DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE WORKFORCE 1
How Diversity And Inclusivity Influence Leadership
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XXXXX Doctoral Research Project I
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November 13, 2022
Author Note
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I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
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Table of Contents
List of Tables 6
List Of Figures…………………………………………………………………………….7
Section 1: Introduction 8
Background of the Problem 9
Purpose Statement 13
Research Questions 14
How the Research Questions Relate to the Study Purpose 14
Nature of the Study 15
Research Paradigms 15
Positivism 16
Constructivism 17
Pragmatism 17
Design and Research Methods 18
Single Case Study 20
Triangulation 21
Conclusion 21
Research Framework 22
Introduction 22
Figure 1 23
Concepts 24
Job satisfaction depends on perceptions of productivity 24
Influence of a sense of belongingness on diversity 24
Theories 25
Maslow’s Motivational Theory 25
Social cognitive paradigm 25
Cognitive diversity model 26
Transformational leadership theory 26
Actors 26
Managers 26
Employees 26
Customers 27
Constructs 27
Leadership Style 27
Intrinsic Motivation 27
Barriers to Diversity Management 28
Relationship between Concepts, Theories, Constructs, and Actors 28
Summary 29
Definition of Terms 29
Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations 30
Assumptions 30
Limitations 31
Delimitations 33
Significance of the Study 33
Implications for Biblical Integration 34
Benefits and Relationship to Leadership Practice 34
Summary of Significance of the Study 35
Literature Review 36
Definitions of Diversity and Inclusivity 38
Influence of Diversity and Inclusivity on Leadership 40
Commitment 40
Decision Making 41
Communication 42
Innovation 43
Challenges of Diversity and Inclusivity in Leadership 45
Measurability of Diversity and Inclusivity 46
Reduction of Gaps in Literature 47
The Problem 52
Problem Statement 55
Purpose Statement 56
Concepts 57
Theories 59
Constructs and Variables 61
Related Studies 62
Anticipated Themes and Discovered Themes 64
Summary 67
Summary of Section 1 68
Transition to Section 2 69
Appendices 71
References 72
List of Tables
List of Figures
Figure 1. Diagram of Framework…………………………………………………………….….23
Figure 2. Immigration in the U.S. ………………………………………………………………44
Section 1: Introduction
Leadership is a significant element in the management of a company. The following study will seek to advance the use of leadership in organizations by analyzing how two concepts, diversity and inclusivity, influence the development, quality, and sustainability of leadership in companies. The study will be guided by a comprehensive topic investigating how diversity and inclusivity influence leadership. The topic is highly relevant to organizations needing to improve the stability of their leadership status. The study focuses on delivering a clear map of how diversity and inclusivity in the work force influence the leaders’ performance.
The dominant value of the study is drawn from the current social changes attributed to the rise in globalization (Stevens et al., 2008). The study is valuable in understanding the importance of diversity and inclusivity in organizations. It will offer companies a conclusive direction on why and how they can achieve diversity and inclusivity. The study is guided by the need to identify how diversity and inclusivity influence leadership by including both stable and unstable companies in the research, which will offer a significant opportunity to compare the role played by diversity and inclusivity. To support the need for comprehensive and thorough research, the study will follow a single case study approach that will be further supported through equally extensive research methods. The case study approach will be supported by interactive methods, which will bring the researcher and the population being studied together on a personal level where data can be directly gathered. The case study will focus on analyzing local companies through interactive research methods that will provide more knowledge about the impact of diversity and inclusivity on the capacity of leaders to achieve and maintain a healthy work environment and job satisfaction among employees.
The first section of the study includes the background of the problem where the issue being investigated is defined. The background of the problem is followed by a section that identifies the problem statement, which will effectively summarize the study’s importance while offering an adequate description of the knowledge gap that the study seeks to assess and fill. The next element in the first section is the purpose statement, which differs from the problem statement in that it will expound on the purpose of the study. This will include a summary of the benefits expected from the study. The research questions will also be an element included in the study. The research questions will be matched to the purpose of the study and the desired level of comprehensive research. The research questions section will be followed by the nature of the study section, where the depth and content of the study will be thoroughly described. The nature of the study section will create an image of what is expected from the case study. The research framework segment will be followed by the definition of terms where all the major words and phrases will be defined. The next element is the assumptions, limitations, and delimitations area that the significance of the study will follow. The last major element of the first section is the significance of the study, review of literature, appendices, and references, which are sections that will offer a presentation of the evidence and affirmations of the presented research questions and knowledge gaps.
Background of the Problem
Diversity and inclusivity within the organizational workforce are vital ingredients for ensuring an increase in employee productivity (Stevens et al., 2008). Diversity is a term used to explain the uniqueness and differences among various individuals within an organization (Stevens et al., 2008). Notably, understanding the components that make up the diversity among individuals includes cultural affiliations, religious inclination, political ideologies, race, gender, and sexual orientation (Stevens et al., 2008). Therefore, within the organizational framework, diversity means the organization is compromised of individuals with different backgrounds and perspectives. Thus, the presence of diversity within the labor-force comes with the added advantage of bringing new perspectives and new ways of doing things. Having a diverse workforce within an organization is an advantage to the management and other stakeholders (Stevens et al., 2008). Alternatively, inclusivity develops from the capacity of an organization to create a working environment that allows employees with different traits to work together without conflict (Stevens et al., 2008). Inclusivity means despite everyone being from a different cultural, social, and economic background, they feel respected, valued, involved, and treated fairly.
Diversity and inclusivity are two mutually related components that must be implemented simultaneously to ensure the positive productivity of employees within the organization. For instance, failure to create a good working environment that facilitates diversity and inclusivity among the employees may result in toxic interaction (Stevens et al., 2008). Significant research shows that organizations with diversity within the labor-force enjoy an increase in cash flow by 30% per employee compared to those without (Stevens et al., 2008). Companies that have embraced inclusivity and diversity have reported a 19% increase in revenue for the previous financial year (Riordan, 2014). However, despite the significant amount of effort being put forth by corporate management to implement diversity and inclusivity within their respective organizations, 40% of employees feel more needs to be done (Riordan, 2014).
In the past few decades, many immigrants from different geographical positions across the world have moved to America to seek greener pastures (Riordan, 2014). As a result of the influx in the number of immigrants, the labor market has experienced changes in the composition and diversity of individuals seeking employment opportunities. Notably, the above scenario has led the human resources departments to recruit individuals with diverse social, political, and economic backgrounds. The number of immigrants moving to the country is projected to increase exponentially in the coming years, increasing the need for organizations to enhance knowledge of diversity (Riordan, 2014). Stipulating the need for organizations to adopt mechanisms to support employee diversity and inclusivity (Riordan, 2014). The dominant reasons for the increase in immigrants within the American economy are as follows; deterioration of some parts of the global economy, wars, and political instability, among others (Riordan, 2014). Thus, it is the right time for organizations to adopt inclusivity of the entire diverse group within their workforce.
The benefits experienced by organizations as a result of enhancing diversity and inclusivity within their human resources outweigh the implications of costs incurred (Stevens et al., 2008). Having people with diverse backgrounds in culture, political affiliation, or sexual orientation is crucial in providing the management with a wide range of opinions and inputs, resulting in increased productivity. Empowering the recruitment process in organizations is essential in enhancing the organization’s ability to access a wide pool of individuals with different talents and skills. Accessing a wider talent pool allows a company to select from different individuals with diverse personalities, skills, and quality in performance, which is a source of competitive advantage for businesses (Grisson, 2018). Besides the advantages presented by diversity and inclusivity to the business, research shows that more than 70% of employees are interested in the firm’s diversity indexes when seeking employment (Grisson, 2018). A significant percentage of minority races, such as Blacks, Asians, and Latinos, perceive diversity as crucial when selecting an organization to apply for a job opportunity. It is, therefore, crucial for business entities within the economy to adopt strategies and policies that encourage inclusivity and diversity for the purposes of achieving an increase in employee productivity.
The other crucial benefit that comes as a result of companies supporting inclusivity and diversity is the increase in engagement and trust of management employees. Employees feel more engaged, valued, and included as a result of an organization investing in inclusivity and diversity, which encourages the work force to go the extra mile to ensure they become more productive (Riordan, 2014). Due to employees being highly engaged within the operations of the organization, they tend to cause positive ripple effects on essential business aspects such as improvement of team morale, profitability, and reduction of employee turnover (Joubert, 2016).
The presence of a diverse and inclusive work environment leads to better decisions compared to an environment that organizations with low diversity features dominate. A working environment that has individuals with different cultural backgrounds, political affiliations, ages, sexual orientations, and experiences makes better decisions due to the availability of different perceptions. Diversity and inclusivity also improve the ability of the business to come up with new solutions and innovations to address the tastes and preferences of the customers. Businesses that support inclusivity and diversity within their labor-force are more likely to come up with new innovations than those with a low diversity index.
Problem Statement
The general problem to be addressed is the inability of leaders to effectively develop a diverse and inclusive workforce resulting in decreased organizational performance. Diversity in the workplace is the state of having people of different cultures in an organization (Saxena, 2014). Inclusivity is the process of incorporating all the different cultures into the achievement of the company’s goals (Grissom, 2018). Makhdoomi & Nika (2018), when leaders fail to develop a diverse, inclusive workforce by discriminating against their employees based on ethnicity, religion, gender, culture, and physical appearance, there is a higher possibility of a dysfunctional conflict, implanting negative perceptions, and biased decisions. The research by Olsen & Martins (2016) and Wiles (2020) established that leaders’ failure to develop diversity and inclusivity within organizations negatively impacts their attractiveness and reduces employee confidence. Furthermore, it affects decision-making, recruitment practices, acculturation, and firm culture. Joubert (2016) posits that because of leaders’ failure to integrate outdoor activities such as sports, charity, and community services as the primary strategies for fostering organizational diversity and inclusion, the employees require mentorship and coaching to intensify their ability to team with others and cooperate, resulting in higher workforce productivity. The specific problem to be addressed is the potential inability of leaders to effectively develop a diverse and inclusive workforce resulting in a decreased organizational performance at Greensville Transport.
Purpose Statement
The main purpose of this research is to determine the potential inability of leaders to effectively develop a diverse and inclusive workforce resulting in decreased organizational performance. Specific courses of action are needed to facilitate diversity and inclusivity within the organizational employees’ framework. Despite the availability of diverse individuals with qualified skills and experience within the labor market, human resource recruiters are still finding it difficult to develop inclusivity. The lack of complete comprehension of the benefits the business is bound to experience as a result of facilitating diversity and inclusivity is a key constraint to coming up with the needed solutions.
Research Questions
Given the change in the market and economic dynamism, business entities are in dire need of coming up with solutions to enable them to remain competitive. Therefore, the research will aim at finding out what needs to be done for businesses to acquire the much-needed diversity and inclusivity within their workforce. Understanding the difficulties experienced by management while supporting diversity and inclusivity will be integral in suggesting procedures and measures needed to address this issue.
