FACTA UNIVERSITATIS
Series: Economics and Organization Vol. 17, No 4, 2020, pp. 329 - 341

https://doi.org/10.22190/FUEO200729024N

Original Scientific Paper

EXPLORING THE DIVERSITY WITHIN THE WORKPLACE

OF SMALL FIRMS IN KOGI STATE, NIGERIA1

UDC 159.942.4(669)

331.101.3(669)

Akeem Tunde Nafiu1, Unekwu Cynthia Alogwuja2,

Dare Joseph Enimola2

1Centre for Pre-Degree & Diploma Studies, Kogi State University, Nigeria
2Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences,

Kogi State University, Anyigba, Nigeria

Abstract. This study aimed at exploring diversity within the workplace of Small Firms in

Kogi State, Nigeria. The study used survey research design. Descriptive statistics, mean

score from Likert scale, ANOVA and multiple Regressions were used for data analysis.

The study found that age has significant effect on job satisfaction of employees; and that

religion, educational background and job experience have strong significant effect on

small firms’ organizational outcomes in Kogi State. The finding further indicated that

gender difference affects organizational performance, job satisfaction, productivity,

competitive advantage and customers’ satisfaction. The study concluded that age has

significant positive effect on job satisfaction; and other factors such as religion,

educational background and job experience of employees only affect the performance of

small firms in Kogi State positively. This study therefore recommended that owner-

managers of small firms should take cognizance of age as it affects job satisfaction of

employees; and should strategically manage factors such as religion, educational

background and job experience of employees as they affect performance.

Key words: Diversity, Job Satisfaction, Organizational Outcomes, Employee Turnover,

Organizational Culture

JEL Classification: L20, M10

Received July 29, 2020 / Revised October 13, 2020 / Accepted October 19, 2020

Corresponding author: Akeem Tunde Nafiu
Centre For Pre-Degree and Diploma Studies, Kogi State University, Anyigba, Nigeria

E-mail: tundenafiu01@gmail.com

330 A. T. NAIFU, U. C. ALOGWUJA, D. J. ENIMOLA

1. INTRODUCTION

Organizational outcomes reflect what the small firms want to achieve in Kogi State. The

outcomes of every organization are shaped by its internal and external environmental

situations. For organizational outcomes to be realistic, an effective organizational framework

must be put in place. According to Madanchian, Hussein, Noordin, & Taherdoost (2017),

organization outcomes may reflect corporate performance, job satisfaction, and improved

decision. Gomez & Bernet (2019) viewed organization outcomes in terms of "quality and

financial performance" (p.383). Hwang & Hopkins (2015) added that "organizational

commitment, job satisfaction, and intention to leave" are aspects of organization outcomes

(p.44). Organization outcomes may be productivity, competitive advantage and customers’

satisfaction. Notably, organization outcomes are both internal and external. For instance,

competitive advantage and customers’ satisfaction are paradigm of the outcomes that are

external to the organization while others are internal to the organization.

Organization outcomes may be predicted given diversity characteristics. Gomez & Bernet

(2019) argued that diversity has the propensity to improve performance. Diversity

characteristics that place issues before managers of small firms in Kogi State are age, gender,

race, religion, experiences, educational background and culture among employees. Saxena

(2014) expressed that small firms have inventory of human resource with differences in age,

gender, perception, attitude, caste, religion and region. Diversity reflects heterogeneity of

characterizing variables in human, but the homogeneity perspective of it is important. This is

because a group of employees may possess similar characteristics. For instance, employees

within a group may be in the same age bracket, sex or have the same cultural background.

