Managing Diversity 1 Managing Diversity within the Workplace Diversity is generally defined as acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing and celebrating the differences among people with respect to their age, gender, class, ethnicity, physical and mental stability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice or public assistance status (Esty, 1995). Furthermore, it involves not only how people perceive themselves but how they perceive others. As long as people with differences work in the same environment, diversity in the workplace will always be an issue. Companies that struggle with incorporating diversity, specifically gender-based, into their workplaces must look at different leadership styles such as path-goal and servantbased to help motivate their employees. For many organizations it is up to the human resource professionals to deal effectively with issues of communication, adaptability and change. Successful businesses now recognize the need to perform immediate action and provide the necessary financial measures to facilitate resources in order to manage diversity within places of business (PK website). However, diversity still remains a challenging obstacle for women to overcome in the workplace today. Those who wish to pursue careers in higher managerial positions have an even harder time due to pre-existing negative attitudes and behaviors from colleagues i.e. prejudice and stereotypes (Walsh, 1997). For example, in the past it was often assumed that women lacked the skills and traits necessary for managerial success (Chemers, 1997). These invisible barriers, also known as the glass ceiling effect, could be detrimental to the progression of these women s careers, damaging professional relationships, moral and productivity within the organization (Northouse, 2007).
Managing Diversity 2 Furthermore, women who are extremely successful and reach top leadership roles are often devalued for their work compared to men when they lead in a more traditionally accepted masculine role (Walsh, 1997). Case 12.1, The Glass Ceiling, stressed that big firms, such as the accountancy organization in Wall Street, still embody those traditional negative attitudes when they managed to turn two of their most experienced and qualified market analysts down for promotion to become partner based on gender. This was extremely discouraging to women in the workplace, specifically for the two that were passed up on the promotion. This concept of being looked over is also known as the glass ceiling effect (Northouse, 2007). Although more businesses today are promoting a greater number of women to higher leadership positions i.e. Secretary of Sate, Hilary Clinton, who ran in 2008 to represent the Democratic side for the 2009 presidential election, the statistics show that there is still a long way to go in terms of progression in the near future. For example, women only hold 81 out of the 535 seats that are within the U.S. Senate. In addition, women represent only 5.2% of fortune 500 earners and 7.9% of the highest titles within the fortune 500, and less than 2% of fortune CEO s (Northouse, 2007). That being said, women earn 57.5% of all the bachelor degrees in the United States. Therefore, leaders should try to change their negative pre historic attitudes due to demographic changes in society today and incorporate the concepts from various theorists in order to improve their leadership styles and perform more efficiently and actively encourage equality in their workplace. Furthermore, these theories could make employees feel more appreciated within their roles in the company.
Managing Diversity 3 The path-goal theory provides a set of assumptions about how various leadership styles interact with characteristics of subordinates and the work setting to motivate employees. In addition, it provides leaders with direction about how they can help their subordinates accomplish their work in a satisfactory manor in order to remove any pre-existing barriers and provide employees with the necessary skills and resources to progress their careers (Northouse, 2007). For example, the number of working women is predicted to double over the next decade; however, these individuals will continue to have primary responsibility to fulfill family matters before their professional lives. In 2008, this group made up roughly 48% of the workforce (U.S. Department of Labour). Therefore, it is up to these employers to provide more family friendly solutions to enable them to thrive in their careers and balance their lives more efficiently by providing more flexibility for child and elder care (Human Resource Website). The path-goal approach suggests that leaders need to make a decision about which type of leadership style that best fits both the needs of the subordinates and the task at hand. However, management is also responsible in helping their employees reach their goals by providing direction, guidance and support (Northouse, 2007). This approach has numerous advantages for organizations today, some of which include gaining a competitive advantage and increasing market opportunities. It consists of four distinct varieties of leadership in order to provide useful theoretical frame works for managers to understand their leadership behaviors and performance overall. One of which informs leaders on how to choose appropriate goals based on demand while still focusing attention on consistently questioning how to address issues successfully.
