WHAT IS DIVERSITY?:Recruitment and Retention, Organizational approaches

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Organizational Psychology (PSY510)

LESSON 05

WHAT IS DIVERSITY?

Diversity may be defined in a number of ways. Some definitions tend to define diversity in terms of race,

gender, ethnicity, age, national origin, religion, and disability (Wheeler, 1994). Broad definitions may include

sexual/affectional orientation, values, personality characteristics, education, language, physical appearance,

marital status, lifestyle, beliefs, and background characteristics such as geographic origin, tenure with the

organization, and economic status (Carr, 1993; Caudron, 1992; Thomas, 1992; Triandis, 1994). Hayles

(1996) defines diversity as "All the ways in which we differ". He adds that the diversity concept is not

limited to what people traditionally think of it as: race, gender, and disabilities1. Morrison (1992) categorized

diversity in terms of four levels:

(1) Diversity as racial/ethnic/sexual balance

(2) Diversity as understanding other cultures

(3) Diversity as culturally divergent values

(4) Diversity as broadly inclusive (cultural, sub-cultural, and individual).

Griggs (1995) classified diversity into primary and secondary dimensions.

Primary dimensions of diversity are those human differences that are inborn and/or that exert an important

impact on our early socialization and have an ongoing impact throughout our lives. The six primary

dimensions include (1) age, (2) ethnicity, (3) gender, (4) physical abilities/qualities, (5) race, and (6)

sexual/affectional orientation. Griggs also concluded that human beings cannot change these primary

dimensions. The secondary dimensions of diversity are those that can be changed and include, but are not

limited to, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, parental

status, religious beliefs, and work experience.

There is no one definitive definition that fully describes the broad range of differences diversity includes,

the evolutionary nature of the process it represents, and the far-reaching impact it has on individuals and

corporations (Tomervik, 1995).

A broad definition of diversity goes beyond protected-class differences because all employees bring their

differences, including a variety of group-identity differences, to the workplace (Johnson, 1995).

Benefits of Diversity

As the business environment becomes more global and organizations become leaner and flatter, they must

accomplish more with fewer people: people who have different cultures, values, motivations, work styles,

lifestyles and family roles (Montes, 2000). By averaging the many facets of diversity in the internal and

external environment, organizations can benefit from diversity (Robinson & Dechant, 1997). Some of the

benefits that flow from the effective management of diversity are discussed below.

Improved Organizational Performance

Recent indicates that, within the proper context, cultural diversity does in fact add value to the firm. When

firms pursue a growth strategy, higher racial diversity is positively related to productivity, return on equity

and market performance. Racial diversity enhances productivity and this relationship intensifies as strategic

growth increases. Cultural diversity can provide firms with diverse experience and knowledge, qualities that

seem beneficial for firms with an orientation towards growth and addition, organizations that overcome

resistance to change in the area of accepting diversity, appear to be well positioned to handle other types of

change enabling improved flexibility.

Cost Savings

Failure to manage diversity has significant cost implications for organizations. Research has indicated that

turnover among women is a significant and costly problem. In the U.S. pharmaceuticals stated that its

diversity initiatives resulted in savings of $500,000 mainly from lower turnover among women and ethnic

minorities (Mercer, 1988).

Recruitment and Retention

In order to sustain competitive advantage, an organization needs to attract and retain skilled and talented

human resources. In a tight labor market, a company's ability to attract and retain outstanding people

depends to a large extent on its corporate image. Talented people will be attracted to corporations that value

their capabilities and will be more willing to contribute to the organization's goals if they believe they are

(American Society for Training and Development [ASTD], 1996b)

Organizational Psychology (PSY510)

treated fairly. Attracting, retaining and promoting excellent employees from different demographic groups

sends a clear message to potential applicants, that the company has effective diversity management

practices. On the other hand, racially motivated job treatment discrimination and promotion discrimination

against minorities are factors that affect minority employees.

Lower Absenteeism Rates

If diversity is managed correctly, it can lead to reduced absenteeism rates. Absenteeism rates for women

were found to be 58 percent higher than for men (Meisenheimer, 1990). Individuals who are different from

their work units in racial or ethnic background tend to be less psychologically committed to their

organizations, less inclined to stay with the organization and more likely to be absent. Research also

indicates that a positive relationship exists between employees' perceptions of being valued and cared about

by their organizations and their attendance, dedication and job performance.