RQ1. How can leaders establish diversity and inclusion strategies through team-building exercises?
RQ2. What do the leaders need to do to be involved in the team-building exercise in order to maximize the impact?
How the Research Questions Relate to the Study Purpose
RQ1. How can leaders establish diversity and inclusion strategies through team-building exercises?
The question is critical to the problem by exploring the different leadership practices managers can adopt to ensure delivery.
RQ2. What do the leaders need to do to be involved in the team-building exercise in order to maximize the impact?
To achieve diversity and inclusivity within an organizational, the stakeholders need to develop and adopt certain strategies. Offering training and creating awareness of the importance of organizations having diverse and inclusive workers will be crucial. Besides, achieving diversity and inclusivity within the organization plays an integral role in facilitating enhanced performances. Therefore, all the organizational stakeholders have a role to play to ensure diversity and inclusivity are achieved.
Nature of the Study
Diversity and inclusivity within an organizational environment are crucial for enhanced productivity (Stevens et al., 2008). This discussion involves research on the impact of a diverse and inclusive workforce on trucking companies. The study focuses on the productivity of the trucking companies’ organizational approach with a recognition of how behavior and social values contribute to the outcome. The explorative and explanatory study will detail the ways companies can embrace diverse and inclusive cultures and the quality of values and behavior. Trying to understand the impact created by workers’ relations and interaction in the day-to-day routines is crucial for explaining enhanced productivity. When workplace management becomes demanding, the grouping of different employee values comes into play (Stevens et al., 2008). The research content of this paper will explain different research paradigms giving insight into the concepts that build up reliable research and highlighting the most appropriate paradigm for the diverse and inclusive workplace influence on productivity. The design methodologies involving fixed, flexible, and mixed methods will be explored to describe the elements contributing to understanding diverse and inclusive workforce productivity for a trucking company. The constructivism paradigm and a flexible methodology are applied in the research using the data collection for processing information for impact discovery and explanation.
Research Paradigms
The proposed research relies on properly selected beliefs and understandings that build background knowledge about the research subject. The paradigms will guide research modeling and identify values that develop the study topic. A background understanding of the subject under investigation is needed, and the beliefs selected should be understandable to the one who chose them.
Positivism
The positivism paradigm is based on the idea that human behavior can be understood through observation and reason. According to Hammersley (2019), positivism conforms to the assumption that a single tangible reality gained through observation exists that guides the understanding of concepts and situations. Positivists rely on a qualitative research approach that emphasizes the importance of experimentation, observation, measurement, validity, and reliability. Thus only factual knowledge gained through observation is trustworthy. The positivism paradigm limits the researcher’s role to objectively collected and interpreted data. Post-positivism Post-positivism approach argues that experience, ideas, and identity influence what we observe and the conclusion we make. According to Creswell & Creswell (2018), post-positivism pursues objective answers by subjectively building on knowledge and theories that past theorists developed. The essential element of post-positivism is the notion of pluralism in the additional information. The adherence to different features and observations developed through credible theories and knowledge explains the various attributes (Hammersley, 2019). In the research phenomenon for a diverse and inclusive workforce in trucking company productivity, the post-positivism paradigm will be used to support the idea that past experiences determine future employee behavior and performance. The descriptions of theory and information collection in the content context of trucking companies will be explained in more detail through the post-positivism paradigm to feature the representation beyond what is displayed.
Constructivism
The constructivism paradigm highlights a research modality where finding the essence of reality includes a practical approach to finding examples in the study environment (DeCarlo, 2020). The idea of constructivism explains how humans build their lives, experiences, or operation of norms through truth and observing how they work (DeCarlo, 2020). Constructivism prioritizes human efforts in interaction to form interesting assumptions about a situation. Explaining constructivism contributes to people’s learning and adaptation.
Pragmatism
This paradigm involves a unique research approach compared to others when it comes to truth and reality assumptions. Pragmatism approaches research through problem identification and solution-finding (DeCarlo, 2020). The pursuit of reality and truth gets replaced with ideas on what process, activity, or schemes can work without relying on prevailing circumstances or observations (DeCarlo, 2020). The significant evidence develops by finding actions and values that build on theories that associate with the research findings. The research will focus on workable plans and executable activities to lead to further steps with a clear view that is easy to comprehend. Selected Paradigm The research will apply the constructivism paradigm for the diverse and inclusive workforce impact on productivity with the trucking company. The constructivism paradigm includes the aspects of social interaction and bridging the gap between positivism and post-positivism. The individual and researcher roles will help accomplish the study’s goals through thoughtful interpretation (Tamunomiebi et al., 2019). Workforce behavior, values, views, adaptation, and acceptance of each other’s capabilities will explain the researcher’s target (Bonache & Festing, 2020).
Design and Research Methods
The proposed research methodology will use questionnaires, surveys, and interviews. In selecting the design, the technique must match the methodology chosen to complement the paradigm. The selected methods provide a combination of factual and numerical evidence of the data collected. The research methods will also offer a direct interaction with the target population, which will advance the reliability of the data collected.
Fixed Design with Quantitative Research
The fixed design explains the approach of studying data samples to understand components, information, and agents (Kumar, 2019). The selection of a fixed design uses data collection tools and organization of study areas using quantitative information finding metrics. The fixed design will include a standard scheme that utilizes data and facts as tangible elements responsible for representing the research variable (Kumar, 2019). The quantitative research methodology is a fixed design that emphasizes objective measurements and numerical, statistical, and mathematical analysis of data collected through manipulating pre-existing statistical data using computational techniques. Flexible Design with Qualitative Research The procedure presents an approach that accommodates data modifications and selects an appropriate information collection and presentation method (Kumar, 2019). Within the scope of the flexible design information collection, case studies, cohorts, experiments, and the use of surveys are involved among the qualitative methods adopted (Kumar, 2019). For the workforce, the impact on productivity in trucking companies, and the aspects of inclusiveness will contribute to the testable variable in the research.
Mixed Design with both Qualitative and Quantitative Research
The mixed design incorporates fixed and flexible methods in various quantitative and qualitative methods. The mixed model allows the research to mix qualitative and quantitative techniques in a single study to ensure an in-depth understanding of the research problem. The general view of the study area can be represented with non-changeable content and other variations that enable proposal adjustments to align it with the hypothesis designs. Identifying different levels of engagement, experiments, surveys, interviews, case studies, quasi-experiment, and other integrated methods variables are essential in building on diversity in the study design. The proposal of a diverse and inclusive workforce influence on operations can allow quantitative data to build knowledge for factual views. Selected Design for the Research The chosen design for the proposed topic will utilize flexible design with quantitative methods. Applying a single case study to explore and understand the implications of inclusive and diverse employee teams in a trucking company’s productivity will assist in completing the research. The reliability of qualitative measures in data collection and interpretation of information acquired in the business environment can present the human and social values study context with facts and viable beliefs.
Method of Research
The research study will utilize a flexible design with qualitative methods. The nature of information required for the scope aligns with the qualitative methods of developing insight into different organizations, assembling and analyzing data that will apply triangulation after the discussion of the method.
The research uses a qualitative approach where the details are drawn from personalized stories that entail essential information. The utilization of the narrative method finds its way into the community or group-based study to identify critical content that reflects the situation or subject in the research topic (Carter et al., 2014). The nature of the qualitative narrative method involves its ability to examine human experiences, knowledge management, and knowledge transfer (Carter et al., 2014).
Phenomenology
Phenomenology derives its meaning from phenomenon study, focusing on science and social aids. The use of phenomenology occurs in either hermeneutic or transcendental phenomenology (Elkatawne, 2016). The hermeneutic aspects involve textual explanation for a specific group of people whose experience in the past or current situation explores a particular experience (Elkatawne, 2016). The phenomenology approach uses human experience in practice or phenomena context views. The situations in which phenomenology can apply are cases like minority group experiences during public events, election campaigns, or community public contexts that build phenomenon-acquired experiences (Elkatawne, 2016).
Grounded Theory
The underlying ideas about grounded theory involve an investigative approach to using human experience and views (Elkatawne, 2016). The overall purpose of grounded theory is to examine the responses that illustrate a given subject. Grounded theory is a qualitative approach in which a researcher studies a particular phenomenon and discovers new theories based on real-world data collection and analysis (Elkatawne, 2016). The new theory discovered becomes an essential component of the study’s outcome.
Single Case Study
This qualitative method involves people, events, scenarios, incidents, or even a community (Elkatawne, 2016). Developing a single case study provides an information acquisition strategy to address a single problem, issue, or situation with a chosen border-defined study case (Elkatawne, 2016). The approach identifies the necessity for population and the single problem to simplify the study circumstances and relevance of the bounded scenario to find the results and connect details for a definite solution-finding process (Elkatawne, 2016). The impacts of a diverse and inclusive workforce on trucking company productivity will utilize a single case study analyzing the social cohesion of workers and production issue determinants within the identified business. As specified in the qualitative method discussion, the single case study approach will recognize the people’s experiences within the trucking company environment.
Triangulation
The last aspect of the research proposal concept involves triangulation presented to help organize, represent, and display the collected information. The design involves a flexible technique with a single case study methodology. The study acknowledges situations where statistical and experiment dynamics recognize the importance of the quantitative research approach in breaking down the facts and content of the study (Carter et al., 2014).
Conclusion
The methods chosen should show and relate to how a workforce is inclusive and how the workforce is also diversified. How these methods are addressed plays a significant role in supporting the paradigm chosen. The triangulation procedure will apply in the diverse and inclusive workforce domain to test how valid a good team’s impact on production is and display the case study information. The process highlights experience, issues, commitment, and job satisfaction, among other evidence, when relying on qualitative findings.
Research Framework
Introduction
Companies strive to introduce elements to their workplaces that enhance structure and efficiency by focusing on advancing employees. Greensville Transport trucking company has a challenge with diversity and productivity since every employee in the workplace holds different characteristics, traits, and beliefs that make introducing a unified approach to leadership difficult. The differences are best referred to as diversity, with most companies focusing on advancing their diversity through inclusivity, highlighting stable leadership. Diversity does not have a single defining element because it is a combination of individual experiences and cultures that define each individual, including age, gender, disabilities, educational background, sexual orientation, and religion (Shahid et al., 2016). Embracing diversity in a company warrants the use of various systematic approaches, which results in changes in the leadership structure, resulting in improved productivity and performance. Diversity results in more effective leadership and increased productivity by introducing structures that eradicate discrimination, increase motivation, and enhance job satisfaction (Shahid et al., 2016).
