In the past fourteen years, South African business has experienced a period of significant transformation. The absorption of previously disadvantaged employees into higher skilled jobs is being nudged by measures such as employment equity legislation and affirmative action. Even though previously excluded racial and ethnic groups are being empowered and incorporated into management structures, overall progress has been slow. The research organisation seems to be a microcosm of the macro-environment with regard to the advancement of previously disadvantaged employees, consisting primarily of white employees (66%). Designated employees are represented in much smaller numbers: Indian (15%), African (15%) and Coloured (4%).The objective of this research was to gain an understanding of how designated employees experience working in a predominantly white business unit. Applying a qualitative research design, anecdote circles were used to facilitate the informal sharing of experiences amongst peers. Twelve individuals partook in the anecdote circles and 59 anecdotes were gathered. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to extract themes. Thirty-two themes were identified in the anecdotes that were grouped into seven super-ordinate themes: A debilitating organisational culture; A constructive work environment; Poor orientation and integration into the business unit; Demanding consultant role; Dissatisfaction with careers: Difficulty in handling the typical demanding client profile and Involved management style. Results indicate that designated employees find the organisational culture restrictive due to the bureaucratic nature of the organisation, the insensitivity towards cultural differences, the impersonal atmosphere in the organisation; the excessive use of acronyms; poor communication and ineffective support structures. In contrast they have a positive view of their work environment which is seen as flexible, with plenty opportunities for development and high standards of work. Good teamwork exists with designated employees receiving a lot of support from their project team members. Results show that designated employees experience poor orientation in the business unit, which results in a lack of knowledge regarding processes, tools, and ideal behaviour. They are left to find this information out for themselves and this leads to poor integration into the business unit. Designated employees find their role as consultant very demanding. They experience a lot of pressure on projects and are concerned about others' impression of them. They feel empowered in certain areas of their work life and enjoy taking responsibility for their work and development. Designated employees are dissatisfied with the direction that their careers are taking and feel frustrated by the lack of career advancement. They do not believe their managers have the power to address their concerns regarding their career. Furthermore they equate career progression with financial gain and this adds to their frustration regarding their careers. Designated employees are struggling to deal with difficult and demanding clients who neglect responsibilities and can be unreasonable. They admit that they are not sure how to handle these clients. Designated employees are satisfied with the level of interaction with their managers and the recognition they receive when a job is well done. Some indicate that they would prefer more guidance and support from their managers and they stress the importance of performance management and providing regular feedback. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

School of Economics and Management, Diss.--Lund, 2008.

Zugl.: Eichstätt, Ingolstadt, Universiẗat, Diss., 2008.

Zugl.: München, Universiẗat, Diss., 2009.

Diss. Univ. Bielefeld, 2008.

Resumo: O objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar a inclusão da temática da diversidade no sistema de gestão de organizações brasileiras, verificando-se adicionalmente o papel da gestão de recursos humanos para a adequada gestão dessa nova variável organizacional. Para tanto, foram sistematizados os principais conceitos e referências pertinentes às áreas de gestão da diversidade e gestão de recursos humanos. Identificou-se uma considerável lacuna bibliográfica, relativa à carência de pesquisas acadêmicas recentes sobre o tema. Tal sistematização da literatura forneceu suporte para a realização de quinze estudos de caso em organizações localizadas no estado de São Paulo. / Abstract: The main purpose of this research is to analyze the diversity of types of management adopted by the brazilian's companies, and so, verify the importance of the human resource management in those organizations. According to this, the most important concepts and references, concerned to the diversity of the management field and the human resource, were sustematized. As a result, we noticied the lack of bibliography caused by a few numbers of academic researches published up to now. This bibliographical systematization made possible for us to apply this research in locus, located in the interior of São Paulo state. / Orientador: José Carlos Martinez / Coorientador: Charbel José Chiappetta Jabbour / Banca: Jorge Henrique Caldeira de Oliveira / Banca: Rosane Aparecida Gomes Battistelle / Mestre

