Managing
Diverse
Employees
in a Multicultural
Environment
chapter five
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives
1. Discuss the increasing diversity of the workforce and of the
organizational environment.
2. Explain the central role that managers play in the effective
management of diversity.
3. Explain why the effective management of diversity is both an
ethical and a business imperative.
4. Discuss how perception and the use of schemas can result in
unfair treatment.
5. List the steps managers can take to effectively manage
diversity
6. Identify the two major forms of sexual harassment and how
they can be eliminated.
5-2
The Increasing Diversity of the
Workforce and the Environment
• Diversity
– Dissimilarities/differences among people in age,
gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation,
socioeconomic background, and
capabilities/disabilities, and any other
characteristic used to distinguish between people
5-3
Sources of Diversity in the Workplace
Figure 5.1
page 172
5-4
The Increasing Diversity of the
Workforce and the Environment
• Glass ceiling
– alludes to the invisible
barriers that prevents
minorities and women
from being promoted
to top corporate
positions
5-5
Workforce Diversity: Age
• Aging U.S. Population
–Median age in the United States is 36.2 years, by
2030 20% of the population will be over 65
• Federal Age Discrimination Laws
–1964 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
–1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act
5-6
Major EEO Laws
Insert Table 5.1
5-7
Workforce Diversity: Gender
• Women in the Work Place
– U.S. workforce is 46.5% percent female
– Women’s median weekly earnings are $638
compared to $798 for men
– Women hold only 15.4% of corporate officer
positions
5-8
Race and Ethnicity
• The U. S. Census Bureau distinguishes between 20+
races
• The racial and ethnic diversity of the U.S. population
is increasing at an exponential rate, as is the
composition of the workforce
• Ethnicity refers to groupings of people based on a
shared characteristic such as national origin,
language or culture. So an ethnicity is whether a
person is Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish origin or not.
– The Census Bureau treats ‘ethnicity’ in terms of
whether a person is Hispanic or not Hispanic
5-9
Workforce Diversity: Religion
• Accommodation for Religious Beliefs
– Scheduling of critical meetings
– Providing flexible time off for holy days
– Posting holy days for different religions on the
company calendar
5-10
Workforce Diversity: Capabilities and
Disabilities
• Disability Issues
– Providing reasonable accommodations for
individuals with disabilities
– Promoting a nondiscriminatory workplace
environment
– Educating the organization
about disabilities and AIDS
5-11
Example - Google
• International users account for more than 50%
of Google’s total user base
• In May 2007, Google started their 40
Language Initiative with the goal of getting
Google products into 40 languages.
12
Workforce Diversity:
Socioeconomic Background
• Socioeconomic background
– refers to a combination of social class and incomerelated factors
• Socioeconomic diversity
– requires that managers be sensitive and responsive to
the needs and concerns of individuals who might not
be as well off as others, provide them with
opportunities to learn, advance, and make meaningful
contributions to the organization while improving
their economic well-being.
5-13
Workforce Diversity: Sexual
Orientation
• Sexual Orientation Issues
– Employment and workplace discrimination
– Provision of same-sex partner benefits
5-14
Other Kinds of Diversity
• In most cases, physical sources of diversity
have no bearing on their job performance
• However, sometimes these end up influencing
advancement rates and salaries
5-15