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1 – 10 of over 12000The purpose of this paper is to develop two new constructs – sensitivity to gender and race/ethnicity diversity – and examined how differences in these constructs moderate the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop two new constructs – sensitivity to gender and race/ethnicity diversity – and examined how differences in these constructs moderate the diversity – affective outcomes relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 250 full-time employees completed an online survey on their sensitivity, workgroup diversity, and affective reactions toward their workgroups.
Findings
The paper performed a construct validation of the new sensitivity to diversity measures and found that they were conceptually distinct from two existing diversity perceptual constructs – gender identity salience and pro-diversity belief. Furthermore, the authors found that the moderating effect of sensitivity to gender diversity on the relationship between gender diversity and perceived cohesiveness and workgroup commitment was stronger for women than for men. The authors also found that the moderating role of sensitivity to race/ethnicity diversity on the relationship between race/ethnicity diversity and workgroup commitment and satisfaction with coworkers varied by race/ethnicity.
Research limitations/implications
Although common method variance can be a problem, diagnostic tests indicated that it had minimal influence on the results.
Practical implications
Organizations need to understand how individual differences among employees, especially among female and racial/ethnic minority employees, affect their responses to workgroup diversity and diversity initiatives.
Originality/value
Prior research on diversity has generally not examined individual differences in the propensity to notice differences. This study contributes to the literature by examining the moderating roles of such important individual characteristics on the relationship between diversity and affective outcomes.
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Helena Desivilya, Dalit Yassour Borochowitz, Shalom Bouknik, Geke Kalovski, Ilana Lavy and Liora Ore
The purpose of this paper is to examine the perspectives of academic staff on issues of diversity and social schisms: capturing their perceptions of the complex relations at an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the perspectives of academic staff on issues of diversity and social schisms: capturing their perceptions of the complex relations at an academic campus positioned in an intricate sociopolitical context. It also explored how the faculty’s construal of diversity and social divisions inform their educational practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed a qualitative approach using grounded theory methodology. Data collection was based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 20 diverse faculty members from different departments in a Northern Israeli college. The interviews were transcribed and processed into main themes and categories.
Findings
The findings revealed two main themes: “Diversity awareness” depicting recognition and sensitivity to the complex social context in the college, strategies of directly engaging with it, downplaying or overlooking the intricacies, and “Practices” describing the practical translations of the educational credos into teaching practice. Both themes reflected a myriad of faculty voices.
Social implications
The study illuminated the challenges posed by social schisms, inequalities, and diversity for the faculty who need to grapple with the intricacies on a daily basis. More open dialogue and debates by the protagonists are needed to increase awareness of diversity and experimenting with different ways of addressing the intricacies.
Originality/value
Empirical evidence of the organizational actors’ predicaments, their diverse patterns of coping with intricacies, and the factors underlying their choices contribute to the body of knowledge on managing diversity in vivo by real women and men with different backgrounds and experiences.
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Reference librarians interact with a broad range of customers and are expected to provide quality service to that clientele. In addition, library collections and services should…
Abstract
Reference librarians interact with a broad range of customers and are expected to provide quality service to that clientele. In addition, library collections and services should reflect the community served and meet at least a portion of the information needs of that community. As the populations that reference librarians serve change and become more and more diverse, particularly in the case of those librarians serving academic communities, it is critical that the resulting library environments be conducive to the success of the populations served. As a result, librarians are compelled to become more culturally sensitive and to ensure that the library environment is open to all of those in the target population.
Petru Lucian Curseu, Sandra G. L. Schruijer and Oana Catalina Fodor
The purpose of this paper is to test the influence of collaborative and consultative decision rules on groups’ sensitivity to framing effect (FE) and escalation of commitment…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the influence of collaborative and consultative decision rules on groups’ sensitivity to framing effect (FE) and escalation of commitment (EOC).
Design/methodology/approach
In an experimental study (using a sample of 233 professionals with project management experience), the authors test the effects of collaborative and consultative decision rules on groups’ sensitivity to EOC and FE. The authors use four group decision-making tasks to evaluate decision consistency across gain/loss framed decision situations and six decision tasks to evaluate EOC for money as well as time as resources previously invested in the initial decisions.
Findings
The results show that the collaborative decision rule increases sensitivity to EOC when financial resources are involved and decreases sensitivity to EOC when time is of essence. Moreover, the authors show that the collaborative decision rule decreases sensitivity to FE in group decision making.