Today, SMEs now manage diversity with the aim of taking advantage of diverse

employees’ ability. This is targeted at creating a platform for the achievement of desirable

outcomes. Pitts, Hicklin, Hawes & Melton (2010) opined that there are scanty researches

relative to how diversity management can be used to achieve desirable outcomes in diverse

organizations. Rahman, Ferdausy and Bhattacharjee (2014) posited that the success of an

organization depends on its workforce. Among different human resource management issues,

workforce diversity has received a considerable, conceptual, and empirical attention in

organizational area. The finding of Ibidunni et al. (2018) revealed that “workforce diversity

significantly influences job satisfaction and commitment” (p.1052). A number of studies

(Kalleberg & Leicht, 1991; Gellner and Veen, 2009; Rehman, Ullah & Abrar-ul-haq, 2015)

revealed that “individual characteristics have considerable relationship with organization

performance”. Past studies have shown that diversity among employees culminates into both

negative and positive effects (Kochan et al. 2003). Weiliang et al. (2011) attributed “the dual

effect to lack of evidence linking workforce diversity to employee performance”. However,

Lindblad (n.d) clarified that diversity in the workplace is generally regarded as a positive one

for SMEs, but a workforce that has significant differences in ethnicity, race, religion and

gender may create destructive tendency at the enterprise.

The discussion above shows that there is relatively low empirical research on ‘the

influence of factors of workforce diversity on the organizational outcomes of small firms in

Kogi State’, Nigeria. The researcher is therefore induced to cover this gap by undertaking the

present study.

Exploring the Diversity Within the Workplace of Small Firms in Kogi State, Nigeria 331

The main objective of this study is to explore the diversity within the workplace of

Small Firms in Kogi State, Nigeria. The three identified objectives of the study are:

i. Ascertained gender difference with reference to the organizational outcomes of
small firms in Kogi State; and

ii. Investigate the effect of diversity factors on the organizational outcomes of small
firms in Kogi State.

2. CONCEPTUAL REVIEW

There are ample collections of scholarly conceptual definitions of diversity. Different

perspectives are observed based on peculiarity in disciplines. The conceptual reviews on

diversity in this study reflect the business management perspective. According to

Lindblad (n.d), the Society for Human Resource Management defined “diversity as

valuing the characteristics that make a person unique, such as age, ethnicity, education

level and family background”. The uniqueness as observed from the definition appears to

implicitly or explicitly show that employees possess varying characteristics. This is

similar to the addition of Kokemuller (2011) that diversity is the “presence of people

from a wide range of backgrounds and possessing different traits”. Also, Knippenberg et

al. (2004) opined that diversity refers to “an almost infinite number of dimensions,

ranging from age to nationality, from religious background to functional background,

from task skills to relational skills, and from political preference to sexual preference”

(p.1015). Diversity research has “mainly focused on gender, age, race/ethnicity, tenure,

educational background, and functional background” (Milliken & Martins, 1996; Williams &

O’Reilly, 1998). However, Robbins (2009) refers to “workforce diversity as organizations

that are becoming more heterogeneous with the mix of people in terms of gender, age,

race, and education background”. The term ‘mix’ in his broad definition appears to mean

combination and interaction of people from diverse backgrounds. Ehimare & Ogaga-

Oghene (2011) posited that “the main concern of this standpoint is that a broad definition

may imply that all differences among people are the same” (p.95). Workforce diversity

means the composite of people with different/similar psychological, sociological,

economic and personality factors at the workplace.

Considering workforce diversity as effective tool for achieving the organizational

outcomes of small business firms is very important. Workforce diversity may be constructive

when managed effectively and destructive to organizational outcomes when managed poorly.

The motive behind the effective management of workplace diversity is that the complexity in

human element of organizational life is abrupt by dissimilarities in characteristics.

