Business 454

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Business 454

• Diversity Issues

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What is Diversity?Recognition and
acknowledgement of individual differencesEquitab
le employment
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Labour Supply Trends

• Declining Population Growth
• Declining Workforce Growth
• Skilled Labour Shortage
• Aging Workforce
• Workforce Diversity
• Changing Values
• Skills Gaps

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Business Case for Diversity

• Employee
• Best Person for the job
• Retention

• Customer
• Needs Identification
• Trust

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Cultural Determinism

• The idea that its possible to infer an
  individuals motives, interests, values, and
  behavioural traits based on his/her group
  membership.

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Reverse Discrimination

• Providing opportunities for emerging groups and
  visible minorities at the expense of white males.

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Adverse (Disparate) Impact

• A consequence of an employment practice that
  results in a greater rejection rate for a
  minority group than it does for the majority
  group in the occupation

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Affirmative Action

• A practice in organizations that goes beyond
  discontinuance of discriminatory practices,
  including actively seeking, hiring and promoting
  minority group members and women

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Testing for Discriminatory Practices

• The four-fifths rule
• Restricted Policy
• Geographical Comparisons
• McDonnell-Douglas Test

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The Four Fifths Rule

• In compliance
• a company hires 18 of 25 white males and 3 of 5
  females that applied for assembly work.
• (3/5)/(18/25) 83

• Not in compliance
• a company hires 20 of 25 white males and 2 of 5
  females that applied for assembly work.
• (2/5)/(20/25) 50

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Restricted Policy

• Exclusion of a class of individuals through HR
  policy.
• i.e. using only on-campus recruiting and
  downsizing by primarily laying off people over 40.

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McDonnell-Douglas Test

• The individual is a member of a protected group
• the individual applied for a job for which he/she
  is qualified
• The individual was rejected
• the company continued to seek other applicants
  with similar qualifications

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Employee Communication

• Changing your Culture
• Communicating the Business Argument in a
  Legislated Environment
• Perception of Fairness and Merit - Expectancy and
  Equity Theory
• Developing a Diversity Plan

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Diversity Action Plan

• Survey current situation
• Identify issues and implications on orgn
• Obtain top mgmt support
• set up task force/committee which includes
  participation from all views
• assemble suggestions for improvement
• put together diversity policy and a/p

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• Obtain top mgmt support
• Educate/train employees in diversity issues

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Issues

• How will you collect information?
• How will you design this program?
• How will you obtain top mgmt support?
• How will you communicate it to the employees?
• How will you evaluate the program?

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Sexual Harassment

• Anything of a sexual nature that results in a
  condition of employment, an employment
  consequence, or creates a hostile or offensive
  environment.

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Protecting the Organization from Harassment
Charges

• Issue a sexual harassment policy describing what
  constitutes sexual harassment and what is
  inappropriate behaviour.
• Put a procedure in place for investigation of
  harassment charges.
• Inform all employees of the policy.

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• Train mgmt to deal with charges and what
  responsibility they have to individual and
  organization
• Investigate all charges immediately.
• Take corrective action as necessary
• Continue to follow-up on the matter to ensure
  that no further harassment nor retaliation
  occurs.
• Periodically review turnover
• Privately recognize individuals who bring these
  matters forward.