Figure 1
Diagram of Frameworks
Problem Statement
Problem Statement
Research concept
Research concept
Research Question
(How diversitinfluences productivity)
Research Question
(How diversitinfluences productivity)
Hypothesis
Hypothesis
Research Paradigm
(Post Positivst)
Research Paradigm
(Post Positivst)
Theories
Theories
Testing Hypothesis
Testing Hypothesis
Data Analysis
Data Analysis
Developing patterns from findings
Developing patterns from findings
Developing an implementation plan
Developing an implementation plan
Blue boxes: Main parts of the framework
Blue boxes: Main parts of the framework
Note. The above diagram is a summary of the frameworks pertaining to the research on the influence of diversity and inclusivity on leadership and productivity in an organization
Concepts
Diversity in the workplace is supported by various concepts that seek to achieve and embrace inclusivity of all characteristics shared by different levels of employees in an organization. Concepts are essential to research because the offer a clear path to the investigated topic. The concepts selected for the study will offer a distinct description of diversity’s influence on companies’ leadership. The following concepts will guide the research.
Job satisfaction depends on perceptions of productivity
Job satisfaction is important for higher productivity, a dominant concept relating to diversity in the workplace. Storey et al. (2019) identify the concept that an employee’s perception of productivity, both individually and collectively within the workplace, influences the development of higher job satisfaction. The development of a higher sense of productivity is a concept that significantly influences job satisfaction (Storey et al., 2019). Job satisfaction seeks to clearly visualize how inclusivity and diversity influence the company’s productivity by focusing on how the elements influence the employees’ perception of themselves and the company.
Influence of a sense of belongingness on diversity
The concept of acceptability and feelings of belongingness held by employees significantly influence the development of diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. Roberts (2020) describes that employees who feel like they belong to a given workplace attribute such feelings to respectful inclusivity that is fostered through consideration of their diversity and a balance between creativity, self-honesty, and dedication. The concept identifies a significant correlation between the emotional attributes of an employee to the successful integration of diversity and inclusivity in a workplace.
Theories
Diversity and inclusivity in a workplace are elements strongly linked to various established theories that explain the social, emotional, and psychological aspects of achieving productivity. The theories to be used in the research will provide an understanding of leaders’ functioning, which will reflect their cognitive and physical skills. The theories will also focus on describing how environments generated and maintained through certain practices by the leader influence the employees. The following are the theories to be applied to the research:
Maslow’s Motivational Theory:
The theory identifies that an individual can only achieve motivation once five needs, namely physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization needs are effectively met, which is a theory based on materialistic naturalism that focuses on the personalistic demands of an individual for them to direct quality input to a workplace (Acevedo, 2018).
Social cognitive paradigm:
The theory establishes a correlation between an individual’s willingness to learn with the behavior displayed by others by dictating that learning other people’s cultures and beliefs is dependent on an individual’s categorization tendencies where they group people based on their compartmentalization of such characteristics, which is also influenced by the ethical and spiritual climate in the workplace (Otaye-Ebed et al., 2020). However, the theory posits that such compartmentalization of cultures and beliefs held by others may reduce the success of diversity by introducing bias.
Cognitive diversity model:
The theory identifies that investing in employees’ cognition enhances creativity and
Innovation standards in the workplace further develop teamwork efficiency by increasing individual commitment levels (Mitchell et al., 2019).
Transformational leadership theory:
The theory dictates that leadership plays a vital role in developing diversity and
Inclusivity in a workplace because the leaders are given the responsibility of conducting themselves in a manner that inspires certain behavior, beliefs, and practices in employees (Arokiasamy & Tat, 2020).
Actors
Managers
Managers are the dominant actor in the research because the topic of diversity and inclusivity in an organization depends on the structures of leaders such as managers. The position is granted to individuals with a deep understanding of how to effectively interact with employees in a manner that embraces their diverse characteristics, blends these differences, and results in a positive work environment that enhances productivity. In the research, managers will be given priority because they will offer data on how different approaches toward diversity apply to work environments and how they influence diversity, inclusivity, and productivity levels.
Employees
The employees are the receiving end of every leadership structure and diversity approach, and employees have different demands and display varying input depending on their stability. This actor will be applied to the research to compare how different diversity and inclusivity levels affect the employee’s capacity to be productive. Employees are essential actors in the research because the leadership directly influences them in companies. Employees will be used as actors because they will provide measurability of the influence of diversity in organizations.
Customers
Every organization focuses on pleasing a given set of customers, making them vital actors in developing specific productivity standards. Customers are vital actors because their interaction with the company influences the sustainability of an organization. The customers will be included in the research because they understand and compare the productivity levels in work settings with or without diversity and inclusivity. The customers will be classified as an actor that will help determine and measure the longevity of the influence of diversity and inclusivity on an organization.
Constructs
Leadership Style
The construct of leadership style identifies that different leaders apply varying styles to control, motivate, and influence their teams (Arokiasamy & Tat, 2020). The construct will include assessing how managers lead their teams towards inclusivity and diversity guided by various structures and practices introduced to a workplace. The research will focus on assessing the factors that encourage the development of diversity and inclusivity in the construct.
Intrinsic Motivation
The intrinsic motivation construct covers the internal sources of motivation that encourage an employee to engage with the company’s goals and targets without being influenced by external factors (Arokiasamy & Tat, 2020). The construct will be assessed to identify how various elements of intrinsic motivation combine with diversity and inclusivity to advance productivity.
Barriers to Diversity Management
The diversity construct identifies that diversity is not a simple element to achieve in a workplace. Elliott et al. (2013) outline that introducing diversity into a company is a delicate process because it demands that employees and their leaders neglect their conscious and unconscious biases, which are mostly engraved into the institution’s culture. Barriers to diversity management will highlight the various problems that a leader may encounter when applying diversity management, highlighting flaws in the organization’s change management. Morrison, Lumby, and Sood (2006) outline that change management influences the success of diversity management by determining factors such as communication, conflict management, and stakeholder engagement. This shows that managing diversity may be hindered by the existing structure of an organization. The construct will be assessed to identify the different factors that challenge the full implementation of the benefits of diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.
Relationship between Concepts, Theories, Constructs, and Actors
The constructs, concepts, theories, and actors have an irrefutable relationship that helps develop an understanding of how diversity and inclusivity in the workplace can be achieved. The concepts included in the research will be a dominant feature in determining the action plan for the research because they will influence the selection of data collection approaches. The concepts and theories have a significantly dominant relationship within the research rooted in the affirmation of external and internal elements that influence diversity development. For example, the concept that productivity is determined by job satisfaction is strongly linked to Maslow’s motivational theory (Mitchell, et al., 2019). Also, the actors and constructs share a relationship that determines the application and the flow of information. The actors will be the primary source of reliable data that will aid in affirming or nullifying a correlation between the constructs identified with the research question seeking to verify the influence of diversity and inclusivity on productivity in the workplace. For example, managers, as vital actors in the research, will correlate to the data sought to support or nullify leadership style as a construct because an assessment of the input directed to employees by managers will identify how a leadership style contributes to successful diversity and inclusivity.
Summary
A diverse and inclusive work environment offers vast benefits to an organization, including developing a conflict-free workforce, increasing productivity, and leadership stability (Mitchell et al., 2019). These benefits assert the need for organizations to embrace practices and structures that establish diversity and inclusivity to ensure a competitive advantage in a given industry. Diversity and inclusivity transform an organization’s internal and external climate, attributed to facilitating creativity and innovation through diversity. This element embraces individual beliefs and cultures to learn aspects that can be used to enhance sustainability. However, achieving diversity and inclusivity depends on each employee’s motivation and position in the organization, which motivates them and makes them feel valued despite their differences.
Definition of Terms
Diversity: The capacity to acknowledge and include individuals from different backgrounds regarding ethnicity, gender, and other social elements that mark individuals as unique from others (Kapoor, 2011). The term refers to intermixing people’s different values and worldviews (Fisk, Silvera, & Haun, 2019).
Equity: Offering individuals from different backgrounds and of varying status access to fairness and equal distribution of resources and attention (Lewis, MacKenzie, & Kaminsky, 2021).
Inclusivity: The practice of assuring equal opportunities to individuals or groups that are viewed differently to offer them a sense of belongingness (Hardick et al., 2019).
Unconscious Bias: The stereotypes developed toward certain groups in society that people might not fully understand or identify when they display them (Zelevansky, 2019). The term can be summarized as the thoughts people develop without an actual realization of their thoughts (Oberai & Anand, 2018).
Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations
Assumptions
The researcher makes assumptions that are believed to be correct but are not validated or verified. They are founded on logic or arguments and aid the researcher in developing a feasible research procedure capable of addressing the highlighted questions and confirming the hypothesis (MacLehose et al., 2021). Assumptions are essential in the research process because they serve as the foundation for the research questions. To build a favorable working environment for employees, the researcher will investigate possible factors influencing leadership through a strategic framework, including leadership strategies and other potential factors associated with leadership ability. The first assumption applied to the research is that the leaders are tasked with developing teams that they deem feasible for duties and responsibilities in a given work environment. This assumption is rooted in the affirmed responsibilities of leaders in a workplace to build their teams into productive and interactive units that match the company’s goals (Ellis, 2021). The assumption will control the research by offering a foundation for the researcher to understand leaders’ different approaches to their teams.
A second assumption applicable to the study is that every company and leader utilizes diversity and inclusivity. This belief will allow the measurability of companies’ diversity and inclusivity levels. The additional assumption will guide the premise that companies are aware of the benefits of introducing diversity and inclusivity to the workplace. Therefore, companies will focus on benefitting from different perspectives towards business operations due to diversity and inclusivity (Jonsen et al., 2021). This will support the assumption and its role in the research by helping identify the organizations or leaders who do not hold any importance towards inclusivity and diversity.
Also, the assumption that leaders have a strong relationship with employees will be made to aid the research. Leaders can best influence their work environment if they have a relationship with their employees, which may vary based on the leadership style practiced (Ali et al. 2015). This will offer the researcher a chance to measure and compare various leaders and their interactions with their employees, which will make it possible to attribute certain characteristics to the use of diversity and inclusivity.
Limitations
Limitations impact the research process and how the findings are interpreted beyond the researcher’s control (Price & Murnan, 2004). On the other hand, appropriate risk management strategies can help mitigate these constraints. One of the study’s shortcomings is the participants’ unwillingness to submit useful information owing to the risk of it being released into the public domain. On the other hand, the researcher will pledge to maintain anonymity and secrecy. This will encourage participants to provide reliable information, focusing on their opinions on the suitability of the leadership in their organizations. The unwillingness to offer quality data on the impact of diversity and inclusivity on leadership may stem from the fact that leaders might seek to offer reserved opinions about the applicability of diversity and inclusivity to their organizations. This may stem from the fear of the consequences of offering genuine opinions. An additional reason for the unwillingness to provide useful information may be the fear of consequence, which may be more pronounced if regular employees are involved in the study.
