Exploring the long-term understanding of stereotype threats to women and people of color, the article “Contending with Stereotype Threat at Work: A Model of Long-Term Responses” strongly correlates to our further discussion of organizational culture and diversity within the workplace. Theorizing based off of psychological thought and previously acquired studies, five notable professors and doctoral candidates create a theorized “model” to potentially lessen this perceived stereotype threat. Focusing on three core coping mechanisms used when faced with a threat – fending off, discouragement, resilient – the authors provide their own analysis of the said response and provide a variety of ways to manage the response. Providing a more concrete understanding of what a perceived stereotype threat could be allows the intended audience to reflect and comprehend these said threats whether the individual reading experiences them or not. From the model constructed, the authors were able to conclude that employees who fit the demographic minority experienced both positive and negative consequences of stereotype threats. The model provides analysis of the coping mechanisms most commonly used by the demographic minority, and from the findings, companies can better support those who feel threatened and can foster a more inclusive and diverse working environment. The video I have attached to this elaborates more on stereotype threats providing another perspective on how these threats can affect groups of people. While also connecting to self-fulfilling prophecy, the video elaborated on how these threats can be useful to those who threaten others with the goal of wanting to feel better about themselves, hence explaining where the source of the stereotyping may come from.
Discussion Post
1. Focusing on Renata Salecl’s TED Talk, I thought her initial introduction into her presentation about “Our Unhealthy Obsession with Choice” was captivating. By engaging the audience into her struggle with choosing a quote to introduce her presentation, already introduced her topic of conversation in such a relatable and understanding way. Elaborating on her own struggle with making a choice, she was then able to flow straight into her perspective on how choices bring about feelings of anxiety, guilt, and inadequacy if the “wrong choice” is made. I think it was interesting for Renata to lead with her own struggle with choice, as she exemplifies the negatives of human’s ideology of choice throughout her TED Talk. Providing scenarios, such as Manya and her car business, provide a real life scenario that any business owner or customer could place themselves into. The way she spoke about choice is linked to risk, and how taking a chance can be anxiety-provoking, had me, an audience member, consider some of the risks and choices or chances I have taken and I further asked myself why I took them. But I eventually went even further to then ask myself how I really felt when making those decisions and hr descriptions of fear and anxiety resonated with me, because I could clearly remember bearing those feelings.
2. Focusing on Margaret Heffernan’s TED Talk about “The Human Skills We Need in an Unpredictable World”, I found that the evidence she used to be rather interesting. Her argument, about the world dealing with the unpredictable, was a conversation that I was initially drawn to, as this was something I had never really thought about when considering the efficiency of businesses and what they aim to predict. In her argument, I think that the evidence she used was rather compelling. Using CEPI, she exclaims how there is a prediction for future epidemics, but how does one prepare for the right one? Looking at reality as seeing the pandemic we are currently still trying to manage, I don’t think any human could have accurately predicted how detrimental this would be, as coronavirus has effected the entire globe. Turning her topic towards climate change, she then examines how certainly there are countries who are trying to combat this change within their territories but how can one predict that their change will in turn be enough to aid in the halting of climate change. Using other examples of country’s initiatives such as the Netherlands and England show that there is some means to actually experiment and test a hypothesis instead of computer analyzing what could possibly occur. This growing use of technology may have his benefits, but Margaret questions the ability for technology to always have the answer.
Dan Expanding canon draft
“Bridging the generational gap in the workplace: How I learned to stop worrying and love working with the millennial generation” is an article written by Dr. Thanakorn Jiresevijinda at Cornell university. It was written for the Journal of communication in healthcare and published by Taylor & Francis group.
In Dr. Thanakorn’s 20 years of supervising medical students, he has received an unsettling and growing amount of complaints about the millennial generation. One could easily draw a conclusion that there exists a disconnect between Gen X and Gen Y. This problem encouraged him to explore new ways to create a more integrated work force that understands and accepts each other regardless of age difference. The purpose of his article is to offer the methods that he found to be helpful through his exploration.
He admits in the article that he too has experienced frustration while educating the students from the younger generation. By stating this he levels the playing field as he explains that he understands the discontent that his colleagues have with Gen Y. He then continues his article by citing a sentence in a piece written by the prominent figure Chelsea Clinton. Her statement suggested that millennials are often portrayed as disinterested and selfish individuals, though the millennials that she has worked with do not fit that stereotype. He included this quote as it attests to the fact that the Millennial generation tends to have a bad reputation. This also helps persuade the audience to be more accepting of his suggestions as he shares a similar perspective with an influential figure. The author also builds up his argument by sharing his own personal experiences. Dr. Thanakorn speaks from both his experiences at work and the conversations he has had with his coworkers. Some of their frustration with the millennial group stemmed from increased technology use; different communication preferences; the students craving for feedback; and their preferred work like balance, which can be misconstrued as students being disinterested in learning. He was then able to identify positive traits from Gen Y and craft methods to remedy these problems.
