Individual Diversity And Psychology In Organizations

Workplace initiatives to manage diversity seek to fully develop the potential of each employee and turn their unique skills into a business advantage. Such fostering of difference enhances team creativity, innovation and problem-solving and is therefore an essential strategy for today's employers. Individual Diversity and Psychology in Organizations is an indispensable handbook for all those involved in managing diversity. Its academic and practice-oriented perspective is unique as it presents practical strategies and case studies alongside academic reviews, giving the reader a balanced overview of each topic. The team of expert authors examine international issues in diversity, such as: Strategies for managing organizational effectiveness Legal and psychological implications Diversity training and its effectiveness Disability, racial equality, age and gender diversity Affirmative action Recognizing stereotypes and bias Business ethics The Future of diversity This much needed handbook will be welcomed by researchers, academics and students in organizational psychology, management and business. It will also be of great use to professionals in human resources, equal opportunities management and management consultancy.

The changing demography of the workforce presents challenges and opportunities to individuals and to the organizations of which they are a part. This volume examines how diversity in organizations affords benefits such as a broader talent pool, but at the same time can lead to tension, misunderstanding and, at times, outright hostility.

Diversity arising from the mixing of peoples from different cultural backgrounds has long been an issue in nations such as the United States and Australia, and in recent decades, European nations have reached unprecedented levels of cultural diversity due to increased migration. This phenomenon of increasing cultural diversity at the national level sets the context for current social science research on the consequences of diversity for social integration, institutional functioning, and interpersonal relationships. This book reviews theory and research in social and organizational psychology on the management of diversity in work organizations. The book shows how diversity management takes place across multiple levels: at a national level, at an organizational level, between work groups and teams, in interpersonal relations, and at the level of individual experiences. Each chapter summarizes relevant empirical research, and considers how the dynamics of workgroup relations are likely to be affected by cultural differences among group members. The contributors also describe the variables which organizational leadership should be sensitive to in designing and implementing policies and practices for inclusive organizations. Towards Inclusive Organizations will be essential reading for researchers and advanced students in social and organizational psychology.

First Published in 2007. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Showcases the scope of international perspectives that exist on workplace diversity and defines this field. This book is a useful resource for students and academics of human resource management, organisational behaviour, organisational psychology and organisation studies.

Inhaltsangabe:Introduction: Diversity represents the multitude of individual differences and similarities that exist between people (Treven & Treven, 2007, p.29). It came into play as an organizational concept three decades ago, in the 1980s in the US as an initiative to create a more positive business perspective and provide equal employment opportunities for various minority groups. The initiative that started as a mere political correctness and legal compliance issue later on evolved into a complex business-orientated strategy in the area of human resource management and development, organizational culture and leadership, named by Gilbert, Stead, and Ivancevich (1999) the new organizational paradigm. Changing demographics and recent societal changes like extensive immigration and consequent increase in international workforce alongside with current economic metatrends such as internationalisation and globalisation are causing more exposure to Diversity, both in daily and in business life. Managing Diversity is becoming a strategic focus area of management in organizations and a resource, which enables companies gain competitive advantage on the modern market through company s most important asset - its people (Richard, 2000). Literature reviews (Cox & Blake, 1991) and numerous surveys (e.g. The Second European Diversity Survey, 2004; Survey on Diversity in Corporate Annual Reports of Stoxx 50 Companies, 2009) show that the topic of Diversity and, eminently, the issues of cultural diversity and ethnicity are currently gaining prominence amongst human resource (HR) professionals. Consequently, cultural diversity trainings (CDTs) are becoming salient, e.g. researchers report (Sweeney, 2002 as cited in Jackson, Joshi & Erhardt, 2003) that 67% of employers carry out ethnicity-related diversity trainings (DT). However, scholars (King, Dawson, Kravitz, & Gulick, 2010, p.1) point out that prevalence of DT has not been matched by empirical research on its effectiveness . The trend toward diversity trainings in organizations poses the question of their efficiency (Pendry, Driscoll, & Field, 2007; Roberson, Kulik, & Pepper, 2001), which can be operationalized as organizational business and individual-level outcomes, i.e. in form of psychological variables, relevant in that regard for both parties - employees and organizations. On the structural level of organizations Diversity is viewed as an organizational human resource development tool Diversity [...]

Awareness and inclusion are not enough to create effective change in organizations and society. Instead, organizations must implement strategies to ensure that they not only improve diversity, but also place their employees on career development plans that provide the best fit between individual and organizational needs as well as personal characteristics and career roles. Implementation Strategies for Improving Diversity in Organizations is a pivotal reference source that provides crucial research on the application of stratagems designed to increase organizational change, chiefly to integrate diverse individuals, including physically disabled individuals, women, and people of color, into the workforce. The book also looks at discriminatory practices involving the physical appearance of workers. While highlighting topics such as career development, lookism, and ethnic discrimination, this publication explores new, innovative ideas influencing the paradigm shift for the modern workforce as well as the methods of career development. This book is ideally designed for managers, executives, human resources professionals, researchers, business practitioners, academicians, and students.

Organisations, of all kinds, are facing the challenge of rapidly advancing technologies, and ever-increasing levels of competition, both nationally and globally. They are also seeking to operate in an environment where the traditional relationships between employer and employee are rapidly changing. Learning to harness the talents of everyone comprising an organisation is critical to sustainable organisational effectiveness. Successfully developing the talents of all members of an organization is, arguably, the only lasting source of competitive advantage. This handbook provides a unique and authoritative review of relevant research, theoretical developments, and current best practice in the management of individual development. Drawing on the expertise of both renowned academic specialists and leading practitioners, the book is designed to be a practical resource for the guidance and support of those whose role is to bring about the development of people at work. Authoritative reviews of relevant evaluation research, and best-practice descriptions of key assessment and development tools Editor with excellent psychological and consultancy knowledge, experience and contacts Written by International contributors within a strong conceptual structure Part of a new series - Wiley Handbooks in the Psychology of Management in Organizations