Workforce diversity (L9, chapter 14: 34)
Benefits diverse workforce for organisations in terms of creativity and so on, different approach diversity management, how might be diversity,
Ethnicity in job applications * Fictional CVs, online applications * Entry-level jobs * Same CV, different names * Name as indicator of ethnicity
What is diversity?
Diversity encompasses any characteristic used to differentiate one person from others
Primary dimensions: age ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation …
Secondary dimensions: educational attainment, geographic location, income, marital status, religious beliefs …

The EEO approach
The creation of conditions to ensure that staff have an equal chance to seek & obtain e/ment & promotion
Governments – legally driven approach * Anti-discrimination legislation * Affirmative action act 1986 – equal opportunity for women in the workplace act 1999 (changed name which better reflect the purpose of the legislation).
Anti-discrimination
* AU: federal & state / territory legislation * Discrimination: unfair treatment of a person or minority group based on prejudice(偏见). * Direct discrimination:
Person with attribute treated less favourably than person without attribute. * Indirect discrimination:
Policies/practices which appear neutral but which have the effect of excluding or treating unfavourably groups of people on basis of attributes.
Affirmative action
Programs that require firms to make special efforts to recruit, hire and promote women &/or members of minority groups * a policy or strategy in at least on of the following areas: 1. gender composition of the workforce 2. equal remuneration b/w women & men 3. availability and utility of e/ment terms conditions & practices relating to flexible working arrangements for e/ees & to working arrangements supporting e/ees with family or caring responsibilities 4. sex-based harassment & discrimination
Effectiveness of EEO * Gender pay gap * women, on average, earn 17.2% less than men * over the next 40 yeaars, the average 25 year old: male earn $2.4 million, women $1.5 million; by 2019, the average woman has half the superannuation of men; women 2.5 times more likely to live in poverty in their old age than men * corporate culture of respect sexual harassment(性骚扰) is any unwanted or unwelcome sexual behaviour, which makes a person feel offended(冒犯), humiliated(侮辱) or intimidated(威吓). * Sexually suggestive(暗示) comments, offensive jokes, intrusive questions, inappropriate leering(媚眼), sexually explicit(露骨的) e-mails or text messages… * More than one in five people reported sexual harassment in their workplace in the past five years * Most likely to women under 40 years of age * Men harassing women accounted for more than half (56%) of all sexual harassment * Male harassment of men accounted for nearly a quarter (23%) of sexual harassment * Glass ceiling
Occurs when people see higher-lever positions but are blocked by an unseen barrier.
Diversity management
A process of managing e/ees’ differences & similarities so that individuals can achieve maximum personal growth & contribute positively to orgnal goals
Competitive advantage
In order to survive in today’s information rich & intellectually based society, orgs are focusing well beyond seeking competitive advantage simply by adding technology, efficient production process & innovative products. Leaders in orgs are recognising the importance of investing in e/ees &, along with other workers, are recognising the importance of servicing the various needs of customers.
-Markets increasingly international. -Demographic characteristics of customers
-Speak language, understand culture. -Manage international operations
Four HRM planning strategies 1. Recruitment & selection approaches
Recruiting process:
Different recruitment methods are need to attract qualified people from diverse labour pools, to promote diversity in advertising, to streamline recruitment & selection processes & to change the orientation of HRM functions. 1) Planning: for example, set diversity goals for all levels of the firm 2) Recruitment strategy: for example, use non-traditional sources of labour 3) Search: for example, use advertisements that target the needs of diverse groups 4) Evaluation: for example, monitor the diversity of candidates
Selection process
Job applicants progress through four stages of the selection process: as applicants, candidates, finalists & invitees. Three barriers that can be addressed to reduce the elimination of persons from diverse backgrounds before they become invitees: 1) Information bias: for example, a decision may be made on information individuals have difficulty providing 2) Personal characteristics: for example, when gender is used as a predictor 3) The similarity of selectors & selected: for example, people with diverse backgrounds are unlikely to be selected unless the evaluator has a diverse background. 2. Training & development: Within adult and organisational learning, age, impairment, gender and cultural background are identified as characteristics that are vulnerable to social constructions and personal values. Assumptions by managers about any of these characteristics, for example, that younger people learn more quickly than older people or that people from certain racial backgrounds learn differently – can substantially(大幅度) inhibit(抑制), interfere with(干扰) or contaminate(污染) learning.
