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International Journal of Intercultural Relations 37 (2013) 159– 175
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International Journal of Intercultural Relations
journa l h o me pag e: www.elsev ier .com/ locate / i j in t re l
anaging a culturally diverse workforce: Diversity perspectives n organizations
strid Podsiadlowskia,∗, Daniela Gröschkeb, Marina Koglera, ornelia Springera, Karen van der Zeec
WU Wirtschaftsuniversität, Vienna, Austria Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Germany Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Netherlands
r t i c l e i n f o
rticle history: eceived 5 October 2011 eceived in revised form 2 September 2012 ccepted 25 September 2012
eywords: iversity management iversity perspectives ustria enefits and costs of diversity
a b s t r a c t
The authors conducted two studies to analyze why and how organizations approach and manage cultural diversity in the Austrian workplace and to identify organizations’ diversity perspectives. In Study 1, 29 interviews revealed insights into organizational approaches to diversity and how these perspectives are linked to employing and managing a culturally diverse workforce. In Study 2, the authors developed and tested the Diversity Perspective Questionnaire (DPQ). The DPQ consists of vignettes and items to measure an organization’s approach to diversity. Results reveal that five diversity perspectives—Reinforcing Homogene- ity, Color-Blind, Fairness, Access, and Integration and Learning—gain a deeper understanding of diversity management in organizations. The DPQ is shown to be a reliable measurement instrument for further investigations of diversity perspectives in organizations.
© 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
. Introduction
With increasing globalization and migration, managing diversity in organizations is becoming more and more important. here is wide agreement on the need to actively deal with diversity in organizations and to identify advantages and disad- antages for various agents involved (Dietz & Petersen, 2006; Kochan, Bezrukova, & Ely, 2003; McKay, Avery, & Morris, 2009). iversity is a well-known and well-researched concept in the United States as well as in Europe. There are case studies on iversity paradigms (e.g., Thomas & Ely, 1996), but we are missing a comprehensive tool to measure strategic approaches o dealing with diversity. Further, little research has been done linking personal and organizational context factors to an rganization’s approach to diversity with regard to workforce composition, diversity perspective, and management.
Our goal was to identify the different ways organizations approach diversity and how those approaches can be mea- ured in a diversity-sensitive and reliable way. We developed a framework for understanding the management of diversity, xtending and differentiating the concepts of Dass and Parker (1999) and Ely and Thomas (2001). We identified five diversity erspectives that explain the underlying motivations and consequences of organizations’ approaches to diversity. In two tudies, we analyzed these different diversity perspectives. In Study 1 we looked at why organizations would be for or against iversity. In Study 2 we developed and implemented a standardized questionnaire to measure the diversity perspectives.
e examined how an organization’s diversity perspectives are linked with perceived benefits and threats of diversity at
roup and organizational level and how diversity management is implemented.
∗ Corresponding author at: Schwarzenbergplatz 11, A-1040 Wien, Austria. Tel.: +43 1 31336 5039; fax: +43 1 31336 724. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (A. Podsiadlowski), [email protected] (D. Gröschke), [email protected]
M. Kogler), [email protected] (C. Springer), [email protected] (K. van der Zee).
147-1767/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2012.09.001
160 A. Podsiadlowski et al. / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 37 (2013) 159– 175
2. Diversity
There are many ways to define diversity. Most focus on various dimensions, such as gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, education, or work status. Kreitz (2008, p. 102) subsumed all these points under the definition of diversity as “any significant difference that distinguishes one individual from another,” covering a wide variety of factors that might be obvious to other individuals or hidden under the surface. Ely and Thomas (2001, p. 230) stated that diversity is “a characteristic of groups of two or more people and typically refers to demographic differences of one sort or another among group members.” The various definitions show that diversity is relevant to interpersonal as well as intergroup relations in the workplace context.
Theoretical rationales supporting the relevance of diversity dimensions have focused on the importance of social iden- tity and social categorization in intergroup relations (Tajfel & Turner, 1986), stressing the relevance of surface-level traits (Harrison, Price, & Bell, 1998), such as ethnicity and nationality, which are the focus of our studies. Both social identity and perceived similarity have consequences for intergroup relations at culturally diverse workplaces. These can be negative, leading to discrimination, equal employment disparities, stereotyping, and conflicts, but also positive, fostering creativity, innovation, and better problem solving (Krell & Wächter, 2006). Especially on a group level of analysis, research has shown positive effects of diversity, as highly diverse teams have outperformed less diverse groups under certain conditions, par- ticularly with regard to creativity and satisfaction (Fujimoto, Härtel, & Härtel, 2004; Podsiadlowski, 2002; Stahl, Maznevski, Voigt, & Jonsen, 2010). Individuals from diverse backgrounds bring to a group different perspective on how to solve a task and have access to different resources enhancing creativity and performance (Williams & O’Reilly, 1998) and leading to a more interesting and satisfying workplace (Podsiadlowski, 2002). Employee diversity can give a business an advantage when dealing with a diverse customer base or international markets, making diversity an important business issue. Nonetheless, existing social inequalities for minority groups and potential conflicts due to perceived differences need to be acknowledged. Different viewpoints about the positive and negative sides of diversity in an organization should lead to different approaches to diversifying and managing diversity.
3. Diversity strategy
Different organizational approaches to diversity have been identified in the literature. The terms diversity strategy, diversity orientation, and diversity perspective are used synonymously. An organization’s strategic response can be episodic, freestanding, or systemic (Dass & Parker, 1999) and can be classified on a continuum ranging from “not doing anything” to “having a full blown diversity strategy” that integrates various interventions into an organization-wide general framework (Bhawuk, Podsiadlowski, Graf, & Triandis, 2002, p. 135).
Thomas and Ely (1996) distinguished three different perspectives regarding an organization’s approach to diversity: (1) the discrimination and fairness paradigm, (2) the access and legitimacy paradigm, and (3) the learning and effectiveness paradigm. These paradigms refer to organizational members’ normative beliefs and expectations about the reason to diver- sify, the value of diversity, and its connection to work. Dass and Parker (1999) added a fourth perspective, the resistance perspective, where an increase in an outside demand for diversity is viewed as a threat to the company or not important enough to even discuss. They acknowledged possible reactions to diversity as identified by Roosevelt (1995): to include or exclude, to deny, to assimilate, to suppress, to isolate, to tolerate, to build relationships, and to mutually adapt. Cri- teria of organizational approaches to diversity are consequently whether to address or ignore diversity, whether to view diverse (cultural) backgrounds of their employees as a challenge to deal with or an asset to make use of, and whether to be reactive, defensive, or proactive. Most diversity research has referred to case studies and has drawn from conclusions in consultancy projects. A systematic, comprehensive, and quantifiable study of diversity strategies in organizations has been missing.
Consequently, Podsiadlowski, Otten, and van der Zee (2009) reexamined the examples given by Ely and Thomas (2001) and integrated the results of Dass and Parker (1999) to suggest a conceptual framework of five diversity perspectives: Reinforcing Homogeneity, Color-Blind, Fairness, Access, and Integration and Learning. We explore each of these perspectives in turn.
Reinforcing Homogeneity means to avoid or even reject a diverse workforce. Organizations not only ignore potential cultural differences but reject cultural diversity in favor of a homogeneous workforce. Its theoretical and empirical foundation lies in the importance of perceived similarity for intergroup relations, also in the workplace context (Riordan, Shaffer, & Stewart, 2005; Schneider, 1987; Tsui, Egan, & O’Reilly, 1992). Schneider’s (1987) attraction–selection–attrition hypothesis suggests that organizations tend to attract, hire, and retain similar types of people. The tendency to drive out diversity can be explicit or implicit, by using selection and promotion criteria that are ascribed only to people from the dominant majority in a country, such as local business knowledge, access to networks, and experience, thus raising barriers to employment for immigrants (Flam, 2008; Podsiadlowski & Ward, 2010). Organizations may not simply ignore cultural diversity in the labor market and their organization but actively resist it (Dass & Parker, 1999).
The discrimination-and-fairness perspective (Ely & Thomas, 2001) should be divided into a Color-Blind and cultural
Fairness perspective, as most of Ely and Thomas’s (2001) examples could be referred to as a Color-Blind approach (Podsiadlowski et al., 2009): People should be treated equally no matter where they are from; cultural background does not count and does not need to be specifically dealt with in personnel management. Both Color-Blindness and Fairness stretch the importance of ensuring equal and fair treatment and avoiding discriminatory practices. But they
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re different in their reasons for ensuring equal employment opportunities: Color-Blindness focuses on equal employ- ent opportunities but without acknowledging potential differences due to different cultural backgrounds. Fairness
nsures equal and fair treatment through addressing the need for specific support for minority groups, reducing social nequalities.
The Access perspective sees diversity as a business strategy that provides access to a diverse customer base and inter- ational markets by internally reflecting an organization’s external environment. The Integration and Learning perspective
s broader, suggesting that everyone can benefit from a diverse work environment, the organization as a whole as well s its employees. From this perspective, diversity creates a learning environment where everybody—also within the rganization—can benefit from a diverse work context. This last perspective is considered the most strategic; change happens hrough mutual adaptation of minority and majority groups alike. Both Access and Integration and Learning refer to advantages pecifically gained from diversifying the workforce not only by being aware of and accepting diversity but also by creating
productive work environment and making use of diverse talents to meet organizational goals (Fish, 1999). Whereas the ccess perspective considers diversity more as a business case by gaining access to diverse customers and international arkets as well as reflecting the demographics of an organization’s external environment, the Integration and Learning per-
pective moves beyond business-related demographic reasons and appreciation. Equal and fair treatment of everyone is tressed without specific support for minority groups—not because potential inequalities are ignored but because the orga- ization has moved beyond distinguishing between different groups of people to acknowledging the unique and specific xpertise of each individual employee and his or her valuable contribution.
In sum, these five diversity perspectives can be seen on a continuum from defensive (not doing anything specifically, even esisting diversity) to reactive (e.g., meeting legal responsibilities or addressing intercultural conflict) to proactive (acknowl- dging the economic benefits of diversity and encouraging diversity as a learning opportunity for the whole organization). mpirical evidence of the existence of these dimensions in organizations is rare. To our knowledge, no study has shown how iversity is or is not approached in organizations in a quantifiable, systematic, and comparable way; nor have we found any tudy that showed how a specific diversity management strategy is supported by specific measures. There is also a missing ink between organizational approaches to diversity and theoretical foundations of diversity on the organizational level.
hat approaches to diversity exist in organizations, and how can they best be distinguished?
. Diversity management
Research has highlighted the importance of organizational conditions that leverage the benefits of diversity (the so-called alue-in-diversity hypothesis; Ely & Thomas, 2001; Richard, 2000; Shore, Chung-Herrera, & Dean, 2009). Thus, the organi- ational perspective on diversity determines the impact of diversity within the organization. Consequently, organizations hould differ in their management of a diverse workforce depending on their dominant diversity perspective.
As for the concept of diversity, there are various definitions of diversity management. It has been defined as the sum of rganizational practices for managing people to maximize potential advantages of diversity (Cox, 1993) and as policies for ecruiting and retaining talent from different backgrounds (Cox & Blake, 1991). In an approach similar to our own, Seymen 2006, p. 301) focused on cultural diversity management and saw it as “an organizational answer or reaction to the need for ompetitiveness and to the increasing variety of the workforce.”
Many approaches have been proposed in the literature on how to deal with diversity in organizations (Bhawuk et al., 002; Ensher, Grant-Vallone, & Donaldson, 2001; Seymen, 2006). Initiatives that have focused specifically on cultural iversity have included diversity committees, multicultural work groups, advocacy groups, language classes, intercultural raining, and diversity workshops. Diversity measures may also be embedded within existing tools for training, person- el development, formalized recruitment, selection and assessment, mentoring, or coaching without being specifically
dentified. Depending on the organizational approach to diversity, the number, quality, and type of diversity measures and initia-
ives will differ which in turn should have consequences for staff and the organization itself. Having a reliable, standardized easurement of such approaches should lead to more efficient identification of an organization’s strategy, improve moni-
oring of diversity management, and help clarify the inconsistent effects of diversity. So far, there has been no standardized easurement approach to analyzing diversity perspectives in organizations due to the lack of theoretical foundation on the
rganizational level. Diversity initiatives are complex, and their effects have been discussed mainly at the conceptual level Richard & Johnson, 2001). How can the five diversity perspectives be measured, and what effects do they achieve in groups nd organizations?
Our research is based in Europe, where issues of diversity were raised long after the United States and awareness of iversity have been promoted only for the last 15 years. We can assume, therefore, that we will detect the whole continuum f diversity perspectives within the European context. In Austria, for instance, diversity management as a business case is till in its infancy (Pircher & Schwarz-Wölzl, 2005). Austrian organizations are not yet aware of the importance of diversity
anagement as an overall strategy when focusing mainly on gender and age issues (e.g., Bendl, Hanappi-Egger, & Hofmann,
010). An important question is whether the reasons for engaging in diversity management and the organizational practices f organizations in Austria are comparable to those in the United States or whether they need to be understood within pecifically European and national contexts. Consequently, we conducted two studies in Austria to analyze why and how
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organizations approach and manage cultural diversity (Study 1) and to identify distinct patterns of organizations’ diversity perspectives (Study 2).
5. Study 1: diversity perspectives in Austria
5.1. Introduction to Study 1
In Study 1 was explorative focusing the question of how diversity is perceived in different types of private businesses and which patterns of managing cultural diversity can be identified with regard to an organization’s strategy, structure, and management. We sought this organizational-level information from primary decision makers, organizational experts, and managers with an interest in diversity and from different ethnic/national backgrounds. We asked them how they manage and experience diversity in their organization. To understand how diversity is managed, the specific roles of primary decision makers in an organization become particularly relevant. It has been argued that approval from top management support are particularly important for positive intergroup relations in a workplace context (Ensher et al., 2001; Triandis, Kurowski, & Gelfand, 1994), and they are a valuable source of information on how diversity can be managed and how people react to it (Cox, 1993; Dass & Parker, 1999; Ely & Thomas, 2001). Thus, with Study 1 we hoped to gain deeper, more systematic insight into organizational approaches and perceptions of diversity in Austria in respect to the conceptual framework of five potential diversity perspectives.
5.2. Method
Semi-structured, problem-centered interviews (Atteslander & Cromm, 2003; Flick, 2009) were conducted by the third and fourth authors using an interview guide to topically organize the conversation (Stahl, 1998). The guidelines contained the following sections: personal background of the interviewee; information about the organization, its human resources (HR) management, and diversity management; and experiences working within a culturally diverse workforce. Information on organizational goals, strategies, demographics, and performance was complemented by secondary material (e.g., corporate webpages, annual reports), supplied by the public relations departments and interviewees themselves. The interviews were mostly conducted in the interviewees’ work environment.
5.2.1. Data analysis The analysis of the collected data was based on qualitative content analysis (Mayring, 2008). We also followed Stahl’s
(1998) recommendations from research on expatriate executives in Japan and the United States. We first transcribed the digitally recorded interviews and then defined the relevant units of analysis. Categories were developed in interdependency between theory and the concrete data (Mayring, 2008; Stahl, 1998). As categories have to be exhaustive, each text passage was assigned to only one category (Stahl, 1998). A team of three researchers consisting of the first, third, and fourth authors developed a coding system that entailed a continuous and iterative process of summarizing and paraphrasing the collected information and assigning text passages to the relevant categories. This coding system was reviewed and tested for com- prehensibility, applicability, and intercoder reliability (Stahl, 1998) on eight interviews by another researcher. To guarantee accuracy, the research team randomly cross-checked the coding of the statements on a regular basis. Overall, content validity was established by taping and transcribing interviews as well as by carefully selecting the sample in terms of organizational position, qualification, and ethnic background.
