Managing Diversity: An International Perspective

Session 4
Course Schedule
1 Introduction

2
Perspectives of diversity and leadership

Policy and Practice of Diversity

3

First Dimensions of Diversity: Ethnicity and Age

4

First Dimensions of Diversity: Gender and Sexual Orientation

5
Course Schedule

6
Secondary Dimensions of Diversity: Disabilities and Religion

Secondary Dimensions of Diversity: Social Class, Appearance,

7 Language…

The Ethics of Workplace Diversity and Intersectionality

8

9
Managing Organizational Change/ Presentations

10
Conclusion / Presentations
Key learning outcomes
❖ To understand the differences between primary
and secondary dimensions of diversity

❖ To be aware of the effects of multiple group

memberships and ethnicity as diversity in the
workforce

❖ To understand how organizations need to adapt

their cultures, practices, and policies to meet the
needs of today’s workforce
Understanding the Primary
Dimensions of Diversity
• Primary dimensions of diversity
• Social group memberships that are
fixed and central to one’s identity
(e.g., gender, etc.)
• Secondary dimensions of diversity
• Social group memberships that are
more changeable, not as visible,
and less central to one’s identity
(e.g., income, marital status, etc.)
Loden (1996) diversity dimensions framework
Diversity on the Web (Activity!)
• Here, you will find Loden’s
updated wheel of primary and
secondary dimensions of diversity.
• Circle the three that you feel are
the most important dimensions that
define your identity.
• Share in pairs why these
dimensions are so crucial to who
you are and support your answer
with examples from your life.

Primary and Secondary Dimensions of Diversity according to Loden

Source: Loden, 2010
Source: Adapted Loden, 2010
Thriving in a Multicultural environment

• Considering the emotions

• Becoming familiar with "ethnicity" identity
development
Thriving in a Multicultural environment
Considering the emotions

• Emotions are often overlooked by participants

in the diversity learning process.
• We may experience a wide range of
emotions and feelings, such as anxiety,
confusion, anger, relief, validation, and guilt
(Davi, Dunlap, & Green, 2007 & 2008; Tatum,
1992;)
Thriving in a Multicultural environment
Becoming familiar with racial identity
development

• "Ethnicity" identity development is the degree

to which a person feels at one with, or
connected with, the experiences of an
ethnicity group (Cross et al.,1991)
Thriving in a Multicultural environment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb_3TFJE9c4&list=PLAm08ZbW6-XZw6APi2m8UsFWz3TtN7mc1&t=1s
Ethnicity

Exclusion based on ethnicity

• Discrimination—“refers to policies and practices
that harm a group and its members”.
• Prejudice—“devaluing a group because of its
assumed behavior, values, capabilities, or
attributes” (Allport,1954).
• Intrinsic racism—“the belief that a (perceived)
racial difference is sufficient reason to value one
person less than another” (Kottak, 2006).
• Stereotypes—The most pervasive problem that
ethnic minorities confront in the workforce.
Ethnicity in the Workforce
• How does diversity complicate interactions in
the workforce?

• Assumptions about ethnic group

• Behaviors
• Surface-level characteristics
• Forms in-group and out-group membership
Issues surrounding Ethnicity
• Common…
• Language—Language differences could
hamper the ability to have effective
communication.
• Accents—Having an accent has been used as a
reason for providing a lower score on
evaluations and performance reviews.
• Jokes/Ridicule—Ethnic jokes, one of the most
common types of humor in the workplace.
•…
Immigration (1 of 3)
• Retirement of ageing force
• Growing immigrant labor force
• Resulting cultural transfers and economic
impacts
• Major demographic changes will impact
workforce
Immigration (2 of 3)
New avenues of cultural transmission

• Travel: business, personal, study abroad

• International trade
• Migration
Legal immigration
Illegal immigration
Immigration (3 of 3)
Challenges
• Slow
• Requires adaptation
• Not guaranteed social acceptance
• Acceptance varies by community
• Can be perceived as assets or liabilities to the
local economy
I can…
❖ To understand the differences between
primary and secondary dimensions of
diversity

❖ To be aware of the effects of multiple

group memberships

❖ To understand how organizations need to

adapt their cultures, practices, and policies
to meet the needs of today’s workforce
Age in the workplace
“So far, care obligations towards
children are still treated with
more enthusiasm in public
policy debates, as well as in
company personnel policies than
the care of elderly persons” (Anderson, 2019)

24
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/japan-aging-adapting-
shrinking-population-feature
Key learning outcomes

❖Reflect on workforce replacement strategies

worldwide that address skill shortages and
changing demographics.

❖Critically reflect on how age bias and

stereotypes influence policies and practices and
what to do about them.

