15000 words for bussiness managements assignments
daxiongdi
leadership9.pptxLeadership for SMEs
LD9616
Week Nine
Diversity
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lecture students will be able to:
Define diversity
Understand how different cultures view diversity
Explain Cox’s model of the multicultural organization
Discuss various ways of managing diversity in organisations
Describe unintended results of managing diversity
Consider how managing diversity can produce a competitive advantage
What is diversity?
Diversity is ‘valuing everyone as an individual – valuing people as employees, customers and clients’ (CIPD)
Diversity management ‘focuses on valuing people as unique individuals rather than on group-related issues covered by legislation’ (CIPD)
What does diversity include?
A range of individual differences including (but not limited to):
Race
Ethnic group
Gender
Sexual orientation
Age – life stage
Personality
Cognitive style
Tenure
Organisational function
Education
Background
Religion
Culture
Also, culture affects the way that all the other types of diversity are perceived
Types of Diversity
Surface-level: age, race, sex…
Deep-level: religion, educational background…
Hidden: sexual orientation, invisible disabilities…
Cox’s (1991)Model of the Multicultural Organisation
| Dimension of Integration | Monolithic | Plural | Multicultural |
| Form of Acculturation | Assimilation | Assimilation | Pluralism |
| Degree of Structural Integration | Minimal | Partial | Full |
| Integration into Informal Organization | Virtually none | Limited | Full |
| Degree of Cultural Bias | Both prejudice and discrimination against minority-culture groups are prevalent | Progress on both prejudice and discrimination but both continue to exist, especially institutional discrimination | Both prejudice and discrimination are eliminated |
| Levels of Organizational Identification | Large majority- minority gap | Medium to large majority-minority gap | No majority- minority gap |
| Degree of Intergroup Conflict | Low | High | Low |
Equal Opportunities and Diversity
Two different approaches:
Equal Opportunities (EO) – governments create laws and enforce them: companies must comply
Assumes that fair procedures lead to equality of outcomes
Equality objectives not linked to business objectives
EO treats people as part of pre-defined groups
Diversity – companies see diversity as a source of competitive advantage: companies want to implement it
Diversity treats people as individuals
Examples of Equal Opportunities Legislation
Gender equality legislation
Norway – no nonsense, no delay approach to enforcement
New Zealand – gentle approach to employers involving ‘voluntarism and normative equality persuasion’
China – high level of gender equality under communism eroded since by the embrace of free market principles
India – enforcement weak because of lack of unified legal system and too much reliance on voluntary compliance
Diversity is a Local Issue
Ozbilgin et al. (2012) in a study of transfer of organisational EO approaches from the West to Muslim majority countries (Turkey and Pakistan) argue that local perceptions of what is right and what is normal influence the progress of EO implementation. They found (feel free to argue against):
Women’s employment is not prioritised in Turkey
In Pakistan, when there are job losses, women are the first to be made redundant
Why be concerned with diversity?
Some groups experience unfair treatment because of stereotyping
Can be on the basis of many different categorisations: race, gender etc.
Patterns of unfairness are local
Patterns of discrimination vary from one national culture to another
Equal Opportunities attempts to create a fair society by imposing legal requirements on organisations
However, diversity in the workforce has been shown to improve performance, resilience and innovation
How Different Cultures View Diversity
United States
Fundamental tradition of valuing equality and equal opportunity
Legal basis for managing diversity
Multiculturalism and valuing diversity well established
Concern with the “business case”
How Different Cultures View Diversity
Germany
History of Gastarbeiter (guest workers)
Many asylum seekers
Recognises EU’s 6 core dimensions of diversity:
1- gender, 2 - ethnicity/race, 3 - age, 4 - disability, 5 - religion/belief and 6 - sexual orientation
Japan
Relatively homogenous population
Changing legislation and employment practices that affect women workers
UK
Protected Characteristics
Ethical or Competitive Advantage Approach?
Benefits of ethical approach
Increases pool of possible employees
Increases trust and sense of belonging among employees
Actual benefits to competitive advantage
HR managers generally see positive benefits
Can affect stock price
May not have any impact on corporate performance
Managing Diversity for Competitive Advantage
Diversity increases
Creativity – stimulates comparison and discussion
Problem solving – different points of view
Organisational flexibility – ‘horses for courses’
Effective people management – helps recruitment, retention and motivation
Market competition – helps understand diverse customer needs
Corporate reputation – builds reputation for ethical behaviour
Brings improved performance in key functions
Marketing
Product development
Customer services
However, example of large bank in Netherlands that recruited ethnic minority staff for lower customer-facing roles in large cities but failed to develop or promote them (Subeliani & Tsogas, 2005) – may improve performance but appears cynical and tarnishes company image
Creating an Organisation that Can Manage Diversity
Organisational vision
Top management commitment
Auditing and assessment of needs
Provide training/ education
Clarity of objectives
Clear accountability
Effective communication
Coordination of activity
Evaluation
Managing Diversity
Leadership
Beliefs and attitudes
Cultural IQ
Demographics
Organisational Culture
Monolithic or multicultural
Openness to change
Global Diversity Management
Inclusion of Global Units
Seek global input on decisions
Flexibility of HRM
Understanding of local contexts
Best fit for culturally specific practices and procedures
Global Diversity Policies
Encourage inclusion but allow for local flexibility
Recognise local reactions to inclusiveness
Develop Global Competencies
Global talent development for employees
International assignment
Cross-cultural training
Global work teams
Cross-national social networks
Organisational Consequences
Global Knowledge Creation and Sharing
Reactions to Diversity Policy
Acceptance or backlash
Organisations’s local reputation
Performance and Innovation
Product/ service quality, financial indicators etc.
Effectiveness of multinational teams
Employee Engagement
Sense of inclusion/ being values
Attitudes And Perceptions Of Fairness
(Adapted from: Nishi & Ozbilgin, 2007, p.1887)
Techniques for Managing Diversity
Managing diversity training programs
Core groups
Multicultural teams
Senior managers of diversity
Targeted recruitment and selection programs
Techniques for Managing Diversity
Compensation and reward programs tied to achieving diversity goals
Language training
Mentoring programs
Cultural advisory groups
Corporate social activities that celebrate diversity
Unintended Results of Managing Diversity
Programs that focus on encouraging certain groups may create feelings of unfairness or exclusion in others
Giving preferential treatment to certain groups may stigmatize their members
Increasing diversity without recognition and rewards for the new members can create organisational tension
Convergence or Divergence?
Increasing domestic multiculturalism
Increasing globalisation of organisations
Homogeneous populations may see managing diversity as unimportant or irrelevant
Implications for Managers
Managing a diverse workforce an important part of an international manager’s job
Must understand the impact of diversity and know how to make use of it
Realise different cultures view diversity differently and be sensitive to local impact of diversity policies
Seminar
Work in groups to find diversity areas within your group, then refer to the last week to see which ones, if any, are related to national culture. What about the rest? What are they based on?
References
Harzing, A. and Pinnington, A.H. (2015). International Human Resource Management, London: Sage.
Nishi, L.H. and Ozbilgin, M.F. (2007). Global Diversity management: towards a conceptual framework, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(11), pp.1883-1894.
SlidePlayer (2005). Prentice Hall. Available at: http://slideplayer.com/slide/5071795/
Subeliani, D. and Tsogas, G. (2005). Managing diversity in the Netherlands: a case study of Rabobank, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(5), pp.831-885.
