Managing Diversity

Managing Diversity

1. Diversity: Is defined as all the ways in which people (employees) differ.

   • Managing Diversity: Creating a climate in which the potential advantages of diversity for organizational or group performance are maximized while the potential disadvantages are minimized.
     • Leader in managing global diversity:
     • Prejudice: The tendency to view people who are different as being deficient.
       • Stereotyping: A rigid, exaggerated, irrational belief associated with a particular group of people.
       • Discrimination: When someone acts out their prejudicial attitudes toward people who are the targets of their prejudice.
       • Value Differences: Managers recognize culture differences and see the differences with an appreciative attitude.
       • Stereotype Threat: A psychological experience of a person who, usually engaged in a task, is aware of a stereotype about his or her identify group suggesting that he or she will not perform well on that task.
     • Ethnocentrism: Is the belief that one’s own group and subculture are inherently superior to other groups and cultures.
       • Monoculture: A culture that accepts only one way of doing things and one set of values and beliefs.
       • Ethnorelativism: The belief that groups and subcultures are inherently equal.
       • Pluralism: Means that an organization accommodates several subcultures.
     • Dividends of Diversity
       • Better use of employee talent.
       • Increased quality of team problem solving.
       • Enhanced breadth of understanding in leadership positions.
       • Increased understanding of the marketplace.
       • Reduced costs associated with high turnover, absenteeism, and lawsuits.
   • Valuing diversity means ensuring that all people are given equal opportunities in the workplace.

2. Factors Affecting Women’s Careers

   • Glass Ceiling: An invisible barrier that separates women from top management positions.
     • Glass Walls: Serve as invisible barriers to important lateral movement within the organization.
   • Opt-Out Trend: Women are deciding that corporate success isn’t worth the price in terms of reduced family and personal time, greater stress, and negative health effects.
   • Female Advantage: Women’s are more collaborative, less hierarchical, relationship-oriented approach that is in tune with today’s global and multicultural environment. The qualities women seem to naturally possess may lead to a gradual role reversal in organizations.

3. Corporate Culture: Values, beliefs, understanding, and norms shared by members of the organization.

   • Cultural Competence: The ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures.
   • Diversity Plan
     • 1.-Uncover diversity problems in the organization.
       • Cultural Audit: A tool that identifies problems or areas needing improvement in a corporation’s culture.
     • 2.- Strengthen top management commitment.
     • 3.- Choose solutions to fit a balanced strategy.
       • Education: New training programs that improve awareness and diversity skills.
       • Enforcement: Means providing incentives for employees who demonstrate new behaviors and disciplinary action for those who violate diversity standards.
       • Exposure: Involves exposing traditional managers to nontraditional peers to help break down stereotypical beliefs.
     • 4.- Demand results and revisit the goals.
       • Numerical Goals: Demonstrate that diversity is tied to business objectives.
     • 5.- Maintain momentum to change the culture.

4. Diversity Programs

   • Changing Structures and Polices: Companies are developing polices and structures to support the recruitment and career advancement of diverse employees.
   • Expanding Recruitment Efforts: Means making better use of formal recruiting strategies, offering internship programs to give people opportunities, and developing creative ways to draw on previously unused workers.
   • Establishing Mentor Relationships: Means that organizations must find ways to eliminate the glass ceiling.
     • Mentor: Is a higher-ranking organizational member who is committed to providing upward mobility and support to a protégé’s professional career.
     • Mentoring Program: Enhance individual capabilities and career development.
   • Accommodating Special Needs: Organization struggling with generational diversity must find ways to meets the needs of workers at different ages and places in the life cycle.
   • Providing Diversity Skills Training: Special training designed to educate employees about the importance of diversity, make people aware of their own biases, and teach them skills for communicating and working in a diverse workplace.
     • Diversity Awareness Training: Make employees aware of the assumptions they make and to increase people’s sensitivity and openness to those who are different from them.
     • Diversity Skills Training: Help people learn how to communicate and work effectively in a diverse environment.
   • Increasing Awareness of Sexual Harassment: Companies offer sexual harassment awareness programs to create awareness of what defines sexual harassment and the legal ramifications of violation.

5. Diversity Initiatives: Help maintain a competitive advantage.

   • Multicultural Teams: Teams made up of members from diverse national, racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Multicultural teams generate more and better alternatives to problems and produce more creative solutions than homogeneous teams.
   • Employee Network Groups: Groups based on social identity, such as gender or race, and are organized by employees to focus on concerns of employees from that group.
     • Meetings to educate top managers.
     • Mentoring programs.
     • Networking events.
     • Training sessions and skills seminars.
     • Minority intern programs.
     • Community volunteer activities.
     • Network groups can be important tools for helping organizations retain managerial-level minority employees.

6. Referencia: Daft, R. (2010). Management. Mason, OH, South-Western Cengage Learining. (novena edición)

7. Ana Lorena Ruiz Zorrilla Sánchez 000594460

8. Código de Honor: Doy mi palabra que he realizado este trabajo con integridad académica.

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