What is valuing diversity

1
Learning Goals

• What is valuing diversity
• Do valuing diversity initiatives work?

2
Types of Diversity Initiatives

• Managing Diversity
• Change organizational structure, policies, norms
  practices (e.g., hiring) to create fairness
• Similar to strategies reducing discrimination
  (Stephan Stephan ch. 2)
• Valuing Diversity
• Change employee attitudes and behaviors by
• Emphasis on equality/fairness values
• Providing training on awareness skills
• Similar to strategies reducing stereotyping
  prejudice (See Stephan Stephan ch 2)

3
Valuing Diversity

• Emphasize fairness/equality values
• E.g., mission statement, recruitment ads etc.
• Provide diversity training to
• Improve skills
• E.g., Interpersonal, conflict mgt, language
  skills etc.
• Increase awareness/sensitivity
• Cultural historical information about groups
• Know about stereotypes
• Change attitudes feelings
• Hardest to do (e.g., counteract stereotypes,
  reduce prejudice)

4
Purpose of one Diversity Training Exercise
Online-discussion group for a course

• Highlight differences in communication styles
• Of peoples preference for communicating orally
  vs. online
• Inter-cultural conflict resolution
• Via discussing sensitive topics with a moderator
• Increase cultural identity
• Learn about each others culture
• Reduce interpersonal stereotyping
• E.g., Bec. you are muscular you must be athletic
• Reduce group stereotyping
• E.g., Bec. you are Chinese you must be
  conservative
• Gain empathy
• For people who are too shy to speak out in class

5
To improve skills or increase awareness..

• Learn about culture
• What is culture?
• Beliefs, norms, customs, knowledge, habits of a
  group (e.g., What are transparent aspects of
  culture cultural circles exercise)
• Why learn about culture / cultural differences?
• Increases awareness of role of culture in social
  interactions behaviors (e.g., choice of
  partner amount of eye-contact)
• Assumption Awareness improves interactions with
  culturally different other

6
To change attitudes feelings

• Learn about stereotypes, prejudice etc.
• What is a stereotype?
• What is a prejudice?
• How are they different from culture?

7
Diversity Training Exercises their Goals

• Increase cultural identity
• E.g., Pie chart, Backgrounds (Cox), Cultural
  circles
• Highlight differences in communication styles
• E.g., Bafa Bafa (commercially available exercise)
• Inter cultural conflict resolution
• E.g., Owl sensitivity
• Interpersonal stereotyping
• E.g., Diversity and perception, Car radio etc.
• Group stereotyping
• E.g., Gender language, Cross-gender role-play
• Understand power differences gain empathy
• E.g., Disability Exercise

8
Does Diversity Training Work

• Very few published/documented evaluations (lt10)
  of diversity training efforts
• One qualitative review of published evaluations
  of diversity training programs

9
Why such few Evaluations of Training Programs

• Trainers do not like sharing techniques
• Trainers do not know evaluation techniques
• Evaluation requires time and money
• Some evaluations take more time away from
  trainees jobs, are resisted by organizations
• Showing no change (or negative change) is
  disadvantageous to trainer

10
Does Diversity Training Work

• One qualitative review of published evaluations
  of diversity training programs

11
Evaluation of Diversity Training Programs

• Tansik Driskill 1977
• 20 hrs of lectures, case studies, role-playing
• Small changes right after, positive changes 5
  weeks after, negative attitudes 12 weeks after
• Sorcher Spence 1982
• 10 week prog of watching videotapes of effective
  behaviors, role playing with reinforcement
• No changes immediately or 6 weeks after, but
  positive changes 20 weeks after

12
Evaluation of Diversity Training Programs

• Dunnette Motowildo (1982)
• 3-days of small group discussions, readings,
  seminars, videos on sexist attitudes behaviors
• No changes for men, but positive changes for women

13
Evaluation of Diversity Training Programs

• Alderfer (1992)
• Upward mobility program, balanced composition of
  promotion committees, workshop had lectures,
  role-plays and experiential activities
• Increases in minorities in management ranks
• Dominant group members evaluated program more
  negatively than minority group members

14
Evaluation of Diversity Training Programs

• Ellis Sonnenfield (1994)
• 1 day of watching videos of culturally
  insensitive behaviors and discussing them
• 59 evaluated seminar positively
• Tan, Morris, Romero (1996)
• 3 days of case studies, simulations, videos,
  discussions
• Increased knowledge of
• Diversity issues
• Barriers to change
• Sensitization to and knowledge of how to prevent
  negative effects of prejudice stereotypes

15
Evaluation of Diversity Training Programs

• Hanover Cellar 1998
• Videos, role playing, examination of diversity
  practices, action planning
• Increased ratings on diversity practice measures
  (e.g., open discussions of group differences,
  discouraging comments perpetuating stereotypes)
• Rynes Rosen 1995
• 33 of HR managers surveyed rated diversity
  programs as successful but 18 rated them as
  unsuccessful
• Mandatory prog were rated as more successful

16
Evaluation of Diversity Training Programs

• Layng 1998
• Analysis of commonly used video in diversity
  training programs
• Introduced new stereotypes to replace old ones
• Too much focus on incompetence of White male
  managers can alienate intended audience
• Suggests that diversity leads to communication
  problems

17
Does Diversity Training Work

• Conclusion from review of published evaluations
  of diversity training programs
• They do not work

18
Why Diversity Training may fail

• Content of Training
• Participants
• Changing established norms practices of adults
  in organizations is difficult
• Need managing diversity initiatives to occur
  simultaneously (e.g., Alderfer, 92)
• Mismanagement of expectations
• Limited time for change to occur
• Attitudes/feelings hard to change

19
Content of Diversity Training

• Teach inter-group aspects
• E.g., Emphasize similarity differences within
  groups as in cultural circles
• Teach Legal aspects
• E.g., Discrimination scenarios exercise
• Focus on training skills bec. employers are
  legally responsible for employee behaviors
• Added benefit of making diversity policies
  palatable to all
• Confrontation of Values
• Prevalent organizational values
• Value differences between groups

20
Participants of Diversity Training

• Before Training Composition of training group
• Majority minority members
• Members from all organizational ranks,
• Diverse trainers on teams

21
Participants of Diversity Training

• During training, anticipate
• Majority/dominant groups
• Majority members may feel additionally threatened
  (e.g., as being attacked during training)
• Mandatory nature can be resented
• People who need it the most get it but popularity
  may be reduced
• Minorities
• have negative reactions re slow pace of change
• may feel uncomfortable when focus of attention
  during training
• Conflict between majority minority groups

22
What we learned

• Valuing Diversity involves training for skills,
  increasing awareness, changing attitudes
• Very few evaluations of diversity training
  programs
• Review shows they do not work
• Can be due to several challenges that confront
  diversity trainers