Diversity Management Practices Adopted by International Non Governmental Organizations in Kenya

Abstract

Diversity can be defined as the variation of social and cultural identities among people existing together in a defined employment or marketing setting. Diversity management practices involve the activities undertaken by organizations to encourage employees to value diversity. The objective of the study was to establish diversity management practices adopted by international non-governmental organizations in Kenya. The study adopted a cross sectional survey design. This design was suitable for the study since it involved collecting data from several respondents at the same time. Primary data was obtained using semi structured questionnaire. The study targeted 1500 international non-governmental organizations operating in Kenya. The researcher used Yamane‘s formula of 2001to determine the sample and then systematic sampling was used to select the sample limit. Data was then analyzed using descriptive statistics. Tables, pie charts and graphs were used to present the findings. From the study, it was revealed that international non-governmental organizations in Kenya have; equal opportunity for training and development to all staff, flexible benefits based on employee needs and work, equal opportunities in promotion, rewards and compensation, recognition for performance, work environment that values and includes all employees, zero tolerance of harassment and discrimination and they are equal opportunity employers. It was concluded that international non-governmental organizations in Kenya have adopted diversity management practices in functions like; human resource planning, recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management, reward and compensation, health and safety and employee relations. It was recommended that international non-governmental organizations in Kenya should continue to adopt diversity management practices because of the nature of its workforce. Limitation of the study was that it relied on one person the human resource manager in each organization to respond to the questionnaire, so the results are only indicative and not conclusive. It was suggested that further studies should be conducted to determine the diversity management practices adopted by local non-governmental organizations and public sectors in Kenya.