جو متنوع درک شده مدیران هتل و رضایت شغلی: اثرات واسطه ای ابهام نقش و تعارض

Given the increase of multiculturalism into the hospitality labor force, corporate investments in providing a positive diversity climate at work have increased over the last two decades. However, few studies have focused on managers’ perceived diversity climate and how their perceived diversity climate has an impact on their work experience, which is a significant gap in the literature considering that the hospitality workforce is diverse and multiracial. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of hotel managers’ perceived diversity climate on three outcomes: role ambiguity, role conflict, and job satisfaction. Survey data were collected from 130 hotel and lodging managers. The results showed that managers who perceived a positive diversity climate also reported less role ambiguity and role conflict, but more job satisfaction. Role ambiguity and role conflict mediated the relationship between perceived diversity climate and job satisfaction.

A multicultural work force has become a reality for the American hospitality industry through immigration and demographic trends (Madera, 2011). In the last three decades, the foreign-born population has increased fourfold from approximately 3% to 12% of the American population (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009). Moreover, ethnic minorities are the fastest growing groups, with Hispanic and Black employees accounting for the two largest minority groups in the workforce (U.S. General Accounting Office, 2001). In the hotel and lodging industry, Jackson and DeFranco (2005) found that half, approximately 52%, of hourly employees are Hispanic and Black employees. As a result of such diversity in the workforce, corporate investments in providing a work environment that is conducive to a multicultural workforce, such as diversity training, networking programs focusing on developing ethnic minorities, and supplier diversity programs, have increased over the last two decades (Chavez and Weisinger, 2008). The goal of such investments is to create an organizational climate that values a multicultural workforce. As such, a growing body of literature has focused on diversity climate, which is defined as “perceptions of an organization's diversity related policies, practices, and procedures” (Pugh et al., 2008, p. 1422). Much of this research, however, has focused on (1) the antecedents of diversity climate, such as organizational policies and the racial composition of the employees and (2) employees’ perceived diversity climate (e.g., Chen et al., 2012, Kossek et al., 2003, Kossek and Zonia, 1993, McKay and Avery, 2006, Mor Barak et al., 1998, Pugh et al., 2008 and Roberson and Stevens, 2006), while largely ignoring the consequences of diversity climate and specifically, managers’ perceived diversity climate. This is an important limitation in the literature because managers in the hospitality industry are often managing a multicultural workforce. Managing a multicultural workforce can be challenging because of misunderstandings, cultural subtle cues, language barriers, and discomfort that occur during interracial interactions (Avery et al., 2009, Shelton et al., 2010 and Williams and O’Reilly, 1998). Thus, the purpose of the current study was to examine the effect of managers’ perceived diversity climate on three work outcomes that can be influenced by working in a multicultural environment: role ambiguity, role conflict, and job satisfaction. Because working in a multicultural environment can involve misunderstandings and language barriers (e.g., Avery et al., 2009, Shelton et al., 2010 and Williams and O’Reilly, 1998), role ambiguity and role conflict are two stressors that managers might experience. Role ambiguity refers to “vague and unclear expectations” and role conflict refers to “simultaneous contradictory expectations from coworkers” (Eatough et al., 2011, p. 620). These two work stressors have been found to affect job satisfaction (Fried et al., 2008 and Yun et al., 2007), providing a theoretical link between managers’ perceived diversity climate and job satisfaction. As a consequence, the extent to which managers perceive their organizations value diversity might influence other organizational outcomes related to working in a diverse workforce.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of managers’ perceived diversity climate on three work outcomes that can be influenced by working in a multicultural environment: role ambiguity, role conflict, and job satisfaction. The results showed that managers who perceived a positive diversity climate also reported less role ambiguity and role conflict, but more job satisfaction. Specifically, role ambiguity and role conflict mediated the relationship between diversity climate and job satisfaction. The results of this research are consistent with past studies that examined the positive effects of diversity climate on employee attitudes. For example, both Gonzalez and DeNisi (2009) and Kunze et al. (2011) found that perceived diversity climate predicted commitment. The results of the current study suggest that perceived diversity climate can have a positive impact on commitment because it significantly reduces role stressors (i.e., role ambiguity and role conflict) and increases job satisfaction. However, the current paper advances the literature examining diversity climate because limited research has examined the consequences of diversity climate from managers’ perspectives. Instead, much of the literature has focused on the antecedents of diversity climate and the perspectives of employees (e.g., Chen et al., 2012, Kossek et al., 2003, Kossek and Zonia, 1993, McKay and Avery, 2006, Mor Barak et al., 1998, Pugh et al., 2008 and Roberson and Stevens, 2006). The current research shows that by providing a positive diversity climate, organizations also positively influence managers’ job satisfaction. 