Abstract
In the late 1980s workforce became more diverse in terms of demographic changes, cultural differences and other characteristics of organizational members. This diversity was a reflection of changing global markets. Workforce diversity has both positive and negative effects on organizational performance. Therefore, it is becoming important especially for medium- and large-scale businesses. In order to manage increasingly workforce diversity and to prevent discrimination, diversity management is now considered as a major part of strategic human resource management. The purpose of this study is to establish the dimensions of discrimination that occur due to demographic differences in Turkish manufacturing industry. The findings of the research indicate that demographic characteristics, socio-cultural structure, managerial policy and behaviors, union tendency and regional differences, laws and local community, gender, educational and age differences, and political opinions have influence on discrimination. According to the results, discrimination has been observed mostly in job processes such as promotions and appointments, human resource selection, job/employment examination and interviews, and performance appraisal.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agócs C., C. Burr 1996 Employment Equity, Affirmative Action and Managing Diversity: Assessing The Differences. International Journal of Manpower, 17(4/5), 30–45
Barr, A. and A. Oduro: 2000, Ethnicity and Wage Determination in Ghana. The World Bank Policy Research, Working Paper Series, No. 2506, pp. 12–31
Bertone, S. and M. Leahy: 2000, Business Benefits of Productive Diversity – Case Studies (with Assistance from Genevieve Sinclair). Report to Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia
Bogaert S., D. Vloeberghs 2005 Differentiated and Individualized Personnel Management: Diversity Management in Belgium. European Management Journal, 23(4), 483–493
Borrell L. N., C. I. Kiefe, D. R. Williams, A. V. Diez-Roux, P. Gordon-Larsen 2006 Self-reported Health, Perceived Racial Discrimination, and Skin Color in African Americans in the CARDIA Study. Social Science & Medicine, 63, 1415–1427
Büsch, V., S.-g. Dahl and D. A. V. Dittrich: 2004, ‹Age Discrimination in Hiring Decisions: A Comparison of Germany and Norway’, in Papers on Strategic Interaction, No.14, Max-Planck-Institut zur Erforschung von Wirtschaftssystemen
Çoban, O. and Ş. Özgener: 2005, ‹Ekonomik Entegrasyonda Bir Performans GÖstergesi Olarak GloballeŞme Indeksi: Türkiye ve AB ülkeleri Örneği’, İstatistik AraŞtırma Sempozyumu, 5–6 Mayıs, Ankara, pp. 33–37
Cohen, Y. and Y. Haberfeld: 2003, ‹Gender, Ethnic, and National Earning Gaps in Israel: The Role of Rising Inequality’, Mimeo, Presented at the Sapir Center Workshop on Earnings Inequality
Critzer J. W. 1998 Racial and Gender Income Inequality in the American States. Race& Society, 1(2), 159–176
D’Netto B., A. S. Sohal 1999 Human Resource Practices and Workforce Diversity: An Empirical Assessment. International Journal of Manpower, 20(8), 530–547
D’Netto, B., D. Smith and C. Da Gama Pinto: 2000, Diversity Management: Benefits, Challenges and Strategies, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Project Number 1, October 16
Harris J. R., C. D. Sutton 1995 Unraveling the Ethical Decision-making Process: Clues from an Empirical Study Comparing Fortune 1000 Executives and MBA Students. Journal of Business Ethics 14(10), 805–817
Horwitz F. M., A. Bowmaker-Falconer, P. Searll 1996 Human Resource Development and Managing Diversity in South Africa International Journal of Manpower, 17(4/5), 134–151
Jain H. C., A. Verma 1996 Managing Workforce Diversity for Competitiveness: The Canadian Experience. International Journal of Manpower, 17(4/5), 14–29
Johnes, G. and Y. Tanaka: 2007, ‹Changes in Gender Wage Discrimination in the 1990s: A Tale of Three Very Different Economies’, Japan and the World Economy, Accepted 21 September (in press), Retrieved 22 November 2006 from http://www.sciencedirect.com
Kaiser H. F., J. Rice 1974 Little Jiffy, Mark IV. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 34, 111–117
Kasımoğlu, M. and A. Halıcı: 2000, ‹İnsan Kaynaklarına Yönelik Ayrımcılığa İlişkin ölçek Geliştirilmesi’, 8.Ulusal Yönetim ve Organizasyon Kongresi, 25–27 Mayıs, Nevşehir, pp. 373–385