5.2.2. Sample After 29 in-depth interviews a significant amount of information was achieved. The interviews lasted between 25 and
125 min. Organizational experts were used as a source of organizational-level information, because their statements would reflect their professional expertise and experience but also the shared collective characteristics of the organization. Thus, we assumed that their statements would reflect some property of the organizational approach to diversity (Bliese, Chan, & Ployhart, 2007). Further, organizational experts recall how they have implemented diversity as a more or less strategic approach. We did not assume that our organizational experts would reflect average assumptions of their organization; instead, we were aware that they would report their individual experience, as this was the focus of our study.
To gain a broader knowledge of the Austrian business landscape, we included organizations that differed in terms of size, sector, industry, and location of headquarters. The sample consisted of small (n = 3) and medium-sized companies (n = 9) with a headcount of 50–249 and large-scale enterprises (n = 16) with more than 249 employees (definition by the European Commission, 2003b), as well as one expert in the field of diversity and diversity management. The analyzed organizations were operating in the secondary (n = 8) and tertiary (n = 17) private sector, as these two economic sectors employ 99.5% of Austria’s workforce (WKO, 2009, chap. 4), as well as in the public sector (n = 4). Of the 14 organizations that had headquarters,
six were based in Austria, two in the United Kingdom, one in Germany, one in Switzerland, and four in the United States. Interviews were conducted with the organizations’ general managers/owners/directors (n = 8), middle managers (n = 5), HR managers (n = 9), diversity managers (n = 3), and diversity experts (n = 3). The interviewees came from various national backgrounds including Turkey, Iran, Serbia, Korea, and England. Twenty-one of them were Austrian.
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.3. Results of Study 1
.3.1. Diversity perspectives Based on the interviewees’ statements and the organizations’ websites, we determined whether the participating orga-
izations could be assigned to one of the five diversity perspectives. Some organizations corresponded exactly to one erspective, but in most cases, several perspectives were expressed. However, there was always one dominant perspective o that all participating organizations could be assigned to one perspective. All five perspectives were represented in the ample. Interestingly, diversity perspectives of affiliates and headquarters within one organization could differ. Therefore, ome organizations were assigned to two different perspectives (supported by the secondary material): one that represented he headquarters’ ideology and another that explained the Austrian affiliate’s way of handling diversity.
The most common diversity perspective was Access, with 13 organizations categorized as having this perspective. All hose companies operated internationally, which seems to be a key factor of this perspective. The share of foreign employees aried from zero to 50%; the respective organizations’ headquarters were located in Austria, the United Kingdom, and the nited States. The second most common perspective was Integration and Learning (5 organizations). In these organizations mployees in Austria made use of tools, programs, and international meetings via the Internet offered by the parent company, lthough these training sessions usually were not mandatory. According to one of the representatives of a large international ompany, employees appreciated the offer of diversity programs and embodied the corporation’s global philosophy: “The nternational environment attracts our employees. They are excited that they encounter internationality and diversity in heir daily work”.1
Four organizations had a Color-Blind perspective. One organization’s representative stated that an organization should not orce intercultural exchange but rather should let it happen: “I do not know how our employees would accept intercultural raining. Maybe it would be perceived as overstated when we make diversity a topic”.
Three large-scale organizations exhibited the Fairness perspective. Diversity management in these organizations was losely related to social responsibility. One general manager stated that despite negative experiences with employees of a pecific ethnic background, he would continue hiring them in the future: “We have hired people with different backgrounds ecause of our social responsibility. We are living what you call cultural diversity and in the same situation we would do it gain”. Interestingly, one organization with a Fairness perspective differed from its parent, which showed an Integration and earning perspective. We concluded that perspectives of parent companies and their subsidiaries may not be consistent.
Another three organizations showed a Reinforcing Homogeneity perspective. Two were regionally operating small and edium-sized enterprises based in Austria, and one was an internationally operating large scale enterprise (LSE). The orga-
izations’ share of foreign employees ranged from zero to 80%. The LSE was a typical example of a workplace that was airly independent from the parent company, especially regarding its corporate culture and the handling of diversity, as the merican parent had a Fairness perspective. Likewise, diversity management was implemented in the American parent, but ot in the Austrian subsidiary: “I know that the focus is more on diversity in America. But actually not so with us.”
In sum, we identified five distinct diversity perspectives, helping explain why an organization aims at diversifying and ow it manages its cultural diversity. The Access perspective was the most prevalent in our study. This implies that the ajority of participating organizations that actively addressed diversity did so as a means to compete effectively in a global
conomy, not necessarily to promote fairness or to deal with societal pressure or legal requirements.
.3.2. Diversity management The lack of institutionalized, formal diversity management was striking; if it existed at all, it was more about expatriates
orking for them and less about diversity within the local workforce. “Diversity is actually not a topic here in Austria.” iversity initiatives were more often episodic than systemic—with a focus on language courses and formalized recruitment nd selection procedures—and covered only a small range of possible management practices. “We do not have diversity anagement as other companies have . . .. We have not institutionalized diversity management.” Diversity strategies also
iffered along diversity dimensions, with gender being more systematically addressed then ethnic, national, or migration ackground.
Only three organizations had integrated diversity management into their strategy and had systemic diversity manage- ent programs; one more was heading toward such a program. Yet managing cultural diversity may still be part of daily anagement practices. We found evidence of support for specific groups, accommodating migrants’ needs, awareness of
otential intercultural conflicts and the necessity of actively dealing with them, appreciating cultural differences, valuing iverse perspectives, and encouraging mutual learning. Such management practices are part of the Fairness, Access, and
ntegration and Learning perspective, whereas implicit bias, particularly regarding selection criteria, is part of the Color-Blind erspective and explicit bias is part of the Reinforcing Homogeneity perspective. “A Turkish name is an indication of a deficit.
call that a suspected deficit, because one simply assumes that he should have a deficit, so he is dropped out.” The role of management and diversity leaders cannot be underestimated. If primary decision makers, such as owners
f small and medium-sized companies and HR managers of large businesses, see the benefits of diversity and are open
1 All interviews were conducted in German. The English translations are meant to convey as closely as possible the meaning of the German statements. ee Appendix B for the original statements and their translations.
164 A. Podsiadlowski et al. / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 37 (2013) 159– 175
to potential challenges and cultural differences, they actively manage cultural diversity, making the success of diversity initiatives much more likely (see also Ensher et al., 2001; Wentling, 2004).
Contrary to expectations, having a high share of foreign employees did not necessarily mean that diversity programs were being implemented. According to our interviewees, the organization’s share of foreign employees only influenced its diversity management when combined with a corresponding corporate culture of being open to cultural differences and appreciating diversity. Our research shows that the corporate culture in subsidiaries is not necessarily similar to the prevailing culture at the headquarters; often the people in charge, such as HR managers or general managers, and their respective approaches to diversity had more influence on the subsidiary’s management and implementation of diversity programs than the headquarters did. The HR manager of U.S.-based international information technology consultancy stated that diversity was part of the organization’s global strategy but irrelevant for the Austrian subsidiary. The strategy of decentralization, or “think globally, act locally,” was mentioned by three interviewees as of particular importance for their strategy. For these decentralized global players, diversity was more of a side issue; there was no standardized diversity management.
5.4. Conclusions from Study 1
Practically speaking, our study confirms that Austrian diversity management is still in its infancy (Pircher & Schwarz- Wölzl, 2005). Nonetheless the research has shown that initiatives are currently being undertaken to tackle this issue and to raise the awareness of Austrian employers. Particular challenges lie in addressing prejudices against specific migrant groups, reducing implicit bias, and promoting the benefits of diversity, not only in the workplace but also in the public discourse, for example, via the media and politicians. Addressing language skills appears to be a more dominant theme than identified in American research. In countries such as Austria where the local language does not necessarily correspond with the business language, the acquisition of local language skills may pose a particular challenge but could be supported by companies. On the other hand, people from different regions of the world bring other languages to the organization that may prove helpful, and more use could be made of them. Particularly in a European context, multiple languages and cultural knowledge are very important for organizations to establish business relationships across national boundaries, including—in the case of Austria—Central and Eastern Europe. To use these languages and cultural knowledge effectively, implicit barriers need to be overcome and diversity need to be proactively and strategically managed.
We did not have a representative sample of businesses in Austria, but by covering a cross-section of relevant variables we were able to identify organizational patterns that help explain how these internal and external variables, such as size, workforce composition, industry, degree of internationalization, and location of headquarters influence an organization’s approach to diversity. With regard to how and why an organization addresses diversity, clear patterns could be identified linking perceived benefits and costs of diversity with an organization’s diversity perspective. These patterns need to be tested in a more quantitative research design. Furthermore, the viewpoints and perspectives were gathered from people who were willing to participate in quite long and intensive personal interviews, and the interaction between interviewer and interviewee will have had an influence on the data. Nevertheless, very diverse personal viewpoints were given and the current state of cultural diversity management in the Austrian workplace was reflected from quite different organizational contexts.
To confirm these findings and to examine the effects of diversity and diversity management in Austria, we ran a sec- ond study with a more quantitative approach. In Study 2, we examined the reasons why organizations strive (or not) for diversity, how diversity is perceived on the group level, and how diversity and its respective practices are monitored at the organizational level.
6. Study 2: measurement of diversity perspectives in Austria
6.1. Introduction to Study 2
Our aim with Study 2 was to develop a valid and reliable survey instrument to identify an organization’s diversity perspective. We used the results of Study 1 to develop the questionnaire and validated it on theoretically derived criteria. From a theoretical point of view, the tendency when studying diversity on the organizational level has been to focus either on (discriminatory) practices or on the effects and consequences of diversity on organizational outcomes. Criteria for our validation encompassed both the effects of diversity and the practices of diversity management in organizations. We extend our study to the effects in groups to link with the majority of diversity research that is conducted at the group level.
As seen in Study 1, diversity comes with different assumptions, perceptions, and attitudes and is associated with benefits, costs, and appreciation/awareness in organizations. Diversity is assumed to be beneficial because it fosters higher creativ- ity and better adaptation and problem solving, and it provides access to external networks through social categorization. It is considered costly because it can promote organizational conflict and subgroup formation (Milliken & Martins, 1996;
Schneider & Northcraft, 1999). Benefits include stronger organizational and human capital through higher reputation, the attraction of talented people, and innovation. Costs of diversity are linked to implementation costs for diversity policies or internal change programs (European Union Survey, 2003a). Mediators of the diversity—benefits/costs link are seen in organi- zational climate and the need for appreciation of diversity in organizations (European Union Survey, 2003a). Thus, diversity
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an be perceived by organizations as beneficial or costly, or as a subject not specifically addressed. Little is empirically known bout how these assumptions relate to the five diversity perspectives.
Schneider’s (1987) attraction–selection–attrition hypothesis suggests that organizations strive for homogeneity natu- ally, and diversity must be proactively developed through mechanisms that enhance heterogeneity (Milliken & Martins, 996). Mechanisms that increase diversity should be perceived as costly when striving for homogeneity. Consequently, einforcing Homogeneity should be specifically connected with costs.
The Color-Blind perspective neither relates specifically to diversity nor strives for homogeneity. From this perspective, ractices ensure the same decision-making process is applied to every individual (Konrad & Linnehan, 1995), for instance, hen searching for the best candidate. Dealing with diversity is necessary to avoid legal and social consequences of discrim-
nation, and therefore diversity is often not even mentioned in these organizations (Richard & Johnson, 2001). Consequently, he Color-Blind perspective has no specific relationship with benefits, appreciation, or costs.
Organizations with an orientation to diversity see it as a fundamental part of the organization. Employees are embraced or their differences, which are expected to enhance organizational effectiveness (Richard & Johnson, 2001). From the Access erspective, organizational effectiveness is increased by a better match between organizational demographics and those of ritical stakeholders (Thomas & Ely, 1996). Diversity is accepted and celebrated and should therefore be related to benefits nd appreciation. The Fairness perspective idealizes assimilation, supports conformism, acknowledges the need to overcome otential disadvantages for specific groups, and strives for mechanisms that enable equal opportunities and fair treatment s well as reduces discrimination, need for affirmative actions, and conflicts (Thomas & Ely, 1996). Consequently, Fairness hould be associated with costs but not with benefits or appreciation because it is more linked to legitimation and social esponsibility.
The Integration and Learning perspective encourages employees to explore and experience the link between cultural iversity, work style, and work outcome (Thomas & Ely, 1996). When employees are valued as individuals and not only or specific diversity attributes, they will be able to connect diversity issues with collective and organizational learning rocesses. Thus, Integration and Learning should be related to benefits and appreciation.
We formulated our first hypothesis (H1):
1. The diversity perspective determines the perception of costs and benefits and the level of appreciation of diversity for he whole organization:
(a) In organizations with a Reinforcing Homogeneity perspective, diversity is associated with perceived costs. b) In organizations with a Color-Blind perspective, diversity is not specifically acknowledged, neither in a positive nor a
negative way; there should be no relationship with perceived costs or benefits or appreciation. (c) In organizations with a Fairness perspective, equality is valued; gaining equality comes with costs but not necessarily
with benefits. d) In organizations with an Access perspective, diversity is appreciated and seen as beneficial. e) In organizations with an Integration and Learning perspective, diversity is appreciated and perceived as beneficial.
The way organizations deal with diversity influences the individual’s perception of diversity in work groups. Studies have hown that the effects of work group diversity are inconsistent, being both positive and negative (as on the organizational evel). Benefits are seen in a slightly increased group performance in terms of higher creativity, innovation, and quality of ecisions (Jehn, Northkraft, & Neal, 1999; Pelled, Eisenhardt, & Xin, 1999), as well as in mirroring environmental complexity nd responding to its demands (Milliken & Martins, 1996). Costs of diversity in groups include reduced cohesiveness (Harrison t al., 1998), more conflicts and misunderstandings (Jehn, Chadwick, & Thatcher, 1997), lower team member satisfaction, ecreased cooperation (Chatman & Spataro, 2005), and increased turnover (Jackson et al., 1991). Critically, positive effects of iversity on group performance have been limited to laboratory studies or experiments with graduate students in business see Benschop, 2001) and have not been replicated in organizational studies. More importantly, research on group diversity ighlights the necessity to focus on group processes (Van Knippenberg & Schippers, 2007) and context (Joshi & Roh, 2009) ecause of their influences on group outcomes.
Therefore, the organizational diversity perspective should affect teamwork. On a group level, diversity can be perceived s either a threat or a benefit for the team. Hypothesis 2 (H2) can thus be derived:
2. In groups, different diversity perspectives lead to a perception of diversity as a threat or a benefit for the teams hemselves:
(a) In organizations with a Reinforcing Homogeneity perspective, groups perceive diversity as a threat and not a benefit. b) In organizations with a Color-Blind perspective, groups perceive diversity as a threat because the best candidate is not
necessarily associated with diversity.
(c) In organizations with a Fairness perspective, groups perceive diversity as neither a threat nor a benefit because the focus
is more on fair treatment. d) In organizations with an Access perspective, groups perceive diversity as a benefit. e) In organizations with an Integration and Learning perspective, groups perceive diversity as a benefit.
