Employee Demographics in Human Resource Management Research Fiona Edgar & Alan Geare
Abstract
Despite a prominent perspective of the literature that employees are consumers of HRM, only recently has HRM been evaluated from the employees’ viewpoint. Whilst these studies have helped to develop our understanding of the HRM‘experience’ from an employee perspective, they frequently ignore the issue of employee demography. This study contributes to understanding in this area by establishing areas of difference in employee views based upon their characteristics about the importance and application of HRMpractice. Specifically, the demographic categories of gender, ethnicity, age, occupation, length of service, and employment
…show more content…
Anti-discrimination legislation and the emergence of a dynamic, competitive global marketplace have played a major role in this change. Given a diverse work force, it is reasonable to assume that differences in views and attitudes could exist, which hence, justifies examining demographics. A further reason for considering demographics is that some HRM policies and practices target specific groups within a work force. For example, ‘Equal Employment Opportunity’ (EEO) initiatives in New Zealand target, in particular, women and Maori. So, again, it is not unreasonable to assume that groups targeted for preferential treatment may have different attitudes (about particular policies) to the views held by other, non-targeted, groups. As Pfeffer (1985:74) suggests, “sensitivity to demographic effects can help provide a context to understand organisational behaviour”. Few studies even touch on demographics in HRM research and even less consider it in a comprehensive manner. For example, Gibb (2001) makes a passing reference to demographic differences in employee evaluations of HRM, and while Guest (1999) goes further, he simply considers demographic differences in relation to the number of HRM practices employed by the organisation, and does not report on specific HRM practices. Where studies have examined specific practices they have been very limited in scope. For example, Konrad and Hartmann (2002) examined the impact of gender and ethnicity on employee
The purpose of this reflective paper is to show my understanding along with what I have learned about HRM (human resources management) and the different way HRM impacts the success behind every business, along with the rules and regulations that go with it. Over the last five weeks I have learned quite a bit about HRM and will reflect on that throughout this paper. “Human resource management is the managing of human skills and talents to make sure they are used effectively and in alignment with an organizations goals.” (Youssef, 2012). I will be including the things I learned throughout the last five weeks in this
In the United States, companies of all shapes and sizes must adhere to nondiscrimination policies and practices that prohibits against any and all various types of conduct based on certain characteristics when it comes to the hire, fire, and relationship with their employees (Canas & Sondak, 2014). As a member of the workforce, we would hope and assume that we wouldn’t have to deal with discrimination anymore. Don’t get me wrong, our country has grown so much over the years when it comes to tackling discrimination in the workplace. It’s just unfortunate that it’s just not natural for organizations and companies to naturally be ethical and moral when it comes to their treatment of their potential applicants or current employees. There are still cases of discrimination currently in our society. It may not be as severe compared to before the modern civil rights era, but discrimination still does exist. With all due respect, an adequate amount of the laws are simple and are able to be understood easily but at the same time, there are other parts of discrimination and harassment laws that can be more difficult for one to understand and are more open to one’s interpretation (Canas & Sondak, 2014). One example of a recent discrimination case is of Calibuso et al V. Bank of America Corp. et al.
Slowly, society is changing its views about diversity. Beginning with strong legislation regarding anti-discrimination in the workplace, laws have been established, in the United States, from the Civil Rights Act and Title VII of 1964 (which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, and natural origin), Age Discrimination Act of 1967, Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, just to name a few. These, and a multitude of other laws, have been created as a need to comply with equal opportunity employment objectives as well as a personal feeling of wanting to “do the right thing.” Now, many decades later, it’s not just doing the right thing but rather doing the “smart thing”. With a global economy, a technological revolution, and both customers and suppliers coming from diverse backgrounds, it makes
The issue of discrimination is very widely discussed, so widely that laws and statutes have been enacted and are continually addressed every day. This may occur in a courtroom, on the legislative floor or at the employer’s offices, but the fact that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) receives around 80,000 discriminatory filings annually, with 99,922 in 2010, there is little wonder the amount of attention to discrimination is warranted (Walsh, 2013). According to the EEOC’s website, the discrimination claims were more than the annual averages, but less than 99,000 in 2010, at 88,788 in 2014 (“EEOC Releases Fiscal”, 2015). These figures reiterate the importance and diligence in which discriminatory acts must be handled by all parties involved.
Year after year, the various departments and agencies of the United States Federal Government are becoming more diverse. The discussion of workplace diversity is not a discussion that is likely to disappear anytime soon in the future. To explain, the literature from Starks (2009) notes that by the year of 2050, minorities groups will account for fifty-percent of the population, in the United States of America. As a result, the discussion of diversity in the workplace is likely to still be a constant topic, for the various department and agencies of the United States Federal Government.
