An Investigation Into The Impact Of Workforce Diversity Management On Employee Performance

An Investigation Into The Impact Of Workforce Diversity Management On Employee Performance
Abstract
The purpose of this Study is an investigation into the impact of workforce diversity management on employee performance. The survey research design method was adopted for the paper. The instrument used to gather relevant data for the study was the questionnaire. The study centred on the Nigerian Banking Sector to examine the level of diversity practiced in terms of gender, age, ethnicity and educational in Nigerian Organizations. First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Ota, Ogun State was the focal organization. A total of 81 copies of questionnaire were disseminated to the respondents of the study and they were all filled and returned and also relevant for the study. In order to attain the research objectives, hypotheses were created. The data were collated and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) percentages and frequencies tables were used to for the descriptive aspects. To test the hypotheses, Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient Analysis was adopted, Regression Model, Anova were adopted to examine the relationship between variables and identify the influence of the independent variables on the dependent variable. The limitation to the study is that the study made use of only few aspects of workforce diversity and as such, findings can not be generalized to cover other dimensions of diversity not covered in the study. The research findings showed all aspects of workforce diversity used in the study has a significant relationship with employee performance except for ethnic diversity. It was also discovered that gender, age and educational diversity have strong influence on employee performance. Hence, based on findings, it is recommended that management continue to uphold its diversity policies and practices in order to increase the benefits of diversity. Management should ensure that all employees are properly trained on diversity issues as these trainings will also help employees to change those unconscious behaviours that hinder diversity and inclusion practices. This study will add to the already existing literature on diversity and it will help First Bank, other organizations, employees, government and the society as a whole to fully understand diversity issues, how to manage it and how to reap the benefits.
Table of Content
- Title Page
- Certification
- Dedication
- Acknowledgement
- Table of Content
- List of Tables
- Abstract
Chapter One:
Introduction
- 1.1 Background of the Study
- 1.2 Statement of the Problem
- 1.3 Objective of the Study
- 1.4 Research Questions
- 1.5 Research Hypothesis
- 1.6 Significance of the Study
- 1.7 Scope of the Study
- 1.8 Limitation of the Study
- 1.9 Definition of Terms
- 1.10 Organisations of the Study
Chapter Two:
Review of Literature
- 2.1 Conceptual Framework
- 2.2 Theoretical Framework
- 2.3 Empirical Review
Chapter Three:
Research Methodology
- 3.1 Research Design
- 3.2 Population of the Study
- 3.3 Sample Size Determination
- 3.4 Sample Size Selection Technique and Procedure
- 3.5 Research Instrument and Administration
- 3.6 Method of Data Collection
- 3.7 Method of Data Analysis
- 3.8 Validity of the Study
- 3.9 Reliability of the Study
- 3.10 Ethical Consideration
Chapter Four:
Data Presentation and Analysis
- 4.1 Data Presentation
- 4.2 Analysis of Data
- 4.3 Answering Research Questions
- 4.4 Test of Hypotheses
Chapter Five:
Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation
- 5.1 Summary
- 5.2 Conclusion
- 5.3 Recommendation
- References
- APPENDIX
- QUESTIONNAIRE
Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 Background to the Study
The world’s increasing globalization needs a lot of interaction among people from various backgrounds than ever before. This is so because, individuals no longer live and work in narrow surroundings; as they are currently a part of a worldwide economy competing in nearly all part of the world (Patel, 2016). On these grounds, organizations are aiming to become more diversified in order to gain competitive advantage by becoming more creative, innovative and open to useful change.
Today business workplace is changing at an increased speed and the change in the employees’ demographics, increase of jobs in the economy, continuing growth of the globalization and requirement for efficient and effective collaboration have surfaced as significant forces driving the importance of diversity in organizations. With the increase of globalization and competition, the workforce in all industrialized countries has become progressively heterogeneous. Advances in technology and the advent of a worldwide economy have brought the people of the world existing in the same place, nearer to each other. Griffin & Moorhead (2014) pointed out that having a diverse workforce requires managers to identify and manage the varied attribute that exist among the employees in the organization. Therefore, businesses, educational systems and other entities are investigating ways to better serve their constituents to attract and retain the finest and most qualified employees (Gupta, 2013). On these grounds, organizations are aiming to become more diversified in order to gain competitive advantage by becoming more creative, innovative and open to useful change.
