1. Managing Diverse Employees
In a Multicultural Environment

2. Overview
The workforce and the marketplace are becoming increasingly diverse.
Diversity has become both an ethical (right) and a business (smart) imperative.
Managers play a central role in effectively managing diversity.
Personal perception (your internal “filters”) can warp your decisions, resulting in unfair treatment.

3. The Increasing Diversity of the Workforce and the Environment
Differences among people in age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, and capabilities/disabilities

4. Exercise In constructing your circle of friends, which
single one of these characteristics is most
important in your decision process?
Age
Race
Gender
Religion
Sexual orientation
Socioeconomic status
Five minutes

5. Workforce Diversity: Age
Aging U.S. Population
Median age in the United States is about 36 years; by 2030, 20 percent of the population will be over 65
Federal Age Discrimination Laws
1964 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act

6. Workforce Diversity: Gender
Women in the Workplace
Women are 46% of the U.S. workforce and 57% of college attendees.
Women’s median weekly earnings are about two-thirds of men’s.
Women hold only 16% of corporate officer positions.
Discrimination? Likely some. But correlation is not necessarily causation.

7. Glass Ceiling
Glass Ceiling: Alludes to the invisible barriers that prevent women and minorities from reaching top corporate positions.

8. Workforce Diversity: Capabilities and Disabilities
Disability Issues
Provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities
Promote a nondiscriminatory workplace environment
Educate the organization about disabilities and AIDS

9. Workforce Diversity: Religion
Accommodation for Religious Beliefs
Scheduling of critical meetings
Providing flexible time off for holy days
Posting holy days for different religions on the company calendar

10. Workforce Diversity: Socioeconomic Background
Socioeconomic Background Issues
Widening diversity in income levels
Single mothers and the “working poor”
Child and elder care for working parents
Managers should be
“aware” and “care”
about the needs and
concerns of their
employees

11. Workforce Diversity: Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation issues
Employment/workplace discrimination
Domestic-partner benefits
Find out company policies before hiring on. Is the company sensitive to these issues? Do you agree with the company’s policies?

12. Critical Managerial Roles
To successfully manage diversity, you must lead by example in order to define the accepted practice and make it easier for others to follow.

13. Roles…
Minorities may start out at a slight disadvantage due to the ways in which they are perceived by others.
Research suggests that slight differences in treatment can accumulate and result in major disparities over time.
Examine yourself before making decisions that can affect someone’s career!

14. The Ethical Imperative to Manage Diversity Effectively
Distributive Justice
The distribution of raises, promotions, titles, job assignments, office space, and other organizational resources and “perks” should be based on each person’s contributions not characteristics over which they have no control.

15. The Ethical Imperative to Manage Diversity Effectively
Procedural Justice
Use fair procedures to determine how to distribute outcomes to organizational members.

16. Procedural Justice Exists when managers:
1) carefully appraise a subordinate’s
performance
2) take into account environmental
obstacles to high performance 3) ignore irrelevant personal
characteristics

17. Business Benefits of Diversity
A variety of points of view and experience can improve planning, decision-making and creativity
A diverse workforce can assure ethnic sensitivity in today’s diverse marketplace
Promotion of diversity can increase retention of valued employees
Diversity is expected by stakeholders

18. Perception Perception
The process through which people select, organize, and interpret what they see, hear, touch, smell, and taste to give meaning and order to the world around them.
Affected by your
internal “filters.”

19. Perception’s Role in Fair Treatment
STEREOTYPE
Simplistic and often inaccurate beliefs about the typical characteristics of particular groups of people
BIAS
The systematic tendency to use information about others in ways that result in inaccurate perceptions; a built-in perceptual “warp.”

20. Bias
Similar-to-me effect – we are more likely to positively perceive others if they are similar to us rather than different
Social status effect – perceive individuals with high social status more positively than those with low social status
Salience effect – react negatively to conspicuously different individuals (judging the book by its cover)

21. Share Project Implicit experience.

22. Useful Technique
Focus on what you share, not how you differ; what unites you, not what divides you

23. Perception Overt Discrimination
Knowingly and willingly denying diverse individuals access to positive opportunities and outcomes
Violates distributive and procedural justice
Unethical, short-sighted, unproductive
Will get you and the company sued!

24. How to Manage Diversity
Steps in Managing Diversity Effectively
Secure conspicuous top-management commitment
Increase diversity awareness and coping skills with training
Establish and communicate “zero-tolerance” policies
Pay close attention to employee evaluation process (“what gets measured gets done”)
Look at the numbers! (Before hiring on, find out how the company measures and enforces diversity compliance)
Commit, communicate, train, motivate, enforce, monitor

25. How to Manage Diversity
Steps in Managing Diversity Effectively – Educate, Encourage and Reward
Empower employees to challenge discriminatory behaviors, actions and remarks.
Reward employees for effectively managing diversity.
Provide training using a multi-pronged, continuous approach.
Encourage mentoring of diverse employees.

26. Diversity Awareness Programs
Provide employees with accurate information about diversity
Uncover personal biases and stereotypes
Assess personal beliefs, attitudes, and values and learn about other points of view
Develop an atmosphere in which people feel free to share their differing perspectives
Improve understanding of others and create respect for “difference”

27. Sexual Harassment Forms of Sexual Harassment Quid pro quo
Forcing an employee to perform sexual favors to gain a reward or avoid negative consequences.

28. Sexual Harassment Forms of Sexual Harassment Hostile work environment
Telling lewd jokes, displaying pornography, making sexually oriented remarks about someone’s personal appearance, and other sex-related actions that make the work environment unpleasant.
Example: Mitsubishi versus Toyota

29. Steps to Eradicate Sexual Harassment
Develop and clearly communicate a sexual harassment policy endorsed by top management.
Use an efficient and fair procedure to investigate sexual harassment complaints

30. Steps to Eradicate Sexual Harassment
When you determine sexual harassment has taken place, take rapid and strong corrective action
Provide anti-sexual harassment education and training to all organizational members, including managers and company officers.

31. Sexual Harassment
There should be quiet and confidential ways to report sexual harassment incidents

32. Prime Rule
Management must vigorously enforce zero-tolerance policies against any form of discrimination or harassment by anyone and work to build respect and support for diversity!

33. Toyota Tip
One of the most difficult situations you can face in managing diversity is facing down a subordinate with a victim complex who threatens to use the company’s diversity policies against you and the company

34. DISCUSSION
You are the top American in charge of all staff operations (including Human Resources) for the North American operations of a foreign-owned company. Your foreign boss (the regional President) sexually harasses his female executive assistant (also a foreign national), violating the company’s official “zero-tolerance” policy toward sexual harassment. She comes to you, closes the door, complains, and asks that you do something.
What do you do?

35. Homework #3
In the continuing debate over employment policies and ethics, what is the significance of comparable worth?
Could it be a practical way to make men’s and women’s median earnings more equal?
Please research the issue, take a “yes” or “no” position, and give me no more than two double-spaced pages of thoughtful and supported conclusions -- which you are prepared to discuss – no later than Thursday, September 15.