Amy McMillan-Capehart

A configurational framework for diversity: socialization and culture

Purpose – To develop hypotheses aimed at finding ways to take full advantage of the benefits associated with selecting and hiring dissimilar employees such as creativity, productivity, and problem solving, while avoiding negative consequences such as lower job satisfaction and increased turnover.Design/methodology/approach – A review of the diversity, socialization, and culture literature was conducted. In addition, this research is based on configurational theory and the idea that all the constructs interact with one another in order to affect outcomes in an organization.Findings – The literature review and theory development support the idea that, in order to benefit from the positive outcomes related to diversity, organizations should implement individualized socialization tactics within a collectivistic organizational culture.Research limitations/implications – The hypotheses need to be empirically tested.Practical implications – This research suggests that it is possible for managers to get the most ...

Affirmative action decisions: when ignorance is bliss

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how various organizational justifications for hiring decisions influence the beneficiarys perceptions of fairness. Specifically, the paper investigates the relative impacts of no justification, affirmative action justification and justifications based on attempts to improve organizational creativity.Design/methodology/approach – Participants were asked to read several vignettes in which the justification for the hiring decisions was manipulated. Fairness perceptions were then assessed for each scenario. Paired‐sample t tests were used to test hypotheses.Findings – The paper finds that perceptions of both procedural and distributive justice appeared to follow a common theme across Hispanic and African American subgroups where the hiring decision was perceived to be fairer when no justification was provided. Hiring decisions based on affirmative action and diversity programs designed to promote creativity were perceived as less fair by both African Americans a...

Organisational Justice and Perceived Fairness of Hiring Decisions Related to Race and Gender: Affirmative Action Reactions

A laboratory experiment explores the perceived fairness of hiring decisions with regards to justifications that might reduce the negative reactions of job recipients. In particular, we examine the effects of no justification, and the affirmative action argument on the perceived fairness of the hiring of women and minorities. Results indicate that the hiring decision is perceived to be fairer when no justification is given than when affirmative action is used to justify the decision. The perception of decision was further moderated by proportional values with stronger effects for men than women.

Elements of salesperson control: an organization theory perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an argument for the importance of organizational culture and organizational socialization as controls for business‐to‐business salespeople.Design/methodology/approach – Organization theory suggests that social forms of control can be an effective influence on salesperson activities and behaviors. Based on organization theory, the paper presents a typology of social control combinations and offers propositions to guide future research.Findings – It is suggested that different combinations of organizational culture and socialization moderate the relationship between person‐organization fit and relevant outcomes such that, under various social control environments, creativity is greater, salesperson performance is higher, and salespeople are less likely to leave the firm and will experience greater job satisfaction.Research limitations/implications – The primary limitation is that it is conceptual in nature. Despite this, arguments presented herein support th...

Hundreds of years of diversity: what took us so long?

Until Workforce 2000: Work and Workers for the Twenty‐First Century (Johnston & Packer, 1987), diversity in organizations was largely ignored. Cultural diversity did not appear in the management literature until the civil rights movement of the 1960s brought about an increased awareness of African‐Americans in the workforce. However, the U.S. has been culturally diverse for several hundreds of years. What took us so long to take advantage of this diversity in the workforce? This is a basic question of this manuscript. Therefore, this paper examines workforce diversity dating back to the colonization of the Americas. I will address the origins of cultural diversity and discuss the political, economical, and cultural contexts that impacted the lack of research regarding diversity’s influence on organizations. Finally, I will examine how scholars have viewed cultural diversity and discuss the current status of diversity research.