The “business benefits of workplace diversity have been widely contested since the idea

was conceived” (Ehimare & Ogaga-Oghene, 2011). There is an ongoing debate as to whether

there is indeed any discernible business benefit (Mulholland, Ozbilgin & Worman, 2005). It is

however worthy of note that workforce diversity functions as a vehicle for organizational

success through collection of wealth of experience and ideas. Lindblad (n.d) is of the “opinion

that the inclusion of diverse individuals fosters a rich exchange of new ideas among

employees and helps organization leverage the unique character of its workforce”. Andrade

(2010) discussed the benefits of workforce diversity in the workplace as follows:

332 A. T. NAIFU, U. C. ALOGWUJA, D. J. ENIMOLA

i. Increased Productivity: There is no doubt that some SMEs have collection of
talents in their enterprise. SME owners can unfold the skills of their employees

and take advantage of talents to deliver the best outcome through effective

diversity management. It is important to note that diverse employees who have

better knowledge of the cultural value of their enterprises may be induced to

remain committed to productivity.

ii. Rising creativity and Problem-solving: There is possibility that employees have
diverse intellectual properties. These may be useful for SMEs, and as such,

managers may translate the intellectual properties into innovativeness, creativity,

diversification and design of the best approach to solving business problems.

iii. Attracting and Retaining talent that add a competitive edge to any SMEs. SME
owners/managers can make use of talented employees to distinct themselves in a

competitive environment. When skills pool is increased, SMEs may be propelled

either to compete in the international global world or to increase its diverse

customer base in Nigeria.

iv. Help to build synergy in teams and enhances communication skills that brings in
new attitudes and processes that profit the whole team

v. Applying the proper diversity and inclusion management strategies does not
only save money on litigation expenses generated by discrimination lawsuits but

is the right thing to do for the business.

vi. It increases market share and create a satisfied diverse customer base by relating to
people from different backgrounds. It does propel the organization and its status to

claim its place and success in the global business world of the 21st century.

No organization ever exists without people from different and similar background.

Professionals in the field of human resources must be happy gathering diverse employees for

scientifically designed job, and manage such diversity for organizational success. The ability

of any organization to plan and manage workforce diversity promotes the tendency of

achieving a desired goal. Some small firms find it difficult to be successful today, because of

their ill-commitment to ensuring that workforce diversity is part of their day-to-day business

conduct. This backdrop may be tied to the fact that owner-managers of these small firms have

low know-how on effective practice of diversity management, and the contributory elements

in the successful management of diversity, and task that can deal with diversity related issues

in their workplace. For effective diversity management practice, Kokemuller (2011)

established that “top management and front-line managers in a diverse organization have

to set the tone for an effective culture, as this will promote nondiscriminatory work

environment, and fair treatment of all workers in the hiring process, job conditions, work

evaluations and promotions”. Loriann and Carol (2007) insisted that “un-managed diversity is

more likely to damage morale, increase turnover, and cause significant communication

problems and conflict within the organization”.

Though, there have been controversies regarding the influence of workforce diversity on

organizational outcomes for many decades. Milliken and Martins (1996) understand that “the

influence of diversity on organizational outcomes, such as organizational performance,

employee satisfaction, and turnover, is essential”. It is believed that diversity is related to

organizational outcomes and success. The organizational outcomes considered for the purpose

of this study are organizational performance, job satisfaction, productivity, turnover and

competitive advantage. It appears that workforce diversity has a correlative impact on

each of these variables, particularly in a complex managerial and organizational environment.

Exploring the Diversity Within the Workplace of Small Firms in Kogi State, Nigeria 333

Anderson & Metcalfe (2003) argued that “the paucity of stout research examining the impact

of diversity upon businesses has raised questions about the existence of any connection

between workforce diversity and business outcomes”. Though today, there is increased

number of quality researches (Cox et al., 1991; Webber and Donahue, 2001; Seyed-

Mahmoud, 2004; Roberge and Rolf, 2010; Patrick and Kumar, 2012) which have proven the

workforce diversity has both positive and negative effect on organizational performance.

This made Choi & Rainey (2010) to express that “previous empirical research on the effects

of workforce diversity on organizational performance has found mixed results”. Other

researches (Kalleberg & Leicht, 1991; Weiliang et al. 2011; Rehman et al., 2015) also

proved the effect of individual workforce diversity factors on other organizational outcome.

