Robbins & Judge

Organizational Behavior
14th Edition

Diversity in Organizations

Kelli J. Schutte
William Jewell College

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 2-0

Chapter Learning Objectives
Ø 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

Surface-level diversity

Deep-level diversity

Diversity Management
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Biographical Characteristics
Objective and easily obtained personal characteristics.
ØAge
– Older workers bring experience, judgment, a strong work
ethic, and commitment to quality.

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

Ø Sexual Orientation
– Federal law does not protect against discrimination (but state
or local laws may).
– Domestic partner benefits are important considerations.

Ø Gender Identity
– Relatively new issue – transgendered employees.

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

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Ability
ØMade 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

Number
Aptitude

Verbal
Memory
Comprehension

Intellectual
Spatial
Visualization
Ability Perceptual
Speed

Deductive Inductive
Reasoning Reasoning

E X H I B I T 2–1

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Nine Basic Physical Abilities
Strength Factors
• Dynamic strength
• Trunk strength
• Static strength
• Explosive strength

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Flexibility Factors

Flexibility Factors
•Extent (degree ) flexibility
•Dynamic (energetic )
flexibility

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Other Physical Factors

Other Factors
•Body coordination
•Balance
•Stamina

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Role of Disabilities
Ø When focusing on ability, it can create problems when
attempting to develop workplace policies that recognize
diversity in terms of disabilities.
Ø It is important to recognize diversity and strive for it in
the hiring process.
Ø 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

Ø Making everybody more aware and sensitive to the

needs of others.

Attracting, Selecting, Developing, and

Retaining the Diverse Employees

Working with Diversity in Groups

Effective Diversity Programs

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Implementing Diversity Management Strategies

Ø Knowing that people are different is not enough for

organizations to operate effectively with differences.
Managers must work to develop strategies to develop
ways to utilize differences to achieve work outcomes.
Ø Managers start by attracting, selecting, developing,
and retaining employees who can operate and excel in a
workplace with diverse individuals, viewpoints, and
ideas.
Ø Gaining a diverse workforce through the selection
process and developing that workforce through
organizational training and development programs will
help to provide for an environment that fosters
creativity and effectiveness by tapping into the
potential of all employees.
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Implementing Diversity Management Strategies

Ø More and more organizations are requiring employees

to work in groups. Diversity can aid in group
effectiveness and it can diminish it. Organizations
must provide the tools to leverage the differences to
obtain superior performance.
Ø Effective workforce programs that encourage diversity
contain three components. First, they teach managers
about the laws they need to follow and equal
employment opportunity requirements. Second, they
help managers and employees to see that a diverse
workforce is better able to serve diverse markets.
Third, they take into account personal differences and
approach the differences as strengths that can be
utilized to enhance performance.
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Implementing Diversity Management Strategies

Ø Effective workforce programs that encourage diversity

contain three components.
Ø First, they teach managers about the laws they need to
follow and equal employment opportunity
requirements.
Ø Second, they help managers and employees to see that a
diverse workforce is better able to serve diverse
markets.
Ø Third, they take into account personal differences and
approach the differences as strengths that can be
utilized to enhance performance.
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 Global Implications
Ø 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
Ø Intellectual Abilities
– Structures and measures of intelligence generalize across
cultures.
Ø Diversity Management
– Diversity management is important across the globe.
However, different cultures will use different frameworks
for handling diversity.

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Additional Global Implications
Ø Most evidence recognizes that the structures and
measures of intellectual abilities work in many
different cultures.

Ø Diversity management is important in all cultures;

however, each culture does approach diversity
differently.
Ø For example, the type of demographic variables used
to identify diversity varies in each culture.
– .

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Summary and Managerial Implications
Ø 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
• Diversity Management is the application of the organization’s
understanding of diversity.
• It is the way that organizations recognize and utilize the
differences that will allow them to create a culture that
capitalizes on their workforce diversity to be a leader in the
marketplace.
• 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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Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

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