The HR manager needs to develop programs that start ‘where the learner is’, bcz the history, culture, & values of the learner are important components that affect the learner’s understanding. The HR manager is able to affect the values of a diverse workforce in a number of ways: 1) They are able to gain top mgmt. commitment to the development of staff in the areas of recruitment & selection 2) They are able to undertake a diversity audit – ensure that the advantages of a diverse workforce are allowed to exert a positive influence on the org. 3) With positive mgmt. of diversity, the HR manager anticipates ways in which differences among learners can be used during the learning process itself 4) By promoting intercultural skills, the org’s ability to maximize the use of its diverse workforce & generate new knowledge is enhanced 5) Learning is intimately related to the world in which the learner lives & they are affected by it 3. Performance management: Sensitive individuals with diverse backgrounds are likely to resist having a performance evaluation bcz of differences & experiences. When performance managing a diverse workforce, a manager needs to pay special attention to what is required to avoid an e/ee sensing that they are being criticised or judged. If an e/ee feels that they have been criticised or judged, they may feel resistant or embarrassed, and may experience lower morale. 4. Career development: many senior mgmt. teams are dominated by Caucasian males. As a consequence of this Caucasian male dominance, individuals with diverse backgrounds may be less likely to be promoted in the same orgs.
The clone effect, whereby managers promote those who are similar to themselves
HRM manager can implement number of different actions to improve orgnal promotion functions: 1) They can audit current promotion outcomes to determine who gets promoted & whether or not people are satisfied. 2) HRM managers can examine the existing promotional processes.
Pros and cons of diversity management Benefit | Explanation | Improved orgnal performance | Higher productivity, increased knowledge & pool of information that may be a source of real competitive advantage | Cost advantages | A well-managed diverse workforce will lodge(提出) less grievance & equity complaints(申诉与权益投诉) against an org than e/ees from other, less well-managed orgs | Lower turnover rate, less absenteeism | e/ees who feel valued & supported are less likely to absent or to leave the org. the cost of replacement is very high. | Reputation | Orgs that manage their diversity well develop a good public image a& become known among minority groups as good places to work. They are, therefore, able to attract qualified staff from these groups, giving the org an advantage in acquiring highly qualified staff | Marketplace advantages | Orgs are better able to understand diff. market segments & have different perspectives and ways of thinking, thus providing a marketing adv. | Creativity and innovation | Individual differences provide an opportunity for orgs to harness(利用) a broader range of perspectives, ways of thinking & ideas. | Fewer lawsuits | Effective diversity mgmt. can result in fewer discrimination lawsuits, thus saving the org much money, time & effort in the resolution of complaints | Flexibility | Systems flexibility follows from the need for orgs to be flexible in managing their diverse workforces. This flexibility allows orgs to respond more quickly & appropriately to environmental changes | Better quality problem-solving | Diversity in orgnal d-m leads to superior decision s & solutions, because there is a greater variety of backgrounds, experience, knowledge, values, beliefs, attitudes & worldviews in a diverse group | Building effective relationships | The increase in globalisation to interact, manage & negotiate with a greater variety of people from diff. cultures. Therefore, the need to integrate diversity into business strategies, processes & staffing is essential |

Challenges & risks of not managing diversity Individual outcomes | Group outcomes | Orgnal outcomes | Bottom-line costs | -Discrimination-Harassment-Lower job satisf.-Lower commitment-Lower performance-Lower salary | -conflict-comm. problem-lack of cohesiveness-slower d-m | -lower performance-unproductive teams-ineffective systems & procedures-less retention-higher turnover-higher absenteeism-more legal cost-fines-adverse publicity-inability to attract good candidates-less motivated workforce | -lower orgnal performance-lower profits-reduced competitiveness-reduced benefit from T&D programs |

