Members are more likely to hear views that diverge from their own, so intra-group task conflict may become more pronounced. Also, cognitive tasks in organizations typically demand the experience and knowledge obtained through exposure to functional areas and organizational tenure.
Ancona and Caldwell a noted that for tasks such as those of product development teams, functional background and company tenure are likely to be particularly important because they determine one's technical skills, information, expertise, and one's perspective on an organization's history. Age, gender, and race, in contrast, are low in job- relatedness.
These empirical evidences notwithstanding, the controversy whether or not there is a positive connection between workplace diversity and organizational performance still persists. They suggested that, while there are claimed gains for workplace diversity, there are also adverse implications.
They argued that there is a paucity of stout research examining the impact of diversity upon businesses, which has raised questions about the existence of any connection between workplace diversity and business performance. The business benefits of workplace diversity have been widely contested ever since the idea was conceived. The literature review so far has showed that although there are numerous ways in which diversity has been defined, there is no definition that fully includes all the characteristics that a diverse population may bring to the workplace.
It also showed that there are many forces that are driving diversity issues in organizations. For example, there is a significant increase in women and minority populations in the workplace; an increasing number of minority youths are becoming part of the workforce; gay men, lesbians, and bisexual individuals are becoming an important part of the workforce and marketplace; people with disabilities are also increasingly entering the labor force; and more business is becoming global.
To have a diverse workforce is one thing and to manage it properly is another. There is a wide range of approaches, strategies, and initiatives for managing diversity in the workplace. No single initiative is comprehensive enough to solve all diversity issues or to successfully manage diversity in organizations; however, diversity training is one of the primary and most widely used initiatives to address diversity issues.
The literature review also revealed that diversity issues will continue because the population will become even more diverse and more companies will become global. As diversity is becoming more and more complex, diversity training will continue to be an essential element of the overall diversity strategy for companies to fully reap the advantages of using a diverse workforce Michael R, et al.
However many authors have come up with some steps in ensuring effective diversity management; Wheeler conducted a survey and interviewed 69 diversity managers, consultants, and academicians and found seven innovative diversity initiatives. Those practices were, incorporation of diversity into mission statement, diversity action plans, accountability in business objectives, employee involvement from all levels and functions, career development and planning, community involvement and outreach, and long-term initiatives directed at overall culture change.
Also, Gottfredson offered the following nine diversity principles to enhance management practice: develop individuals, not groups; stress variance, not just average differences; treat group differences as important, but not special; tailor treatment to individuals, not groups; find the common ground; reexamine but maintain high standards; test assumptions and support claims; solicit feedback; and set high but realistic goals.
Similarly, suggested the following points when practicing diversity management: guide the initiatives with strategic perspectives; start the change process with careful assessment of one's own bias; secure commitment from senior management and entire organization by developing business rationale; use nontraditional organization approaches to address diversity issues; conduct solid diversity research to identify issues.
From the above literature review, it is evident that some companies are responding to workforce diversity programs just to avoid legal consequences while others are reaping from the adoption of such program. The case for diversity can be distinguished between social justice or moral case for diversity or business case for diversity. From the social justice and moral case for diversity, employers are engaged in diversity management in order to reduce disadvantages experience by minority groups and to avoid discrimination claims from minority groups.
In contrast, Michael R, Carrel Norbert F, et al , argued that being in compliance with equal opportunity laws is not enough , organizations must recognize the business necessity of having a diverse workforce. While both types are valuable, organizations that combine both of them simultaneously will have the greatest advantages Freya Kristensen and Sean Markey.
This section establishes the case for and against workforce diversity from past research studies. Valuing diversity means recognizing that differences are not absolute but are variables and that differences enables organization to be more effective because it can capitalize on heterogeneity of perspectives and talents to find the superior solution for each particular situation.
Another positive effect of diversity in the workplace is to overcome cross-cultural challenges as the business expands and go international. This is a very important benefit derived from cultural diversity of the employees because many modern companies have global expansion on their corporate agendas. With expansion into other countries sets a range of obstacles including, but not limited to, gathering information about local customs and laws in the foreign country, assessing risk, and designing strategies to overcome those risks.