❖To gain a greater understanding of diversity

among generations
Exploring Ageism
Write down the age you feel is appropriate for each event in the scale below and give a
one to two-sentence explanation of why you selected that age for that event.

How old should you be to . . .

• … start formal schooling? …have a baby

• ...live alone? …retired from work

• … serve in the armed forces? manage a department of 50 employees…

• … drive a bus? … get married

• … buy an alcoholic drink in a bar?

• … start your own business?

McKechnie, Boston, 2022
Introduction
• Developed versus less-developed countries.
• Age diversity
• Impact on economy.
• Global economic integration.

The ‘baby boomers’, the largest generation

ever, born between 1948 and 1964, are now by
definition older workers.

28
Ageing in the context
For the first time in history, in 2018 the number
of people over 65 outnumbered those under
five years of age (United Nations, 2019).

In the OCED countries and emerging

economies, the rate of ageing is quite high; it
is projected that by 2050 there will be 53% of
people aged 65 (OECD, 2021).

Japan would have the highest rates of age

dependency. This will have implications for
workforce sustainability.

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 ❑ Increasing age
diversity in the
workforce.
❑ The lesser
working-age
population in
developed
countries.
❑ Impact of
immigration.
❑ Demographic
trends.

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31
Introduction
• More adults and fewer children.
• Increased education, and later work
entry.
• People working longer; retirement
income insecurity.
• Migration of workers and employers

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Generations in the Workforce
◦ Factors leading to the “mixing” of generations in
the workplace:

• Flatter organizations
• Increased teamwork
• People working longer
Generations in the Workforce
Five distinct generations of American workers make
up the contemporary workforce.
• Born during the period 1921 and 1940, the
Veteran generation is the oldest generation in
the workforce
• The Baby Boomer generation is represented by
individuals born during the time span from 1941
to 1960
• Generation X is represented by individuals born
during the period 1961-1980
• The Millennial Generation refers to individuals
born 1981 to 1996
• Generation Z - 1997 is the start of a new
generation
Definitions of Terms
.

• Generation refers to a group of people born in

the same general time span, who are about the
same age, and have defining historical and
social events in common (Smola & Sutton, 2002).

• Generational cohort is a generation that has

work values, expectations, and preferences in
common as a result of sharing a birth range and
defining life events during its formative years
that results in a social personality that is distinct
to each of the five generational groups
Generational Cohort
Modernization theory (Aboderin, 2004)
Activity theory (Dowd, 1975) - Generation theory views
Generation theory (Mannhein, 1952)
Disengagement theory (Cumming, 2000)
generation development as an
interaction between the
individual and the social events
that influence the cohort.
• Veterans
• Boomers - Disengagement theory argues
Generation
Generation
•Theory X
Disengagement that as people age there is an
Theory inevitable and mutual
• Millennials disengagement between the
• Gen Zers individual and society.
- Modernization theory argues that
as the society becomes more
Modernization
Activity Theory
modern, the status of older
Theory people diminishes.
- Activity theory argues that one’s
age, level of activity, and level of
life satisfaction are interrelated.
Generational Cohort
Due to generational differences,
work values often vary from
generation to generation (Zemke
et al., 2000).
Values are the enduring belief in a mode
of conduct or desired outcome (Kreitner
& Kinicki, 2007).

• Veterans • Loyalty, respect for

authority, hard work
• Boomers • Dedication, teamwork,
hard work
• Feedback, continuous
• Generation X
learning, work−life
balance
• Millennials • Structure, diversity,
collective action
• Gen Zers • Social entrepreneurs
Generational Cohort
 Source of Conflict  Generational Cohort
• Veterans prefer face-to-face
or written communication.
• Flatter organizations • Boomers prefer face-to-face
and voice-to-voice
• Increased teamwork communication; use
technology less often than
• Communication younger generations.
• Generation X prefers email
and uses most efficient
communication method.
• Millennials prefer instant
messaging, text messaging
and emails.
• GenZers believes in equality
for all
Strategies for Managing
Intergenerational Conflict
Intergenerational conflict—differences in values and views,
and ways of working, talking, and thinking that set
people in opposition to one another and challenge
organizational best interests (Zemeke et al., 2000, p. 11).

(Sago, 2000)
I can…
• Understanding generational perspective that
posit that individuals born during the same
general time span experience significant life
events that happened during their formative
years and subsequently influenced their
world view.

• Generational differences in the workforce are

often the result of interaction between
generations at work, increasing the potential
for conflict over contradictory work values,
expectations, and preferences among
generations in the workplace. 40
People in the workforce
Simon Sinek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUYUQxfUSNo&t=4s
Discussion

What do you think?

What are the major challenges you

imagine in your future workplace?

42
Age, Stereotypes, Bias
Older workers have been associated with:

o Lower performance outcomes,

o Time to learn new things,
o Resistance to change,
o Health and disability issues,
o Decline in physical, cognitive and intelligence
processes.

