From Diversity to Inclusion. A qualitative Case Study of a Swedish Hospitality Organization

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this thesis is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the distinction between diversity and inclusion in managing diversity, thereby elucidating the effects of workforce diversity in the organization. We drew upon the combination of two frameworks regarding diversity perspective and diversity climate to examine the reflections of diversity and inclusion in the organization. The methodological aspect encompasses a qualitative case study with interpretative tradition and an abductive approach, which simultaneously enabled us to stay open-minded and systematic when working with theory and empirical data. 17 semi-structured interviews, along with 4-day observations, conducted at our case company The Elysium, provided the investigative spearhead of this research. We disentangled the meaning of diversity and inclusion through the multifaceted investigation of organizational diversity perspective and organizational diversity climate. The organization which merely achieved diversity but not inclusion failed to unleash the potential power of the diverse workforce. Instead, workforce diversity had negative impacts on the organization. Workforce diversity thus was perceived as problems in need of remediation rather than a valuable organizational asset. Bringing to light the concept of inclusion as the transcendence of diversity management, the research contributes to the scarcity of research concerning this new trend in the context of the hospitality industry. This research further adds to the understanding of the mix- results of diversity in the organization. Thereby, we prompt the managers to take a holistic view when engaging their diversity so that the organization can reap the real and full benefits of diversity and acknowledge the possibility of exclusion.