Kertsen A. 2000 Diversity Management: Dialogue, Dialectics and Diversion. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 13(3), 235–248
Kramar R. 1998 Managing Diversity: Beyond Affirmative Action in Australia. Women in Management Review, 13(4), 133–142
Kroncke C., K. Smith 1999 The Wage Effects of Ethnicity in Estonia. The Economics of Transition, 7(1), 179–199
Leme Fleury M. T. 1999 The Management of Culture Diversity: Lessons from Brazilian Companies. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 99(3), 109–114
Major B., R. Gramzow, S. K. McCoy, S. Levin, T. Schmader, J. Sidanius 2002 Perceiving Personal Discrimination: The Role of Group Status and Status Legitimizing Ideology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 269–282
Maxwell G. A., S. Blair, M. McDougall 2001 Edging Towards Managing Diversity in Practice. Employee Relations, 23(5), 468–482
McNair, S. and M. Flynn: 2006, Managing An Ageing Workforce in the Manufacturing Sector (The Department for Work and Pensions, London), August, ISBN 978-1-84695-287-6
McVittie C., A. McKinlay, S. Widdicombe 2003 Committed to (Un)equal Opportunities? ‹New Ageism’ and the Older Worker. British Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 595–612
Meng X. 1998 Male–Female Wage Determination and Gender Wage Discrimination in China’s Rural Industrial Sector. Labour Economics, 5, 67–89
Mitra A. 2003 Establishment Size, Employment, and the Gender Wage Gap. Journal of Socio-Economics, 32(3), 317–330
Molloy, D., T. Knight and K. Woodfield: 2003, Diversity in Disability: Exploring the Interactions Between Disability, Ethnicity, Age, Gender and Sexuality, Department for Work and Pensions, Report Number 188
Nicholas, S.: 2000, Corporate Awareness of Diversity in the Australian Workplace: the Mind of the CEO, 21st Century Business: Delivering the Diversity Dividend, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Canberra
Nunnally J. 1978 Psychometric Theory. McGraw-Hill, New York
Pogrebin M., M. Dodge, H. Chatman 2000 Reflections of African-American Women on Their Careers in Urban Policing: Their Experiences of Racial and Sexual Discrimination. International Journal of the Sociology of Law, 28, 311–326
Pringle J., J. Scowcroft 1996 Managing Diversity: Meaning and Practice in New Zealand Organisations. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 34(2), 28–43
Robinson, M.: 2001, Gender Dimensions of Racial Discrimination (United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva)
Schwoerer C. E., D. R. May, B. Rosen 1995 Organizational Characteristics and HRM Policies on Rights: Exploring the Patterns of Connections. Journal of Business Ethics, 14(7), 531–549
Shaffer M. A., J. R. W. Joplin, M. P. Bell, T. Lau, C. Oguz 2000 Gender Discrimination and Job-related Outcomes: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Working Women in the United States and China. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 57, 395–427
Shapiro G. 2000 Employee Involvement: Opening the Diversity Pandora’s Box? Personnel Review, 29(3), 304–323
Skinner D. (1999) The Reality of Equal Opportunities: The Expectations and Experiences of Part-time Staff and Their Managers. Personnel Review, 28(5/6), 425–438
Snelgrove S., J. Slater 2003 Approaches to Learning: Psychometric Testing of a Study Process Questionnaire. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 43(5), 496–505
Weichselbaumer D. 2003 Sexual Orientation Discrimination in Hiring. Labour Economics, 10, 629–642
Wentling, R. M.: 2001, ‹Diversity in the Work Force’, The Highlight Zone: Research@ Work , No. 4; 3
Whiting R. H., C. Wright 2001 Explaining Gender Inequity in The New Zealand Accounting Profession. British Accounting Review, 33, 191–222
Wong, H. Z.: 1999, Best Practices in Diversity Strategies and Initiatives, Coast Guard Diversity Summit, 15–17 April
Wong S., L. Pang 2003 Motivators to Creativity in the Hotel Industry-Perspectives of Managers and Supervisors. Tourism Management, 24, 551–559
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ozgener, S. Diversity Management and Demographic Differences-based Discrimination: The Case of Turkish Manufacturing Industry. J Bus Ethics 82, 621–631 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9581-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9581-3