In a global environment, growing business corporations have recognized the role diversity plays in business development. However, the human resource development (HRD) profession charged with the responsibility for developing any organization's human resources, has not defined what cultural competence is and its role in improving the performance of HRD professionals. This study sought to define cultural competence and determine how it could be developed and assessed. The theoretical framework used was an intercultural perspective of intercultural competence, studies in HRD that focus on a training-culture context fit, and professional definitions of cultural competence. A mixed research method utilizing survey and personal interviews was employed to study Best Practice Learning and Diversity companies. Thirty-nine companies credited as American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) Best Award winners for workplace learning and performance were surveyed. The sample represented various sectors in the corporate industry such as information technology, financial services, manufacturing and retail. Due to a low response rate, eight senior global diversity officials from companies credited as Best Diversity companies by DiversityInc. were interviewed. Five of the companies studied were among the leading Top 10 global diversity companies. The other three ranked highly among the Top 50 diversity companies. The data collected was analyzed using grounded theory. Using this theory, the study identified attributes that describe cultural competence, and various approaches that are used to develop and assess it. Based on the study results, an HRD theory of cultural competence was developed. This theory includes: (a) a definition of cultural competence; (b) a cultural competence framework that provides performance indicators for HRD professionals; organizations, its leaders and employees; and (c) an assessment guide that provides a cultural competence inventory for HRD professionals. To ensure study validity, the survey instrument used in the study was pilot-tested among business scholars. In addition, the study addressed the issues of theoretical sensitivity such as the role of the literature reviewed, the researcher's biases, and the analytical process that was used for theory development. This study has implications for higher education and professional practice. The cultural competence framework developed in this study contributes to the standardization of HRD practices such as education, training and non-training HRD programs. The assessment guide provides a cultural competence inventory for HRD professionals. The results of this study would also be useful for companies that regularly benchmark their operations against best practices. In this way, the study contributes to the effort of aligning HRD practices to theory developed through HRD cross-cultural research

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:27:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-06-29Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:35:15Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 gordono_fs_me_bauru.pdf: 256352 bytes, checksum: fe2197c3f139203917de6d9964fee2ff (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar a inclusão da temática da diversidade no sistema de gestão de organizações brasileiras, verificando-se adicionalmente o papel da gestão de recursos humanos para a adequada gestão dessa nova variável organizacional. Para tanto, foram sistematizados os principais conceitos e referências pertinentes às áreas de gestão da diversidade e gestão de recursos humanos. Identificou-se uma considerável lacuna bibliográfica, relativa à carência de pesquisas acadêmicas recentes sobre o tema. Tal sistematização da literatura forneceu suporte para a realização de quinze estudos de caso em organizações localizadas no estado de São Paulo. / The main purpose of this research is to analyze the diversity of types of management adopted by the brazilian's companies, and so, verify the importance of the human resource management in those organizations. According to this, the most important concepts and references, concerned to the diversity of the management field and the human resource, were sustematized. As a result, we noticied the lack of bibliography caused by a few numbers of academic researches published up to now. This bibliographical systematization made possible for us to apply this research in locus, located in the interior of São Paulo state.

Abstract: Background: Cultural diversity within a workplace is increasingly becoming important as more organisations are embracing it within the global workforce. Some of its effect have been linked to performance outcomes according to past reviews and as a result, there are more suggestions on the need to study how various organisations manage their cultural diversity. Universities as an organisation has also blended in the internationalisation practice through human resources and diverse employees to form a part of the economic globalisation. Purpose: The purpose if this paper is to examine how cultural diversity is managed in a Swedish university, Jönköping International Business School (JIBS). Also, further investigation is on the employee’s perception of how the practices and policies of cultural diversity is being delivered by the management at the university. Method: An exploratory research is conducted for this paper and the empirical findings is gathered through a qualitative research. The primary research is retrieved by semi-constructed interviews. The human resource department and teachers from different backgrounds and countries were interviewed to find out how the teachers perception of cultural diversity management at their workplace based on how the practices and policies were delivered to them. Findings: Based on the interviews it was found that the cultural diversity management as a topic is well understood by both the management and the employees. However, the study revealed that the employees do not perceive it in the same manner it was being delivered to them by the management. The issues and practices connected to managing cultural diversity is not entirely provided by the management within the work environment. It essential that the management provide for more effectively communicated structure.

