Discussion: Workplace Diversity
In 1980, psychologist Geert Hofstede introduced the cultural dimensions theory, which suggests
that the behaviors of employees are based on the cultural norms and values of their country of origin. In
total, he surveyed thousands of employees in 40 different countries and identified four initial clusters of
cultural dimensions. One of the cultural dimensions is called power distance. Power distance is the
degree to which a country subscribes to a formal hierarchical structure and accepts an unequal
distribution of power. In countries with high power distance, such as China and Russia, employees are
more likely to accept decisions made by supervisors without criticism or resistance and less likely to
approach or ask questions of supervisors. The opposite is true for countries with low power distance,
like the United States. Imagine if an American employee publicly challenged a Chinese supervisor. If
neither was aware of cultural differences, what kind of conflict might ensue? Hofstede’s theory
illustrates how and why miscommunication and misunderstandings may occur in the workplace,
especially if there is a lack of awareness about cultural differences.
In this Discussion, you will consider diversity-related challenges that occur in the workplace. As
you do so, you will explore challenges related to ethnic and cultural differences, and dysfunctions among
cross-cultural teams. You also will revisit the topic of discrimination from last week.
Reference: Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
To Prepare
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Read this week’s Learning Resources. Pay particular attention to specific challenges related to
workforce diversity.
Select a challenge related to workplace diversity to discuss. Examples include gender inequality,
generation gaps, negative stereotypes, ethnic and cultural differences, discrimination,
dysfunctions among cross-cultural teams, sexual harassment.
Find a recent news story about an organization or industry struggling with this challenge.
By Day 3 of Week 11
Post a response to the following:
Briefly describe the workplace diversity challenge that you selected and the news story you found. Then
explain how an I/O Psychology practitioner might help the particular organization address this issue. Be
specific and use evidence from the literature to support your points.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (n.d.) defines sexual harassment as “unwelcome
sexual advances, requests for sexual factors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature” (para. 1).
Instances of sexual harassment are prevalent inside and outside of the workplace and the unfortunate reality is that
this type of behavior is a challenge that most women have had to face and overcome on numerous occasions.
Findings from a meta-analysis even depict this fact in their results, wherein a high incident rate of sexual harassment
in the workplace environment was demonstrated (Ahmad et al., 2018). Earlier this year, Kenia Chapas, a former
female McDonald’s employee from Saratoga, reported several instances of sexual harassment and inappropriate
behavior to her manager (Wilson, 2022). The issue was not resolved, and the concerns were not addressed with the
perpetrator; instead, Chapas was reprimanded for her decision to come forward with a sudden reduction of hours and
a one-week suspension from work for illegitimate reasons. Upon returning from her work suspension, Chapas was
wrongfully terminated by management. While this story is shocking in its own right, it is sadly not the first incident
where female employees in the fast-food industry have experienced and spoken out against sexual harassment. “The
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) files, on average, more than 7,000 sexual harassment
allegations every year” (Wilson, 2022, para 15).
With rising number of cases each year and an increased awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace,
substantial action must be made, and urgently, in order for change to occur. I-O psychologists are uniquely suited to
help address these issues by aiding in intervention development. The current focus on workplace sexual harassment
presents an opportunity for industrial and organizational (I-O) psychologists to apply their knowledge of training,
organizational culture, and program evaluation to influence how training programs are designed and assessed to
ultimately create lasting behavioral and cultural changes at the individual and organizational levels. For example, an
I-O practitioner can conduct a needs analysis, which involves an organizational analysis, task analysis, and person
analysis (Aamodt, 2016). A needs analysis can gather information regarding current and potential problems of the
organization in order to design and implement appropriate reactive and proactive initiatives for addressing issues of
sexual harassment. An organizational analysis that reveals persistent sexual harassment issues across the
organization may prompt a reactive response aimed at reducing or eliminating existing behavior as well as healing
the organization. On the other hand, a person analysis may identify pockets of negative attitudes that could lead to
sexual harassment. According to Ahmad and colleagues (2018), a more lenient and tolerant work environment where
there are little to no ramifications for harassers “leads employees to believe sexual harassment is not taken seriously”
and therefore explains the greater and more pervasive occurrence of such issues. Further, I-O psychologists can
implement training programs that contain specific components to enhance the transfer of training and long-term
learning. In the context of sexual harassment training, behavioral modeling can provide trainees with behavioral
examples to observe and assess through roleplays, videos, or skits (Medeiros & Griffith, 2019). Additionally, sharing
cases of desired and undesired actions provide trainees with examples of the consequences of poor decisions,
behaviors, or a misapplication of strategies. In their research Medeiros and Griffith (2019) suggest the efficacy of this
approach for increasing training transfer. By encouraging trainees to analyze the good and bad choices made and
strategies applied, and also requiring them to develop, assess, and discuss their own examples or cases, solutions
will be readily accessible to employees and there will be greater awareness and understanding of the severity of
sexual harassment issues in the workplace.
