As a Human Resource Manager I would provide Bob Wilson of Wilson Brother’s Limited with the following information around stereotyping in the organization. Stereotypes, discrimination and prejudice are similar concepts that are grouped together however each have their own specific characteristics and meanings. Stereotypes are regarded as the most cognitive component and often occurs without conscious awareness, whereas prejudice is the affective component of stereotyping and discrimination is one of the behavioral components of prejudicial reactions (Wikipedia). The textbook definition of stereotyping is the process of assigning traits to people based on their membership in a social category. Stereotypes tend to be mutual beliefs across society and even several cultures instead of the shared philosophies differing from one person to the next. (McShane, Steen and Tasa p. 65). People are often oblivious to their own stereotypical opinions and engross in such sentiments for three common reasons. First, is that it simplifies our understanding of the world, second is that we have an inherent need to understand and anticipate how others will behave and third, it is motivated by the individuals own social identity (McShane et al., p. 66).
Stereotyping has both advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include (as outlined in the website article Pros and Cons of Stereotyping):
• It is a simple way of organizing and remembering information about other people
• It reduces the amount of cognitive effort we need to make
• It enables us to respond quickly and appropriately when we meet new people It helps us to interpret ambiguous information about someone else
• It provides us with a sense of belonging to a group, because of our shared beliefs about people in other groups.

However, stereotyping also has many disadvantages (as outlined in the website article Pros and Cons of Stereotyping):
• It leads us to make assumptions about other people when we know very little about them
• It encourages us to make mistakes when given ambiguous information
• It affects what we remember and forget about other people
• It leads us to view members of outgroups in a negative way, leading to prejudice and discrimination
• It may be very persistent if encouraged in young children.

Additionally, stereotypes can affect the workplace environment in that it can cause individuals to treat certain people or groups of people based on pre-conceived notions leading to a discriminatory work environment. This contributes to low morale in that the employees facing constant criticisms can lose motivation and interest in performing their duties as a result of a toxic work environment (Kokemuller). Additionally, stereotypes perpetuate “bad working relationships” such as preventing an employee from asking for support in teamwork situations. For example a male may not ask a female for assistance if he believes that she does not have the capability of producing what he requires. Moreover, stereotyping can lead to abuse and/or mistreatment of staff through racist comments, derogatory remarks and other verbally abusive words and/or behaviours Interestingly, diversity consultants have identified several situations to help identify when there is cultural stereotyping in the workplace. For example, there may be high turnover, absenteeism and poor performance, that may be indicators of stress (Chinn). In these situations, leadership is key in addressing attitudes and setting behaviour standards through words and actions and policies and procedures (Chinn). Stereotypical behaviour needs to be identified as unacceptable and subject to disciplinary action.