(Ng and Feldman, 2012)

Age discrimination is flourishing

44
OECD, 2022
Older workers…

OECD, 2022 45
Managing Generational Diversity Model
Accommodate
Discrimination and Fairness Paradigm
•Recognizes discrimination is wrong.
•Progress is measured by how well the organization meets
recruitment/selection goals.
•Idealizes assimilation and conformism to color/gender blindness.

Celebrate
Access and Legitimacy Paradigm
•Celebrates “difference” but tendency is to overlook “diversity.”
•Organization seeks to access more diverse clients and attempts to
match organizational demographic to target consumer audience.
•Possible consequence is marginalize or exploit people of different
identity-group affiliations.

Educate
Legitimacy and Learning Paradigm
•Incorporates but expands on discrimination and fairness /access and legitimacy
paradigms by integrating diversity –focused approaches in the workplace.
•Focus on how the company defines diversity and what it does with information
about diverse experiences.
•Enable and empower all members of diverse workforce without advantage or
disadvantage of anyone.
• Discover ways for system to “work naturally” for everyone without need for
special “training” or identity group affiliations.
Age-inclusive organizational HR
practises
o The need for a supportive working environment,
o Recognition of skills,
o Availability of training with career paths
o The opportunity to pass on knowledge to younger
workers (Mountford, 2013a).
o Flexible work taking breaks, taking time off, …(Pitt-
Catsouphes et al., 2009).
o Creating a culture of recognition and
acceptance of age diversity
Pat, age 55, is Vice President for Customer Services at the Davis Employment agency. Pat started
working for the company 33 years ago, right out of college and advanced to a position under the
mentorship of the founder, Harry Davis. Harry’s son, Jeff, 33, is now in charge of the agency. Upon
retiring, Harry announced, “I leave the company under the capable direction of my son and the sound
management of Pat, who we all know is knowledgeable about the ‘Davis Way’.” Pat, known for loyalty,
commitment, and dedication to the company, is valued and respected by many in the agency.
Recently, billings have begun to decline noticeably, even though industry billings are up. In response,
Jeff has hired several new employees to provide new and creative responses to clients’ needs. One of
the new employees is 32-year-old Alex, Assistant Vice President for Customer Services under Pat. Alex
manages the office and deals with clients. Alex has only been at Davis four months out of a six-month
probationary period. He is having difficulty adapting to his coworkers, many of whom have been at the
company for more than 10 years, and who are familiar with Pat’s management style. Alex has many
good ideas but is not empowered to enact any changes. This is frustrating to him because he believes
incorporation of these ideas would bring the company “into the technological era of efficiency.” Alex
cannot convince Pat that these ideas would enhance efficiency and more effectively meet clients’
needs.
Some of the office employees say that “Pat’s Way” may seem antiquated by today’s office procedures
and technological advances, but Pat is very competent and on top of everything. Pat knows
operations and each client’s history. However, Pat’s procedures create confusion with newer
employees, who find them cumbersome and often overlapping. The workers do not appreciate all
memos and correspondence being done on paper versus electronic messaging, and the endless
number of informational meetings. They prefer charts and aggregated data to long, detailed memos
and keeping each other informed via email, not face-to-face meetings. Pat sees the procedures as
time proven and cannot understand why Alex does not value going through channels, following the
company procedures for manually documenting details, and articulating the “big picture” before
proceeding. Pat believes in getting things done efficiently, using technology to enhance productivity,
finding shortcuts, and avoiding wasted time by being overly cautious. When Alex tries to explain how
procedures could be improved or done more efficiently, Pat listens politely, expresses a look of
frustration, and tells Alex to, “Do it my way.” Alex sighs and leaves the office, mumbling.
Human Resources
o Fran, age 37, Assistant Vice President for Human Resources
o Jan, age 23, Human Resource Specialist
Questions
1. What generational issues could be
involved in this case? What cultural,
historical, or societal issues may influence
these generational issues?
2. What should the grievance committee
recommend? How do you think the two
managers will accept this?

3. What do you think will actually happen?

Why?
I can…

❖Reflect on workforce replacement strategies

worldwide that address skill shortages and
changing demographics.

❖Critically reflect on how age bias and

stereotypes influence policies and practices
and what to do about them.

❖To gain a greater understanding of diversity

among generations

50
Food for thoughts

1.Kirby, J. (June 12, 2020). “Black Lives Matter” has become a

global rallying cry against racism and police brutality. Vox
Media. https://www.vox.com/2020/6/12/21285244/black-lives-
matter-global-protests-george- floyd-uk-Belgium

2. https://hbr.org/2022/03/work-in-the-era-of-no-retirement

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