Diversity factors are comparatively explained by the atmosphere of a particular

organization and the external environment in which it sub-systemizes. Two organizations

may likely witness varying course of workforce diversity due to national or regional

factors. The observed fact that has been missing in previous researches is that workforce

diversity varies based on economy, individual orientation and organizational culture from

country to countries. This implies that research reports are likely to vary according to

these factors. This may be a clarification to the studies (Bell & Berry, 2007; Klein &

Harrison, 2007) with the position that previous researches analyzed “the impacts of

diversity taking into account the complex reality of organizations”. The issue is that

social and functional factors which are causal of diversity have predictive power on the

outcome of small firms. These factors determine the extent at which salient organizational

behaviour is approved by organizational members, and this remains the reason it has

become essential for effective workforce diversity management. The study of Choi &

Rainey (2010) shows “how managerial efforts and other contextual variables (such as

diversity management, organizational culture, and team processes) moderate the relationship

between diversity and organizational outcomes” (p.102).

3. METHODOLOGY

The study premised on ‘survey research design’. The study’s population comprised of

employees and owner-managers of selected small firms. A purposive sample technique was

used to select employees (216) and owner-managers (59) from the selected small firms in

Kogi State. The choice of this technique was supported with the fact that there is no

adequate data regarding small firms in Kogi State. A well-structured questionnaire was used

for gathering primary data. The questionnaire was administered to two categories of

respondents (216 employees and 59 owner-managers) in the study area with the aid of five

trained research-assistants. The constructs of this questionnaire were validated by a panel of

professionals from the field of industrial relation/human resource management. For the aim

of this study, ‘questionnaire’ was scaled and its reliability was subsequently tested through

Cronbach’s alpha. This study analyzed data using ‘descriptive statistics, Analysis of

Variance (ANOVA) and regression model’. The model is specified as follows:

Y1= B0+B1X1+B2X2+B3X3+B4X4+ µ ………………………. (i)

Y2= B0+B1X1+B2X2+B3X3+B4X4+ µ ....………………….… (ii)

Y3= B0+B1X1+B2X2+B3X3+B4X4+ µ ………………….…… (iii)

Where Y1= Organizational Performance

Y2= Job Satisfaction

334 A. T. NAIFU, U. C. ALOGWUJA, D. J. ENIMOLA

Y3= Employee Turnover

X1= Employee Age

X2= Religion

X3= Education Background

X4= Job Experience

B0= intercept

B1 to B8= coefficient to be estimated and

X1 to X2 are the independent variables.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 Socio-demographic variables of the respondents

Responses Frequency Percentage Mean/Mode

Employees Owner/Managers Total

Age
15-25 45 6 51 18.55
26-36 75 22 97 35.27
37-47 20 17 37 13.45 38.84
48-58 46 14 60 21.82
59 & Above 30 - 30 10.91

Total 216 59 275 100

Gender
Male 85 33 118 42.91
Female 131 26 157 57.09 157

Total 216 59 275 100

Education
FSLC 15 - 15 5.45
SSCE 47 13 60 21.82
NCE/OND 86 28 114 41.45 114
HND/BSc 52 8 60 21.82
MSc & above 16 10 26 9.45

Total 216 59 275 100

Religion
Christianity 68 24 92 33.45
Islamic 121 35 156 56.73
Traditional 27 - 27 9.82

Total 216 59 275 100

Experience
0-5 98 17 115 41.82 7.06
6-10 57 28 85 30.91
11-15 61 14 75 27.27
16-20 - - - -

Total 216 59 275 100

Note: FSLC - First School Leaving Certificate; SSCE- Senior School Certificate; NCE- National Certificate;

HND- Higher National Diploma; BSc- Bachelor of Science Certificate; MSc- Master of Science

Source: Field Survey, 2020

Table 1 shows the socio-demographic variables of respondents. 51 respondents

(18.55%) are within the age bracket of 15 - 25; 97 respondents (35.27%) are within the

