Date of Award
2004
Degree Type
Dissertation
First Advisor
Patricia Morokoff
Abstract
Very little empirical research has been conducted to understand the unique experiences of employees of color. This study analyzed the perceptions that employees of color have about their places of employment. The total sample included 204 participants, 83 African Americans, 51 Caribbean/West Indians, 32 Latinos/Latinas, 15 Asians, 12 Africans, 8 Multi-ethnic individuals, 1 Native/Indigenous Subgroup, and 1 Middle Eastern. There were 133 women, 70 men, and 1 participant who did not identify his or her gender. Participants were recruited at professional conferences and via the internet where they anonymously completed a questionnaire at a website that was created for this analysis. Predictor variables focused on perceptions of organizational commitment to diversity, discriminatory practices, cultural comfort, instrumental relations, and social relations. Outcome variables included level of job satisfaction, retention rates, turnover intentions, and opportunities for advancement. This study also examined perceptions of discrimination in the workplace based on the racioethnic identities of participants. Quantitative procedures used to analyze the data included principal components analyses, structural equation models, and univariate t tests. Results of the revised model revealed: (1) the Organizational Climate for Diversity Scale and its two subscales (Organizational Commitment to Diversity and Discriminatory Practices); (2) the Cultural Comfort Scale and; (3) two Outcome Scales: Job Satisfaction/Intention to Stay Scale and the Opportunities for Advancement/Retention Rates Scale. The cultural comfort of employees of color was predicted by organizations' commitment to diversity and discriminatory practices. Employees of color experienced less cultural comfort where there were more discriminatory practices, and experienced more cultural comfort where there was greater organizational commitment to diversity. Participants' perceptions about opportunities for advancement and retention rates were predicted by their perceptions about the organization's commitment to diversity, discriminatory practices, and cultural comfort. Perceptions about the organizations' commitment to diversity and discriminatory practices mediated by cultural comfort predicted their job satisfaction and intention to remain at their jobs. Additionally, African Americans perceived higher levels of discriminatory practices in the workplace than other employees of color. This study contributed to existing research by creating an instrument that analyzes perceptions that multicultural individuals have about their places of employment. Its findings have profound implications for organizational diversity.
Recommended Citation
Roberts-Clarke, Ivory, "Organizational climate for diversity, cultural comfort, and professional relationships: Predicting perceptions of the workplace among employees of color" (2004). Open Access Dissertations. Paper 1948.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/1948
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