African Journal of Business Management pp.

072-076, July 2007

Available online http://www.academicjournals.org/ajbm
ISSN 1993-8233 ©2007 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Critical review of literature on workforce diversity

Ongori Henry and Agolla J. Evans
University of Botswana, Botswana.
Accepted 27, June 2007

Workforce diversity is a primary concern for most of the businesses. Today’s organisations need to
recognise and manage workforce diversity effectively. Many articles have been written on this topic but
there is no specific definition of workforce diversity. The main purpose of this article is to review the
literature of workforce diversity. What is workforce diversity? What are the benefits of workforce
diversity in organisations, what management can do to enhance work force diversity in organisations?
What are the disadvantages of workforce diversity? .This questions would be main purpose of this
article.

Key words: Workforce diversity, disability, old age, human resource management, equal opportunity.

INTRODUCTION

Workforce diversity is a complex phenomenon to manage organizational effectiveness in this competitive world.
in an organisation. The management of workforce diver-
sity as a tool to increase organizational effectiveness
cannot be underscored, especially with current changes Literature review
sweeping across the globe. It is argued that organizations The subject of workforce diversity has not been a major
that value diversity will definitely cultivate success and problem in Africa before as much as it is today. The
have a future in this dynamic global labour market (Jain concept of diversity management gained attention with
and Verma, 1996).Workforce diversity management has globalisation and the need for more organisations to
become an important issue for both governments and spread globally to reach customers across the world.
private organizations. Its importance has mainly been There is an increasing need to understand more about
brought about by the free movement of labour due to workforce diversity, which is deeper than what we see at
globalization and the fight for human rights by certain the surface level. This can give managers an understand-
minority groups who feel excluded from the employment ing as to what can go wrong in a diverse team. The
sector. 1990s saw the development of a new trend in the form of
The workforce diversity emerged mainly to further the workforce diversity mainly because of the liberalization
availability equal opportunities in the workplace. This and globalisation of markets (Jain and Verma, 1996). At
equal opportunity philosophy is aimed at ensuring that the same time the liberalization of economies and struc-
organizations make the most out of the difference from a tural adjustment policies brought about by the Brentwood
diverse workforce rather than losing talent which might institutions opened the doors to free market economies
assist the organization to be more efficient and effective. especially in Africa. These free market economies brou-
The increased mobility and interaction of people from ght in the free movement of labour as a commodity which
diverse backgrounds as a result of improved economic has resulted in the diverse workforce across the conti-
and political systems and the recognition of human rights nent. The privatisation of most of the state-owned enter-
by all nations has put most organizations under pressure prises in sub-Saharan Africa also created an open door
to embrace diversity at the work place. Diversity brings for migration of labour from all over the world.
with it the heterogeneity that needs to be nurtured, culti-
vated and appreciated as means of increasing
Work force diversity defined

Broadly, defined diversity management as the systematic

*Corresponding author. E-mail: ONGORIH@mopipi.ub.bw and planned commitment by the organisations to recruits,
 Ongori and Agolla 073

