Which fairness factors most influence minority professionals to remain committed to an organization as evidenced by a predisposition to depart

Abstract

The presence of minority professionals in the workforce ranks is indicative of the organization's corporate citizenship and its commitment to equal opportunity and diversity. Consequently, factors that affect organizational commitment and retention are of key importance. This mixed study explored the relationship between the attitudes and perceptions of minority professionals as related to fair treatment between themselves and white counterparts, and whether those perceptions influenced minority professionals to remain committed to organizations. The survey was distributed to 122 minority professionals at various events held by professional minority organizations. A concurrent nested design was used in the study, in which a qualitative phase was embedded within a predominantly quantitative study. The instrument survey used was an adaptation of a standardized faculty survey developed by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California at Los Angeles. Returned surveys were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to transform raw data into tables appropriate to the analysis. Qualitative data was analyzed using inductive coding. The researcher's findings suggest that while the majority of respondents feel that they are treated as equitably as their White counterparts, approximately one-third indicated that they were either unsatisfied or neutral on this subject. The most intense issue that the responses highlighted was inequity in advancement. An overwhelming majority of respondents are committed to their organizations, even though they may not always receive fair treatment, and many are unable to leave at this time, regardless of treatment. Private sector employees indicated that they may be more willing to change jobs during the course of their careers as opposed to those in the public sector. From this research, the following recommendations were given: (1). The premise of this study should be extended beyond the convenience sample indicated in this study. (2). Interviews should be conducted with senior organizational management relative to implementing changes altering organizational practices and culture. (3). A separate study could be conducted regarding the effects of generation socialization upon retention, attrition, and tolerance. (4). A study should be conducted that evaluates middle minority managers willingness to stay in an organization.