Perceptions of diversity management in a public sector organization /government institution within the Western Cape

Abstract

In modern organisations, diversity management is seen as an important factor for success. If diversity is not managed correctly, it could impact how and if organisations meet their goals. The purpose of diversity management is to get to a point of utilisation of skills of individuals. Research (Erasmus, 2007) suggests that diversity management success is highly dependent on perceptions of employees. The main intent of the current research was to gain an insight into employee perceptions around workforce diversity. These perceptions were evaluated using the Workplace Diversity Survey with a sample of public sector employees to ascertain whether there are statistically significant differences in employee perceptions based on age, gender, population group and directorate. Informed consent was sought from the HR manager in the public service department where the research was undertaken. A cross sectional study was conducted and based on a convenience sample of 200 voluntary participants within the public sector. Data was captured and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. The results indicate that there are statistically significant differences with respect to gender, age, population group and , respectively, and perceptions of diversity. These findings suggest, that, despite 20 years of democracy within South Africa, on-going training and development of employees is required, along with frequent surveys to determine how individuals react to a heterogeneous workforce.