Diversity in Organizations

 Workplace Diversity and its Major Forms

 Discrimination at Work
 Workplace diversity and its major forms
Workplace diversity refers to any characteristic that makes
people different from one another.

Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-orgbehavior/chapter/2-2-demographic-diversity/
 Discrimination at work
Allowing our behavior to be influenced by stereotypes, about
groups of people.
Various types of discriminations includes:
• Discriminatory policies or practices
• Sexual harassment
• Intimidation
• Mockery and insults
• Exclusion
• Incivility
Source: Organizational Behavior by Robbins and Judge 15th Edition, Chapter 2: Diversity in Organizations.
 Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)

A quality or an attribute that employers are allowed to consider

when making decisions on the hiring and retention of
employees.
Such quality when considered in other contexts would constitute
discrimination and thus be in violation of civil rights employment
law.
But these qualifications must be listed in the employment
offering.

Sources: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/bona_fide_occupational_qualification_(bfoq)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bona_fide_occupational_qualification
 Key biographical characteristics
Age:
• A widespread belief that increased age leads to decline in
work performance
• On the positive side, older employees have more experience,
judgment, commitment to quality.
• Relationship of age with absenteeism, turnover, and
satisfaction.

Source: Organizational Behavior by Robbins and Judge 15th Edition, Chapter 2: Diversity in Organizations.
 Key biographical characteristics
Gender:
• Debate on whether women perform equally well as men do.
• No consistent evidence of gender based differences in terms
of problem solving, analytical skills, motivation and learning
ability.
• Research suggests women more agreeable and conforming to
the authority, but men found to be more aggressive and more
success oriented.

Source: Organizational Behavior by Robbins and Judge 15th Edition, Chapter 2: Diversity in Organizations.
 Key biographical characteristics
Race and Ethnicity:
• Favors in terms of performance evaluations, promotions and
increments are given based on racial similarities.
• No empirical evidence completely supporting impact of race
on absenteeism, accident rates, and application of social skills.
• Research supporting some races do better in decision making
than others.

Source: Organizational Behavior by Robbins and Judge 15th Edition, Chapter 2: Diversity in Organizations.
 Key biographical characteristics
Disability:
• A person having any physical or mental impairment that limits
major life activity is considered disabled.
• Impact of disability on work performance is contingent on the
nature of job.
• Differential impact of physical and mental disability on work
performance.
• Evidence suggesting person with disability getting higher
performance evaluations.
Source: Organizational Behavior by Robbins and Judge 15th Edition, Chapter 2: Diversity in Organizations.
 Other biographical characteristics
Tenure:
• Evidence based positive relationship between seniority and
employee productivity.
• Impact of tenure on absenteeism, turnover, and job satisfaction.
Religion:
• Workplace laws protect individuals from being discriminated
based on their religious beliefs but still it remains an issue.
• Religious individuals may want to express their beliefs at work
which can be objected by others.
Source: Organizational Behavior by Robbins and Judge 15th Edition, Chapter 2: Diversity in Organizations.
 Ability and its relevance to OB
Ability:
Defined as an individual’s current capacity to perform various
tasks of his/her job.
Types of ability:
• Intellectual abilities
• Physical abilities

Source: Organizational Behavior by Robbins and Judge 15th Edition, Chapter 2: Diversity in Organizations.
 Intellectual ability and its relevance to OB
Intellectual Abilities:
Abilities needed to perform mental activities – thinking,
reasoning, and problem solving.
Possessing such abilities result into various outcomes like higher
academic achievements, financial growth etc.
Various intelligence quotient (IQ) tests are used to evaluate
individuals’ level of intellectual abilities.

Source: Organizational Behavior by Robbins and Judge 15th Edition, Chapter 2: Diversity in Organizations.
 Various dimensions of intellectual abilities

Source: Pearson Education Inc.

 Physical ability and its main categories
Physical Ability:
It is the capacity to perform tasks those demand stamina,
strength, and other similar characteristics.
Three main categories of physical ability are:
• Strength
• Flexibility
• And Other characteristics

Source: Organizational Behavior by Robbins and Judge 15th Edition, Chapter 2: Diversity in Organizations.
 List of basic physical abilities
Strength Factors
• Dynamic strength
• Trunk strength
• Static strength
• Explosive strength

Flexibility Factors Other Factors

• Extent flexibility • Body coordination
• Dynamic flexibility • Balance
• Stamina

Source: Organizational Behavior by Robbins and Judge 15th Edition, Chapter 2: Diversity in Organizations.