What is the impact of diversity on organizational behavior? - Chapter 13

Diversity refers to differences between individuals at work on any attribute that may evoke the perception that the other person is different from the self. Diversity poses unique challenges for organizational behavior. In fact, these differences between individuals pose a challenge for leaders who must unite their followers in the pursuit of a common goal. Leadership is not possible outside of a community that is defined by shared values and vision. Nowadays, the millennials are the largest group in the general population. Due to their numbers and impact, employers need to transition from a boomer-centric workplace to a millennial-centric workplace. 

What are the similarities and differences of surface-level and deep-level diversity?

Surface-level diversity are the demographic attributes that we typically think of when we think of diversity, because they are observable to people. Surface-level diversity refers to differences among group members in overt, biological characteristics that are typically reflected in physical features. Examples are sex, race and age. Research shows that these attributes have mixed results in the prediction of job performance and work attitude. sometimes they are related to performance and sometimes they are not.

Deep-level diversity refers to differences among the attitudes, beliefs and values of individuals. Prior studies showed that diverse groups had poor outcomes. However, recent research indicated that this finding should be interpreted with caution. This is because when deep-level diversity is considered, diversity may actually contribute positively to work group functioning and effectiveness. In fact, the values and attitudes of employees may matter more than surface characteristics. 

Finally, an interesting diversity feature is age. Different generations have been shown to have different underlying mind-sets and this may be a source of conflict at the workplace. 

How will millennials affect organizations?

Generational differences have a key impact on the organization. They affect everything, including recruiting, building teams, dealing with change, motivating, managing, and productivity. Nowadays, four generations are at the workplace. 

First, the traditionalists (born before 1943), of which most but not all are retired, are also known as veterans, the World War II generation and the silent generation. They typically spend a lifetime career with one company (build a legacy). Their career goals are security and fair rewards. They have a part-time schedule and they prefer support in maintaining a work-life balance.

Second, the boomers, born just after the Second World War, are the largest working group with 77 million people. They excel in career. Their career goals are monetary gains and career progression. They prefer flexibility and to balance everyone else and find themselves.

Third, generation X is born between 1965 and 1976. They are the second largest group with 44 million workers and are also called baby busters and post-boomers. On the job, they exhibit a repertoire of skills and experience. Their career goals are immediate rewards and career portability. They want to have a work-life balance now, not when they are 65 years old.

Fourth, the millenials are born between 1977 and 1997. They are also called nexters, generation Y or the Nintendo generation. They typically have several jobs simultaneously. Their goals are to build parallel careers and have choices. For them, work is not everything. They need flexibility to balance all activities in life. The millennials are the largest group in the general population. Due to their numbers and impact, employers need to transition from a boomer-centric workplace to a millennial-centric workplace.

The new generation (born after 1998) is already emerging. They are known as generation Z or the net generation, due to the high level of digital development  at the time they were born. Their norms differ from the other generations. They tend to use slang and expressions that may seem strange to other generations, this distances them from other groups. Since they were born with technology, they feel comfortable in the digital world and they surround themselves with an online environment. They are constantly online on various devices, without interruption. Other forms of socialization may be difficult for them. They are more impatient, and they constantly look for new challenges. They are not afraid of change. They use the internet to solve problems and have a more global outlook and interactions with others than the previous generation. It is even states that kids today have more in common with their global peers than with adults in their own country. 

Why is culture important for understanding organizational behavior?

Culture refers to the unstated operating procedures or ways of doing things. It is also defined as the collective mental programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another. Culture is comprised of things that we can see and things that we cannot see. Culture is not the same as a country. Different countries may share cultural values. Culture is shared by almost all members of a social group. Older members of the group pass it on to the younger members. It shaped behavior or structures one's perception of the world. 

The culture iceberg indicates that only ten percent of culture is observable. These visual aspects are for example language, clothes, celebrations and traditional food. The other ninety percent is unobservable. These aspects are for example beliefs, expectations, acceptable body language, unwritten rules, assumptions, cultural values, importance of space and myths.

High-context cultures rely heavily on situational cues for meaning when perceiving and communicating with others. For example, one may need to get to know a negotiating partner as a person before proceeding with business. We find high-context cultures in Japan, Arab countries and Greece. In low-context cultures, written and spoken words carry the burden of shared meaning. So when negotiating with a person, you can expect that the person wants to see a written formal agreement early in the process as a reference. Examples of countries in which low-context cultures are common are North America, the Scandinavian countries and the German-speaking countries.