Management of individual
Why one group dominates, and why discrimination & harassment still persist & are exceedingly difficult to change: evaluative bias stereotyping Social categorisation Information processing prejudice discrimination Affective bias

Evaluative bias: describes how individuals relate positively or nectively to fellow workers
Cognitive processing bias: relates to how people have a tendency to retain more detialed & + information abt people who are similar to them than people who are dissimilar, and how people work harder for those who are similar
Affective bias: describes the influences of workers’ affectve reactions towards others where feelings of fear, trust & liking identify how they relate to other people
Stereotyping: can be positive (e.g. all africans are good at sports) or negative (e.g. all males lack feelings). However, stereotypes lack accuracy & can serve to justify & can serve to justify & perpetuate(延续) human differences. Stereotyping influences the dynamics(动力) of interpersonal interaction and the opportunities or obstacles(阻碍) that people experience in the workplace.
Prejudice(偏见): refers to people's attitudes towards members of other groups that are based on faulty, incorrect and invalid generalisations(概括). All forms of prejudice, whether intentional or unintentional, have the power to reduce people’s ability to work effectively with those who don’t meet their selective standards.
Discrimination: direct, indirect; structural or systematic discrimination: this occurs when the interaction of historical decisions, actions, policies and social attitudes allow discrimination to become embedded(嵌入式) in a system.
Diversity-oriented leadership
Many AU organisations still put more emphasis on acquiring a diverse workforce than they do on assisting organisational leaders and managers to work with employees of sundry backgrounds. Consequently, it is an essential HRM role to promote leadership in a diverse workforce & to ensure that business rewards are achieved by maximising the values of training, developing & retaining sought-after, multi-skilled & multi-experienced e/ees.
Effective leaders produce useful change in orgs, whereas good managers control complexity in the org & its environment. To benefit from a diverse workforce, contemporary HR managers are charged with encouraging effective leadership and promoting good mgmt.
In order to institutionalise diversity, change initiatives can be divided into 3 phases, each of which involves different tasks for leaders: 1) Involves structural activities, such as setting priorities, developing a vision & direction, communicating the vision & creating support systems to energise people 2) Involves behavioural activities, such as providing rewards & incentives, acting as an inspirational leader, creating opportunities, and developing more systemic programs 3) Is a cultural one that focuses on the meaning of the change, building consensus around values, resoling value conflicts & making diversity a part of the org’s budget &evaluation
Diversity & organisational culture
Orgnal culture gives members an orgnal identity; facilitates collective commitment; promotes social system stability; & shapes workers’ behaviour – by helping workers make sense of their surroundings.
Orgnal climate can be understood as a property of the individual. Explored from a psychological perspective, climate consist of shared perceptions abt who the work environment is experienced by members 1) Differentiation culture: is characterised by highly significant differences b/w individuals which affect group interactions & individual experiences. The focus in this culture is on the ‘fit’ b/w the person & the org, with those who fit gaining more informal power & status by means of their personal characteristics 2) Unitary culture: is based on shared identities & common bonds among those with diverse backgrounds. The focus of this culture is on commonality rather than individual differences. In this culture, a strong sense of unity exists among e/ees, who reliably show loyalty & commitment to one another 3) Integration culture: highlights & encourages the potential of individual differences – there is potential for the purported benefits of increasing diversity to be realised in workplace with this culture. The focus of this culture is on valuing differences among all e/ees, regardless of characteristics such as their race, ethnicity, gender, age & physical ability. The task of HR managers is to integrate differences successfully & to maintain the peak performance of the diversity workforce.