Cultural Diversity at work? Mini-review:

1. DEALING WITH DIFFERENCES: THE IMPACT OF DIVERSITY PERCEPTIONS ON ASSESSMENT OF MINORITY EMPLOYEESJoep Hofhuis University of AmsterdamKaren van der Zee University of TwenteSabine Otten University of Groningen

2. Cultural Diversity at work? Mini-review: Diversity is a ‘double-edgedsword’ Positiveoutcomes Innovation, creativity, learningpotential, etc. (Nakui, Paulus & Van der Zee, 2011; Van Knippenberg, de Dreu, & Homan, 2004; Ely & Thomas, 2001) Negativeoutcomes Decreasedcohesion, miscommunication, stereotyping, threat, conflict, etc.(Fiske, 1998; Jehn & Bezrukova, 2004; Milliken & Martins, 1996)

3. Cultural Diversity at work? Mini-review: Diversity is a ‘double-edgedsword’ Positiveoutcomes Innovation, creativity, learningpotential, etc. (Nakui, Paulus & Van der Zee, 2011; Van Knippenberg, de Dreu, & Homan, 2004; Ely & Thomas, 2001) NegativeoutcomesDecreasedcohesion, miscommunication, stereotyping, threat, conflict, etc.(Fiske, 1998; Jehn & Bezrukova, 2004; Milliken & Martins, 1996)

4. Cultural Diversity at work? Mini-review: Diversity is a ‘double-edgedsword’ Positiveoutcomes Innovation, creativity, learningpotential, etc. (Nakui, Paulus & Van der Zee, 2011; Van Knippenberg, de Dreu, & Homan, 2004; Ely & Thomas, 2001) Negativeoutcomes Decreasedcohesion, miscommunication, stereotyping, threat, conflict, etc.(Fiske, 1998; Jehn & Bezrukova, 2004; Milliken & Martins, 1996)

5. Cultural Diversity in Selection and assessment: • Recruitersgenerallyprefersimilarity(Ployhart & Holtz, 2008). • Similarity bias occursformanycharacteristics, such as gender, age, ethnic background, language accent. • Cultural background is a strong source of perceiveddissimilarity, thusminority members, on average, are disadvantaged in selection/assessment procedures. (Turban & Jones, 1988)

6. IMpact of Minority member’s Cultural Maintenance • Cultural maintenance (CM) = the extenttowhichculturalidentity and characteristics are consideredtobe important to the individual, and towhichtheir maintenance is strivedfor. (Berry, 2000)

7. IMpact of Minority member’s Cultural Maintenance • Cultural maintenance (CM) = the extenttowhichculturalidentity and characteristics are consideredtobe important to the individual, and towhichtheir maintenance is strivedfor. (Berry, 2000) • High CM: Minority employee preferstoexpresstheirculturalheritage • Low CM: Minority employee preferstoadaptto the majority culture • In selection and assessment, high CM is associatedwithlesssimilarity, reducingchances of beinghired. (De Vroome & Tubergen, 2010)

8. IMpact of Minority member’s Cultural Maintenance • Recruitersprefertohireminority members whoadaptto the majority, as itreduces risk of negativeoutcomes of diversity.

9. IMpact of Minority member’s Cultural Maintenance • Recruiters prefer to hire minority members who adapt to the majority, as it reduces risk of negative outcomes of diversity.

10. IMpact of Minority member’s Cultural Maintenance • Recruitersprefertohireminority members whoadaptto the majority, as itreduces risk of negativeoutcomes of diversity. • Whatabout the positiveoutcomes of diversity?

11. IMpact of Minority member’s Cultural Maintenance • Recruitersprefertohireminority members whoadaptto the majority, as itreduces risk of negativeoutcomes of diversity. • Whatabout the positiveoutcomes of diversity? • Whathappenstoselectionprocesswhenrecruiters are primedtowardspositive vs. negativePerceivedDiversityOutcomes (PDO)?

12. HYPOTHESiS • Positive prime  recruiters recognize added value of CM, thus preferring candidates who express cultural heritage. • Negative prime  recruiters avoid risks associated with diversity, thus preferring candidates who adapt to majority culture.

13. Methods Participants (n = 99; Age: M = 31; SD = 12.3; 83% highlyeducated) played the role of recruitersin a fictional assessment task Manipulation of PerceivedDiversityOutcomes • Individual brainstorm: write down at leasttwo POS/NEG outcomes of diversity • Group discussion: in groups of 3, discuss POS/NEG outcomeswhichorganizationsshould AIM FOR/AVOID

14. Methods Assessment Task: 4 fictional profiles of minority candidates, including name, date of birth Competence Level: High CL: University degree, 4-5 years experience Low CL: HBO degree, 1-2 years experience

15. Methods Assessment Task: 4 fictional profiles of minority candidates, including name, date of birth Short citation from motivation letter, which included: High CM: “I find it useful to be different from other people, I believe I can make use of my unique cultural background in my work” Low CM: “I find it useful to adapt to other people, and I believe my cultural background is not relevant in my work”

16. Methods Measures: Social Rating = Do youbelievethiscandidatewould fit well in the team? (2 items, r = .84) Task Rating = Do youbelievethiscandidate is qualifiedfor the job? (2 items, r = .82)

17. Results Social Rating:

18. Results Task Rating: Low Competence Level

19. Results Task Rating: High Competence Level

20. Conclusions • Recruiters’ tendencytowardshiringminoritycandidateswith low cultural maintenance canbecircumventedby promoting PositiveDiversityOutcomes. • Recruiterswho view diversity as beneficialfor the organizationmayhireindividualswho are different, which is essentialforincreasinglearningpotential, innovation in teams.

21. Take Home message: The self-fulfilling prophecy of diversity management: Positiveframing of diversitymay A) Lead recruiters to be more open towards differences… B) …thus opening up the possibilities for actually taking advantage of diversity

22. Thank you for your attention