Week 7 - Managing for Inclusion: Equality and Workplace Diversity

Question 1

What is Diversity?

Answer 1

Term used to describe differences among individuals

• Age, race, ethnicity, gender, physical characteristics (height, weight etc.), mental and physical ability, personality, sexual orientation etc.
• Workplace diversity therefore refers to differences among people at work
• In addition to the above differences, workforce diversity also encompass differences among workers in:
  
  • Religious beliefs, educational attainment, experience, family status, parental status, pregnancy, etc.

Question 2

Is it necessary to ‘manage’ diversity?

Answer 2

Australian population:

• 28% born overseas, third highest in the world
• Overseas-born residents contribute to more than 50 per cent of population growth –> over 300 languages
• Those born in Europe are declining while those born in Asia and Africa are increasing
• Overseas-born population from Asia and Africa have proportionally larger young (0-14 years) and working age (15- 64 years) populations compared to those from Europe
• Indigenous Australians comprise of approximately 2.4% of the population
• Over the next 50 years, approximately ¼ Australians will be 65 years or older
• Increasing labour force participation of women
• Increase in dual-earner households with dependent children, single-parent households, and the ‘sandwich generation’
• Embracing the LGBT community

Question 3

Social identity theory and diversity

Answer 3

• Social identity theory stipulates that individuals validate their social identity by favouring their ‘ingroup’ at the expense of ‘out-groups’
• Individuals perceive that it is ‘easier’ to communicate with other members of their in-group as they are more predictable, trustworthy, and more likely to reciprocate favours
• A shared social identity increases perceived differences between individuals belonging to different social categories (i.e. between in- and out-groups)
• The success of organisational diversity initiatives is dependent upon mitigating these perceived differences

Question 4

Social dilemmas of workplace diversity (List the 3)

Answer 4

• Individual participation
• Managerial participation
• Organisational participation

Question 5

Individual participation

Answer 5

• The success of organisational diversity initiatives is dependent upon the degree to which its employees embrace/resist them
• Formation of subgroups along social categories may result in restricting the movement of information
• Due to exclusion, employees may form further informal subgroups resulting in subgroup competition

Question 6

Managerial participation

Answer 6

• A consequence of the dilemma of individual participation
• Managers likely to recruit individuals they perceive to be similar to them (i.e. their social category)
• Individuals may also seek out managers that are similar to them – Those that do not ‘fit in’ often leave resulting in a homogenous workforce
• Can result in ‘power battles’

Question 7

Organisational participation

Answer 7

• Dependent upon how well the social dilemmas relating to individual and managerial participation are addressed
• Incorrect perceptions in relation to the relationship between homogenous workers and employee turnover
• Belief that diversity initiatives benefit society not organisations implementing them, organisations bear the costs and accrue little benefit
• Focus on short-term costs and not long-term benefits
• Creates barriers for selecting highly talented candidates due to ill informed and short sighted views

Question 8

Overcoming social dilemmas of workplace diversity (List 2)

Answer 8

• The management problem - overcoming individual & managerial participation
• The public policy problem - overcoming organisational participation

Question 9

The management problem - overcoming individual & managerial participation

Answer 9

• Aligning individual interest with organisational diversity initiatives by restructuring incentives
• Assisting individuals in realising that their self interest can be facilitated by embracing organisational diversity initiatives
• Developing measurable objectives for diversity
• Developing superordinate goals which can only be achieved through cooperation amongst diverse members
• Creating a work environment that encourages and facilitates communication between diverse employees
• Keeping work team/group sizes small
• Measuring managerial performance from a long-term perspective
• Embedding the value of diversity to mission, vision statements

Question 10

The public policy problem - overcoming organisational participation

Answer 10

• Avoiding the creation of legislation that results in ‘protected classes’ of workers
• Instead developing legislation that requires firms to develop and implement diversity initiatives that result in sustainable success
• Not focusing on encouraging just diversity, but ‘effective’ diversity
• Educational curricula at primary/secondary level

Question 11

What is the glass ceiling?

Answer 11

A phenomenon that limits the advancement of women and other minority groups to senior managerial positions in organisations

• only 25% of key management positions on company boards are held by women in Australia
• However, in the public service 40% of all senior executive positions filled by women
• Eastern European and Scandinavian nations lead the way in abolishing the glass ceiling

Question 12

Overcoming the glass ceiling

Answer 12

• Changing societal norms around the role of women and eradicating gender bias
• Eliminating the stigmatisation of men who choose to stay home for family reasons
• Introduction of paid-parental leave schemes, especially for men that goes beyond ‘one week’
• Introducing gender quotas for company boards
• Realising that a more representative blend of women and men in senior roles just makes good business sense