Organizational Behavior

Eighteenth Edition

Chapter 2
Diversity in Organizations

Center for Executive Education - 2020

Learning Objectives
2.1 Describe the two major forms of workplace diversity.
2.2 Demonstrate how workplace discrimination undermines
organizational effectiveness.
2.3 Describe how the key biographical characteristics are relevant to
Organizational Behavior (OB).
2.4 Explain how other differentiating characteristics factor into OB.
2.5 Demonstrate the relevance of intellectual and physical abilities to
OB.
2.6 Describe how organizations manage diversity effectively.

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Workplace Diversity

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Workplace Discrimination and Organizational Effectiveness
(1 of 3)

• Discrimination is to note a difference between things.

• Unfair discrimination assumes stereotypes about groups.
• Refusal to recognize individual differences is harmful to organizations and
employees.
• Stereotype threat describes the degree to which we agree internally with the generally
negative stereotyped perceptions of our groups.
• Can be combatted by treating employees as individuals and not highlighting group
differences.

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Workplace Discrimination and Organizational Effectiveness
(2 of 3)

Exhibit 2-1 Forms of Discrimination

Type of Discrimination Definition Examples from Organizations

Discriminatory policies or Actions taken by representatives of Older workers may be targeted for layoffs
practices the organization that deny equal because they are highly paid and have
opportunity to perform or unequal lucrative benefits.
rewards for performance.
Sexual harassment Unwanted sexual advances and other Salespeople at one company went on
verbal or physical conduct of a sexual company-paid visits to strip clubs,
nature that create a hostile or brought strippers into the office to
offensive work environment. celebrate promotions, and fostered
pervasive sexual rumors.
Intimidation Overt threats or bullying directed at African-American employees at some
members of specific groups of companies have found nooses hanging
employees. over their work stations.
Mockery and insults Jokes or negative stereotypes; Arab-Americans have been asked at work
sometimes the result of jokes taken whether they were carrying bombs or
too far. were members of terrorist organizations.

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Workplace Discrimination and Organizational Effectiveness
(3 of 3)

[Exhibit 2-1 Continued]

Type of Discrimination Definition Examples from Organizations

Exclusion Exclusion of certain people from job Many women in finance claim they are
opportunities, social events, assigned to marginal job roles or are
discussions, or informal mentoring; given light workloads that don’t lead to
can occur unintentionally. promotion.
Incivility Disrespectful treatment, including Female lawyers note that male attorneys
behaving in an aggressive manner, frequently cut them off or do not
interrupting the person, or ignoring adequately address their comments.
his or her opinions.

Sources: Based on J. Levitz and P. Shishkin, “More Workers Cite Age Bias after Layoffs,” The Wall Street Journal, March 11, 2009,
D1–D2; W. M. Bulkeley, “A Data-Storage Titan Confronts Bias Claims,” The Wall Street Journal, September 12, 2007, A1, A16; D.
Walker, “Incident with Noose Stirs Old Memories,” McClatchy-Tribune Business News, June 29, 2008; D. Solis, “Racial Horror
Stories Keep EEOC Busy,” Knight-Ridder Tribune Business News, July 30, 2005, 1; H. Ibish and A. Stewart, Report on Hate Crimes
and Discrimination against Arab Americans: The Post-September 11 Backlash, September 11, 2001–October 11, 2001 (Washington,
DC: American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, 2003); A. Raghavan, “Wall Street’s Disappearing Women,” Forbes, March 16,
2009, 72–78; and L. M. Cortina, “Unseen Injustice: Incivility as Modern Discrimination in Organizations,” Academy of Management
Review 33, no. 1 (2008): 55–75.

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Biographical Characteristics and Organizational Behavior
(1 of 6)

• Biological characteristics are personal characteristics that are

objective and easily obtained from personnel records.
• Variations in these can be the basis for discrimination

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Biographical Characteristics and Organizational Behavior
(2 of 6)

• Age
• The U.S. workforce is aging.
• Does job performance decline with increasing age?
• Studies show that turnover and absenteeism rates are lower
among older workers, and age is not associated with lower
productivity.

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Biographical Characteristics and Organizational Behavior
(3 of 6)

• Sex
• There are no consistent male-female differences in problem-
solving ability, analytical skills, competitive drive, motivation,
sociability, or learning drive.
• But women earn less than men for the same positions and
have fewer professional opportunities.

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Biographical Characteristics and Organizational Behavior
(4 of 6)

• Race and Ethnicity

• Laws against race and ethnic discrimination are in effect in many
countries.
• But:
• Employees tend to favor colleagues of their own race in
performance evaluations, promotion decisions, and pay raises.
• African Americans generally fare worse than Whites in
employment decisions.

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Biographical Characteristics and Organizational Behavior
(5 of 6)

• Disabilities
• The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission classifies
a person as disabled who has any physical or mental impairment
that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
• Workers with disabilities receive higher performance
evaluations, but may have lower performance expectations.

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Biographical Characteristics and Organizational Behavior
(6 of 6)

• Hidden Disabilities
– Sensory disabilities, chronic illness or pain, cognitive or
learning impairments, sleep disorders, and psychological
challenges.
– U.S. organizations must accommodate employees with a very
broad range of impairments.