When an organization has a culturally diverse workforce, it can use the information and knowledge of the individual workers to achieve these objectives and overcome the aforementioned obstacles.
For example, a Portuguese company trying to expand its business in Cameroon can draw information about the Cameroonian federal and provincial laws that apply to the business, insurances required, and applicable tax regulations from an employee from Cameroon with such knowledge. Organizations that adopt diversity policies and integrate diversity into their corporate culture should see decreased cost in terms of lower worker turn over Stranberg, One negative effect of cultural diversity in the workplace is the increased tendency of organizational personnel to indulge in interpersonal conflicts.
Culturally diverse workers have different opinions, thoughts, beliefs, norms, customs, values, trends, and traditions. Not so obvious dimensions, such as culture, religion, and politics, only show up with the passage of time. The core of individual identity constitutes the tertiary dimensions and exists deep beneath the surface. These deeply buried qualities offer the actual essence of diversity.
From a psychological perspective, greater diversity in work groups may lead to poorer performance as members may feel that adequate commonalities required for cohesion are absent; this could lead to intra group conflicts. In this way, leadership and general employee training and development platforms can be designed to skill people with the mindset and abilities to labor in ways that contributes to the institutions competitive advantage.
Hunt and Madhavaram pick up from Clardy by proposing that RBT frameworks can be practically applied to enable administrative actions and verdicts. They state that administrative activities are known to influence performance and provide examples of such actions including: attainment of clienteles; introduction of new products; commercial enlargement; entering into business partnerships and takeovers.
All such activities and the verdicts that lie behind them would essentially be founded on experiences cultured through enlargement or experience. Therefore, worker experiences will forecast certain actions and decisions that, if well chosen, can influence diversity in an institution. The researcher has chosen to use this theory because it brought about the fact that RBT can be skillfully designed to work in ways that would contribute to an institutions competitive advantage by appreciating the human resource in the institution in terms of age diversity, gender diversity, ethnic diversity, religion diversity and team cohesion.
This model centers on the way in which a team tackles a task from the initial creation of the team through to the accomplishment of a task that brings about team cohesion. Tuckman's model enlightens that as the team develops maturity and ability, relationships are established and the leader changes leadership style. This model is composed of the following phases: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. Some may be concerned, as they may not have entirely understood what work the team will do.
Others are simply excited about the task ahead. The leader here plays a principal role because the team members' roles and responsibilities aren't clear. This phase can last for some time, as people begin to work together, and as they make an effort to get to know their new colleagues. Tuckman, This is the stage where many teams fail.
Storming habitually begins where there is a conflict between team members' natural working styles. People may work in diverse ways for all sorts of motives but, if differing working styles cause unanticipated difficulties, they may become frustrated. Storming happens when team members contest the authority of the team leaders or, if the team leader has not plainly defined how the team will work, people may feel overwhelmed by their assignments, or they could be uncomfortable with the tactic used by the team leader.
Some may demand to know the value of the team's objective, and they may resist taking on tasks. Team members who stick with the task at hand may experience pressure for the reason that they may not have the backing of established processes or strong associations with their colleagues. The team members now know each other better, they may mingle together, and they are able to ask one another for assistance and provide helpful feedback.
Team members develop a stronger obligation to the team goal, and the team leader may begin to see some noble development towards the team goal. There is often an extended overlap between storming and norming, because, as new assignments come up, the team may lapse back into deeds from the storming stage. The team has a collective idea and is able to place themselves with no interference or involvement from the team leader.
There is an emphasis on over-attaining objectives, and the team makes most of the resolutions against norms agreed with the team leader. The team is highly self-sufficient. Differences occur but now they are determined within the team positively, and essential changes to procedures and structure are made by the team.
The team is able to work towards attaining the goal and also to attend to association, style and process issues along the way. Team members look after each other and call for delegated assignments and projects from the leader. The team does not need to be instructed or assisted but might ask for support from the team leader with personal and inter-personal development.
From an institutions viewpoint, acknowledgement of and sensitivity to people's vulnerabilities in Tuckman's fifth stage is of assistance, particularly if members of the group have been closely united and feel a sense of insecurity or threat from this change. Feelings of insecurity would be ordinary for persons with high 'composure' attributes and with strong routine and empathy style.
