Reward allocation preferences among Armenian immigrants in the United States: The role of acculturation type and workgroup ethnic composition

The focus of this study was to examine the relationship between the acculturation processes of Armenian immigrants living in Southern California and their preferences for reward allocations, particularly in work settings representing different workgroup ethnic compositions. This project was an effort to expand our understanding of the impact of acculturation in the workplace and on workplace practices, particularly on the rapidly growing number of diversity programs.; A sample of 150 Armenian immigrants (8 Assimilated, 32 Separated, and 109 Bicultural Armenians) living in the United States of America participated in this study. The participants completed a series of questionnaires including: (1) a reward allocation questionnaire which measured reward distribution preferences, (2) the Pan-Acculturation Scale (Soriano, 1999) which identified participants' acculturation type, (3) the Values Scale (Singelis et al., 1995) which assessed the participants' cultural patterns in terms of vertical and horizontal individualism and collectivism, (4) the Group Characteristics Questionnaire (Ferdman & Horenczyk, 2000) which determined the strength of ethnic identity with respect to the Armenian and American cultures, and (5) a demographic questionnaire.; The hypotheses concerning participants' choice of equity-based or equality-based allocation style varying based on acculturation type was not supported. Essentially, Assimilated, Separated, and Bicultural Armenian immigrants did not demonstrate a significant difference in preferences for reward allocations. The hypotheses concerning the interaction between type of acculturation and workgroup ethnic composition in preferences for reward allocations was also not supported in that Bicultural Armenian immigrants did not differ in their reward allocation preferences based on the workgroup ethnic composition. An unexpected finding in the data set was that Separated and Bicultural respondents preferred the Horizontal Individualism (HI) cultural pattern whereas the Assimilated respondents preferred the Horizontal Collectivism (HC) cultural pattern.; The results of this empirical research show preliminary evidence of within-group differences among Armenian immigrants. The results demonstrated that the Vertical Individualism cultural value is significantly related to preferences for equity over equality (r = .31, p < .000). This is an important contribution to cross-cultural psychological literature in that it establishes a connection between cultural values and preferences in reward allocations. In addition, this finding is an important one for employers to take note of. In order to maximize motivating factors, employers must ensure that the rewards will lead to the desired results. To this end, employers must be open to researching and identifying what motivates their employees by diversifying the types of rewards and the manners in which they are distributed.