Managing Employee Diversity: Perceived Practices and Organisational Outcomes in NCAA Division III Athletic Departments

Abstract

The literature suggests that organisations that engage in proactive diversity management strategies are more likely to experience positive organisational outcomes than those that shun or ignore diversity. This study assessed the diversity practices present in Division III intercollegiate athletic institutions in order to determine whether the differences in diversity practices affected individual and organisational outcomes. Members of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III athletic organisations¹ (N = 281) responded to a survey designed to assess strategies for managing diversity, as well as individual and organisational outcomes. Results suggested that different diversity practices are indeed related to significant levels of variance in perceptions of outcomes. Specifically, proactive diversity management strategies significantly contributed to variance in all the outcome measures and had the largest beta weights (ranging from 0.28 to 0.57) for all the outcomes. Results are discussed in detail and suggestions for future research are provided.