Research limitations/implications
The results have important implications for group rationality as an emergent group level competence by extending the insights concerning the impact of decision rules on emergent group level cognitive competencies. Due to the experimental nature of the design, the authors can probe the causal relations between the investigated variables, yet the authors cannot generalize the results to other settings.
Practical implications
Managers can use the insights of this study in order to optimize the functioning of decision-making groups and to reduce their sensitivity to FEs and EOC.
Originality/value
The study extends the research on group rationality and it is one of the few experimental attempts used to understand the role of decision rules on emergent group level rationality.
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This article explores the neglected issue of the overrepresentation in the child protection system of children from ethnic, cultural, religious, racial, and linguistic minorities…
Abstract
This article explores the neglected issue of the overrepresentation in the child protection system of children from ethnic, cultural, religious, racial, and linguistic minorities. It focuses on the accommodation of children’s diverse backgrounds within the s 31(2) threshold and s1 “best interests” stages of intervention under the Children Act 1989. First, it introduces the ethnic child protection penalty as a new tool for capturing the complex nature of overrepresentation of these children. Second, it proposes a framework for understanding the judicial approach in higher court decisions on the current extent and nature of accommodation. Third, it employs the penalty concept to help explain why case law analysis reveals difficulties with the current factor-based approach, whereas empirical research suggests generally satisfactory accommodation in practice. It concludes by proposing a contextualized framework for decision-making in relation to child protection.
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Sabine Bacouel-Jentjens and Inju Yang
The purpose of this paper is to paper investigates whether different perceptions exist with regard to diversity management within an organisation. Additionally, if such…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to paper investigates whether different perceptions exist with regard to diversity management within an organisation. Additionally, if such differences exist, what contextual factors influence these perceptions?
Design/methodology/approach
The approach of this study is based on inductive and interpretative case research, which aims to compare diverse perceptions in two different organisational units of a company. For this purpose, 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted.
Findings
The findings in this paper highlight the importance of contexts in the study of diversity management. That is, contexts such as workforce composition and power (e.g. organisational status) in an organisation as well as the social environment’s impact on social identity processes, which results in discrepant focusses on and recognition of diversity management within the same organisation.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to research on a more nuanced approach to diversity by proposing an importance of contexts for the process of social identity and further perceptual discrepancy.
Practical implications
Qualitative research on and findings about perceptual discrepancy help to close the gap between the practice and rhetoric of diversity management.
Originality/value
Departing from extant empirical research on diversity at the workplace, which relies predominantly on quantitative methods, a qualitative design of this study allows a refinement of previous findings. Also, this paper provides deeper insight into the sense-making process, resulting in different diversity perceptions by different employees according to their work and social environments or contexts.
Kristine Khachatryan, Regine Graml, Tobias Hagen, Yvonne Ziegler and Ricky Astrida Herman
The purpose of this study is to provide a closer look at being out in the work environment. What are the characteristics that distinguish lesbian women who are out at work from…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide a closer look at being out in the work environment. What are the characteristics that distinguish lesbian women who are out at work from those who are not? What role do companies play with their diversity-related measures?
Design/methodology/approach
This paper investigates characteristics that distinguish lesbian women who were out at work and analyzes the use of various sexual identity management strategies in relation to specific reference groups within a company. Furthermore, the method of multiple correspondence analysis is used to visually map the associations between company-specific characteristics and being out.
Findings
Results show that being out in the work environment is subject to a complex interplay of several factors, from personal resources to the diversity-friendliness of the company. A company’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersexual (LGBTI)-related measures, such as in-house LGBTI networks or diversity workshops, can not only promote the coming out of lesbian employees, and thereby help to increase their overall satisfaction with life, but can also reduce their experiences of discrimination.
Originality/value
In this paper, the method of multiple correspondence analysis is used to examine the relationships between several diversity-related measures of the company and being out at the workplace. A visualization of these relationships in a two-dimensional space allows a more comprehensive view of these features and their possible effect on being out at the workplace.
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Valentini Kalargyrou and Wanda Costen
The purpose of this paper is to present a review of diversity management research published in hospitality and tourism-specific and business discipline-based journals. The study…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a review of diversity management research published in hospitality and tourism-specific and business discipline-based journals. The study objectives include attempting to assess the progress of diversity management research in hospitality and tourism, identifying gaps between the general business diversity management literature and the hospitality and tourism literature and providing hospitality and tourism scholars with suggestions to advance knowledge in diversity management.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is a critical review of the existing diversity management literature in the general business and hospitality and tourism disciplines in an attempt to identify gaps and make suggestions for expanding this knowledge in the hospitality and tourism fields.
