Chapter 5

Exercises

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Skills Practice 5.1: Dealing with Diversity: "The Breakfast Club"

Objective

To develop skill in analyzing perceptual and attitudinal processes as they relate to issues of diversity between members of a group.

Procedure

  1. Obtain a copy of the movie "The Breakfast Club" starring Molly Ringwald and Emilio Estevez. It is available on DVD and can be rented or purchased from a local video store or retailer.
  2. Watch the movie (this can be done in class or at home on your own).

    3. Note: Download the accompanying worksheet. This will help you to develop a list of scenes in the movie that illustrate relevant diversity issues.

    Document your notes from the film on your worksheet.

  3. Discuss the following questions as a class:
    1. What types of diversity exist among the five main characters in the movie?
    2. How do the characters perceive one another early in the film? Were their perceptions of each other accurate or inaccurate? Why was this the case?
    3. How do the characters' perceptions of each other change over the course of the movie? Why does this occur?
    4. What is the key lesson that the group in the movie learns about diversity?
    5. How are the diversity issues illustrated in this movie also relevant to diversity issues in real world business organizations?
    6. What are the practical implications of this exercise for you as a future team leader or member in a real-world organization?

Skills Practice 5.2: Developing an Effective Diversity Program

Objective

To develop skill in designing and implementing an effective diversity program in an organization.

Procedure

Note: Download the accompanying worksheet.

  1. Form groups of five students each.
  2. Using the characteristics of effective diversity programs listed below and material from the chapter, design a diversity program for an organization. It could be the college or university you attend, a student organization, or a real world organization that you have worked in on a part-time basis or on an internship. Be as specific as possible about which elements you would integrate into your program.

    3. Characteristics of Effective Diversity Programs

    1. A clear definition of diversity as the organization sees it
    2. Integration of diversity into the organization’s mission and strategic plan
    3. Support of top management
    4. Involvement of employees in the design of the program
    5. A long-term perspective
    6. Identification, tracking, and communication of critical measures of success for the program
    7. Diversity training
    8. A supportive organizational culture
    9. A systems perspective that aligns HR systems (recruiting, selection, training and development, performance appraisal, and compensation) with the goals of the diversity program (e.g., attraction, development, and retention of underrepresented groups)
  3. Develop an action plan for effectively implementing your diversity program.
  4. Answer the discussion questions below.

Discussion Questions

  1. What are the benefits of diversity programs in organizations? How can a concern for diversity help an organization to be more successful in the long-run?
  2. Evaluate the diversity program you created for this exercise. What are its strengths? What are its weaknesses?
  3. What are the major barriers to the successful implementation of your diversity program? What actions could be taken to overcome these barriers?
  4. What are the practical implications of this exercise for you as a future manager in a real-world organization?

Skills Practice 5.3: Assessing Your Own and Team Member Personality Type and Work Styles

Skills Practice 5.4: Field Work – Assessing Personality Factors

Objective

To develop skill in using self-assessment data to better understand personality factors and differences between individuals.

Procedure

Note: Download the accompanying worksheet.

  1. Make copies of Self-Assessments 5.2 (Emotional Intelligence), 5.3 (Personality Dimensions), and 5.4 (Big Five Personality) from this chapter or download them from the text website.
  2. Administer these self-assessments to 3 to 5 working individuals. These people can be managers or individual contributors in real world organizations.
  3. Score the results of the completed self-assessments using the scoring key that can be downloaded from the text website.
  4. Download the worksheet that was developed for this exercise from the text website. This document will be used to summarize the results of the self-assessments.
  5. Answer the discussion questions below.

Discussion Questions

  1. Based on the results of the self-assessments, how would you describe the personality of each individual? What are the most important results?
  2. In what ways might each individual's personality (based on question 1) influence his or her behavior in the workplace?
  3. How could the three self-assessments utilized in this exercise be used in a real world organization to enhance the effectiveness of individual contributors or managers?
  4. What are the practical implications of this exercise for you as a future manager or leader of a real-world organization?

Skills Practice 5.5: Cross-Cultural Differences in Teams: International Business Etiquette, Manners, and Culture Website

Objective

To develop an understanding of how culture and business practices vary across different countries around the world and to identify the practical implications for working with individuals from other cultures in the context of global work teams.

Procedure

  1. Go to the International Business Etiquette, Manners, and Culture website at http://www.cyborlink.com/
  2. Select and research three different countries that you have some interest in learning more about.
  3. Summarize your key findings for the three countries on a piece of paper.
  4. Discuss the following questions as a class:
    1. What are the most important things that you learned about business practices and the culture of the three countries you researched on the site?
    2. What actions should you take, if you were to lead a work team that has a member who is from one of the countries that you researched? Address all three of the countries that you selected.
    3. What actions should you take, if you were to be a member of a work team that has a member who is from one of the countries that you researched? Address all three of the countries that you selected.
    4. What are the practical implications of this exercise for you as a future team leader or member in a real-world organization?

Flashcards

Case Studies

Case Study #1:  Diversity Management Case Studies

http://www.diversityinc.com/diversity-management/why-companies-rise-and-fall/

  1. Based on this case study, which factors contributed to a company’s effectiveness with its diversity efforts?

    2. Sample Answer

    • Visible CEO support, accountability for results
    • Diversity in board of directors in terms of gender and race
    • Improved metrics/tracking for recruitment, training, and talent development
  2. Based on this case study, which factors contributed to a company’s ineffectiveness with its diversity efforts?

    3. Sample Answer

    • Top level of management was all-white
    • Low percentage of participation of management in mentoring program
    • CEO did not chair the diversity council
    • Lack of accountability for diversity results (i.e., executive compensation not linked to achievement of diversity goals)
    • Lack of diversity among suppliers
    • No cross-cultural mentoring emphasis
  3. What are the practical takeaways from this case in terms of managing diversity effectively in teams and organizations?