(
(
166 A. Podsiadlowski et al. / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 37 (2013) 159– 175
Seeing diversity as a strategic asset should foster specific diversity practices. Overall, research has shown that what really matters in diversity management is the implementation of conditions that leverage the positive effects and reduce the negative effects of diversity (e.g., Shore et al., 2009). HR departments should implement practices that support a specific strategy. Some studies have supported the link between HR objectives and diversity practices, finding that formalized prac- tices in hiring, promoting, and developing employees led to better representation of woman and minorities in organizations (Goodman, Fields, & Blum, 2003), whereas other studies have shown the opposite (Konrad & Linnehan, 1995). In the United States, only when organizations adopted affirmative action policies did the number of women in management positions increase (French, 2001). Restrictions on assessing and holding sensitive data limit the measurement of workforce demo- graphics in European organizations (European Commission, 2003a). An empirical case study showed that an organization’s strategy for managing diversity influenced both the process of meaning formation regarding diversity and the perception of performance effects (Benschop, 2001). Overall, few studies have found support for a fit between diversity strategy and practices (Richard & Johnson, 1999).
Thus little is known about specific practices that best fit a particular diversity strategy. Of course, there is no need to invest in diversity initiatives where diversity is not valued (Reinforcing Homogeneity) or the existence of diversity is ignored (Color- Blind). Measures of diversity are necessary when organizations deal with diversity actively (Fairness, Integration and Learning). Intercultural training should be implemented in organizations where minority groups need special support (Fairness) and where learning and integration is desired (Integration and Learning). The Access perspective requires no intercultural training because the benefit of diversity is derived from gaining access to a specific market or meeting specific customer needs. Thus we can formulate Hypothesis 3 (H3):
H3. Each diversity perspective has distinct patterns of measures, practices, and implementation of intercultural training.
(a) In organizations with a Reinforcing Homogeneity perspective, neither diversity measures nor intercultural training are implemented.
b) In organizations with a Color-Blind perspective, neither diversity measures nor intercultural training is implemented. (c) In organizations with a Fairness perspective, specific measures are implemented to support potentially disadvantaged
groups, and intercultural training is provided. d) In organizations with an Access perspective, specific measures are not necessarily implemented. Intercultural training is
not implemented. (e) In organizations with an Integration and Learning perspective, both specific diversity measures and intercultural training
are implemented to facilitate integration and learning processes.
6.2. Method
6.2.1. Development of the Diversity Perspective Questionnaire 6.2.1.1. Item and vignette creation. We developed the Diversity Perspective Questionnaire (DPQ) to measure diversity per- spectives in organizations due to a lack of existing instruments. First, we reviewed studies that developed and designed measurement instruments for diversity that covered aspects of different diversity perspectives (e.g., Attitudes and Percep- tions of Workplace Diversity Scale; De Meuse & Hostager, 2001; Ward & Masgoret, 2006). Second, workshops with experts in the field of diversity research were conducted by the first author. In these workshops, we discussed and integrated the statements from the interviews of Study 1, other previous work by the team members of the European Research Commis- sion’s project on workplace diversity (Podsiadlowski & van der Zee, 2010) and related scales provided by the literature. As a result, a structure of relevant themes and new items to measure an organization’s approach to diversity were developed.
This procedure led to 27 items that were integrated into a standardized questionnaire with statements to be assessed on a 5-point scale ranging from do not agree at all to fully agree. In addition, a “vignette” was developed for each perspective to measure the dominant (“as is”) and wished for (“as should be”) ideology for two reasons. First, vignettes are short descriptions of a specific situation or practice and consist of stimuli that have to be interpreted (Soydan, 1996). The advantage of a vignette are the cultural sensitivity of its format (Triandis, Chen, & Chan, 1998) as diversity, especially in Europe, is still a very political issue and is treated carefully in organizations, and its adequate degree of reliability due to standardization (Soydan, 1996). Second, we followed the approach of the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness study (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, & Gupta, 2004) to identifying any mismatches between current and future strategies, because it is important to measure not only the current approach to diversity but also the diversity goals of the organization.
We conducted a two-step procedure to assess the structural properties and reliabilities of the five subscales representing one diversity perspective, respectively. First, the dimensionality of the DPQ was analyzed and the relationship and fit of the 27 items were examined. A factor analysis with varimax rotation showed the five dimensions accounting for 76% of the variance (see Appendix A). Ten items had to be excluded due to lack of fit on the five-factor loading and consistently low communality, resulting in 17 items. Second, the reliability was checked for each perspectives by analyzing the internal
consistency of the subscales with the vignette (for a detailed overview see Table 1).
6.2.1.2. Validation criteria for the DPQ. Attitudes toward diversity on the organizational level: A scale measuring perceived benefits, appreciation, costs, and threats of diversity was developed taking into account the conceptual perspectives found
A. Podsiadlowski et al. / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 37 (2013) 159– 175 167
Table 1 Items of the diversity perspective questionnaire.
Diversity perspective/subscales Item Vignette
Reinforcing Homogeneity • We are striving for a homogeneous workforce. • It feels better to work with similar others. • People fit into our organization when they are similar to our already existing workforce.
My organization appreciates similarity. We hold a strong belief that organizational goals are best reached under conditions of shared values and a common goal. In that way, we can operate under conditions of strong unity. Therefore, we attract and retain staff who share the dominant culture and values of our organization.
Color-Blind • Qualification matters in our organization, not background. • Promotion is dependent upon employee performance, not on someone’s background. • All are welcome as long as they meet the necessary requirements. • People fit into our organization when they match the required job qualifications.
My organization is not consciously active in becoming more diverse. We aim at hiring the best candidate for each position. If we happen to attract more people from a different cultural background, this is because they are the best candidates and fit our requirements best.
Fairness • We regard it as important to give employees from disadvantaged groups specific support for their further development. • Our organization is culturally diverse, as we take equal employment opportunities seriously. • People fit into our organization when they reflect the demographics of the society we are situated in.
My organization wants to become more diverse because all humans are equal and deserve an equal chance. By hiring people of various cultural backgrounds, we strive to provide such equal chances. In order to promote their advancement in the organization, we consider it important to take extra measures to support them.
Access • There are certain jobs/functions for which people of different cultural background are particularly well qualified. • Matching employees’ cultural background with that of our clients/customers fosters the quality of our organization. • People fit into our organization when the diversity of our employees matches the diversity of our clients/customers.
My organization wants to become more diverse because with different cultural groups represented on our staff, we will be better able to serve our clients/customers who come from various backgrounds. In our current composition we are less effective in addressing the needs of certain groups of clients and customers. Colleagues from different cultural backgrounds can fulfill this task and in that way contribute to our effectiveness.
Integration and Learning • Cultural diversity brings new ideas and different knowledge to the workplace for various business units. • Cultural diversity helps us to become more innovative. • Cultural diversity helps us to develop new skills and approaches to work. • We adjust organizational strategies to fit the resources that employees from various backgrounds
My organization wants to become more diverse because we think that there is a lot to learn from different cultures. As a result, we can perform our work better and define new goals. Collaboration improves, we develop ourselves, and work outcomes are better, because of the different perspectives that are available to us.
i M d “ 1 w
t d s t .
v i r 2 a ( t g
bring to the organization.
n the literature (Stephan, Ybarra, Martínez, Schwarzwald, & Tur-Kaspa, 1998; Stephan, Ybarra, & Bachman, 1999; Ward & asgoret, 2006) and previous research by the first author (Podsiadlowski, Bauer, Collie, & Hall, 2006). The reliability and
imensionality were tested. Varimax rotation showed a three-factor solution accounting for 60% of variance. The first factor costs” was measured with 6 items (e.g., “cultural diversity is expensive”; Cronbach’s ̨ = .87), the factor “appreciation” with 0 items (e.g., “in our organization, we feel that cultural diversity is enriching”; Cronbach’s ̨ = .91), and the factor “benefits” ith 5 items (e.g., “cultural diversity fosters an international perspective and experience”; Cronbach’s ̨ = .82).
Effects of diversity in groups: Perceived effects of diversity on the group level were measured in terms of benefits and hreats (Hofhuis, 2010). Benefits associated with diversity on the group level were assessed with 10 items (e.g., “Cultural iversity in my team . . . is good for the team’s image in outside world; . . . allows us to utilize talent from all groups in our ociety; . . . increases our insight into the needs of different groups”; Cronbach’s ̨ = .88). Threats associated with diversity on he group level were assessed with 6 items (e.g., “Cultural diversity in my team. . .threatens the overall quality of employees;
. . makes our team difficult to manage; . . . leads to friction among colleagues”; Cronbach’s ̨ = .86). Diversity management practices: The implemented human resource management (HRM) practices were used as a criterion
ariable. A list of 12 HRM practices was presented to participants, who were asked to state whether items were implemented n their organization and if there was a future interest in implementing them. This list was compiled from a literature eview on relevant diversity management practices (Bhawuk et al., 2002; Cox, 1993; Cox & Blake, 1991; Ensher et al., 001; Wentling & Palma-Rivas, 2000) that addressed specific relevance for cultural diversity issues and was pretested in
study on the importance of personal and organizational context factors in the implementation of diversity management
Podsiadlowski & Boer, submitted for publication). The practices included formalized recruitment procedures and selection ools, language classes, information about different ethnic groups, diversity workshops, intercultural training, organizational oals addressing cultural diversity, public statements addressing cultural diversity, multicultural work groups, diversity
168 A. Podsiadlowski et al. / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 37 (2013) 159– 175
Table 2 Characteristics of the sample.
Characteristic Percentage
Organizational characteristics (n = 113) Size
Large (>250 employees) 64% Medium (50–249 employees) 15% Small (<50 employees) 20%
Sector Finance (n = 23) 15% Education (n = 21) 14% Consulting and research (n = 19) 12% Manufacturing (n = 16) 10% Health (n = 13) 8% Communication and entertainment (n = 13) 8% Computing and technology (n = 10) 6% Electricity and gas (n = 6) 4% Wholesale and retail (n = 6) 4% Community service (n = 4) 3% Construction (n = 3) 2% Agriculture (n = 2) 1%
Demographic characteristics (N = 150) Position
Manager (n = 77) 51% Nonmanager (n = 61) 41% Missing answers (n = 12) 8%
Gender Female (n = 78) 52% Male (n = 71) 47% Missing answer (n = 1) 1%
Age – Range from 21 to 65 years; median = 35, mean = 37 Country of birth
Austria (n = 82) 54% Czech Republic (n = 12) 8% Brazil and Romania (each n = 5) Each 3% Germany, Hungary, Italy, Serbia, and Slovakia (each n = 4) Each 3% Russia, Turkey and Yugoslavia (each n = 3) Each 2% Poland and Croatia (each n = 2) Each 2% Bulgaria, Columbia, France, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Montenegro, and United States (each n = 1) Each 1% Missing answer (n = 5) 3%
Education Ph.D. (n = 8) 5% University degree (bachelor, master, diploma; n = 82) 55% College degree (n = 4) 3% High school degree/Matura (n = 29) 19%
Apprenticeship (n = 8) 5% Missing answer (n = 19) 12%
committees/task forces, mentoring system, and coaching system. The total number of implemented measures was used for further analyses.
6.2.2. Participants The sample consisted of 150 participants from 113 multinational organizations in Austria. Characteristics of the sample
are outlined in Table 2. There were no significant differences among study participants in terms of gender, age, education, or nationality. The questionnaire was developed in two language versions. Seventy percent of the participants completed the questionnaire in German and 30% completed the English version.
6.3. Results of Study 2
Descriptive statistics and internal consistencies for the diversity perspectives as well as for the effects on organizational and group levels are presented in Table 3.
To test H1, how diversity is perceived in organizations according to each diversity perspective, we conducted a Pearson
correlation. Supporting H1a, Reinforcing Homogeneity was positively related to costs of diversity (r = .30, p < .01) and negatively to benefits (r = −.43, p < .001) and appreciation of diversity (r = −.42, p < .01). In contrast, organizations with an Integration and Learning perspective appreciated diversity (r = .80, p < .001) and saw more benefits (r = .66, p < .01) than costs (r = −.33, p < .01). Thus, diversity was appreciated and valued, but potential costs were neglected. H1e was partly confirmed.
A. Podsiadlowski et al. / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 37 (2013) 159– 175 169
Table 3 Descriptive statistics and internal consistency of measurement instruments.
Scale Subscale M SD Cronbach’s ˛
Diversity perspectives Reinforcing Homogeneity 3.38 .74 .80 Color-Blind 1.85 .64 .85 Access 2.65 .74 .85 Fairness 3.31 .78 .81 Integration and Learning 2.28 .79 .93
Perceived effects of diversity in organizations Benefits 1.75 .58 .82 Appreciation 2.21 .63 .91 Cost 3.13 .80 .87
Perceived effects of diversity in groups Benefits 2.15 .62 .88
N
( p F b t
p ( p t w H p e
m c o I p i ( T
6
t d
T R
Threats 3.46 .80 .86
ote: Items were answered on a scale from 1 (do not agree at all) to 5 (fully agree).
Unexpectedly, there were significant results for the Color-Blind perspective on costs (r = −.31, p < .001), appreciation r = .29, p < .001), and benefits (r = .22, p < .05). The correlations show the same direction as the Integration and Learning erspective, but to a lesser extent: Diversity was acknowledged and valued, costs neglected. H1b was not confirmed. With a airness perspective, costs were not necessarily associated with diversity (r = .13, n.s.). Here, correlations showed no relation etween Fairness and costs, benefits, or appreciation; H1c was partly supported. The Access perspective was positively related o appreciation (r = .33, p < .001) but not significantly to benefits (r = .20, n.s.). Therefore, H1d was partly confirmed.
Testing H2a, correlation analysis provided insight into the diversity perspective patterns. With a Reinforcing Homogeneity erspective (supporting H2a), diversity was perceived as a threat on the group level (r = .40, p < .001) and not as benefit r = −.29, p = .05). With an Integration and Learning perspective (supporting H2e), diversity was assessed as a benefit (r = .77,
< .001) and not perceived as a threat (r = −.30, p < .001) on the group level. Again, the Color-Blind perspective showed he same pattern as Integration and Learning. It correlated positively with perceived benefit (r = .29, p = .00) and negatively ith perceived threat (r = −.27, p < .001) on the group level. H2b had to be rejected. With an Access perspective (supporting 2d), diversity was considered beneficial for a group in organizations (r = .35, p < .001). With a Fairness perspective (sup- orting H2c), groups perceived diversity neither as a threat (r = .14, n.s.) nor as a benefit (r = .13, n.s.), due to its focus on quality.
Hypothesis 3 stated that diversity perspectives should correspond to implemented diversity management practices and easures as well as to implemented intercultural trainings. When they focused on a Reinforcing Homogeneity perspective,
ompanies did not implement intercultural training (r = −.33, p < .001), but unexpectedly they did increase their number f diversity measures (r = .36, p < .001). In line with H3e, intercultural training was implemented in organizations with an ntegration and Learning perspective (r = .36, p < .001), and, surprisingly, in organizations with a Color-Blind perspective (r = .26,
< .05). Data were also confirmative for the Access perspective, where diversity management measures were not necessarily mplemented (r = −.14, n.s.). Contrary to our expectation, neither in organizations with an Integration and Learning perspective r = −.39, p < .001) nor in those with a Fairness perspective (r = .08, n.s.) were diversity management measures implemented. able 4 provides an overview of these findings.
.4. Discussion of Study 2
This study extended the findings from Study 1 by transforming the interview results into items and developing a ques- ionnaire. The five diversity perspectives represent distinct ideologies with good to very good internal consistencies. The istinct pattern of each perspective reveals a deeper insight into diversity management processes. From this study we highly
able 4 esults of correlation analysis.
Validation criteria Diversity perspective
Reinforcing Homogeneity Color-Blind Access Fairness Integration and Learning
1: Organizations Costs .30** −.31** .11 −.13 −.33** Appreciation −.42** .29** .33** .01 .80** Benefit −.43** .22* .20 −.19 .66**
2: Groups Threat .40** −.27** .12 .14 −.30** Benefit −.29* .29** .35** .13 .77**
3: Management practices Diversity Measures .36** −.27* −.14 .08 −.39** Intercultural training −.33** .26* .15 −.14 .36**
* p < .05. ** p < .01.