Findings
There are significant gaps between the diversity management scholarship conducted in hospitality and tourism disciplines and the general business field. Diversity management research in general business is far more in-depth and uses sociological and social psychological theoretical frameworks.
Research limitations/implications
There are lessons to be learned from the general business literature that uses strong theoretical foundations deeply grounded in sociological, psychological, social-psychological and management theories. The general management literature also explores the conditions under which diversity management adds value or creates challenges for organizations.
Practical implications
The hospitality and tourism industry has employed large numbers of ethnic minorities, women and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community for decades. As such, it is critical that scholars explore the implications of such a diverse workforce not only on organizational outcomes, but also on individual and group performance. The general business diversity management research suggests that workgroup composition can influence individual and group performance, as well as the quality of co-worker relationships. Given the team-oriented, interdependent nature of work in the hospitality and tourism industry, it is imperative that researchers conduct studies that help practitioners understand the most effective perspectives and approaches to diversity management.
Social implications
The critical literature review demonstrated that there is extremely scarce research on diversity management focusing on employees with disabilities. It is imperative to shed more light on best diversity management practices, workplace etiquette of this under-represented group of employees and their interaction with their co-workers.
Originality/value
This study’s results provide insight into areas of exploration that can significantly enhance the scholarship on diversity management in the hospitality and tourism literature.
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Alberto G. Canen and Ana Canen
This paper aims to discuss ways for fostering innovation management and innovation in management education sensitive to cultural diversity. It explores strands in the literature…
Abstract
This paper aims to discuss ways for fostering innovation management and innovation in management education sensitive to cultural diversity. It explores strands in the literature concerning cross‐cultural awareness and undertakes a case study, carried out in a multicultural organisation, aimed at pinpointing challenges faced by managers working in such environments. Argues that logistics could help understanding, sensitising and taking into account cultural diversity in management education. Also claims that cultural plurality is an asset, rather than a constraint. The article concludes by suggesting possible ways ahead in the development of culturally sensitive managers in an increasingly globalised but also highly multicultural world.
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Although teacher educators have worked on improving pre‐service teachers' diversity awareness, researchers still face the challenge of pursuing a better approach to achieve the…
Abstract
Purpose
Although teacher educators have worked on improving pre‐service teachers' diversity awareness, researchers still face the challenge of pursuing a better approach to achieve the goal. In an era when educators are calling for evidence‐based practice, the purpose of this paper is to explore various ways in which both teacher‐education programs and general schools can integrate diversity issues into literacy teaching and learning. The paper undertakes this exploration on the basis of Gollnick and Chinn's cultural‐identity model and of weblog‐technology use.
Design/methodology/approach
The participants of this paper are 27 pre‐service teachers. The researchers set up a private group blog and invited all participants to be blog authors. The blog enabled the instructor to archive and categorize all posts and to continue to invite cohorts of pre‐service teachers to join the blog. Pre‐service teachers are placed in culturally and linguistically diverse classroom settings and are required to post their weekly reflections on the weblog. The researchers adopte mixed methodology to collect both qualitative data (field observation reports, discussion content on the blog, case studies, and focus groups) and quantitative data (pre‐post surveys).
Findings
The pre‐service teachers in this paper possessed positive and open‐minded attitudes toward English language learners. According to the pre‐ and post‐survey, pre‐service teachers are confident that they could resolve issues related to diversity in the classroom after participating in the paper. According to the results of the case‐scenario analysis, the instructor should use reading contexts to address diversity issues, especially those pertaining to exceptionality, geography, class, and gender. The pre‐service teachers' discussions and interactions on the blog were rich. Pre‐service teachers felt motivation to expand their diversity‐themed discussions from the classroom to the blog.
Originality/value
With the assistance of weblogs, the instructor can extend the in‐class discussion. In the paper, group blogs became a tool that helped the instructor and the pre‐service teachers not only link the in‐class discussion to their field observations but also share personal experiences and resources. For introverted pre‐service teachers, a group blog can serve as a channel through which the pre‐service teachers can comfortably express carefully organized opinions. In general, the commenting feature of the blog enriches interaction among pre‐service teachers and widens their discussion in a way in which limited class time cannot.
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