Another key constraint is time. Time limits the researcher’s ability to collect a large amount of data from many potential participants. To meet this challenge, researchers will need a flexible study design. According to Bouncken et al. (2021), a flexible design demands a commitment to time management that allows a researcher to collect a large number of data and information in a short amount of time by generating applicable sets of patterns. It allows the researcher to process and collect vital data to help them achieve their goals. In this situation, the investigator will concentrate on a particular research strategy. The study will focus on assessing leaders in given work environments. Time may be a limitation because of the need to balance between participating in the study and controlling and managing their work teams to avoid losses or delays in job delivery.
Also, diversifying our data may be a limitation of the study. The research is focused on identifying how leadership is influenced by the introduction of diversity and inclusivity, which makes it important to have an equally diverse participant group for the study to achieve applicable data. The problem may be the inaccessibility of reliable partners willing to engage in research that seemingly measures their stability and strategy in business by displaying a curiosity towards their leadership, which may be intimidating to some companies. The limitation may influence the study by making the data lack generalizability. According to Carminati (2018), generalizability is the factor that adds to the coherency of research by guaranteeing that the research conducted can be used by individuals, organizations, or groups and that it fits into varying situations. A lack of generalizability may challenge the actual purpose and relevance of the study.
Delimitations
The study will be achieved using a case-control research design. A case-control is based on observational standards and does not seek to alter any element in a given group, allowing various real-life and applicable factors to be deducted and revealed (Von Ehrenstein, 2019). The study will use an experimental approach in that the focus group data collection approach will be applied. The study will focus on diversifying its data, which means it will need different participants and reliable sample size. The sample for the research will be selected from five companies of different business sizes, including SMEs and stable companies. The five companies will be used to source leaders as the main focus of the research and employees who will act as a control segment for the research. The leaders to be applied will include HR managers, team leaders, CEOs, Hiring managers, and Chief operating officers resulting in 15 leaders from each company. Also, each company will provide one employee to participate, which means the study will use 20 participants. Data will be collected through interviews, advancing the study’s observational aspect.
Significance of the Study
The study is significantly important to businesses across various industries because it will focus on offering an approach to sustainability by encouraging companies to invest in their leaders. The study aims to increase the researcher’s familiarity with the importance of diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. The study will also outline how diversity and inclusivity can negatively impact the company’s leaders. Research indicates that diversity can introduce challenges such as increased conflict, miscommunication, and the development of ill behavior among employees as part of the rejection of the concepts (Dover, Kaiser, & Major, 2019). This makes the research significant in developing a manual to introduce the concepts.
Implications for Biblical Integration
The study will focus on achieving the one-body notion biblically endorsed as a source of functionality. The Bible states, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body” (1 Corinthians 12:12-27 ESV). In non-church organizations, this biblical emphasis of having “one-body” can be drawn from the effective functionality developed if employees think as one in terms of their motivation, goals, and purpose. This denotes that organizations need to embrace the individuality held by each employee because these unique aspects are a source of functionality that make the organization run smoothly as one. The research will also focus on meeting the Bible’s emphasis on social elements such as race and ethnic differences. God commands that people embrace each other’s race because he created “every nation of the human race that they should inhabit the earth” (Acts 17:26, ESV). This indicates that no race is superior to the other, which is an approach to social elements such as gender, sexuality, race, social status, and disability that will be encouraged by the research.
Benefits and Relationship to Leadership Practice
The research study focuses on offering businesses a source of stability and structure in their operations. The study will describe the relationship between leadership and company success by identifying how factors such as job satisfaction and motivation can be achieved through diversity and inclusivity. The study will seek to advance the number of companies aware of the benefits of using diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. This comes after statistics indicate that only 34% of companies have equipped themselves with diversity and inclusivity and that men are two times more likely to find employment during the hiring and recruiting events regardless of the gender of the hiring manager, which indicates that a low value towards inclusivity and diversity in workplaces (Corrigan, 2022; Reiners, 2020). This poses a challenge for the leadership in companies because it translates to a poorly functioning work environment.
The study will benefit leadership practice by introducing a structure and measurability of leadership practices that can be merged into different leadership styles to achieve diversity. The study will focus on expounding on what diversity and inclusivity look like, which will eradicate the time and cost of effectively adopting the concepts. This will include identifying reasons why diversity and inclusivity fail in organizations. Leaders may be willing to apply diversity and inclusivity to influence their leadership. Strategies may fail because of focusing on recognition rather than respect, not using diversity to solve a prworkplace problems, The research will thus help companies avoid court cases that arise from the lack of diversity and inclusivity, which may lead to millions of losses as companies seek to justify why they failed to prevent groups such as women and the disabled from being discriminated against by their leaders, especially in large companies that are vulnerable to discrimination cases (Dadanlar & Abebe, 2017). This shows that the lack of diversity and inclusivity may disrupt the functionality and image of the company.
Summary of Significance of the Study
The study is significant because it offers organizations the chance to explore their structure by reflecting upon their leadership status. For companies seeking to strengthen their company leadership, the study offers applicable solutions and strategies for using diversity and inclusivity to steer such changes. The study will identify various visible issues that arise from the lack of diversity and inclusivity in the workplace, including challenges in achieving the company’s goals and increased conflict among employees arising from the lack of respect that leads to employee bullying and challenges achieving goals (Høgh et al., 2021). The study will also offer leaders an understanding of how to identify effective diversity and inclusivity while also empowering them with the appropriate approaches for sustaining the practices.
Literature Review
Leadership is a vital element in society that promotes stability in an organization. Workplaces function based on the introduction of different individuals with varying skills and backgrounds, described as diversity and inclusivity in companies. The two concepts, diversity and inclusivity, have become a point of interest across organizations with the growing rates of interactions among cultures because of the rise of globalization as people and organizations grow their interests in trade (Steele & Derven, 2015). Diversity and inclusivity have introduced strengths and challenges to the organization, with significant scrutiny being directed to the role of diversity and inclusivity in developing workplace leadership. The following study will focus on assessing the relationship between leadership and inclusivity and diversity, which will be a highly comprehensive assessment of how leaders develop their skills and performance based on the two concepts of interest. The topic of how diversity and inclusivity influence leadership is relevant to organizations. The research will focus on providing companies with a practical strategy for balancing diversity and inclusivity to ensure leaders have effective workplace management skills. The research topic is highly relevant because it will provide a roadmap as to how companies can improve their performance by embracing inclusivity and diversity.
The value of the research stems from the growing changes in society that have forced organizations to rethink their approaches to business. Globalization has encouraged the transfer of skills and cultures from one region to another, introducing significant structural changes. Contractor (2022) outlines that the growth of globalization has resulted in economic changes such as the increase in multinational companies, enhanced global supply chains, and enhanced production, which is attributed to the increase in diversity and inclusivity across organizations. The research will focus on expounding on the different reasons that diversity and inclusivity are important to organizations. This will be characterized by a thorough assessment of how the two concepts, diversity and inclusivity, influence leadership through an assessment of how leaders gain skills, knowledge, and management strategies by embracing diverse and inclusive workplaces. The study will focus on employing comprehensive theories, frameworks, and research methods to ensure that the data collected applies to generating a clear image of whether there is a positive or negative relationship between leadership and diversity and inclusivity.
The analysis will begin with a description of the problem promoting the study, followed by a description of the study’s purpose, research questions, and nature of the study. The purpose statement, which differs from the problem statement in that it will elaborate on the study’s purpose, is the following component in the first section. This will contain an overview of the advantages anticipated from the study. A component of the study will also include the research questions. The study’s goal and the required level of thorough research will determine the research questions. The nature of the study section will come after the research questions section and will include a detailed description of the scope and content of the investigation. The study section’s structure will give readers a sense of what to anticipate from the case study. The definition of terms section will come after the study framework section, which defines all the key terms and phrases. The assumptions, constraints, and delimitations sections are also vital to the analysis, which will be followed by the significance of the study, review of literature, appendices, and references, which will show the evidence and reinforce the research questions and knowledge gaps that are discussed and exploited by the study.
Definitions of Diversity and Inclusivity
The definition of diversity and inclusivity concepts vary according to the company and the leader applying the theories. Most scholars describe diversity as the actual face of a workforce in an organization. According to Roberson (2006), diversity in the 21st century can be defined as the introduction of distinctly different demographics to organizations to include a balance of or more women, ethnic groups, minorities, and ages of workers. Diversity describes the rearrangement occurring in modern society, where certain restrictive beliefs and perceptions are being abandoned. Variation is the dominant goal and main element used to define diversity to ensure that organizations shift from an ‘all-male’ task force mentality, which introduced additional limitations based on the masculinity concepts that made workplaces less open to other demographics of employees considered weak or minorities (Fine et al., 2019). Defining diversity is also attributed to the organization in question, guided by the goal of withdrawing the rigid perceptions that limit others from being employed. McMurry (2011) delivers the distinct relationship between diversity and the organization by highlighting how diversity also encompasses hiring male nurses without the limiting perceptions of them being less masculine or ineffective in their job for not having distinct feminine attributes. The definitions of diversity across organizations typically revolve around avoiding limiting traditions and beliefs to ensure that the image of a company’s workforce displays variety in various demographics.
Diversity and inclusivity go hand-in-hand, with the latter being dependent on successfully implementing a diverse workforce. Davidson and Ferdman (2001) describe inclusion as the additional step companies need to practice after achieving variety in their employees, which should be a practice characterized by bringing the employees together to match the organization’s vision. Inclusion is a vital step that requires consideration of the reasons and factors making the employees diverse. Petriwskyj (2010) identifies the significant changes that have occurred over time, which has prompted the definition of inclusion to change over the years from the focus on mainstreaming, where variety is assimilated into an existing group into being a process where groups are introduced guided by proper instructions and resources to ensure they effectively merge into other groups. These definitions show how inclusivity is best defined with the introduction of new demographics into a company guided by the facilitation of their fitting into the task force.
However, most companies today have failed to define inclusivity and diversity properly. Bourke and Titus (2019) explain that most companies tend to define diversity and inclusivity with significant simplicity, whereas organizations simply define the concepts as the mere introduction of people with different racial, ethnic, generational, gender, and physical traits. However, this definition fails to highlight the serious process associated with diversity and inclusion. Also, research shows that millennials have a significantly distinct definition of diversity and inclusivity. Smith and Turner (2015) avert that millennials define diversity and inclusivity based on the nature of their experiences at a company, whereas a comparison of millennials and non-millenials revealed that 75% of millennials are likely to define diversity from experiences and 71% focused on teamwork, while 21% of non-millennials focused on representation and 28% focused on fairness and equity of opportunity. The definitions of diversity seem to be an everchanging concept, but the bottom line of the descriptions is that diversity and inclusivity should positively influence an employee and their willingness to work in a given work environment.
