Multiculturalism in the workplace: Model and test
SA Journal of Human Resource Management
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Multiculturalism in the workplace: Model and test | |
| Creator | Jackson, Leon T.B. van de Vijver, Fons J.R. | |
| Description | Orientation: This article addresses the role of multiculturalism in employee attitudes.Research purpose: It proposes a model of positive features of multiculturalism in organisations and tests it in South Africa. The model postulates three levels in multiculturalism: antecedent conditions, such as multiculturalism practices and norms that define the diversity climate; mediators, such as diversity-enhancing employee attitudes; and positive work outcomes.Motivation for the study: South Africans from diverse backgrounds hardly meet in their private spaces. Given this forced contact in the workplace and the calls for national unity and social cohesion, we propose that a workplace that is characterised by mutual respect, accommodation and tolerance for difference could have a positive impact on employee work attitudes.Research approach/design and method: A quantitative approach was adopted using survey questionnaires that were distributed to employees selected on the basis of convenience sampling (N = 299) in various workplaces.Main findings: A multi-group path analysis confirmed the validity of the model for the white, black and mixed race ethnic groups. Although the differences were negligible to medium, white groups seemed to experience a slightly more favourable multicultural environment compared to black and mixed race groups.Practical/managerial implications: All dimension scores were well above the mid-point of the scale, which suggests that psychometrically speaking, the multicultural climate, ethnic integration orientations and employee attitudes are experienced by these employees as favourable.Contribution/value-add: From a conceptual perspective, the model implies that the more distal variable of a multicultural climate influences employee attitudes through a set of more proximal integration attitudes and practices. From a practical perspective, an inclusive climate has more distal characteristics such as the general multiculturalism climate and more proximal characteristics such as ethnic vitality. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2018-09-04 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/sajhrm.v16i0.908 | |
| Source | SA Journal of Human Resource Management; Vol 16 (2018); 15 pages 2071-078X 1683-7584 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/908/1585
https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/908/1584
https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/908/1586
https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/908/1583
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