It entails institutional settings in which a given workforce can practice their career aspirations without any constraints relating to gender, race, nationality, religion, age and ethnicity, Holt, Janssens and Brande, , state that workplace diversity is a complex, scandalous and political phenomena. Nkomo specified that numerous researchers have observed workforce diversity from a very constricted perspective while some look at workforce diversity from a broad view.
He also states that diversity centered on race, ethnicity and gender cannot be understood in a similar manner as diversity centered on institutional functions, abilities or cognitive orientations. According to this school of thought, individuals do not only contrast for the reason that their race, gender, age and other demographic classifications but also because of their values, abilities, institutional function, tenure and personality.
They agree that an individual can have numerous identities and that the diverse dimensions cannot be isolated even in an institutional setting. They pointed out that in order to appreciate the dynamics of a heterogeneous workforce, interactive effects of multi-dimensional diversity have to be addressed.
Institutional leaders are liable for forming effective diversity policies and safeguarding its implementation. The Public Service Commission in Kenya, in collaboration with HRMs, have emanated new guidelines and approaches to comprehend the one third regulation for women and ethnic groups, within which all the counties are given a set of seats of their own.
Human Resource Managers are vital players in exercising positive accomplishments by employing personnel from historically disadvantaged groups, specifically women and certain marginalized ethnic groups into the public service sector. Connell , defines gender as a depiction of masculinity or femininity. Empirical research supports the dispute that gender diversity is positively associated with an institutions performance and team cohesion.
Gender, like personality, is a feature that individuals bring to a team that tends to affect team cohesion. Gender is dissimilar from sex and is not the result of biological variances.
These productions are brought to the team dynamics and thus influence team cohesion. Women are deprived in the workplace by gender stereotypes, a practice that may negatively impact their capability to participate in cohesive teams. As a result, women might be less likely to take-up leadership roles and may be regarded as inferior team members. They may also have distress in relating with the team and viewing themselves as appreciated members.
Together, these associations may make it challenging for men and women to work together in teams and attain a common objective, eventually complicating team cohesion. They consequently observe that, institutions prefer to hire male employees compared to women because they are perceived to have better performance and abilities to manage their teams. The absence of diversity in public universities in Kenya is articulated in the under depiction of women despite the fact that the Constitution of Kenya mandates public institutions to comply with the two-thirds gender rule.
Under the rule, no gender should surpass Workforce is distinctive in its generational diversity, which grants new encounters to institutions attempting to attract, preserve, manage and inspire quality in employees.
Each generation believes that its strengths are distinctive and they do not replica the traits of other generations Rowe, Where age diversity is experienced, the benefits accrue both to the institution and to the personnel.
Having an age diverse environment yields and generates better working associations and improves social cohesion for all. Josef alleged that older personnel have the assertiveness of resisting change.
Due to their advancement in age, they tend to have failing memories and are more likely to abscond duty due to ill health and injuries, which could be as a result of their being less energetic and enthusiastic unlike the younger employees.
Further-more, they like to perform their tasks in a given routine with reference to the past. They tend to be less willing to be trained on how to use new technology, new processes or new skills.
The resulting effect of this brings about the decline in work productivity and team cohesion. Grigg and Zenzen observed that communication is one of the vital tools needed to manage multi-generational employees.
Communicating information in multiple ways is one of the most successful ways for handling a multi-generational workforce. The needs of the multi- generational workforce are different.
While younger employees may desire work-life balance, older workers may cherish retirement benefit more. Age stereotypes are features given to persons who belong to an exact age group. They are meant to lead individuals during the process of social interactions. Most of the time, stereotypes are centered on partial knowledge about variations in skills and abilities. In actuality, various age stereotypes are negatively colored.
In spite of the dominance of the negative age stereotype against older people, younger personnel are not left out as they are presumed to lack patience, social competence and skills.
The globalization and rising labor market mobility have brought about an increasing degree of religious diversity that characterizes the workforce of many institutions and the composition of work groups.