Workforce diversity refers to those significant differences and similarities that are present among employees within an organization (Griffin & Moorhead, 2014). Nwinami (2014) said it represent those uniqueness which includes; an individuals personality, age, gender, ethnicity/race, religion, marital status, income, the work experience and all those views which supposes and sustains an organizations core values. It also means those organizations that are turning out to be more varied with respect to it workforce composition based on characteristics as age, ethnicity, expertise, etc. (Robbins & Judge, 2013).
Human resource is an important asset for any organization, and as such, having a diversified workforce is a primary concern for most organizations. Although, it has become necessary for organizations to employ a diversified workforce, at the same time, it has become quite challenging for organizations with increasing diversified workforce to reap the benefits of diversity while managing its potentially disruptive effects (Kreitz, 2008) (Kreitz, 2008; Saxena, 2014).
Organizations have recognized the fact that it is through the collective effort of its diversified workforce that monetary resources are harnessed to achieve organizational goals.
For organizations to reach its goals, the skills, knowledge, attitude and efforts of its workforce have to sharpened occasionally to optimize the effectiveness of its workforce and to enable them to meet greater challenges. Organizations are made up of individuals and without the workforce, organizations cannot achieve its goals (Mullins, 2010). For this reason, the management of its human resources is also a a crucial issue for organizational leaders (Saxena, 2014).
To be successful, it is imperative that organizational leaders understand just how the social work environment have an effect on the employees’ beliefs about work and they must have effective communication skills to be able to develop the self esteem and confidence in all its members (Griffin & Moorhead, 2014). Hence, to achieve and maintain competitive advantage over competitors, managers must be able to draw from the most valuable resources i.e. the competencies of its workers. Based on the growing richness of diversity in the world and in the workforce, managers have to spread out their outlook and use innovative approaches to achieve success.
1.1 Statement of the Problem
The work environment is becoming more complex due to globalization and competition which as a result has necessitated the need for a workforce that is made up of people with varying age, experience, knowledge and backgrounds to maximize competitive advantage (Ragins & Gonzalez, 2003). According to Childs (2005) organizations that wants to gain competitive advantage must widen its perspective about workforce diversity and diversity management, and the management must commit themselves to ensure that diversity management is a part of it daily operations.
Nigeria is known to be the giant of Africa with a population of over 180 million people and more than half the population consists of people of working age (Akinnusi, Sonubi, & Oyewunmi, 2017). Hence, there is a large pool of talent of which organizations draw from to achieve its goals. To manage the workforce, managers have created diversity policies that are in line with the a Labour Act and other laws that have in put in place to protect all kinds of employees from discrimination because of his/ her social categorization (Ugwuzor, 2011). However, Foma (2014) opined that some organizations in a bit escape lawsuit or other legal actions and to also put on a public show that makes them gain good corporate image, they pretend to embrace diversity rather than show a genuine desire for it by demonstrating true commitment to the principles of diversity and inclusion.
As Ugwuzor (2011) citing Mustapha (2005) pointed out, in Nigeria, there appear to still be cases of tribalism, regional identities, nepotism and discrimination both in the public and private organizations. Cases of ethnic bias and other forms of discrimination still take places in organizations during hiring, promotion and other employer-employee relation practices. Hence, managements are faced with the big challenge of managing its diverse workforce and the challenge of making sure that conflict of interest in policies and practice implementation are minimized (Akinnusi, Sonubi, & Oyewunmi, 2017).
Though some organizations train their new intake upon hiring on job related issues yet, individuals still take decisions and showcase attitudes and bahaviour that go against diversity principles. One reason could be that with diversity practices, employees enter into an environment that compels everyone to work together with other workers that are dissimilar to them. This kind of forced inclusion can create an environment of conflict amongst employees, discrimination and other challenges of diversity.
