The Effect of Organisational Diversity on Employee Attitudes and Behaviours in Taiwanese Hotels

Abstract

Employees typically have expectations concerning the organisations that employ them. The degree to which these expectations are met determine whether they will feel a part of the organisation and whether they will want to remain employed there. Previous literature on diversity among employees in the workplace has shown that high levels of diversity greatly benefit the employees of an organisation by providing higher levels of satisfaction and commitment (Charmine, 2004). Recently there has been a significant number of studies examining diversity in Western hospitality industry contexts (see Baum, Dutton, Karimi, & Kokkranikal, 2007; Devine, Baum, Hearns, & Devine, 2007). However, the literature on organisational diversity in North-East Asian settings remains inadequate, especially in the context of the hospitality industry. Though social identity theory has been used extensively in relational research on diversity, before insights from social identity theory can make a greater contribution to contemporary organisations, a better understanding of the applicability of this construct across cultures is needed. Thus, an examination of the impact of organisational diversity on employees in the Taiwanese hospitality industry in the context of a collectivistic culture is an important contribution to the literature. The aim of this research project was to explore whether organisational diversity is associated with Taiwanese employee attitudes and behaviours and to illustrate if social identity theory is applicable in the North-East Asian context because Taiwan is a state in North-East Asia and the first constitutional republic in Asia (Directorate General of Budget Accounting and Statistics, 2013).