Ethnic Diversity and Creativity in Small Groups

Abstract

There is a growing belief among managers that ethnic diversity, when well managed, can provide organizations with certain competitive advantages. But the belief in this value-inl diversity hypothesis rests largely on anecdotal rather than empirical evidence. Results are reported ofa controlled experimental study that compares the performance on a brainstorm ing task between groups composed of all Anglo-Americans with groups composed ofAnglo-, Asian, African, and Hispanic Americans. The particular brainstorming task used-The Tourist Problem-was chosenfor its relevancefordiversity along the dimension of ethnicity. The ideas produced by the ethnically diverse groups were judged to be of higher quality-more effective andfeasible-than the ideas produced by the homogeneous groups. Members of homogeneous groups reported marginally more attraction to their groups than did members of diverse oroups. Directions for future research with respect to the degree of diversity, the nature of the task, and group process are discussed.

Social Category Diversity Promotes Premeeting Elaboration: The Role of Relationship Focus

“…Research has praised social category diversity's positive benefits for group performance (Antonio et al 2004;McLeod et al 1996;Sommers 2006;Sommers et al 2008), while lamenting its negative impact on interpersonal relationships. Our findings suggest that in decision-making situations, rather than lamenting the relatively lower levels of interpersonal attraction in diverse groups compared to homogeneous groups, we may want to lament the higher levels of interpersonal attraction in homogeneous groups for their detrimental impact on cognition and performance (Phillips and Apfelbaum 2012).…”

Perceived neighborhood ethnic diversity and social outcomes: Context-dependent effects within a postindustrial city undergoing regeneration

“…Finally, involving the community has become a particular focus of neighborhood renewal policy in the UK since the late 1990s (Imrie & Raco, 2003) and, although ethnic diversity is often equated with dynamism and creativity (McLeod, Lobel, & Cox, 1996), there is no evidence available on the association between diversity and empowerment in a community setting. The current Scottish Regeneration Strategy highlights community empowerment as its primary outcome, with benefits in terms of creativity, effectiveness, and democracy (Scottish Government, 2011).…”

Trickling Down: How the upper echelon effect diversity within an organization

“…In fact, the benefits of diversity are now considered to be one of the most important and influential factors for the success of a sport organization. This belief is primarily due to the evidence that it is related to increases in team performance (Cunningham & Sagas, 2004), enhanced creativity (McLeod, Lobel, & Cox, 1996), and a deep satisfaction found among diverse individuals (Jayne & Dipboye, 2004). With the clear potential for such positive effects, many sport organizations have begun to actively recruit diverse members to their organization and to create an atmosphere that celebrates diversity.…”