Perceive it or forget it? Diversity between Objectivity and Subjectivity
Organizations can become more diverse either as a result of demographic developments and global mobility or through actively striving to be more diverse in an effort to increase their innovative potential, access new markets, or attract the most qualified
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Organizations can become more diverse either as a result of demographic developments and global mobility or through actively striving to be more diverse in an effort to increase their innovative potential, access new markets, or attract the most qualified employees. Diversity can have a range of positive as well as negative effects on organizations and their employees. Unfortunately, until now the effects of diversity have been difficult to predict, and it is not yet sufficiently understood under what conditions a particular type of diversity will have a positive or negative effect (van Knippenberg and Schippers 2007). To address this problem, I reviewed the literature on the conceptualization of diversity, the underlying mechanisms that translate diversity into positive (or negative) group outcomes, and the factors that moderate these relationships. Specifically, in this article I discuss the inconsistencies in diversity research and explore how objective and subjective diversity are linked to each other, as well as their effects on group results. The results of a new empirical study provide preliminary insights into the relation between subjective and objective diversity. Implications for ‘rethinking diversity’ are outlined accordingly. The article is structured as follow: The first section deals with diversity at the individual and group level in organizational research and their related measures. Previous and new approaches in diversity research will be outlined and discussed in light of their empirical evidence. The second part reports data from an empirical study in which objective and subjective diversity were linked to their effects on group outcomes. The third section outlines implications for organizational research. a.
Diversity in Organizational Research: Beyond the double-edged sword
Diversity is inherently a complex phenomenon (Bell et al. 2010). There have been numerous attempts to define it, resulting in partly overlapping concepts as well as a variety of typologies (Harrison and Sin 2006, Mannix and Neale 2005). In this section I provide an overview of the multilevel function of diversity, drawn from original and new approaches in diversity research.
C. Braedel-Kühner, A. P. Müller, Re-thinking Diversity, Management – Culture – Interpretation, DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-11502-9_3, © Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden 2016
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Daniela Gröschke Diversity as a Multilevel Phenomenon
Diversity can be described at the individual and the group (and organizational) level (Cox 1993). Individual-level diversity is often described as ‘relational demography’. Individuals belong to specific groups according to one or more characteristics to reveal differences between themselves and members of other groups. Diversity in this sense is understood as a social-psychological phenomenon. It is based on a sense of ‘likeness’ and ‘otherness’, referring to the ways in which individuals vary on some dimension (McGrath, Berdahl and Arrow 1995). Researchers have explored how individual differences in demographic characteristics
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