retain, reward and promote a heterogeneous mix of em- For organizations, this means that their market share,
ployees. Theories and techniques of diversity manage- efficiency, human capital, international competitiveness,
ment have been developed and enthusiastically suppor- and level of innovation will dependant in part upon their
ted by a growing number of chief executives, training ability to effectively manage a diverse workforce both
specialists, diversity consultants and academics (Saji, within and across organizational boundaries (Barker and
2004). Diversity can improve organisational effective- Hartel, 2004; Dass and Parker, 1996; Kandola et al.,
ness. Organisations that develop experience in and repu- 1995, Strauss and Mang, 1999). However, South Africa
tations for managing diversity will likely attract the best and Botswana have depended on migrant labour long
personnel (Carrel et al., 2000). before this liberalisation phenomenon started in Africa. A
Diversity refers to the co-existence of employees from word like “Makwerekwere” referring to Africans of other
various socio-cultural backgrounds within the company. nationalities, “Makola” referring to people of Indian origin
Diversity includes cultural factors such as race, gender, and “Makgoa” referring to white people, which to some is
age, colour, physical ability, ethnicity, etc. The broader considered derogatory and discriminatory is popularly
definition of diversity may include age, national origin, used in South Africa and Botswana to the extent that the
religion, disability, sexual orientation, values, ethnic cul- new South African government has decided to legislate
ture, education, language, lifestyle, beliefs, physical app- against its use by its people. The irony is that even
earance and economic status (Wentling and Palma- Botswana which is not known for discriminatory policies
Rivas, 2000). Diversity requires a type of organizational is a society that is highly discriminatory.
culture in which each employee can pursue his or her Women are a category of people who have faced seri-
career aspirations without being inhibited by gender, ous discrimination from time in memorial. For instance, it
race, nationality, religion, or other factors that are irrele- is no secret that, on average, there is a significant gap
vant to performance (Bryan, 1999). Managing diversity between men's and women's pay cheques. According to
means enabling the diverse workforce to perform its full a 2003 report by the United States Census Bureau, the
potential in an equitable work environment where no one average male worker with a full-time, year-round job ear-
group has an advantage or disadvantage (Torres and ned $54,803 per year, about 32 percent more than his
Bruxelles, 1992). average female counterpart, who brought in $37,123
Diversity has increasingly become a "hot-button" issue (encarta.msn.com, 2004). Locally there are still cases of
in corporate, political, and legal circles. For example, ma- organisations that dismiss women from their jobs once
naging workforce diversity is one of the most difficult and they fall pregnant but the men who impregnate women
pressing challenges of modern organisations. The demo- keep their jobs. Not only women are discriminated again-
graphic differences like sex, age, and were conventional- st in terms of pay, racist abuses are levelled against them
ly related to team level outcomes (Williams and O’Reilly, from all quarters if they belong to the minority groups.
1998). Managers in public and private organisations will Businesses must have a more diverse workforce in or-
have to understand, predict and manage this intriguing der to be more effectively understood and meet the
nature of the diverse workforce. An understanding about needs of a rapidly growing base of minority consumers.
the history of diversity management gives an idea about Individuals and groups need to overcome stereotypes or
the evolution of the interest in a diverse workforce in prejudices and recognise that actual dissilimilar other
organisations. have unique and valuable information that can support
While many organizations have embraced diversity, group processes and performance (Hartel, 2004). Open-
others still consider it merely an issue of compliance with ness to perceived similarity describes the receptivity to
legal requirements. Effective diversity management has perceived dissimilarity of individual, group or organisa-
historically been used to provide a legally defensive posi- tions.
tion; that is, a firm with a diverse workforce could argue
that they were not guilty of discrimination because of the Benefits of managing workforce diversity
prima facie case based on their workforce demographics
representing the demographics of the local community. Managing diversity can create a competitive advantage.
However, in more recent years, the view of diversity has Potential benefits of this diversity include better decision
dramatically changed to a more proactive concept. Many making, higher creativity and innovation, greater success
business leaders are now beginning to believe that in marketing to foreign and domestic ethnic minority com-
diversity has important bottom-line benefits. Diversity in munities, and a better distribution of economic opportu-
the workforce can be a competitive advantage because nity (Cox, 1991; Cox and Blake, 1991). According to one
different viewpoints can facilitate unique and creative study (Watson et al., 1993), culturally diverse groups
approaches to problem-solving, thereby increasing crea- relative to homogeneous groups are more effective both
tivity and innovation, which in turn leads to better organi- in the interaction process and job performance; these
zational performance (Allen et al., 2004). For example, in benefits occur after a diverse group has been together for
Botswana, the society is becoming multicultural due to a period of time. In addition, a number of large compa-
the increasing migrant population and their descendants. nies in Canada such as Petro Canada, Warner Lambert,
074 Afr. J. Bus. Manage.

