1. Essentials of Organizational Behavior
Fourteenth Edition
Chapter 2
Diversity in Organizations
Copyright © 2018, 2016, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

2. After studying this chapter you should be able to:
Demonstrate how workplace discrimination undermines organizational effectiveness.
Explain how stereotypes function in organizational settings.
Describe how key biographical characteristics are relevant to OB.
Explain how other differentiating characteristics factor into OB.
Demonstrate the relevance of intellectual and physical abilities to OB.
Describe how organizations manage diversity effectively.

3. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
A federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, and religion.
2018
Age - Age Discrimination in Employment Act
Pregnancy – Pregnancy discrimination Act
Citizenship – Immigration Reform & Control Act
Familial status – Civil Rights Act of 1968 – anti-discrimination in housing
Disability – Rehabilitation Act & ADA – 1990
Veteran Status – USERRA
Genetic information – Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

4. Challenge Question
Has the definition of discrimination been diluted to an extent that its purpose has become less meaningful?
Overkill – or something else?

5. Levels of Diversity
Surface-level diversity - differences in age, race, gender, etc.
Deep-level diversity - differences in personality and values
While surface-level diversity can initially lead to stereotypes and assumptions about others, as people get to know one another, these differences become less significant, and deep-level diversity, such as, personality and values becomes more important.

6. Declaration of Independence
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…”

7. EEO: Constitutional Amendments
14th Amendment
(adopted 1868)
(Grant)
13th Amendment (adopted 1865) (Johnson)
Forbids states from taking life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
Prevents states from denying equal protection of discrimination.
Applies to decisions or actions of government or private groups.
Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, except as punishment for a crime.

8. 15th AMENDMENT Adopted 1870 (Grant)
Prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's “race, color, or previous condition of servitude".

9. OTHER AMENDMENTS relative to diversity
19TH (1920) - Establishes women’s suffrage right to
vote
24th (1964) - Prohibits the revocation of voting rights
due to the non-payment of poll taxes
26th (1971) - Establishes the official voting age to be
18 years old

10. Discrimination
To discriminate is to note a difference between things. While this in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, when we talk about discrimination, we’re usually referring to stereotypes about groups of people and assumptions that everyone in a group is the same. This type of discrimination can be harmful to organizations and employees.
Discrimination is one of the primary factors that prevent diversity, whether the discrimination is overt or covert.
Recognizing diversity opportunities can lead to an effective diversity management program and ultimately to a better organization.

11. Age The relationship between age and performance is important because:
The workforce is aging
Mandatory retirement is outlawed, thus
Blocking advancement for younger employees
The relationship between age and job performance is likely to be important during the next decade for two reasons.
First, the workforce is aging. Second, U.S. legislature essentially outlaws mandatory retirement.
Research shows that the older you get the less likely you are to quit your job, the more likely you are to have a lower rate of avoidable absence, and the more likely you are to engage in citizenship behavior. Furthermore, job satisfaction increases among professionals as they age; however, that may not hold true for manual labor.

12. Age discrimination Challenges exercise
How does age discrimination play out in your company

13. Age discrimination Challenges exercise
How does age discrimination play out in your company
No mandatory retirement age for many jobs
Financial pressures for older workers, e.g. health care & pensions
Higher employment costs for older workers (salaries, vacations,
Younger workers supervising older workers
Perceived inflexibility of older workers
Technology challenges facing older workers
Younger workers are not ‘paying their dues’.
Anti-age discrimination state and federal laws

14. Gender Do women perform as well on the job as men?
No consistent male-female differences in problem solving abilities
Biases, stereotypes, misconceptions and contradictions exist
Research shows that combatting age discrimination may be associated with better performance for the organization as a whole.

15. Race and Ethnicity Research shows that
Individuals slightly favor colleagues of their own race in performance evaluations, promotion decisions, and pay raises
Racial and ethnic minorities report higher levels of discrimination in the workplace
African Americans tend to fare worse than Whites in employment decisions
Some industries are less racially diverse than others
Factor: US Constitution, 1st Amendment = Freedom of Assembly –Is this relevant
A distinction is also made between native English speakers and Hispanics.
Studies show that individuals slightly favor colleagues of their own race in performance evaluations, promotion decisions, and pay raises. In addition, racial and ethnic minorities report higher levels of discrimination in the workplace. Furthermore, African Americans tend to fare worse than Whites in employment decisions. Finally, some industries are less racially diverse than others.

16. Disability
Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for people with physical or mental disabilities
How would you define reasonable accommodations in your workplace
After the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, the number of individuals in the U.S. workforce rapidly increased. The Act requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for individuals with physical or mental disabilities.
Studies show that workers with disabilities receive higher performance evaluations, while at the same time, they also have lower performance expectations and are less likely to be hired.

