Exam 3: Managing Diversity

Diversity Drive at FinnTech (Scenario) Management at FinnTech think the company is doing well. They have grown from the original 8 employees to the current 26. In the last year the business has been booming and they quickly needed more employees. Now the company has a comfortable mix of the original 8 men, some women and visible minorities. The original 8 run the company from executive positions. Because employment laws in Canada have changed considerably, the executives at FinnTech have made a concerted effort to bring in more women and visible minorities. The women work in less important positions in the company and most of the factory floor workers are recent immigrants and visible minorities. They know that Asians are good with figures so they brought in Anna Li to head the two-person accounting department. They even hired one of the newly arrived Syrian refugees as he was highly recommended for his technical skills. The company lounge and lunch room is a popular place for employees to mix and get to know one another although it seems that there are closed groups that are drawn to one another all the time. Tom Harrington is the HR manager and often drops in, visibly for coffee and doughnuts, but in reality to observe and listen how the employees get along. -Kathleen is a long time employee and is talking to Linda who is here for her first day.Discussion turns to personal likes and dislikes.Kathleen likes cats.She believes people who own cats are independent and free spirited.She finds out that Linda has a cat.Therefore Linda must be independent and free-spirited.In order,what is happening here?

Diversity refers to ________ that might be present in a workplace.

The responsibility for managing diversity issues originates with HR department policies,and all functional department managers who are closest to the employees.

The rising proportion of young people entering the workforce,driving productivity,and economic growth is called a "demographic shift."

Introducing Diversity Training (Scenario) Jackson Larkin is the general manager of Royal City Club in the business district of Toronto. The club is now over 100 years old with a proud tradition of serving its members who mostly work in finance, legal systems, and commercial properties. When the club originally was opened its membership was limited to men only. Due to pressures of the twentieth century equal opportunity movements, the club began accepting women as members in the late 1990s. The club board of directors, as well as the membership is predominantly white males with about 15% of the members now female. Jackson is reviewing the operating reports of the club. His main concern is stagnation in revenues due to very few new members coming in, operating costs increasing, competition from several new clubs in the downtown area that seemed to offer both modernized facilities, innovative services, and open memberships. Jackson is preparing a presentation to the board of directors specifically pointing out the bottom line which may be headed to closing of the club if revenues and operating budgets don't increase. He has some specific suggestions which he feels will improve the club, but at the same time he is apprehensive as he knows the club is known as the "old boys club" that is not exactly excited about anything that would change the comfort they feel in keeping the status quo. Some of the things he plans to bring up are more openness in membership, diversity in accepting new members as well as in hiring of staff, and revamping the restaurant menus to reflect the multiculturalism of the business world. -Jackson knows that many of the older members had been heard to make comments about both women and Muslim cultures when Mala joined the club.They preferred to withdraw to one of the private rooms when she was at the club.These personal biases against her were based on ________ which is a preconceived judgment of the group to which she belongs.

As people get to know one another,the obvious observable differences become less important and the ________ differences in values,personality,and work preferences become more important.

Male executives who champion women feel a strong ________.

People are going to be different.The focus of managers should be to ________.

How to Break the Glass Ceiling? (Scenario) Fresh Effects is a large, now global, natural skin care and toiletries manufacturer with headquarters in Vancouver. The company is thriving and its products are more popular than ever due to the growing interest in natural products free of toxic ingredients and artificial chemicals. The company employees are overwhelmingly female who obviously would have an interest in working for such a business. However, a look at the executive offices shows a different picture. All but one of the executives running the company are men, and none are from visible minorities. A group of highly educated, mid-level managers and supervisors have been meeting in an unofficial "club" to discuss their roles and careers in the company. They all believe in the company and want to stay, but also feel that they would like to have a greater role in the management and strategy formulation going forward. -Ellen is the only woman in the company who has succeeded in progressing to the executive level.She is the VP of human resources.She knows that Lucia has been turned down for several promotions.Because she knows how competent Lucia is,she is trying to assess how to encourage Lucia not to give up.She meets privately with Lucia and during the discussion comes up with an idea that perhaps she,as an experienced executive could provide advice and guidance in form of ________.

Research indicates that companies that showed diversity in the boardroom had returns on equity an average of 53 percent higher than companies with less diversity.

Diversity has been one of the most popular as well as ________ business topics for over two decades.

Which of the following perceptions do employers typically have of older employees?

Discrimination or Stereotyping? (Scenario) Jeremy, Amanda, Taylor, and Omar work in the design department at Casuarina which makes casual and fitness related clothing for the local market. The company has been up and running for over five years and is making profit. Now they are in the process of expanding to the Japanese market where Canadian brands and quality are highly valued. The company has from the beginning embraced diversity as the founders were from Ireland and Turkey. As the company expanded, more diverse and multicultural employees were brought in. There are one or two pockets of the company where talented Caucasian employees at times seem standoffish and keep themselves apart from the rest of the employees during breaks or social occasions. -Omar arrived in Vancouver 15 years ago to attend university.He graduated in design and has worked in various companies before joining Casuarina three years ago.He is serious about his work and performs to exceptionally high standards; but he also appears as a happy-go-lucky person who enjoys socializing and partying.Other employees generally take him for the "party boy." Based on this personality characteristic Omar is reflecting ________.

Our human nature tells us not to accept or approach anything that is different from us.

Few if any important differences between men and women affect job performance.

A good mentor ________.

Which of the following statements is TRUE of gender diversity in workplaces?

Differences arising from ________ factors becomes more important to people as they get to know one another.

Discrimination or Stereotyping? (Scenario) Jeremy, Amanda, Taylor, and Omar work in the design department at Casuarina which makes casual and fitness related clothing for the local market. The company has been up and running for over five years and is making profit. Now they are in the process of expanding to the Japanese market where Canadian brands and quality are highly valued. The company has from the beginning embraced diversity as the founders were from Ireland and Turkey. As the company expanded, more diverse and multicultural employees were brought in. There are one or two pockets of the company where talented Caucasian employees at times seem standoffish and keep themselves apart from the rest of the employees during breaks or social occasions. -What the other employees do not know about Omar is that he is a devout Muslim.He prefers to keep his religious beliefs out of the workplace,and arranges his daily prayers to be conducted in private because he feels this might generate misconceptions and negative feelings.If the other workers knew that Omar is a practicing Muslim,they might ________ by judging him based on their perception of Muslims in general.

Glass ceiling refers to the invisible barrier that separates women and minorities from moving into top management positions.