ArticlePublisher preview available

The Role of Multicultural Competence and Emotional Intelligence in Managing Diversity

Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract

Using a 360 degree feedback instrument, multicultural competency was shown to predict managerial effectiveness. Managerial scores on emotional intelligence predicted others' perceptions of multicultural competency as well as self-awareness. Managers who scored higher on the Interpersonal and Stress Management factors of emotional intelligence were rated higher on multicultural competence. Under-raters were rated by others as most successful, followed by accurate raters, and over-raters. Implications for future research and organizational diversity training are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)
The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 15: 219–236, 2012
Copyright © The Society of Psychologists in Management
ISSN: 1088-7156 print / 1550-3461 online
DOI: 10.1080/10887156.2012.730442
The Role of Multicultural Competence
and Emotional Intelligence in Managing
Diversity
Donna Chrobot-Mason
University of Cincinnati
Jean B. Leslie
Center for Creative Leadership
Using a 360 degree feedback instrument, multicultural competency was shown to
predict managerial effectiveness. Managerial scores on emotional intelligence pre-
dicted others’ perceptions of multicultural competency as well as self-awareness.
Managers who scored higher on the Interpersonal and Stress Management factors of
emotional intelligence were rated higher on multicultural competence. Under-raters
were rated by others as most successful, followed by accurate raters, and over-raters.
Implications for future research and organizational diversity training are discussed.
The ability to prevent, diagnose, and resolve workplace problems that occur as
a result of employee diversity is a critical skill required for managerial success
in today’s multicultural work environment (Earley & Peterson, 2004; House,
1995; Mor Barak, 2005; Offerman & Phan, 2002). Employee differences in cul-
ture, background, ethnicity, religion, values, and assumptions create the potential
for greater inter-group conflict and decreased productivity (Jehn, 1995; Jehn,
Bezrukova, & Thatcher, 2008; Rahim, 2001). Organizational leaders skilled in
negotiating and managing such differences to achieve cooperation and reach a
mutually satisfying solution for all parties involved are said to be multiculturally
competent (Chrobot-Mason, 2003). Although the need for managers to develop
Correspondence should be sent to Donna Chrobot-Mason, Psychology Department and Center for
Organizational Leadership, University of Cincinnati, 5120-F Edwards I, PO Box 210094, Cincinnati,
OH 45221-0094. E-mail: chrobod@ucmail.uc.edu
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
... Diversity awareness. Diversity awareness is a means of the self-awareness of diversity regarding minority ethnic, gender, and racial groups and a degree of the development of multicultural competencies that are important factors for having diverse business organizations (Chrobot-Mason & Leslie, 2012). Managers or leaders within any business organization must develop competencies to successfully perform managing or leading diverse organizational members in multicultural organizations (Chrobot-Mason & Leslie, 2012). ...
... Diversity awareness is a means of the self-awareness of diversity regarding minority ethnic, gender, and racial groups and a degree of the development of multicultural competencies that are important factors for having diverse business organizations (Chrobot-Mason & Leslie, 2012). Managers or leaders within any business organization must develop competencies to successfully perform managing or leading diverse organizational members in multicultural organizations (Chrobot-Mason & Leslie, 2012). However, multicultural competencies may not predict that managers or leaders will successfully perform managing or leading diverse organizational members. ...
... However, multicultural competencies may not predict that managers or leaders will successfully perform managing or leading diverse organizational members. The reason here is that organizations inadequately view diversity and lead failure in improving minority group representations and supporting such organizational members; which, could lead to resistance for changes (Chrobot-Mason & Leslie, 2012) or creating climates of change. However, action research and feminist action research still attempts to address these issues. ...
