Deck 11: Diversity and Leadership

Question 1

Is it true that diversity might be considered a topic that sits outside the mainstream when it should be integral to everything we do?

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Diverse leaders and diverse followers present challenges of discrimination and this may reflect some of the underpinning beliefs we have about the nature of leadership and of followers. What might best explain this claim?

A) Implicitly, and explicitly, how good decisions are made by financial institutions, government agencies, is the thought that it is down to men. It is the leadership style of men-often seen as fuelled by testosterone-that results in an aggressive, non-participative, selfish approach. This model demonstrates the 'male' occupation is successful in progressing more favourable strategic leadership behaviours.
B) That organizations perceive women more favourably than men as potential occupants of leadership roles. They also evaluate behaviour that fulfils the prescriptions of a leader role more favourably when it is enacted by a woman since concerns for discrimination law. This results in a self-fulfilling prophecy of women having a stranglehold over leadership roles.
C) Leadership may be defined in male terms and a narrow view of what a 'successful leader' is becomes entrenched in organizational culture. This narrow view can lead to institutionalized prejudice about the qualities needed to be a leader, excluding those that do not have these attributes.
D) Implicitly, and explicitly, how bad decisions are made by financial institutions, government agencies, is the thought that it is down to men. It is the leadership style of men-often seen as fuelled by testosterone-that results in an aggressive, non-participative, selfish approach. This model demonstrates the 'male' occupation is less successful in progressing strategic leadership behaviours.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

By being 'diverse', organizations can avoid some of the negative aspects of having a leadership paradigm that only reflects part of their stakeholders' values. Is it true that diversity in leadership is also seen as a 'good thing'-a strategy to be encouraged?

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Discrimination is 'any conduct based on a distinction made on grounds of natural or social categories, which have no relation either to individual capacities or merits or to the concrete behaviour of the individual person'. Under the UK Equality Act 2010 what are the grounds for illegal discrimination?

A) Age, race, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender reassignment, disability, marital status, pregnancy, and maternity.
B) Age, race, sex, sexual orientation, allergies, gender reassignment, ability, marital status, pregnancy, and maternity.
C) Age, race, sex, sexual orientation, weight, gender reassignment, disability, marital status, pregnancy, and maternity.
D) Age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, race, gender reassignment, disability, marital status, pregnancy, and maternity.

Question 5

The idea of social identity theory takes the starting point that individuals are driven to develop a positive image of themselves and look for opportunities to build self-esteem. Which response best describes a three-stage process that this 'positive distinctiveness' can leads to an 'us' vs 'them' situation?

A) Stage 1. Categorization, Stage 2. Identification, Stage 3. Comparison
B) Stage 1. Categorization, Stage 2. Ostracization, Stage 3. Comparison
C) Stage 1. Categorization, Stage 2. Ostracization, Stage 3. Depersonalization
D) Stage 1. Categorization, Stage 2. Identification, Stage 3. Depersonalization

Question 6

Is it true that role models for women in the 1980s tended to be either confrontational, aggressive women like Margaret Thatcher, or overtly sexual women like those of popular singers such as Madonna?

Question 7

Alice Sargent, author of The Androgynous Manager (1993), used the phrase 'glass ceiling' to describe, in metaphorical terms, an invisible barrier that prevents women from attaining high level jobs. Is this a correct interpretation of the term used to reflect the disadvantage claimed by women?

Question 8

The path for women to occupy leadership roles consistently across more than traditional 'female' occupations, such as nursing and teaching, is still not a clear. What are the social constructs with a 'labyrinth' of Leadership that women face?

A) The general view that women are selfish in nature and lack compassion, unconcerned for the well-being of others, gentle, and kind. If they act with compassion, the accusation will be they simply be too weak-precisely the attributes (so popular myth would have it) a leader needs and moral fibre necessary to become a leader.
B) If they act with 'agentic' qualities, they will be seen as equal to men reflecting what it means to be an authentic woman-precisely the attributes (so popular myth would have it) a leader needs.
C) The general view that women are communal in nature and compassionate, concerned for the well-being of others, gentle, and kind. If they act communally, the accusation will be they simply do not have the backbone and moral fibre necessary to become a leader.
D) They are seen as 'agentic' and display characteristics such as assertiveness, control, and dominance-precisely the attributes (so popular myth would have it) a leader needs.

Question 9

Just as a view of gender being flexible has emerged in sociology, the evolution of ideas around gender alongside leadership constructs has led to the idea that leadership is more complex than a simple 'either/or' dichotomy but acts on a sliding scale that enables individuals to choose an approach depending on the demands facing them at the time. How is the idea of androgyny presented in leadership terms?

A) The move to a more balanced set of behaviours, in terms of agentic and communal, may assist males trying to escape the dilemma posed by role incongruity.
B) The move to a less flexible approach towards what society understands or considers 'good' leadership to be, lies in the changing concept about male skills demanded in a complex world.
C) It would seem that a swing towards a more female interpretation
Of the leadership role is underway, and yet this may prove to be as counter-productive.
D) That men and women exhibit both agentic traits associated with masculine leadership and communal behaviour associated with females.

Question 10

As organizations have been able to expand their influence globally, there has been an increase in the level of interest in the impact national cultures may have on leadership style. What are the six 'global leadership behaviours' (House et al. 2002:8) which were based on Lord and Maher's (1991) 'Implicit Leadership Theory'?

A) Charismatic/Value-based, Self-oriented, Preventative, Humane oriented, Team-protective, Autonomous.
B) Power distance, Collectivism, Long-term orientation.
C) Charismatic/Value-based, Team oriented, Participative, Humane oriented, Self-protective, Autonomous.