170 A. Podsiadlowski et al. / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 37 (2013) 159– 175
recommend using these five perspectives, which extend the traditional approach of Thomas and Ely (1996) by including Reinforcing Homogeneity (Dass & Parker, 1999) and differentiating between Color-Blindness and Fairness.
The perspectives’ poles—Reinforcing Homogeneity and Integration and Learning—revealed the clearest and most contradic- tory patterns. With a Reinforcing Homogeneity perspective, diversity is associated with costs, is not appreciated or valued in the organization, and is perceived as a threat and not a benefit in groups. However, with a Learning and Integration perspec- tive, diversity is appreciated and associated with benefits rather than costs in the organization, as well as with benefits and not with threats in groups. Surprisingly, diversity measures were more frequently used in organizations with a Reinforcing Homogeneity perspective than in organizations with an Integration and Learning perspective, whereas cultural training was implemented only with Integration and Learning.
The contradictory findings on diversity measures cannot be explained easily. When striving for homogeneity, organiza- tions might implement diversity initiatives (e.g., multicultural workgroups) to promote coherence and assimilate cultural differences. The purpose of these initiatives is perhaps different from that intended by diversity practitioners. We did not examine the content or application of these initiatives. A formalized recruitment procedure or selection tool may be used for people who best fit the organization and not necessarily to meet diversity quotas, for example. We analyzed the total number of implemented measures but did not address the content of these initiatives.
Our study revealed a deeper distinction between the Fairness and Color-Blind perspectives than that proposed in Thomas and Ely’s (1996) discrimination and fairness paradigm. In contrast to that theory, the Color-Blind perspective showed similar patterns to Integration and Learning. Both perspectives are individual centered but with different foci. Whereas Integration and Learning starts with a specific demographic variable and asks for the benefit of this specific characteristic for the company (relation oriented), with the Color-Blind perspective, diversity issues fade from the spotlight because the focus is on require- ments and competencies (task oriented). Different cultural perspectives are not actively used and valued, because they are inherent to individuals and strengthen the competencies of individuals. Both perspectives value and appreciate diversity in groups and the organization as a whole, but the underlying understanding of diversity seems to differ. This finding supports diversity research claiming that diversity has to be perceived to have an effect (Podsiadlowski, 2002; Triandis, 1995). Diver- sity is perceived and addressed when negative group or organizational results occur (Gröschke, 2009). We can hypothesize that focusing on competencies, skills, and abilities ignores cultural differences as long as the results are acceptable and problems do not arise.
Conversely, Fairness has more of a legitimation function, strengthening equality within an organization. Diversity is a “must have” and as such is neither valued nor threatening, causing neither costs nor benefits. An organization or group has to deal with diversity as a societal concern/norm. Surprisingly, diversity measures for ensuring equal opportunities were not implemented in our study. It is possible that regularities concerning equal employment are maintained in organizations but no additional efforts are made to support equality.
In organizations with an Access perspective, diversity was appreciated and the benefits of diversity were valued in groups. Negative effects of diversity were not identified by the questionnaire. Nevertheless, the results of Study 1 should be kept in mind, where individuals with specific demographic characteristics or language abilities were recruited to gain access to different markets but were less integrated within the organization. They reported fewer support and development opportunities. Thus, specific diversity variables might be assumed to have a fast pay-off and beneficial on the organizational level but have negative consequences for the individual. Other studies support this observation, where diversity per se did not add value promptly (for an overview see Jayne & Dipboye, 2004).
7. General discussion
Our aim was to identify the different ways organizations approach diversity and how these approaches are related to perceived benefits and costs of diversity and implemented diversity management practices. To our knowledge, this is the first study that both operationalizes diversity perspectives and analyzes the effects of different diversity perspectives in orga- nizations. Consequently, we followed an explorative approach that extrapolated five diversity perspectives in organizations that ranged from striving for homogeneity to gaining and supporting heterogeneity.
The distinctiveness of the theoretically derived perspectives was supported in two studies. All five perspectives were found in the organizations we studied, but organizations differ in their priorities regarding diversity. Thus, organizations varied in how strongly they held to a specific perspective. Interestingly, there seems to have been a method bias when we analyzed the dominant diversity perspective. Whereas the most highly valued perspective was Access in Study 1, it was Reinforcing Homogeneity in Study 2. This result has two implications. First, qualitative research approaches should also include facets of homogeneity. Second, the identification of Reinforcing Homogeneity as the dominant perspective highlights the sensitivity of the measurement approach. This is important to keep in mind, as within the European Union, diversity is claimed to be valued and companies label themselves diversity oriented. Organizations realize the potential of highly educated migrants in the “war for talent” as well as their usefulness in extending their businesses regarding culture-sensitive
services and products. The vignette technique allowed us to look beyond the diversity label.
The diversity perspectives were associated with specific assumptions about the costs, appreciation, and benefits of diver- sity on the organizational and group level. The DPQ is hereby deemed a reliable, sensitive measurement instrument for assessing diversity perspectives and linking them to desired outcomes on the organizational and the group level.
i 2 t e s t o
a d a e W C i b m
w o T d t p o d
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7
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A. Podsiadlowski et al. / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 37 (2013) 159– 175 171
The context of Austria is highly reflected in both studies. Diversity management is neither holistically approached nor ntegrated and thus is not a systematic management strategy (Linehan & Hanappi-Egger, 2006; Pircher & Schwarz-Wölzl, 005). Diversity initiatives still address mainly age and gender issues (as also seen by Bendl et al., 2010) while at the same ime neglecting ethnic or cultural diversity. Study 1 found an indication that the situation is changing, with managers xpressing an awareness of the “war for talent” by recognizing migrants as potential future qualified employees. This trend hould be followed up in future research. Furthermore, we could not identify any specific management practices that par- icularly addressed the Austrian context beyond those reported in the literature. As Bendl et al. (2010) pointed out, Austrian rganizations adopt “best practice” strategies from other, mainly U.S.-based, companies.
Overall, the proposed and theoretically based differentiation leads to a better understanding of the specific approach n organization takes toward diversity and reveals insights into the mechanisms and processes organizations choose for ealing with diversity. More importantly, when organizations understand diversity management as a business issue, and as
strategic approach, they need to clarify their intended goals and connect as well as focus their implemented initiatives. For xample, a strategic fit for an Access perspective would require integration of cultural aspects in sales but not in other training. ith a Fairness perspective, advocacy groups and participative management practices should be implemented, whereas a
olor-Blind perspective indicates a need for skill-oriented target agreements. The implementation of Learning and Integration s a change approach with its respective measures. But to date, diversity initiatives (at least in the Austrian context) have een nonspecific. Linking initiatives to the specific strategic approach should enable more effective, goal-oriented diversity anagement. The DPQ can be used as a tool to analyze the status quo of an organization’s approach to diversity and its management as
ell as to identify a potential fit or mismatch between dominant (“as is”) and wished for (“as it should be”) strategies of an rganization, taking into account different groups of employees (e.g., majority or minority group members or departments). hus, organizations may have a tool for detecting different assumptions of diversity within their organization, such as iscrepancies between management and employees. Such systematic analyses should help organizations communicate heir diversity strategy and vision more effectively across the whole organization. Apart from Reinforcing Homogeneity, each erspective has its strength and weaknesses and organizations need to identify which approach addresses their needs and bjectives best. The DPQ could also enable organizations implement changes. There may not be one best way to manage iversity, but organizations need to understand their procedures and their effects and use this knowledge strategically.
.1. Limitations
The results of both studies represent an important step in establishing and measuring diversity perspectives in organi- ations. However, before we can draw firm conclusions, additional conceptual and empirical research is needed to validate he instrument and to test the effects of diversity perspectives in different contexts (e.g., national, branch, region).
Both studies have several limitations. First, diversity management is a sensitive topic in organizations. Thus, the recruit- ent of participants is challenging and difficult. The sample was chosen carefully according to criteria presented in Section
.2.2. Qualitative approaches contain a degree of subjectivity, which we reduced by cross-checks and intensive discussion mong the research team as well as with outside experts. For Study 2, the sample size was quite small and not representative or Austria. Convergent validity was checked by theoretical assumptions. Discriminant validity was given by the distinctive atterns of diversity perspectives. Another challenge is to assess criterion validity for the DPQ in terms of organizational utcomes (e.g., return on investment). Further, both studies were cross-sectional, which prevented us from assessing pre- ictive validity or establishing causal relationships. Also, we did not test a multilevel model in our study but rather examined
ndividual-level perceptions and interpretations by organizational experts. We are aware that within an organization dif- erent diversity perspectives may be held by different individuals and different diversity perspectives might coexist. Future esearch assessing the predictive validity of the DPQ is also necessary to identify different perspectives and their effects ithin one organization.
We did not integrate questions about organizational cultures, which also shape the perception of diversity. Interview- ng one or two experts from each organization we were not able to check for variety of diversity perspectives within rganizations. This needs to be done in future research, as well as in other national contexts.
.2. Conclusion
Together, the two studies support the need to extend the traditional diversity paradigm from three to five. So far, the iterature has provided us with a simplistic picture of diversity issues in organizations. Diversity and its effects are highly omplex; existing models have to be redefined, because the mechanisms of diversity are not as simple as they have been onceptualized in recent research (see also Olsen, 2010).
Theoretical inconsistencies in diversity management research have to be properly addressed. These inconsistencies might e the result of extending group-level results to the organizational level, but processes on the organizational level are much
ore complex and therefore need further consideration. We hope with these studies to have contributed to a more detailed picture of diversity. The DPQ is the first instrument
easuring diversity perspectives in organizations. The advantage of the DPQ is its use of vignettes, which help clarify the nterrelatedness of diversity assumptions within organizations and to establish a sensitive measurement approach. The
172 A. Podsiadlowski et al. / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 37 (2013) 159– 175
DPQ offers the opportunity to conduct comparative and multi-level studies, currently underrepresented in the literature on diversity management, as well as to test the effects of different combinations of diversity perspectives. In addition, the DPQ enables researchers and practitioners to link strategies to desired outcomes.
Acknowledgements
The first author received funding from the Commission of the European Communities as a Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant (FP/-PEOPLE-2007-4-3-IRG) under grant agreement Number PIRG02-GA-224818 for data gathering, analysis and write-up. The conceptualization and operationalization of the diversity perspectives has been an essential part of this EU project in close co-operation with Karen van der Zee and Sabine Otten at Rijksuniversiteit Groningen whose contributions the authors want to acknowledge. We want to thank Diana Boer for her comments on earlier versions of this paper.
Appendix A. Explorative factor analyses for the Diversity Perspectives Questionnaire (DPQ)
DPQ items Factor loadings
IL CB FA FA RH
We are striving for a homogeneous workforce. .798 It feels better to work with similar others. .556 Vignette: Reinforcing Homogeneity (RH) .586 People fit into our organization when they are similar to
our already existing workforce. .812
Qualification matters in our organization, not background. .833 Promotion is dependent upon employee performance, not
on someone’s background. .842
Everybody is welcome as long as they meet the necessary requirements.
.813
Vignette: Color-Blind (CB) .469 People fit into our organization when they match the
required job qualifications. .978
Our organization is culturally diverse as we take equal employment opportunities seriously.
.864
We regard it as important to give employees from disadvantaged groups specific support for their further development.
.842
Vignette: Fairness (FA) .824 People fit into our organization when they reflect the
demographics of the society we are situated in. .784
There are certain jobs/functions for which people of different cultural backgrounds are particularly well qualified.
.580
Matching employees’ cultural background with that of our clients/customers fosters the quality of our organization.
.701
Vignette: Access (AC) .772 People fit into our organization when the diversity of our
employees matches the diversity of our clients/customers.
.907
Cultural diversity brings new ideas and different knowledge to the workplace for various business units.
.917
Cultural diversity helps us to become more innovative. .852 Cultural diversity helps us to develop new skills and
approaches to work. .850
Vignette: Integration and Learning (IL) .696
We adjust organization strategies to fit the resources that
employees from various backgrounds bring into the organization.
.923
Eigenvalue (percentage of variance accounted for) n = 85 5.58 (20.06) 5.16 (16.37) 2.67 (14.00) 1.89 (13.22) 1.13 (11.11)
A
R
A B
B
B
B
C
C C D D
D
E
E
E
E
F F
F F F
G
G
H
H H
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ppendix B. Selection of quotes and their translation from the interviews in Study 1
Original German quote English translation
Weil viele Mitarbeiter bei uns deswegen arbeiten, weil sie in einem internationalen Umfeld arbeiten wollen, und die sind dann umso mehr begeistert wenn sie in ihrer täglichen Arbeit und ihrem täglichen Projektgeschäft auch Internationalität mitbekommen und Diversity mitbekommen. (1LSEiSnew)
The international environment attracts our employees. They are excited that they encounter internationality and diversity in their daily work.
Ich weiß nicht, wie die Akzeptanz wäre [für ein interkulturelles Training], weil es vielleicht möglicherweise manchen [Mitarbeitern] übertrieben vorkommen könnte, ja, dass man das einfach thematisiert. (8LSEiPPh)
I do not know how our employees would accept intercultural training. Maybe it would be perceived as overstated when we make diversity a topic.
Wir haben das eher auch unter dem Aspekt getan, soziale Verantwortung, und etwas dafür tun, dass soziale Verantwortung und das was Sie so schön Cultural Diversity nennen im Unternehmen gelebt wird, und wenn sich diese Situation wieder ergibt, dann würden wir das wieder machen (3LSEiSF)
We have hired people with different backgrounds because of our social responsibility. We are living what you call cultural diversity and in the same situation we would do it again.
Also ich weiß dass in Amerika ein bisschen mehr der Fokus [auf Diversity] gelegt wird. Bei uns aber eigentlich nicht. (10LSEiSnew)
I know that the focus is more on diversity in America. But actually not so with us.
Bei uns in Österreich hier [ist Diversity] eigentlich [kein Thema]. (10LSEiSnew)
Diversity is actually not a topic here in Austria.
. . .wir haben kein Diversitätsmanagement, wie manche andere Unternehmen,[. . .] wir haben kein institutionalisiertes Diversitätsmanagement. (2LSEiPtrad)
We do not have any diversity management as in other companies have . . . we do not have diversity management institutionalized.
Ein türkischer Name ist ein Hinweis für ein Defizit, und das bezeichne ich als vermutetes Defizit, man geht einfach davon aus dass er ein Defizit haben sollte, daher scheiden sie aus. (2/E/M/MH)
A Turkish name is an indication of a deficit. I call that a suspected deficit, because one simply assumes that he should have a deficit, so he is dropped out.
