Diversity in Organizations: Meaning, Implications, Value?

While the diversity management perspective as well as the traditional view of representative bureaucracy have their role and characteristics in understanding of diversity (Groeneveld & Van de Walle, 2010), some urge to overcome a diversity management approach and suggest a critical diversity approach (Kersten, 2000; Lorbiecki & Jack, 2000; Zanoni, Janssens, Benschop, & Nkomo, 2010), and others suggest a comprehensive view of diversity such as a multicultural environment of diversity (Pitts, 2006; Selden & Selden, 2001). This article examines these different perspectives on diversity in organizations and draws implications for diversity studies. I discuss the meaning, origins, and issues of diversity. The differences between EO and diversity perspectives are not clear-cut and the shift of understanding diversity is only partial. Moreover, empirical support for each argument is limited and mixed. These divergences originated from the complexity of link of diversity to the value of equity (or equality) and efficiency. Some see different “motivation” caused different approaches to the diversity. Recently, others found an empirical evidence that both equity and efficiency are accomplished simultaneously.