EFFECT OF WORKFORCE DIVERSITY ON PERFORMANCE OF NATIONAL POLICE SERVICE IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA
Ephantus Mbui Kathimba - Masters of Business Administration (Strategic Management), Kenyatta University, Kenya
Dr. Abel Anyieni - Department of Business Administration, School of Business, Kenyatta University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
Performance of employees at work place is centered on appreciation, accommodation and rewarding of efforts they commitment to the growth of an organization. Workplace diversity is a type of conflict which occurs in various work stations. Researchers in this area of research have brought out some insight on the most demanding part of diversity in workplaces. According to past studies in workplace diversity, there is still much to be done to understand in depth the difference in outcomes within workplace. This type of diversity can be shaped by environments such as area of education, ethnic grounds, gender, in workplaces and issues that may arise as a result of shift to a new environment. Ability of an organization to embrace and manage diversity may have positive effects on organization performance and overall competitive advantage. Successive entities engage their handling of workplace diversity issues, develop and implement organization diversity plans. Organizations implementing a diverse workforce are able to realize a greater variety of solutions to challenges in service, allocation of organization resources and sourcing. Most workers from differing foundations acquire single encounters and gifts contributing thoughts that are adaptable in adjusting to client requests and fluctuating markets. The main objective of this study was to investigate the influence of workforce diversity on performance of National Police Service in Kenya. The specific objectives were to establish the influence of employee age, gender, ethnicity and education on the performance of the service in Kenya. The study was anchored on similarity/attraction, societal organization and agency theories. The study used a descriptive research design. The target population was all 438 NPS employees within Nakuru County. Due to the large number of the respondents, the researcher used stratified random sampling whereby the entire population was divided into groups and a sample 30% was selected from each stratum forming a sample of 132. The researcher used a questionnaire for data collection. Data was analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics with the aid of SPSS. Graphs, tables and pie charts, frequencies and percentage were used to present the analyzed data. From the findings, ethnic diversity of the NPS work force significantly added up to performance p=0.002<0.05; gender distribution of the NPS work force was significant predictor of performance p=0.016<0.05; education diversity of the NPS work force was significant in affecting performance p=0.015<0.05 and that age diversity of the NPS work force had significant effect on performance p=0.034<0.05. The study concludes that ethnic diversity of the NPS Work force significantly added up to performance, gender distribution of the NPS work force was significant predictor of performance, education diversity of the NPS work force was significant in affecting performance and age diversity of the NPS work force had significant effect on performance. The study recommends that the National Police Service and other organizations in Kenya should promote diversity in their place of work by putting in place proper mechanisms to deal with discrimination which reduces work morale. All organizations in Kenya including the National Police Service should ensure that feminine gender is advantaged in equal terms as their male counter parts. This will enhance organizational performance. The hiring policy of all organizations in Kenya should factor in age since it improves creativity and innovation within an organization.