Increasing Creativity and Innovation

Workforce diversity can enhance market understanding, stimulate creativity and foster innovative thinking.

Cultural diversity enables employees to provide different perspectives for the performance of creative tasks.

In addition, employees who feel valued and supported by their organization tend to be more innovative in

another research study, the ideas produced by ethnically diverse groups were judged to be of higher quality

than the ideas produced by homogeneous groups

Higher Quality Problem-Solving in Teams

Research shows that more innovative teams produce more innovative solutions to problems. As culturally

diverse members have different backgrounds and life experiences, they can see problems from a variety of

perspectives. Multiple perspectives stimulate greater discussion and lead to higher quality solutions.

While diverse groups experience more conflict in agreeing on what is important and in working together at

the outset, they ultimately outperform homogeneous groups in identifying problem perspectives and

generating alternative solutions.

Building Effective Global Relationships

As companies become more global, the need to integrate cultural diversity into marketing, sales and

customer services strategies is becoming essential. Cultural competence is being recognized as a key

management skill. For example, American managers have to adjust to a world of extraordinary variety in

consumer preferences and work practices. The increased cultural awareness developed by a firm's

adaptation to diversity can help it become more effective in cross-cultural situations. International firms do

not experience diminishing performance returns as they face increasingly heterogeneous environments.

Managing Diversity in Organizations

Over the past decade diversity management has become a critical aspect of operating a business. Increasing

globalization, the changing composition of the population and increasing reliance on non-traditional

workforce talent have provided the fundamental stimulus for diversity management (Montes, 2000).

Although top management may view diversity as important, the focus on short term financial results to

satisfy shareholders, often shifts the focus to other more tangible and compelling business priorities

(Robinson & Dechant, 1997). Diversity management requires a long term commitment and the payback is

often not as tangible or predictable as that derived from sales targets or even health and safety initiatives.

Yet, unless proponents of diversity management can demonstrate compelling arguments, diversity

management is unlikely to get the attention it deserves. In other words, a proper business case for diversity

has to be built.

Developing a business case for diversity is more difficult because of the failure to systematically measure

and document the impact of diversity on the bottom line (Robinson & Dechant, 1997). The new paradigm

for diversity management transcends traditional moral arguments, by seeking to connect diversity to

business perspectives. The new model accepts the philosophies of former paradigms by promoting equality

of opportunity for all employees whilst acknowledging cultural differences among people and recognizing

and respecting the value of those differences. The new model for managing diversity lets the organization

internalize differences among employees so that the organization learns and grows because of these

differences (Compton, 1995).

Organizational Psychology (PSY510)

Individual approaches to managing diversity

Learning

In simple terms, the easiest way to manage diversity is to inculcate into the managers the sense that if they

learn about different people working in their organization, they would be able to manage diversity more

effectively. Therefore, learning is an individual approach to diversity management for managers.

Empathy

Empathy approach refers to managers being able to empathize with employees. This means that the

managers are able to feel their emotions and be considerate about their problems which may be related to

their cultural background or any other element of diversity.

Organizational approaches

Some of the organizational approaches to managing diversity are:

Testing

This means that all tests being given in the organization for recruiting, hiring, promotion etc. should be

culturally unbiased and not favour any specific individual or group of individuals. This shall create a sense of

fair play in the organization.

Training

Training to manage and deal with diverse workforce and peers should be held at the organizations.

Mentoring

Managers need to be mentors who guide their diverse workforce to perform efficiently.

Work/Family programs

Adjust work-hours according to family needs. Some employees may not be available at certain times of the

day. Therefore, they may be given appropriate arrangements in order to ensure that they can perform at

their best. This is also called flex time

Studies have found that these programs decrease family conflict, job dissatisfaction and stress-related

problems.

Further, to create an organizational culture that supports workforce diversity involves several important

elements. These elements include a needs analysis, administrative and management support and

commitment, education and training, culture and management systems changes and continuous follow-up

and evaluation.

Needs Analysis

Needs analysis should be prepared first to provide information to senior management in gaining their

support as well as to adequately determine workforce and organizational needs for creating a diverse

workplace. First, find out what employees are concerned about; the needs and expectations of a diverse

workforce can vary by organizational and functional levels, location, ethnicity, and gender. Second,

determine the needs of the organization. Does the organization have trouble retaining employees who

would add to its diversity? In an organization with diversity, which, if any, areas of the workforce are being

treated inappropriately? By using a survey that focuses on these questions you can ascertain where

administration and management feel the organization presently is regarding diversity.