17. Other Differentiating Characteristics
Religion
Sexual Orientation
Gender Identity
Cultural Identity
Financial status
Family data (dependents – adult & children), marriage, divorce, etc.
Others that may exist at your company
U.S. law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on their religion. Even so, religion is still an issue in OB, especially when it comes to Islam. Evidence shows that people are discriminated against for their Islamic faith.
While federal law does not prohibit discrimination against employees based on sexual orientation, many organizations have implemented their own policies protecting employees on the basis of sexual orientation. In addition, many states and municipalities also have laws to protect employees based on their sexual orientation. Companies are also beginning to establish policies regarding transgender employees. Today’s global companies do well to understand and respect the cultural identities of their employees, both as groups and as individuals. A company seeking to be sensitive to the cultural identities of its employees should look beyond accommodating its majority groups and instead create as much of an individualized approach to practices and norms as possible.

18. Ability
An individual’s current capacity to perform the various tasks in a job
Intellectual abilities: Abilities needed to perform mental activities
General mental ability: General factor of intelligence
Physical abilities: Capacity to do tasks that require stamina, dexterity, strength.
What are reasonable accommodations
Ability refers to an individual’s current capacity to perform the various tasks in a job. Abilities are made up of intellectual abilities - the abilities needed to perform mental activities - and physical abilities.

19. Intellectual Ability
The seven most frequently cited dimensions making up intellectual abilities are number aptitude, verbal comprehension, perceptual speed, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, spatial visualization, and memory.

20. Intellectual ability – P.E.
What intellectual KSAs are necessary to perform competently in the following jobs:
Accountant
Human Resources manager
Production manager
Primary school teacher
Lawn maintenance operator
Executive secretary
Marketing executive

21. Physical Ability
Research on hundreds of jobs has identified nine basic abilities needed in the performance of physical tasks. Individuals differ in the extent to which they have each of these abilities.

22. Physical ability – P.e.
What physical abilities are necessary to perform competently in the following jobs:
Construction worker
Plumber
Steelworker
Eagle Scout leader
Soldier/sailor/airperson
Stevedore

23. Group Practical exercise
In your workplace, how does discrimination or non- discrimination help or hinder the achievement of your company’s business plan, e.g.:
New business development (e.g. loan originations)
Corporate financial health
Talent recruitment & retention
R&D
Marketing & market share
Corporate social responsibility
Corporate citizenship

24. Implementing Diversity Management Strategies
Making everyone more aware of and sensitive to the needs and differences of others Defining the benefits and disadvantages of diversity in your company’s marketplace What is your company’s approach to diversity?
Diversity management makes everyone more aware of and sensitive to the needs and differences of others. Diversity programs include and are meant for everyone.

25. Diversity in Groups
Most contemporary workplaces require extensive work in group settings in order to accomplish a task and generate value, e.g.
Common identification of task
Relevant factors in accomplishing task
Communication
Multi-discipline factors – a pool of expertise
Characteristics of interest
Does diversity help or hurt group performance? The answer is both – it depends on the characteristic of interest. Diversity in some traits can hurt team performance, but in other cases can facilitate it.
Since workers appear to prefer a organization that appreciates, the goal should be to create a positive diversity climate.

26. Effective Diversity Programs
Teach/train managers about the legal framework for equal employment opportunity and encourage fair treatment of all people, regardless of their demographic characteristics
Hold leaders accountable for achieving the objectives of diversity
Foster personal-development practices that bring out the skills and abilities of all workers
Effective diversity programs have three distinct components. First, they teach managers about the legal framework for equal employment opportunity and encourage fair treatment of all people regardless of their demographic characteristics. Second, they teach managers how a diverse workforce will be better able to serve a diverse group of customers and clients. Finally, they foster personal development practices that bring out the skills and abilities of all workers.

27. Implications for Managers
Understand your organization’s antidiscrimination policies thoroughly and share them with your employees
Assess and challenge your stereotype beliefs to increase your objectivity
Look beyond observable biographical characteristics and consider the individual’s capabilities before making management decisions
Fully evaluate what accommodations a person with disabilities will need and then fine-tune the job to that person’s abilities, if possible.
Seek to understand and respect the unique biographical characteristics of your employees; be fair but individualistic
Three variables - biographical characteristics, ability, and diversity programs - are of particular importance to managers. Biographical characteristics are readily observable, but have been shown to have only minimal effects on job performance. Diversity management must be an ongoing commitment that crosses all levels of an organization.