There are at least three layers through which religion can represent a source of diversity in the workplace. Spirituality- oriented workplaces are known to have a more accepting and reconciliatory approach towards demographic and ideological differences Groschl, As organizations and institutions are becoming more diverse, religion is often an issue in the workplace. For example, some organizations and institutions may require their employees to dress in a certain way. Similarly, some personnel may struggle to work on certain days and times due to religious commitments such as Sabbath and Ramadan Hambler, The problem often stems from lack of understanding of different religious and cultural values, which may lead to misunderstandings and resentment.
Some of the discriminatory or non-inclusive practices or behaviors may not be deliberate and malicious, but may reflect a lack of diversity awareness in the workplace Mor- Barak, Spirituality-focused workplaces are identified to have a more tolerant and reconciliatory approach towards demographic and ideological variances Groschl, Individuals tend to have personal views on religion and spiritual matters in the work place Morgan, In their research, they looked at data from an online survey of individuals with regard to the issues that are of common importance for religions.
These concerns are holidays and time-off provision, dress codes, food and accommodation, similarity systems and their reception, and office space decoration.
The prominence of religion can be seen in the research, because members defended their beliefs against religious discrimination. In Kenya, the administration of religious diversity is governed by the Constitution and the Laws of the land. At independence, the three major religions recognized were: Christianity, Islam and Hindu.
This did not however exclude other religions. The Constitution, established a secular state with no state religion. All religions were to be treated equally. Section 78 of the Constitution of Kenya, guarantees the freedom of thought, religion and conscience. It enables every person to worship in private and in public and to manifest the same in any form. This provision also enables communities to establish places of worship and educational Institutions in aid of their religious beliefs.
This has enabled the establishment of churches, mosques, temples, synagogues and other places of worship. Where these rights are violated, the High Court has been empowered under Section 84 of the said Constitution to hear and determine matters involving such violations.
A pattern of this is specified by Bell et al. A report from the Institute of Human Resource Management, Kenya recommended that administrators should upsurge their sensitivity on diversity to domesticate it in the workstation. To attain this, administrators should pay attention and comprehend personnel emotions and beliefs. It is said that in Kenya ethnicity divulges itself in stereotypes. Opstal indicated that ethnic diversity can have equal advantages and disadvantages for an institution.
Jackson et al. When managers ignore the clashes caused by ethnic diversity, it may be converted into personal and emotional conflict in the long run and therefore damage institutional culture, employee morale and overall sharp reduction of team cohesion. Kiglai asserts that conflict resulting from ethnic diversity does affect quality, performance and profit making of an institution. Dahlin, Weingart and Hinds, argued that high degree of ethnic diversity might be negative since it can create conflict and cliques due to social categorization.
Under the Kenyan Constitution of , public institutions are mandated to observe ethnic diversity and no one ethnic group is permitted to surpass one third of total employment. Ethnic patterns in the academic workforce of the public universities in Kenya designate that most jobs are presently occupied by members of only five major tribes in a country of forty three ethnic groups, according to data from the Commission of University Education, CUE.
It is argued that ethnic diversity through under representation or over representation of some communities in the academic workforce has not occurred by chance or by mistake but has been based on political consideration. The independent variable in this study is workforce diversity with reverence to gender diversity, ethnic diversity, age diversity and religion diversity while the dependent variable is team cohesion with reverence to task cohesion, social cohesion and attraction.
Carless and Paola define task cohesion as the degree of commitment to the task that a team purposes to complete. Task cohesion is inclined by connections that are linked to the task amongst associates of a team, affecting task commitment within the team. This joint obligation towards group goals is linked to team effectiveness. Positive inter- dependence advances task cohesion by improving team performance and team communication. Carless and Paola define social cohesion as the degree to which members interrelate communally inside or outside of a team.
Social cohesion has been conventional to have a positive correlation with task cohesion, as it is an essential element for the formation of team member commitment towards one-another. Table 2. Busolo The Impact of Conflict does not directly Research only covered Workforce impact on performance but it ethnic, age and gender Diversity on does so through the elements of workforce Organization workforce diversity yet there are Performance: A many elements of Case of AAR workforce diversity that Group can affect organizational performance.
Muasa Effects of The study recognized the The study endorses that Primary Factors performance of Cargo establishments should of Workforce Freight Stations in Mombasa implement suitable Diversity on County, Kenya was interventions to offset the Organizational considerably affected by age, negative consequences and Performance: A gender, ethnicity and race sustain diversity Survey of Cargo diversity in the labor force.