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Other Characteristics and Organizational Behavior
(1 of 2)

• Tenure
– Tenure is a good predictor of employee productivity.
– Tenure and job performance are positively related.
• Religion
– U.S. law prohibits discrimination based on religion, but it is still
an issue, especially for Muslims.

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Other Characteristics and Organizational Behavior
(2 of 2)

• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

– Federal law does not protect employees against
discrimination based on sexual orientation, though many
states and municipalities do.
– Many Fortune 500 companies have policies covering
sexual orientation and about half now have policies on
gender identity.
• Cultural Identity
– Need to accommodate and respect individual cultural
identities.

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Intellectual and Physical Abilities and OB
(1 of 5)

• Ability is an individual’s current capacity to perform various tasks in a job.

• Two types
• Intellectual abilities
• Physical abilities

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Intellectual and Physical Abilities and OB
(2 of 5)

• Intellectual abilities are abilities needed to perform mental activities – thinking,

reasoning, and problem solving.
• Most societies place a high value on intelligence.
• General mental ability is an overall factor of intelligence as suggested by the
positive correlations among specific intellectual ability dimensions.

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Intellectual and Physical Abilities and OB
(3 of 5)

Exhibit 2-2 Dimensions of Intellectual Ability

Dimension Description Job Example

Number aptitude Ability to do speedy and accurate arithmetic Accountant: Computing the sales tax on a set
of items
Verbal comprehension Ability to understand what is read or heard and Plant manager: Following corporate policies on
the relationship of words to each other hiring

Perceptual speed Ability to identify visual similarities and Fire investigator: Identifying clues to support a
differences quickly and accurately charge of arson
Inductive reasoning Ability to identify a logical sequence in a problem Market researcher: Forecasting demand for a
and then solve the problem product in the next time period

Deductive reasoning Ability to use logic and assess the implications of Supervisor: Choosing between two different
an argument suggestions offered by employees

Spatial visualization Ability to imagine how an object would look if its Interior decorator: Redecorating an office
position in space were changed
Memory Ability to retain and recall past experiences Salesperson: Remembering the names of
customers

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Intellectual and Physical Abilities and OB
(4 of 5)

• Physical Abilities
• The capacity to do tasks demanding stamina, dexterity, strength, and similar
characteristics.
• Nine basic abilities related to strength, flexibility, and other factors are needed to
perform physical tasks.

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Intellectual and Physical Abilities and OB
(5 of 5)

Exhibit 2-3 Nine Basic Physical Abilities

Strength Factors Blank
1. Dynamic strength Ability to exert muscular force repeatedly or continuously over time
2. Trunk strength Ability to exert muscular strength using the trunk (particularly abdominal)
muscles

3. Static strength Ability to exert force against external objects

4. Explosive strength Ability to expend a maximum of energy in one or a series of explosive acts
Flexibility Factors Blank
5. Extent flexibility Ability to move the trunk and back muscles as far as possible
6. Dynamic flexibility Ability to make rapid, repeated flexing movements
Other Factors Blank
7. Body coordination Ability to coordinate the simultaneous actions of different parts of the body
8. Balance Ability to maintain equilibrium despite forces pulling off balance
9. Stamina Ability to continue maximum effort requiring prolonged effort over time

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Describe How Organizations Manage Diversity Effectively
(1 of 6)

• Diversity management is the process and programs by which

managers make everyone more aware of and sensitive to the needs
and differences of others.
• Diversity is more successful when it is everyone’s business,
not just for certain groups of employees.

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Describe How Organizations Manage Diversity Effectively
(2 of 6)

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Describe How Organizations Manage Diversity Effectively
(3 of 6)

• Attracting, selecting, developing, and retaining diverse employees

• Target recruiting messages to specific demographic groups.
• Some companies have been actively working toward recruiting
less-hired groups.

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Describe How Organizations Manage Diversity Effectively
(4 of 6)

• Diversity in Groups
• Most people in groups need a common way of looking at and
accomplishing major tasks, and they need to communicate well
with each other.
• Emphasize higher-level similarities among people.

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Describe How Organizations Manage Diversity Effectively
(5 of 6)

• Expatriate Adjustment
• Organizations should select employees for international assignments
who are capable of adjusting quickly and ensure they have the
support they need for their assignment.

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Describe How Organizations Manage Diversity Effectively
(6 of 6)

• Effective diversity programs

• Teach managers about the legal framework for equal
employment opportunity and encourage fair treatment of
all people.
• Teach managers how a diverse workforce will be more
effective at serving a diverse customer base.
• Foster personal development practices that bring out the
skills and abilities of everyone.

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Implications for Managers
• Understand your organization's anti-discrimination policies thoroughly and
share them with your employees.
• Assess and challenge your own stereotype beliefs to increase your objectivity.
• Look beyond readily 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 a job to that person’s abilities.
• Seek to understand and respect the unique biographical characteristics of your
employees; a fair but individualistic approach yields the best performance.

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Copyright

Center for Executive Education - 2020