The Search for Beauty in Organisations: Exploring Workplace Diversity Management in the African Context


Thesis Type: Doctorate

Institution Of The Thesis: Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Yönetim Ve Organizasyon Ana Bilim Dalı, Turkey

Approval Date: 2020

Thesis Language: English

Student: Issaka Lawerh TETTEH

Supervisor: KERİM ÖZCAN

Abstract:

The concept of diversity management has been in vogue for the past few decades due to the exponential changes in global workforce demography which has influenced many progressive organisations to adopt some forms of diversity management practices. Although diversity management research is quite advanced in North America and in Europe, much research is still needed in other socio-cultural settings. Hence, this study was an attempt to contribute to the literature by studying diversity management in the African context. To achieve this, the lens of neo-institutional theory was borrowed to explore the subject through two studies. In Study 1, the environmental pressures that compel organisations to adopt diversity management practices were probed, and the role played by human resource managers in the adoption of diversity management practices was also investigated. However, Study 2 examined the impact of employee perception of diversity management practices on organisational outcomes. The research followed a mixed methods approach with data collected using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews from private sector organisations in Ghana. The quantitative data collected were analysed using SPSS, AMOS, and Hayes' PROCESS macro, whereas the interviews were manually scrutinised using reflexive thematic analysis. The study revealed that coercive pressures had the most influence on organisations' adoption of diversity management practices. It also discovered that actual or substantive adoption of diversity management in organisations had a positive impact on employee perception of diversity management practices. Moreover, organisational commitment and job satisfaction were found not to mediate the relationship between employee perception of diversity management practices and turnover intention. Furthermore, employee perception of diversity management practices was found to positively relate to turnover intention. The results of the study also suggest that more scholarly research on diversity management in the African context is needed as the blanket application of Euro-centric assumptions of diversity management in Africa may be unconstructive.