Nwinami (2014) said so long as individuals with differences work in the same environment, diversity in the workplace will always be an issue. Though our individual differences can promote creativity and increase satisfaction at work nonetheless, it can be the root of conflict and frustration betweens groups (Mullins, 2010). Hence, some organizations leaders have failed to understand how the workforce interacts with one another as individuals and as groups, and how the behaviour of the workforce can affect both employee and organizational performance (Ugwuzor, 2011). Performance is affected when managers fail to understand diversity and are not skilled enough to manage issues of diversity (Assefa, 2014). Another problem is the issue of organizations still depending on the old programs that they have been using over the years to manage the present issues of workforce diversity, minimize bias and increase diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It is important for management to know that the diversity plan that works or is encouraged by one organization may not work in another as it may be challenged by the hierarchical structure that is present in such organization. For this reason, some organizational leaders lack the knowledge on how to effectively management diversity, create an inclusive environment and what strategies to employ to assist them in dealing with issues of diversity in the organization.
From the web search on workforce diversity, it was discovered that only very few researches on workforce diversity and its relative effect have been conducted in Africa precisely Nigeria. Some that exist, focused more on diversity effect on organizational performance or productivity, not so much have been done to inspect the relationship and effect of workforce diversity and employees’ performance which in turn improves the entire organizational performance. Few of such studies that exist, have failed to deliver detailed examination of what workforce diversity is. Nigeria just like most countries of the world is diverse in its population content (e.g. people) and the people are ethnically or culturally diverse. Not only ethnically diverse, it is also characterized by other aspects of diversity which are even evident in organizations (e.g. age, gender, educational background etc.) Therefore, this study seek to add to already existing literature on workforce diversity by examining empirically and theoretically concept of workforce diversity in terms of age, gender, ethnicity and educational background and its relationship with employee performance (effectiveness and efficiency).
1.3 Research Objectives
The general objective of this study was an investigation into the impact of workforce diversity management on employee performance. The specific objectives of this study are to:
- To examine the relationship between gender diversity and employee effectiveness in organization.
- To investigate the relationship between age diversity and employee effectiveness in organization.
- To examine the relationship between ethnic diversity and employee efficiency in organization.
1.4 Research Questions
- Is there any significant relationship between gender diversity and employee effectiveness?
- Is there any significant relationship between age diversity and employee effectiveness?
- Is there any significant relationship between ethnic diversity and employee efficiency?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
Hypothesis 1:
- Ho: There is no significant relationship between gender diversity and employee effectiveness.
- H1: There is a significant relationship between gender diversity and employee effectiveness
Hypothesis 2:
- Ho: There is no significant relationship between age diversity and employee effectiveness.
- H1: There is a significant relationship between age diversity and employee effectiveness
1.6 Significance of the Study
The aim of this study was to examine the effect of workforce diversity on employee performance by investigating the correlation between workforce diversity and employee performance in an organization.
Workforce diversity is a significant topic for government, organizations and the society (Akinnusi, Sonubi, & Oyewunmi, 2017). First and foremost, the findings of this study will add to existing knowledge that will aid in understanding of the workforce diversity in general and its relevance to employee performance, which in turn leads to organizational performance and it will be essential to organizations that are equipped with diversified workforce.
- To researchers and academicians, the study will serve as a reference to other researchers who intend to conduct similar or related studies on workforce diversity in the future as it will provide reliable insight that are useful for educational purposes. This study has also provided information that could form the basis for future research.
- To employers and management of organizations, this study has provided in-depth knowledge explaining how workforce diversity has an effect on performance. The study provides key information in terms of recommendations and suggestions that will be useful in improving the general policies and practices of workforce diversity management in organizations. It provides information that will help organizational leaders to be able to make out solid strategies and best practices for hiring or recruiting, developing, retaining, engaging and motivating a high performing diversified workforce. This study is also beneficial to organizations striving to create a culture that is inclusive rather than exclusive. Also, multinational organizations will also understand the need for diversity management so as to manage its workforce across the globe and also understand the social structures (i.e. the religion, language, etc.) of the country where it is operating.
- To Employees: This study will help the employees to accept and respect the unique diversity of follow colleagues who are not only similar to them but also those who are dissimilar. It will help them to realize that working together can help improve their performance.
