13: Demographics & Diversity

NOTE: One of the reasons I move this topic to the end of the semester is that it's impossible to really do it justice in this class. We can just barely begin to scratch the surface. If you want to learn more about this week's ideas from an organizational perspective I recommend both LDRV 401: Leadership in a Diverse Environment, and PSYV471: Psychology of Leadership which addresses it briefly but in a very helpful way.

3. Perceptions of fairness are a ridiculously important concept in the workplace and involves (at a minimum) the related concepts of trust, justice, and ethics. In the workplace lack of fairness can have legal and other negative consequences (like employee dissatisfaction and all of the bad things that come from that). To help illustrate how important these are, perceptions that there is a lack of fairness are almost always a factor in workplace violence.

4. Prejudice + Stereotype ⇒ Behavior: "People are often biased against others outside of their own social group, showing prejudice (emotional bias), stereotypes (cognitive bias), and discrimination (behavioral bias). In the past, people used to be more explicit with their biases, but during the 20th century, when it became less socially acceptable to exhibit bias, such things like prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination became more subtle (automatic, ambiguous, and ambivalent). In the 21st century, however, with social group categories even more complex, biases may be transforming once again." - Susan Flake, Princeton University (for the Noba Project)

5. You can access important cultural information from your pocket! When people from different cultures interact there is some form of negotiation going on, whether it's intended or not (the negotiation may be as simple as getting them to listen to you at all!). To make that easier, the best companies equip their leaders with a 'pocket reference' via an app which accesses Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions. I encourage you to review Hofstede's Culture Centre results for whichever country you are most familiar with, which will help you understand these ideas.