Robbins ob14 ppt_02

Kelli J. SchutteWilliam Jewell College

Robbins & Judge

Organizational Behavior14th Edition

Diversity in Organizations

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Chapter Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

– Describe the two major forms of workforce diversity.– Define the key biographical characteristics and describe how

they are relevant to OB.– Define intellectual ability and demonstrate its relevance to

OB.– Contrast the two types of ability.– Describe how organizations manage diversity effectively.– Show how culture affects our understanding of biographical

characteristics and intellectual abilities.

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Diversity

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Biographical Characteristics

Objective and easily obtained personal characteristics.Age– Older workers bring experience, judgment, a strong work

ethic, and commitment to quality.

Gender– Few differences between men and women that affect job

performance.

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Biographical Characteristics (Continued)

Race & Ethnicity– Contentious issue: differences exist, but could be more

culture based than race based.

Tenure– People with job tenure (seniority at a job) are more

productive, absent less frequently, have lower turnover, and are more satisfied.

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Other Biographical Characteristics Religion

– May impact the workplace in areas of dress, grooming and scheduling

Sexual Orientation– Federal law does not protect against discrimination (but state

or local laws may).– Domestic partner benefits are important considerations.

Gender Identity– Relatively new issue – transgendered employees.

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Ability

An individual’s capacity to perform the various tasks in a job. Intellectual and Physical Abilities

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AbilityMade up of two sets of factors:– Intellectual Abilities

• The abilities needed to perform mental activities.• General Mental Ability (GMA) is a measure of overall

intelligence. • Wonderlic Personnel Test: a quick measure of intelligence for

recruitment screening.• No correlation between intelligence and job satisfaction.

– Physical Abilities• The capacity to do tasks demanding stamina, dexterity,

strength, and similar characteristics.

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Dimensions of Intellectual Ability

E X H I B I T 2–1

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Nine Basic Physical Abilities

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Flexibility Factors

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Flexibility Factors

•Extent flexibility•Dynamic flexibility

Other Physical Factors

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Other Factors

•Body coordination•Balance•Stamina

Role of Disabilities When focusing on ability, it can create problems when

attempting to develop workplace policies that recognize diversity in terms of disabilities.

It is important to recognize diversity and strive for it in the hiring process.

An organization needs to be careful to avoid discriminatory practices by making generalizations about people with disabilities.

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Implementing Diversity Management Strategies

Making everybody more aware and sensitive to the needs of others.

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Global Implications Biographical Characteristics

– Not much evidence on the global relevance of the relationships described in this chapter.

– Countries do vary dramatically on their biographical composition.

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Additional Global Implications Intellectual Abilities

– Structures and measures of intelligence generalize across cultures.

Diversity Management– Diversity management is important across the globe.

However, different cultures will use different frameworks for handling diversity.

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Summary and Managerial Implications Summary:

– Ability• Directly influences employee’s level of performance.• Managers need to focus on ability in selection, promotion, and

transfer.• Fine-tune job to fit incumbent’s abilities.

– Biographical Characteristics• Should not be used in management decisions: possible source

of bias.

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Summary and Managerial Implications

– Diversity Management• Must be an ongoing commitment at all levels of the

organization.• Policies must include multiple perspectives and be long term

in their orientation to be effective.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any

means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the

United States of America.

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education, Inc.  Publishing as Prentice Hall

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