Exploring the Diversity Within the Workplace of Small Firms in Kogi State, Nigeria 335

age bracket of 26 - 36; 37 respondents (13.45%) are within the age bracket of 37 - 47; 60

respondents (21.82%) are within the age bracket of 48 - 58; and 30 respondents (10.91%)

are within the age bracket of 59 & above. The mean score indicates that majority of the

respondents are 39 years old. From the table II, 118 respondents (42.91%) were male;

and 157 respondents (57.09%) were female. The mode recorded for gender (157) implies

that majority of the respondents is female. The table shows that 15 respondents (5.45%)

reported that they hold FSLC; 60 respondents (21.82%) hold SSCE; 114 respondents

(41.45%) hold NCE (or its equivalent); 60 respondents (21.82%) hold HND/ BSc; and 26

respondents (9.45%) hold MSc (or its equivalent) and above. The mode (114) shows that

majority of the respondents have NCE (or its equivalent). The table shows that 92

respondents (33.45%) are Christians; 156 respondents (56.73%) are Muslims; and 27

respondents (9.82%) are traditional worshippers. The mode (156) shows that majority of

the respondents are Muslims.

The results (in table 1) indicate that 115 respondents (41.82%) have the ‘experience’

of about 5 years; 85 respondents (30.91%) have the ‘experience’ of 6 - 10 years; 75

respondents (27.27%) have the ‘experience’ of 11 - 15 years; and no respondent has the

‘experience’ of 31 - 40 years. The mean score (7.06) indicates that majority of the

respondents have the ‘experience’ of about 7 years.

Table 2 Descriptive analysis of workforce diversity factors

Variable

Factors

Workforce Diversity

Frequency and Percentage

SA(%) A(%) UD(%) D(%) SD(%) Mean

Score

Cut-off

Point

Decision

Age 104 (48.1) 66 (30.6) 12 (5.6) 12 (5.6) 22 (10.2) 4.009 3.050 Accepted

Religion 131 (60.6) 39 (18.1) 12 (5.6) 16 (7.4) 18 (8.3) 4.153 3.050 Accepted

Educational

Background

79 (36.6) 86 (39.8) 17 (7.9) 4 (1.9) 30 (13.9) 3.833 3.050 Accepted

Job Experience 110 (50.9) 69 (31.9) 25 (11.6) 12 (5.6) - 4.287 3.050 Accepted

Gender 58 (26.9) 100 (46.3) 44 (20.4) 8 (3.7) 6 (2.8) 3.907 3.050 Accepted

Culture 29 (13.4) 12 (5.6) 46 (21.3) 80 (37.0) 49 (22.7) 2.500 3.050 Rejected

physical ability 7(3.2) 18 (8.3) 12 (5.6) 66 (30.6) 113 (52.3) 1.796 3.050 Rejected

Source: Field Survey, 2020

Table 2 shows workforce diversity factors among small firms in the study area. The

factors which appear to be valid and reliable in association with diversity at the surveyed

small firms in Kogi State are age, religion, educational background, job experience, gender,

culture and physical ability. The mean score of age is 4.009; religion is 4.153; educational

background is 3.833; job experience is 4.287; and gender is 3.907 as against the cut-off

point of 3.050. Since the mean scores of these variables are greater than the cut-off point,

they are accepted as prime factors of workforce diversity in the study area. In terms of

educational background, Khoreva (2011) found that “the individuals who are more educated

as judge against to who are less educated make out more gender difference” (p.234). It

could be observed that variables such as age, religion and job experience seem to be the

most severe workforce diversity factors. The table also shows that the mean score of culture

(2.500) and physical ability of employees (1.796) do not enter as viable factors of

336 A. T. NAIFU, U. C. ALOGWUJA, D. J. ENIMOLA

workforce diversity in the study area. Though, these two factors may be present among the

selected small firms, but they may be too insignificant to be noticed.

