Unity in Diversity: Implications for Managers

Abstract

This Study empirically examined the nature of the relationship between the Management of ethnic and religious diversity and Corporate Performance of firms in Nigeria. In Nigeria, a Nation with several ethnic nationalities and languages, as well as diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, the issue of diversity appears to be one of the most important challenges to managers. Nigeria which has grown from a basically agrarian society is now regarded as one of the most populous industrially developing nations in the world, which is richly endowed with abundant human and natural resources. However, most of the economic drawbacks of the nation are attributable to the inability of the organizations to perform optimally.  This Paper believes that the proper management of a diverse workforce is the key to achieving optimum corporate performance and highlights challenging issues which have implications for managers.

Key words: Workforce, diversity, Ethnicity, Religion, Nigeria