Diversity in the Workplace: What’s Missing

By Richard Andrulis and Rana Sachdev.

Published by The International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations

Format	Price
Article: Print	$US10.00
Article: Electronic	$US5.00

Diversity climates vary in the degree to which individuals with different cultural and personal attributes are equally valued in an organization. An organization that encourages diversity through its practices and policies creates a favorable climate impacting a broad range of organizational attitudes, perceptions, and performance.

The purpose of the current study was to provide a “snapshot” of where the organizations are today in achieving the principles of diversity. Particularly, the study focused on four main diversity themes: Representation, Tolerance, Education and Training, and Diversity Outreach Initiatives. First, the study assessed the extent to which organizations are perceived as equally valuing minority groups. Second, the study examined the degree to which company management is perceived to be concerned with the needs of diverse groups as well as discouraging intolerant behaviors. Third, the study investigated the extent to which organizations promote diversity through education and training. Finally, the study assessed the extent to which diversity programs and policies are promoted.

A survey methodology was used in this study to identify these themes. A random sample of 176 individuals holding Human Resource positions in organizations representing a broad range of industries participated in this study. Participants completed a Diversity Questionnaire containing four scales, one focusing on each theme.

Preliminary results suggest that organization’s approach to diversity is particularly focused on compliance with the legal requirements regarding diversity issues. Efforts to incorporate diversity in the organizational culture seem to be limited even though such efforts contribute the most to perceiving the organization as equally valuing minority groups. More importantly, the Diversity Outreach Initiatives section received the lowest scores indicating that companies need to examine their relationships with the community they serve since it is these communities that provide the labor and the source of company revenue.

Keywords:	Workplace, Diversity Climate, Organization, Community Outreach, Legal Compliance

International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations, Volume 9, Issue 1, pp.175-186. Article: Print (Spiral Bound). Article: Electronic (PDF File; 1.148MB).

Dr. Richard Andrulis

Associate Professor, Graduate Program in Human Resource Development, Villanova University, Villanova, PA, USA

Richard S. Andrulis, Ph.D., President of Andrulis Associates has over thirty years experience as a management consultant and associate professor at Villanova University. He formed Andrulis Associates in 1980 and shortly thereafter joined the faculty of Villanova University as an adjunct. In 2000, he was appointed Associate Professor of Human Resource Development and Psychology. Prior to this time he held a number of consulting and management positions at several different organizations. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin specializing in the areas of Statistics, Psychometrics, and Research Design. He is active in the professional organizations of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychologists and the Society of Human Resource Management. He authored two books and well over 150 publications and conference presentations both nationally and internationally.

Rana Sachdev

Villanova University, USA

Rana H. Sachdev, M.S. has over two years of experience as a Human Resources Coordinator in a law firm in Philadelphia. She recently received her Masters of Science in Human Resource Development from Villanova University. While in graduate school, she was awarded the Presidential Fellowship for Underrepresented Students where she worked under the direction of Dr. Richard Andrulis to research and contribute to his study of diversity in organizations. Rana received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of Delaware. She is an active member of the National and Philadelphia Society of Human Resource Management.

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