One of the suggestions was to focus on inclusiveness. He understands that in a social media driven world, millennials need to feel that their voice is heard. This has led him to listen more closely to his students without judgement and help them by asking pointed questions. He also allows them to work in groups as they often thrive better through student collaboration. Pre-class quizzes are given to ensure that everyone is engaged and keeping up with the pace of the class as a whole. His second suggestion is that we must leverage social consciousness. The millennial generation is one that truly values having a positive impact on the world. They tend to be more accepting of diversity and progressive change. This observation led him to see the importance of framing the knowledge he gives his students in such a way that they can see the importance it has on improving society. He keeps this importance in the minds of the students by having them sign up for community service. The students worked alongside the professors and another medical organization to offer a free clinic for refugees seeking asylum in the United States. His last suggestion is to include more technology in the curriculum. One way he suggested doing this is by incorporating fun and engaging games such as jeopardy to keep his students involved. He also finds it useful to use a smartphone app that is an audience-response system. I found this interesting as the students must stay engaged in the class because the context of the class is literally on their phones on which they must participate.
I find this text to be an important contribution to expanding our canon as every single sustainable organization will always be multigenerational. Though this is not often the first thing that comes to mind when we hear the term diversity, people in different generations have vastly different life experiences and are indeed quite diverse. Rapidly accelerating technological advances; Unforeseen world events; and new global challenges are among the most impactful factors that affect the overall behavior of a generation. It is paramount that we learn to come together to create a synergistic environment at work. This can only be done by valuing each other’s differences. I found Dr. Thanakorns work to contain the wisdom that is crucial to solving our intergenerational struggles.
Link to the article
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17538068.2018.1485830
Ted Talk to further explore intergenerational diversity in the workplace
Week of 6/8 – Discussion
1. The most engaging approach I found this week came from Jason Freid. Throughout his presentation he gave a very logistical and linear narration on why work doesn’t (always) happen at work. He begins with a line of credibility addressing an ongoing and relatable question he’s been asking everyday people for ten years. Prompting those in the audience to speculate where they go to ‘get work done,’ Fried draws out that they seldom say the office. He gives support to why this is never the case listing reasons whilst drawing comparisons and adding a bit of comical charm to his argument. The examples he gives, such as comparing sleep with work, helps explain how the two processes are interrelated and that in order to achieve its fullest potential, they require uninterrupted. Managers and meetings, or “M&M’s” as he jokingly calls it, are directly apart of the issue. These anecdotal scenarios go further serving as statistical tradeoffs when he makes the point that a manager’s meeting with ten employers doesn’t consume an hour of time, but rather ten hours of productivity. What I found interesting was his ability to reason or look at things in an alternative way. Explicit about being manager himself, Fried furthers his connection with the audience making them feel as if he is on ‘their’ side. He offers a point of reason appealing to listeners who may not have looked at it that way in the past. Finally, he rounds out his argument debunking beliefs of those opposed to alternatives at the office by adding recommendations from whats worked based on his own and many other company experiences
3. For this discussion I wanted to continue elaborating on Jason Fried’s argument. For starters its necessary to understand Fried’s perspective which is based around developing and reframing the nature of work with practical tools and collaborative platforms. As an entrepreneur he continuously looks for growth thus requiring him to be relatable across broad audiences. He has co-authored publications and found companies that focused on productivity. Knowing this we’re able to relate his background with the larger body of knowledge around organizational culture. From our class readings we’ve begun to understand how diversity and inclusion policies can influence the perception of its employees especially with minority groups. Similar discussions included embracing those less well known such as neurodiverse and disabled populations. Rethinking the levels of systems Kaplan and Donovan describe coincides with the theme Fried is trying to address in his TedTalk. Where I see Fried’s message fit is in between the category of an organizational and individual level. His approach to reworking the systematic organizations we have today, such as those in greater leadership positions (i.e. managers), is key to fostering an environment that has better lines of communication and productivity amongst its employees. By reducing distractions taken from trivial matters (i.e. meetings), Fried is empowering individuals to have more time to focus on themselves which in turn can have positive effects on the overall pool of sustaining diversity. The point I want to make is that his talk reinforces the idea that ones actions have running impacts and feedback loops to many issues at large.
Week Four Discussion
I loved all three TED talks, but my fast favorite was Jason Fried discussing “Why work doesn’t happen at work”. Fried argues there are too many distractions at the office for anyone to get any work done. This could be considered a “controversial” stance to take, but one that immediately resonates with the audience. Just about everyone watching and listening can relate to the idea of having too much work to do, and too little time during the workday in which to get it done.
Fried may identify managers as a contributing factor to that lack of time, but immediately puts any managers in the audience at ease by self-identifying as a manager himself. This creates a sense of simpatico, as if the entire audience are now working with Fried on this problem and are open to hearing his thoughts on potential solutions.
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Sticking with Fried, I think his proposals on how organizations can give back time to their workers have merit. However, as he stresses, it’s up to managers to make that happen. By dedicating meeting-free blocks of time, management can communicate to the entire organization that it recognizes the value of interrupted time. This in turn could lead to those meetings which do remain on the calendar to be more productive than they might have been previously.
