Diverse perspectives on inclusion. Exploring the experiences of individuals in heterogeneous groups

• Pages: 2-19
• Published date: 11 February 2019
• Date: 11 February 2019
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-11-2017-0250
• Author: Sarah Singletary Walker,Enrica N. Ruggs,Whitney Botsford Morgan,Sandra W. DeGrassi
• Subject Matter: Hr & organizational behaviour,Employment law

Diverse perspectives on inclusion

Exploring the experiences of individuals in

heterogeneous groups

Sarah Singletary Walker

Department of Marketing and Management, Heider College of Business,

Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Enrica N. Ruggs

Department of Psychological Science, University of North Carolina,

Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

Whitney Botsford Morgan

Marilyn Davies College of Business, University of Houston-Downtown,

Houston, Texas, USA, and

Sandra W. DeGrassi

Department of Management, Texas A&M University-San Antonio,

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which racioethnicity influences perceptions

of inclusion (i.e. information sharing, collective efficacy, satisfaction and relationship conflict) when working

in racially heterogeneous groups.

Design/methodology/approach –Individuals were placed in groups in order to participate in

ethical-decision making tasks.

Findings –Results reveal that individuals representing varied racioethnic groups are in general satisfied

working in racially heterogeneous groups. However, reports of relationship conflict and information sharing

varied as a function of racioethnicity.

Originality/value –The authors discuss possible rationales for differences in how racioethnic groups perceive and

experience group processes over time as well as practical implications for social psychology and diversity in teams.

Keywords Diversification, Ethnic minorities, Social groups

Paper type Research paper

“Work unit diversity is one of the fundamental challenges facing modern organizations”

(Klein and Harrison,2007, p. 26). The western workplace is becoming morediverse, and social

psychologists have a growing interest in understanding how this change influences

team-based workwithin the organization (Christian et al., 2006; Van Veelen et al., 2013). Much

of the diversity research is focused on theoutcomes of work group (or team) diversity, which

often offers mixedresults, with some research revealing positiveeffects and others indicating

negative or null effects of diversity (Bell et al., 2011; Cox et al., 1991; DeGrassi et al., 2012;

McLeod et al.,1996; Oliveira and Scherbaum,2015; Ruiz-Jimenez and del Mar Fuentes-Fuentes,

2016; Van Oudenhoven-van der Zee et al., 2009;Vos and van der Zee, 2011; Watsonet al., 1993;

Webber and Donahue, 2001). Furthermore, the focus of diversity research is largely on the

outcomes of unit-level diversity,and there is relatively little researchthat seeks to understand

the individual-level outcomes for persons working in diverse groups. Recent research

suggests that an unbalanced attention of research on unit-level performance, as opposed to

social processes that occur in diverse groups, may contribute to the equivocal findings

surroundingthe effectiveness of diversityin work groups (King et al.,2009). Thus, the focus of

the current research is to better understand the experiences of individuals, specifically, racial

and ethnic minorities, working in heterogeneous (i.e. diverse) groups.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 38 No. 1, 2019

pp. 2-19

© Emerald PublishingLimited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-11-2017-0250

Received 13 November 2017

Revised 2 March 2018

18 April 2018

Accepted 12 May 2018

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-7149.htm

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EDI

38,1

A focus on the individual-level outcomes is necessary in order to more fully understand

the circumstances under which diversity yields both positive outputs and outcomes for

group members. Though there has been significant research in the area of diversity, there

is limited empirical research examining inclusion (Shore et al., 2011). The concept of

diversity focuses on the numerical representation of individuals (e.g. members of

protected classes) within organizations, whereas inclusion emphasizes the experiences

that individuals have in organizational settings (Roberson, 2006). Shore et al. (2011) define

inclusion as an individual’s perception of being a valued organizational member. Inclusion

in an organizational context allows for a removal of barriers that may prevent individuals

from fully contributing in organizational settings (Roberson, 2006), and enables

individuals to have access to organizational resources, share ideas and participate in

the problem solving process (Nishii, 2013). The notion of inclusion moves beyond

traditional definitions of diversity by examining the extent to which individuals feel

valued and are integrated into organizations. Simply put, the underlying premise of

inclusion is that bringing individuals from diverse backgrounds together is not enoughto

facilitate successful diversity initiatives, instead individuals must report feeling valued for

the benefits of diversity to be realized.

Early evidence from social psychology has shown that intergroup contact with

dissimilar others alone (i.e. diversity) does not lead to successful outcomes. Instead, early

work suggests that inclusion unfolds when diverse individuals engage in tasks or activities

where they are able to contribute fully to the group task. For instance, during the famous

Robber’s Cave study, Sherif (1954) facilitated inclusion by creating tasks where individuals

from different groups had to work together to reach a superordinate goal. Likewise,

Aronson (1978) demonstrated the effectiveness of inclusion for successful race relations

during desegregation via the use of the jigsaw puzzle method. More recent evidence

supports these findings. For instance, qualitative interviews suggest that coworkers are

more accepting of employees with disabilities when they are working toward the same goal,

and supervisors support inclusion and equality (Novak et al., 2011). Recent research

suggests that managers who desire perceptions of fairness and camaraderie should consider

the influence of race/ethnicity and gender (Carberry and Meyers, 2017). In sum, previous

research supports the notion that inclusion is an important component for organizations to

consider as it results in achieving key organizational outcomes.

The current study extends previous research by examining the individual-level

experiences of racial and ethnic minorities working in heterogeneous groups. We first

examine whether the experience of inclusion for individuals working in diverse groups

varies as a function of race and ethnicity. We then explore the impact of working with the

same heterogeneous group members over time.

Theoretical rationale

There are many benefits to working in diverse groups when there is interdependence and

inclusion among group members (Aronson, 1978; Novak et al., 2011; Sherif, 1954). However,

inclusion is not automatic, and there may be tension that arises when diverse groups are

first formed and members have little information about other members. In such cases,

people tend to use stereotypes to help determine how to behave and interact with others

(Fiske and Neuberg, 1990). The stereotypes used are often based on visible surface-level

characteristics such as race or gender (Harrison et al., 1998). When working with racially

diverse groups, relational demography theory (Tsui et al., 1992) proposes that perceived

demographic similarity results in positive relationships whereas dissimilarity results in

friction. Diversity perceptions within a group can negatively affect subgroup relations

(Dieckmann et al., 2016). Research reveals support for rational demography theory. Phillips

et al. (2006) found surface-level homogenous groups felt more similar to each other than

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