Chapter 16 Homework Discrimination Against Women Shell May Prevent Them

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Chapter 16: Global Diversity

Chapter 16

Global Diversity

Table of Contents

Page No. in the IM

Chapter Outline

Chapter Objectives

Selected Items for Instructors’

Consideration as Discussion Points

Questions to Consider (End of Chapter)

Actions and Exercises

Suggested Test Questions

Chapter Outline

2. Discrimination and Differential Treatment as Worldwide Phenomena

4. People with Disabilities

6. Poverty

8. Recommendations for Change at a Societal Level

10. Recommendations for Change at an Individual Level

12. Key Terms

14. Actions and Exercises

Chapter Objectives

Lecture Notes and Teaching Suggestions

Key Facts (and Associated Questions)

Chapter 16: Global Diversity

After completing this chapter, readers should be able to:

• explain issues concerning dominant and non-dominant groups around the world.

• discuss why inequity based on sex and gender, disability, sexual orientation, and

poverty is common in many countries.

• analyze historical and current factors to help identify and assess the specific

diversity issues in any country.

Lecture Notes and Teaching Suggestions

This chapter concludes the book by focusing on global diversity. Diversity is often

thought of as a U.S., or western, concept but when viewed as the existence of non-

dominant and dominant groups and from issues of power, discrimination, and control of

resources between them, the universality of diversity issues worldwide becomes clear.

Instructors should encourage students to view diversity through a universal lens. Foreign

students or those who have traveled or lived extensively in different places may provide

insights into the diversity issues of those places. Some issues that are common throughout

The chapter also includes a section on poverty as a diversity issue, focusing on the

relationship between poverty and discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, and

other factors.

The second part of the chapter considers the future of diversity, with emphasis on

individual and organizational recommendations for change. A comprehensive program

begins with top management commitment and flows throughout the organization.

Specific organizational considerations in order to increase diversity are also provided in

this chapter.

Chapter 16: Global Diversity

Key Facts (and Associated Questions)

Questions following each “Key Fact” are helpful in stimulating class discussions.

(Selected key facts include discussion points in this Instructors’ Manual. Instructors may

choose different questions to emphasize a particular key fact depending on the

needs/interests of both the students and instructors). Instructors may have students

formulate questions of their own which are relevant to the key facts and use them for

class discussion.

• Diversity issues exist in countries around the world.

Question: How are the diversity related issues addressed in the United States when

compared to the rest of the world?

• Workforces in many nations are changing due to changes in birth and mortality

rates, immigration, age distributions, external pressures, and competition.

Question: What is the significance of diversity issues on the nation’s growth, and

how do they affect the workforce of a nation?

Students’ answers will vary. Diversity plays an important role or serves as a

• Specific diversity concerns vary by location, but differences in education,

participation, and employment levels can be used to help identify non-dominant

groups in a particular location.

Question: What factors influence the classification of a group as a non-dominant or

a dominant group?

Students’ answers will vary. Students are most likely to give answers which are

Chapter 16: Global Diversity

• Discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and disability exists virtually

everywhere and is an underlying feature of persistent poverty.

Question: Why is such discrimination considered an underlying feature of

persistent poverty?

Students’ answers will vary. Discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and

• Diversity in organizations is an aspect of societal changes and is increased or

impeded by individual, organizational, and societal factors.

Question: How can organizations manage diversity on a long-term basis?

In order to manage diversity on a long-term basis, a fundamental shift in views on

Selected Items for Instructors’ Consideration as Discussion

Points

1. Figure 16.1: Considerations Useful for Identifying Non-Dominant Group

Members and Diversity Issues

This figure presents 17 considerations that may be used to identify the diversity issues in

a particular country or region. The book has primarily focused on diversity issues in the

Chapter 16: Global Diversity

2. Table 16.2: The ILO’s Key Facts about Sexual Harassment in Various Places

Worldwide

3. Organizational Feature 16.1: Global Diversity and Inclusion at Shell

This feature discusses how one company handles diversity issues and tries to make the

environment more inclusive. Royal Dutch Shell treats gender as one of three diversity

Questions to Consider:

1. Choose a different global organization to compare with Shell. Use that company’s

Web site and other sources to gather information on its diversity practices. How do

the two companies compare?

2. Along with the traditional male dominance in the energy and petrochemicals field,

what factors might contribute to the low representation of women in senior

management at Shell? What recommendations would you make to Shell to help

address those factors?

The “think manager, think male” perception discussed in this chapter seems to be

applicable worldwide. Discrimination against women at Shell may prevent them

3. Many organizations with comprehensive diversity programs have histories of

discrimination claims, litigation, judgments, and settlements. Does Shell have such

a history? Investigate and document your findings.

4. Do you know a person who works at Shell? What is his or her perception of the

sincerity of Shell’s diversity commitment? What is the perception of the success of

Shell’s diversity programs and policies from that person’s view? What problem

areas are there at Shell? What else needs to be done?

5. What aspects of Cox and Blake’s six reasons for valuing diversity covered and

Cox’s Interactional Model (Featured Case 1.1) can you identify in the information

given about Shell?

In terms of resource acquisition, Shell has a goal of trying to increase the

proportion of women in senior management positions to 20% to reach the so-called

4. Feature 16.1: Poverty as a Diversity Concern

This feature discusses poverty as a diversity concern. The International Labour

Organization suggests that the “underlying feature” of persistent poverty is discrimination

based on “race, caste, ethnic origin, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, health

Questions to Consider:

1. Given equal education and opportunity, why is it easier for Whites in the United

States to escape poverty and discrimination than it is for people of color?

2. Why is it easier for men to avoid or escape poverty than it is for women?

3. The ILO proposes that discrimination is an underlying feature of poverty. How are

discrimination in employment and poverty related for workers around the world?

Discuss.

It’s evident that discrimination in employment is related to poverty. When

4. In this and previous chapters, the un- and underemployment of non-dominant group

members were documented. How do such employment patterns negatively affect

the productivity of a country?

Failing to utilize the potential contributions of large proportions of the population

Questions to Consider (End of Chapter)

1. Aside from the topics discussed in this chapter (sex and gender, workers with

disabilities, sexual orientation, and poverty), what other areas are of universal

relevance to diversity in organizations, regardless of one’s location in the world?

2. What can dominant groups in each society do to foster diversity? What can the non-

dominant do? What can you do?

Students’ answers will vary. Some of them may say that dominant groups can avoid

discrimination, reject stereotypes, and work to educate themselves and others on the

3. Figure 16.1 lists some of the factors useful in identifying specific diversity concerns

in any country. What others would you add to the list?

Chapter 16: Global Diversity

Actions and Exercises

1. Choose a country other than the United States and document the key diversity

concerns for that country. Which groups are dominant and which are non-

dominant? What are the workforce participation rates, earnings, and employment

differences among the groups? Does the country have legislation covering those

groups? How is diversity in the country you chose similar to or different from

diversity in the United States?

2. Assume you are starting a business in the country you chose in #1. Which diversity-

related factors would you emphasize most or be most concerned about, based on

the information you obtained in #1 above?

Students’ answers will vary.