- To Government: Diversity management is a vital topic for a country like Nigeria that is so culturally diverse. This study will help the government in its quest to manage the diversity of its population across regions. It will awaken the government to look into the issue of diversity and ensure the laws that suppose diversity are obeyed by every organization. This study will help the government to fully embrace the richness of our diversity and harness the benefits that comes from it.
- To Society: Nigeria as a country is rich in ethnic diversity. This study will be an eye opener to our society as it will help people to begin to see diversity as a blessing rather than a curse that needs to be avoided. It will help the society to see the need for having diversity. It will confirm that we as a society can work together because of our differences not despite our differences. The community will see the need to value the many cultural differences that makes up the nation Nigeria.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The study was restricted to only First Bank Nigeria Plc. It examined the effect of workforce diversity on employees’ productivity in First Bank. The study was also limited to few workforce diversity- age, gender, ethnicity and educational background diversity and also limited to employee performance. The population of the study was limited to employees of employees of First Bank Nigeria Plc., Ota (Main Branch and Ota II branch), Ogun State.
1.8 Limitation of the Study
It is imperative to note that the research findings only reveal the view of the organization under study. Therefore, it is can not to be assumed to be generally applicable to all organizations. Time factor can be considered as the main limitation to the study. The findings of this study were solely based on the information provided by the respondents and the information gotten from the secondary source of data. Another limitation to the study is that the researcher only looked at few dependent variables. However, other variables exist which can reflect the differences in employees’ performance.
1.9 Definition of Terms
Diversity:
Means any characteristic that makes people different from one another (Robbins & Judge, 2013). It is the differences and similarities between employees in terms of gender, age, educational background, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other dimensions. Diversity includes everybody (Daft, 2008).
Workforce:
Is a combination of male and female employees coming from various backgrounds, older or younger employees, workers who are physically challenged and various other workers who are different from each other (Rao & Bagali, 2014).
Workforce Diversity:
This refers to the important similarities and differences that exist among employees of organizations (Griffin & Moorhead, 2014). It means a workforce composed of people with different human qualities or who belong to various cultural groups (Daft, 2008).
Age, Gender, and Educational Background:
These are physical dimension of diversity and they refer to demographic diversity which is indicated by the number of people having different demographics in the company, ultimately which will affect employees’ performance (Assefa, 2014).
Age Diversity:
Looks at the ability to accept the different types of age within a business environment.
Gender Diversity:
Is when a company is represented by a more equal proportion of men and women. It is the equal treatment and acceptance of both male and female in an organization.
Ethnic Diversity:
Ethnic diversity implies diversity in language, religions, races and cultures. (Gupta, 2013). It refers to a socio-cultural workforce diversity which is specified by the number of people who have dissimilar ethnicity in the company.
Diversity Management:
Is defined as acknowledging, understanding, valuing, celebrating, and accepting differences among people with respect to age, gender, ethnicity, class, mental and physical ability (Gupta, 2013).
Employee Performance:
Performance is the act of carrying out an action, or an accomplishment or achievement. Employee performance is how well an employee is effectively fulfilling his/ her job requirement or discharging his/ her duties so as to achieve good results (Durga, 2017). Armstrong (2012) citing Vroom (1994) said performance or effectiveness is a function of ability and motivation. Thus, employees need both ability and motivation for effective performance.
1.10 Organization of the Study
This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows.
- Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study.
- Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature.
- Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study.
- Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.
- Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.
Chapter Five
Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation
5.0 Introduction
This focus of this chapter is to provide the summary and conclusion of the study and to provide recommendations to organizations, individuals, government and the society at large that can help in managing the issue of diversity and creating an inclusive environment.
5.1 Summary
The aim of this research was to examine the relationship between workforce diversity and employees’ performance in Organizations making reference to the Nigerian banking sector. Data for the study were gathered from the First Bank of Nigeria Ltd., Ota, Ogun State. The instrument that was use to gather data was a well structured questionnaire. The population for the study was limited and as such, the whole population was studied i.e. First Bank Nigeria Plc., Ota. 81 questionnaires were distributed to all employees of both branch and the respondents requested for three days to fill the questionnaires due to tight schedules. All the questionnaires were filled and returned and they were all relevant for data analyses.
