In the modern progressive world, globalization and inclusivity have taken on central roles in the development of various fields, including public administration and management. Hence, the concepts of diversity and its integration can be outlined as a critical topic to investigate in the public administration area. Diversity is inevitably related to the core components of each operating system, as it affects the levels of equity within a workplace. Moreover, the concept has been minimally accentuated prior to this exploration in the administrative field.
The area of administration is extremely important for every society, and therefore it must correspond to the social trends. In the United States, the concept of diversity has been a notable issue, and public organizations and agencies try to integrate it into their structures (Haque, 2019). Nevertheless, research shows that challenges with attaining the ideals of diversity still exist and need to be addressed in the sphere of public administration (Atkinson et al., 2022). At the same time, diversity plays a considerable role in the creation of confidence of citizens and the establishment of trust in social institutions. For instance, a study by King & Barnes (2019) showed that interactions with poll workers of the same race and ethnicity increased confidence in the election administration of African American and Hispanic voters. Researches state that diversity in the workplace must be promoted more effectively (Blessett et al., 2019). Thus, diversity serves as a vital element in the modern approach to public administration.
Nevertheless, the diversity in the area of administration is a trend which is not limited only to the United States. Research indicates that countries in Africa and the Middle East also strive to adopt public administration and governance practices mirroring the historical, cultural, and socio-economic environments of these nations (Dixon et al., 2018). Thus, it is clear that diversity is a universal factor which must be taken into consideration by administration organizations of every country worldwide.
Diversity in administration is a comprehensive issue which has many aspects, and each of them has to be studied closely. For instance, one of the important fields of study is the environment promoting diversity in the sphere of administration. According to research, competition and inter-organizational collaboration constitute important factors for the advancement of diversity (McCrea et al., 2021). There are also frameworks such as the Capability Maturity Model targeted at the facilitation of the achievement of diversity in public sector organizations (Lundy et al., 2021). Moreover, diversity in administration can deliver significant benefits to organizations and society in general. Moon & Christensen (2020) discovered that racial diversity has a positive impact on organizational performance. Park & Liang (2019), who studied diversity management in relation o on government performance, had similar findings. Yet, despite the positive effect of diversity, ethnic minorities are more likely to leave their public administration positions than their white colleagues (Chordiya, 2021). Such data indicates that there is a problem with the retention of ethnic minorities and which can be solved with diversity-management measures.
Furthermore, the topic is relevant to analyze due to the direct impact of diversity incorporation on a structure’s work ethic. Researchers who analyzed codes of ethics of organizations and agencies in the sphere of public administration and emergency management found that concepts such as equity and diversity were rarely mentioned (Stabile et al., 2022). At the same time, research has demonstrated that maintaining equality within a workplace promotes co-production and increased efficacy, emphasizing the importance of achieving that goal (McCandless et al., 2022). Moreover, a diversity-based approach stimulates employee productivity and higher satisfaction rates, another critical factor for a successful system. A vital aspect of the issue concerns the role of managerial strategies in improving the equity state of the administrative structure (Amirkhanyan et al., 2019). In that way, it is evident that any gaps in diversity maintenance can be regulated through the appropriate equity strategies.
Ultimately, the investigation will also highlight the current lack of information on diversity inclusion and possible strategies for resolving it. Various dimensions of the topic, including gender, race, ethnicity, and religion, comprise the key factors affecting the success rate of diversity inclusion (Paul et al., 2019). Consequently, any reviewed gaps will be viewed from the scope of the most prominent dimensions. Overall, the paper must address the ways diversity training has been integrated into the administrative field over the past few years, accentuating any problems and their possible solutions. As diversity plays a crucial role in most public areas of the modern world, the relevancy of the issue presented is apparent.
References
Amirkhanyan, A. A., Holt, S. B., McCrea, A. M., & Meier, K. J. (2019). Managing racial diversity: Matching internal strategies with environmental needs. Public Administration Review, 79(1), 69-81. Web.
Atkinson, C. L., Alibašić, H., & Oduro Nyarko, E. (2022). Diversity management in the public sector for sustainable, inclusive organizations: ideals and practices in Northwest Florida.Public Integrity, 1-14. Web.
Blessett, B., Dodge, J., Edmond, B., Goerdel, H., Gooden, S., Headley, A., Riccucci, N., &, Williams, B. (2019). Social equity in public administration: A call to action. Perspectives on Public Management and Governance, 2(4), 283–299. Web.
Chordiya, R. (2021). A study of interracial differences in turnover intentions: The mitigating role of pro-diversity and justice-oriented management. Public Personnel Management. Web.
Dixon, J., Bhuiyan, S., & Üstüner, Y. (2018). Public administration in the Middle East and North Africa. International Journal of Public Administration, 41(10), 759–764.
Haque, M. S. (2019). The changing foundations of public administration: from identity to modernity to diversity.International Review of Public Administration, 24(2), 138-145. Web.
King, B. A., & Barnes, A. (2020). Descriptive representation in election administration: Poll workers and voter confidence. Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy, 1(18), 16–30.
Lundy, J., Keast, R., Farr‐Wharton, B., Omari, M., Teo, S., & Bentley, T. (2021). Utilising a capability maturity model to leverage inclusion and diversity in public sector organisations. Australian Journal of Public Administration. Web.
McCandless, S., Bishu, S. G., Gomez Hernandez, M., Paredes Eraso, Ã. R., Sabharwal, M., Santis, E. L., & Yates, S. (2022). A long road: patterns and prospects for social equity, diversity, and inclusion in public administration. Public Administration. Web.
McCrea, A. M., Zhu, L., & Johansen, M. S. (2021). Managing diversity differently: The external environment and cross-sector differences in diversity management. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 32(2), 436-454.
Moon, K. K., & Christensen, R. K. (2020). Realizing the performance benefits of workforce diversity in the US federal government: The moderating role of diversity climate. Public Personnel Management, 49(1), 141-165.
Park, S., & Liang, J. (2020). Merit, diversity, and performance: Does diversity management moderate the effect of merit principles on governmental performance? Public Personnel Management, 49(1), 83-110. Web.
Paul, Z. I., Rathore, K., & Sial, M. A. (2019). Reviewing the workforce diversity in public administration: a South Asian perspective (1975-2019). Journal of Political Studies, 26(2).
Sabharwal, M., Levine, H., & D’Agostino, M. (2018). A conceptual content analysis of 75 years of diversity research in public administration. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 38(2), 248-267. Web.
Stabile, B., Simon, K., Thornton, T. E., & Grant, A. (2022). Diversity and inclusion in emergency management and first response: Accounting for race and gender in codes of ethics in the United States. Public Integrity, 24(1), 82-101. Web.