The Struggles Of Identity And Belongingness: A Case Study By Hamidi Sheriff

HRM20016 Dynamics of Diversity in Organisations

Case Study questions and answers:

1. Race and ethnicity are almost similar terms but they do have some difference in between. The term race implies the external appearance of a person, which is socially constructed. As per the discussion of (Spencer 2014), the society classifies a person in terms of their skin color and this categorization is what defines individuals. On the other hand, ethnicity implies the characteristics of an individual. It involves the way he speaks, the religious beliefs that he has and even the cultural traits. This term also explains the background, or the traditionalism of the individual (Bolin and Kurtz 2018).
2. The theory of racism can be associated with the case study. Hamidi Sheriff had been considered to be the racial other by both the black as well as the white races. He had been classified as not like the other whites buy the black majority and on the other hand, the whites claimed him to be not like the other blacks. This is the theory of cultural racism, which means that the people judged Hamidi Sheriff on the basis of his skin color, since he was born in America but to a parent who did belong to Zimbabwe.

Another theory which can be associated with this case study is the theory of racial discrimination. The case study clearly reveals instances where the racial minority faces several kinds of discriminations in the workplaces due to their skin color. Racial stereotypes that the entire society has created, judges a person and his talents and characteristics are all dependent upon this stereotypical theories and concepts of the societies (Plaut, Thomas and Hebl 2014). Some races or ethnic groups are always considered to be at the top level of the social hierarchical structure. This is where there comes the inequality between the groups.

1. The challenges that Hamidi Sheriff had to face, along with the other marginalized groups that of discrimination. The society judged them depending upon their skin color, and from the case study it is known that Hamidi had to constantly adjust between the two lives that he used to lead. One at  the school and one at the home. Moreover, these people also face challenges in the recruitment processes in the workplace. They are barred of the equal opportunity that they deserving of. The racial groups are often treated as minorities and are not considered to be a part of the normal social groups (Okechukwu, et.al 2014).

   a). The term intersectionalityimplies the connections between the race and the class, and other categories which actually are the categories of identification of the people. The term also means the different categories of discrimination that overlap one another and prove to be a disadvantage for them (Hancock 2016).

   b). The specific identities that intersect and make people feel vulnerable in the workplace scenario are the color of the skin, their race and also their ethnic background. They are differentiated on the basis of the cultural differences and they also are excluded because of their linguistic backgrounds. Also the psychological and sociological stereotypes of different cultural identities actually make them feel vulnerable of their position. Also in the case of Hamidi, the intersection of two different religion and cultural background are the prime source of feeling vulnerable.

People have no control over their individual identities. They are born from their parents who actually belong to the ethnicities. The people inherit the genetic characteristics from their parents and this actually shapes their identities which they carry forward to the next generation. In the case study, since Hamidi belonged to two different ethnic identities, she had been extremely dicey with her identity and at the end she decided to move to Ethiopia and immerse herself into the family traditions and history because it would provide her with one cultural identity that she can live upon and indentify herself to be.

1. The organizations first need to understand that they should not be categorizing the individuals. Instead they should be recruiting the new candidates on the basis of their talents and their qualifications (Hagelskamp and Hughes 2014). They can also organize various cultural programs so that the people belonging to different ethnic backgrounds can participate in them. This can eventually help in improving the workforce engagement of the people. The people who feel different can be allowed to mingle socially within the organization. Also there can be publishing of the annual organizational magazine in different languages.

References:

Bolin, B. and Kurtz, L.C., 2018. Race, class, ethnicity, and disaster vulnerability. In Handbook of disaster research (pp. 181-203). Springer, Cham.

Hagelskamp, C. and Hughes, D.L., 2014. Workplace discrimination predicting racial/ethnic socialization across African American, Latino, and Chinese families. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 20(4), p.550.

Hancock, A.M., 2016. Intersectionality: An intellectual history. Oxford University Press.

Okechukwu, C.A., Souza, K., Davis, K.D. and De Castro, A.B., 2014. Discrimination, harassment, abuse, and bullying in the workplace: Contribution of workplace injustice to occupational health disparities. American journal of industrial medicine, 57(5), pp.573-586.

Plaut, V.C., Thomas, K.M. and Hebl, M.R., 2014. Race and ethnicity in the workplace: Spotlighting the perspectives of historically stigmatized groups. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 20(4), p.479.

Spencer, S., 2014. Race and ethnicity: Culture, identity and representation. Routledge.