Bank of Montreal and the Movement des Caisses Desjar- would make workforce diversity a success in any orga-
dins, according to a study by the Conference Board of nisation:
Canada, have recognized the competetive advantage in The organization should assign this work to a senior
diversity (Taylor, 1995).Research indicates that greater manager (Jackson et al., 1992). The organization should
diversity can create higher levels of dissatisfaction and link concerns for diversity to human resource manage-
turnover (Miliken and Martins, 1996). Maintaining diver- ment decisions around recruitment, selection, placement,
sity in organitions may be important, however, for create- succession planning, performance management, and
vity, and for improveing representation and access to rewards (Cascio, 1998).
power in view of the demographic changes in the work- The organization should create such a working environ-
force and equal opportunity, employment equity/affirma- ment as will increase the motivation, satisfaction, and
tive action, and human rights legislation. commitment of diverse people.
Organizations with a diverse workforce can provide Performance standards must be clearly and objectively
superior services because they can better understand established, effectively communicated, and used on obj-
customers’ needs (Wentling and Palma-Rivas, 2000). ective criteria without any bias. Identify desirable and
Hiring women, minorities, disabled, etc. will help organi- undesirable behaviors that must be based upon perfor-
zations to tap these niche markets (Mueller, 1998) and mance feedback discussions involving a diverse work-
diversified market segments (Fleury, 1999). As all the force.
segments of society have a stake in the development and The strategy (diversity or otherwise) must be based on
prosperity of society as a whole, creating and managing a the will of the human resources, strength, and culture of
diverse workforce should be seen as a social and moral the organization (Hayes, 1999). Managers must unders-
imperative (Mueller, 1998). tand their firm’s culture first and then implement diversity
As the economies are shifting from manufacturing to strategies according to that culture (Hayes, 1999).
service economies, diversity issues will gain importance Training and development programs will improve the
because in a service economy effective interactions and skills in dealing with the day to day diversity dilemmas.
communications between people are essential to busi- This will help managers to be aware on how power rela-
ness success (Wentling and Palma-Rivas, 2000). tions impact on stereotypes of groups and on percep-
As globalization is increasing, diversity will help organiza- tions of individuals and the expectations.
tions to enter the international arena (Cascio, 1998). Communicating intercultural’ it will aid in managing a
Diversity enhances creativity and innovation (Adler, 1997; diverse workforce. An individual will be able to under-
Jackson et al., 1992), and produces competitive advanta- stand how cultural and ethnic differences shape the con-
ges (Coleman, 2002; Jackson et al., 1992). Diverse flict process and coming up with conflict resolution strate-
teams make it possible to enhance flexibility (Fleury, gies. There will be able to negotiate outcomes with cultu-
1999) and rapid response and adaptation to change (Ad- ral differences in mind.
ler, 1997; Jackson et al., 1992). Mentoring programs, involvement of experienced advi-
Address legal concerns; generally legislation is to pro- sors and helps others for a period of years. This mentor
mote gender equality therefore managing a diverse work- should be able to advise employees on the whole con-
force helps in addressing concerns against discrimination cept of workforce diversity and the reasons why diversity
illegal in the working situation so as to improve human should be managed in the workplace.
rights. For example women rights in the area of preg- Assessment of ones beliefs about work values, being
nancy and maternity. And this in turn helps to promote able to identify work values of others from different cul-
fair opportunities in the field of employment and voca- tural backgrounds and examination of the leadership ass-
tional training. umptions from a multicultural perspective.
Enrich an organizational human capital; managing a Creation of the support system, to reduce isolation and
diverse workforce entails a minimization of cloning that is discrimination. This can be done through the encourage-
preventing the production of an exact copy in selection ment of a formal system and informal networks.
and promotion. This leads to a wider range of ideas and Language competence, lack of language skills in multi-
abilities, offering greater scope for innovation and com- cultural environments is a significant barrier to building a
petitive performance in the future therefore enriching an multicultural organization.
organizations human capital. The rationale for diversity training programmes is often
misunderstood at all levels. So it is important to first com-
municate what diversity is and what the organisation
How to manage a diverse workforce in organisation hopes to achieve by managing it more effectively
(Bagshaw, 2004).
Companies can succeed at diversity if the initiative to Present a clear business case for diversity initiatives
create, manage and value the diverse workforce has the and link with changing demographics and social changes.
full support of the top management (Hayes, 1999; Jack- This gives diversity a context that enhances understand-
son et al., 1992). The following are the conditions which ding (Bagshaw, 2004).
 Ongori and Agolla 075