5.1. Theoretical contributions The current study expands on the theoretical understanding of diversity climate in three ways. First, the literature further examines how diversity climate affects managers working in a multicultural environment. This is necessary because managers are responsible for leading their subordinates and multicultural factors, such as language barriers, can hinder a manager's job. For example, in a study of hotel managers working with limited English employees, most managers (i.e., 62.8%) reported relying on an employee to translate and communicate for them, but the results also showed that translation alone did not lead to more positive satisfaction among managers (Dawson et al., 2012). The current study found that having a positive diversity climate does have a direct positive impact on managers’ job satisfaction. Second, by testing role ambiguity and role conflict as mediators, it provides a better understanding of the diversity climate and job satisfaction link. Perceived diversity climate has been mostly examined as a psychological variable from ethnic minorities’ perspectives. The results indicated that the relationship between diversity climate and job satisfaction is mediated by role ambiguity and role conflict. This is consistent with Cox's (1994) interactional model of cultural diversity, which suggests that a positive perceived diversity climate can facilitate the work of a manager because cultural misunderstanding and barriers are less likely to occur when an organization fosters a positive environment for multiculturalism. Third, over half of all line-level employees in the hotel and lodging industry are ethnic minorities (Jackson and DeFranco, 2005). Therefore, it is critical to understand how an organization's diversity climate has an impact on their managers’ job satisfaction, role ambiguity, and role conflict. The results suggest that when managers perceive that their organization fosters a positive environment for multiculturalism, managers are less likely to experience role ambiguity and role conflict and therefore, are more satisfied with their job. Therefore, it is incumbent for top management to provide the resources and mechanisms to create a positive diversity climate for managers and their employees. 5.2. Practical implications Whether it involves selecting and attracting managers who can work positively in a multicultural environment and/or provide practices aimed at creating a positive diversity climate, the results suggest that organizations should focus on creating a positive diversity climate. For example, knowing a second language and having experience working with English-limited employees fosters work performance (Madera et al., 2012), suggesting that attracting and selecting managers who have certain multicultural skills can lead to a positive diversity climate. Organizations might also adopt a number of diversity or multicultural management practices, such as delivering diversity training to managers and employees or providing networking programs that connect employees who share a similar demographic background. In fact, organizations that have been recognized as exemplary organizations for diversity management tend to adopt the same diversity management practices to foster a positive diversity climate (Madera, 2013). The overall goal of implementing a diversity program should be to improve all employee perceptions toward the organizations’ priorities including having a diverse workforce (Cox and Blake, 1991, Gelfand et al., 2005 and Herdman and McMillan-Capehart, 2010). This begins with the selection of a diverse managerial team. Having a strong diversity climate can mitigate the adverse effects of diversity which include relationship conflict, decreased productivity, intent to quit and lower organizational commitment (Gonzalez and DeNisi, 2009). These adverse effects also have an impact on managers’ job satisfaction, role ambiguity and role conflict. Organizational support for diversity also influences non-minority employees’ perceptions and decreases absenteeism (Avery et al., 2007). Diversity climate has also been shown to moderate the relationship between diversity and firm productivity and return on profit (Gonzalez and DeNisi, 2009). However, the effects of employee diversity climate are stronger in circumstances where a more racially diverse management team exists and possess stronger relational values (Herdman and McMillan-Capehart, 2010 and Madera et al., 2012). In addition, the values and priorities of the management team that implement diversity programs and initiatives have a tremendous impact on the effectiveness of the overall success of the programs (Herdman and McMillan-Capehart, 2010). Therefore, hotel managers’ perceived diversity culture not only influences their own degree of job satisfaction with a reduction in role ambiguity and conflict but may also influence all employees within the organization.