Twentieth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

For many years, large companies in Germany have been engaged in diversity policies with the aim of, for example, increasing employee satisfaction and thus reducing staff turnover. Due to the shortage of skilled workers, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are also increasingly engaged in diversity management. However, there have been no systematic studies on this so far. Therefore, this contribution deals with the following research questions: (1) What perception of and attitude towards diversity do managers have? (2) What effects do these have on leadership behaviour? The aim is to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of diversity and to uncover contextual conditions for SMEs. As part of the EFRE project DIAMANT, 80 guideline-based interviews with managers in SMEs in Germany are being conducted. Based on a deliberate random sampling, about 20 interviews will be considered and evaluated by qualitative content analysis to answer the questions. Initial results show that managers are important to successfully implement diversity management. Furthermore it seems that there are discrepancies between the first and second hierarchical levels with regard to problem awareness and willingness to implement. This is the first qualitative study that describes the broad spectrum of perceptions and understanding of diversity among managers in SMEs in Germany. With this, companies can (further) develop support structures to maintain the quality of the company’s performance. For example, training opportunities should be offered, like sensitisation training, to enable managers to perceive the different individuals in teams. Further recommendations for action are currently being developed.