High business. It is suggested County, Kenya levels of ethnicity and racism that the organization negatively affected acquires personnel from performance. Muthoni Workforce The study concluded that There is need to investigate Diversity age, education and gender the awareness of managers Management and diversity at NBA were the on certain skills necessary Employee primary contributors to for the creation of a diverse Performance in employee performance.
Kinyanjui Innovative This study looks at how There is need for more Strategies for communication strategies, deliberate research efforts Managing performance management, on tactics of managing Workforce leadership initiatives and workforce diversity if Diversity in shared responsibilities are concerns over ethnicity and Kenyan Leading used in managing workforce gender disparity in the Corporations in diversity.
Accomplishments workstation are going to be Present Global of diverse corporations in contained before they Scenario Kenya are appraised to explode and become identify those that are human rights issues. Various researches have previously been conducted on workforce diversity in general however these studies did not consider how teamwork as a diversity strategy could affect team cohesion of employees. It describes the research methodology as well as reasons for the choice of study design, the study population, the target population, data collection, data analysis methods and the methods for presenting the analyzed data.
This study adopted the descriptive research design. This design was chosen to help describe the influence of workforce diversity on team cohesion considering the employees at Kabarak University. Robson points out that a descriptive study depicts a precise profile of individuals, proceedings or situations. The descriptive design, mainly frequencies, percentages and mode, helped to acquire facts concerning Kabarak University while describing what currently existed with respect to the different variables in this study.
In addition to descriptive research design, the researcher used a case study research which was an in-depth study of a particular research problem to help researchers answer how and why the contemporary events in the dependent and independent variables were related and the relevant behaviors of the two variables would not be manipulated.
The case study research was narrowed down from a very broad field of research of private universities in Kenya into one researchable area of study which in this case was Kabarak University. Kabarak University is located at a longitude of The research was focused on the influence of workforce diversity on team cohesion with respect to the employees at Kabarak University. Kabarak University has a total of teaching staff in its workforce and of non-teaching staff that is evenly distributed amongst the various schools and departments in the institution.
In total, the target population is respondents. Sampling methods are classified into two groups; probability sampling and non- probability sampling. The researcher used probability sampling method in this study because every item on earth has an equivalent coincident of being incorporated in a given sample. The researcher used stratified random sampling technique for selecting the respondents. This technique was employed to assure a fairly equivalent representation of the variables for the study.
It should be optimum so as to fulfil the requirements of efficiency, representativeness, reliability and flexibility. The sample size formula recommended by Nassiuma was used to determine the sample size. The researcher collected primary data using a questionnaire. The questionnaire was alienated into numerous sections to sufficiently cover the objectives of the study. A five point Likert scale was used to rate the magnitude of agreements by the respondents from 5 — Strongly agree, 4 — Agree, 3 — Neutral, 2 — Disagree and 1 — Strongly disagree.
Questionnaires were deliberated for this study since they provide a high degree of data standardization that the researcher would moderately collect facts from the respondents fast and in a none-threatening way. The pilot study enabled the researcher to be familiar with the research and its administration procedure as well as identify concepts that would require modification. The data collection tool which is a self-administered questionnaire, was subjected to critique and discussion by peers and supervisors whose opinion were deemed to be sufficient.
The study used a cut off of 0. In this context, the study used Cronbach alpha statistical coefficients of 0. Upon the receipt of the permit, the researcher sought the consent of the management of Kabarak University and St.
Data was collected by the researcher using self-administered questionnaires where the respondents were to enter the responses on the spaces provided. Quantitative data was collected using closed ended questions while qualitative data was entered on the spaces provided on the questionnaires by the respondents appropriately.
Clarifications on particular questions were made as required by the respondents. The researcher sought to have the questionnaires filled on the spot and where it was not possible; respondents were given a maximum of three days after which the filled questionnaires were collected for analysis. Analysis was then done and a summary of the findings concluded. Collected data was analyzed by using both descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of the statistical package for social science SPSS.
The open-ended questions were analyzed through quantitative content analysis by the researcher with the goal of computing the developing characteristics and concepts. Data was presented using percentages, means and standard deviations.
