Managing the
Diverse
Workforce
Chapter 11
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives
LO 1 Describe how changes in the U.S. workforce make diversity
a critical organizational and managerial issue
LO 2 Distinguish between affirmative action and managing
diversity
LO 3 Explain how diversity, if well managed, can give
organizations a competitive edge
LO 4 Identify challenges associated with managing a diverse
workforce
LO 5 Define monolithic, pluralistic, and multicultural
organizations
LO 6 List steps managers and their organizations can take to
cultivate diversity
11-2
Managing Diversity
 Managing diversity
 Managing a culturally diverse workforce by
recognizing the characteristics common to specific
groups of employees while dealing with such
employees as individuals and supporting,
nurturing, and utilizing their differences to the
organization’s advantage.
11-3
Diversity: A Brief History
 Most immigrants to the U.S. from late 1800s to early
1900s were non-English speaking from Italy, Poland,
Ireland, and Russia
 It was considered poor business practice for white
Protestant-dominated insurance companies to hire
Irish, Italians, Catholics, or Jews
 It was not until the 1960s that the struggle for
acceptance by various ethnic and religious groups
had on the whole succeeded
11-4
Diversity: A Brief History
 When the Women’s Rights Movement was launched
in Seneca Falls in 1848, most occupations, colleges,
and professional schools were off limits to women
 Women could not vote and lost all property rights
once they were married
 Until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, women:
 Were excluded from certain jobs
 Needed a male cosigner for a bank loan
 Were not issued credit cards if they were married
11-5
Diversity: A Brief History
 The most difficult struggle faced America’s nonwhite
minorities
 Racial segregation remained for 100 years after the end
of the civil war
 Blacks suffered voting right suppression and
discrimination in education, employment, and housing
 Brown v. Board of Education (1954) declared segregation
unconstitutional setting the stage for the Civil Rights Act
of 1964
11-6
Components of a Diversified Workforce
Figure 11.1
11-7
Diversity Today
 Diversity
 Differences that include religious affiliation, age,
disability status, military experience, sexual
orientation, economic class, educational level,
lifestyle, gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality
11-8
Diversity Today
 Managing diversity means not just tolerating
or accommodating all sorts of differences, but
supporting, nurturing, and utilizing these
differences to the organization’s advantage
11-9
Expansion of Diversity Programs in U.S.
Companies
Figure 11.2
11-10
The Size of the Workforce
 Lower birthrates are resulting in a smaller labor
force
 As the baby boom generation retires the labor force
will become even smaller
 Employers are likely to outsource to developing
nations where birthrates are high
 Still, U.S. companies will have to compete for the
best candidates from a smaller labor pool
11-11
Gender Issues
 Women make up about 47 percent of the workforce.
 The overall labor force participation rate of women
rose throughout the 1970s
 Almost 60 percent of marriages are dual-earner
marriages.
 One of every four married women in two-income
households earns more than her husband does
11-12
Question
A (n) ___________ is an invisible barrier making it
difficult for women and minorities to move
beyond a certain level in the corporate hierarchy.
A.Organization chart
B. Glass ceiling
C. Glass limit
D.Personnel limit
11-13
Gender Issues
 Glass ceiling
 an invisible barrier
making it difficult for
women and
minorities to move
beyond a certain
level in the corporate
hierarchy
11-14
The A-List: Top Women Executives
Table 11.1
11-15
Gender Issues
 Sexual harassment
 Conduct of a sexual
nature that has
negative consequences
for employment.
11-16
Sexual Harassment
 Quid pro quo
harassment
 Submission to or
rejection of sexual
conduct is used as a
basis for employment
decisions
 Hostile environment
 Occurs when unwelcome
sexual conduct has the
effect of unreasonably
interfering with job
performance or creating
an intimidating or
hostile, working
environment
11-17
Top 30 Companies for Executive Women
Table 11.2
11-18
Basic Components of an Effective
Sexual Harassment Policy
Table 11.3
11-19
Minorities and Immigrants
 Black, Asian, and Hispanic workers hold more than
one of every four jobs
 Asian and Hispanic workforces are growing the
fastest, followed by the African-American workforce
 Three in 10 college enrollees are people of color.
 By 2020, most of California’s entry-level workers will
be Hispanic
11-20
Minorities and Immigrants
 English has become the second language for much
of the population in California, Texas, and Florida
 Foreign-born workers make up more than 15
percent of the U.S. civilian labor force
 One in 40 people in the United States identifies
himself or herself as multiracial
11-21
Executives of Color: Selected Examples
Table 11.4
11-22
Mentally and Physically Disabled People
 The largest unemployed minority in the U.S.
 The share of the population with a disability is
growing
 Assistive technologies make it easier for
companies to comply with the Americans with
Disabilities Act
11-23
The Age of the Workforce
 The median age of workers is rising substantially while
the number of young workers is growing only slightly
 The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that entry-level
workers will be in short supply in the future
 70% of workers between 45-70 intend to work in
retirement
 To prevent an exodus of talent, employers need
strategies to help retain and attract skilled older
workers
 Employers must also compete for talented young
workers
11-24
Utilizing Older Employees
Table 11.6
11-25
Managing Diversity versus
Affirmative Action
 Affirmative action
 Special efforts to recruit and hire qualified
members of groups that have been discriminated
against in the past.
11-26
Competitive Advantage through Diversity
and Inclusion
Ability to Attract and Retain
Motivated Employees
Better Perspective on a
Differentiated Market
Ability to Leverage Creativity and
Innovation in Problem Solving
Enhancement of Organizational
Flexibility
11-27
Challenges of Diversity and Inclusion
Unexamined
Assumptions
Mistrust and
Tension
Stereotyping
Lower
Cohesiveness
Communication
Problems
11-28
Diversity Assumptions and Their
Implications for Management
Table 11.7
11-29
Multicultural Organizations
 Monolithic organization
 An organization that has a low degree of structural
integration—employing few women, minorities, or
other groups that differ from the majority—and
thus has a highly homogeneous employee
population.
11-30
Multicultural Organizations
 Pluralistic organization
 An organization that has a relatively diverse
employee population and makes an effort to
involve employees from different gender, racial, or
cultural backgrounds.
11-31
Question
A ___________ organization is an organization
that values cultural diversity and seeks to
utilize and encourage it.
A. Multi-spatial
B. Multidimensional
C. Multicultural
D. Multi-temporal
11-32
Multicultural Organizations
 Multicultural
organization
 An organization that
values cultural
diversity and seeks to
utilize and encourage
it.
11-33
How Organizations Can Cultivate
a Diverse Workforce
1. Securing top management’s leadership and
commitment
2. Assessing the organization’s progress toward
goals
3. Attracting employees
4. Training employees in diversity
5. Retaining employees
11-34
Attracting Employees
Recruitment
Accommodating Work
and Family Needs
Alternative Work
Arrangements
11-35
Guidelines for Diversity Training
Table 11.8
11-36
Retaining Employees
Support
Groups
Mentoring
Career
Development
and
Promotions
Accountability
11-37
Question
___________ are higher-level managers who help
ensure that high-potential people socialized into
the norms and values of the organization.
A. Trainers
B. Mentors
C. HR specialists
D. Employee coaches
11-38
Retaining Employees
 Mentors
 Higher-level managers who help ensure that highpotential people are introduced to top
management and socialized into the norms and
values of the organization.
11-39
Destination CEO: Darden Restaurants
 Give examples of
minority CEOs in
Fortune 500
companies.
 Where did Otis learn
a great deal about
working with diverse
groups of people?
11-40