Abstract
Today, workforce diversity management appears to attract strategic attention globally. Given this, a critical question that emerging research seeks to address is: is it even worth managing diverse workforce? Partly, this study addresses this question by examining the implications of managed-workforce diversity (MWD) on internal supply chain (SC) integration and business performance. Data was collected from one hundred and twenty six respondents using mainly questionnaires. The constructs employed to measure managed-workforce diversity, internal supply chain integration and business performance were together subjected to ANOVA, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and then confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Model (SEM) in LISREL 8.5. Analysis of the data gathered indicated that MWD is most likely to be beneficial in enhancing internal SC integration and then SC responsiveness; with the former benefit acting as a conduit through which the latter benefit is experienced. The study therefore argues that effective workforce diversity management is one that creates and maintains MWD (which is a positive affective climate where employees do not feel intimidated, looked down upon, or discriminated against just because of background differences), all of which are necessary for driving internal SC integration, SC responsiveness, and financial outcomes. The managerial implications and the theoretical relevance of the study’s findings are discussed in details.
Highlights
Given that peopleare key resource of any organization and a dominating factor in its design (Mullins, 2010), managers are often confronted with challenges regarding how to recruit and combine the best set of people skills and maintain workforce balance so as to enhance performance
In the case of managed-workforce diversity (MWD), based on review of extant literature and the operational definition presented in section 2.1, we operationalized it by evaluating the extent to which, in a given organization, employees (1) feel accepted by their colleagues, (2) recognize that their colleagues are important; (3) do not look down on the efforts and the presence of others, (4) accept and respect the views of others, and (5) marginalize their differences and identify themselves more with the organization
This study argued and showed that having MWD could prove beneficial for integrating supply chain (SC) elements at the focal firm-level
Summary
Given that peopleare key resource of any organization and a dominating factor in its design (Mullins, 2010), managers are often confronted with challenges regarding how to recruit and combine the best set of people skills and maintain workforce balance so as to enhance performance. Organizations are supposed to indiscriminately bring on board workforce with these differences and harness them to their advantage (Singal & Gerde, 2015; Charted Instituted of Purchasing and Supply [CIPS], 2009). In this sense, effectively managing diverse workforce has become the way forward (Point & Singh, 2003). It is argued that diversity brings out creativity and innovation and it enhances group-problem solving capabilities, increases productivity, value creation and ends up increasing firm ijbm.ccsenet.org
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