Table 3 Showing ANOVA for gender difference on the outcomes of small firms in Kogi

State, Nigeria

Outcomes Female Male F-Value F-Crit

Concern for organizational performance M

2.1525

0.8054

1.5763

0.6216

7.334 1.5458

Observed value for job and satisfaction M

2.2034

0.8047

2.2542

0.7094

18.495 1.5458

Contribute effectively to output level

through initiative

2.0526

0.8540

2.3509

0.6121

9.505 1.5518

Talent for firm’s competitiveness

and advantage

2.0678

0.8276

2.0339

0.7420

17.068 1.5458

Good customer relation and customer

satisfaction concern

2.2034

0.8259

2.1525

0.6647

7.781 1.5458

Source: Field Survey, 2020

Firstly, table 3 shows the difference between female and male in terms of concern for

organizational performance. Females have more concern for organizational performance

(2.1525) compared to their male counterpart (1.5763). The standard deviation of concern

for organizational performance for female (0.8054) shows more divergence as compared

to the male (0.6216). The f-statistics value of 7.3341 appears to be greater than the F-

critical value (1.5458). This shows a clear difference in terms of concern for organizational

performance between female and male employees of small firms in the study area. It is

thus necessary to deduce that in many small firms in Kogi State, the female employees

strive to ensure organizational performance (profitability) more than the male employees.

In terms of gender differences affecting organizational performance, this finding refutes

the assertion of Kalleberg & Leicht (1991) and Weiliang et al. (2011) that “the performance

criteria for success are expected to be higher for men than for women”.

Secondly, the table shows that males have more value for their jobs and are satisfied

with it (2.2542) compared to their female counterpart (2.2034). Though, the observed

difference seems to be very little based on the compared mean scores. The standard

deviation of observed job value and satisfaction among female (0.8047) shows more

divergence as compared to the male (0.7094). The f-statistics value of 18.4951 appears to

be greater than the F-critical value (1.5458). This result shows that male employees have

more value for their jobs and are more satisfied with the job than the female counterpart

of the small firms in the study area.

Thirdly, the table shows that males contribute more effectively to output level through

their initiative (2.3509) compared to their female counterpart (2.0526). The standard

deviation of female (0.8540) shows more divergence as compared to the male (0.6121).

The f-statistics value of 9.5050 is greater than the F-critical value (1.5458). This result

shows that male employees contribute more effectively to output level through their

initiative than the female counterpart of the small firms in Kogi State.

Fourthly, the table shows that female possess more talent for firm’s competitiveness

and advantage (2.0678) compared to their male counterpart (2.0339). The standard

deviation of female (0.8276) shows more divergence as compared to the male (0.7420).

Exploring the Diversity Within the Workplace of Small Firms in Kogi State, Nigeria 337

The f-statistics value of 17.0684 is greater than the F-critical value (1.5458). This result

shows that female employees possess more talent for firm’s competitiveness and

advantage than the male counterpart of the small firms in Kogi State.

Fifthly, the table shows that females have good customer relations and are more

customer-satisfaction concerned (2.2034) compared to their male counterpart (2.1525).

The standard deviation of female (0.8259) shows more divergence as compared to the

male (0.6647). The f-statistics value of 7.7808 is greater than the F-critical value

(1.5458). This result shows that female employees have good customer relations and are

more customer-satisfaction concerned than the male counterpart of the small firms in

Kogi State.

Table 4 Summary of Multiple Regression analysis of Potential Covariates with OP, JS

and ET

Covariate Coefficients () Standard Error

())

Value of
t-Statistics

Value of R2 Value of
F-Statistics

OP JS ET OP JS ET OP JS ET OP JS ET OP JS ET

AG .476 .579 -.084 .205 .144 .341 2.322 4.029 -.245 .642 .844 .020 5.390 16.229* .060

RG .897 .552 .099 .248 .519 .574 3.623 1.063 .172 .814 .274 .010 13.126* 1.130 .030
EB .967 .907 -.079 .132 .310 .575 7.304 2.926 -.137 .947 .741 .006 53.342** 8.559 .019

