BIS 201: Organizational Behavior

John Graham Antwi

LH3
09:30-11:30

UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
IN THIS SESSION

Diversity
In
Organizations
 OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION
 Major Forms of Workplace Diversity
 Workplace Discrimination and Organizational Effectiveness
 Relevant of Biographical Characteristics to OB
 Differentiating Characteristics of OB
 Relevance of Intellectual and Physical Abilities to OB
 How Organizations Manage Diversity Effectively
 Workplace Diversity
Surface-Level vs Deep-Level
Levels of Workplace Diversity Diversity
• Everyone brings differences to the organizations
where they work. These differences can create
energy and excitement in the workplace, but
they can also cause conflict. So, it is important
that we understand how diversity works in
organizations.

• When we look at the workplace, we recognize

two levels of diversity.

• Surface-level diversity represents the

characteristics that are easily observed such
as race, gender, age, etc.

• Deep-level diversity represents the aspects that

are more difficult to see at first glance such as
values, personality, and work preferences.
 Workplace Discrimination and
Organizational Effectiveness

• Discrimination is to note a difference between

things.

• Unfair discrimination assumes stereotypes about

groups.

• Refusal to recognize individual differences is

harmful to organizations and employees.
Workplace Discrimination and
Organizational Effectiveness
 Biographical Characteristics
and Organizational Behavior

• Biological characteristics are personal characteristics that are

objective and easily obtained from personnel records.

• They typically include age, gender, and race, and represent many of
the surface-level aspects of diversity.

• Variations in these can be the basis for discrimination

• We can usually find out about these from personnel records. Because
biological characteristics can be the basis for discrimination, it’s
important to understand how they are related to work outcomes.
 Biographical Characteristics
and Organizational Behavior
• Age

• Age is an increasingly relevant characteristic as the workforce is aging.

• Older workers bring with them a wealth of knowledge and

experience, but the misperception is that productivity often declines
with age. Whether this is true or not, it is a perception people act
upon and will affect the workplace.

• Studies show that turnover and absenteeism rates are lower among
older workers, and age is not associated with lower productivity.
 Biographical Characteristics
and Organizational Behavior
• Sex

• There are no consistent male-female differences in:

• problem-solving ability, analytical skills, competitive drive,

motivation, sociability, or learning drive.

• But women, in certain instances, earn less than men for the same
positions and have fewer professional opportunities.
 Biographical Characteristics
and Organizational Behavior
• Race and Ethnicity
• Employees tend to favor colleagues of their own race in performance
evaluations, promotion decisions, and pay raises.

• Studies indicate that people in the workplace do identify more with

people like themselves; so, in some cases, opportunities may be
given to people because they are like their supervisor, rather than
on their merits.

• African Americans and Hispanics perceive higher levels of

discrimination in the workplace.

• African Americans generally fare worse than Whites in employment

decisions.
 Biographical Characteristics
and Organizational Behavior
• Disabilities

• A person with a disability is one who has a physical or mental

impairment that limits one or more major life activities.

• Sections 45 – 54 of Ghana’s Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) classifies the

conditions under which persons of disabilities may be engaged at work.

• Workers with disabilities receive higher performance evaluations but

may have lower performance expectations.

• Even so, individuals with disabilities continue to face bias in the

workplace.
 Biographical Characteristics
and Organizational Behavior

• Hidden Disabilities

• Hidden Disabilities may include Sensory disabilities, chronic illness

or pain, cognitive or learning impairments, sleep disorders, and
psychological challenges.

• Ghanaian organizations must accommodate employees with a very

broad range of impairments.

• Employees must disclose their conditions to their employers to be

eligible for workplace accommodations and employment
protection.
 Differential Characteristics and
Organizational Behavior
• Tenure
• Tenure refers to the length of time people have been on the job.
• Tenure is a good predictor of employee productivity.
• Tenure and job satisfaction are positively related.

• Religion
• Ghana’s law prohibits discrimination based on religion, but it is still an
issue, especially for Muslims,

• But bias against other religious beliefs exists as well.

 Differential Characteristics and
Organizational Behavior
• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

• Federal law does not protect employees against discrimination based

on sexual orientation, but this may soon change.
• Most companies have policies covering sexual orientation and about
half now have policies on gender identity.
• There are indications that legislation may soon be in place to protect
gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees.

• Cultural Identity
• Need to accommodate and respect individual cultural identities.
 Intellectual and Physical Abilities
and OB

• Ability
• Ability is an individual’s current capacity to perform various tasks in a
job.

• Two types of Abilities

• Intellectual abilities
• Physical abilities
 Intellectual and Physical Abilities
and OB
• Intellectual abilities are abilities needed to perform mental activities –
thinking, reasoning, and problem solving.

• Most societies place a high value on intelligence. Smart people tend to

earn more money, attain higher levels of education, and be leaders.

• General mental ability is an overall factor of intelligence as

suggested by the positive correlations among specific intellectual ability
dimensions.
Intellectual and Physical Abilities
and OB
 Intellectual and Physical Abilities
and OB

 Physical Abilities

 The capacity to do tasks demanding stamina, dexterity, strength,

and similar characteristics.

 Nine basic abilities related to strength, flexibility, and other factors are
needed to perform physical tasks.

 Managers need to identify which of these abilities are necessary

for specific jobs, and then ensure that people in those jobs have
the necessary abilities to do their jobs successfully.
Intellectual and Physical Abilities and
OB
 How Organizations
Manage Diversity Effectively
 Diversity management

 Is the process and programs by which managers make everyone more

aware of and sensitive to the needs and differences of others.

 Diversity is more successful when it is everyone’s business, not just for

certain groups of employees.
 How Organizations
Manage Diversity Effectively
 Managing diversity effectively
begins by attracting,
selecting, developing, and
retaining employees who
can operate and excel in a
workplace with diverse
individuals, viewpoints, and
ideas.

 These efforts are then

complemented by effectively
managing diversity in groups
and ensuring that strong
diversity programs are in
place.
 How Organizations
Manage Diversity Effectively

 Attracting, selecting, developing, and retaining

diverse employees

 Target recruiting messages to specific

demographic groups.

 Ensure that hiring is bias free.

 Create a positive diversity climate.

 How Organizations
Manage Diversity Effectively

 Diversity in groups

 Most people in groups need a common way of

looking at and accomplishing major tasks, and
they need to communicate well with each other.

 Emphasize higher-level similarities among

people.
 How Organizations
Manage Diversity Effectively

 Effective diversity programs

 Teach managers about the legal framework for

equal employment opportunity and encourage
fair treatment of all people.
 Teach managers how a diverse workforce will be
more effective at serving a diverse customer
base.
 Foster personal development practices that bring
out the skills and abilities of everyone.
 CONCLUSION
Implications of Diversity Management for Managers

1. Understand your organization's anti-discrimination policies

thoroughly and share them with your employees.
2. Assess and challenge your own stereotype beliefs to increase
your objectivity.
3. Look beyond readily observable biographical characteristics and
consider the individual’s capabilities before making management
decisions.
4. Fully evaluate what accommodations a person with disabilities
will need and then fine-tune a job to that person’s abilities.
5. Seek to understand and respect the unique biographical
characteristics of your employees; a fair but individualistic
approach yields the best performance.
THANK YOU