Prejudice and stereotypes

 

Discuss prejudice and stereotypes in terms of:

In-group and out-group
Cultural differences
How the media affects prejudice
How might interventions reduce stereotype threat?

Sample Solution

People all belong to a gender, race, age, and social economic group. These groups provide a powerful source of our identity and self-esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and serve as our in-groups. An in-group is a group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to. A group that we don’t belong to, an out-group, is a group that we view as fundamentally different from us. For example, if you are female, your gender in-group includes all females, and your gender out-group includes all males. People often view gender groups as being fundamentally different from each other in personality traits, characteristics, social roles, and interests. Because we often feel a strong sense of belonging and emotional connection to our in-groups, we develop in-group bias: a preference for our own group over other groups. This in-group bias can result in prejudice and discrimination because the out-group is perceived as different and is less preferred than our in-group.

The CEO should focus on fostering ongoing dialogue. Conversations must be 2-way and scheduled to occur on a regular basis with members of the leadership team to allow them to follow up on feedback from their staff and give them the support they need to perform their roles effectively. Individualized consideration is where the leader provides a supportive environment to help coach followers through the personal challenges (Manns). Consideration should be given for individual differences among the leadership team in order to provide better coaching experiences and delegate responsibilities more effectively. These discussions allow for concerns to be addressed immediately and a timeline for resolution and accountability to be established. Employees feel more supported by their leaders when leaders are concerned with their personal feelings and needs (Nouri, 678).

The CEO needs to set up and follow a plan of action about what specifically needs to be changed or improved in order to create a higher degree of performance. He should also communicate clearly the timeline in which the team is expected to accomplish these changes. The CEO needs to be more specific when assigning tasks in an effort to guide the leadership team toward more specific goals. These changes would lead to a focus on inspiration, which in turn will lead to higher performance. A transformational leader should have a clear vision of the future that is simple, understandable, and energizing (Manns)

The CEO needs to begin acknowledging problems and concerns from the employees within the organization and address them as quickly as possible in order to not let these issues grow before they can solved and increase the trust that the employees have for the leadership team. Having members of the leadership team on each unit make rounds at least weekly to discuss with staff any concerns that they may have about the organization or their current role and then having the leadership team debrief each other monthly on staff and environmental needs. Transformational leadership is based on having a clear vision of the future that is simple, understandable, and energizing (Manns) This process would follow the transformational leadership theory in that it would allow leaders to have a transparent view of the issues that are important to the employees and allow for the opportunity to quickly form a resolution or a plan for follow-up.

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