Emotional Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence and Diversity 3

MBA502

Emotional Intelligence,

Cultural Intelligence and

Diversity

Workshop Week 8

DIVERSITY: Challenges and

Opportunities

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2

Learning Objectives

• Understand that cultural diversity poses both opportunities and challenges for business managers

• Examine the negative impacts of diversity in the workplace

• Consider the positive benefits of diversity in the workplace

Defining Diversity

A popular attempt to explicitly define

diversity conceives it as “a situation that

includes representation of multiple (ideally

all) groups within a prescribed environment,

such as a university or a workplace”. (Dietz, 2007)

Inherent Diversity

These are diversity traits by birth heritage which are mostly enduring over a person’s lifetime, although changes can still occur in some cases:

• Race

• Age

• Gender

• Sexual orientation

• Family-ties

• Country of birth/nationality

• Cultural heritage

• Religious heritage

Acquired Diversity

These are acquired over a person’s life-time and are dynamic and changing.

• Personal and professional experience

• Cultural background

• Political affiliation

• Citizenship

• Educational background

• Socio-economic strata

• Adopted faith

• Marital status

Surface-Level Diversity vs

Deep-Level Diversity

• Surface-level diversity refers to the observable demographic and other overt differences among members of a group (e.g. race, ethnicity, gender, age, physical capabilities).

• Deep-level diversity refers not just to demographics but also to differences in the psychological characteristics based on “experience and thinking styles” such as beliefs, values, attitudes etc.

(Casper, W.J., Wayne, J.H. and Manegold, J.G., 2013 )

Activity

• In groups, identify as many surface-level

and deep-level diversity factors among

yourselves as you can.

• How many do you share in common?

• Which ones are isolated to just one group

member?

Diversity: Global Challenges

• Workplace challenges are varied depending on the county.

• For example, some countries do not grant equal rights for people of all sexual orientations.

• In other cases, tough immigration measures restrict or prevent the free flow of labour in the global economy.

• Gaps in gender-based equality are prevalent even in a majority of advanced economies.

• The inclusion of certain and ethnic and cultural groups may also be limited in some workplaces.

Activity

• Each group will be allocated one of the following groups:

– LGBTI

– Migrants

– Women

– People with disability

– Indigenous Australians

– Older workers

• Use your smartphone device to research, and report back to the class, on the following areas:

– In what ways does your group encounter workplace discrimination?

– What are the direct and indirect consequences of that discrimination?

– In what ways can that discrimination be eradicated?

The Diversity Factor

• The key ideal of introducing diversity into organisations is to work towards achievement of a world where everyone can achieve their potential on a level playing field.

• As workplace demographics shift, the work landscape is changing with a melting pot of different backgrounds.

• How are leaders and managers responding to this diversity?

What are Diversity Challenges?

• Diversity challenges are any obstacles, roadblocks, and discouraging situations in reaction to diversity in the workplace.

• Sometimes it comes in the form of active management resistance.

• In other cases, it’s due to a lack of self- awareness and a dearth of soft skills.

Diversity Challenges at the Top

• Despite changing demographics at work, many senior level roles are still held by white males in the majority of companies.

• Many such senior managers feel misunderstood or held to standards that do not seem fair. Termed as “white angst”, this underlying feeling of anger and resentment is an uncomfortable subject that often is not openly discussed.

• This phenomenon can occur when employees are not helped to find suitable ways to embrace the diversity with which workplaces are characterised today.

(Klimley AW, 2011; Kochman,T. 2011)

Lack of “Soft Skills”

• Hard skills generally involve "learned” skills and are often reflected in a leader's level of education or training.

• Soft skills, on the other hand, are often intangible and difficult to quantify or learn. They are often what we call people skills.

• Leaders who understand how to use people skills and motivate their teams – especially in an era of diversity – are those who will stand out.

• It takes self-aware leadership to realise the behaviours that not only reflect on themselves, but also the impact on their teams, customers and ultimately their company's success.

Activity

• The following link contains a list of 87 soft skills: http://training.simplicable.com/training/new /87-soft-skills

• In groups, see if you can come to an agreement on the top ten that you think are most vital when it comes to managing a diverse team.

Diversity Fatigue

• Diversity fatigue occurs when firms try to deliver diversity training or cultural change programs but encounter resistance.

• Sometimes this is because their efforts are seen as a box- ticking exercise. In other cases, employees have become cynical after witnessing inappropriate behaviour (post-training) with no action taken in response.

• Another contributing factor is an over-emphasis on diversity makes some people question whether hiring decisions are still based on merit.

• It can also require quite a bit of effort to manage diversity well, and this can be exhausting for those responsible for changing such cultures within organisations.

Diversity-Related Incivility

Source: Clayton Sr., CB 2010, 'A new way to build the business case for

diversity based on the numbers: The Diversity Profit Equation (d/PE)',

Diversity Factor, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 1-10.

• The pain that racism, sexism, homophobia and

other forms of bigotry cause cannot be conveyed

sufficiently by charts and graphs.

Diversity-Related Incivility

Source: Clayton Sr., CB 2010, 'A new way to build the business case for diversity based on the

numbers: The Diversity Profit Equation (d/PE)', Diversity Factor, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 1-10.

• As the diagram below indicates, this incivility

results in increased costs and decreased

productivity … even when the incivility is

witnessed rather than experienced.

Witnessing Incivility • The Institute for Diversity has found more than 71

percent of employees witness an average of four

derailing behaviours per year.

• When asked about these acts in a follow-up study,

two out of three acts of incivility were said to be

diversity related.

• These diversity related acts of incivility (DRIs) were

believed to be associated with the primary

dimensions of diversity - race, gender, age, religion,

and sexual orientation.

Activity

• Have you ever witnessed diversity-related

incivility in the workplace?

• In groups, share your stories. In particular,

please focus on the following:

- How did this affect you?

- How did the employee react?

- How did the manager deal with the situation?

- If you were the manager, what would you

have done differently?

Prioritising Diversity

• Prioritising diversity in a way that simultaneously culminates in greater organisational performance is comprised of two factors:

– Diversity climate: “Employees’ perceptions regarding the extent to which an organisation values and integrates diversity and supports it through fair employment practices.” (Singh et al 2013)

– Psychological safety: “Feeling able to show and employ one's self without fear of negative consequences to self- image, status, or career.” (Kahn 1990)

Prioritising Diversity

Diversity climate Psychological safety Employee

performance

(Singh et al, 2013)

ACTIVITY:

Each group will be allocated one of the two main components from the model:

• If you’ve been allocated diversity climate, identify a list of actions that could

help employees perceive that the organisation genuinely values diversity.

• If you’ve been allocated psychological safety, identify a list of actions that

could help employees feel that they can express their true selves at work.

Summary

• This workshop presented some of the key

challenges and opportunities that diversity

in the workplace causes.

• Next week we shall explore some of the

strategies to promote diversity and

inclusiveness in work environments.