Influence of Diversity and Inclusivity on Leadership
Commitment
Diversity and inclusivity influence leadership by enhancing the commitment levels of both the leaders and employees. As Roberson (2006) outlines, companies engage in various practices to achieve diversity and inclusivity, including effective education and training of employees, mentoring programs, and career development initiatives. The dominant role of diversity and inclusivity to the commitment by the leader is the introduction of a willingness to positively influence the organization by influencing the thinking, perceptions, and experiences of every employee regardless of their distinct demographics. This influences employee commitment because of the efforts invested toward making them feel included and valued in the company. The commitment by the leaders also sifts into the task force, influencing their cognitive attitudes towards the organization, which is asserted by a study conducted on 901 employees sourced from fifty South Korean companies that revealed that the leader’s commitment to influenced each employee’s psychological perception of safety, satisfaction, and attachment to the company (Lee, Kim, & Kim, 2020). This is a significant advantage introduced by diversity and inclusivity in leadership because the leaders are more willing to appreciate the devotion of the leaders, which translates into an added advantage for companies. O’Donovan (2017) describes diversity and inclusivity play a major role in enhancing employee commitment because leaders can harness cognitive and psychological attitudes, which in return influence the turnover rates in a company, where employee retention is enhanced to avoid unnecessary costs of employee recruitment and hiring processes. This shows that the commitment harnessed by a diverse and inclusive leadership ensures that employees stay committed to the company to avoid unnecessary costs of high turnover rates.
Decision Making
Diversity and inclusivity are qualities that advance a leader’s employee management attitudes and practices, influencing the decision-making processes in various ways. Randel et al. (2018) outline that the distinct attributes of diversity and inclusivity-building leaders is an investment into the empowerment of the task force by ensuring each employee feels appreciated for their unique attributes, which fosters a sense of belongingness that influences the employee’s approaches towards various business elements. A leader who practices inclusivity and diversity focuses on the task force’s flexibility and performance, which prompts them to adopt practices that influence the employees’ thought processes. According to Nissen (2021), diverse and inclusive leadership advances the decision-making of the employees through empowerment processes that involve embracing the different attributes and cultural elements that make each employee distinct, which, in return, helps deliver proper listening, problem-solving, and reflection skills among workers to achieve high levels of cooperation and conflict settlement. The aspect of inclusion and diversity in leadership allows leaders to develop a positive attitude towards the factors that cause differences among employees. Embracing the differences and cultural variations allow employees to feel empowered to promote a culture of risk-taking and unique decision-making because all employees will have a sense of purpose in the organization (Kreiser & Davis, 2010). This results in a culture of employees embracing different approaches towards decision-making, which is achieved through leaders empowering their employees through investing in their differences that are used to assess the risks associated with various decisions. The differences collectively encourage a wider approach towards decisions rather than the traditional rigid approaches to business discussions that did not enjoy cultural variety.
Communication
Communication is vastly influenced by the practice of diversity and leadership among leaders. The main goal of diversity and inclusion is to ensure that every employee has a place in an organization, which influences how communication is articulated in companies. Diversity and inclusive leaders influence communication based on practices such as training, which are strategies leaders use to ensure that every employee feels accommodated (Fredin, 2022). Diversity and inclusivity bring all the differences to the table to achieve an inclusive approach toward information sharing. Research indicates that diversity and inclusivity solve communication problems in organizations by eradicating the microaggressions that make employees feel discriminated against, with scholars asserting that the microaggressions are presented as biases that mock the sources of differences across employees (Holder, Jackson, & Ponterotto, 2015). Microaggressions affect the capacity of individuals to settle into the organization because the factors that make each employee unique are suppressed. Kim, Nguyen, and Block (2018), explain that microaggressions are different from macroaggressions because they tend to be perpetuated in the form of unconscious bias, which tends to go easily unnoticed by the perpetrators and, thus, rarely solved. This tends to hinder communication by creating a hostile environment that hinders proper relationships among employees.
Diversity and inclusivity achieve better communication by targeting the microaggressions in organizations to ensure that all the biases towards other employees are brought to light (Holder, 2018). The aspect of highlighting the different factors that make other employees feel estranged is a responsibility that leaders take on once they practice diversity and inclusivity, which is facilitated by the different strategies used to create a diverse and inclusive task force. Bernstein and Bilimoria (2013) explain that diversity and inclusivity achieve effective communication by helping organizations bypass conflicts and the hostile work environment, which nurtures a task force guided by relationships among employees and their leaders. Effective communication achieves both relationships and high performance by ensuring that every employee shares the same organizational values and virtues. The stability introduced by diverse and inclusive leaders is essential in ensuring that employees remain open-minded and embrace the distinct differences held by each employee, which is a source of advantage for the company. This reduces employee conflict by establishing an environment that shows respect for differences and a willingness to include each source of uniqueness in the organization’s relationships.
Innovation
Companies are challenged with innovation in today’s society, seeing that communities present distinct attributes, attitudes, and perceptions, which can only be solved through the creativity encouraged by diversity and inclusivity (Smith & Turner, 2015). A leader’s failure to include diversity and inclusivity in their style is reflected in the lack of variation in a company’s thinking, which hinders a company from achieving sustainability and stability. Research has highlighted the source of low levels of innovation among certain companies by indicating that having a minority status significantly impacts corporate creativity, but so do intersections with other social categories like gender, sexuality, age, and socioeconomic status (Brimhall & Mor Barak, 2018). The demographics present in a company are reflected in its output, seeing that the lack of insight into cultures and preferences held by different individuals may prevent a company from creatively solving its problems and satisfying its needs. Although there are frequently more noticeable similarities than differences across various minority or under-represented groups, there are still some notable distinctions in terms of perceptions, attitudes, motives, challenges, and support requirements, which should be embraced among leaders to ensure that each employee’s variation acts as a source of information to understand the general society.
A crucial reflection of the influence of diversity and inclusivity on leadership comes from the millennial generation of employees. The teaming generation known as millennials has confirmed a sense of higher thriving and commitment in companies that invest in cooperation and the assimilation of cognitive diversity as a strategy to promote creativity and corporate impact (Smith & Turner, 2015). Diversity achieves this desire held by millennials for all types of employees because it allows leaders to steer the task force in a direction that sees their differences as a source of strength through practices such as empowerment programs and training (Spector et al., 2019). Understanding how the skills and needs of everyone can be realized and met with a diverse and inclusive leadership; thus, allows companies to harness aspects of creativity that would otherwise be suppressed because of conscious and unconscious biases. By embracing diversity and inclusivity, a leader can devote more time to being inventive and less time to carrying out regular responsibilities where a company’s bottom lines can benefit from diversity by sparking discoveries (Brewer, & Clayton, 2020.). Being exposed to diversity can alter the employees’ thinking just by itself, which is founded on the benefit of exposure to different cultures that introduce a new perspective towards solving problems and how certain problems arise. A dominant advantage of the use of inclusive and diverse leadership can be felt in the commodity industry, where goods are produced to meet the needs of consumers. Diversity and inclusivity allow leaders to steer their task forces into innovation by encouraging all cultures and demographics to be represented on the drawing board, which results in a distinct and applicable understanding of consumers, promoting growth and financial profitability (Kaur & Arora, 2020). The level of diversity and inclusivity is, thus, reflected in the types of products and services delivered to the public, which is also an indication of the level of thought and comfort towards cultural differences and other demographics that make the task force different but connected.
Challenges of Diversity and Inclusivity in Leadership
Leaders seeking to practice diversity and inclusivity may eventually face challenges because of the variations and differences introduced to a company. A dominant challenge arising from diversity is the frequent emergence of conflicts among workers, which tends to be in the initial stages of diversity and inclusivity programs. According to Roberge and Van Dick (2010), diversity increases the possibility of work conflict because of the bombardment of cultural views, perceptions, and work practices that each diverse individual holds. This challenge indicates that diversity is not merely introducing people from different cultural backgrounds because such a perception does not necessarily lead to enhanced performance. Tzovara et al. (2018) emphasize that conflicts in a diverse environment arise from poor inclusivity practices where a company lacks the requisite resources to facilitate the intermingling of cultures to help reduce cognitive biases towards others. Diversity and inclusivity may result in unconstructive conflicts as employees seek to front their differences and uniqueness as a factor that makes them better than others. As a result, the stability of the employees is challenged mentally and performance-based.
A second challenge arising from the adoption of diversity and inclusivity in leadership is delayed decision-making. The challenge stems from the need to ensure that all differences and unique attributes of the employees are considered before the leaders declare a final decision. Spector et al. (2019) use the example of women in pediatrics as a reflection of the slow decision-making arising from diversity and inclusivity, which asserted that decisions supporting women’s empowerment tend to be stalled, regressed, or slowed down as a strategy for ensuring all aspects of diversity are included. The delayed decision-making among leaders practicing diversity and inclusivity allows organizations to avoid conflict from accusations of favoring either men or women. Mor Barak, Luria, and Brimhall (2022) explain that the challenge in the decision-making process is encouraged by the uncertainty among leaders, both conscious and unconscious, that results in leaders saying and doing contradicting things. This vastly affects the sense of inclusion and appreciation among employees, which stirs confusion that is gradually overcome with the employees navigating their strengths, eventually leading to better decisions.
Measurability of Diversity and Inclusivity
Scholars have identified the measurability of diversity and inclusivity as a significant problem, seeing that the different definitions of the concepts have also led to a variation in measurability. Lezotte (2021) asserts that diversity and inclusion are challenging to measure because of the distinct variations in diversity and inclusivity across cultures and work environments. The measurability of diversity and inclusivity is a vital element to achieve because it asserts progress and changes in a company. Thompson (2018) furthers the understanding of the challenges towards measuring by explaining how the definitions of diversity and inclusivity play a role in the challenge, which revealed that early definitions mainly allowed measurability based on the visual aspects of seeing people from different races, gender, and ages, among other demographics in a workplace. This was a simple approach to measuring diversity and inclusivity because it focused on the visual presentation of variety and differences. However, modern definitions of diversity and inclusivity are more extensive, making it difficult to measure the concepts in a company because of the challenge associated with assessing values, beliefs, and perceptions held by employees, which is a challenge heightened by the lack of a consistent level of desired diversity (Thompson, 2018). The measurability of diversity and inclusivity requires further scholarly investigations that should be founded on the need to develop a comprehensive definition of diversity and inclusivity, making it easy for organizations to have standard metrics that reflect their individual goals and objectives of diverse and inclusive leadership.
Reduction of Gaps in Literature
Leaders have different perspectives on achieving effective leadership, leading to a gap in implementing concepts that seem to introduce a one-size-fits-all approach to employee management. The study will focus on reducing the gap between stereotyped notions of diversity and inclusivity. One major stereotypical notion that the study will seek to address is showing companies that diversity and inclusivity are more of a practical element achievable through incorporating strategies and structures rather than a theoretical factor. Spaaij et al. (2021) describe that diversity and inclusivity should be delegated and introduced under sufficient preparedness to achieve full functionality and benefits to an organization. The research will fill this gap by identifying stereotyped elements that are wrongfully referred to as diversity and inclusivity when they are not. This is because such stereotypical notions have led to companies focusing on showcasing their diversity and inclusivity status based on percentages and numbers of people from different cultures and races, which should not be automatically translated as diversity. The research will focus on negating the use of percentages to showcase diversity and inclusivity by emphasizing that diversity should be reflected in the correlation and harmonious interactions of each form of diversity, be it sexual, ethnic, racial, or age diversity in a company.
