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1 – 10 of over 13000The purpose of this paper is to better understand the institutional and external factors associated with African-American and Latino representation in policing at the line and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to better understand the institutional and external factors associated with African-American and Latino representation in policing at the line and managerial ranks. Line representation analyses utilize new data sources and a full range of theoretically informed covariates. Managerial representation analyses provide the first comprehensive attempt to understand the dynamics behind minority promotion.
Design/methodology/approach
Portions of the 2000 US Census of Population and Housing Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Tabulation, Division of Governmental Studies, and Services (DGSS) survey and Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey were combined to produce a sample of 180 cities/municipal departments for analysis.
Findings
Results indicate that the representation of minorities in political office and their presence in police leadership positions are among the most influential predictors of line officer diversity. Proportions of minorities in administrative police roles are greater in larger departments paying higher salaries. There is also evidence that the career advancement of minorities can be limited when multiple minority groups compete for the same promotional opportunities.
Originality/value
This study provides a thorough examination of minority officer line representation and the first multivariate examination of minority representation in managerial positions using a national sample.
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Elizabeth H. Gorman and Fiona M. Kay
Although law schools have seen rising representation of diverse racial and ethnic groups among students, minorities continue to represent disproportionately small percentages of…
Abstract
Although law schools have seen rising representation of diverse racial and ethnic groups among students, minorities continue to represent disproportionately small percentages of lawyers within large corporate law firms. Prior research on the nature and causes of minority underrepresentation in such firms has been sparse. In this paper, we use data on a national sample of more than 1,300 law firm offices to examine variation across large U.S. law firms in the representation of African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asian-Americans. Overall, minorities are better represented in offices located in Western states and in major metropolitan areas; offices that are larger and affiliated with larger firms; offices of firms with higher revenues and profits per partner; offices with greater associate–partner leverage; and branch offices rather than principal offices. They are equally distributed between offices with single-tier and two-tier partnerships. Distinct patterns emerge, however, when the three groups are considered separately and when hierarchical rank within firms is taken into account.
Stijn Verbeek and Sandra Groeneveld
This study aims to examine the effectiveness of three types of diversity policies in improving the numerical representation of ethnic minorities in organizations: the assignment…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effectiveness of three types of diversity policies in improving the numerical representation of ethnic minorities in organizations: the assignment of responsibility for the policy within the organization, tiebreak preferential treatment, i.e. selecting the ethnic minority candidate if the best applicants are equally qualified, and the formulation of target figures.
Design/methodology/approach
The dataset consists of 8,283 official reports of Dutch work organizations filed in 2001 and 2002 to comply with the Act Stimulation Labor Participation Minorities (Wet SAMEN). The research is embedded in the broader literature on the underlying motivations for diversity policies and on their potential “symbolic” character.
Findings
The analysis suggests that the three diversity policies and ethnic minority representation are correlated. However, the policies do not impact ethnic minority participation rates in the short run.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should also include long‐term effects, actual implementation processes, and the effectiveness of these three policies in combination with other policies and in specific contexts.
Practical implications
Policymakers and strategic HRM practitioners should adopt a long time frame in trying to increase ethnic minority representation. In line with previous research, the study evaluates assigning responsibility within organizations most positively.
Originality/value
These “hard” policies are central to the debate on equal opportunities, employment equity, and ethnic diversity, but few large N effectiveness studies are available.
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John Shjarback, Scott Decker, Jeff J. Rojek and Rod K. Brunson
Increasing minority representation in law enforcement has long been viewed as a primary means to improve police-citizen relations. The recommendation to diversify police…
Abstract
Purpose
Increasing minority representation in law enforcement has long been viewed as a primary means to improve police-citizen relations. The recommendation to diversify police departments was endorsed by the Kerner Commission and, most recently, the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. While these recommendations make intuitive sense, little scholarly attention has examined whether greater levels of minority representation translate into positive police-community relations. The purpose of this paper is to use the representative bureaucracy and minority threat frameworks to assess the impact of the racial/ethnic composition of both police departments and municipalities on disparities in traffic stops.
Design/methodology/approach
A series of ordinary least squares regression analyses are tested using a sample of more than 150 local police agencies from Illinois and Missouri.
Findings
Higher levels of departmental representativeness are not associated with fewer racial/ethnic disparities in stops. Instead, the racial/ethnic composition of municipalities is more predictive of racial patterns of traffic stops.
Originality/value
This study provides one of the few investigations of representative bureaucracy in law enforcement using individual departments as the unit of analysis. It examines Hispanic as well as black disparities in traffic stops, employing a more representative sample of different size agencies.
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Jeanie M. Forray and Janelle E. Goodnight
While institutional efforts have shown modest results, AACSB statistics suggest that current practices are insufficient to increase more substantively the representation of…
Abstract
Purpose
While institutional efforts have shown modest results, AACSB statistics suggest that current practices are insufficient to increase more substantively the representation of minorities among doctorally qualified business school faculty. The purpose of this paper is to explore antecedents to the faculty representation issue – that is, the motives, concerns, and resources of US minority individuals with respect to business doctoral program entry – as a basis for improving minority faculty representation outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
A small sample of doctoral program directors were interviewed to ascertain their perspective on recruitment, design and delivery of PhD programs in business and from which a survey instrument was developed. A sample of 292 US minority respondents surveyed indicated their top reasons for and concerns about pursuing a doctorate, program selection and rejection criteria, sources of information and financing, and, for those in the decision-making stage, reasons for waiting to apply to a program. The paper compares responses of those who graduated from or are currently enrolled in a doctoral program in business with those who decided not to enroll. The paper also explores factors most salient to individuals currently contemplating enrolling but who have not yet decided to do so.
