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• Examples – Time• Space• People

Align Organizational Systems & Practices For Diversity

Cox Ch 6

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E.g., Flextime?

• Allow work to be done in ‘non-business hours’

• Specify whether employees are able to take paid or unpaid time from work for family reasons

• Enforcing time-off policy similarly for all has a diff impact on diff cultural groups

Aligning Time-based Practices & Systems for Diversity

3

• Adv: Helps in attraction, retention & motivation of diverse workforce• Dual-career couples• Women workers (see IBM Thomas 04)

• Men w/parental responsibilities (see IBM Thomas 04)

• Workers w/eldercare responsibilities• Workers who want to exchange income for leisure

time

• Disadv: Time off policies conflicts with business strategy to stay productive with few workers working longer hours

Advantages & Disadvantages of Flextime

4

• Policies reinforcing status hierarchies based on gender, class, work type– Symbolic– Substantive

Aligning Space-based practices for DiversityWhat are Class Distinctions?

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• Unequal access to washrooms for both sexes• Fewer washrooms for women vs. men when having

equal number

• Reserved parking areas by job-type • Could serve as a ‘reward’ for some?

• Restricted access to some office floors

• Different office furnishings based on job level

• Executive dining rooms/washrooms

Symbolic Class Distinctions

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• Differential benefits (e.g., retirement, vacation time) for hourly vs. salaried employees

• Unjustified differences in access to information

• Differences in access to incentive compensation (e.g., stock options) based on job-type

Substantive Class Distinctions

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• Examples – Time• Space• People

Aligning Systems & Practices For Diversity

8

• Hire & promote those less resistant to making workplace more inclusive

• Examples– Selection Tools– Recruiting Teams– Recruiting Sources– New Hire Orientation

Aligning Recruiting Practices to Diversity

9

• Selection tools assess diversity competency– Include diversity related material in selection tools

(e.g., interview questions assess diversity competency) to gauge applicant skill in resolving issues pertaining to diversity

– Assess previous training or educational experience on diversity

Recruiting Practices: Selection Tools

10

• Form recruiting teams of members of different work specialization, gender, race, age– Serve as role models, have different perspectives in

hiring

• Ensure a broad representation of disciplines & universities when recruiting– E.g., Native Americans, People with Disabilities,

Hispanics, Women (IBM Thomas 04)

Recruiting Practices: Recruiting Teams & Sources

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• Clearly identify organization’s diversity-related commitment & achievements

• Assign buddies/mentors to aid in socialization into organizational culture (e.g., IBM)– Attend to implications of diversity for mentoring

(i.e., minority group new hires have mentors from majority & minority groups see “Dear White boss” article)

Recruiting Practices: New Hire Orientation

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• Check for Group Identity Effects

• Use diversity as a criterion for assessing performance

Aligning Performance Appraisal Practices for Diversity

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• Group identity=gender, ethnicity, age etc.• Examine performance evaluations by group

identity of evaluator and employee

• Identify reasons for differences – Avoid perpetuating stereotypes E.g., Teaching

evaluations study

Does group identity affect Performance Appraisals

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• Pre-existing group differences in education, experience, post-hire training

• Existence of work-climate barriers (e.g, stereotyping, prejudice, ethnocentrism) that prevent members of some groups to perform at their full potential

Causes for Group Identity Differences in Performance Appraisal

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• Supervisors use of stereotypes or level of prejudice results in lower evaluations of some groups even though performance of all groups is similar

• Asking employees to evaluate themselves can disadvantage some groups due to differences in modesty

Causes for Group Identity Differences In Performance Appraisal

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• Change performance appraisal instrument

• Use multiple sources to evaluate performance

• Enhance awareness of bias & training on how to avoid it in ratings

• Enhance awareness of & removal of work-climate barriers that lead to differences in actual performance

Overcoming Group Differences in Performance Appraisals

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• Check for Group Identity Effects

• Use diversity as a criterion for assessing performance

Aligning Performance Appraisal Practices for Diversity

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• Examine performance appraisal process to determine how to integrate diversity content into it

• Identify specific behaviors that enable a diversity-tolerant climate– Include behaviors that represent bad diversity-

related performance

Diversity as a Criterion in Performance Appraisal

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• Incorporate diversity behaviors into planning & assessment stage of performance appraisal – Tab 6.2 & 6.3

• Ensure rewards, development & staffing decisions are made as a consequence of displaying good diversity-related performance

Diversity as a Criterion in Performance Appraisal

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• Example Career Development Practices– Job Postings– Annual Development Planning– Succession Planning– Global Career Paths

Aligning Career Development Practices for Diversity

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• Make all opportunities visible to qualified members of all identity groups

• Use a competitive & fair screening process to ensure consideration of all applicants

• Provide specific feedback to non-selected applicants to prevent misattributions

Career Development Practices: Job Postings

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• Specify skills and competencies to be strengthened in the coming year, provide action plan to acquire them

• Help increase pool of qualified underrepresented groups for future vacancies

• Incorporate diversity competency as part of action plans for majority group members (e.g., Tab 6.4)

Career Development Practices: Annual Development Planning

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• Identify those who can be potential replacements for people occupying key jobs in the org & ensure that they get the developmental experience they need for such key jobs

• Ensure that the succession planning candidate pool is diverse on gender, race, national origin, work specialization etc.

• Ensure candidates in succession planning candidate pool are diversity-competent

Career Development Practices: Succession Planning

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• Provide multi-national career paths for high-potential employees

• Knowledge gained by those with multi national experience should be passed to others to aid in their development

• Ensure equal opportunity for multinational jobs

• Ensure cultural training to people going to & from country where company has headquarters (not just those going to other countries)

Career Development Planning Global Career Paths

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• Time: Flextime Policies• Space: Class Distinctions• People

– Recruiting Practices• Selection Tools• Recruiting Teams• Recruiting Sources• New Hire Orientation

– Performance Appraisal Practices• Check for Group Identity Effects• Using diversity as a criterion for assessing performance

– Career Development Practices• Job Postings• Annual Development Planning• Succession Planning• Global Career Paths

Kinds of Systems & Practices to Align for Diversity