JE .769 .566 -.215 .100 .355 .440 7.692 1.593 -.488 .952 .458 .074 59.164** 2.539 .238

Note: *Significant at the .05 level; **Significant at the .01 level; AG – Age; RG – Religion;

EB – Educational Background; JE – Job Experience; OP – Organizational Performance; JS – Job Satisfaction;

JP – Job Performance; ET- Employee Turnover

The result (table 4) shows that 84.4% of the variation in job satisfaction is explained

by age. The presence of 15.6% unexplained variation suggests that there are other

predictor variables which affect variations in job satisfaction among small firms in Kogi

State. The co-efficient for age (0.579, p < 0.05) indicates ‘positive relationship’ with job

satisfaction. The result shows that increase in the age of employees will account for

57.9% increase in job satisfaction. This aligns with the finding of Rehman et al. (2015)

which found that one year more age leads to increase in job satisfaction. This implies that

employees are prompted to be more satisfied with their jobs as they become of age in

Kogi State. This could be as a result of age limit (27 years) placed on job seekers in

Nigeria; this explains the minimal employee turnover rate. However, the R2-value of

0.844 shows a strong predictor. Thus, age has significant effect on job satisfaction of

employees among small firms in Kogi State.

The result (table 4) reveals that 81.4% of the variation in the performance of small firms in

Kogi State is explained by religious belief of employees. This may be from the fact that one

religion’s doctrine places limits on the level of female employees’ initiatives and commitment

to goal pursuit; and the other widely accepted religion teaches morals that encourages hard

work in Nigerians’ small firms. The presence of 18.6% unexplained variation suggests that

there are other predictor variables affecting the performance of small firms in Kogi State,

Nigeria. The co-efficient for religion (0.897, p < 0.05) shows a positive relationship with

organizational performance. This means that additional improvement in religious teachings

effort will bring about 89.7% improvements in the performance of small firms in Kogi State.

However, the R2-value of 0.814 shows a strong predictor. We therefore deduce that the

religion of employees has strong significant effect on the performance of small firms in Kogi

State, Nigeria.

338 A. T. NAIFU, U. C. ALOGWUJA, D. J. ENIMOLA

The Table also shows that 94.7% of the variation in the performance of small firms in

Kogi State is explained by educational background of employees. The presence of 5.3%

unexplained variation suggests that there are other predictor variables affecting the

performance of small firms in Kogi State. The co-efficient for educational background

(0.967, p = 0.01) shows a positive relationship with the performance of small firms in

Kogi State. This implies that increase in knowledge and skill possessed by employees

through learning will lead to 96.7% improvement in the performance of small firms in

Kogi State. This agrees with the finding of Weiliang et al. (2011) that “there is significant

positive relationship between education background and performance”. It also agrees

with the finding of Rehman et al. (2015) that a change in educational status will bring

proportional improvement in organization performance. However, the R2-value (0.947)

indicates a strong predictor. We therefore deduce that educational background of

employees has strong significant effect on the performance of small firms in Kogi State.

The result (table 4) indicates that 95.2% variation in the performance of small firms in

Kogi State is explained by job experience of employees. The presence of 4.8% unexplained

variation suggests that there are other predictor variables affecting the performance of small

firms in Kogi State. The co-efficient for job experience (0.769, p = 0.01) shows a positive

relationship with the performance of small firms in Kogi State. This implies that increase in

job experience of employees will lead to 76.9% improvement in the ‘performance of small

firms’ in Kogi State. This aligns with the finding of Rehman et al. (2015) that there is

positive relationship between experience and organization performance. This simply means

that the more the employees accumulate experience on the job, the bigger the tendency for

higher performance of small firms in Kogi State. However, the R2-value (0.952) indicates a

strong predictor. We therefore deduce that job experience of employees has strong ‘significant

effect’ on the performance of small firms in Kogi State.