Hofstede and colleagues defined the following cultural values which can be used to characterize cultures:

• Power distance: deference to authority.
• Collectivism - individualism: group orientation.
• Uncertainty avoidance: risk aversion.
• Relationship orientation (masculinity - femininity): a focus on people over material things.
• Confucian dynamism (long-term orientation): a focus on the future rather than the past and present.
• Indulgence: how much each individual lacks control on their desires and impulses.

Cultural tightness-looseness refers to the strength of social norms and the level of sanctioning within societies. Tightness is related to order and efficiency, conformity and low rates of change. On the other hand, looseness is related with social disorganization, deviance, innovation and openness to change. 

What are the key findings from the GLOBE study of leadership effectiveness?

The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) project international study of leadership effectiveness described and predicted the relationship of specific cultural variables to leadership and organizational processes and their effectiveness. This study identified nine cultural concepts that were shown to be relevant to perceptions of leadership. There is overlap with the values of Hofstede. The following cultural dimensions were identified on which cultures appear to vary: 

• Power distance
• Uncertainty avoidance
• Humane orientation
• Institutional collectivism
• In-group collectivism
• Assertiveness
• Gender egalitarianism
• Future orientation
• Performance orientation

In addition, this research found that there are certain leadership attributes that may be universally effective. This is known as the culturally endorsed implicit leadership theory (CLT), which identified the following leadership behaviors that were perceived as effective across cultures:

• Charismatic/ value-based: the ability to inspire and motivate others to high performance.
• Team-oriented: effective team building and implementing a common goal.
• Participative: involving others in decisions and implementations.
• Humane-oriented: being supportive and showing consideration, compassion, and generosity.
• Autonomous: independent and individualistic leadership.
• Self-protective: ensuring safety and security of individuals, including face-saving.

Why is it important to develop global leaders?

Global mind-set refers to a set of individual attributes that enhance the ability of a manager to influence others who are different from them. The global mind-set is developed through three interrelated skills: cultural intelligence (CQ), integrate acculturation (becoming bicultural) and cultural retooling (the psychological process of adapting to another culture). All of them are needed to develop effective working relationships with others that result from a mutual adjustment process resulting in a third culture (the construction of a mutually beneficial interactive environment in which individuals from two different cultures can function in a way beneficial to all involved). 

The three dimensions of the global mindset are as follows:

1. Global psychological capital: refers to the manager's emotional energy and willingness to engage in a global environment. It reflects a positive and constructive attitude toward diversity.
2. Global social capital: reflects the manager's ability to act in a way that helps build trusting relationships with people from other parts of the world.
3. Global intellectual capital: refers to how much and what the manager knows about the global business in their industry.

To adjust to cultures, there are four acculturation strategies possible:

1. assimilation: relinquishing the cultural heritage and adopting the beliefs and behaviors of the new culture.
2. separation: only maintaining the heritage culture.
3. marginalization: rejecting both the old and new culture.
4. integration: maintaining one's cultural heritage and adopting a new cultural identity.

How to cope with the symptoms of a culture shock?

Global mobility occurs when individuals, and often their families, are relocated from one country to another by an employer. These globally mobile employees, also known as expatriates, have grown in importance as firms expand their reach.

Culture shock refers to the distress that is experienced by a traveler from the loss of familiar patterns of social interaction. Symptoms are: stress, having a sense of loss, feeling helpless and wanting to depend on people from one's home country, being angry at delays and inconveniences experienced, and feeling incompetent from not being able to cope with the new environment. For a leader, it is important to be aware of the stages of culture shock. It is not a linear process, but it comes and goes with ups and downs - from predeparture to going back home again. 

Even when an expatriate has adjusted and performed well, the expatriate must also be prepared for repatriation (reentry), the transition of returning home. Expatriates may experience a similar sequence of culture shock when they return to their home culture. Reverse shock culture is the realization that time has moved on and things have not stood still while he or she was away from the home office.

Research suggest the following steps to cope with culture shock:

• Pinpoint the specific time when you felt different or uncomfortable.
• Define the situation.
• List the behaviors of the others.
• List your own behavior.
• List your feelings in the situation.
• List the behaviors you expect from people in your own culture in that same situation.
• Reflect on the underlying value in your culture that prompts that behavior expectation.