Ethnic discrimination is a sensitive issue. Responses to questions about job applicants from different ethnic groups are probably subjected to censoring and rationalization (Supphellen, Kvitastein, & Johansen, 1997). In another instance, some employers of different companies were found that they more likely look up background checks on a potential employee if that person’s name sounded more Middle Eastern than another person’s name. This can be a form of ethnic discrimination and racial profiling in the workplace. For example, in a study of 100 large British companies, Noon (1994) found that companies were more helpful and encouraging to a white candidate seeking employment information than to a comparable Asian candidate (Supphellen, Kvitastein, & Johansen, 1997). In other countries, some have taken precautions to make sure that racial profiling can be limited. The European Union has recently shown renewed interest in using such tests to hinder ethnic discrimination in employment situations and to enforce anti-discrimination legislation. For instance, in the United Kingdom, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has the right to conduct situation tests and even to prosecute firms (Carlsson &
The number of discrimination charges reached a record high in 2010, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a government agency that investigates discrimination charges on the basis of race, sex, national origin, religion, retaliation, age, disability, and genetic information (Wong, 2011, para. 1). Although the majority of discrimination is unethical and unnecessary in the workplace, certain benefits can be seen if it is executed properly. Understanding discrimination is becoming more crucial as the workforce continues to become more diverse. Knowing where discrimination does and does not belong in the workplace will help employers create effective and progressive workforces.
The topic of minorities in the workforce and how the struggle to accomplish equal treatment in today’s workforce is nothing new to our society. For centuries we have been concerned that by bringing together our different backgrounds, skills, and experiences, as well as the many businesses of this great
Often when we think of discrimination we don’t think of it under the circumstances of being brought into the workplace. However, with careers and jobs being a fundamental part of life it is important to acknowledge that it remains as a persistent problem, even today. A little over half a century ago President Lyndon B. Johnson passed The Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Although Title
Gender, ethnicity, and race inequalities and the issues surrounding them in the workplace have been on the forefront of society’s mind for decades. The problem of inequality in the workplace has become one of the most important and vital issues in our society today. In order to understand fully the reasons for these inequalities, one must try to understand the factors that cause gender, ethnicity, and racial issues within the workplace, yet in this case, we will tend to focus mostly towards gender inequality in the workplace. One typically thinks locally
This diversity audit begins with a background about the company, as well as some important information about key Diversity executives. What will be addressed in the audit are what efforts Johnson & Johnson made to foster diversity competence and understand, what efforts were made in furthering the knowledge or awareness about diversity, what strategies were used to address the challenges of diversity and how will you ensure that your leaders and managers will be committed to the diversity initiative. The audit concludes with a quote from the vice president of recruiting at Johnson and Johnson, as well as
Comparing and contrasting the HRM strategies and practices of Microsoft Corporation with those of three other organizations in the same industry.
Managing diversity and equality effectively in the workplace is the core responsibility of any organization in the contemporary business world. Shen, Chanda, D’Netto and Monga (2009) conducted a survey whose results revealed the massive diversity within the British society in terms of ethnicity, nationality and religion. As a result, the Equality Act of 2010 was formulated and became law whose provisions focus on legal protection against discrimination based on gender re-assignment, marriage, civil partnership, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, pregnancy and maternity, sex and beliefs (Monks, 2007). Therefore, managing diversity in the workplace is critical towards the achievement of equality and discrimination free working environment. Bhatia (2008) observed that the ability to understand, accept, value, acknowledge and celebrate differences among people with respect to race, sexual orientation, religion, age, ethnicity and mental ability within an organization is crucial in eliminating discrimination. Discrimination refers to the tendency of denying equal treatment to people believed to be members of the same social group (Ozbilgin, 2009). In other words, discrimination in the work place is related to denial of equal treatment in terms of promotion, compensation, career development, training and empowerment. Therefore, managing diversity in the work place is crucial towards the achievement of a discrimination free working environment and the
There are two major cultural divisions, Hispanic and Caucasian, to further complicate the work environment the ratio of Male to female workers is 20 to 1. No effort from either group of being sensitive to the others existence is apparent. (DuBrin, 2004, p. 67). Management’s main concern is for “ethnic diversity” to the point of not having issues with the equal employment opportunity act.
The discrimination-and-fairness paradigm is considered the “dominant way” of understanding diversity by most organizations. It attempts to remove discrimination and create employment equality by seeking to increase diversity among employees. Progress is measured by how well the company is able to meet its diversity number goals but avoids looking deeper at the reality behind the numbers. (Thomas & Ely p. 81)