Leadership Practices
Diversity and inclusivity are elements in a company that rely heavily on the organization’s leadership practices. According to Chaudhry et al. (2020), diversity does not magically introduce itself into a company because it should be backed by standards and practices that uphold fairness. A dominant leadership practice that facilitates diversity and inclusivity is transformational leadership. Strong leadership is essential in organizations that support the growth of diverse workforces, which s facilitated through the incorporation of transformational leadership styles. According to transformational leadership theory, leaders must emphasize involving their team members and fostering optimism and diversity in the workplace (Arokiasamy & Tat, 2020; Ashikali et al., 2020). Leaders are the dominant party that can successfully incorporate behaviors and actions that foster good perceptions of diversity among employees. This is attributed to the fact that leaders can create a perception that is essential for the management of equality in the workplace (McCallaghan et al., 2019). These aspects of leadership make the transformational leadership style an essential element when incorporating diversity and inclusivity. Ali et al. (2015) evidence the relationship between diversity and inclusivity and transformational leadership through a study involving university presidents, which concluded that presidents using the transformational leadership style facilitated changes in perceptions across employees where the perceptions were transferred from supervisors to lower-level employees. This is vital to understanding how practices are used to harness the strengths of diversity and inclusivity.
Research also identifies that diversity and inclusivity influence leaders by introducing the practice of effective talent management. According to McCallaghan et al. (2019), leadership guided by diversity and inclusivity should be guided by the practice of proper talent management because the concepts emphasize vital elements of talent management, including building on positivity and morals among the task force. Research indicates that the introduction of diversity and inclusivity can only be successful if an organization focuses on having a wider talent pool, which makes it easy to develop a fair workplace guided by respect for each other because of the unique purpose and roles attributed to each employee (Chaudry et al., 2020). This is vital to leaders that seek to embrace diversity and inclusivity because leadership departments such as human resource management are responsible for developing a company. Anlesinya and Amponsah-Tawiah (2020) outline the intersection between diversity and inclusivity and talent management in leadership using a study that proposes a talent management model, which identifies vital constructs that support the model, namely responsibility, equity, and equality. Incorporating a range of talents improves the workplace and can help meet diversity goals, which include making each employee belong and valuing their individuality. Sen and Bhattachary (2019) demonstrate the importance of talent management in leadership that seeks to achieve diversity and inclusivity through an analysis of three successful companies in India, revealing that team management is a vital element in the three firms because teams are founded on shared values such as belief in excellent customer services despite their diverse differences. Research indicates that such leaders are able to make reliable decisions that influence the structure and stability of the work environment. Instride (2021) identifies that the ultimate influence of diversity and inclusivity on leadership is statistically asserted by the evidence that diverse teams have an 87% success rate in making reliable and better decisions than non-diverse teams. Such teams have more reliable and effective leadership structures, making it crucial for businesses to incorporate diversity into every aspect of the workplace.
Diversity and inclusivity also influence the leadership in an organization by infiltrating the development practices used in a company that promotes an advanced workforce, which is achieved through cognitive development. A crucial leadership practice that facilitates diversity and inclusivity is leaders’ unlimited practice of cognitive investment. Diversity requires investing in workers’ cognitive abilities to guarantee that they are inspired to combine their knowledge, skills, and cultural backgrounds for improved performance. Companies can use cognitive diversity as a strategy to improve their staff members’ attitudes toward different cultures, especially stereotypical subcultures (Meissner, & Wulf, 2017). According to cognitive diversity theory (Leon et al., 2018), investing in cognitive diversity in performance, cultures, and abilities leads to a more inventive workplace, enabling teams to think beyond the box, especially the stereotyped or biased minorities. Adrienne et al. (2019) exemplify the application of the practice of cognitive development using a simple set of schools. Young people might also be more perceptive to social cues about diversity, numerical representation and balance, and power dynamics between various ethnic groups at school. Adrienne et al. (2019) consider that youthful students might also be considering their ethnic identity and their position with respect to others because adolescence is a period when adolescents start to more actively orient themselves toward peers, which is important to remember. Conflict among students may occur more frequently due to the convergence of these trends. According to the study, students may practice being prosocial and fixing social problems when their schools have leadership that values diversity and inclusivity. They can also learn new things from their peers and have their needs for belongingness addressed. According to research, extra activities that will create a productive culture that supports the goal of successful diversity and inclusivity should be applied to workplace settings to avoid such tensions relating to cultures (Leon et al., 2018). Leaders are equally susceptible to blind spots that prevent them from recognizing some barriers to diversity, which translates to the burden for diversity should not be primarily placed on them in the workplace (Lokko et al., 2016; Otaye-Ebede et al., 2019). Cultural respect is more important for diversity than cultural competency. This demonstrates that recruiting individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds alone will not be sufficient to achieve diversity since other methods of integrating the cultures with one another and the overarching organizational aim are essential.
Incorporating diversity and inclusivity also impacts leadership by transforming the practices used to develop reliable cultures that support productivity and high performance. A leadership guided by diversity and inclusivity demands team-building to harness innovation skills among employees, which also supports the practice of cognitive development that influences the behavior and thinking of employees (Lee et al., 2021; Meissner & Wulf, 2017). Successful leaders integrate diversity to boost creativity and innovation in the workplace, which increases job satisfaction and motivates workers. By making sure that individuals have a feeling of belonging and that their input to the firm is appreciated and favored regardless of their cultures and particular social norms, diversity increases employee creativity, commitment, and compliance levels (Jankelová, Joniaková, & Mišún, 2021). Innovation is strongly emphasized by the concepts of diversity and inclusivity that are rooted in the need to merge different skills and values to develop a more functional team. Janzen et al. (2018) relate the practice of innovation training introduced by leaders to diversity and inclusivity by studying software companies, which is a research that achieves a positive correlation between the influence of innovation practices and the improvements in gender inclusivity across software organizations that are required to develop applications and software that relates to customer needs. Jones et al. (2021) avail additional support to the need for innovation training across organizations where leadership applies diversity and inclusivity by generating a framework on how the concepts intersect, revealing that such leadership practices develop highly engaged and dedicated teams over the course of the organization. The use of inclusivity and diversity in leadership must be supported by effective innovation training to ensure that differently-abled employees feel comfortable and involved in the innovation process.
The Problem
Businesses have identified a growing need to incorporate diversity and inclusivity into companies, which has proven challenging for most organizations. The need comes from research indicating that diverse and inclusive leadership influences various aspects of the task force to increase creativity and innovation, making employees more satisfied and willing to work (Wang et al., 2013). Diversity and inclusivity are stoutly rooted in globalization, which has led to significant organizational structures and functioning shifts. Globalization is a process that introduces significant changes to social, economic, and political structures as different traditions, practices, and beliefs are spread across the globe (Reddy & Kota, 2019). The resulting changes have been highly felt in the business sector as more people become exposed to skills held by individuals with differing backgrounds, forcing companies to rethink how they handle their employees. Globalization is a highly favored process that allows companies to expand their task forces and business operations, which makes it a change that is gradually becoming permanent. Khan (2018) outlines that globalization has forced companies to transition over time, with organizational leaders tasked with maintaining a workforce balance. This is evidenced by the number of individuals moving from lower-income countries to developed nations hoping to find better workspaces. According to Figure 1, the U.S. has become a hub for immigrants seeking better job opportunities, with statistics indicating that the country received 43.7 million in 2016. This is a significant indicator of the influx of new cultures and traditions introduced into the American task force. According to McCarthy (2017), the 43.7 million immigrants in 2016 represented an increase of over half a million migrants since 2015, a drastic increase expected to hit 72 million in 2030. The rise in immigrants in the U.S. represents a change in the task force regarding skills, behavioral beliefs, and presentations. The most interesting attribute of globalization is that it not only causes the transit of employees to other regions but also causes the movement of leaders to different societies, forcing leaders to shift their approaches to workforce management.
Figure 2
Immigration in the U.S.
Source: McCarthy, 2017
Source: McCarthy, 2017
Financial responsibilities are also a crucial part of the background that supports the research into diversity and inclusivity. Leaders are constantly under pressure to ensure maximum profit guided by the needs presented by stakeholders, which has resulted in the restructuring of approaches applied by leaders. Harsch and Festing (2019) explain that financial demands have increased demand for organizational agility, which has prompted leaders to use their recruitment powers to restructure workforces through outsourcing and seeking new skill sets among employees. This has introduced different cultures to organizations, which has shed light on the concepts of diversity and inclusivity. O’Brien et al. (2015) describe that a diverse and inclusive workforce is not merely introducing people from different races into an organization, but it is the actual incorporation and appreciation of the differences and similarities carried by each individual from a foreign background into the performance of the organization. This has been a challenge to organizations because of interests among stakeholders and shareholders, especially with the ultimate goal of a company being financial performance and growth.
The problem is further highlighted by research indicating that companies have failed to give life to the goal of introducing diversity and inclusivity into their companies. The failure of most companies to articulate diversity and inclusivity is attributed to the difficulty in ensuring balanced political, racial, sexual, political, and religious dimensions of diversity and inclusivity (Ely & Thomas, 2020). This shows that diversity and inclusivity in workplaces is a challenge that affects the decision-making and functioning of organizations, making the concepts highly valid for assessment and research. A major problem within organizations is the imbalance between male and female endorsements in leaders’ diversity and inclusivity practices. In nations like Belgium, where the percentage of women managers increased to 16% in 2018 from the prior figure that stayed between 9% and 10% in previous years, which asserts the lack of equality (Babic & Hansez, 2021; Williams et al., 2014). The problem is further heightened by the affirmation that failed incorporation of diversity and inclusivity has worse consequences than not practicing the concepts. A leader’s poor practice of diversity and inclusivity has been linked to increased conflict in organizations, increased sexual stereotypes, and overall heightened discrimination (Kormanik, 2009; Dover et al., 2019). The problem is significant to all companies and regions because research and statistics indicate a growing need for diversity and inclusivity in organizations, which makes studying the successful mode of introduction of the concepts and their benefits an urgent objective of the research.
Problem Statement
Diversity and inclusivity in the workplace are identified as a problem because most companies have been challenged with the process of acknowledging disparities and similarities shared by employees. This is attributed to the fact that the societal and economic changes in society, mainly stemming from the increase in globalization, have promoted the reassessment of leadership strategies and skills. The main problem to be addressed within the study is identifying the importance of diversity and inclusivity to the leadership in organizations. The study will focus on uncovering the relationship between leadership and diversity and inclusivity in organizations, which is an essential study that will provide companies with additional insight into the importance of having leaders who embrace and effectively manage diverse workforces. Patrick and Kumar (2012) describe that diversity and inclusivity is a problem that needs extensive research to protect companies from poor performance, which a significant consequence is arising from the aimless introduction of diversity and inclusivity because of the changes introduced by cultural differences. This is a crucial area for study that presents the knowledge gap on how leaders are influenced by having proper diversity and inclusivity strategies. The study will advance the understanding of inclusivity and diversity by presenting an evidence-based framework that indicates how leaders can adopt the concepts and the benefits of applying diversity and inclusivity.
