Diversity management in German and Indian manufacturing companies

Paelmke, Haridass and Erwee, Ronel (2008) Diversity management in German and Indian manufacturing companies. International Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 13 (1). pp. 28-51.

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Abstract

Medium sized manufacturing German companies are expanding their operations to emerging industrial economies in India. As cross-cultural research studies involving German and Indian organisations are rare, this paper focuses on diversity management in manufacturing companies. The research explored German and Indian managers’ differences in perception of the diversity management practices in their companies. Sixty four German managers and seventy seven Indian managers employed in manufacturing companies, most of them in the automobile industry, responded to the Diversity survey. Conclusions and interpretations are based on both quantitative and descriptive analysis of mean scores whereas hypothesis testing was undertaken using Chi-Square calculations. The results of the quantitative analysis show no significant differences of perceptions among the two manager clusters and thus suggest, in general, the acceptance of the null hypothesis concerning diversity management in these contexts. Further qualitative analyses noted several trends in the perceptions of managers regarding diversity status and diversity related problems in the sampled companies. The findings highlighted that diversity is not viewed as problematic, although the managers’ perceptions regarding diversity climate and diversity management competences of their companies diverge to a certain extent. The study shows that these differences are of a subtle nature and not as deep-rooted as it may be assumed to be.

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Item Type:	Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C)
Refereed:	Yes
Item Status:	Live Archive
Additional Information:	USQ publication.
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:	Historic - Faculty of Business - School of Management and Marketing (1 Apr 2007 - 31 Dec 2010)
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:	Historic - Faculty of Business - School of Management and Marketing (1 Apr 2007 - 31 Dec 2010)
Date Deposited:	16 Apr 2008 05:59
Last Modified:	19 Feb 2015 00:03
Uncontrolled Keywords:	diversity management; diversity practices; diversity climate; cross-cultural research; German companies; Indian companies;
Fields of Research (2008):	15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services > 1503 Business and Management > 150311 Organisational Behaviour 20 Language, Communication and Culture > 2002 Cultural Studies > 200206 Globalisation and Culture 15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services > 1503 Business and Management > 150305 Human Resources Management
Socio-Economic Objectives (2008):	B Economic Development > 91 Economic Framework > 9104 Management and Productivity > 910402 Management
URI:	http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/4073

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