Diversity and Emotion: The New Frontiers in Organizational Behavior Research

Abstract

This article provides a review of recent developments in two topical areas of research in contemporary organizational behavior: diversity and emotions. In the first section, we trace the history of diversity research, explore the definitions and paradigms used in treatments of diversity, and signal new areas of interest. We conclude that organizational behavior in the Twenty-First Century is evolving to embrace a more eclectic and holistic view of humans at work. In the second section, we turn our attention to recent developments in the study of emotions in organizations. We identify four major topics: mood theory, emotional labor, affective events theory, and emotional intelligence, and argue that developments in the four domains have significant implications for organizational research, and the progression of the study of organizational behavior. As with the study of diversity, the topic of emotions in the workplace is shaping up as one of the principal areas of development in management thought and practice for the next decade. Finally, we discuss in our conclusion how these two areas are being conceptually integrated, and the implications for management scholarship and research in the contemporary world. DIVERSITY AND EMOTION: THE NEW FRONTIERS IN ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR RESEARCHIn this article, we canvass two issues that we believe are both topical and important in organizational behavior: diversity and emotions. We present an analytical review of recent theoretical and empirical developments in these fields, and suggest that integration of these two issues has exciting theoretical and research implications. The first part of our paper deals with diversity. In common with the study of emotions, this area of organizational study underscores how the cognitive-rational paradigms of organizational behavior (e.g. Simon, 1976) are today being challenged. In the first section of our paper, therefore, we trace the history of diversity research, explore the definitions and paradigms used in treatments of it, and signal new areas of interest. In the second section, we direct our attention to discussion of the current and growing interest in the study of emotions in organizational settings. Although interest in emotions in work settings is spread across a broad range of topics, our reading of the trends in this area leads us to the conclusion that four domains areas are especially worthy of attention: mood effects, emotional labor, affective events theory, and emotional intelligence. Why diversity and emotion? As we show below, these are relatively new and still-developing topics in organizational behavior. We argue, however, that modern workplace trends have created an impetus for a focus on these topics. In particular, we identify four trends that, along with their implications, guided our choice to integrate diversity issues and emotions in this article. These are:The trend to globalization. As organizations geographically diversify, and the free movement of labor across national boundaries intensifies, the...

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