Capitalise on the existing diversity within your organisa- cans in the US workforce is 40 percent greater than whi-
tion by ensuring that you include both senior and line tes. Another study by Corning Glass stated that between
managers on your diversity training courses as well as the years 1980 - 1987, the turnover rate for women in a
employees from different functions and departments professional job was two times higher than males.
(Bagshaw, 2004). Women also have a 58 percent higher absentee rate than
Ask participants for examples from their own exp- men. Yet, another study shows that a person, who is not
erience where they have not been treated fairly or with a member of the “inner group”, will be one of the first to
mutual respect. This helps to personalise the programme leave a company (White, 1999). Some research contra-
so people see that diversity is a concept with something dicts the idea that flextime reduces these rates; however
in it for them. absenteeism and turnover can cost a company up to and
And finally the diversity training, this would create the over $3 million annually (White, 1999).. Workforce diver-
awareness of what the concept of workforce diversity is sity, increases labour turnover and absenteeism in orga-
and the provision of certain information needed to create nisations.
behaviour changes that are required to effectively man- Mismanaged diversity can have long-reaching effects
age and work within a diverse workforce. on employee satisfaction and productivity. Employees
who perceive themselves as valued members of their
organization are harder working, involved, and innova-
Disadvantages of workforce diversity in the tive. Unfortunately, minority-group members often feel
workplace less valued than do majority-group members due to
stereotyping, ethnocentrism, and prejudice. Mismanage-
Diversity of the workforce in organizations has its benefits ment of diversity in the form of denied access or unfa-
but below are few disadvantages of workforce diversity. vorable treatment can have negative consequences,
Many people feel threatened by working with people of a such as inhibiting workers' abilities and motivation. This
different age, sex, or culture. leads to lower job performance. Therefore, when an orga-
First, there is an increase in the cost of training. This nization ignores the existence and importance of work-
increase comes from costs associated with seminars, force diversity, conflict can emerge and neither the corpo-
programs and lectures given to promote diversity in the ration nor its employees will realize their potential (Goetz,
corporation. These types of training are given to all levels 2001).
of staff within the organization. They teach employees
how to accept the personalities and ideas or thoughts of
others. These programs also teach one how to deal with Conclusion
conflicts and prejudice in a professional and civil manner The extent to which managers recognize diversity and its
(White, 1999). potential advantages and disadvantages defines an
A disadvantage of diversity in the workplace is an incr- organization’s approach to managing the diversity (Adler,
ease in conflicts. Conflicts arise when two or more indivi- 1997). No organisation in this world of globalisation would
duals or groups do not see eye to eye on a particular survive without workforce diversity. It is the duty of the
situation. In regard to diversity, conflicts arise largely due management to critically evaluate the benefits of work-
to ignorance. Prejudice feelings or derogatory comments force diversity in their organisation. On the other hand the
cause a lack of acceptance. “This can produce negative management should put in place conditions which would
dynamics such as ethnocentrism, stereotyping and cul- enhance the workforce diversity in their organizations,
ture clashes” (White, 1999). The most common conflict more especially in their strategies formulation on the di-
comes from one feeling superior. If management ignores versity of the workforce. Hence, with the diversity of the
such conflicts, the company's performance may suffer workforce, the organisation would be internally and exter-
(White, 1999). If conflicts can be managed and controlled nally competitive. Although, the process of diversification
creativity and performance can be increased. Employers of organizations has six stages: denial; recognition; acc-
will work harder to gain acceptance by creating a solution eptance; appreciation; valuing; and utilization (Porras,
or invention first. This can be the case when managers 1991). It is believed that organizations should put in place
reconcile competing goals, promote in a representative strategies to enhance workforce diversity. In terms of
manner, stand behind the minority group member, and organizational learning, organizations are still stuck on
act when resources are plentiful and cultural differences the problem of getting people to value diversity and have
are low or well understood (White, 1999). Conflicts al- not yet determined ways to utilize and exploit it (Porras,
ways arise wherever they are human beings’ but they 1991). It is the approach to diversity, not the diversity
should be managed properly for the benefit of the organi- itself which determines the actual positive and negative
zation. outcomes (Adler, 1997). Managing diversity in organiza-
Increases in labour turnover and absenteeism are ano- tions is absolutely dependent upon the acceptance of
ther disadvantage in having a diverse workplace. Res- some primary objectives to which employees are willing
earch has shown that the turnover rate for African Ameri- to commit, such as the survival of the firm (Gentile,
076 Afr. J. Bus. Manage.