Research
Full-text available
Climates of change within business organizations are the foundation for insight into the challenges that accompany changes. Business organizations’ members should possess extensive knowledge of their climates of change during organizational changes and the effect of the characteristics of gender, race/ethnicity, and years on the job to successfully implement change. The rationale for this dissertation study was to extend knowledge in psychology, including industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology because of the gap in the literature, field, and specialization concerning the effect of gender, race/ethnicity, and years on the job characteristics on climates of change. Using this study answered the research question such as: when the variable of gender is held constant, will there be significant differences in the linear variate consisting of cohesion (COH), politicking (POL), and trust in leadership (TLE) due to the main effect of race/ethnicity and years on the job? The methodology of this study was quantitative with a non-experimental design. With a sample size (N) of 57, the population and sample were United States (U.S.) white-collar business professionals, above age 18, that self-identified as male or female full- or part-time supervisory or nonsupervisory business professionals, that worked in an office or virtual environments; with at least one year of corporate experience. Conducting this study resulted with a three-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with descriptive statistics and means of linear variate for hypothesis testing. The MANOVA results indicated no significant findings regarding an effect of gender, race/ethnicity, and years on the job characteristics on an organizational climate of change. There were no significant differences in the linear variate consisting of COH, POL, and TLE due to the main effect of either gender, race/ethnicity, or years on the job. The recommendation is for further research on this topic as explained at the conclusion of this dissertation study.
... Research indicates that a high level of EI is associated with improved decision-making among leaders (Yildizbas, 2017). EI, described as "emotional common sense," is crucial for adjusting to and dealing with diverse individuals in the workplace, assisting leaders in managing difficult situations and navigating transitions and crises smoothly (Chrobot-Mason & Leslie, 2012). Academic leaders, in particular, aim to evaluate their cutting-edge capabilities while advancing in innovative ways. ...
Article
Full-text available
This study aimed to explore the relationship between the decision-making styles of academic leaders and their levels of emotional intelligence (EI). The sample consisted of Academic Deans, Heads of Departments, Professors, Associate Professors, and Assistant Professors. Data collection was carried out among academic administrators from universities in Kerala using questionnaires. Responses were successfully gathered from 497 employees, out of which 490 were deemed suitable for analysis. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 23, employing statistical tools such as mean scores, standard deviation, correlation, t-test, and f-test to derive meaningful conclusions. The findings indicate a significant impact of EI on the decision-making styles of academic leaders. Specifically, individuals with higher EI tend to employ an intuitive decision-making style, whereas those with lower EI are more likely to adopt a rational decision-making style. Emotional self-control emerged as a primary antecedent of EI. Additionally, no significant differences were found in EI quotients or decision-making styles based on gender or job experience among the respondents.
... dengan kecerdasan kultural (cultural intelligence) sebagai kemampuan berfungsi secara efektif dalam konteks beragam di mana asumsi, nilai, dan tradisi. Adapun kompetensi multikultural (Keršien & Savanevi, 2005) atau kompetensi keberagaman multikultural (multicultural diversity competence) adalah kemampuan menunjukkan respek dan pemahaman, berkomunikasi efektif, dan bekerja kolaboratif dengan orang-orang dari beragam latar belakang budaya berbeda (Chrobot-Mason & Leslie, 2012). ...
Chapter
Full-text available
Tulisan singkat ini membahas pendidikan atau pelatihan multikultural di tempat kerja dengan menjelaskan secara ringkas mengenai pentingnya keberagaman, inklusivitas dan multikulturalisme dalam organisasi, dampaknya, pengembangannya dan peran kepemimpinan mengingat terdapat kesenjangan antara harapan dan kenyataan sebagaimana dinyatakan Bourke et al. (2017) dan pentingnya pemimpin mengambil tanggungjawab untuk mengatasi permasalahan tersebut. Tulisan ini diakhiri dengan simpulan dan refleksi singkat.
... The tourism literature notably reflects the importance of soft skills over hard skills for the service industry (Haven-Tang & Jones 2008;Marneros et al., 2023;Sisson & Adams, 2013). Soft skills are considered of vital importance for entrepreneurship (Lamineet al., 2014;Daniel et al., 2017;Koc, 2020), innovation (Cobo, 2013), multicultural competence (Chrobot-Mason & Leslie, 2012), diversity awareness (Devile et al., 2023), emotional intelligence (Chrobot-Mason & Leslie, 2012;Emmerling & Boyatzis, 2012), employability (Chan, 2011;Taylor, 2005;Wang & Tsai, 2014;Zwane et al., 2014) or sustainability (Kiryakova-Dineva et al., 2019;Mooney et al., 2022). ...
