The lived experience of stereotyping: A phenomenological study of minority mid- and low-level managers within organizations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to gain understanding of the lived experience of stereotyping amongst minority (African American, Hispanic American, Asian American and etc.) low and mid-level managerial men and women. Stereotyping is defined as a social or contextual experience based in human, group, or individual interaction. Stereotyping; its influences on organizational culture (to include leadership); and organizational member attitudes and morale within organizations were examined. This study builds upon concepts of stereotyping and prejudice, social identity theory, in-group/out-group social comparison theory, and leader/member exchange (LMX) theory. The population studied consisted of individuals who experienced stereotyping in diverse organizational environments and settings. Research was conducted using a non-probability purposive sample of 17 lower and mid-level managers (11 women and 6 men) who experienced stereotyping during their careers or during career development. During the interview process and subsequent data analysis, the principal themes identified and developed from the study were concerned with: awareness of the phenomenon; emotions experienced by the participants; organizational relationships; and credibility through performance. Analysis showed that research participants were keenly aware of stereotyping when it occurred in the organizational environment; that strong emotional responses were the result of stereotyping; relationships in the organizational environment were damaged by stereotyping; stereotyping created a barrier to trust; communication between organizational members was hindered by stereotyping; and dyadic relationships were hindered by persistent individual, supervisory and organizational tendencies toward stereotyping.