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- Managing a culturally diverse workforce: Diversity perspectives in organizations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Diversity
- 3 Diversity strategy
- 4 Diversity management
- 5 Study 1: diversity perspectives in Austria
- 5.1 Introduction to Study 1
- 5.2 Method
- 5.2.1 Data analysis
- 5.2.2 Sample
- 5.3 Results of Study 1
- 5.3.1 Diversity perspectives
- 5.3.2 Diversity management
- 5.4 Conclusions from Study 1
- 6 Study 2: measurement of diversity perspectives in Austria
- 6.1 Introduction to Study 2
- 6.2 Method
- 6.2.1 Development of the Diversity Perspective Questionnaire
- 6.2.1.1 Item and vignette creation
- 6.2.1.2 Validation criteria for the DPQ
- 6.2.2 Participants
- 6.3 Results of Study 2
- 6.4 Discussion of Study 2
- 7 General discussion
- 7.1 Limitations
- 7.2 Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
- Appendix A Explorative factor analyses for the Diversity Perspectives Questionnaire (DPQ)
- Appendix B Selection of quotes and their translation from the interviews in Study 1
- References
Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE PROJECT PLAN 1
Human Resource Project Plan 2
WEEK 6 - After reviewing your paper, I found that you somewhat met or made a good attempt to meet the key elements of the assignment. The tone was appropriately used, and sentence transitions were present but far too many grammar/spelling errors. Regarding to mechanics, because of all your grammar/spelling mistakes, your case study was more like a draft version, which required additional work to get up to par. Please refer to the attachment in relation to rules of grammar and spelling – if points were deducted it was because of these types of mistakes. **NOTE that some comments throughout your paper were mere suggestions and points were NOT deducted. Please disregard all comments as they related to your reference section unless a misspelling had been noted. If you had not done so, for future assignments, make sure to use a spell/grammar checker to avoid deductions. This time, no points were deducted for references not following APA 6th edition
Human Resource Project Plan
Student
Dr.
Class
May 31, 2007
Project management is a critical part of human resource management since it sets the foundation on how the personnel within an organization will be arranged. In setting the foundation of the project management discussion, it is paramount to assess the functions of scope management. In so doing, it is critical to first of all understand that the management of the entire scope is a critical part of human resource management. In order to augment our understanding on this subject, this study will carry out an unequivocal analysis on a project charter that can revamp the compensation and benefits package. The study will further present a communication plan for compensation and benefits package and culminate with an assessment on a work breakdown structure for compensation and benefits package.
A project charter is critical since it sets the way on how the project will be developed. The charter should be precise and a synopsis on the project that gives the manager of the project the rights to proceed with the project. In addition, it also enables the members of the project to have a lucid understanding of all the components of the project (Kloppenborg, Nkomo, Fottler & McAfee, 2012). This consequently ensures that all the members in the team are accountable for all their actions and consequently sets the way for the timely completion of the project.
The overview of the scope includes how the project will be started across the country in order to aid in the job satisfaction. The job tasks will need to be restructured and the roles will be fitted in a better way in order to increase the level of skills for the employees. N addition, it also outlines how the employees will be integrated in the decision making process in order to improve the overall job satisfaction. Compensation is a critical part of job satisfaction since it is the primary source of income for many individuals and this therefore implies why it is the primary focus in this study. The employees will need to be subjected to annual increase in salary based on the performance reviews as well as the amount of time that the person has been with the company and finally the structure of the job. It will also be critical to take into consideration whether there are some benefits that have been provided by the organization such as the medical insurance. The new design and pay levels will go a long way in improving the job satisfaction among the employees while at the same time motivating them to perform better in their jobs.
The project scope can either be the component of the project or the content of the work. It mainly encapsulates the identification and naming of all the projects that should be performed, the different categories of the end projects as well as all the projects that should be consumed or used throughout the project. Scope management is therefore critical for every manager of the project.
One of the critical parts of scope management is conceptual development. This is an area that involves the definition, identification and documentation of the various objectives of the project in order to meet the overall goals of the project. One of the things that are involved in the conceptual development includes a summary of the project that is aimed at detailing how the project will be achieved.
In addition, there is also a formulation on the need and also the road map of solution development (Stewart & Brown, 2012). Some of the items that are involved at the end point of the solution development process include an analysis of some of the causes of the problem, results from the conceptual analysis, some of the results that are expected, an analysis of the costs as well as the benefits, some of the constraints that are considered and also the alternatives that should be considered.
The other thing that should be considered is the conclusion as well as the solution of the problem at the summary level. In addition, there should also be recommendations as to whether or not the project should be conducted beyond the preliminary level. The objectives of the project should also be highlighted as well as a summary of the work breakdown structure. In addition, the scope of the project will also involve a summary of the project master schedule.
The documentation as well as the approval of the requirements of the project is critical prior to conducting the project. The definition of the project is one of the most important aspects of project management in human resource management since it makes it easier for the project managers to divide the work into manageable segments. In so doing, it makes it easier to assign tasks for each specific task and further ensures that every segment is defined and communicated effectively in a way that improves the performance of the project scope.
The implementation of the work breakdown structure males it easy for the work to become identifiable and also dividable in a common framework. The approval and documentation of the scope is critical before proceeding to other phases and it should therefore be recommended in every human resource project (Kless, 2010). The baseline of the scope provides the way through which all the decisions of the design are made as well as the verification of the measures that have been achieved. The final process in the scope management is the evaluation of the various imminent changes.
The case for the business
There are various causes of job dissatisfaction in the workplace but most of them are associated with the benefits that come with the job and also the pay. There is therefore a need to have some complexities in order to ensure that the employees are actively involved in the job and further minimize, reduce or even avert repetitiveness. The lack of compensation is often one of the largest causes for job dissatisfaction and it is therefore critical to redesign the job and change the employee pay and further add some benefits in order to increase the satisfaction of the employees in the jobs that they do.
A communication plan for the compensation and benefits package
It is imperative for every company to come up with their communication plan on how they will implement their communication strategy. Some of the considerations that should be made include aligning the communication strategy with the overall strategy of the business. It is critical for the communication plan to have the support of the top management in order for it to be successful. The communication plan should be crafted by the top management as well as the other levels of management.
Some of the objectives of developing a communication plan for the compensation and benefits package include fostering awareness, appreciation, understanding and also motivation. It is imperative to ensure that the communication plan is crafted and changed as often as possible. The strategy and philosophy for compensation should include the relationship between the reward and the risk and also the pay for performance.
In addition, it should also include the base pay that will include the strategy for the payment and also the administration for the salary (Stewart & Brown, 2012). Moreover, it should also include the merit policy as well as the timelines for the increase. It is critical to ensure that all the employees within the organization have a basic understanding for the range of the salary.
Some of the elements of compensation that should be communicated include the variable pay that includes the objectives of the compensation strategy as well as the link to the various strategies in the business and also the terms of the payout. In addition, it should also include the eligibility in order to outline who should be given the compensation as well as the time when he/she should be given.
In addition, it should also include how the program works as well as the targets, the payout that is expected to be dished out as well as the progress. Moreover, it should also detail the aspects that are contained in the equity plan either through the tax or the vesting consequences and finally how the whole program works.
It is critical to ensure that all the information in the organization has been acquired legally. In so doing, it is imperative to ensure that there are short-term as well as long term incentive programs. The communication plan should also include the progress dials for the performance through updating of the information on a regular basis. In addition, there should also be calls for the post earnings (Kless, 2010). This should then lead to positive responses dials from the employees and further include information on how the performance should be shared and also to various links where the employees can learn about the pertinent information within the organization.
In developing the communication plan it is also imperative to identify the audience by identifying the targets. Some of the target audience for this project includes the managers as well as the supervisors. In addition, it also includes the professionals. Moreover it should also include all the workers within the organization those that are salaried as well as those that are not salaried. The union workers should also be involved since they are also involved in the compensation programs. Other segments that should act as the target audience include the family members of the employees that are employed in the organization as well as other future and prospective employees.
The communication programs should also involve a total reward communication program for the managers. The communication program should be conducted through the following ways. The first one is through meetings as well as through presentations. In addition, they should also be conducted through workshops. The meetings will provide a real time feedback and interaction (Kloppenborg, Nkomo, Fottler & McAfee, 2012). The presentations on the other hand will provide for the verbal information as well as the non-verbal information and also the workshops that provide a communication source from a trusted source.
Another method of communication the plan is through paper sources such as the use of brochures as well as booklets. In addition, other sources include newsletters as well as memos and letters. Some of the advantage of these methods of communication includes the fact that they enable the audience to read at their own pace and also promotes consistency. In addition, it also provides for reference and to also share with other audiences that may be interested in the information.
Other methods of communicating the compensation and benefits package are mainly technology based such as websites and also the use of e-mails. In addition, other sources include the use of CD-ROMs and also the use of podcasts and portals. Moreover, organizations should also web and video conferencing as methods of communicating the compensation and benefits package and also the use of webcasts. Some of the advantages of these methods of communication include the fact that they deliver the message in a quicker way and is also convenient in the fact that is saves cost. In addition, these methods also communicate information that is time sensitive. Moreover, they also enable the employees to search and access the data as and when they require it.
Some of the factors that should be considered prior to the selection of the communication methods include the kind of audience that is being targeted. Some of the factors that should be considered in the audience include the culture, location and also the language all of which will be critical in determining the best method of communication. In addition, it is also critical to consider the resources such as the time as well as the budgets and costs.
When formulating the communication plan, it is imperative to determine the communication timings for the main milestones and events such as the annual and semi-annual meetings or the monthly and quarterly meetings. There should also be compensation statements that illustrate the value of rewards and further aid in enabling the employees to make prudent decisions.
Implementing a new communication plan requires a revised or new plan for compensation and it is imperative to sell the new plan to the employees (Kless, 2010). This is one of the methods of increasing the return on investment through an approach that is properly structured and balanced. In so doing, it is imperative to articulate the objectives of the communication plan as well as the main messages that are being targeted to the target audience. Finally, it is also critical to measure the progress of the communication plan and solve any challenges that may be present.
1. Employee Compensation and Benefits WBS
1.1 Beginning the process
1.1.1 Evaluation & Recommendations
1.1.2 Development of the project for the charter
1.1.3 Deliverable: provide the charter for the project
1.1.4 Provide the reviews and the sponsorship for the project
1.1.5 The approval and signing of the project charter
In conclusion, it is evident from the study that compensation and benefits packages are critical in every organization. This is because of the apparent fact that they are critical in improving the job satisfaction of employees. One of the factors that should be included in the compensation and benefits package is the communication plan since it will set the way for the development and the implementation of the compensation and benefits programs. Prior to the development of the communication plan, it is critical to assess the scope of the project and further conduct a work breakdown structure after the development of the communication plan in order to foster its success.
References
Kloppenborg, T., Nkomo, S., Fottler, M., & McAfee, R. (2012). Human Resource Management(2nd Custom Ed.). Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning.
Stewart, G. L., & Brown, K. G. (2012). Human resource management: Linking strategy to Practice (2nd Ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Kless, E. (2010). Project Management for Accountants. Journal Of Accountancy, 209(4), 38-42.
International Off-shoring: Changes in the World Economy
Fred Maidment Department of Management Ancell School of Business
Western Connecticut State University Danbury, Ct 06810
(203) 837 – 9287 [email protected] (Office)
These universities in the developing world have educated a significant number of highly qualified workers, and, costs in the developing countries are much lower than in developed countries.
Multinational corporations know about the differences in labor costs and the abilities of their employees.. Smaller organizations may also utilize these workers through a “third-party provider”, common in IT (Sullivan, 2004).
ABSTRACT Globalization of labor and the use of off-shoring as well as the impact of taxes as a tool of public policy on economic growth are discussed. Keywords Outsourcing off-shoring, globalization, labor, taxes, economic growth. 1 INTRODUCTION Developing countries have critical masses of well-educated workers who are capable of performing advanced tasks at very high levels (D’Costa, 2003). Until recently, these types of tasks could only be performed by individuals in advanced societies. Today, that is not the case. To a large degree, this is the result of over fifty years of student exchanges between the US, Europe and the developing world. The US and Europe welcomed the first exchange students to their universities at the close of World War II. Many of them went back home where they became leaders and teachers. These countries have established universities that produce well educated potential employees, many of whom are the equal to those graduated by institutions in the developed world (Promfret, 2003).
2 PUBLIC POLICY RESPONSES The Continental European Approach The continental European approach to off- shoring has been more protectionist. Government, unions, and corporations in Europe have a much closer historic relationship (Wallace, 2003). Unions in Europe are far more politically involved and the labor/management relations are friendlier than in the US. Continental European employees have many protections against termination. Corporations in continental Europe hire new employees only when absolutely necessary, and employees do not leave. There are some consequences of this: 1. Unemployment in continental Europe has been high for the past 15 years (Maidment, 2004). 2. Restrictive labor market practices, along with high rates of taxation, have resulted in low economic growth in Europe over the past fifteen years. (Maidment, 2003).
. The United States Approach The US approach to these changes may also be found in history. The labor movement in the US never had the degree of political involvement or
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economic penetration as in Europe. Only a small percentage of the private sector is unionized. US workers do not have the same kind of protections as Europeans. US firms, with the exception of unionized shops, operate under the doctrine of “employment at will”. While this doctrine has been changed over the years to account for certain types of specific discrimination, it is still alive. US companies are not as constrained as continental European organizations, even in unionized environments. US organizations can expand or contract their workforces more easily than continental European or Japanese organizations. This places the burden of responding to changes in the economy on the workers, not management. In the US, the workers must make themselves more marketable in the workforce. In continental Europe, more of the burden of maintaining a competitive workforce is placed on the firm. In the US, workers whose skills are no longer needed, may be terminated at relatively little cost to the company. The company may then hire new workers with more current skills to replace the terminated ones making them more competitive. The US approach has pluses and minuses:
1. The US economy has grown more than any other developed country over the past 15 years.
2. US unemployment has been generally half that of Germany, Italy or France during the 1990’s (Maidment, 2003).
3. American workers have become far more productive. (Koreans, Czechs, Americans are hardest workers, 2001).
The British Approach The UK approach is somewhat different from the US and the continental European economies. In Britain, it is more difficult to fire employees than in the US, but easier than in the rest of the EU. The British have experienced generally lower taxes than the rest of Europe, but higher than the US. This combination has lead to an unemployment rate that favorably compares with the US (European Marketing and Data Statistics, 2003) (International Data and Statistics, 2003) and an economic growth rate of almost 40 percent, total, for the 1990’s (European Marketing and Data Statistics, 2003).
3 SUGGESTIONS FOR REFORM Neither the continental European nor the US approach are completely satisfactory and, the UK approach could also be improved. The continental European approach, combined with a high rate of taxation, results in high unemployment and low economic growth, while providing high job security for those who are employed. The US approach produces high levels of economic growth, a relatively low tax rate, a low unemployment rate, little job security, high employee stress, low loyalty and commitment. The UK approach of low taxation, compared to its EU partners, but higher taxation than the US, coupled with a less restrictive labor policy than continental Europe, but a more restrictive policy than the US has resulted in low unemployment, and good economic growth. The challenge is how to achieve high economic growth and low unemployment without the dysfunctional results of the American approach. With the US economy on the rise, most US organizations should be considering hiring new employees, but the question is, in a global marketplace for products, services, materials, and labor, “Where are the jobs going to be?” Many “US” corporations have more than half of their employees, markets, and sales outside of the US. Such common US names as Ford, and IBM are in this category and more are joining them (Sullivan, 2004). Corporations are moving high value/high tech service sector jobs out of the US and other developed countries. This is history repeating itself. But, these are jobs that require a high degree of education. These service jobs are going to people who are prepared to do them for far less money than people in the US or other developed countries. The question for policy makers is how to respond to this shift in the economic environment. Economists call this an economic dislocation, but to the worker who has been “economically dislocated,” it means the loss of one’s source of income, often their identity, damaging their self-respect, and can result in an array of social and psychological problems. To the economist, it is an economic dislocation, the economist did not lose his or her job. To the elected official, the individual is a citizen, a constituent and a vote. The number one responsibility of a corporation in a capitalistic market economy is to make a profit for the shareholders (Freedman, 1962).