Article
Full-text available
The research presents the results of a quantitative survey of senior managers’ evaluation of proficiency of employees’ social skills completed in 2019 within the framework of the Next Tourism Generation Alliance, a European Commission funded project. The current and future levels of proficiency, social skills gaps and training are assessed. The sample includes 1404 respondents from organisations across eight countries in Europe in five tourism and hospitality sectors (hospitality, food & beverage, tour-operators, visitor attractions and DMOs). Results show significant country-based differences and variations according to the type of organisation, operational sector and organisation size. The required future levels of the social skills are strongly related to their current levels. Two clusters are identified based on the management perceptions of employees’ social skills gaps. Respondents in the first cluster (N=871) see only small gaps between the current and required future proficiency levels of social skills in their organisations while respondents in the second cluster (N=533) perceive much larger gaps. The findings indicate a need to develop holistic social skill training and education which supports quality customer experiences and sustainable tourism criteria.
Article
Full-text available
Bidikmisi students typically originate from low socioeconomic backgrounds and encounter a variety of risk factors that impede their ability to meet the requirements of the Bidikmisi scholarship, particularly in financial terms. This study utilized a qualitative collective case study methodology to investigate the pathways leading to educational resilience by examining the interplay of protective and risk factors, which are hypothesized to differ between “resilient (n=15) and “non-resilient” (n=10) students, as determined by their Grade Point Average (GPA) and engagement in non-academic activities. Purposive sampling was employed to select Bidikmisi students based on specific criteria. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews with third-year Bidikmisi students and were analyzed using the Social Ecological and Doughnut Resilience frameworks. The findings revealed that, in addition to financial constraints, students faced several other risk factors, including inadequate learning facilities, social barriers, social pressure, familial issues, motivation deficits, personal traits, learning difficulties, and physical and psychological health challenges. Conversely, protective factors were identified within parental support, skill development, family and identity, education, peer relationships, community engagement, and financial resources.
Chapter
In the world, more than 743 million persons have experienced at least one form of violence or harassment at work. The key to reducing workplace violence incidents is prevention. Introducing, or improving, dedicated training activities can provide all employees with useful and life-saving tips and tools. In addition, awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion should be promoted to create a solid culture of respect in the organization. Artificial intelligence can offer valid support in all the above-mentioned solutions, and this chapter highlights its role in this holistic approach to workplace violence prevention, with an initial introduction to the milestones of its development, starting from 1950. The role of artificial intelligence in the prevention of workplace violence events is to enhance the already available solutions from a physical security point of view, but also in terms of education and training.
Book
Full-text available
Pendidikan multikultural sangat kontekstual dalam kehidupan masyarakat Indonesia agar dapat berkontribusi dalam memelihara kerukunan antar sesama umat manusia. Pemahaman dilakukan secara utuh yang menjadi ranah ilmu multikultural dengan dijabarkan secara universal untuk menghargai akan perbedaan. Keharmonisan berkehidupan bersama membantu meningkatkan etika dalam usaha berpendapat, menjunjung tinggi asas kemanusian, dan memberi kejayaan negara. Pendidikan multikultural akan melihat makhluk hidup sebagai manusia yang tidak akan terpisah dari akar dasar pijakan budaya dan komunitas etnis. Secara umum, pendidikan multikultural merupakan suatu pendekatan yang dibentuk melalui pranata untuk membuat kesetaraan majemuk bagi seluruh peserta didik dengan beragam ras, etnis, tingkat sosial, status hukum, dan komunitas budaya tertentu. Buku ini terdiri dari tiga belas bab di mana bab pertama tentang Pengenalan Pendidikan Multikultural, bab dua tentang Sejarah Pendidikan Multikultural, bab tiga tentang Tujuan dan Fungsi Pendidikan Multikultural, bab empat tentang Teori-Teori Pendidikan Multikultural, bab lima tentang Kurikulum Pendidikan Berbasis Multikultural, bab enam tentang Model-Model Pendidikan Multikultural, bab tujuh tentang Nilai-Nilai Multikultural dalam Pendidikan, bab delapan tentang Pendidikan Multikultural di Lingkungan Keluarga, bab sembilan tentang Pendidikan Multikultural di Lingkungan Sekolah, bab sepuluh tentang Pendidikan Multikultural di Lingkungan Kerja, bab sebelas tentang Pendidikan Multikultural di Lingkungan Masyarakat, bab dua belas tentang Tantangan dalam Implementasi Pendidikan Multikultural, dan bab tiga belas tentang Masa Depan Pendidikan Multikultural.