1994). In today's fast-paced work environment a suc- Lawrence P (2001). “Diversity in action news”, available at:
www.tc.faa.gov/employee-prg/ diversity/20.htm (accessed December
cessful organization is one where diversity is the norm
8, 2003).
and not the exception (Lawrence, 2001). Mike Bagshaw (2004) is diversity divisive?. Journal of industrial and
commercial training, 36(4): pp.153-157
Strauss, Mang (1999). Cukture Shocks in inter-cultural service
REFERENCES encounters? Journal of Services Marketing,123, (4/5): pp. 329-346.
Taylor CL (1995). Dimensions of Diversity in Canadian Business:
Allen R, Dawson G, Wheatley K, White,CS (2004). Diversity Practices: Building a Business Case for Valuing Ethno cultural Diversity, the
Learning Responses for Modern Organisation, Development and Conference Board of Canada, Ottawa, and August
Learning in Organisations: An Int. J. 18 (6): pp.13-15. Torres C, Bruxelles M (1992). "Capitalizing on global diversity", HR
Barker S, Hartel CEJ (2004). Intercultural service encounter: An Magazine. pp.30-3.
exploratory study of customer experiences, Cross-cultural Watson WE, Kumar K, Michaelsen L (1993). "Cultural diversity’s impact
Management: An Int. J. 11 (1): pp.3-14. on interaction process and performance: comparing homogeneous
Bryan JH (1999). "The diversity imperative", Executive Excellence, pp.6. and diverse task groups", Academy of Management Journal, 36 (3).
Cox T, Jr Blake S (1991). "Managing cultural diversity: implications for pp. 590-602.
organizational competitiveness", The Academy of Management Wentling RM, Palma-Rivas N (2000). "Current status of diversity
Executive, August.,. initiatives in selected multinational corporations", Human Resource
Cox T, Junior (1991). "The multicultural organization", The Academy of Development Quarterly, 11 (1). pp.35-60.
Management Executive, May. White RD (1999). “Managing the diverse organization: the imperative for
Cascio WF (1998). Managing Human Resources – Productivity, Quality a new multicultural paradigm”, available at:
of Work Life, Profits, McGraw-Hill, and Boston, MA. www.pamij.com/99_4_4_white.htm (accessed November 14, 2003).
Dass P, Parker B (1996). ‘Diversity: A strategic issue’, in Managing
Diversity: Human Resource Strategies for Transforming the
Workplace, EE Kossek, SA Lobel (eds),Massachusetts, pp.365-391.
Goetz (2001), “Workforce diversity”, available at:
http://academic.emporia.edu/smithwil/001fmg456/eja/goetz.html
(accessed December 8, 2003),
Hartel EJ (2004) Towards a Multicultural World: Identifying Work
Systems, Practices and Employee Attitudes that Embrace Diversity,
Journal of Australian management, 29 (2): pp.189-200.
Hayes E (1999)."Winning at diversity", Executive Excellence p. 9.
Kandola R, Fullerton J, Ahmed Y, (1995) Managing diversity:
succeeding where equal opportunities has failed, Equal Opportunities
Review, 59: 31-36.
Jackson BW, La Fasto F, Schultz HG, Kelly D (1992). "Diversity",
Human Resource Management, 31 (1,2): pp.21-34.
Kundu, SC (2001)."Valuing cultural diversity: a study of employees’
reactions to employer efforts to value diversity in India", Proceedings
of the 7th Asia-Pacific Management Conference – The Great Asia in
21st Century, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and
National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC, (2): pp.635-
46.