Thinking about how this connects with other things we’ve been reading and discussing with regards to organizational culture, I came up with the below Venn diagram:
Exploring The Impact of Diversity in Professional Soccer- DRAFT
Written by Keith Ingersoll, Edmund Malesky and Sebastian M. Saiegh, and published in the Journal of Sports Analytics, “Heterogeneity and team performance: Evaluating the effect of cultural diversity in the world’s top soccer league” is an academic study focused specifically on determining the impact cultural diversity has on the success of European soccer (football) clubs. Using data science, the authors determine that those clubs which are more culturally diverse have a greater rate of success on the pitch.
I had heard it said by a commentator during a FIFA World Cup broadcast in 2014 that the national teams whose squads were comprised of players who played their “club football” in Europe had an advantage. It wasn’t only because the European leagues are considered the most competitive in the world. The announcer believed it was also because of the exposure those players had to the different styles of play utilized by clubs across the continent.
This seemed plausible to me, but was there any actual evidence to back up such claim? Could exposure to such diversity translate to better performances? It was with these questions in mind that I sought out such a study. “Heterogeneity and team performance” goes a long way towards answering them both.
The UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League is an annual competition comprised of the top clubs from around the continent. It is by far the most popular club competition in the world, with viewership numbers in the millions. In order to qualify for the Champions League, a club must have finished in the top four or five positions of their domestic league the previous season. In “Heterogeneity and team performance”, Ingersoll, Malesky and Saiegh focus on the English, French, German, Italian and Spanish clubs who competed in the Champions League during a ten year stretch from 2003-2012.
Ingersoll, Malesky and Saiegh collected data on 168 players across 41 clubs. Each of the clubs were given a cultural diversity rating based on a calculation referred to by the authors as “linguistic distance”. This, they explain, is to account for clubs comprised of players who may be from different countries, but where the same language is spoken. (For example, South American players who play for Spanish clubs.)
Keeping in mind to address potential impacts to the results of the study, such as the financial resources of each club, player movement, etc., Ingersoll, Malesky and Saiegh used the linguistic distance measurement, and per-goal difference as variables. They then used total and average roster value as a control variable. To measure overall club quality, they cited such resources as player rankings published by ESPN and The Guardian as a means to establish player quality and averaged that across each club. It seems that the numbers do in fact back up the assertion made by that commentator back in 2014. More diverse teams do have a greater rate of success.
Put simply, goal differential is the number of goals a club scores minus the number of goals allowed. It’s an especially effective measurement for success, because the higher the goal differential, the more likely a club is winning or drawing matches, as opposed to losing them. As you can see in the above chart taken directly from the study, clubs with a greater rate of linguistic diversity also had higher average goal differential per season.
If cultural diversity translates to success in soccer, does it not also stand to reason that the same would be true across a myriad of endeavors? The cultural influence of soccer, the UEFA Champions League, and of clubs such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Paris San Germain, Manchester United and Arsenal cannot be overstated. Soccer is a game played and watched by billions around the planet. The most successful clubs in the most successful competition are comprised of the most talented players from around the world. To see a collection of players from diverse backgrounds work together towards a common goal and be rewarded for it, should serve as an inspiration for soccer fans around the world. Maybe, just maybe, soccer fans will see that success, and attempt to emulate that in their own lives.
Discussion responses week 6/8, Benjamin Fisch
1) I chose a TED talk done by Renata Saled to analyze for this discussion response. Saled uses real life examples of her’s to engage the audience. She does a great job at this. When she describes the life of her friend who was working at a car dealership during college, she speaks in great detail that really paints a picture for the audience and captivates them. She goes on to explain how her friend is brilliant in the field of psychology, and how her friend uses that to gain an advantage of selling cars. All of this description for example. really engages the audience. Renata is very talented at incorporating a hint of comedy into her speech. Adding subtle humor to her presentation is a way Saled explains her ideas to the audience. I think it is interesting how Saled uses stories of hers to express her argument about chance. In the second story of a friend, Saled describes how her friend and her organized an event at the University of Chicago. Saled and her friend would speak at the event on the panel. She describes a risk that her and her friend took to experiment with the idea of chance. Saled and her friend combined their papers by one reading each paragraph off an on again. When their presentation was done, their audience was not aware that any changes had been made their presentation. The fact that the audience had no idea that their presentation was changed was very interesting to me.
2) In her TED talk presentation, Saled uses a ton of evidence to support her arguments..One of the ways that she best does this, is by referring or quoting well known phycologists. A great example of this is when Saled refers to a famous French psychologist, to support her claim that we are dealing with a certain societal obviousness. Her argument is that we have so many choices in our daily lives, some big and some small, and these choices are causing anxiety, guilt, and feelings of inadequacy. She suggests that individual choices could be distracting us from something larger, this is our power as social thinkers. Saled explains that we should focus on the choices we make collectively rather than the choices we make individually.