Book
Exclusion is the process by which some people are left out/excluded from a group or situation. It can also be described as an incident/s where an individual is ostracised, with associated feelings of alienation and of being sidelined. In the workplace, exclusion has significant effects on a person’s relationships, opportunities, and career journey. Inclusion, on the other hand, is at the heart of an individual’s psychological needs: the need to belong, to be treated with dignity and respect, to experience a sense of autonomy, competence, self-confidence and self-esteem, and to have a meaningful existence. According to Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs, once people have satisfied their physiological needs for food, shelter and safety, we turn our attention to love and a sense of belonging, feeling valued and ultimately, self-actualisation. Understanding what people’s needs are, and what motivates them, are central to any successful organisational practice. As a consequence, inclusivity and integration in the workplace contribute greatly towards securing those values of human dignity and respect, equality, freedom, and psychological well-being that give people’s lives direction and meaning. Our research explores the stories of the research respondents with regard to experiencing the opposite – feeling excluded, alienated, marginalised, and discriminated against, and we explore the psychological-, behavioural- and organisational effects of their lived experiences. While some progress has been made towards building a more inclusive society, this research finds that we are still far from achieving the human rights goals espoused since the dream of equality was voiced by great leaders worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has further shone a light on the consequences of unequal access and disparate resources for sustaining societies around the globe – and exposed how systemic divisions have been exacerbated. The United Nations 2030 agenda report describes social exclusion as a state in which individuals are unable to participate fully in economic, social, political and cultural life, and it underscores the conditions leading to the state of exclusion. It is evident that despite some action to provide legal protection from discrimination for certain groups or individuals, people continue to experience exclusion. The respondents in this research shared that, even though their fight against dehumanisation continues, there is an increased amplification on deculturalisation and defeminisation. Correspondingly, affirmative action, has somewhat improved levels of diversity in many organisations, but it has not resulted in individuals necessarily feeling fully accepted or credibly included. The consequence of this is that many employees attempt to acculturate to the dominant/prototypical culture in a company, thereby sacrificing their authenticity. For instance, economic minorities and the less organisationally-powerful may aspire and attempt to change their accents, suppress their own heritage, cultures and interests, engage in skin whitening and straighten their hair to more closely resemble the dominant and economically powerful white, and largely, male group in senior organisational positions. This deculturalisation results in tension within their own psyche, leading to guilt as a result of abandoning their heritage, causing continuous struggles to find congruency between personal values and behaviours, and even leads to the splitting of personalities to form dual or multiple identities within these individuals. The research respondents also continue to struggle with workplace gender inequality, having cited examples ranging from conscious sexual harassment and sexist jokes to ‘unconscious’ bias and microaggressions and micro-insults ̶ where colleagues discriminated against the research respondents without ‘apparently’ even realising it. Such exclusion has led to numerous psychological and behavioural effects ranging from discomfort and withdrawal to paranoia and depression, all of which had repercussions for productivity and led to delays and even retrogression in the career aspirations for the research respondents. It has also led to defeminisation ̶ where a few research respondents adopted typically masculine behaviours to advance their career paths to more senior and executive roles, to break through the glass ceiling and to simply cope in a male-dominated environment. This research uncovered a number of additional reasons for employees feeling excluded, ranging from not being deemed traditionally attractive or tall enough, to educational background and socio-economic differences. These are unprotected differences (unprotected by country laws), and those who experience them do not have the legal authority to challenge such discriminatory behaviour. Many are silenced by shame because their colleagues do not experience the same daily challenges and do not experience being atypical/minority or different from the currently dominant group in