Author Archives: 25003

Abstract
Due to globalization, interactions at work increasingly occur in an intercultural context. When members of different cultures meet at work, conflicts are not only more likely to occur, so is the chance that the way conflict partners respond to conflict will lead to incongruences. This encyclopedia entry presents an overview of cultural dimensions which have been identified as influencing negotiation strategies. Moreover, it discusses a number of social and psychological processes that are at play when conflict occurs between members of different cultural groups. The entry ends with some practical implications.

Reference
Van der Zee, K.I. & Hofhuis, J. (2018). Conflict Management Styles across Cultures. In: Kim, Y.Y. (Ed.) International Encyclopedia of Intercultural Communication. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons. Doi: 10.1002/9781118783665.ieicc0242

Elke derde dinsdagavond van de maand komt een wetenschapper op bezoek in de Meevaart in Amsterdam Oost, die in gewone taal een bekend onderwerp bespreekt. De achttiende lezing vindt plaats op dinsdag 19 september om 19.30 uur door dr. Joep Hofhuis, Universitair Docent Interculturele Communicatie in Organisaties aan de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam.

Titel: Kleurenblind diversiteitsbeleid, bestaat dat wel?

“Wij kijken niet naar iemands achtergrond, enkel naar kwaliteiten.”
“Geslacht, huidskleur, of leeftijd doen er niet toe, bij ons wordt iedereen beoordeeld op zijn prestaties.”

Dit soort uitspraken zien we de laatste jaren overal terug. In het bedrijfsleven, in de publieke sector en in de politiek wordt steeds vaker ingezet op ‘kleurenblind’ diversiteitsbeleid. De gedachte erachter is dat als we iedereen gelijk behandelen, dat iedereen ook gelijke kansen heeft. Maar klopt die aanname wel? En voor wie is dit beleid nu eigenlijk het meest gunstig? Aan de hand van bevindingen uit wetenschappelijk onderzoek bespreken we de voors en tegens van kleurenblind denken op de werkvloer.

This november, I will be a visiting scholar at the ISCTE University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL), Portugal. Aside from engaging in research, I will teach a course on Intercultural Contact and Communication, together with my colleagues Rita Guerra and Kinga Bierwiaczonek. The scholarship is funded through an Erasmus Mundus Scholar Mobility Grant, as part of the Global-MINDS European Master in the Psychology of Global Mobility, Inclusion and Diversity in Society.

Starting in August 2016, I will be switching to the Erasmus University Rotterdam, specifically the Erasmus School for History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC), where I will work as Assistant Professor in Intercultural and Organizational Communication.

I will be teaching courses on research methods and communication in organizations, as well as designing my own seminar on Intercultural Communication in the Workplace. I will also continue my ongoing research in these areas. I am very much looking forward to collaborating with my new colleagues in Rotterdam.

Diversity climate enhances work outcomes through trust and openness in workgroup communication.
Joep Hofhuis, Pernill van der Rijt, Martijn Vlug

Abstract
Diversity climate, defined as an organizational climate characterized by openness towards and appreciation of individual differences, has been shown to enhance outcomes in culturally diverse teams. To date, it remains unclear which processes are responsible for these findings. This paper presents two quantitative studies (n = 91; 246) that identify trust and openness in workgroup communication as possible mediators. We replicate earlier findings that perceived diversity climate positively relates to job satisfaction, sense of inclusion, work group identification and knowledge sharing in teams. In study 1, trust is shown to mediate the effects of perceived diversity climate on team members’ sense of inclusion. In study 2, trust mediates the relationship between perceived diversity climate and workgroup identification and openness mediates its relationship with knowledge sharing.

Reference
Hofhuis, J., Van der Rijt, P.G.A., & Vlug, M. (2016). Diversity climate enhances work outcomes through trust and openness in workgroup communication. SpringerPlus, 5(714), p. 1-14. doi: 10.1186/s40064-016-2499-4

Samen met collega’s bij de Hogeschool Windesheim heb ik een bijdrage geleverd aan het Handboek ‘Werken in de Wijk’, gericht op interprofessioneel samenwerken tussen zorg- en welzijnsprofessionals, toegespitst op ouderenzorg.

Het boek is verkrijgbaar via SWP Publishers.

Als gevolg van de transities in de sector zorg en welzijn zien we in Nederland een toename van het aantal interprofessionele samenwerkingsverbanden op wijkniveau. Denk bijvoorbeeld aan sociale wijkteams, waarbinnen professionals met verschillende disciplines met elkaar samenwerken om tegemoet te komen aan de zorg- en welzijnsbehoefte van burgers. De vraag blijft: welke factoren dragen bij aan het succes van dergelijke teams?

