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VALUING DIVERSITY

VALUING DIVERSITY. Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills 11 th Edition David W. Johnson Frank P. Johnson. Purposes. Diversity can have beneficial or harmful consequences, depending on how it is managed Diversity is important for groups

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VALUING DIVERSITY

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  1. VALUING DIVERSITY Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills 11th Edition David W. Johnson Frank P. Johnson

  2. Purposes • Diversity can have beneficial or harmful consequences, depending on how it is managed • Diversity is important for groups • There are barriers to interacting with diverse peers • There are ways to make diversity among members a strength

  3. Diversity: Can Have Beneficial Consequences • Achievement & Productivity • Creative Problem-solving • Growth in Cognitive and Moral Reasoning • Increased Perspective-taking • Improved Relationships • General Sophistication

  4. Diversity: Can Have Harmful Consequences • Lower Achievement and Productivity • Closed-minded Rejection of New Information • Increased Egocentrism • Negative Relationships • Hostility, Rejection, Divisiveness, Bullying, Scapegoating, Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Racism.

  5. Sources of Diversity • Demographic Diversity • Personal Characteristics • Abilities and Skills

  6. Why Is Managing Diversity Important? • We increasingly live in one world • Diversity in most settings is inevitable • There has been an economic globalization of business

  7. Group Composition and Test Performance • Production tasks • Intellective tasks • Decision-making tasks

  8. Disadvantages of Homogeneous Group Membership • Lack of controversy and clash of perspectives • Tend to avoid risk • Function best in static rather than changing conditions

  9. Difficulties With Research • What attributes are important? • Can one attribute make a difference? • Are group tasks simple or diverse? • What is diversity, anyway? • How does group composition and task interact to affect performance?

  10. Barriers to Interacting With Diverse Peers • Stereotypes – a set of beliefs that associates a whole group of people with certain traits • Categorizing • In-group/out-group • Saves energy • Fundamental attribution error • Scapegoating • Stereotype threat

  11. More Barriers: Prejudice • An unjustified negative attitude toward a person based solely on that individual’s membership in a group other than one’s own • Ethnocentrism • Cultural Conditioning • Modern Racism

  12. More Barriers • Discrimination • Blaming the Victim • Attribution Theory • Culture Clash

  13. Making Diversity a Strength • Structure and Strengthen Positive Interdependence • Create a Superordinate Group Identity • Gain Sophistication Through Intergroup Relations • Clarify Miscommunications

  14. Summary • If diversity is managed well, it will enhance group work and decisions • Diverse groups are valuable for effective decisions. • We can identify barriers which keep us from interacting with diverse peers and overcome them • To capitalize on our differences, we can make diversity among members a strength

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