Managing Diversity: Racial and Ethnic Discrimination

Part I - Before Reading (5 points)
Chapter 7 dives into diversity management, the history of population diversity, workplace discrimination, and how to implement a diversity initiative. Before reading, respond to the following question:
How does your current work environment define diversity? (If you don't know, ask.)
Is your personal definition of diversity in line with your employer? Or different?
Part II - After Reading (20 points)
Ethical codes can either promote or derail effective diversity management. A number of cultural forces (family, friends, community, education, religion and media) determine ethical behavior. These influences, acting interdependently with organizational and political forces, serve to help identify and shape behavior in organizations.
Considering the four dimensions of diversity, the need to prevent against discrimination, and the potential for workplace harassment, how would you approach the following scenarios?
There are four dimensions of diversity, outlined below:
Permanent Dimension - refers to physical attributes or inclinations people are born with that do not naturally change over time
Evolving Dimension - individuals can be categorized according to evolving characteristics as well as permanent ones
Personality Dimension - personality theorists and researchers have reached a general consensus on a “Big Five Personality Model” consisting of five different personality aspects
Organizational Dimension - these defining characteristics, which can be either unchanging or evolving, include hierarchical status, work content, department, and seniority
Racial and Ethnic Discrimination
Racial and ethnic discrimination refers to treating an employee differently because of his or her race or ethnicity. The lack of daily social interactions among races and ethnicities fosters stereotypes and prejudices. Racial and ethnic minorities are much more likely to perceive discrimination as a problem than the Caucasians wielding managerial power. African Americans, compared to Caucasians, are four times more likely to report that racial discrimination is a serious problem and three times more likely to attribute racial discrimination as a cause for differences in jobs and income.
Religious Discrimination
Religious discrimination refers to treating an employee differently because of his or her religious beliefs. Employers must provide religious accommodations that are reasonable and do not cause a burden to the employer. Employers are also expected to provide flexible scheduling for religious holidays and respect religious clothing and grooming policies. An employer cannot forbid an employee from wearing a Jewish yarmulke, Sikh turban, or a Muslim headscarf, or a religious hairstyle, unless the clothing or hairstyle negatively impacts job performance.

Age Discrimination
Age discrimination refers to treating an employee differently because of his or her age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 prohibits dismissing, or not promoting, anyone age 40 or older because the individual is considered “too old” for the job.

Disability Discrimination
Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) to prohibit discrimination against a qualified worker with a disability who can perform the job task with or without reasonable accommodation. The legislation defines a disability as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual”. Alcoholism is a disability under the ADA An employer cannot discipline or fire an individual because he or she is an alcoholic. The employer, however, can prohibit alcohol consumption during work hours for all employees.

Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Sexual orientation discrimination is not covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Nonetheless, more than 15 states and 150 municipalities have passed laws prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination. Some companies prove “domestic partnership” benefits to same-sex or different-sex couples, although they are not required to do so by federal or state law. In 1982, the Village Voice, an alternative newsweekly based in New York City, became the first employer to offer domestic partner benefits to lesbian and gay employees.
Workplace Discrimination
According to self-categorization theory, individuals define themselves in relation to others based on a “self-identity” or “social identity” factor and form binding relationships with people who categorize themselves similarly. Individuals typically self-identify in terms of race, ethnicity, or gender.
To discriminate means to make a distinction among possible options. Problems arise when dissimilar people are treated as inferior or excluded. Workplace segregation can reinforce prejudices toward members of other groups.
Two prominent ethical principles include fairness and respect for others. Fairness refers to making decisions according to rules not based on personal biases. Respect for others refers to treating everyone with dignity. These principles must guide decision making when making distinctions among people at the workplace. When hiring, it is ethical and legal to discriminate based on previous job experience, potential productivity, and educational level. Review the tattoo discrimination statement below as an example.

Scenario #1: A work group you supervise completes a project, meeting a big deadline, and you invite everyone to a celebration after work on Friday. People are delighted - except Philip, who is an Orthodox Jew. Rather than say anything about Friday night being his Sabbath, Philip just doesn't show up. You had assumed Friday evening is a time for going out and most everyone could likely attend. Philip assumed that you either wouldn't understand his religious observance, or even worse, don't care. The team dismisses Philip as a snob. When Philip doesn't attend, how do you follow up with both Phillip and the team?
Scenario #2: Martin comes to you regarding progress on a project you are managing. Both he and Donna are regularly logging overtime in order to meet the contract deadline, but Jessa (a younger member of the team) leaves promptly at 4:30 pm each day. Donna has spoken with Jessa and hinted the extra money at the end of the week was a nice bonus and how she is looking forward to bringing the project in on time. Jessa commented that life is about more than work and recalled when the initial deadline was set - management knew it was unrealistic, but ambitious. Jenna's remarks have left both Donna and Martin frustrated. How do you proceed?
Scenario #3: After communicating intentional efforts to include more people of color in your company's workforce, a departmental leader shares she has overheard rumblings not showing much support for these efforts. Some employees have questioned the extra work required to include people of minority and other under-represented groups in its workforce. Others have expressed the belief that this may be a type of reverse discrimination against qualified candidates from the majority population, and that it will result in less qualified people as part of its workforce? How can you address such reactions and attitudes?
Scenario #4: Your company has recently contracted with a third-party to support an increased investment in professional development and skills training. One of the programs the contractor offers, which was particularly appealing in the decision-making process, focuses on developing female leadership. Your company has historically had few women in upper management positions and your shifting customer base values greater equity. An unfavorable (and not suitable for work) nickname for the program quickly gained momentum within your workforce. Several women participating in the program have even adopted the nickname and use it freely. How do you address the situation?

In your responses, include how these conflicts may be addressed through the company's Code of Conduct, diversity training, or other proactive measures.