Mgt509 - human resource management mod 3 slp

Module 3 SLP Assignment of the of the Module 3 SLP Assignment Introduction Understanding diversity and being aware of biases that exist on account of age, sex, race or any other kind invariably have an effect on our judgments and perceptions. Everyone sees the world through his or her rose colored glasses and seldom sees the true picture of things as they are. The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory Scale as developed on the website of Scott Plous, a professor at Wesleyan University traces our biases in our attitude towards women along two dimensions: hostile sexism and benevolent sexism. The first is our negative attitude towards women, the second is our desire to protect and care for those women who conform to gender stereotypes (Plous, 2012).
Discussion
After taking the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory Test, the scores that I received were 3. 73 in regard to Hostile Sexism and 2. 82 in relation to Benevolent Sexism. This compares to 1. 9 for Hostile Sexism and 2. 0 for Benevolent Sexism being the average for the USA, so both my scores were on the higher side and above the average scores for males and females here. This was a little surprising for me, because most of the time I consider myself a traditionalist and am respectful towards women. Anyhow, it could be an eye opener to any gender prejudices I am harboring. When I compared my scores to those from Germany, I was surprised to find that the average males and females both had lower scores than mine in regard to both dimensions. The average score was 1. 8 for Hostile Sexism and 2. 2 for Benevolent Sexism there. Comparing my scores to those from Peru, I found that the average female rated 2. 6 regarding Hostile Sexism and 2. 8 regarding Benevolent Sexism. The males were a little higher on both dimensions but still lower than mine. When I compared my scores to those from Japan, I found that the scores of both males and females were less than my own. The females rated around 2. 6 for Hostile Sexism and 2. 8 for Benevolent Sexism. These scores were a little less than mine. The male scores for Japan were about two points higher than the females. Lastly taking the case of an African country, I considered the scores in South Africa. The scores here indicate that there is a very high rate of Hostile Sexism among the males and females alike, while there was also a very high rate of Benevolent Sexism among both sexes. The city of Johannesburg in South Africa a few years ago used to be considered the ‘ rape capital’ of the world, with a rape occurring once every three minutes (Lindow, 2009). The scores were higher than mine on both counts. This means that the females here embrace the protection given by Law and culture, while also having to bear the high incidence of derogatory remarks and behavior exhibited by males.
Comparing my scores to those in other countries, I feel that people in Asian and African nations could improve their attitudes and thinking about women and sexuality. The values of respect and caring should be cultivated in them from early childhood. They should not only appreciate the role of women in society but also give them the freedom to become whatever they want in life. I myself was amazed at my high ASI score and was clearly not expecting it. The insights I gained through this exercise are that there is often a marked difference in the attitudes and perceptions of people regarding gender discrimination, with developed countries often adopting an open and equal stance when it comes to job and career opportunities. On the other hand, females may have to work harder to come up to the same standards of males in some professions and vice versa. Developing countries in Asia and Africa still have a lot of work to do in coming up to the standards set by Europe and the USA. The inventory could be improved by asking some direct questions regarding the possible sources of discriminatory attitude such as whether it is taught in school, at the home or observed in the workplace and how far the participant is willing to change himself and society in adopting a more desirable attitude. Diversity in the workplace and in HR policies is a very important part of equal opportunity and should preferably be reflected in every good organization (Crosby, 1992).
References
Plous, S. (2012). The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory. Accessed 06 May 2012 at http://www. understandingprejudice. org/asi/
Lindow, M.(2009). South Africa’s Rape Crisis: 1 in 4 Men Say they’ve done it. Time Magazine, June 29, 2009.
Crosby, P.(1992). The Eternally Successful Organization. Signet Books.