management and leadership positions. This research presents an opportunity to turn up the volume of their voices, having adopted a hermeneutic phenomenological methodology to form theory and share their lived experiences (voices) with the reader. While some company executives may balk at the idea of spending more time and effort on integrating and engaging staff, it is helpful to point out that, in addition to legal considerations – the costs of litigation for workplace bullying and harassment, brand damage, poor industrial relations and ultimately future difficulty in attracting prospective talent are issues resulting in great cost to the company and are critical for the long-term sustainability and success of the company. It is clear that there are many business advantages to ensuring an inclusive work environment. Happy workers are more productive, and companies with more diverse management teams have been shown, on average, to achieve 19% higher revenues. In general, greater diversity has been shown to reduce work errors and the need for rework, companies enjoy enhanced reputations, greater access to untapped talent, and access to and a greater understanding of new markets and stakeholders. These benefits are dampened when marginalised individuals and groups focus their efforts more towards adapting and assimilating to the dominant culture of the organisation. Research respondents shared ways in which people could be made to feel more included. Workplace initiatives to deconstruct and redress historic power through progressive policies and procedures, managing risks and ensuring legal compliance, encouraging coherence between individual and organisational value systems, and providing resources and opportunities for employees to engage in deep, personal work around self-awareness and self-management, can promote inclusion from all levels of the organisation (top-down and bottom-up). Greater flexibility in working conditions (remote vs. office working vs. hybrid) for employees could also allow for more effective balancing of family and care roles with work, as well as provide for more effective social distancing and safety, and can result in greater engagement and an increased feeling of well-being on the part of the employee. While company training programmes and policies can be effective in promoting inclusion, simple initiatives can also go a long way to make co-workers feel included. By becoming more attuned to identifying people who are feeling excluded, we can ensure greater inclusivity. For example, recognising if some co-workers are unable to join colleagues for a meal out due to financial or personal time constraints, or identifying colleagues who may feel excluded at drinks at a pub as it contravenes their religious practices or personal preferences, and subsequently accommodating for these individual differences can trigger greater inclusion. Instead, opting for a cup of coffee or having a chat in the office kitchen or canteen can allow more co-workers to join in and actively be included. Legislation for protecting marginalised groups exists, and the responsibility for inclusion shifts from the government to leaders and, ultimately, to us. For example, by offering/arranging a lift for someone who may need to take unsafe and unreliable public transport when working late on a project for instance, shows an understanding of intersectional experiences in the workplace. It is this awareness and compassion that allows one to recognise colleagues who are excluded, and any positive act in response to their feelings of exclusion, can trigger a team to gel and outperform those who do not.
Conference Paper
The goal of this study is to understand the role of financial technology in the development of Indian economy. Further investigation provides that there is a paradigm shift in the way day-to-day transactions are made after the Fintech boom. India has traditionally been a cash dependent economy, with majority of the transactions still happening based on paper money. However, Fintech is changing the way Indian consumer and businesses are transacting. Fintech has empowered the economic development by enhancing speed, accuracy, affordability, transparency and convenience of our day-to-day financial transactions. Today, Fintech business models have covered practically most of the areas such as investing, payments, managing, financing, insuring, and real estate among others. The key success factors are customer service orientation and manifestation of services in transparency, efficiency, low costs and user friendliness as well as accessibility and speed. Fintech offers great opportunities for governments, from making the financial systems more robust and competitive, to deepen access to financial services for the unbanked/ under-banked population. However, these opportunities should be coupled with cautious and stable infrastructure to meet the potential threats to consumers and investors. This paper studies the various opportunities and challenges faced by Fintech in India.