FundaÃÃo de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Cearà / A pesquisa tem como tema a Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho â QVT de Pessoas com DeficiÃncia â PcD. Este assunto à relevante pela reflexÃo que proporciona sobre as possibilidades de inserÃÃo e manutenÃÃo desses trabalhadores no mercado de trabalho, promovendo um ambiente propÃcio ao desenvolvimento de suas habilidades pessoais e profissionais. A pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar a QVT de PcD a partir da relaÃÃo dos estudos de QVT e de fatores de capacidade profissional numa instituiÃÃo de ensino superior. O estudo se propÃe a identificar fatores de QVT, tendo como referÃncia o modelo teÃrico de Walton; identificar fatores de capacidade profissional tendo como referÃncia o modelo IMBA â IntegraÃÃo de pessoas com deficiÃncia no mercado de trabalho; relacionar e analisar os estudos de QVT com os fatores de capacidade profissional do modelo IMBA. A abordagem metodolÃgica adotada foi a qualitativa, atravÃs do instrumento de entrevista. A anÃlise dos dados foi feita atravÃs da tÃcnica de anÃlise de conteÃdo. Os resultados referem um determinado grau de ausÃncia de QVT, na percepÃÃo grupo pesquisado. Os fatores remuneraÃÃo e condiÃÃes de trabalho foram destacados como os mais valorizados. O desenvolvimento profissional, o crescimento profissional, a estabilidade na instituiÃÃo e o equilÃbrio entre trabalho e vida pessoal foram fatores indicados com valorizaÃÃo mediana; a integraÃÃo social na instituiÃÃo, os direitos na instituiÃÃo e a importÃncia da empresa na comunidade foram apresentados como os fatores que menos interferem na manutenÃÃo da QVT. Com relaÃÃo aos fatores de capacidade profissional do modelo IMBA, o grupo apresentou compatibilidade parcial entre capacidade profissional e demandas do trabalho. Dos vinte e quatro fatores, apenas quatro tiveram correspondÃncia entre demandas do trabalho e capacidade profissional, a saber: atenÃÃo no ambiente de trabalho; ser Ãgil no trabalho; capacidade pessoal nas decisÃes do trabalho e capacidade de comunicaÃÃo com os clientes. Os instrumentos utilizados nesta pesquisa foram eficazes para a obtenÃÃo dos objetivos estabelecidos e contribuÃram para a compreensÃo da temÃtica, podendo ser Ãteis para aplicaÃÃo em outras pesquisas e prÃticas na Ãrea da Psicologia Organizacional. / The research theme is the Quality of Working Life â QWL for People with Disabilities â PCD. This issue is relevant for consideration of possible insertion and maintenance of these workers in the labor market, promoting an environment conducive to the development of personal and professional skills. The research aims to analyze the QWT of PCD based upon the relationship between QWL studies and professional factors in a higher education institution. The study aims to identify factors QWT, with reference to the theoretical model of Walton; identify factors of professional reference to the IMBA model, relate and analyze studies with QWL factors IMBA professional model. The adopted methodological approach was qualitative, through interview. Data analysis was performed using the technique of content analysis by Bardin. The results refer to a certain degree in the lack of QWL in the researched group. The factors remuneration and working conditions were highlighted as the most relevant. Professional development, professional growth and stability in the institution and the balance between work and personal life factors were pointed with a median level of importance; social integration in the institution, the institution tights and the meaning of the enterprise in local community were presented as the factors that less interfere in the maintenance QWL. Concerning the factors of the professional capacity in the model IMBA, the group presented partial compatibility between professional and work demands. Among the twenty-four factors, only four of them correspond to work demands and professional abilities, namely attention in the workplace, agility at work; personal capacity to take decisions at work and communication skills with customers. The instruments used in this study (QWL factors and professional Capacity Factors Model IMBA) have been effective for the achievement the of established objectives and contributed to the understanding of the theme as well as, and may be useful for application in other researches and practices in the field of Organizational Psychology.