References:
Aamodt, M. G. (2015). Industrial/Organizational Applications Workbook for Aamodt’s
Industrial/Organizational Psychology: An Applied Approach (I/O Applications
Workbook) (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Ahmad, A., Anderson, A., Sabat, I., Membere, A., & King, E. (2018). Women in Organizations: Understanding
Barriers to Advancements of Female Employees. The SAGE Handbook of Industrial, Work and
Organizational Psychology, 3, 377–395. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781473914964.n18
Medeiros, K., & Griffith, J. (2019). #Ustoo: How I-O psychologists can extend the conversation on sexual harassment
and sexual assault through workplace training. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 12(01), 1–19.
https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2018.155
U.S. EEOC. (n.d.). Sexual Harassment. US EEOC. https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment
Wilson, J. (2022, August 9). Ex-McDonald’s employee filing discrimination complaint. HRD.
https://www.hcamag.com/us/specialization/employment-law/ex-mcdonalds-employee-filing-discriminationcomplaint/416161
By Day 5 of Week 11
Respond to at least one colleague who selected different workforce diversity issues than you did.
Respectfully comment on whether you agree with their approaches to addressing the diversity
challenges, why or why not, and provide an additional approach for each that could be useful.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have
learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of your colleagues’ comments.
Walton et al. (2015) defined stereotype threat as “…a situational phenomenon that arises when people
face the prospect of being viewed or evaluated in light of a negative stereotype about a group they
belong to” (p. 524). High levels of exposure to stereotype threats can influence an employee’s
performance. This influence can then affect organizational performance and production.
Reducing threats can be accomplished in four key contexts including recruiting, selecting, socializing and
onboarding, and training employees. To eliminate stereotype threats in recruiting, I/O practitioners
must ensure that their physical environment values inclusion. They can articulate diversity through their
mission and vision statements and advertise a culture that values growth and improvement (Walton et
al., 2015).
Often, taking tests could be potentially viewed as a stereotype threat especially if used as part of the
selection process. Reducing this potential is through a commitment from the organization to using a
process for hiring and selecting employees with a focus on diversity (Walton et al, 2015).
An employee can feel a stereotype threat when onboarding if the group they belong to is
underrepresented within the organization. An example of this is a person who could be a part of a
minority group due to race or sexual orientation. One way to mitigate this is by having the I/O
practitioner increase the representation of the group through the development of inclusive hiring
practices. Diversity allows for the development of relationships and allows employees to perform at a
higher level (Walton et al., 2015).
In a training situation, employees usually learn less effectively under a stereotype threat. To lessen the
threat, Walton et al. (2015) suggested providing wise feedback. This involves having the I/O practitioner
inform the employee that he or she is held to a high standard first. And then convey that he or she can
meet that standard.
A type of stereotype threat that I chose for this assignment was a lawsuit over sexual orientation and
race discrimination against Applebee’s restaurant chain (Press Release, 2022). A black employee was
subjected to racial and homophobic slurs on a consistent basis. The employee first tried to complain to
management, but the harassment continued. Eventually, the employee complained to the restaurant’s
corporate office. As a result of his complaint, his hours were cut forcing him to quit. This behavior is in
violation of Title VII which prohibits discrimination based on color and sexual orientation. The EEOC first
attempted to resolve the issue to no avail. The case was eventually settled for $100,000 in
compensatory damages (Press Release, 2022).
To address issues of discrimination based on race or sexual orientation, the I/O practitioner should
revisit the policies and procedures from testing, to hiring, to onboarding and training to remove the
barriers of discrimination. They should be able to view the picture and not just address the symptom.
Regarding testing, I/O practitioners should review the process to eliminate any suggestion of
discrimination such as the language used in testing. Have I/O practitioners revise and enforce the
policies, so they convey the message of inclusion and equality. One way of doing this is working with
senior leaders to set the expected behavior. For recruiters, I/O practitioners should expose and enable
recruiters to hire from a more diverse pool which would result in better minority representation.
Regarding training, I/O practitioners can retrain the trainers, so they understand and comprehend the
concept to fully engage with inclusivity.
Gabriel,
Your post contained a thorough analysis of how an I-O practitioner can help to address the challenges
imposed by stereotype threat in the workplace. In addition to the interventions you discussed such as
ensuring an environment of inclusion, providing wise feedback, and assessing hiring practices and/or
business policies to remove barriers of discrimination, additional strategies can be implemented to reduce
stereotype threat in relation to racial discrimination and sexual orientation. Elaborating on institutional
level interventions, research has documented several environment cues that can trigger stereotype
threat. For example, offices decorated with photos of senior management and executives that only
represent Caucasian males may highlight a lack of diversity and inclusion and may trigger doubt that
women and minorities can advance in the organization. Outside of the physical workspace, company
websites, offer of employment letters, racially charged and discriminatory language in various companywide materials have all been shown to “evoke similar appraisals of belonging, potential threat, and
person-organization fit to that of physical environmental cues” (Casad & Bryant, 2016, p. 7). In
consideration to this information, evidently it is important to create a workplace environment that
promotes inclusion and belonging to all races, genders, and sexual orientations. I-O practitioners can help
bring awareness to these environmental factors and cues in order to replace discriminatory and
stereotypical triggers with physical cues and an environment that prioritizes values of belonging,
inclusion, and diversity.
References:
Casad, B. J., & Bryant, W. J. (2016). Addressing Stereotype Threat is Critical to Diversity and
Inclusion in Organizational Psychology. Frontiers in Psychology, 7.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00008