This regression model guided the inferential analysis. This included any ethical issues revolving around confidentiality, safety, health, equality and diversity of individuals. Participation of the respondents was voluntary and non-coerced.
The participants were informed of their right to refuse to participate or their right to withdraw from the interview at any point. Their withdrawal would not have any consequences whatsoever.
The researcher assured the respondents of protection of the information given in confidence by the respondent and assured the respondents that the facts given were for research purposes only and if any information had to be exposed, then approval was be pursued from the respondent. This enhanced honesty towards the research subjects by shielding them from physical and psychological harm.
It applies the use of descriptive statistics including bar graphs and frequency tables. The chapter also presents the outcome of some inferential statistics that were conducted on the data including regression and correlation. Table 4. According to Creswell reliability denotes the stability or consistency of measurements; that is whether or not similar results would be achieved if the test or measure was applied repeatedly.
The closer the value is to 1, the greater the internal consistency of the items variables in the scale. According to Berthoud , a reliability index of 0. The value of 0. The findings are presented in Table 4. These demographics included gender, ethnicity, age and religion.
It also brings about a better reflection of the clients who engage in daily business with the company or institution. It was hence important to establish first the distribution of the respondents as these perceptions may have varied by gender. This study found that there was imbalance in terms of gender as women were few compared to men hence the environment was not all inclusive and diverse in terms of gender.
In addition, it helps employees to recognize and respect the different cultures that are not necessarily their own that brings about unity, trust, respect and understanding of across cultures. This study found that majority, There was a marginal representation of the Kikuyu 7. The Kamba, Taita and Teso had the least representation as each recorded at most 2 staff sampled.
These findings are presented in Table 4. Only 4 respondents were in the age cluster 56 years and above. The researcher concluded that there is even distribution of age at Kabarak University, meaning different generations have been absorbed at the institution. These results are presented in Table 4. The study hence deemed it important to establish the distribution of respondents by religion as this laid basis for further analysis.
The study found that majority Only 2 were Muslims. The independent variables gender diversity, age diversity, religion diversity and ethnic diversity were analyzed to assess perceptions of teaching and non-teaching staff at Kabarak University on team cohesion.
The data collected was of likert type through likert items. Likert-type items are single questions that use some aspects of Likert response alternatives such as strongly agree to strongly disagree. Several likert-type items were combined and scored into a likert scale that was used to measure each of the study constructs. Likert-type items fall into the ordinal measurement scale.
Likert scale data, on the other hand, are analyzed at the interval measurement scale. Likert scale items are created by calculating a composite score sum or mean from four or more type Likert- type items; therefore, the composite score for Likert scales should be analyzed at the interval measurement scale. Descriptive statistics recommended for interval scale items include the mean for central tendency and standard deviations for variability.
Inferential statistics appropriate for interval scale items would include the Pearson's r, t-test, ANOVA and regression procedures. This study sought to determine the influence of gender diversity on team cohesion among employees at Kabarak University. The construct was measured by use of five likert items with responses fluctuating from strongly agree to strongly disagree.
The questionnaires were presented to employees out of whom majority 71 Only 7 employees disagreed with the fact that there is fair treatment to all employees irrespective of their gender, whether they were male or female. A majority of 74 There were another 47 About 71 There were 25 However, there were 7 4. A majority of 81 There were also 42 Kabarak University was found to be an institution that has an imbalance in terms of gender among its employees with male employees dominating with Positions in the institution were also not equally shared among all genders as some departments recorded a higher percentage of male employees than that of female employees.
The overall perception of gender diversity indicated that gender diversity significantly influenced team cohesion among employees in Kabarak University and this was tested by use of the t-test to test whether the coefficient was significantly different from zero.
Gender diversity brings about a balanced gender mix of employees that possess an assortment of expertise and abilities, and such diversified teams created improved output thereby improving the team cohesion at the institution.
Regarding the influence of gender diversity on facets of team cohesion, the study established that the institutions training and development program was developed to meet the requirements of the employees at the institution was classified as the highest amongst features of team cohesion affected by gender diversity, followed by opportunities of growth and advancement and women involvement in decision making. This finding agrees with the contention made by Darwin and Palanisamy when they disputed that a diverse workgroup brings diverse proficiencies, abilities and perceptions that enrich overall team performance and cohesion in an institution.
