Diversity management in New Zealand: towards an empirically-based model of employer propensity to manage diversity

ABSTRACT

Diversity management (DM) values differences between groups and individuals at work. Research indicates that poorly executed DM can lead to workplace misunderstandings and subvert team working; well-executed, DM can strengthen organisational innovation, customer focus, retention and working relationships, with positive cost, revenue and productivity implications. Little is known about DM or its treatment via human resource management (HRM) in New Zealand (NZ) workplaces, partly reflecting the absence of regular, in-depth inquiry. In this small, service-orientated economy, we draw on a unique, independent survey to explore DM concepts; the perceived nature and evaluation of workplace DM initiatives; and DM challenges and priorities for organisations and employees. Thematic and simple statistical analyses reveal that DM engenders strong views in the workplace but is complex in its practice and perceived impacts in this and wider settings. This has significant implications for HRM thinking and application, including the development of an empirically-based model of employer proclivity to manage diversity. With employee diversity in NZ set to amplify, it also highlights the need for subsequent nationally-representative research.

KEYWORDS:

• Diversity management (DM)
• equality
• human resource management (HRM)
• New Zealand (NZ)
• survey

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the managers and employees in NZ workplaces for participating in this study. We also express our gratitude to Clarian HR for engaging us to overhaul a national survey, including, inter alia, the addition of diversity questions, and to Diversity Works and other parties who expressed interest in the research. We also greatly appreciate the insightful comments and counsel of the anonymous reviewers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Matariki is Māori for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades. It rises in late May or early June. For many Māori, it heralds the start of a new year.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jane Parker

Jane Parker (PhD, Industrial Relations) is Professor of HRM and Employment Relations at Massey University. She has published on equality and diversity, employee consultation and state regulation. Jane has led various ILO research projects, including empirical studies of labour law and child labour in Papua New Guinea, and social dialogue and gender equity in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. Jane is Co-Director of the MPOWER research group, Associate Fellow of Warwick University’s Industrial Relations Research Unit and an Editor-in-Chief of the journal Labour and Industry. She edited Big Issues in Employment: HRM and Employment Relations in New Zealand (CCH, 2013). Jane was named HR Researcher of the Year at the annual New Zealand HR Awards in 2017.

James Arrowsmith

James (Jim) Arrowsmith (PhD, Management) is Professor of HRM at Massey University. He has published widely on variable pay systems, working time, employee engagement and state regulation. In recent years, he has acted as a consultant for the ILO to the governments of Nauru, Tonga and Papua New Guinea concerning labour law frameworks, ministerial capacity development, overseas seasonal work and child labour. Jim is Co-Director of the research network MPOWER and an Editor-in-Chief of the journal Labour and Industry. He is an Associate Fellow of the Industrial Relations Research Unit (IRRU) at Warwick University and co-editor of The Transformation of Employment Relations in Europe (Routledge, 2013).

Jarrod Haar

Jarrod Haar (PhD, Organisational Behaviour/HRM) is Professor of HRM at Auckland University of Technology. He is of Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Mahuta descent. Jarrod has written widely on organisational behaviour, HRM, (Māori) leadership in work organisations, employee well-being and mindfulness. He was the principal investigator in a New Zealand Marsden grant (2009–11), examining the role that cultural support plays upon indigenous (Māori) employees. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Organization and Management. Jarrod was named HR Researcher of the Year at the annual New Zealand HR Awards in early 2016.