Findings
Results suggest that mentorship of promising undergraduate and master's students by business faculty and current doctoral students is critical to US minority enrollments in doctoral programs; however, a school's physical location, required time and energy, and financial considerations also play a role in the decision-making process. The role of international students in diversity efforts by doctoral programs is also salient.
Originality/value
Previous studies in multiple disciplines note the under-representation of US minority faculty in academe. In business education, suggestions for overcoming this gap have focussed on recruitment, mentoring, and/or networks and support groups but little is known about antecedents to entry (motives, concerns, and resources of US minority individuals) with respect to business doctoral programs.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system on the governance of Singapore, particularly in terms of equity and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system on the governance of Singapore, particularly in terms of equity and inclusiveness, accountability, and participation.
Design/methodology/approach
Historical review and election data from Singapore government web site are used.
Findings
The GRC system seems to be friendlier and fairer toward ethnic minorities than the traditional system. The GRC system also encourages political parties to be ethnically more inclusive. On the other hand, however, the GRC system has negative effects on opposition parties. A government cannot be called “accountable” if it lacks fair competition and sufficient popular participation.
Originality/value
The Singapore experience shows that, in practice, ethnic equality/inclusiveness and even political stability on the one hand, and participation and accountability on the other hand, can present conflicts. Which value should receive priority thus requires serious consideration.
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Iman Hemmatian, Amol M. Joshi, Todd M. Inouye and and Jeffrey A. Robinson
In 2017, US federal agencies awarded over $86 billion in contracts to small businesses owned by members of under-represented groups (minorities, women, service-disabled veterans…
Abstract
In 2017, US federal agencies awarded over $86 billion in contracts to small businesses owned by members of under-represented groups (minorities, women, service-disabled veterans, and certified businesses located in economically distressed areas). The vast scale and scope of public procurement coupled with policies for supporting small disadvantaged businesses may drive federal agencies toward greater inclusiveness in awarding contracts, which may shape broader societal patterns of economic participation and social equity. However, the level of inclusiveness varies considerably across different federal agencies. The authors posit that differences in three key organizational mechanisms associated with federal agencies’ decision-making processes – administrative discretion, workplace discrimination, and legislative oversight – influence an agency’s level of inclusiveness in awarding contracts. They test these ideas using the annual small business procurement activities of 41 federal agencies, large and small, from 2002 to 2011. The authors find empirical evidence for economically significant effects of discretion, discrimination, and oversight on an agency’s inclusiveness in awarding contracts and discuss the scholarly, managerial, and policy implications.
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Kelly M. LeRoux and Bethany G. Sneed
Public administration scholarship has yielded important insights about the extent to which government bureaucracies function as representative institutions. While evidence…
Abstract
Public administration scholarship has yielded important insights about the extent to which government bureaucracies function as representative institutions. While evidence suggests women and minorities fare better in obtaining higher level positions within government versus the private sector, much less is known about the career trajectories in the third sector. The rise of nonprofit employment has been attributed to widespread government contracting, resulting in a model of government-nonprofit relationships described as complementary and mutually beneficial. Since both are “public-serving,” government and nonprofits share many values. Representative bureaucracy represents one such common value. This article explores the capacity of nonprofit organizations in furthering the aims of representative bureaucracy, and proposes a research agenda for the comparative study of public and nonprofit employment
Elizabeth H. Gorman and Fiona M. Kay
In elite professional firms, minorities are actively recruited but struggle to move upward. The authors argue that initiatives aimed at general skill development can have…
Abstract
In elite professional firms, minorities are actively recruited but struggle to move upward. The authors argue that initiatives aimed at general skill development can have unintended consequences for firm diversity. Specifically, the authors contend that approaches that win partner support through motivational significance and interpretive clarity provide a more effective avenue to skill development for minorities, who have less access than White peers to informal developmental opportunities. The authors also argue that a longer “partnership track,” which imposes a time limit on skill development, will benefit minority professionals. Using data on 601 offices of large US law firms in 1996 and 2005, the authors investigate the effects of five developmental initiatives and partnership track length on the representation of African-Americans, Latinxs, and Asian-Americans among partners. Observed effects are consistent with expectations, but patterns vary across racial-ethnic groups.
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Ellen Ernst Kossek, Karen S. Markel and Patrick P. McHugh
In order to manage strategic demographic change in economic and labor markets, a common human resource (HR) change strategy is to increase the diversity of the workforce through…
Abstract
In order to manage strategic demographic change in economic and labor markets, a common human resource (HR) change strategy is to increase the diversity of the workforce through hiring over time. This study examined department level consensus and valence regarding an organizational HR strategy to shift demography toward greater diversity in race and sex composition over an eight‐year period. Though the organization had experienced significant change in organizational demography: an increase in the overall representation of white women (36 percent) and minorities (41 percent) over time; work group members in units with the greatest change did not necessarily agree nor hold positive perceptions regarding these HR changes. The results show that HR strategies that focus on structural change without working to develop supportive group norms and positive climate may be inadequate change strategies.
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