In fact, when probed to indicate the nature of influence of gender diversity on the institutions training and development program, Age diversity in the workplace is important because it can improve institutional performance and productivity by employing both older and younger employees hence developing mixed-age work teams. This study found that a majority 80 About 50 Additionally, a majority 75 Only 16 employees agreed that the age differences in their work group might cause conflict.
This study also found that a majority 65 However, there were 14 employees who agreed that they experience lack of bonding with people of different age groups. About 72 However, 12 8. A majority 86 This study found a balance in employees that felt that age diversity kept some work teams from performing at their maximum effectiveness. About 43 Other studies have associated age diversity with team cohesion in creative tasks. Simons and Rowland found that diversity produces different perspectives, knowledge and skills that enhance creativity and innovativeness and less conformity with past and existing norms.
The study findings regarding influence of age diversity on team cohesion however, contradicts the assertion by Gupta that beliefs of people of diverse age groups possess complements on each other and that this would increase the innovativeness and creativity of age-heterogeneous workforces as compared to a more homogeneous one. They point to the potential of such disparities and the stereotypes that underscore them as a real source of conflict if not effectively managed. About 39 The study also established that 72 There were 37 About 69 Only 22 The study also found that majority, 65 About 63 About 75 Only 10 of the employees disagreed that they share their knowledge and expertise with other employees with ease regardless of their ethnic background.
The study found that 58 However, there were 22 About 82 The study also established that 70 Only 6 of the employees disagreed that they were positive about ethnic diversity in their work place. These findings were presented in Table 4. I am positive about ethnic diversity 60 70 13 3 3 in this work place The question that team leaders include all members of different ethnic backgrounds in problem solving and decision making had the highest ranking in terms of percentage and average, followed by the employee culture, customs and values being appreciated by the Institution had the was ranked as the second most important questions in the questionnaire.
This finding endorses an argument advanced by Darwin when he proclaimed that that ethnic diversity had a positive effect on team cohesion as it generated a pool of skills sets and learning opportunities that an institution can tap into for positive results in a team.
This is probably because in a multi-ethnic society, team cohesion can be achieved by employing a workforce from diverse ethnic background. According to Gupta , Hoogendoorn and Van Praag , ethnic diversity coincides with information sets, abilities and skills set that affect the formation and performance of teams in modern institutions. In other words, ethnic diversity remained to progress organizational performance because of the establishment of more operative teams.
Gupta found that positive association can be obtained between teams if group associates are more ethnically diverse. Lee and Nathan established a positive link between ethnic diversity in teams and an increase in the level of creativity and innovativeness of the teams.
Religion diversity in the workplace can bring an institution many benefits in the form of different view- points in regards to handling various institutional matters, tolerance and acceptance of religious views as well as being able to accommodate those who may need extra time off or may have special needs that are dictated by their religious preference.
Examples of this type of workforce diversity are education, personal interests, appearance, relationship or familial status, religious or political beliefs, citizenship, etc. Also known as functional diversity, it refers to the dissimilarities between individuals that are assigned to them by their companies- substantially these are the attributes within an office that distinguishes every employee.
Regardless of what your job role is or what you get paid, any kind of work that you do connects you to your company. The different subsets of this include seniority, pay time, management status, place of work, etc. The last type is called worldview diversity and includes internal, external, and organizational diversity altogether. Some examples are- outlook on life, moral compass, political beliefs, etc. One of the benefits of diversity in workplace is that it boosts the creativity of the employees.
It is said that sameness breeds sameness. If you keep hiring heterogeneously, that is, every employee hails from similar background, culture, socio-economic situation, same perspective, etc.
And this is because creativity ultimately leads to productivity. The more diverse cultured employees, the more diverse brainstorming takes place. When a company has a diverse workplace, it helps to make every employee feel included no matter who they are or where they come from.
This feeling of being valued and included breaks down all the barriers between an employee and the organization and helps them to raise their voice and share their thoughts and ideas.
Thus, by reading the above blog, it is quite clear as to why workforce diversity is essential for every organization.
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