Dit rapport beschrijft een kwantitatief onderzoek onder Nederlandse zorg- en welzijnsprofessionals in interprofessionele wijkteams. Het geeft antwoord op de vraag welke teameigenschappen en -processen samenhangen met effectiviteit van deze teams.

Lees verder

Hofhuis, J., Mensen, M., Ten Den, L., Van den Berg, A., Koopman-Draijer, M., Smits, C., & De Vries, S. (2015). Succesfactoren voor Interprofessioneel Samenwerken in de Wijk. Een kwantitatief onderzoek onder Nederlandse zorg- en welzijnsprofessionals. Zwolle: Hogeschool Windesheim

Abstract
Although many strategies have been employed to specifically recruit and select minority employees, the selection rates for designated minority groups are often lower than those for the majority group. Minority candidates with high cultural maintenance (CM) are particularly vulnerable to cultural bias in selection procedures, a process which has proved difficult to change. This paper aims to examine whether these effects may be moderated by recruiters’ perceived diversity outcomes; whether they view diversity as beneficial or threatening to the organization’s performance. In an experimental study, participants belonging to a cultural majority group played the role of recruiters (n = 99). Their diversity perceptions were manipulated by asking them to think about, and discuss, either positive or negative outcomes of cultural diversity in the workplace. They were then asked to rate fictional profiles of minority candidates for a job opening. The results confirm that CM of minority candidates has a negative main effect on the ratings they receive in assessment procedures. However, as predicted, this effect is moderated by diversity perceptions. Recruiters who perceive individual differences in the workplace as positive and beneficial, give higher ratings to candidates who maintain their own culture. This provides a promising insight in possible ways to reduce cultural bias in selection procedures.

Reference
Hofhuis, J., Van der Zee, K.I., & Otten, S. (in press). Dealing with differences: the impact of perceived diversity outcomes on selection and assessment of minority employees. International Journal of Human Resource Management. doi: 10.1080/09585192.2015.1072100

Voor HRM-medewerkers in zorg- of welzijnsorganisaties zijn het interessante tijden. Door de aanstaande transities in de sector dienen zich veel boeiende nieuwe vraagstukken aan die om een oplossing vragen. Veel zorg- en welzijnsprofessionals zullen deel uit gaan maken van interdisciplinaire netwerken op wijkniveau, waarbij de burger centraal komt te staan. Hoe deze samenwerkingsverbanden het beste kunnen worden georganiseerd blijft tot op heden onduidelijk. Ook worstelen veel organisaties met de vraag hoe zij hun strategisch HRM-beleid kunnen aanpassen aan de nieuwe situatie.

Op basis van een exploratief onderzoek onder professionals, managers en bestuurders biedt dit artikel een overzicht van gesignaleerde spanningsvelden en thema’s waarop HRM in de nabije toekomst keuzes zal moeten maken. Dit overzicht kan houvast bieden bij de herinrichting van organisatiestructuren en -processen.

Lees verder

Ten Den, L.M., Hofhuis, J., & De Vries, S. (2015). Het roer moet om in het HRM van zorg en welzijn. Zwolle: Hogeschool Windesheim, Lectoraat Sociale Innovatie en Verscheidenheid

Abstract

Purpose
– Cultural minority employees often display higher rates of voluntary turnover than majority employees, which reduces organizations’ ability to benefit from diversity in the workplace. The purpose of this paper is to identify specific job domains which are responsible for this difference.

Design/methodology/approach
– Study 1 compares actual turnover motives of voluntarily resigned minority and majority employees, based on seven job domains. Study 2 compares satisfaction with the same domains, and the subsequent relationship with turnover intentions, of remaining employees within the same organization.

Findings
– The two studies provided consistent results, revealing that minority employees experience more negative social interactions in the workplace, and experience less opportunities for career advancement. Both factors are shown to be more predictive of turnover intentions as well as actual turnover decisions among minority employees.

Research limitations/implications
– This research makes use of a distinction between several broad job domains, two which are shown to predict turnover of minority employees. Future studies should focus on uncovering more specific factors involved in these two particular domains.

Practical implications
– Based on the results, the authors advise organizations to pay specific attention to reducing negative social interactions between cultural groups and fostering inclusion, for example, through interventions aimed at intercultural leadership and establishing a strong diversity climate. These activities may also support career advancement of minority employees, but more specific interventions aimed at equality in career perspectives could also help reduce minority turnover.

Originality/value
– This paper is the first to directly compare turnover motives and predictors of turnover intentions between majority and minority groups in the same organization.

Reference

Hofhuis, J., Van der Zee, K.I., & Otten, S. (2014). Comparing antecedents of voluntary job turnover among majority and minority employees. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, 33 (8), 735-749. doi: 10.1108/EDI-09-2013-0071