Leaders perceptions of diversity management: To what extent may a diverse workforce be beneficial or challenging within an organization?

Abstract

Diversity management is the subject matter of this thesis. The purpose of this study is to gain knowledge and explore leader’s perception of diversity management within the oil and gas industry and its consequences to the company as a whole. This paper critically analyses the impact of a diverse workforce within an organization. Diversity covers a wide range of human qualities and attributes, the research in this study is limited towards the required tools needed to manage a diverse workforce, along with benefits and challenges of managing a diverse workforce. Five companies, some based in Norway and some based in the US have been studied to acquire answers towards the questions being asked.

Humans still remain within their related state; religion, cultural background etc. which may lead to diversity being a problem, but if it is managed properly this can lead to increased productivity. Diversity makes our workforce heterogeneous. Employing a diverse workforce is essential for any organization but having the ability to manage a diverse workforce may be a challenge for the management.

A Qualitative research method has been used in order to assemble and analyze the collected data. In order to answer the research question as well as gather relevant information on each company, the researcher conducted one-on-one interviews through skype, video chat.

The overall results show that a diverse workplace has an efficient role in some companies. Although, insufficient guidance may lead to low productivity. Which is why there must be continuous improvements regarding ways to adequately manage a diverse workforce due to the significant and constant changes in the global workforce.

In the conclusion, the overall findings of the thesis are pointed out. The organizations performance is necessary to analyze the overall impact that workforce diversity may have on an organization’s overall performance. The research emphasizes on how implying diversity, benefits from promoting organizational commitment, retention and innovation. In addition to how diversity needs a stable and strong support management, along with a continuous dedicated workforce in order to implement diversity in an organization in a sustainable manner.