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These organizations also have other responsibilities to various stakeholders in the organization including their employees, customers, suppliers, the communities in which they do business, and others (Steiner, et al, 2001). If they do not make a profit they will soon find themselves out of business. These companies must ruthlessly cut costs, while at the same time continuously maintain, enhance and improve the quality of their products to achieve survival and profitability in a hyper-competitive, global marketplace. In the past, the US government has had a hands- off policy toward jobs and even whole industries leaving the United States for lower cost venues. This has been in the name of free trade and the US economy has usually benefited. Now the industries at risk have moved upscale and include the financial sector, IT, aerospace and other areas of high technology, considered to be important to the future of the US economy. The governments of developed countries need an industrial policy that will address the need for lowering unemployment, and enhancing economic growth. Nations in continental Europe have attempted to establish an industrial policy, but they have not been successful in meeting these goals. The US has ignored the need for a policy and essentially allowed most firms to do as they please in the new, world economy. While this has so far led to high economic growth and fairly low unemployment, those conditions may be about to change as the global marketplace for highly skilled and educated labor becomes far more competitive. It is the duty of every nation to protect and defend the people. Advances in technology cannot be stopped, nor should they, and corporations will not stop seeking to increase their competitiveness by cutting their costs and increasing their profits. But a balance between the needs of industry and the needs of the citizenry must be struck. Seeking a balance between what is right for citizens/workers/ consumers of a society and the benefits/costs/ changes that advances in technology are certain to bring will be one of the central questions facing society and governments in the twenty- first century. There are bound to be economic dislocations as workers in developing countries compete with workers in developed societies. Jobs will continue to be off-shored to less expensive locations as the cost for doing those
jobs increases in developed societies and the capability for doing those jobs increases in developing societies. Both continental Europe and the US have provided opposing examples for dealing with the problem of economic job dislocation and off- shoring. The UK has presented a middle alternative for dealing with the consequences of economic dislocation of workers and the off- shoring of jobs by making it more difficult to terminate workers while still allowing for it when necessary. They have also recognized the need for fiscal restraint on the part of government. Taxes do play a role in economic growth. One of the ways to try to grow an economy is to keep the taxes low so that the private sector can grow and support the society. Low taxes and flexibility in human resources gives firms what they need to respond to changes in the marketplace, while at the same time, giving the employees a certain amount of protection from the whims and the not unknown incompetence of management. In the UK approach, the systemic risk of the marketplace is spread to both the employer and the employee, forcing the company to take a more active role in determining the future human resources needs of the organization, as well as the technological needs the organization will have to address to make those human resources competitive. The workers still have the responsibility to maintain and improve their skills when given the opportunity to do so by their employer so that they will be desirable workers to be kept on and not outsourced/off- shored when the technological/ market/ competitive change occurs, and will not be ones shed by the firm. The US economy has demonstrated that low taxes will stimulate the economy and that corporations need flexibility to be able to respond to the hyper-competitive global marketplace. But, in light of the UK success in keeping unemployment low and problems the US seems to be having in bringing unemployment down after the last recession, there would seem to be a disconnect between the labor policies of the American government and the new systemic changes in the global marketplace. US workers do not have the protections their UK counterparts do under even the reduced version of employment at will. American workers shoulder a greater burden of
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global, hyper-competition than their British or continental European counterparts. 4 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION The world has become a global economy that is hyper-competitive and far less forgiving than the national economies of just a few years ago. To survive in this world, corporations must produce the highest quality goods possible while at the same time ruthlessly cutting costs, a major component of which is almost always labor. Off-shoring and outslourcing of jobs to less expensive venues is old news, What is news is that jobs requiring a high degree of education are now being off-shored to developing countries where the cost of similarly educated employees is much less than in developed countries. This results in increased unemployment, because the jobs have left the country. Corporations will continue to seek to become more competitive. The European model results in high unemployment and low growth. The US model generates low unemployment, high economic growth, but there are other consequences of this approach. The UK approach is between the two in terms of taxes and the ability to terminate workers. These approaches to the changes in the global economy and the burden of dealing with those changes present policy makers with alternatives for the future of labor relations in the twenty-first century. Combining the best features of these approaches to the problems of economic growth in mature economies and unemployment/off- shoring/outsourcing of jobs to less costly, developing economies will be a major challenge that will face policy makers. Government policy makers have a vested interest in the actions of corporations in the society and in how they treat their workers. Off-shoring, and other practices that result in job loss, result in increased expenditures for society and government, often at times when the government can least afford it. If the government is going to accomplish its primary task of protecting the citizenry/workers/voters, then it is going to have to take an active role in establishing an industrial policy that will do that. At the same time, government must allow private industry to have the necessary flexibility to grow, prosper, and provide the standard of living that will benefit all of the citizens. There will be no easy answers.
REFERENCES D’Costa, A. P. (2003). Uneven and combined development: understanding India’s software experts, World Development, January, p. 211. European Marketing and Data Statistics, 2003, Euromonitor, PLC, London, UK Friedman, M., (1962). Capitalism and Freedom, The U. of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. International Marketing and Data Statistics, 2003, Euromonitor, PLC, London, UK Keynes, J.M. (1964). The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., New York Koreans, Czechs, Americans are hardest workers (2001). EAP Associates Exchange, September- October, p. 32. Maidment, F. (2004). Germany and the United States: two countries, two directions, European Business Review, p, 267-271. Maidment, F. (2003). Labor’s role in driving economic growth: a comparison of the EU and NAFTA, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Northeast Business and Economics Association, September, Parsippany, NJ Pomfret, J. (2003). China’s first space traveler returns home a hero, The Washington Post, October 16, p. A. 01. Steiner, G.A., & Steiner, J.F. (2001). Business, Government and Society, McGraw-Hill/Higher Education, Burr Ridge, Illinois Sullivan, L. (2004). The O word: outsourcing overseas: IBM is doing it. So is Dell. Amazon, Cisco Systems, Motorola and Merrill Lynch are also in on it. Congress Is filibustering on the topic and presidential candidates are debating it. So what exactly is all the excitement over outsourcing jobs overseas? Risk Management, July, p. 24. Wallace, C. P. (2003). A difficult labor: German unions are loosing support and influence. Is militancy or moderation the way to regain their clout? Time International, August 4, p. 51.
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International Journal of Arts & Sciences,
CD-ROM. ISSN: 1944-6934 :: 5(7):423–447 (2012)
Copyright c© 2012 by UniversityPublications.net
LEADERSHIP-STRUCTURE- CULTURE AND PROPOSED CHANGE IN
INTERNAL MEDICINE DEPARTMENT OF MGMC (MAHATMA
GANDHI MEDICAL CENTER)
Pratiksha Gurnani
California State University Los Angeles, USA
As Professor Serge Zelnick often said during his lectures, change is tough, but it presents us
with an opportunity. Creating and managing change can be a real challenge, and ingrained
cultural attitudes are often barriers to change. In this study, I have focused on several key
questions that are important not only for the Mahatma Gandhi Medical Center (MGMC) but
also for every health care organization: What type of organizational structure exists right
now—that is, how are responsibility and authority assigned? What kind of culture exists in the
organization at this time? Which types of leadership behaviors and approaches are common in
this organization? In speaking about leadership, I also focus on the concept of business ethics
because I believe leadership is directly connected with ethical issues. Information technology
(IT) infrastructure is also a key to success, so I have considered IT as well. Correct use of
power and decision making are two of the most important ingredients for effective leadership.
Many organizations and leaders have failed or underperformed because of poor decision
making. (Kreitner, 2009, Beaufort B. Longest, FACHE and Hurt Darr 2008). Power and
decision making are integral parts of effective leadership and how they are distributed within
the internal medicine departmental system. I have used one of the two decision-making
models—classical and administrative. To analyze leadership within the department, I have
used a behavioral style theory of leadership and a situational theory of leadership. Based on
my analysis, I have made some suggestions for more effective leadership, which will
contribute to four important goals: (a) patient safety, (b) clinical quality, (c) staff–patient
satisfaction, and (d) financial stability. Proposed changes about leadership and future
strategies will contribute to cost effectiveness and better medical outcomes.
Keywords: Organizational structure, Effective leadership, Leadership behavior, Ethical
issues, Proposed change.
1. The Current State of Health Care in the United States
The founder of Dell computers once said, “Our business is about technology, yes. But it’s also
about operations and customer relationships”. (Solve Problem- Don’t Manage Them). Can we
say the same thing about the healthcare business? We cannot. In a typical business a direct
relationship exists between a product or service and suppliers and consumers; in health care the
normal law of supply and demand is disrupted. The health services are supplied directly to
consumers, but the payment for those services is not given directly by those consumers. The
payers for those services are either employer or the government or any other third party.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is an attempt to create a consumer-centered
health care system. However, as a part of U.S. health care, we are in transition and face an
423
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uncertain health care future. Our health care system is moving from pay for procedure to pay for
performance, meaning we have started taking baby steps toward eliminating medical errors and
improving the poor quality of health care.
The United States spends more money on health care than any other developed nation, and
different studies give ample reasons for these relatively high costs (Boffey P. ,2012, January 21
): (a) little willingness to ration medical technology or services; (b) high medication prices; (c)
higher prices charged by U.S. doctors and hospitals as compared to anywhere else within the
world ; (c) negative response to managed care; (d) high administrative costs; (e) higher percentile
of total gross domestic product (GDP) spent on health care , which translates into a high per
person cost; (f) medical model of delivery, with limited emphasis on disease management or
prevention; (g) practice variation for providing the medical services i.e. overuse and underuse of
services; (h) fear of lawsuits, resulting in defensive medicine (unnecessary tests); (i) high
malpractice premiums; (j) imperfect markets, where supply is stronger than demand and demand
is not sensitive to changes in price; (k) third-party payment mechanisms that shield consumers
from price; (l) payment by procedure; (m) no government price regulation; (n) little emphasis on
primary care practice and emphasis on specialization as result, more costly hospital stays; (o)
U.S. physicians lag far behind other developed nations in using electronic health records, which
can help to avoid costly errors and duplications; and (p) vast increase in specialists as compared
to the increase in primary care physicians.
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, as few
as 2% of medical students are choosing to step away from radiology, ophthalmology,
anesthesiology, and dermatology or similar high-prestige and competitive specialties to pursue
general internal medicine (Chen, 2009).
The reasons specialists dominate the health care landscape include (Dr. Zelman, 2010):
(a) availability of information and procedures; (b) little restraint on consumer demand to see
specialists with the most up-to-date technology; (c) high incomes; (d) excellent medical
education, organized and controlled by specialists; (e) hospital-focused training; (f) focus on
intensive procedures and tertiary care; and (g) prestige among colleagues.
Medical specialization has increased the volume of intensives and invasive surgeries,
resulting in higher costs, over utilization of services and poor quality of care. Specialist-oriented
care has received all the focus, and little attention has been paid to disease prevention. (Zelman,
2010).
To reduce the imbalance between primary care physicians and specialists, a collaborative
team approach needs to be implemented. This approach leads to better patient outcomes and
more job satisfaction. Primary care physicians are the source for providing high-quality and
efficient care for patients. Some solutions to the shortage of primary care physicians would be to
create incentives for them to enter primary care, to have hospitals train them and direct them
toward primary care, and to increase the prestige associated with primary care. Market pressures
allow the drive for lower costs to generate more demand for primary care physicians (Pear,
2011).
Popular press releases highlight that the overall health coverage for Americans has been
improved dramatically over the last century. However, subsets of the population, including
people with lower socio-economic status, racial and ethnic minorities experience poor health
outcomes and problems with accessing quality healthcare services. As a result of recent health
care chaos, more than 50 million Americans are uninsured.
Leadership-Structure- Culture and Proposed Change ... 425
1.1. My Experience as a Help Line Counselor
I have been working as a volunteer help line counselor with the New York state consumer-
assistance program. The organization provides services such as free health- and insurance-
coverage information and advice to the uninsured, assistance in getting health coverage or the
best alternative according to the client’s situation, instructions on how to use health insurance
once the client is enrolled, assistance in getting the best care possible, and assistance in filing a
complaint with state regulators. Every week approximately 500 calls are answered and many
more voicemails. According to the different eligibility criteria for public health insurance
programs, every uninsured American should be able to take advantage of at least one option, but
very few people fit the criteria; the rest have to go with the charity care option. People become
frustrated when they try to get coverage through the public health insurance program (PHI),
because they are often just slightly over the eligible income limits for public health insurance
program and therefore not eligible. One client said, “I feel that I am getting penalized for
working because my friend, who doesn’t have a job, has coverage and I do not!” Another said, “I
have been eagerly waiting to get a reduction in my unemployment benefits so that I can get the
PHI coverage.” Many more stories can be told, but the point is that, even with low-income
subsidy programs, charity care facilities, special care programs, and better coverage and lower
premiums, PHI has been facing many difficulties in accomplishing its mission. Both private and
public options for coverage have a significant drawback: the first option is not affordable and the
second not available to many people. Meanwhile, Americans without health care are drowning
and going bankrupt, and no one is throwing out any life preservers.
Dr. Victor Fuchs, an emeritus professor of economics and health research and policy at
Stanford University, said “If we solve our health care spending, practically all of our fiscal
problems go away, and if don’t then almost anything else we do will not solve our fiscal
problems’” In his view, what is needed is a major change that comes once in a decade, perhaps,
or even just once in a generation. (Kolata, 2012).
The reason why I have mentioned about the current state of our health care and about my
experience is to drag the attention towards the required change in order to solve our health care
crisis. The change with new health age will contribute to cost effectiveness and better medical
outcomes. To execute the change successfully, the key ingredient is effective leadership.
2. MGMC and Its Internal Medicine Department
I am going to use the fictitious name of the hospital throughout the paper. The name I have
chosen for the hospital is Mahatma Gandhi Medical Center (MGMC). As I am going to talk
about effective leadership styles and some proposed changes for those styles, the best suitable
name came in my mind was Mahatma Gandhi who led the whole nation with his unique
leadership style. For my study, the department I chose vaguely is the Internal medicine
Department of MGMC.
MGMC was one of the first medical centers in the entire United States and in the Northeast.
MGMC is located on a 15-acre campus in a large city. Many people in the area are still aware of
MGMC’s reputation for handling a multitude of medical issues. In 1988, MGMC became a
private, nonprofit organization, and in the late 1990s, it was approved as a core teaching affiliate
with one of the schools of medicine in this large urban area, as well as with the College of
Osteopathic Medicine. MGMC provides services to the local inner-city community. MGMC
provides X beds, as well as every health need to the multicultural population it serves, from high-
426 Pratiksha Gurnani
tech infant care or adult surgery to inpatient rehabilitation. MGMC’s stated mission is
“enhancing life by offering health-care services with compassion” Its four-pillared vision and
goal is to provide patient safety, clinical quality, employee satisfaction, and financial stability.
2.1. Programs and Services within MGMC
MGMC has different types of programs and services (figure2) such as child and adolescent
behavioral health services; comprehensive spine institute; women’s health center; emergency
services; general pediatric center; heart institute; imaging center; eye care; nursing services,
outpatient physical therapy center; outpatient rehabilitation center; wound prevention services;
rehabilitation services; internal medicine; emergency medicine; dentistry and oral maxillofacial
surgery; behavioral health services; auxiliary services; and so forth.
2.1.1. Internal Hospital Structure
The organizational structure tells us about efficiency, effectiveness, and coordination within the
organization, as well as how staff is organized to get the job done. Figure1 shows the hospital ‘s
triad organizational structure.
Figure 1. Triad organizational structure of MGMC.
Leadership-Structure- Culture and Proposed Change ... 427
Figure 2. Programs and Services within the hospital
MGMC was the only hospital within the market area and nearby counties to be recognized with the prestigious Magnet Award granted by the American Nurses Credential Center’s Magnet
Recognition Program® in 2008. The hospital was named to Modern Healthcare’s 2011 list of 100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare. (100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare, 2011, August 22). The hospital has been recognized by the magazine as being an outstanding employer in the
health care industry on a national level. For the press release, the president and CEO of MGMC said that “we view this achievement as one more step in our campaign of ‘enhancing life’ and our journey to becoming one of America’s best hospitals.”
