Stereotyping Essay Example

Stereotyping Essay Stereotyping has always been viewed as a form of prejudice that interferes with the harmonious relationships of people.   But, there are some groups that view stereotyping as advantageous. During a diversity management session, a manager suggests that stereotypes are a necessary part of working with others. â€Å"I have to make assumptions about what`s in the other person`s head, and stereotypes help me to that,† she explains. â€Å"It`s better to reply on stereotypes than to enter a working relationship with someone from another culture without any idea of what they believe in!† This statement of the manager has some merits, as well as problems. Based on current research, what does stereotyping bring into the work environment? Does stereotyping lead to more advantages than disadvantages? If stereotyping results to negative consequences, how can these be minimized or managed?What is stereotyping?The most definitive definition of stereotyping must be assembled from var ious sources so that any biases in definitions must be removed. In doing so, three important aspects about stereotyping have been discovered. First, stereotyping is based on either initial or early judgment.   Second, stereotyping has basis. This means that physical, social, historical, economic, cultural, geographical, and emotional events create stereotypes. For example, the 9-11 terrorist attacks placed almost all people from the Middle East a member of the Al Qaeda (Wharhaftig 1991).. And lastly, the third aspect of stereotyping has many forms. That is, there can be stereotypes based on gender, age, socio-economic status, religion, and race. In the workplace and within a country, the most common form of stereotyping is based on race. For example, the progressive country of Singapore is composed of the Chinese, the Malays, the Indians, the Eurasians, and other races. Racial stereotyping exists in Singapore (Zhuang 2006). In all three aspects of stereotyping, there is no bias to wards the negative consequences. It appears that stereotyping may have advantages, especially in the workplace.Why is stereotyping beneficial?In the workplace, stereotyping becomes an important part of decision making, especially when the manager is forced to come up with a decision based on incomplete information.   The argument against this reason is that the manager should have obtained all necessary information so that he would not make a prejudiced decision. Unfortunately, some economists find that the benefits of obtaining more information do not exceed the disadvantages of quickly making a stereotypical decision.   Thus, one strong reason for employing stereotyping is economics. In Europe for example, the strict labor laws prevent many employers from firing workers who do not exactly meet their expectations. Thus, the employer uses stereotyping. If an employer does not heed his preconceive notions and hire someone who does not physically appear as capable, perhaps the bea rd and hair are too long and the clothes are sloppy, in order to give this applicant a chance, the employer may end up with a lazy worker and this is an economic loss to the company (Malek 2006).Aside from economics, stereotyping is also beneficial in the field of anthropological and cultural studies. The way that social scientists classify culture, into high-context and low-context culture, is an example of stereotyping. High-context culture is composed of people who are more group-oriented, such as most Asians. On the other hand, low-context culture is composed of people who are more individualistic, such as North Americans (Burgess 2003). If speaking before a group of people, the lecturer must take into consideration the nature of the audience. Is it high-context or low-context? In doing so, the speaker will be more effective.What problems does stereotyping bring?Stereotyping also presents problems in the workplace especially when it is typically based on wrong assumptions. A fem ale worker, because of a pretty face, will most probably be stereotyped as less intelligent than the other workers. While there are instances when stereotypes are helpful, there are also instances that stereotypes create a hostile environment in the workplace. With a hostile workplace environment, the whole organization cannot function effectively and efficiently. Stereotyping may also lead to lawsuits, especially in countries where there are strict laws against gender, age, and race discrimination (Hoffman Hurst 1990). Thus, even if stereotyping is pervasive in all aspects of human interaction (Parker, Archer Scott 1992), there is a need to take actions that will reduce stereotyping and minimize or manage its negative consequences.How to minimize and manage stereotyping?There are many books and articles that offer various ways of dealing with stereotypes. For example, Burgess (2003) suggests that media must take more responsibility so that stereotyping is not developed easily esp ecially in children. And then, Breslin (1991) suggests that a person must always focus on the individual. But such a method may not be easily implemented, especially when there are cultural differences. It would be interesting to compare two nations and the different ways that they manage racial stereotypes. The United States deal with racial stereotypes by recognizing the uniqueness of each race. Thus, a Chinese-American is aware of his cultural heritage from China. On the other hand, the government of Singapore suppressed open discussion of racial differences. As a result, a Chinese-Singaporean is only knowledgeable about being a Singaporean, but not about being Chinese (Moore 2000). Which method is better? There is no accurate or morally acceptable answer. Therefore, in managing and minimizing the negative consequences of stereotyping, there must be a scientific approach that focuses on how stereotyping or the early pre-judgments of people can change throughout time.Allport (1954 ) described two ways of changing stereotypes: bookkeeping and conversion. In bookkeeping, the manager accommodates new information that does not agree with the original stereotype. It is a slow process but this is the usual path that people take when they have strong stereotypes of others. Conversion, on the other hand, is a radical change of the preconceived image when a contradictory fact is revealed. For example, if an American coworker is stereotyped as arrogant and he showed humility, then the stereotype is removed.   