Administrative and Management Commitment and Support

Administrative and management support is critical for diversity change efforts. An important role for senior

management is to provide leadership through development of a vision and goals for a diverse workplace. To

gain support from administration you need to directly link diversity to the business. Provide data regarding

the diversity opportunities in the marketplace, workforce and organization. Benchmarking best practices

related to diversity from other organizations, demographic data, briefings regarding complaints, potential

lawsuits, and hiring and retention problems are all relevant sources of data. In general, the organizations

experiencing the greatest success with diversity training are more likely to view diversity as a business issue

rather than a social issue; link diversity to other organizational initiatives, such as quality management or

career development. Finally, administrative support and commitment is essential also for the means to

provide the programs and resources necessary for diversity education and training.

Education and Training

Organizations that successfully manage diversity distinguish between the differences of education and

training. Education is a building of awareness and creating a base of general understanding. At the

administrative and management levels, educational efforts can spawn interest and an awareness of need,

which can then extend the change process throughout the organization.

Organizational Psychology (PSY510)

Training involves activities designed to build usable skills. Training targets in on specific issues to develop

the skills necessary to effectively and sensitively deal with an issue. For example, training might teach

managers how to conduct performance appraisals with employees from a different culture. By using the

information gathered during the needs analysis, an organization can target in on the specific diversity issues

they need to address with training.

REFERENCES

· Michale Tom. (2000 December 26). Copy Controls: Fair Use or Foul Play in management? Retrieved

March 7, 2006, from

http://courses.cs.vt.edu/~cs3604/lib/Roanoke.Times/Alarm.html

· Bergman, P.G., (1999 December 10). HRD in organizations, National Management Journal. Retrieved

March 6, 2006 from

http://www.lawnewsnetwork.com/stories/A11108-1999Dec8.html

· Miller, Kevin. (2005 January 28). Professors have expressed the most concern about human resource

management. Retrieved March 7, 2006, from

http://courses.cs.vt.edu/~cs3604/lib/Roanoke.Times/Alarm.html

· Rohde, Laura, (2000 December 15). "BT [British Telecom] Sues Prodigy over HR policies", Retrieved

March 13, 2006 from

http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/00/12/15/001215hnbtprodigy.xml?

· Peter Lobser & Editors of Encyclopeida Britannica Online. (2005-2006). Diversity. Encyclopedia

Britannica Online. Retrieved March 13, 2006. from Encyclopaedia Britannica Online on the World Wide

Web:

http://www.search.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=117376&sctn=1

· Dowel. Lukare, S., & Doe, j. (2001 March 7). Management of events: Retrieved March 7, 2006, from

http://courses.cs.vt.edu/~cs3604/lib/Copyrights.Patents/Piracy.Ring.html

· Adler, N. J. (1983). Organizational development in a multicultural environment. The Journal of Applied

Behavioral Science, 19, 349-365.

· Adler, N. J. (1991). International dimensions of organizational behavior. Boston: Kent.

· Akabas, S. H., Gates, L. B., & Galvin, D. E. (1992). Disability management: A complete system to reduce costs,

increase productivity, meet employee needs and ensure legal compliance. New York: AMACOM.

· Alderfer, C. P. (1982). Problems of changing white males' behavior and beliefs concerning race

relations. In P. S. Goodman (Ed.), Change in organizations: New perspectives on theory, research, and practice (pp.

122-165). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

FURTHER READING

· Peter Lobser & Editors of Encyclopeida Britannica Online. (2005-2006). Diversity. Encyclopedia

Britannica Online. Retrieved March 13, 2006. from Encyclopaedia Britannica Online on the World Wide

Web:

http://www.search.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=117376&sctn=1

· Dowel. Lukare, S., & Doe, j. (2001 March 7). Management of events: Retrieved March 7, 2006, from

http://courses.cs.vt.edu/~cs3604/lib/Copyrights.Patents/Piracy.Ring.html

· Adler, N. J. (1983). Organizational development in a multicultural environment. The Journal of Applied

Behavioral Science, 19, 349-365.

· Adler, N. J. (1991). International dimensions of organizational behavior. Boston: Kent.

· Balm, G. J. (1992). Benchmarking: Practitioner's guide for becoming and staying best of the best. Schaumburg, IL:

QPMA Press.

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