GMS 200 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Gross Domestic Product, Organizational Effectiveness, Glass Ceiling

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Global Management Studies
• Course: GMS 200
• Professor: Franklin Ramsoomair

Document Summary

Today"s workplaces are dominated by knowledge workers, persons whose minds, not just their physical capabilities, are critical assets. The term workforce diversity describes the composition of a workforce in terms of difference among people according to gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and ablebodiedness. Prejudice, or the holding of negative, irrational opinions and attitudes regarding members of diverse populations, sets the stage for diversity bias. Prejudice then becomes active discrimination, which is actively denying minority members the full benefits of organizational membership. A subtle form of discrimination is called the glass ceiling effect which is an invisible barrier or ceiling that prevents women and members of visible minorities from risking above a certain level of organizational responsibility. Many voices call diversity a business imperative , meaning that today"s increasingly diverse and multicultural workforce should be an asset, that, if tapped, creates opportunities for performance gains.