Benefits and Challenges of Organizational Diversity
von Merih Sevilir, Ph.D., ESMT European School of Management and Technology, IWH – Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle
Dieses Thema kann im Kick-Off und im Fachgespräch nur auf Englisch bearbeitet werden.
Die Präsentation und die Diskussion im Regionalfinale müssen auf Deutsch gehalten werden.
This project proposes to examine the benefits and challenges of organizational diversity. Existing research documents several benefits of diversity at companies. Companies with more diverse workforce generate stronger financial performance, invest more in research and development, and generate greater innovation output (Lorinzo and Reeves 2018).
Motivated by this existing evidence, this project aims to add to our understanding on the impact of organizational diversity on employee satisfaction, engagement and productivity as well as employee well-being. First, we will explore if organizational diversity encourages teamwork and risk taking in an organization, leading to greater innovative and entrepreneurial outcomes by the employees of the organization. Second, we will investigate if organizational diversity improves employee satisfaction and engagement, with a positive impact on employee well-being and health. Finally, we will discuss ways and mechanisms to improve organizational diversity (Ely and Thomas 2020).
How to approach this issue:
- From what perspective can organizational diversity be approached to better understand its impact on innovation and entrepreneurial outcomes? What role does leadership play?
- What practical solutions and mechanisms could be proposed to overcome barriers to improving organizational diversity?
- In what ways does organizational diversity directly influence employee satisfaction and engagement, and how can these factors contribute to overall employee well-being and mental health?
Literature will be provided for the school teams.
Must-Read Literature
D. Rock and Heidi Grant, Why Diverse Teams are Smarter, Harvard Business Review, 2016
R. Lorinzo and M. Reeves, How and Where Diversity Drives Financial Performance, Harvard Business Review, 2018
Additional Literature
R. Ely and D. Thomas, Getting Serious About Diversity: Enough Already with the Business Case, Harvard Business Review, 2020
Partnerinstitute
Das Thema wird betreut von
Merih Sevilir
Foto: ESMT Berlin
Merih Sevilir is Professor of Finance at ESMT Berlin. At the same time, she is the head of the Department of Laws, Regulations and Factor Markets at IWH Halle Institute for Economic Research.
Prior to joining ESMT in 2022, Merih was Associate Professor of Finance at Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She holds a PhD in Finance from INSEAD.
