CH 8 BSAD 310 Fall 2019

Chapter 8
Managing a New
and Diverse Workforce
Copyright ©2020 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
2
Copyright © 2020 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
accessible website, in whole or in part. HR5 | CH8
1. Discuss the nature of diversity, and distinguish
among diversity management, equal
employment opportunity, and affirmative action
2. Identify and describe the major dimensions of
diversity in organizations
3. Discuss the primary impact of diversity on
organizations

3
LEARNING OUTCOMES (Continued)
4. Describe individual and organizational
strategies and approaches to coping with
diversity, and discuss the multicultural
organization
5. Discuss the basic issues in managing
knowledge workers
6. Relate human resource management to
social issues

4
Nature of Workforce Diversity
• Diversity: Exists in a group or organization
when its members differ from one another
along one or more important dimensions
• Factors contributing to diversity
• Changing demographics
• Increased awareness by organizations on how to
improve workforce quality
• Legislation and legal actions
• Globalization movement
LO 1

5
Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity
Management
• Equal employment opportunity
• Treating people fairly and equitably and taking
actions that do not discriminate against people
in protected classes on the basis of some illegal
criterion
• Diversity management
• Places heavy emphasis on recognizing and
appreciating differences among people at work
and attempting to provide accommodations for
those differences to the extent that is feasible
and possible
LO 1

6
Affirmative Action and Diversity Management
• Distinction between the two has led to
confusion
• A narrow pursuit of diversity will not be
accepted as a defense for affirmative action
without strong evidence that this is the best way
to proceed
• Title Seven of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
• Acknowledges differences among people and
makes reasonable accommodations for these
differences
LO 1

7
Dimensions of Diversity
• Age distributions
• Average age of U.S. workers is gradually
increasing
- More people are working beyond the
retirement age just a few years ago
• Gender
• Glass ceiling: Barrier that keeps females from
advancing to top management positions
• Ethnicity: Ethnic composition of a group or
organization
LO 2

8
Dimensions of Diversity (Continued)
• Disability
• Perception about an employee with a disability
depends on the origin and nature of the
disability and its aesthetic aspects
• Other dimensions
• Sexual orientation, religious diversity, single
parents, special dietary preferences, differences
in political viewpoints, and Native American
standing
LO 2

9
Impact of Diversity on Organizations
• Diversity and social change
• Diversity in organizations both facilitates and is
facilitated by social change in the environment
• Diversity and competitiveness
• Diversity can be a source of competitive
advantage in the marketplace
• Six arguments have been proposed for how
diversity contributes to competitiveness
- Cost argument
- Resource acquisition argument
LO 3

10
Impact of Diversity on Organizations (Continued 1)
- Marketing argument
- Creativity argument
- Problem-solving argument
- Systems flexibility argument
• Diversity and conflict
• Conflict can arise because of the following:
- When individuals think that a person has
been hired, promoted, or fired owing to
his/her diversity status
LO 3

11
Impact of Diversity on Organizations (Continued 2)
- Misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and
inappropriate interactions
- Indirect impact of poorly conceived
employment practices
- Differences in cultural values and norms
- Fear, distrust, or individual prejudice
LO 3

12
Individual Strategies for Dealing with Diversity
• Understanding the nature and meaning of
diversity
• Empathy
• Tolerance
• Communication
LO 4

13
Organizational Strategies for Dealing with
Diversity
• Organizational policies
• Directly or indirectly affect how employees are
treated
• Affect how organizations address and respond
to problems that arise from diversity
• Provide a stance on diversity in an organization’s
mission statement
• Organizational practices
• Provide benefit packages to appease individual
situations and ensure flexibility
LO 4

14
Organizational Strategies for Dealing with
Diversity (Continued)
• Diversity training
• Specifically designed to enable members of an
organization to function better in a diverse
workplace
• Organizational culture
• Must be shaped so that it clearly underscores
top management commitment to and support of
diversity in all of its forms throughout the
organization
LO 4

15
Multicultural Organization
• Achieves high levels of diversity
• Can capitalize fully on the advantages of the
diversity
• Has few diversity-related problems
• Characteristics
• Pluralism
• Full structural integration
• Full integration of informal networks
LO 4

16
Multicultural Organization (Continued)
• Absence of prejudice and discrimination
• No gap in organizational identification based on
cultural identity group
• Low levels of intergroup conflict
LO 4

17
Managing Knowledge Workers
• Organizational learning: Process by which
an organization learns from past mistakes
and adapts to its environment
• Begins with individual learning and change
• Depends on social processes and sharing of
information
• Involves acquisition of new knowledge,
communicating the knowledge to others, and
using the knowledge to adapt
• Aided by organizational memory
LO 5

18
Knowledge Workers
• Employees who add value simply because
of what they know
• Tend to work in high-technology firms
• Require extensive and specialized training
• Firms should tailor specific compensation
and career-development policies
• Biggest challenge for HR is to attract and
retain these employees
LO 5

19
Human Resource Management and Social
Issues
• Awareness that organizational needs can be
met even while addressing employee and
societal needs is increasing
• Concern with social issues in general is
increasing
LO 6

20
Key Social Issues in HRM
• Prison labor: Permitting prison-made
products to compete with those made by
people who earn legal wages
• Living wage: Choice between competitive
wages and living wages
• Immigration: Reduction in job opportunities
for U.S. citizens due to Illegal immigration
• Corporate social responsibility (CSR):
Balancing environmental concerns with
responsibility toward stakeholders
LO 6

KEY TERMS
21
• Diversity
• Equal employment
opportunity
• Diversity management
• Glass ceiling
• Ethnicity
• Diversity training
• Multicultural
organization
• Organizational
learning
• Organizational
memory
• Knowledge workers

SUMMARY
22
• Diversity exists in a group or organization
when its members differ from one another
along one or more important dimensions
• Many different dimensions of diversity can
be used to characterize an organization
• Diversity provides both opportunities and
challenges and plays several important roles
in organizations today
• There are various organizational and
individual approaches to managing diversity

CH 8 BSAD 310 Fall 2019

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CH 8 BSAD 310 Fall 2019