Purpose Statement
The major goal of this study is to ascertain whether leaders’ probable incompetence in establishing a diverse and inclusive workforce leads to poor organizational performance. Specific courses of action are required to promote diversity and inclusivity among organizational personnel. Although a variety of people with suitable skills and experience are available in the labor market, human resource recruiters still have trouble fostering diversity. The inability to fully comprehend the advantages that promoting diversity and inclusivity will bring to the company is a major barrier to developing the necessary solutions. The scope of the problem makes it vital to use a qualitative research design that will deliver factual data on the relationship between diversity, inclusivity, and leadership in organizations (Bouncken et al., 2021). Chaudry, Paquibut, and Tunio (2021) describe that the engagement of different cultures within organizations is a significant strategy for reducing and eradicating vices such as stereotypes and biases that affect employees. This attribute of diversity and inclusivity is best approached using facts and experiences from the population directly. The following research will answer questions on how embracing diversity and inclusivity helps leaders become more effective. The study will avail an answer to the questions on why diversity and inclusivity are important to leadership. Data collection will be conducted using a case study focusing on interviews with leaders. The interviewing will focus on developing factual data on the observable effects of leaders practicing diversity and inclusivity standards. The scope of the study is rooted in generalizability, which will make it essential to use leaders across companies in the U.S. as the target population, ensuring that varying companies are included.
Concepts
The role of diversity in increasing the intrinsic motivation of the task force will be a major concept incorporated into the study. Zubiri-Esnaola et al. (2020) identify that collaboration is a major source of strength from the introduction of diversity and inclusivity in an organization, which further influences the financial performance of an organization. The concept is drawn from the identified advantage of diversity and inclusivity highlighted by existing literature is the influence of diversity and inclusivity in leadership on the financial performance of companies. Realizing that no two people are alike leads to establishing a varied and inclusive workforce, increasing productivity and financial performance (Saxena, 2014; Zubiri-Esnaola et al., 2020). The concept is supported by vast studies that seek to offer the correlation between productivity, collaboration, and financial performance. A study by McKinsey & Company defined diversity as a higher share of women, and a more mixed ethnic or racial composition in large companies’ leadership, which was research achieved using data from 336 organizations in the United Kingdom, Canada, Latin America, and the United States (Hunt, Layton, & Prince, 2015). Gender-diverse organizations were 15% more likely to have financial returns above their national industry median (Hunt, Layton, & Prince, 2015).
In comparison, those with higher levels of racial diversity boasted a higher possibility of 35% having higher financial returns, which is attributed to the statistical evidence that such companies are 87% more likely to make wiser and more sensible decisions (Hunt, Layton, & Prince, 2015; InStride, 2021). In terms of financial returns, businesses in the worst quartile for both gender and ethnicity/race lagged below the norm. The study proves reliable because it diversifies the understanding of the concepts by basing its analysis on different countries, which advances its generalizability.
The concept of diversity and inclusivity influencing intrinsic motivation in employees will also be vital to the research. According to Booker and Campbell-Whatley (2018), a diverse and accepting work environment enables individuals to embrace their uniqueness and understand themselves with the business by demonstrating their appreciation for these distinctions, fostering a sense of belonging to the organization since employees feel understood. Additional research introduces the benefit of increased employee intrinsic motivation as scholars direct their efforts toward explaining why a leader’s choice of embracing diversity and inclusivity results in better financial performance. Beraki et al. (2022) assert the correlation between diversity and inclusivity, and leadership through a study of 249 organizations listed on the New York Stock Exchange, which correlated high financial performance in diverse organizations to the added advantage of attracting a wider talent pool that ensured employees remained motivated to work and enhance their input to their firms. Additional studies on the element of diversity and inclusivity in leadership, which focus on assessing leadership boards with more women, revealed that such companies experienced improved financial performance because they introduced practices such as better corporate oversight and making less risky bids (Wilson & Altanlar, 2009). These factors indicate that having diverse and inclusive leaders allows a company to have leadership guided by the incorporated management of employees and improved decision-making. Diversity and inclusivity also allow leaders to foster stable relationships characterized by open communication and information sharing that inspire employees to provide the greatest ideas, and inclusive leadership encourages leaders in an organization to appreciate the distinct diversity held by employees (Minbaeva, 2017; Metzger et al., 2020). The concept of intrinsic motivation is vital to understanding how employee motivation interacts with the strengths in leadership introduced by diversity and inclusivity.
Theories
The cognitive diversity hypothesis theory is the first theory relating to the relationship between leadership and diversity and inclusivity. The theory dictates that the perceptions held by individuals are developed based on their exposure to and interactions with different cultures (Chow, 2018). The theory refers to these interactions as the environment for conditioning certain perceptions that directly relate to the behavior they present with. The theory asserts that the conditioning of perceptions based on interactions with cultures is reliant on cognition, first-hand perceptions, and willingness to learn. The theory is essential to the analysis of diversity, inclusivity, and leadership because it generates an understanding of how various leadership practices influence leadership success. Kormanik (2009) identifies that a lack of awareness is a significant cognitive element that interferes with the incorporation of diversity and inclusivity into an organization. This is a good example of the main arguments presented by the cognitive diversity hypothesis theory that correlates diversity and inclusivity to the thinking of the employees. According to Manoharan et al. (2021), understanding the internal organizational structure is essential for fostering diversity and inclusivity at work because it enables leaders to recognize disparities that can be reconciled. This makes cognitive hypothesis theory essential to understanding how leadership is influenced by the cognitive practices and traditions that support diversity and inclusivity.
Symbolic Interactionism Idea is a theory relevant to the research on the influence of diversity and inclusivity on leadership. According to this theory, people form opinions and assign significance to their surroundings based on their interactions with those environments, which help them feel bonded and driven there (Wang et al., 2019). The theory argues that the environment and interactions between employees and leaders will influence their performance by building on elements such as intrinsic motivation. Because intrinsic motivation fosters a sense of positivity, belonging, and commitment to the business, it makes it possible for diversity and inclusivity to flourish in a setting with stable leadership (Cardinal et al., 2022). The theory will be essential in identifying a correlation between how direct interactions among employees can be molded to support a leader’s intent for introducing diversity and inclusivity.
The organizational theory also relates to the research by outlining how existing structures in a company determine the relationship between diversity, inclusivity, and leadership. A commitment to equality in the workplace is a first step toward understanding the value of diversity and inclusivity at work because it creates a need to balance the organizational structures, including social, emotional, and psychological components that are determined by the organizational theory (Sharma, 2016; Capper, 2019). The organizational theory encompasses these elements by highlighting how employees fashion their behavior and performance based on the culture generated by the organization. The theory also brings to light the challenge of change in organizations because companies tend to organize themselves into rigidity. Companies are wary about integrating diversity because they believe that doing so could lead to employees being labeled negatively (Tasheva & Hillman, 2019). The theory identifies how openness or rigidity in a company determines the organization’s success of diversity and inclusivity.
The behaviorist theory will also be applied to identify how employee behavior must be approached from a delicate stance. In accordance with the behaviorist theory, a person’s personality also influences whether diversity and inclusivity are appropriate for a given organization. Inclusive leadership is a source of leadership by example that encourages workers to respect one another’s personalities (Chen et al., 2019). The theory identifies that introducing diversity and inclusivity should be guided by the need to incorporate a long-term change in behavior, which can only be achieved if a permanent perception of the intended behavior is instilled in the employees. The theory also introduces the concept of personality as determinant of the successful integration of diversity and inclusivity. Employee personalities can be used to gauge their attitudes, perceptions, and level of support for a diverse and inclusive workplace, enabling leadership to match these with the relevant theories designed to meet the required diversity goals (Anglim et al., 2019). The behaviorist theory identifies that the development of challenges in leadership when diversity and inclusivity are introduced can be minimized by approaching the employees’ behavior with sensitivity.
Constructs and Variables
The leadership style practiced by leaders will be a dominant construct in the research. Transformational leadership will be vital to the research because it is the leadership style recommended for fostering the growth of devoted teamwork (Brown et al., 2019). The original leadership style used in an organization greatly impacts how diversity affects leadership. Diversity thrives in a setting where the leadership is capable of managing various teams through effective communication and conflict resolution (Prieto et al., 2016). The leadership style will also highlight various constructs related to introducing diversity and inclusivity, including workplace obstacles to managing diversity. This is a construct amplified by additional research that affirms that a corporation’s poor change management systems negatively impact diversity in the workplace (Van den Brink, 2020). Also, leadership style will be a construct that will give rise to the variable of biases and stereotypes in an organization. Because biases and prejudices are challenging to dispel, they represent another key obstacle to the adoption of inclusivity, which means that a leadership style must develop practices that influence the thinking, cognitive approaches, and behavior of employees (Spector et al., 2019). The construct of leadership styles brings to light the different ways leaders incorporate diversity and inclusivity to ensure a deductible mode of implementation that embraces growth and productivity.
Intrinsic motivation will be a vital construct in the research that will identify the correlation between diversity and inclusivity with the capacity of a leader to successfully control the workforce and enhance performance. Higher productivity results from intrinsic drive, which also encourages variety and healthy leadership. Intrinsic motivation in a team must balance with the variety of cognitive perspectives held by the team members for stable leadership to be created in an organization, which leads to increased productivity (Kim et al., 2020). Employees are more likely to perform better when their employers recognize and value their distinctive qualities at work. This fosters intrinsic drive and gives workers a sense of belonging, which is supported by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which states that fostering trust and a sense of safety will help create an environment where intrinsic motivation may flourish (Acevedo , 2018; Mansaray, 2019; Grant & Hill, 2020). The construct introduces the understanding that intrinsic motivation is vital to the management of a work environment.
