Robbins, Judge, and Vohra

Organizational Behavior
14th Edition

Diversity
Diversity in
in Organizations
Organizations

Kelli J. Schutte
William Jewell College
Copyright © 2012 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd
Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-1
Chapter
Chapter Learning
Learning Objectives
Objectives
 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.

Copyright © 2012 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd

Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-2
Diversity
Diversity

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Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-3
Biographical
Biographical Characteristics
Characteristics
Objective and easily obtained personal characteristics.
Age
– Older workers bring experience, judgment, a strong work
ethic, and commitment to quality.

Gender
– Few differences between men and women that affect job
performance.

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Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-4
Biographical
Biographical Characteristics
Characteristics (Continued)
(Continued)
Disability
– Today’s organizations have started making efforts to hire
people with disabilities.

Tenure
– People with job tenure (seniority at a job) are more
productive, absent less frequently, have lower turnover, and
are more satisfied.

Copyright © 2012 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd

Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-5
Other
Other Biographical
Biographical Characteristics
Characteristics
 Religion
– May impact the workplace in areas of dress, grooming, and
scheduling. The law prohibits employers from
discriminating against employees on the basis of their
religion.
 Sexual Orientation
– In June 2009, the High Court of Delhi, in a landmark
judgment, decriminalized homosexual sex between
consenting adults, overturning a 149-year-old British
colonial law
– Domestic partner benefits are an important consideration.
 Gender Identity
– Relatively new issue – transgendered employees.
Copyright © 2012 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd
Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-6
Ability
Ability
An individual’s capacity to perform the various tasks in a
job.
 Intellectual and Physical Abilities

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Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-7
Ability
Ability
Made 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.
• 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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Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-8
Dimensions
Dimensions of
of Intellectual
Intellectual Ability
Ability

See E X H I B I T 2–3 for details

See E X H I B I T 2–3 for details
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Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-9
Nine
Nine Basic
Basic Physical
Physical Abilities
Abilities

See E X H I B I T 2–4 for details

See E X H I B I T 2–4 for details
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Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-10
Flexibility
Flexibility Factors
Factors

Flexibility Factors
•Extent flexibility
•Dynamic flexibility

See E X H I B I T 2–4 for details

See E X H I B I T 2–4 for details
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Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-11
Other
Other Physical
Physical Factors
Factors

Other Factors
•Body coordination
•Balance
•Stamina

See E X H I B I T 2–4 for details

See E X H I B I T 2–4 for details
Copyright © 2012 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd
Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-12
Role
Role of
of Disabilities
Disabilities
 When focusing on ability, it can create problems when
attempting to develop workplace policies that recognize
diversity in terms of disabilities.
 It is important to recognize diversity and strive for it in
the hiring process.
 An organization needs to be careful to avoid
discriminatory practices by making generalizations
about people with disabilities.

Copyright © 2012 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd

Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-13
Implementing
ImplementingDiversity
DiversityManagement
ManagementStrategies
Strategies
 Making everybody more aware and sensitive to the
needs of others.

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Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-14
 Global
Global Implications
Implications
 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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Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-15
Additional
Additional Global
Global Implications
Implications
 Intellectual Abilities
– Structures and measures of intelligence generalize across
cultures.
 Diversity Management
– Diversity management is important across the globe.
However, different cultures will use different frameworks
for handling diversity.

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Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-16
Summary
Summary and
and Managerial
Managerial Implications
Implications
 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.

Copyright © 2012 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd

Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-17
Summary
Summary and
and Managerial
Managerial Implications
Implications
– Diversity Management
• 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.

Copyright © 2012 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd

Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-18
 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the
United States of America.

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Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright © 2012 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd

Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 14e 2-19