It was discovered that First Bank sees diversity as an importance factor that can not be over looked. To show it commitment to diversity and ensure that diversity policies are integrated into its corporate practices, the management created a diversity team that make certain that its acquires a diverse workforce. This is seen in its workforce characteristic such as; gender, age, ethnicity, education, etc. From the study it was found for an organization to succeed in it diversity plan, it is importance to know the benefits of having a diverse workforce, encouraging diversity by bringing together different individuals of different demography and different background and making policies and implementing practices to effectively manage diversity. When an inclusive environment is established, it can lead to more innovation and creativity, capacity building, productivity, efficiency and effectiveness amongst team or group members brought together.
5.3 Conclusion
From the conceptual, theoretical and empirical findings, the effects of workforce diversity on employee performance in organizations particularly the banking industry appears to be positively significant. The objectives of the study have been achieved and the research questions have been fully answered by the analyses conducted. The answer to the research questions is in the affirmative, confirming that there is a significant relationship between workforce diversity (gender, age and educational diversity) and employee performance, except for ethnic diversity. This means that workforce diversity is also an influencer of employee performance. For instance, in terms of educational diversity, the way an employee carries out his/her job can have as a result of the competences he/ she has gained through education, experience, training. Also age diversity has an effect on employee performance; an employee can be more productive because is he young and still has the strength and skills to carry out task. On the other hand an older employee can perform his task well because he has the experience and skills to perform. From findings it is discovered that an organization that has a good mix of male and female employees is more likely to perform better than an organization that is dominated by same gender. Season being that both gender think and acts differently and if an organization embraces such diversity, then it is indirectly welcoming different ideas that the male and female employee will display. From the theoretical, conceptual and empirical findings, employee behavior, capacity or ability, their motivation, organizational commitment, organizational culture are some of the factors that moderate and explains the relationship between workforce diversity and employee performance. Summarily, this study shows that gender, age and educational diversity have a significant positive relationship with employee performance
5.4 Recommendation
It is interesting to see that First bank recognizes and accepts the need to have a diverse workforce and has also made out its diversity policies. However, not all organizations are aware of the relevance of diversity. It is important for every organization to embrace diversity and not just be satisfied with having such workforce but ensure that they harness each and every benefits that comes from diversity and endure that they put machinery in place to reduce the negative consequences that may arise from group social categorization.
This findings of this study have provided evidence that employee performance has a positive correlation with workforce diversity variables such as; age, gender and educational background. Therefore it is important for organizations to begin to get conscious of why it is needful that they deal with demographic characteristics so as to gain competitive advantage over competitors and stay competitive.
One of the challenges of diversity in the workplace is the issue of communication. Some employees feel that the language barrier affects their performance. Task should be communicated clearly and organization should try to promote a general language to enhance trust amongst employees. This is so because where an employee or group of employee feel left out because he/she couldn’t get along with others due to language barrier it can affect the way he/she relates with other. When there is no trust, information may be withheld and this could have an effect on performance. Organization should have similar perspective and channels of communication in the workplace so as to successfully carry out their task. Organizations that uphold a hierarchical structure of communication and this is most suited for vertical communication while the informal communication e.g. grapevine which lets most horizontal communication to occur although it has small or no trustworthiness. Hence this can lead to mistrust causing the messages flowing from top managements to their subordinates about diversity management to be distorted. Therefore, management should make certain that great effort is taken to ensure that workers are properly informed of the present or existing initiatives and programmes of diversity and also ensure to educate or train existing and newly employed employees on issues of diversity and its importance.
From the literature reviewed, it was discovered that some organizations still have the glass ceiling that prevents women from advancing into senior positions in the organizations. From the result of this study, it is evident that employees feel motivated when the work with colleagues of different gender as the perceive the opposite gender as being capable of performing their job effectively. As such, organizational leaders should take off glass ceilings factor and reviewing the pay structure in the organization to promote equality in pay as this can be one way of encouraging high performance from women and minorities.

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