You have a key role in transforming the organizational culture so that it more closely reflects the values of our diverse workforce. Some of the skills needed are:
- an understanding and acceptance of managing diversity concepts
- recognition that diversity is threaded through every aspect of management
- self-awareness, in terms of understanding your own culture, identity, biases, prejudices, and stereotypes
- willingness to challenge and change institutional practices that present barriers to different groups
It's natural to want a cookbook approach to diversity issues so that one knows exactly what to do. Unfortunately, given the many dimensions of diversity, there is no easy recipe to follow. Advice and strategies given for one situation may not work given the same situation in another context.
Managing diversity means acknowledging people's differences and recognizing these differences as valuable; it enhances good management practices by preventing discrimination and promoting inclusiveness. Good management alone will not necessarily help you work effectively with a diverse workforce. It is often difficult to see what part diversity plays in a specific area of management.
To illustrate, the following two examples show how diversity is an integral part of management. The first example focuses on the area of selection, the second example looks at communication:
Issues
- How do you make the job sound appealing to different types of workers, such as people with disabilities?
- How can recruitment be effectively targeted to underutilized groups?
- How do you overcome cultural bias in the interviewing process, questions, and your response?
Strategies
- Specify the need for skills to work effectively in a diverse environment in the job, for example: "demonstrated ability to work effectively in a diverse work environment."
- Make sure that good faith efforts are made to recruit a diverse applicant pool, particularly underutilized minorities and women.
- Focus on the job requirements in the interview, and assess experience but also consider
- transferable skills and demonstrated competencies, such as analytical, organizational, communication, coordination. Prior experience has not necessarily mean effectiveness or success on the job.
- Use a panel interview format. Ensure that the committee is diverse, unit affiliation, job classification, length of service, variety of life experiences, etc. to represent different perspectives and to eliminate bias from the selection process. Run questions and process by them to ensure there is no unintentional cultural or institutional bias.
- Ensure that appropriate accommodations are made for disabled applicants.
- Know your own cultural biases. What stereotypes do you have of people from different groups and how well they may perform on the job? What communication styles do you prefer? Sometimes what we consider to be appropriate or desirable qualities in a candidate may reflect more about our personal preferences than about the skills needed to perform the job.
In order to continue enjoying our site, we ask that you confirm your identity as a human. Thank you very much for your cooperation.
Term True or False: The Family Medical and Leave Act requires employees to provide 12 weeks of paid leave for medical and family reasons. | | Definition |
|
Term Which of the following is NOT a recommended way for organizations to creat an ethical culture? | | Definition D. design ethics courses for all employees | |
|
Term According to Catalyst, Fortune 500 women compose about _____% of managerial and professional workers, but only about ______% of corporate officers. | | Definition |
|
Term T or F: Federal guidelines suggest that employees make reasonable accommodations for employees' religious practices. | | Definition |
|
Term Justin, a Human Resources Manager for XYZ Company, commits 20% of this year's budget to develop a new program for valuing diversity in the company. He is acting in the __________ role. | | Definition |
|
Term If a female subordinate is offended by posters in her supervisor's office that she feels are degrading to women, this supervisor has exhibited: | | Definition E. a hostile work environment | |
|
Term Which of the following is NOT one of the recommended steps to eliminate sexual harassment? | | Definition D. Fire all sexual harassers regardless of the nature or size of the offense. | |
|
Term The passage of the __________ requires companies to do a more thorough job of policing their internal accounting practices. | | Definition |
|
Term People or groups who supply a company with its productive resources are called: | | Definition |
|
Term Another name for a company's code of ethics is its: | | Definition |
|
Term The term "diversity" refers to differences in gender and age, but not to those in sexual orientation. | | Definition |
|
Term Effectively managing diversity can increase worker satisfaction but does not increase organizational effectiveness. | | Definition |
|
Term In the U.S., which of the following groups are expected to grow the least? | | Definition |
|
Term A manager who is effectively managing diversity in the liaison role would: | | Definition C. help diverse individuals to coordinate their efforts | |
|
Term T or F: Diversity within the organization can be a source of competitive advantage to the organization. | | Definition |
|
Term When a manager asks a subordinate for sexual favors in return for a promotion, what type of sexual harassment has occurred? | | Definition |
|
Term T or F: In the U.S., sexual harassment is unethical, but it is not illegal. | | Definition |
|
Term D: A manager needs to decide what to do in terms of both the benefits and harm to the people who will be affected by the decision. | | Definition |
|
Term D: The people who are affected by the way the company does business. | | Definition |
|
Term D: The ethical rule that produces a decision that results in the greatest good for the greatest number of people. | | Definition |
|
Term D: The ethical rule that protects the fundamental rights of people who are affected by a decision. | | Definition |
|
Term D: The ethical rule that distributes the benefits and harms of a decision among people in a fair and impartial way. | | Definition |
|
Term D: The esteem of people that an organization gains when it acts ethically. | | Definition |
|
Term D: Formal written standards of right and wrong behavior in an organization. | | Definition |
|
Term D: Standards of ethical behavior based on the concepts of justice, freedom, equity, and equality. | | Definition |
|
Term D: Standards that govern how members of a profession are supposed to behave on the job. | | Definition |
|
Term D: Personal values that govern how a manager should interact with others. | | Definition |
|
Term D: A position within the organization held by a manager who acts as the "ethics officer" of the organization. | | Definition |
|
Term D: The so-called "invisible barrier" that prevents women and minorities from promotion to senior management positions in the organization. | | Definition |
|
Term The type of sexual harassment that occurs when a job or a promotion is dependent upon sexual favors. | | Definition K. Quid pro quo sexual harassment | |
|
Term The type of sexual harassment that occurs within an intimading, hostile, or offensive work environment. | | Definition M. Hostile work environment harassment | |
|
Term The guiding moral principles, values, and beliefs that people use to interpret a situation in order to decide what is the "right thing" to do in that situation are called: | | Definition |
|
Term The people who are affected by the way a company acts are called the company's: | | Definition |
|
Term Which rule of ethical decision-making tries to produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people? | | Definition |
|
Term The saying: "Do unto others as you would that they do unto you" is an example of which type of ethical decision-making rule? | | Definition |
|
Term The idea that workers who have similar skills, performance levels, and responsibilities on the job should receive the same kind of pay is based on which ethical decision-making rule? | | Definition |
|
Term The so-called "invisible barrier" that prevents women and minorities from being promoted to top management positions is called the: | | Definition |
|
Term The 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits discrimination against workers who are over what age? | | Definition |
|
Term In terms of gender differences in salary in the US, women's median weekly earnings are about what percentage of men's median weekly earnings? | | Definition |
|
Term The idea that a manager's actions on the job in terms of either supporting diversity or attempting to derail it is an example of what type of interpersonal role for managers? | | Definition |
|
Term When managers use vulgar language at work, this is an example of what type of environment? | | Definition B. Hostile work environment | |
|
Term T or F: All societal values and norms are internalized by managers. | | Definition |
|
Term T or F: The U.S. Census Bureau defines ethnicity in terms of whether or not an individual is Hispanic. | | Definition |
|
Term The stakeholder group with the most responsibility for deciding the goals of the organization is: | | Definition |
|
Term The Moral Rights model of ethics: | | Definition seeks to protect the privileges of people affected | |
|
Term A manager who is effectively managing diversity in the liaison role would: | | Definition help diverse individuals to coordinate their efforts | |
|
Term T or F: Sexual harassment that creates a hostile work environment is less subtle than quid pro quo sexual harassment. | | Definition |
|