Diversity management in business: A research for the diversity perception of private sector employees

Individuals are divided into different classes, group or statuses due to their various characteristics. People who are different from each other in terms of appearances also have various beliefs, values, opinions, preferences and tendencies. The obligation to live together for individuls with different identities, beliefs and values requires respect for these differences. The belief that each individual has an equal right to life and that no one can be discriminated against because of their differences has gained importance in progress of time. The struggle for rights in favor of women and minorities which began in USA in the 1960's, constitutes the basis of the concept of diversity management. The social struggle which was initiated for equality and equal employment has turned into a managerial issue in the 1980's. The globalization process which accelerated with the 2000s has caused radical changes in labour supply as well as in the supply of goods and services. The changing demographic structure of the workforce and the competition which has been accelerated by the free market economy have led to changes in the view the workforce diversity of business. To transform workforce diversity into productivity and profitability for business needs effective diversity management. Fair and equal approach to diversities, to pay attention to merit and to evaluate the creative and innovative power of diversities as wealth has gained importance for business. Searchs conducted in the field of literature have shown that there are a limited number of studies on the evaluation of diversity perception of private sector employees. In this context, in this study , diversity and diversity dimensions are explained primarily. In the second part, a conceptual framework has been composed and the meaning, acquisition and risks of diversity management for business are discussed in detail. In the third part, a survey was carried out to evaluate the diversity perception of private sector employees. Within the scope of the research, the relationship between the demographic variables consisting of gender, age, marital status, education level, working time in the business and job position were evaluated by raising questions about the diversity of the workforce, organizational justice, identity, values, practices and organizational communication dimensions. Keywords: Diversity, Diversity Management, Workforce Diversity.