Why would companies consider implementing diversity programs?Michael is a new manager for a Fortune 500 firm

 What lessons do the IBM diversity management task forces offer to other firms?

Answers will vary but some general thoughts include: IBM’s success with diversity management suggests that other firms should consider implementing similar programs. IBM has tripled the number of female executives, doubled minority executives and increased those categorized as lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender seven-fold. IBM has seen this program to be a competitive advantage. Using the information from the task forces, IBM introduced programs to enhance networking activities for women and Asians, and helped retain African Americans.

164. Why would companies consider implementing diversity programs?

There are a number of different reasons for such programming, but some of the benefits of diversity initiatives include:

Higher creativity in decision making: The more diverse a group, the more options a group considers, which leads to higher-quality decisions. This increased quality could lead to more creative decisions that could positively impact the company’s bottom line.

Better understanding and service to customers: The more a firm understands about the breadth of its customer base, the more opportunity is offered for growing a market or tapping a new market segment.

More satisfied workforce: When employees feel fairly treated, they are more satisfied. More satisfied workers turnover less.

Higher stock prices: Companies with a more diverse workforce find that they have a higher stock price in the days following the announcement of diversity initiatives.

Lower litigation costs: If a firm is being fair to its employees, there is no need for employees to file complaints against the firm for discriminating against them with regard to federal law. Obviously a lack of complaints saves substantial litigation fees.

Higher company performance: Those firms managing diversity effectively tend to perform better.

165. Michael is a new manager for a Fortune 500 firm. He is preparing for his first assignment, which is to complete a diversity audit of his firm. What are some of the areas he should consider for assessment?

A number of demographic groups can be investigated in the firm. However, some of the major groups include: gender (what is the number of women in executive or higher level management positions, are there pay differences between women and other groups in the firm); race (again what is the number of minorities in upper management positions in the firm and what is their pay rate); age (how are older workers treated, are they stereotyped); religious (what accommodations are made for religious beliefs); disabled (what accommodations need to be made) and sexual orientation (are same sex benefits offered).

166. You are being interviewed for a position in a financial services firm. The last three questions that the interviewer asked of you have been illegal questions. What can you do?

Some options:

Continue to refuse to answer and maybe even point out the illegality of the question.

Answer shortly and then change the subject.

Answer the intent of the question, not the actual question.

Walk away from the interview.

167. You are an organizational behavior consultant who has been brought into a firm to present some best practices with regard to managing demographic diversity. What are some of those best practices which you could present in a seminar?

Build a culture that respects diversity. All levels of the firm must support diversity.

Make managers accountable for diversity.

Institute diversity training programs.

Review recruitment practices and ensure the firm is targeting a diverse candidate pool.

Consider affirmative action programs to enhance diversity.

168. You are an advisor for international business students. You are meeting with freshmen business students this afternoon. What are some recommendations you could make to these students to prepare them for global careers?

Answers will vary but some general responses are:

Learn a language.

Immerse yourself in different cultures.

Develop an openness to different experiences.

Develop a strong social support network.

Develop a sense of humor.

Plan your return from a foreign assignment to avoid reverse culture shock.

169. You are an organizational behavior consultant who has been hired to present a training seminar to managers in a Fortune 500 firm about suggestions for managing cultural diversity in the firm. What are some of the topics you will consider presenting during the seminar?

Help employees build cultural intelligence; companies are very diverse now and the more cultures you can understand the better prepared your firm will be.

Avoid ethnocentrism.

Listen to locals.

Recognize that culture changes.

Do not always assume that culture is the problem.

Michael has two finals, accounting and organizational behavior, on the same day of finals week. Based on expectancy theory,

Research on procedural justice suggests

a. it is best to exclude employees from commenting on potential changes in company procedures like performance appraisals because they do not understand the decision-making process anyway.

b. it is best to unexpectedly announce department-wide layoffs because when employees suspect changes in their job status are upcoming, they tend to become much less productive.

c. it is best to be consistent in the manner in which employees are disciplined for violating company policy for situations like cell phone usage.

d. it is best to send an announcement of changes to the company benefit package for the next fiscal year without providing explanatory details because employees do not understand the financial implications anyway.

(c) Difficult/Application

64. Interactional justice is

a. the degree to which outcomes received from the organization are perceived to be fair.

b. the degree to which fair decision-making procedures are used to arrive at a decision.

c. the degree to which people are treated with respect, kindness and dignity in interpersonal interactions.

d. the belief that high levels of effort will lead to high performance.

(c) Easy/Knowledge

65. Nejah is reading a report on employee justice perception. The article notes all of the following points EXCEPT

a. high levels of justice create higher levels of organizational citizenship.

b. high levels of justice create higher levels of employee commitment to the organization.

c. high levels of justice create higher levels of customer satisfaction.

d. high levels of justice lead to support of unionization.

(d) Medium/Comprehension

66. Joaquin received the Chancellor’s Award and an $8,000 scholarship for a research paper and formal presentation he created. He believes that he worked hard for the paper and the presentation. Joaquin would feel a sense of

a. high interactional justice.

b. high interpersonal justice.

c. high distributive justice.

d. high procedural justice.

(c) Medium/Application

67. If you wanted to be perceived as a fair person, take this piece of advice:

a. “People are selfish, they care only about their own justice level.”

b. “Treat everyone equally when distributing rewards. Differentiation in rewards often lead to unfairness.”

c. “Make your own decisions, you are the boss. Since you are accountable for those decisions, you do not need to waste time listening to everyone’s opinions.”

d. “Think before you speak. Be considerate of others.”

(d) Difficult/Comprehension

68. Michael has two finals, accounting and organizational behavior, on the same day of finals week. Based on expectancy theory, which of the following statements suggest how he should allocate his limited study time?

a. For the previous three OB exams Michael studied for hours and received below average grades. He spent fewer hours studying for accounting and earned above average grades. He therefore decides to focus his efforts equally on OB and accounting.

b. Accounting is Michael’s major, OB is a general business requirement in his academic program. Michael aspires to be a CPA, so he decides to focus his study time on Accounting.

c. Michael is switching to another college for a communication major after this semester. His business courses will not count toward his total credits at the new college. His grades on these exams will not matter, but he decides to focus on his accounting anyway.

d. Michael loved the group work format that his OB instructor used to teach the course and disliked the lecture format utilized by his accounting professor. He decides to focus his attention on OB.

(b) Difficult/Synthesis

69. You work for your college’s annual alumni fund. You have averaged 25 phone calls in a three-hour shift throughout your employment. Your supervisor now demands that you increase that number to 40 calls per three-hour shift. You feel that you do not have the skills or the time to make 40 calls; this is an unrealistic goal. According to expectancy theory, you are experiencing

a. Low expectancy

b. Low instrumentality

c. Low valence

d. Low equity

(a) Difficult/Evaluation

70. Which of the following statements is true about the manner in which managers can influence the perceptions of expectancy theory?

a. Individuals with an internal locus of control and high self-esteem believe there is little connection between their effort and performance so a great deal of feedback is needed to motivate them.

b. Regardless of the performance rating given on a performance evaluation, make certain that everyone gets a small raise annually.

c. Recognize good performance of individuals with cost effective items like coffee mugs and t-shirts.

d. Conduct employee surveys periodically to ascertain what they consider to be rewards for performance and integrate that in some manner into the performance evaluation program.

(d) Medium/Analysis