By focusing on these two processes, the management can deal with the negative consequences of stereotyping.ConclusionStereotyping presents advantages from the perspective of economics, effective communication and cultural studies. However, in the workplace, stereotyping will most likely bring about conflict, hostilities, lower production, and even lawsuits. These negative consequences must be minimized. Unfortunately, stereotyping is prevalent and often utilized . Removing stereotypes, therefore, is neither possible nor practical. But the management can help change, not remove, stereotypes by modeling two processes, bookkeeping and conversion. These two processes happen as more information about the workers is revealed and longer working relationships are carried out. Stereotyping Essay Example Stereotyping Essay Stereotyping has become so prevalent in the business world. It is as if people have created a giant system that categorizes people and groups into classes. In todays international business world, it is commonplace to work with people from different cultures and thus stereotyping will inevitably exist especially when dealing with people from diversified backgrounds. Stereotypes is defined as A fixed impression which conforms very little to the facts it pretends to represent and results from our defining first and observing second (Katz Brady 1935, cited In Schneider 2004, p. 6). American Journalist Walter Lifespan introduced the concept stereotyping In his 1922 book Public Opinion as a means of describing the way society set about categorizing people -stamping human beings with set of characteristics ( Nacho Lease 1992, n. P). Stereotypes as deflations are usually link to as offensive: they have negative connotations. Elderly are absent minded, athlete as dumb, mother-in-law as troub le maker. And you can easily fill in many others that are far more offensive. But there are also stereotypes which are costive, Asian Americans are smart and hardworking, Hispanics are family oriented, black is good athletes and women are kind and caring (McCrea, Stanton Weston 1996, IPPP). In an organization context, manager tends to engage In stereotypes because drawing on the cognitive Ideas of Lifespan (1992) and Laptop (1954) that as human beings, we need to simplify and categorize the social world (Hint 2000, p. 20). Machines and Tetravalent (2007) states, It Is Impossible to recall the entire unique characteristic of the employee that they have work with. They do not have much information when hey first meet. Therefore they rely extensively on stereotypes to fill in missing pieces. Negative perception views of employer through stereotypes usually limit the persons ability to contribute to the company (Stanton, 2000). Women in the past have been excluded from specific occupation such as engineering. We will write a custom essay sample on Stereotyping specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Stereotyping specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Stereotyping specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Studies indicate that females and males hold negative stereotypes about the ability of women to be effective engineers. Likewise, to be a good mother, you have to dedicate a lot of time and energy to It and therefore there is this belief that you have less time and energy for ark and so you cant do a good Job. Thus, a woman who Is a mother Is often denied the opportunity to move forward and that Is detrimental to women. This forms a halo effect If a general Impression Is drawn based on a single characteristic (Robbins et al. 1998 p. 130). Easier since it permits us to maintain consistency. It is less difficult to deal with an unmanageable number of stimuli if we use stereotypes (Robbins et al. 1998, p. 128). For example, if a company is hiring a sales manager, the candidate who is young and a fresh graduate will likely to get the Job compared to a candidate who is older in age, aired and with children. The business manager perceives that it will be easier to engage in people who is y oung and has motivation than people who is more devoted to their family and children than with Job responsibility. This supports the managers statement that it is better to rely on stereotypes than engaging with someone of another culture. Advantages of stereotyping have its limitation. Problem occurs when we inaccurately stereotype especially when we speed read others, drawing incorrect pictures because we see what we want to see resulting in unwarranted conclusions from an ambiguous situation. For example, all accountants are not quiet and introspective, just as all salespeople are not aggressive and outgoing. Stereotype in recruitment interviews will hinder the company of an opportunity to recruit the right candidate when interviewers make instinctive Judgment that are often inaccurate which are based on appearance, racial, gender, education level and age. For example Overweight people are viewed in very negative terms, such as being lazy and undisciplined and lacking in self control, and they face widespread coordination'(Allan 1982, cited in Blaine 2000 p. 144). Inevitably, the interviewer will stifle that individuals imagination, initiative, sense of responsibility, and most importantly, his or her investment in the organization. If stereotyping is put in practice in a diversified management, it will become the biggest hurdle in growing developing talent in the organization by not capitalizing on peoples knowledge and such discrimination crushes entrepreneurial spirit. The organization will suffer because no senior management knows or can do everything. A stereotypical assumption about class kills everything that the company is working towards, including profits. Therein, leaders who are serious about fully engaging and leveraging the knowledge of the work force in the enterprise must be adamant about confronting these ingrained views to ensure the companys success, both in the short and long-term. Singapore is a paper chasing society especially in public sector as it still banks on typical assessment methodologies that rely too heavily on academic grades, degrees from top schools, prior industry experience and subjective interview results. Most Job positions are primarily determined by the academic grades and the working experience of the candidates. Thus, civil servants holding middle management level and above are local university graduates with good academic grades. Women in Singapore today have achieved great improvement in various aspects of men. Unfortunately, at the organizational level, women are still under-represented, facing psychological and corporate barriers as they try to move ahead in their careers. Based on Statistic Singapore workforce, the percentage of male holding the cost of administrative, managerial and professional Jobs are higher than females. Major Jobs for women are still dominantly employed in production and clerical work making them more vulnerable to economic fluctuation and retrenchment, low pay and little chance for advancement. This explains why there is still an income gap between female and male having the same Job scope. In short, Old stereotypes can be hard to change as men by virtue of their gender have higher status than women (Basso 1992 IPPP). Todays workforce (and society) demographics are more complex and hybrid than ever before and there is rarely any such thing as pure culture anymore. Thus, despite the fact that stereotyping is a natural method of classification and has useful functions under certain circumstances, it should not be used a standard platform to assess and rely on when it comes to hiring the right person for the company. An effective recruitment process will reduce the subjective element in interviews, increase the success rate of choosing the right candidate and hence cost saving for the company. References: http://www. Bigness. Com/papers/30247/Stereotyping/