Page 136 - Discrimination at Work The Psychological and Organizational Bases

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5. ORGANIZATIONAL-LEVEL DISCRIMINATION
employees differ in their perceptions, for these perceptions are associated
with differential experiences vis-a-vis discrimination in the workplace.
Research has found, for example, that diversity climate perceptions vary
along gender and racial lines, with women and racioethnic minorities
perceiving lower levels of inclusion, bias in informal processes, lost
opportunities because of bias, and insufficient attention paid to diversity
(Kossek & Zonia, 1993; Mor Barak, Cherin, & Berkman, 1998). Further,
differential diversity climate perceptions are important because they
are related to organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and career
satisfaction (Hicks-Clarke & Iles, 2000). More recently, Nishii and Raver
(2003) found that the sharedness of employees' CFD perceptions is based
on shared identity (e.g., race and organizational status) rather than formal
organizational groupings (e.g., units/divisions) as is often the case with
other types of climates (e.g., climate for service), and that clusters of
employees with similar perceptions differ in their levels of job satisfaction
and organizational commitment. This discussion implies that if diverse
employees believe that the organization is discriminatory and report
experiences that reflect bias, this is the "reality" about which the orga­
nization should be concerned, for employees behave according to their
perceptions and attributions (Weick, 1995). Thus, organizational leaders
should assess employees' perceptions of discrimination in organizations
and pay particular attention to any group differences that arise.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF DISCRIMINATION

In this final section, we present some outcomes that may result when orga­
nizational diversity has not been effectively managed, and thus discrim­
ination is prevalent. At the individual level of analysis, discriminatory
behaviors are the primary outcome of interest, yet at the organizational
level of analysis, it is the aggregate of these discriminatory behaviors that
creates serious and expensive consequences for organizations. As Fig. 5.1
illustrates, negative outcomes of discrimination feed back into the envi­
ronment and subsequently influence the organizational-level throughputs
in a cyclical process.
Perhaps the most tangible consequences of discrimination are the costs
associated with lawsuits, grievances, and turnover. The legal costs of dis­
crimination can be particularly high, with settlements for discrimination
cases often in the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars (King & Spruell,
2001). In addition to lawsuits, investigations of employee grievances can
also be costly, both in terms of personnel time and resources necessary to
conduct an investigation (Hauck, 1997). Furthermore, with the high costs