    4. Sample Answer

    • Support for diversity from top management is critical.
    • Diversity must exist at the top management ranks, board of directors, and supplier network, as well as at the workforce level.
    • Diversity goals must be linked to compensation.
    • Effective measurement systems for tracking diversity results are critical to the success of a diversity initiative.

Case Study #2:  Leveling the Playing Field on Cross-Cultural Teams

https://hbr.org/2012/04/leveling-the-playing-field-on

  1. In addition to the tips offered in the article, what suggestions do you have for confronting the challenges of diverse teams demonstrated by Jin’s experience in this article?

    2. Sample Answer

    • Use cultural intelligence as a criterion for recruiting and selecting team members.
    • Bring in a trained team facilitator to open up the communication process between team members and to promote understanding of cultural differences between team members.
    • Require all team members to complete a cultural intelligence workshop that includes a formal assessment of cultural intelligence.
    • Align the evaluation criteria for evaluating the performance of team members and the reward system for the team to include cultural intelligence.
  2. What are the practical implications for managing cross-cultural teams in the workplace?

    3. Sample Answer

    • Strong team leadership is required to manage cultural differences effectively. This includes the ability to foster a team culture that respects and values differences in communication styles and decision-making.
    • Team leaders need to invest in training, coaching, and other team interventions in order to support the functioning of a cross-national team.
    • Regular feedback on the functioning of a team from members is needed in order to understand the strengths and opportunities for improvement of a team
  3. How will you continue to develop your cross-cultural skills when working in teams in the future?

    4. Sample Answer

    • Get experience working on cross-cultural teams by proactively seeking out opportunities in relation to a particular job, organization, and industry.
    • Learn a foreign language and the culture that goes with it.
    • Study the work styles, personalities, and cultures of other members of a cross-national team.
    • Obtain feedback from team members about the functioning of the team in terms of strengths and opportunities for improvement.

Articles on Teams

What it takes to Manage Diverse Groups
http://www.fastcompany.com/3037391/the-future-of-work/what-it-takes-to-manage-diverse-groups
Switch Your Leadership Style to Manage Diversity
http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2014/06/03/jane-hyun-switch-your-leadership-style-to-manage-diversity/
Making Differences Matter – A New Paradigm for Managing Diversity
https://hbr.org/1996/09/making-differences-matter-a-new-paradigm-for-managing-diversity
Emotional Intelligence: Developing Strong People Skills
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_59.htm
Are You Emotionally Intelligent?  Here’s How to Know for Sure
http://www.inc.com/travis-bradberry/are-you-emotionally-intelligent-here-s-how-to-know-for-sure.html
Does It Pay to Know Your Type?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-leadership/myers-briggs-does-it-pay-to-know-your-type/2012/12/14/eaed51ae-3fcc-11e2-bca3-aadc9b7e29c5_story.html
Soul Searching Through the Myers-Briggs Test
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/people-love-the-myers-briggs-personality-test/404737/
How the Big Five Personality Traits Can Help You to Build a More Effective Team
https://blog.bufferapp.com/how-the-big-five-personality-traits-can-help-you-build-a-more-effective-team
Big Five Personality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWpRKJPCI7M
Five Personality Types You have to Work With
http://www.fastcompany.com/3028806/work-smart/the-five-personality-types-youll-have-to-work-with
Cultural Intelligence
https://hbr.org/2004/10/cultural-intelligence
Why You Need Cultural Intelligence (And How to Develop It)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/iese/2015/03/24/why-you-need-cultural-intelligence-and-how-to-develop-it/
Cultural Intelligence: Working Successfully with Diverse Groups
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/cultural-intelligence.htm
The Hofstede Center
http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html
Understanding Cultures and People with Hofstede’s Dimensions
http://www.entrepreneurial-insights.com/understanding-cultures-people-hofstede-dimensions/

Videos on Teams

Diverse Teams at Work: Capitalizing on the Power of Diversity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGHMVr9F7go
TD Bank CEO Bharat Masrani on Driving Diverse, High Performing Teams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfwdjoYXRMA
Leadership and Strengthening a Diverse Team
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv08ObnMOzI
Daniel Goleman Introduces Emotional Intelligence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7m9eNoB3NU
Daniel Goleman Suggests Ways to Improve Emotional Intelligence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOSgpq9EGSw
Leveraging Your Personality in the Workplace: Understanding Your Myers Briggs Core Type
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--I5UZ0LvjY
ESTJ: Myers-Briggs Type and Teams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjy_ZeP23PU
The Big Personality Test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SrPoIsI42U
Cultural Intelligence: Competitive Advantage for Leaders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izeiRjUMau4
Cultural Intelligence: A New Way to Think about Global Effectiveness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3S76gAKp6Q
‪Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Video: Explained With Examples of Each Dimension
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcrFudqIGr4
Recent Discoveries about Cultural Differences
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBv1wLuY3Ko

Books on Teams

Qiao, G. and Conyers, Y. (2014).   The Lenovo Way.: Managing a Diverse Global Company for Optimal Performance.  New York:  McGraw-Hill.
Gardenswartz, L and Rowe, A. (2008). Diverse Teams at Work. Alexandria:  Society for Human Resource Management.
Goleman, D. (2000). Working with Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam.
Richards, T. (2015).  Emotional Intelligence: How to Increase EQ, Interpersonal Skills, Communication Skills, and Achieve Success.
Thomas, D.C. and  Inkson, K.C. (2009).  San Francisco: Berret-Koehler Publsihers.

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