Related Studies
Other studies identify that the leader’s perception of diversity and inclusivity significantly influences the success rate of the concepts in the organization. Madera et al. (2013) identify that the leader’s definition of diversity and inclusivity significantly determines the perceptions introduced to the task force because wrong beliefs damage the work environment. Research highlights that this issue with the leader’s perception is rooted in the existence of a knowledge gap among companies on the use of diversity and inclusivity has impaired the successful integration of diversity and inclusivity into leadership. Moore et al. (2020) outline that existing literature focuses on supporting the need for diversity and inclusivity but fails to provide concrete definitions of the concepts, which guided the researcher’s recommendation of a conceptual model to guide the definition of diversity and inclusivity. The research was guided by the purpose of identifying how the Society for Epidemiologic Research can adjust to the increasing need for diversity and inclusivity across organizations in a strategic and guided manner, making the research significantly relevant to the quest to identify the relationship between leadership and the concepts. Additional support to the knowledge gap on the definition of diversity and inclusivity that is preventing companies from effectively applying the concepts is evidenced by the study conducted by Bernstein et al. (2019) that sought to provide a theoretical framework that eliminates the failure of companies and their leaders to achieve diversity and inclusivity, which was founded on the analysis of various companies that revealed the existence of exclusionary dynamics founded on unconscious bias. The research identified that most leaders that define diversity as merely hiring individuals from different backgrounds face vast consequences, especially financial challenges. Bernstein et al. (2019) raise attention to leaders’ failure to apply diversity and inclusivity collectively because of failed definitions of the concepts of hiring people and failure to practice generative inclusion and merging of the differences and similarities to support a positive work environment. Additional studies also link these findings to the importance of trust when introducing diversity and inclusivity into leadership. Trust helps teams perform better overall by promoting teamwork and lowering conflict in teams by enabling employees to believe in each other (Inegbedion et al., 2020). These are vital elements of leadership that is amplified by the introduction of diversity and inclusivity.
Anticipated Themes and Discovered Themes
Anticipated Themes
The theme of enhanced financial performance will also be recurrent in the research on the influence of diversity and inclusivity on leadership. Team innovation is a significant element that reflects the influence of diversity and inclusivity because the concepts result in positive associations with the work environment, boosting emotional connection, dedication, and mood toward work (Mitchell et al., 2021). For instance, a study by McKinsey & Company examined the connection between company financial performance and the level of diversity. The study defined diversity as a higher share of women, and a more mixed ethnic or racial composition in large companies’ leadership, which was research achieved using data from 336 organizations in the United Kingdom, Canada, Latin America, and the United States (Hunt, Layton, & Prince, 2015). Gender-diverse organizations were 15% more likely to have financial returns above their national industry median (Hunt, Layton, & Prince, 2015). In terms of financial returns, businesses in the worst quartile for gender and ethnicity/race lagged below the norm. The study proves reliable because it diversifies the understanding of the concepts by basing its analysis on different countries, which advances its generalizability.
Increased job satisfaction will be a major theme in research on the relationship between leadership, diversity, and inclusivity. Hauret et al. (2020) identify that an improvement in job satisfaction is projected as a result of inclusivity and diversity initiatives because teamwork and free workspaces foster a favorable perception of one’s environment. Beraki et al. (2022) assert the correlation between diversity and inclusivity, and leadership through a study of 249 organizations listed on the New York Stock Exchange, which correlated high financial performance in diverse organizations to the added advantage of attracting a wider talent pool that ensured employees remained motivated to work and enhance their input to their firms. Additional studies focusing on assessing leadership boards with more women revealed that such companies experienced improved financial performance because they introduced practices such as better corporate oversight and making less risky bids (Wilson & Altanlar, 2009). These factors indicate that having diverse and inclusive leaders allows a company to have leadership guided by the incorporated management of employees and improved decision-making.
A major anticipated theme is the correlation between an increase in performance and the intrinsic motivation that increases from incorporating diversity and inclusivity. Lorenzo et al. (2018) conducted a study involving companies with roughly 50, 000 employees and 15,000 management leaders that had varying levels of diversity in their leadership teams, which revealed that companies with higher diversity and inclusivity had a 46% score innovation compared to the 26% score in companies with lower diversity. The reliability of the study is evidenced by the nature of the research, which involved a comparison of leadership before and after diversity and inclusivity, which provided evidence of changes in the task force. The study affirms that diverse and inclusive leadership practices result in a task force willing to apply their differences and similarities to advance the decisions and thinking in a company. Such leadership develops a culture of innovation among employees that can offer goods and services that appeal to broader and more varied groups as guided by the information deduced from the diverse task force, resulting in better judgment and a wider client base (Noe et al., 2021). Companies benefit from hiring individuals with varied perspectives and diverse backgrounds, boosting creativity and innovation inside the organization.
Discovered Themes
The emergence of conflict can challenge the intention to develop a leadership founded on diversity and inclusivity, which is a theme discovered from the analysis of existing literature. Kenter et al. (2019) identify a susceptibility to conflict among companies where leaders fail to effectively follow diversity with inclusivity, which the researchers analyzed using the UK marine field. Kenter et al. (2019) identify that the presence of diversity and inclusivity in organizations can result in conflict because most individuals hold different values that are developed through two dominant processes, socialization and internalization, which can be molded through the introduction of governing power. Additional research by Homan (2019) conducted additional research into the challenge of conflicts through a systematic review that identified a vulnerability to conflict in work environments that did not establish diversity and inclusivity through trust among team members. The research found trust to be a vital determinant of the success of leadership guided by diversity and inclusivity because it determined the serenity of the work environment. The analysis highlights crucial practices that can help eliminate the challenge of having diverse and inclusive leadership, which should generate trust among employees to encourage respect for differences and values.
An additional theme discovered from the research is that struggles with decision-making are an additional challenge incurred because of having a leadership that practices diversity and inclusivity. Homan (2019) uses the decision-making perspective to outline the challenge of delayed decision-making in cases where leaders practice diversity and inclusivity because of the need to embrace each employee’s values and differences to make each form of diversity feel included. This is a major challenge to diversity and inclusivity because it indicates that leaders may take longer to make decisions. A study conducted on 55 leaders from over thirty institutions in the US revealed the prevalence of the challenge of delayed decision-making among diverse and inclusive organizations because it revealed that the need to maintain accuracy, reasonability, and transparency had often forced the leaders to delay their decisions to allow time to gather more information (Liu et al., 2022). The research indicates that diversity and inclusivity introduce additional stakeholders to an organization that relies on the leadership to ensure that their individual and collective needs are met.
Summary
The analysis of the influence of diversity and inclusivity on leadership reveals that leaders have a significant opportunity to advance their workplace management by adopting diversity and inclusivity. A thorough analysis of the literature reveals that leadership strongly benefits from adopting diversity and inclusivity because the concepts influence a leader’s thinking and management practices. The literature identifies that leadership practices are developed through the development of a different approach toward task force management to include a focus on embracing employees’ similarities and differences. However, the literature reveals that this understanding is challenged by the knowledge gap on the accurate definitions of diversity and inclusivity. Most companies think that they classify as being diverse simply by employing individuals of different races, religions, and gender, among other factors. Research indicates that the knowledge gap affects the application of diversity and inclusivity. It leads to a challenging workplace as unconscious bias and discrimination develops from leader failing to incorporate inclusivity that would create an appreciative culture toward employees. Additional gaps in the measurability of diversity and inclusivity in an organization challenge the efficiency of the concepts of leadership across companies because leaders are unable to assess the level of and success rates of diversity and inclusivity. The analysis of existing research reveals a need for leaders to first seek an understanding of diversity and inclusivity as concepts, which will make leaders efficient in molding the concepts to serve the needs of their organizations to achieve the identified benefits, including increased employee motivation and financial performance.
Summary of Section 1
The chosen topic may appear significantly general, but the existing literature and research indicate that it is a deep topic in need of thorough analysis. The focus on leaders in organizations will help narrow the topic to facilitate a thorough analysis of how each leader is affected by the presence or lack of diversity and inclusivity in their leadership structure. The study understands that measuring the leadership of individual leaders demands the use of additional factors to assess the influence of diversity and inclusivity on leadership. The study assesses factors such as job satisfaction, employee intrinsic motivation, teamwork, and collaboration. These are factors that the study can effectively analyze to determine how the use of diversity and inclusivity among leaders influences the type of leadership portrayed to employees. The study expects to uncover a positive correlation between the inclusion of diversity and inclusivity in one’s leadership style and the performance of the leader’s employees. Section 1 is vital to the study because it provides a thorough depiction of its relevance by developing a clear picture of what the study is expected to deliver and how it will serve existing leaders and organizations. The Section also supports the relevance of the study to existing literature through a thorough description of the problem and relevance of the study.
Section 1 is an effective analysis of the study’s structure and elements that have been strategically selected to help assess the topic of the influence of diversity and inclusivity on leadership. Section 1 offers the background of the study and the research questions. The study will focus on understanding the influence of diversity and inclusivity through a comprehensive research framework that allows the identification of vital data on the topic. Section 1 has elements such as the research paradigm and a detailed and well-organized diagram indicating all the concepts, theories, and constructs used to develop the design of the study. These factors take into account the distinct factors of the topic with a distinct focus on the existing data and the emergent data gathered from the study. The section also offered the opportunity to understand the repeated terms in the study using a definition of terms segment that effectively summarized the meaning of each major phrase in the research. The terms were further supported by a section that detailed the study’s significance, backed by various research articles from professionals who showed an equal curiosity towards the topic of diversity and inclusivity. The study specifically applied peer-reviewed articles for the review of the literature. The section also includes the assumptions, limitations, and delimitations within the study, which are elements that will offer insight into the researcher’s guidelines during the study. The assumptions will include the data believed to be automatically correct, the limitations will include barriers to the study’s efficiency, success, and generalizability, and the delimitations will indicate the approaches used by the research to eliminate the limitations. Additional elements within the appendices and references are meant to offer readers an effective line-up of the relevant research applied in the study to make advanced research to be conducted by the reader on personal initiative easy.
Transition to Section 2
The Second section of the study will be a continuation of the processes included in Section 1. Section 2 will provide additional support to elements such as the importance of the study indicated in the first section. Section 2 will include segments such as the role of the researcher and methodology, which will work to indicate the detailed steps that the researcher will take to develop the elements included in Section 1. The role of the researcher will be a part of Section 2, which will detail the different responsibilities that the researcher will have towards the topic, the participants, and the study methods selected for the research. Section 2 also includes a research methodology detailing the different approaches the researcher has selected for data collection, analysis, and presentation. The section is vital to the portrayal of the significance of the study because it will support the aforementioned sections, such as research questions and problems statement. The methodology sections will be where the answers to the research questions will be gathered and analyzed for a summative assessment of the influence of diversity and inclusivity on leadership. The methodology section will identify the approach used to organize the data collected, which will indicate the integrity of the study based on the presented relevance and importance of the research. The approach used with the participants within the study will also be outlined in the methodology section, which will be essential in supporting the relevance of the study. This attention to the study participants will assert the study’s direction by providing a clear image of whether the researcher is on the right track toward answering the research questions identified in Section 1. Also, Section 2 will include the research proposal for the project, which will be a vital piece in the study that will indicate the support and affiliations attributed to the case study. This will be a part of the study that offers a summary of the study’s complexity by summarizing the research’s relevance and desired outcomes. Seeing that the topic demands an extensive approach, the research proposal section will thoroughly defend the requirements of the study to provide a clear image of the reliability of the study to the topic being investigated.
Appendices
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