Article
Full-text available
The view that emotional intelligence should be included within the traditional cognitive abilities framework was explored in 3 studies (total N = 530) by investigating the relations among measures of emotional intelligence, traditional human cognitive abilities, and personality. The studies suggest that the status of the emotional intelligence construct is limited by measurement properties of its tests. Measures based on consensual scoring exhibited low reliability. Self-report measures had salient loadings on well-established personality factors, indicating a lack of divergent validity. These data provide controvertible evidence for the existence of a separate Emotion Perception factor that (perhaps) represents the ability to monitor another individual's emotions. This factor is narrower than that postulated within current models of emotional intelligence.
Article
Full-text available
Individual differences in the construct of managerial self-awareness (MSA)—operationalized as congruence between self and direct reports’ behavioral ratings—were examined in 134 high-performing (HP) and 470 average-performing (AV) managers obtained from 4 independent datasets. Results based on several different approaches to measuring ratings agreement indicated that HPs were significantly more managerially self-aware compared with AVs. This relationship was consistent regardless of data source, organization, or method of assessing managerial performance. No overall relationships were found between congruence and level of item importance, gender, management level, age, or tenure. When compared with other measures for assessing self-focus, the construct of self-monitoring was found to be convergent with managerial self-awareness, whereas the construct of self-consciousness appeared to reflect primarily rating leniency effects. The article concludes with a comparison of the measurement approaches used, limitations, and suggestions for further study.
Book
Mor Barak, Managing Diversity: Toward a Globally Inclusive Workplace Managing Diversity won the prestigious Academy of Management’s George Terry Book award for “the most outstanding contribution to the advancement of management knowledge” and received the CHOICE Award for Outstanding Academic Titles by the Association of College and University Libraries. “An excellent resource to develop, theorize, and work out the inclusive workplace in a very comprehensive, encompassing, and interdisciplinary way. .. Boxes, tables, graphs, and figures as well as practical examples and empirical illustrations… make the book very interesting for both the conceptual, pedagogical research interest and the practical, educational interest.” - Cordula Barzantny, Academy of Management Learning & Education Journal This book introduces a unique and refreshing prism that is highly useful for managers and scholars alike. The authentic examples and case studies bring the content to life and make this book a very interesting and captivating read. Managing Diversity is a ‘must read’ for managers who need to effectively manage today’s diverse work force in order to survive and thrive in the global economy. - Alan D. Levy, Chairman and CEO Tishman International Companies Successful management of today’s increasingly diverse global workforce is among the most important challenges faced by corporate leaders, human resource managers, and management consultants. In the Third Edition of this award-winning book, Michàlle E. Mor Barak argues that exclusion is one of the most significant problems facing today’s diverse workforce, and she provides strategies for unleashing the potential embedded in a multicultural and diverse global workforce. Key Features: • Offers up-to-date information and statistics on the new realities of the global workforce, including demographic, legislation, and social policy trends around the world • Analyzes the causes and consequences of workforce exclusion, highlighting the groups commonly excluded in various countries and providing theories that explain exclusion and inclusion in the workplace • Provides an original and comprehensive model of the Inclusive Workplace suggesting policies, procedures and programs that facilitate its implementation New to This Edition • New and revised diversity case examples from around the world • Updated statistics on global workforce trends and new legislations and social policies in different countries • New information about leadership in diversity management • Up-to-date research on diversity management outcomes • Assessment tools for organizational diversity climate and for inclusion-exclusion with data on their psychometric properties A password-protected instrucot teaching site at… includes PowerPoint slides, chapter overviews and outlines and test questions. Michàlle E. Mor Barak is a professor at the University of Southern California with a joint appointment at the School of Social Work and the Marshall School of Business. She holds the Lenore Stein-Wood and William S. Wood Professorship of Social Work and Business in a Global Society.
Article
Emotional intelligence (EI) is a divisive topic for many individuals interested in the subject of leadership. Whereas practitioner-oriented publications have claimed that EI is the sine qua non of leadership, academics continue to discuss EI's relevance for understanding leadership emergence, behavior, and effectiveness. Here we critically review recent empirical evidence to constructively frame what has become a contentious debate about the relevance of EI. We also identify unresolved issues and highlight future research directions that may promote our understanding of EI's role for leadership. We close with a practical discussion of possible applications of EI in leadership education, training, and development.