MGMC was also a big winner in the governor’s charity care funding plans for 2011. The governor announced an increase of $60 million in charity care funding next year, to treat the
uninsured.
428 Pratiksha Gurnani
Emergency medical services (EMS) at MGMC have been named an Innovation Hero in the
Healthcare Heroes awards program. Most important, these innovations have helped EMS set a
new standard for saving lives—in response time and the economical infusion of technology.
Using new technology and training, (Hudson county health care news, 2012, February 10).
Any hospital performance depends on four areas: patient’s safety, clinical quality, employee
satisfaction, and financial stability. The CEO of MGMC believes that the hospital performance is
pretty well right now; it will be even better. In fact, their goal is to be a world class health care
system.
As per my research I would say patient’s safety, clinical quality, employee satisfaction, and
financial stability can’t be graded without examining the organizational structure, cultural
dimensions, and the leadership style and behavior. The coming sections of the paper will talk
more about hospital performance support issues.
3. Question and Answer Session with Residents
The program director and the chief resident believe that MGMC offers a perfect field for internal
medicine training for a multi-ethnic resident staff, with emphasis on hands-on experience and
proximate patient care. The residents are growing into competent board-certified internists under
the guidance of well-qualified faculty representing a wide spectrum of specialties.
For better assessment, I asked first- and second-year residents a series of questions about the
department. I have listed some of answers here in this chapter and the other answers are
mentioned as bullet points in later chapters.
Pinkie
I heard that organization has been facing a sudden increase in patient load compared to past
years. What is the reason? How is your department managing this patient flow?
Resident1
Well, it is true at a certain level that some of the departments are facing a heavier patient load
compared to previous years. There can be two reasons for that: Patients are feeling the
improvement in services, in clinical quality, as well as patient safety and satisfaction. The second
reason can be that, within the market area, there are two hospitals that are in financial crisis, so
naturally they can’t maintain the quality of health care. Managing patient flow is teamwork
performed by self-motivated, young, hardworking, and efficient resident groups; a fully
supportive administrative department; and a well-qualified, enthusiastic faculty. All these people
are the strengths of the program. Furthermore, the program director makes a supreme effort to
create a warm, nurturing atmosphere in which to promote a “family atmosphere” among the
house staff and faculty.
Pinkie
During my degree program in health care management, I have learned that uninsured and
underinsured patients account for a large part of hospital expenditures. How are you handling
this situation as a team?
Leadership-Structure- Culture and Proposed Change ... 429
Resident2
Yeah, that’s true. Even though we are getting a huge amount of funds from the state just for
treating the uninsured, that’s just not enough to treat the uninsured and to maintain financial
stability as well. However, we are not just treating illness; we are more focused on the cause and
on preventative care. For the patients with multiple chronic medical conditions, we have free
health promotional programs per week, per month, and sometimes per year, which help them
keep healthy even with chronic conditions. We motivate and educate these patients through our
health prevention and health promotional collaborative approaches and help them to improve
their health and the quality of life. We have monthly community events in which our staff gives
free assistance and guidance to those who need to enhance the quality of health and life: for
example, monthly mammogram events, free diabetes camps, nutritional camps, the biggest loser
program, guidance for ostomy, epilepsy, etc. As a team, we are trying to give better care at lower
cost and lower utilization. I would say that, through the effective steps of evidence-based
practice management, a vibrant mentor system, and an open-door policy to the program
director’s office, where we get all the answers to our dilemmas, we have gained the leadership in
community-based health interventions.
Pinkie
Do you have any idea about the occupancy rate within your department? Do you have excess or
unused bed capacity within your department? What is the average waiting time for emergency
room visits?
Resident 1
No, the department of internal medicine never has unused beds. In fact, the department is facing
a higher occupancy rate that is above the limit. There is no chance for unused bed capacity. I
would say that the average waiting time between patient sign-in and initiation of care within ER
is around 95 to 100 minutes. The internal medicine department has a well maintained nurse–
patient ratio, which affects ER waiting time.
Pinkie
As it says on the main web page, the organization is doing well right now in four areas: (a)
patient and staff safety, (b) clinical quality, (c) patient satisfaction, and (d) financial stability.
What do the residents think about this? And what are the steps taken within your department to
be better or the best within these four areas? Please rate your department from 1 to 5 based on
customer satisfaction, decreased operating costs and financial stability, productivity
improvement, and enhanced competitive position.
Resident2
During the orientation of residency program; I read a quote by Watson Wyatt, which affected my
heart very deeply. Here it is: “Organizations, where staff understands organizational goals,
typically achieve 24% greater returns.” As I said earlier, the internal medicine department of
MGMC has an innovative and forward-thinking curriculum, which includes objective examples;
430 Pratiksha Gurnani
self-motivated young, hardworking, and efficient resident groups; a fully supportive
administrative department; and a well-qualified, enthusiastic faculty. All of them together are the
strengths of the program. Furthermore, the program director makes a supreme effort to create a
warm, nurturing atmosphere. As a team, we all are working hard to decrease operating costs,
improve productivity, and enhance competitive position. The department empowers the
providers to become leaders by promoting inclusion and respect to improve quality, safety, and
efficiency. Not only the department, I would say, but the whole hospital has improved its
position in financial stability compared to previous years. Moreover, MGMC achieved Quality
Nursing Leadership with the Magnet status in 2008. So, I would say, the whole hospital
gradually is doing better in all areas.
I would rate the department for customer satisfaction as 2, decreased operating costs and
financial stability as 3, productivity improvement as 4, and enhanced competitive position as 4.
Pinkie
I believe quality of care affects financial status of an organization and financial status of the
patient as well. What are the strategies your department is using to face challenges for enhancing
quality improvement?
Resident1
I hear pay for performance is the best way to improve quality of care, but, unfortunately, our
hospital is a charity care hospital, so the providers would not get paid that way. Strategies
include residents’ electives, by which they have been taught important quality-improvement (QI)
and error-reduction techniques and strategies. The QI improvement department is part of the
strategy: It takes care of all the departments’ quality and takes creative steps to improve quality.
The QI department is handled by consultants, physicians, and registered nurses. The QI team
keeps an eye on utilization management and error rates. They keep track of medical errors and
the misuse, underuse, and overuse of services and unnecessary tests and procedures and send us
the report with warnings and necessary steps we need to take to improve the clinical quality. A
third strategy is our quality-focused mission, vision, and culture development, which are already
here.
4. Leadership and the Four Pillars of Success
Leadership is the process of inspiring, influencing, and guiding others to participate in a common
effort (Kreitner, 2009) and the art of selecting and persuading people to work toward a common
vision and goal (Longest, 2008). Leadership is categorized into two types as follows:
• Leadership type 1: Formal leadership is the process of influencing others to pursue official
organizational objectives (Kreitner, 2009).
• Leadership type 2: Informal leadership is the process of influencing others to pursue
unofficial objectives that may or may not serve the organization’s interests (Kreitner, 2009).
Leadership-Structure- Culture and Proposed Change ... 431
A match between the leader’s style, behavior, and the situation leads to leadership effectiveness.
Situational factors include the job performed, the workplace culture, and the overall
environment.
4.1. The Evolution of Leadership Theory From the 1950s to the 1990s
Figure 3. The Leadership Evolution. From Kreitner, R. (2009). Management, 11 th
edition.
The trait approach (1900s–1950s) encompasses the idea that leaders are born, not made. The
focus of early leadership research has been to find personal traits distinguishing leaders from
followers. Later studies of leadership characteristics led to the conclusion that there are a few
general traits associated with effective leadership, such as self-confidence, stress tolerance,
emotional maturity, and integrity—but no trait or set of traits by itself guarantees leadership
effectiveness. Both the situation and the skill level of a leader have much to do with a leader’s
effectiveness. The situational approach encompasses the idea that leaders are made, not born.
(Kreitner, 2009)
I have used the behavioral-style and situation-based theories of leadership for my analysis.
Based on the results of that analysis, I have made some effective leadership recommendations in
the next chapter. Because of the current state of the health care system, the Internal Medicine
Department is not in a position to rely solely on theories, still based to the results some key
recommendations can be taken into consideration.
4. 2. Behavioral Style Theory of Leadership
The Blake and McCanse Leadership Grid is one of the best styles of leadership theory. The grid
represents Ohio State dimensions and Michigan dimensions of employee orientation and
production orientation. The grid has nine possible positions along each axis, creating 81
positions into which a leader’s style may fall. The grid shows the dominating factors in a leader’s
thinking regarding how to get results. The five key positions are focused on the four corners of
432 Pratiksha Gurnani
the grid and a middle-ground area.
Figure 4. The Blake & McCanse Leadership Grid. From Kreitner, R. (2009). Management, 11 th
edition.
On X Axis: Concern for Production
The desire to achieve greater output, cost-effectiveness, and profits.
On Y Axis: Concern for People
Promoting friendships, interpersonal relationships with co-workers, trust-based accountability,
and self-esteem for the individual.
4.2.1 Within the Leadership Grid Styles (Figure4)
(1, 9) Country Club Leadership. Primary/high concern for people; secondary/low for
production. Within the grid, leader’s concern is high for people’s needs and feelings and low for
direction and control, so production suffers.
(9,1)Authoritarian/Compliance Leadership. Primary/high concern for production;
secondary/low for people. People in this category believe that, to have productive and efficient
workplaces, employees’ needs should always be secondary. Leaders within this grid are
autocratic and have strict work rules, policies, and procedures. They believe that punishment is
the most effective tool to motivate employees.
(1, 1) Impoverished Leadership. Secondary/low concern for production; secondary/low
concern for people. Leaders within this grid position are mostly ineffective. They have neither
high concern for getting the job done nor for creating a work environment that is satisfying and
motivating. As a result, the workplace is full of disorganization, dissatisfaction, and disharmony.
(5, 5) Middle-of-the-Road Leadership. Moderate concern for production and for people to
maintain the status quo. Leaders within this style try to balance between two competing
concerns. Within this style neither production nor people needs are fully met. Leaders who use
this style settle for average performance and often believe this is the most anyone can expect.
Leadership-Structure- Culture and Proposed Change ... 433
(9, 9) Team Leadership. High concern for production; high concern for people
(commitment, trust, and teamwork). According to the Blake and Mouton model, this style is the
pinnacle of managerial styles, and managers perform best using a (9, 9) style. The grid proposes
that, when both people and production concerns are high, employee engagement and productivity
increase accordingly. This model offers only a framework for conceptualizing a leadership style;
it does not address the qualities that make an effective leader or which leadership style should be
applied.
4.2.2 Results based on survey
Using the questionnaire (Appendix 1) associated with the Leadership Grid, 2 team members
asked anonymously fill out the survey (Appendix 2) regarding the team leader’s leadership style.
The corresponding score to each of the questions are listed in the grid ; the average scores were
calculated for all questions relating to both the “concern for people” and the “concern for task”
categories. The results included a “concern for people” average of 5.1 and a “concern for task”
average of 5.00. So the resulted position within the grid is (5, 5.1) (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Plotted Position of Leadership Style within the Grid.
Based on the descriptions listed by Blake and McCanse, resulted style (5, 5.1) is called
“middle of the road” style. A leader with this style is called “compromiser,” “average
performer,” and “keep balance between people and task” (Bass, 1990).
The reason why the Blake and McCanse Leadership Grid was chosen to analyze the
leadership style of the team leader was due to its simplicity and efficiency in obtaining a specific
leadership style based on the observations of people who report directly to the team leader. It
would have been more effective if the leader was asked to fill out the survey about himself in
order to compare his own assessment of his leadership style to the answers ascertained from the
team members.
Within the Blake and McCanse Leadership Grid, the goal should be the position (9, 9) which
means team leadership If will be the result employee engagement, quality improvement, and
financial stability will increase accordingly.
434 Pratiksha Gurnani
4.3. Situational Leadership Theory
Based on the results from the Blake and McCanse leadership grid, I have chose Robert House’s
Path Goal theory to identify the qualitative position of the team leader. This theory is also known
as the path-goal theory of a leader’s effectiveness, or the path-goal model. The theory is derived
from expectancy motivation theory. The path-goal model can be classified both as a contingency
and a transactional leadership theory. The original theory (1971) says that a leader’s behavior is
contingent on the satisfaction, motivation, and performance of his or her subordinates. (Kreitner,
2009). The leader’s job is to assist followers in attaining their goals and to ensure that their goals
are compatible with the overall objectives of the group or organization.
The revised version (1996) adds more focus on group participation, in which the participants
are more intelligent and knowledgeable. (Kreitner, 2009) Path-goal theory assumes that leaders
are flexible and they can change their styles according to situations. According to the path-goal
theory, a leader’s effectiveness depends on two classes of contingency variables:
• Environment contingencies are outside the control of the employee (e.g., task structure,
formal authority system, and the work group).
• Employees contingencies are the personal characteristics of the employee (e.g., focus of
control, experience, and perceived ability). Personal characteristics determine how the
environment and leader’s behavior are interpreted.
Figure 6. Relationship between leadership Style and Effect in Various Situations. From Kreitner, R. (2009).
Management, 11 th
edition.
Leadership-Structure- Culture and Proposed Change ... 435
The path-goal theory implies that the same leader can display any or all leadership styles,
depending on the situation. The theory proposes that leader behavior will be ineffective when it
is redundant to sources of environmental structure or incongruent with subordinate
characteristics. The theory assumes that effective leaders can enhance employee motivation
through three different means: (1) clarifying the individual’s perception of work goals, (2)
linking meaningful rewards to goal attainment, and (3) explaining how goals and desired rewards
can be achieved.
This theory consistently reminds leaders that they need to help their teams to fulfill their
goals and objectives in efficient and effective ways (Kreitner, 2009, pp. 48, 53).
4. 4. Differences between Power and Authority
Power is the important ingredient for an effective leadership recipe. Before I talked about the
power distributed within the department, I would like to show the relationship between power
and authority. Figure below shows the relationship between the two.
Figure 7. Relationship between power and authority. From Kreitner (2009).
Power: The ability to marshal the human, informational, and
material resources to get something done.
• Power is central to effective leadership and can be
achieved through coercion.
• Power can reinforce authority.
• A prime source of power is the possession of
knowledge. A person with knowledge is oftentimes able to use that
knowledge to directly or indirectly influence the actions of others.
• Power affects decisions, behavior, and situations.
• Empowerment: Making employees full partners in
the decision-making process and giving them the necessary tools and
rewards.
• Threats to empowerment: dishonesty,
untrustworthiness, selfishness, and inadequate skills.
Authority: Authority is about who you are
as a person, your character, and the influence you have
built with people.
• Authority tends to be granted
through assent.
• Authority is one of the primary
sources of power.
• Sources of authority can come
from a position (such as duties and responsibilities)
delegated to a position holder in a bureaucratic
structure.
• For example, a CEO of the health
care organization has the authority to order a product
design change, or a police officer has the authority to
arrest an offender of the law.
4.4.1 Differences between power and authority according to Kreitner (2009)
4.5 Comment Bullets on Power as per Question Answer Session
Following are the bullets from the question-answer session regarding ‘the power’ within internal
medicine department.
436 Pratiksha Gurnani
• According to the team members, punishment power is used the least within the department.
According to Kreitner (2009) & Beaufort B. Longest (2008) excessive power may create the
rebels. So there should be least use of punishment power. The more we move toward
excessive or coercive power the more we experience resistance.
