NBS8274

Lecture 8: Diversity and Ecology

Guest Lecture
Sue Abbott

Senior Lecturer
Newcastle Business School
Northumbria University

17th March

Objectives

To understand the relationship of LMD to

diversity management
To be aware of equality/diversity in the
workplace
To note the difficulties faced by female and
black, Asian and minority ethnic managers
To consider the key ideas of green leadership
and management
To reach conclusions about managers roles in
valuing difference and diversity in the workplace

What is Diversity?
moves beyond idea of equality of opportuni6es in organisa6ons
- recognising the value of dierence (Gold et al., 2010:289)

There is a broad history in this area from EO to Diversity.

Some dierences are:
Visible and Obvious-such as gender and race
Less visible and suppressed-are areas such as disability and
sexual orienta6on

Diversity is concerned with making the best use of dierences
and removing barriers to such use (Gold et al., 2010:289)



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Definitions
Valuing everyone as individual valuing people as employees,
customers and clients (CIPD, 2013)

diversity encompasses a range of dierences in ethnicity/

na6onality, gender, func6on, ability, language, religion, lifestyle or
tenure (Kossek & Lobel, 1996).

diversity in the workplace includes more than employees diverse

demographic backgrounds, and takes in dierences in culture and
intellectual capability (Basse]-Jones, 2005).

The term diversity management refers to the systema6c and

planned commitment on the part of organiza6ons to recruit and
retain employees with diverse backgrounds and abili6es (Basse]-
Jones, 2005).
VIDEO

Key Legislation

Equality Act 2010 incorporated previous legisla6on including the
following laws

Employment Equality (Age) Regula6on 2006
Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regula6on 2003
Employment Equality (Sexual Orienta6on) Regula6on 2003
Disability Discrimina6on Act 1995 (DDA)
Race Rela6ons Act 1976
Sex Discrimina6on Act 1975
Equal Pay Act 1970 (1975)

Let us have a look at some cases that have been in the
newspapers.
In pairs -YOU WILL BE GIVEN A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE.
SPEND 10 MINUTES READING THROUGH IT AND MAKE NOTES TO
SHARE WITH THE CLASS
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Why Diversity Matters?

Singh (2002) suggests:

The business case including all sta in the development
pool is a source of compe66ve advantage;

The fairness case barriers to those who are dierent are
removed;

The merit case stereotyping of the management role as
white and male excludes those of talent who are not.



Diversity must be strategic, managers must have vital role in
leading progress and changing prac6ces.
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How Diversity Adds Value :

The Business Case
Allows access to a wider range Be]er Decision Making
of poten6al employees in order
to recruit and retain the best
Improving Customer
talent
Service/Rela6ons
Brings new ideas, perspec6ves
and innova6ve solu6ons
Improves performance,
increases quality and
produc6vity
Improves corporate image,
brand ethics and values

Greater understanding of
diverse groups and
knowledge
Employer of choice
Reducing costs associated
with turnover and
absenteeism

Adding Value through Diversity

IBM GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender) Research shows that 77% of
GLBT would switch stance to a company with a posi6ve stance towards GLBT.

Jaguar 92 % of workforce are white males but trying to increase diversity to
match customer prole. Ability to a]ract and retain talent, has been the success of
their diversity policy.
(Broughton & Strebler 2008)

Volvos all female engineering team came up with 100s of ideas many never
suggested before. (Saxon 2007)

PepsiCos hispanic networking group introduced a new product that led the
company to $100m sales in the rst year. (Saxon 2007)

JD Wetherspoons found that by ac6vely being diverse helps to reect the broad
customer base, higher then the average reten6on rates and that life experience
beneted the pub management role
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Social JusRce Case

Social Jus6ce Case
Moral Obliga6on
Discrimina6on

Decisions should be made without prejudice or stereotyping

Avoid disadvantage to group

Focus on jus6ce through procedures or outcomes

Arguments
Fairness is not a major concern in companies
Managers strive for prot and eciency
Concern over prejudice against talent in search for diversity

Women Managers What obstacles face women managers?

How could HRD advance the business case for diversity in
organisa6onal?

What prejudices do you have of your own that may impact on

male or females roles?

Dierences in Leadership and Management Behaviour

Women Leaders and Managers Dierent Development Needs?

Do you think women-only development ac6vi6es are appropriate?
What conclusions can you draw about gender and LMD?What
ac6on can be taken to enhance LMD for women?

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Managers

Leading and Managing within and across cultures global
management
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Implications to Diversity
Can have nega6ve implica6ons and disadvantages.
Lower employee sa6sfac6on, higher turnover, can create
a sense of organisa6onal detachment, lower cohesiveness,
dicul6es in communica6on and inter group conict and
tension. (Allen, Dawson, Wheatley & White 2008)

CIPD (2008) state that diversity can cause the following
disadvantages;
increased conict among the workforce as dierences in
opinion make it more dicult to agree on solu6ons
poorer internal communica6on, because levels of knowledge
and comprehension dier between employees
increased management costs that arise from dealing with
poten6al conict and communica6on problems.

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Diversity and CSR

Corporate social responsibility

CSR is usually related to sustainability, green issues, the use
of resources and an organisa6ons rela6onship with the
environment when conduc6ng business.

CSR now seen as the psychological contract for employees
and corporate reputa6on.

For example, the Employers Forum on Disability (EFD)
launched a new CSR standard (the Disability Standard)
related to disability in 2004

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Corporate Social Responsibility

Needs to recognise respect within the organisa6on as well as
respect for the environment within which it operates.

An organisa6on needs to establish a harmony between all
the elements, and maintain a balance between good
prac6ces in all areas.

Working towards harmonising the diverse needs and
viewpoints of all concerned will assist in the development of
a socially responsible organisa6on. Using respect and
collabora6on may be the key to successful CSR decision-
making

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National Cultures/
Global Management and Green LMD


Areas to consider:
Managers working in mul6na6onal or global
organisa6ons
Leading and Managing across cultures
Green LMD
The example of Travelodge on page 309 of Gold et
al (2010)

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Diversity and CSR

Dierences in Leadership and Management Behaviour

Women Leaders and Managers Dierent Development Needs?

What conclusions can you draw about gender and LMD?

What ac6on can be taken to enhance LMD for women?

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Managers

Leading and Managing within and across cultures global
management

Lets look at the People Management (February 2014) arRcles and
share your ideas? You were asked to prepare short summarys of
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the arRcles

SUMMARY
Aser todays lecture you need to consider the aspects
around managing diversity and the challenges for managers
in the workplace.

There are many important strategies that are needed by
todays managers to ensure diversity is embedded in the
culture and that organisa6ons both recruit and retain their
talented workforce.

Thank you for your considera6on of these areas today!

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POST-LECTURE TASKS
1.Read Chapter 12 in Gold et al. (2010).
2.Iden6fy one ar6cle based on MNCs and the
provision of LMD and post it in week 9 blog along
with a brief introduc6on to the ar6cle, commentary
on its strengths and limita6ons and highlight
insights provided into MNCs and LMD.

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