Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Managing for Inclusion: Equality and Workplace Diversity (Social identity…
Managing for Inclusion: Equality and Workplace Diversity
Workplace diversity & the need to manage it
Term used to describe differences among individuals
Refers to differences among people at work
workforce diversity also encompass differences among workers in: Religious beliefs, educational attainment, experience, family status, parental status, pregnancy etc.
Age, race, ethnicity, gender, physical characteristics (height, weight etc.), mental and physical ability, personality, sexual orientation etc.
The necessity of managing diversity
Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
The diversity of the Australian population -- Overseas-born population is larger and larger nowadays; Aged tendency of population; Increasing labour force participation of women
Anti-discrimination, equal opportunity, and affirmative action legislation in Australia
Increasing diversity of consumers due to globalisation
More than managing cultural diversity, a necessary precondition for continuous innovation
Changing composition of the labour market – attracting the right kind of talent and retaining such talent
Not about merely meeting ‘legal’ or ‘moral’ obligations, but embedding the process in business strategy development
Social identity theory
Individuals validate their social identity by favouring their ‘ingroup’ at the expense of ‘out-groups’
It is ‘easier’ to communicate with other members of their in-group as they are more predictable, trustworthy, and more likely to reciprocate favours
The success of organisational diversity initiatives is dependent upon mitigating these perceived differences
A shared social identity increases perceived differences between individuals belonging to different social categories
Social dilemmas of workplace diversity
Managerial participation
A consequence of the dilemma of individual participation
Those that do not ‘fit in’ often leave resulting in a homogenous workforce
Individuals may also seek out managers that are similar to them
Managers likely to recruit individuals they perceive to be similar to them
Can result in 'power battles'
Organizational participation
Dependent upon how well the social dilemmas relating to individual and managerial participation are addressed
Incorrect perceptions in relation to the relationship between homogenous workers and employee turnover
Belief that diversity initiatives benefit society not organisations implementing them, organisations bear the costs and accrue little benefit
Focus on short-term costs and not long-term benefits
Creates barriers for selecting highly talented candidates due to ill informed and short sighted views
Individual participation
The success of organisational diversity initiatives is dependent upon the degree to which its employees embrace/resist them
Due to exclusion, employees may form further informal subgroups resulting in subgroup competition
Formation of subgroups along social categories may result in restricting the movement of information
Solutions for social dilemmas
The management problem - overcoming individual & managerial participation – Aligning
Individual
Assisting individuals in realising that their self interest can be facilitated by embracing organisational diversity initiatives
Developing superordinate goals which can only be achieved through cooperation amongst diverse members
Aligning individual interest with organisational diversity initiatives by restructuring incentives
managerial
Measuring managerial performance from a long-term perspective
Developing measurable objectives for diversity
Creating a work environment that encourages and facilitates communication between diverse employees
Keeping work team/group sizes small
Embedding the value of diversity to mission, vision statements
The public policy problem – overcoming organisational participation
The glass ceiling
Definition
Overcoming