• The team believes that the expert power is used the most within the department. The team
believes expertise, special skills, or knowledge can influence the whole team. As jobs
become more specialized employees increasingly dependent on experts to achieve the goals.
• The team believes the team leader has expert qualities to lead with effective power source.
5. Comment Bullets on Rest of the Issues as per Question-Answer Session
5. 1. Cultural Dimensions & the Strength of Culture
Following are the bullets from the question-answer session regarding cultural dimension within
internal medicine department
• Organizational culture is the collection of shared beliefs, values (goals, priorities), buildings,
logos, rituals, stories, myths, and jargons that creates a common identity and sense of
community. Strong culture means better performance. Organizational culture is social glue
that binds an organization’s members together. (Kreitner, 2009).
• The internal medicine department’s culture is considered as the identity of the team.
• The team priorities are mission, vision and four pillars of goals.
• Department of Internal Medicine is proactive who believes to take opportunities; relationship
oriented and future oriented.
• The providers have been taught to be vision focused, treating the cause; not just the illness &
keep balance between testing and treatment.
5.1.1 The Strength of the department cultural dimensions:
• Patient confidentiality.
• Transparency of information.
• Frequency of communication.
• Habit of co-operation & mutual respect.
• Clinical quality and community based patient centered care.
• Promote internal integration, diversity & external connectivity.
• Evidence based teaching and practicing of medicine.
Proper training and education is given to enhance & overcoming the cultural dimensions.
5. 2. Information System
Following are the bullets from the question-answer session regarding information system within
internal medicine department.
Leadership-Structure- Culture and Proposed Change ... 437
• There is no fully integrated real-time visual display of all patient activity that is accessible
across all touch points right now.
• What is accessible: Patients reports, lab results, CT--scans, X-ray reports, previous
admissions medical records.
• What is not accessible: History, progress notes, and consults.
• However, EMR will be mandatory in health care world from 2012; it will take some time to
implement fully integrated EMR within their system.
• After the full implementation of Electronic Medical Record (EMR), the changes will be (1)
improving patient outcome (2) preventing healthcare errors, to reducing the operating costs
(3) improved sharing of patient information and medical histories.
• All these changes will be a huge benefit to all parties who are related to the department as
well as the organization.
5. 3. Ethical Hot Spots
Following are the bullets from the question-answer session regarding ethical hot spots within
internal medicine department.
• The team does believe that ethical behavior is the core part of their organization.
• They have been taught during the orientation that ethics are not a federal or state laws or
culturally accepted rules.
• The “House Staff Manual” has given the clear ethical guidelines for the different situations.
The providers have to follow the guidelines and they are not allowed to behave based on their
feelings.
• Patient confidentiality is their culture as well as part of the organization ethics too.
• Patient safety and clinical quality comes first in the list of organizational ethical behavior.
• Every organization has ethics specialist who plays a role in top management’s decision-
making process. The team believes that the hospital has better taken care by ethics
specialists.
• Even though organization and department both have to invest more in ethical training, ethical
behavior affects positively on staff motivation, consumer satisfaction & financial stability.
5. 4. Decision Making
Every organization grows, prospers, or fails as a result of decisions made by its leaders and
managers. The selection of a decision-making model depends on a manager’s personal
preferences, risk, uncertainty, and ambiguity. (Kreitner, 2009)
Following are the bullets from the question-answer session regarding decision making within
internal medicine department.
• Department of internal medicine empowers the providers to become leaders by promoting
inclusion and respect.
• Whole team takes part in the process of decision making for an important issues but the
actual decision is taken by the leader.
• Sometimes decisions have to be taken under situational pressure, under risk factor,
uncertainty or certainty.
438 Pratiksha Gurnani
• Team tries to find best suitable option according to the situation at that time; they think about
pros and cons of the alternatives; they avoid jumping on final conclusion very fast.
• The providers need to take immediate decisions to fight with illness, disease and death every
day so any theoretical model with ideal situations and ideal goal won’t be a good option.
I would like to differentiate the characteristics of two models so that we can determine the best
decision-making model for the Internal Medicine Department, as well as other facilities where
emergency situations can occur. The differences between the two decision making models are
shown below:
Leadership-Structure- Culture and Proposed Change ... 439
After reviewing the characteristics of both models, I would say the bounded rationality
model would be the best choice for the department, where the providers have to face the
challenges of life-and-death situations, resolve problems using intuition, and consider human and
environmental limitations.
6. Conclusion
Einstein’s definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different
results. The focus of department should be more on proposed changes and recommendations in
the areas of structure, culture, and leadership rather than on awards. Consistently making small
changes will eventually change the culture.
7. Proposed Changes and Recommendations
Because of its strong culture and structure, it will be difficult to implement a change in
leadership style for the Internal Medicine Department of MGMC. Even though change is
difficult, it is necessary for the department. Effective leadership is critical to organizational
success. There is no right or wrong answer for leadership effectiveness; it is a matter of
cautiousness. I believe leadership can be taught, as well as learned. The department’s leadership
needs to be more polished with some proposed changes.
Litmus Test Questions for Team Leaders to Enhance Leadership Capabilities
• What values should guide my actions as a leader?
• How do I best set examples for others?
• Am I playing favorites and self-interested things first?
• When things are unpredictable, how do I articulate my vision of the future?
• How do I improve my ability to motivate my team toward a common goal?
• How do I promote an environment for more innovation and risk taking? (Kouzes & Posner,
2002, p. xxiv).
I would like to recommend some key points for effective leadership based on the results
(appendix 2) of the leadership theories: (a) Blake and McCanse Leadership Grid (b) House’s
path-goal theory, and the ratings from the question and answer rounds for a modern trait profile
of leadership.
7. 1. Recommended Key Points for Effective Leadership Based on Both Theories
• Effective leadership can be achieved by the combination of transactional, transformational,
and charismatic approaches.
• These combinational approaches should be building commitment to the mission, effective
task accomplishment, focus on higher productivity and higher performance, higher employee
effort, higher satisfaction, strong personal commitment toward goals, and assertiveness and
self-confidence.
• Improve internal abilities to motivate team members through Maslow’s theory of motivation
and Management By Objective (MBO).
440 Pratiksha Gurnani
• Find something positive to say about your department that makes you different from the
other departments and for which you and your team are passionate.
• Balance between effectiveness and efficiency by monitoring the use of utilities and resources
while achieving the goals and objectives.
• Focus should not be solely on the quality of health care system output but also on health care
input.
• Try to be outspoken and soft spoken.
• Make oral presentations of written work.
• Team involvement in problem-solving, task forces, and decision making.
• Send out notices of accomplishment to top management, as well as seek opportunities to
increase name recognition.
• Expand contacts with senior personnel and create a network of professional people within
and outside the organization (Bock, 2006, pp. 16–17).
• Learn to practice reverse mentoring that helps upper management to learn about workplace
issues from junior mentors. (Cawood, 2011).
7. 2. Future Strategies for Improvement
For continual improvement in the areas of safety, quality, patient–staff satisfaction, and financial
stability, these important strategies should be implemented:
• Quality structure
• Learning organization
• Control system
• Motivational approaches.
7.2.1. Quality structure
Quality structure should be built with (a) a quality committee or governing body, (b) quality
coordination of care group, (c) clinical services group, or (d) decision support teams.
7.2.2. Learning organization
A learning organization is an organization skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring
knowledge and modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights (Kreithner, 2009,
p. 46).
Peter Drucker said this about learning organizations: “The need for learning organizations is
due to the world becoming more complex, dynamic and globally competitive.” (Kreithner, 2009,
p. 46)
Stages of Organization Learning: (a) Cognition: learning new concepts; (b) Behavior:
developing new skills and abilities; and (c) Performance: getting something done
Critical Learning Skills: (a) solving problems; (b) experimenting; (c) learning from
organizational experience/history; (d) learning from others; (e) transferring and implementing
that knowledge; (f) changing behaviors according to the knowledge (Kreithner, year, p. 243).
Leadership-Structure- Culture and Proposed Change ... 441
Litmus Test Questions for Checking Whether the Department is an Effective Learning
Department or Not
• Is there any learning agenda or benchmark for the department?
• Is the department avoiding repeated mistakes?
• Is the department capturing critical knowledge before key people leave from the hospital or
department?
• Is there any encouragement for learning and knowledge sharing?
• Is there any encouragement for risk taking?
• Are employees empowered?
• Are there any post planning meetings?
According to the litmus test and the questions and answers with residents, I would say the
Internal Medicine Department is a type of learning organization, meaning it is not a perfect
learning organization, with all the critical skills and stages. The department lacks some important
key skills for learning organization. For an ideal learning organization, I would suggest
concentrating more on critical skills rather than on stages. If the department improves its skills,
the stages would automatically follow. The leader should place more focus on the step-by-step
process of skill improvement.
Some Suggestions for an Ideal Learning Environment in MGMC
• Willingness to change.
• Post action review meetings, in which key questions should be discussed, such as what the
plan for action was, what did the team do, where was the gap, what actions should be taken
the next time.
• Take actions to increase speed of learning than the competition.
• Benchmark key points for learning environment, learning process, and leadership that foster,
inspire, and motivate to accomplish goals.
• Evidence-based practice and lifelong learning.
• Open communication in external environment with free expression of opinions.
• Maintain healthy formal relations with staff through mutual respect and involvement in
decision making.
• Utilize the opportunities to learn and gain knowledge.
• Share knowledge throughout the organization via reports, information systems, informal
discussions, site visits, education, and training.
• Solve problems with learned experiences and gained knowledge.
• Experiment and implement the best results.
7.2.3. Control System
Control is any process that directs the activities of individuals toward the achievement of
organizational goals. (Zelnick, S. 2009). Control is taking preventative or corrective actions to
keep things on track. Purpose of the control function is to get the job done despite environmental,
organizational, and behavioral obstacles and uncertainties.
442 Pratiksha Gurnani
Some Suggestions for Effective Control System
The Internal Medicine Department of MGMC is in need of an effective control system through
which potential benefits can be maximized and dysfunctional behaviors minimized. An effective
control system will keep track of:
• Average patient waiting time.
• Injuries per 100 days.
• Patient satisfaction survey.
• Completeness and accuracy of clinical notes.
• Responsibility for identifying and evaluating risk.
• Safety and security and quality-improvement activities.
• Promote environment for more innovation, risk taking, evidence-based practice, and
prevention. (Zelnick S.2009)
7.2.4. Motivational Approach
There is a direct relation between workforce motivation and organizational success; the
leadership of the Internal Medicine Department lacks this important leadership behavior. I would
suggest improving the abilities of the leaders to motivate team members by using (a) Maslow’s
theory of motivation and (b) management by objective (MBO).
• Maslow’s Motivational Model for Leaders and Learners. Abraham Maslow developed
the famous theory of motivation, which is about understanding the needs that people have
and want to satisfy. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid shows five important categories of
needs. Everyone has some priority of these needs and if they are not alleviated in the related
sequence, he or she cannot think about something else. As one goes from bottom to top on
the pyramid, the needs become more complex. A team leader should motivate people and
create a work environment where the needs of everyone can be satisfied with good job
performance.
Figure 8. Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs. (Beaufort B. Longest, FACHE & Hurt Darr , 2008).
Leadership-Structure- Culture and Proposed Change ... 443
• Management by Objective (MBO). The very first outline of MBO was given by Peter
Drucker. Peter Drucker was a writer, management consultant, and self-described social
ecologist. He is one of the best known and most widely influential thinkers and writers on the
subject of management theory and practice. In 1959, Drucker coined the term knowledge
worker. This term shifted the entire focus of management thought to productivity-output and
away from work-effort input. He is known as the “father of management.” (Kreithner, 2009)
He introduced concepts such as cooperation between labor and management, decentralization
of management, and viewing workers as resources rather than costs. His emphasis on the
results of managerial actions and goals rather than the supervision of activities was a major
contribution.
b.1 The Characteristics of MBO
• MBO believes in comprehensive Management System based on measurable and participative
set objective.
• It is Popular in both private and public organizations.
• It is primarily used as a tool for (i) Strategic planning; (ii) Employee motivation; (iii)
Performance enhancement.
• Intentions for the Implementation.
• To improve communication between employees and management,
• Increase employee understanding of company goals
• Focus employee efforts upon organizational objectives
• Provide a concrete link between pay and performance.
• Core Factor within MBO system: Emphasis on the results achieved by employees rather
than the activities performed in their jobs.
b.2 The MBO Cycle
• Setting long-range company objectives in such areas as sales, competitive positioning,
human resource development, etc by top management team for the coming year. These goals
are passed on to the next layer of management and can be broken down further into goals for
different departments, eventually into goals for individual employees.
• Developing action plans by managers.
• Periodic review.
• Performance appraisal.
b.3 Strengths of MBO System:
• Three common components for all MBO systems.
• They require specific, difficult, and objective goals.
• The goals are not usually set unilaterally by management but with the managers’ and
subordinates participation.
• The manger gives objective feedback throughout the rating period to monitors progress
towards the goals.
444 Pratiksha Gurnani
At a minimum, a successful MBO program requires each employee to produce five to ten
specific, measurable goals.
• MBO blends planning and control into a rational system of management.
• MBO can have a very positive effect on an organization’s performance.
• Employees get strong input to identifying their objectives, time lines for completion,
• MBO forces an organization to develop a top-to-bottom hierarchy of objectives.
• MBO includes ongoing tracking and feedback in the process to reach objectives.
• MBO emphasis end results rather than good intentions or personalities.
• MBO encourages self management and personal commitments through employee
participation in setting objectives.
• Employees can receive no rewards or all available rewards depending on their performance.
The CEO reviews each employee’s pay recommendation, which is based on a self- and
managers performance evaluation. (Prabu V., 2009)
Even though MBO has some weaknesses, it has some strong key points, which encourage
companies to implement for getting better results in the areas of strategic planning, employee
motivation, and performance enhancement. I believe above motivational approaches will help to
increase clinical quality, employee satisfaction and financial status.
Acknowledgments
I would like to dedicate the result of my hard work to all my well-wishers: God Almighty, my
parents, my husband, my in-laws, and my friends. This paper would not have been possible
without the guidance and help of several individuals who contributed their valuable assistance in
the preparation and completion of this advanced field study. I would like to express my utmost
gratitude and appreciation to my dissertation advisers, Professor Serge Zelnick and Dr. Steve
McGuire, for their unselfish and outstanding support and their patience and encouragement while
I was completing this study. I am especially grateful for Professor Zelnick’s vast knowledge in
the field of managing health care organizations. Thank you both for your prompt replies to my
emailed questions. I would also like to express my appreciation to the International Journal of
Arts & Sciences publications team for giving me the opportunity to share my research.
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Questionnaire For analysis
Leadership-Structure- Culture and Proposed Change ... 447
Appendix 2: Results & Grid Position of team leader
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Power and politics in organizations are not new considerations. However, with the competitive challenges organizations face in the twenty-first century, power and politics require new meaning and application to enhance organizational functional efficiency and effectiveness. Though many leadership theories have been proposed and implemented in the last twenty years, have these theories really reshaped organizational behavior (OB) in such a way that employees are excited and ready to help the organization achieve its goals and objectives? Are there newer theories beyond servant leadership, stewardship, or transformational leadership that might reframe employees and even OB? Were theories proposed more than twenty years ago perhaps too futuristic at the time?
Write a response in 300–500 words
Answer the following:
· Power and politics have often been touted as influencing, even shaping, organizational behavior. Discuss how leadership might be used (the style, approach, and essentials) so that power and coercion do not shape employee behavior negatively.
· How can you reframe employees’ feelings about offshoring jobs to restore trust in leader/managers?
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