team (ibid.)
- Special type of group with “a special sense of collectivity and cohesion”
- Specialized expertise
Describe the characteristics of team work according to Graves & Powell 2011.
Types of required behaviour (Graves and Powell 2011: 104)
- Task related behaviour
- Social behaviour
Example of characteristics of multicultural teams (Mateev 2017: 80f.)
- Clarity of team goals
- Complementary skills
- Clarity of responsibility
- Commitment
- Cooperative climate
- Motivation
- “Intercultural sensitivity”
- Access to technology
Name and explain the phases of development in teams and groups according to Mateev.
“forming”: exploration, team members becoming acquainted, defining purpose of cooperation
“storming”: issues of power distribution and leadership
“norming”: common values are agreed, recognizing commonalities and differences, recognizing commonalities and differences, guidelines and rules
“performing”: effective cooperation and accomplishment of goals”