Managing Diversity 4 In short, path-goal enables management to identify and implement the necessary practices to target these shortsighted visions on diversity before the business faces disastrous consequences. Unfortunately, multinational firms like Coca-Cola, Morgan Stanley and Texaco realized this a little too late and as a result faced a lot of corporate lawsuits, which cost not only millions of dollars to settle, but also cost them their ethical reputation (Tudor Consulting Website). In addition, it provides these businesses the necessary frameworks required to remove these barriers and work with their teams more efficiently. Furthermore, this can be used by leaders in all levels of an organization and for all types of tasks (Northouse, 2007). House and Mitchell (1974) suggest that modern leaders may tend to incorporate any or in some cases all of these four leadership styles with numerous employees in different scenarios, as path-goal is not a trait based approach. Leaders can adapt their styles to suit the motivational needs of others. This may depend on their individual characteristics and the complexity of the task at hand. For example, for work that is structured or repetitive path-goal suggests that leaders should use a supportive style of leadership which nurtures subordinates and offers a sense of the human touch. This also works when tasks are ambiguous and objectives are unclear. On the other hand, a more directive approach of leadership should be used to provide employees with a psychological structure (House and Mitchell, 1974). Another wise approach is for organizations to incorporate either participative or achievement oriented styles in order to actively encourage subordinates to perform to the best of their abilities and progress successfully within the hierarchy of the company, regardless of individual differences (Northouse, 2007). Companies like Walt Disney
Managing Diversity 5 World tend to adapt this approach as it is an effective means to encourage diversity within the workplace and offered numerous advantages. For example, it empowers leaders to communicate with cast members effectively and remove barriers within their paths so that they may continue to obtain their personal goals. In addition, there are a variety of resourceful groups which various individuals may choose to join such as HOLA or PULSE. These groups have proved to be a successful strategy as Disney has managed to become named one of the 2009 top 50 companies for diversity (The Hub). While this theory has a number of good points, there are also weaknesses. Firstly, it fails to explain the relationship between leadership behavior and worker motivation and does not adequately go into depth regarding how leadership is related to these tenets (Northouse, 2007). Secondly, it is extremely complex and incorporates many different aspects of leadership theory, which means that sometimes it may clash with different organization s cultures due to the diverse levels of clarity, authority and ability. Moreover, only a few studies have been carried out to find out both the accuracy and validity of this theory. Therefore, these results may not give the bigger picture in essence due to a degree of uncertainty (Northouse, 2007). Overall, path-goal requires further research to be carried out within organizations to measure results and it needs to be perfected due to practical implications; however, the basic theory provides great value to leaders who wish to help subordinates progress in the workplace and encourage diversity (Northouse, 2007). Another effective application which may have a direct impact on diversity in the workplace is that of servant-based leadership. Robert K. Greenleaf developed this theory in 1970, arguing that servant leaders tend to place a great deal of emphasis on
Managing Diversity 6 both their internal moral values, such as respect and on interpersonal skills like helping the community or effective listening (Northouse, 2007). This style also emphasizes that leaders should focus on their subordinates concerns and look after these individuals needs. This would enable leaders to enrich others by their presence, practice the principle of service and increase their knowledge through thorough listening (Northouse, 2007). For example, when David Jones originally set up his own business venture in case 14.3, Reexamining a Proposal, he was an extremely ethical leader who had a clear vision of what he wanted to achieve for the business to operate efficiently and effectively. As most entrepreneurs do, he had to overcome a variety of hurdles in order to make this dream become reality, one of which was the dilemma of price changes of services for clients. He solved this problem immediately when he realized that if he did not act on behalf of his customers demands his sales and the number of clients which the business possessed would fall dramatically due to overly expensive prices. Furthermore, he felt that it was unfair and unjust to expect those limits from customers (Northouse, 2007). In many organizations today, caring is the crucial building block which is required to form trust and cooperative professional relationships. This theory has generated a great deal of interest within its particular field of study over the past decade. This included developing measurement instruments to measure results, identifying basic units of this theory, and the frameworks adopted to use it effectively (Homan, 2003). Managing diversity is a comprehensive process for creating a work environment that includes everyone. Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas Jr., author of Elements of a
Managing Diversity 7 Successful Diversity Process, believed that when creating a successful and diverse workforce an effective manager should focus on personal awareness. Richard Koonce, author of Redefining Diversity, suggested that organizations need to develop and implement ongoing training to change these individuals behaviors, especially leaders. On the other hand Alex Flagg, author of Managing Diverse Workgroups Successfully, believed that managers should implement effective corporate policies which would provide associates with available opportunities to be given feedback on their learning. Change may be slow; however, it will have significant benefits for individuals within the organization in the near future. Particularly for women who aspire to reach executive leadership roles (UFL Website). Today s workplaces are made up of diverse cultures, so organizations must learn how to adapt to these changing external conditions like the demographics of society and apply the necessary applications of leadership in order to be successful. For example, the path-goal approach would enable these leaders to remove unnecessary obstacles which block the subordinates success, whereas Greenleaf s servant-based style emphasizes how critical it is for these leaders to pay close attention to the needs of their followers in order to manage the leader-follower relationship successfully. If these techniques were incorporated by modern businesses today, perhaps diversity would seep into the very cracks left behind by past prejudices and stereotypes.
Managing Diversity 8 References Chemers, Martin M. (1997) An Integrative Theory of Leadership. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Esty, Katharine, Richard Griffin and Marcie Schorr-Hirsh (1995). Workplace diversity. A managers guide to solving problems and turning diversity into a competitive advantage. Avon, MA: Adams Media Corporation. Flagg, Alex. (2002). Managing diverse workgroups successfully. United Behavioral Health website (members only section). Available on the World Wide Web at http://www.ubhnet.com. Date visited, March 16, 2009. Homan, Scott Robert. (2003) An Analysis of Factors used by Students at Purdue University. Alaska: Association of Leadership Educators Conference. Koonce, Richard. (2001). Redefining diversity: It's not just the right thing to do; it also makes good business sense. Training and Development, December. Northouse, Peter G. (2007). Leadership Theory and Practice: Fourth Edition. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc. Retrieved March 17, 2009, from http://web.worldbank.org. (PK Website) Retrieved March 17, 2009, from http://www.aimd.org/files/pamelatudor.pdf. (Tudor Consulting Website)
Managing Diversity 9 Retrieved March 16, 2009, from https://enterpriseportal.disney.com. (The Hub Website) Retrieved March 17, 2009, from http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2000/feb/wk3/art01.htm. (U.S. Department of Labour) Retrieved March 16, 2009, from http://www.changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/path_goal_leadership.htm. (House and Mitchell, 1974) Retrieved March 17, 2009, from http://humanresources.about.com. (Human Resources Website) Retrieved March 16, 2009, from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hr022. (UFL Website) Roosevelt Thomas, R. Jr. (2001). Elements of a successful diversity process. The American Institute for Managing Diversity. Available on the World Wide Web at http://www.aimd.org/articles/elements.html. Date visited, March 16, 2009. Walsh, Mary Roth. (1997) Women, Men & Gender: Ongoing Debates. Yale University Press.