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A Diverse Employee in a Changing Workplace

Graduate School of Business, Northern Territory University, Casuarina, Australia

This paper attempts to identify some of the key variables that can impinge on employee interaction adjustment in a diverse workforce. For the sake of convenience, these variables are categorized as primary, secondary and mediat ing variables. Primary variables are the major characteristics of an employee that distinguish him/her from other members of the organization. They pertain to characteristics which cannot be easily changed or manipulated (e.g. disabil ity, culture, race, gender). Secondary variables encompass other aspects of an employee's background that can also help in defining his/her 'identity' in the eyes of the members of the organization (e.g. intonation) and his/her psycholo gical disposition (e.g. cognition, personality). The effect of primary and sec ondary variables on a diverse employee's interaction adjustment is mediated by situational factors (e.g. the intensity and frequency of the dominant group's attitudes), interaction strategies and organizational factors (e.g. policy on diversity).

Key Words: Descriptors: workforce diversity • managing diversity • multicultural workplace

Organization Studies, Vol. 17, No. 3, 449-477 (1996)
DOI: 10.1177/017084069601700305


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