Managing diversity: a senior management perspective

Diversity and managing diverse workgroups have become strategic imperatives for many organizations. Corporations are developing programs and opportunities to increase the participation of their employees, especially those who have not been previously included in the mainstream of their organizations. Many health care institutions are also focusing on diversity management. This study was designed to examine the manner in which diversity management is perceived and implemented by hospital executives. To determine the perception of executives, a 16-item questionnaire was developed and distributed to hospital executives. The data showed that executives in urban teaching hospitals considered their workforce diverse, and many of these organizations had implemented diversity management programs in their facilities. Surprisingly, this study found that although most executives (68 percent) agreed they had a diverse workforce, less than one-third (30 percent) of these executives had specifically developed diversity management programs in their hospitals.