5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Some factors were investigated as triggering diversity in small firms in Kogi State.

Factors such as age, religion, educational background, job experience, gender, culture and

physical ability are found to be peculiar within small firms in Kogi State. Age, religion,

educational background, job experience and gender are significantly strong factors; while

culture and physical ability of employees are found weak and insignificant. These two

factors may be present among the workforce of the small firms, but they appear to be too

insignificant. Meanwhile, empirical investigation proves that age has ‘significant positive

effect on job satisfaction of employees’ among small firms in Kogi State. Other factors

such as religion, educational background and job experience of employees only affect the

performance of these small firms in Kogi State positively.

Female employees are found significant to organizational success. The female employees

of small firms in Kogi State are more spirited to pursuing the organizational performance

(profitability, competitive advantage, productivity, market share, etc.). This is coupled with

more excellent talent they possess; which can enhance their firm’s competitiveness and

advantage within the business environment of Kogi State. In addition, female employees

have good customer relations and are more customer-satisfaction concerned than the male

counterpart of the small firms in Kogi State.

Exploring the Diversity Within the Workplace of Small Firms in Kogi State, Nigeria 339

Though, the male employees appear to have more value for their jobs and are more

satisfied with the job than the female counterpart of the small firms in Kogi State. The

difference is apparently too little. Based on observed behaviour of employees in organizations

in Nigeria, the economic situation of a particular period stimulates the job satisfaction of

male employees. It is very much apparent that the female employees’ turnover rate is low;

and this is a pointer of job satisfaction. However, the result stipulates that male employees

contribute more effectively to output level through their initiative than the female counterpart

of the small firms in Kogi State. This may not have connection with the job value or job

satisfaction of employees; as Nigerian women have long consented and maintained the fact

that they are weaker virtue. In a nutshell, gender difference, if strategically managed, may

influence organizational outcome positively.

Therefore, the study recommends that:

i. Owner-managers of small firms should take cognizance of age as a significant
workforce diversity factor that affects job satisfaction of employees. This is because,

the older an employee becomes on the job the more he/she is satisfied with the job in

Kogi State.

ii. Owner-managers of small firms should strategically manage workforce diversity
factors such as religion, educational background and job experience of employees;

as they affect the performance of small firms in Kogi State. Proper management of

these factors will enhance positive performance of small firms in Kogi State.

iii. Owner-managers should strategically manage gender difference in their firms to
enhance organizational performance, job satisfaction, productivity, competitive

advantage and customers’ satisfaction.

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ISTRAŽIVANJE DIVERZITETA NA RADNOM MESTU

U MALIM FIRMAMA U SAVEZNOJ DRŽAVI KOGI U NIGERIJI

Ova studija ima za cilj istraživanje diverziteta na radnom mestu u malim preduzećima u

saveznoj državi Kogi u Nigeriji. Studija je koristila model upitnika, a za analizu podataka korišćeni

su deskriptivna statistika, srednja vrednost Likert skale, ANOVA i višestruka regresija. Studija je

ustanovila da starost ispitanika ima značajnog uticaja na zadovoljstvo poslom kod zaposlenih; a da

religija, obrazovni profil i radno iskustvo imaju izražen značajni uticaj na organozacione ishode

malih preduzeća u državi Kogi. Nalazi dalje pokazuju da pol utiče na organizacioni učinak,

zadovoljstvo poslom, produktivnost, konkurentsku prednost i zadovoljstvo mušterija. Studija

zaključuje da starost ima značajan pozitivni uticaj na zadovoljstvo poslom, a drugi faktori kao što

su religija, obrazovni profil i radno iskustvo samo utiču pozitivno na poslovanje malih preduzeća u

državi Kogi . Preporuka je stoga da vlasnici-menadžeri malih preduzeća uzmu u obzir starost

zaposlenih jer ona utilče na zadovoljstvo poslom, i treba strateški da upravljaju faktorima kao što

su religija, obrazovni profil i radno iskustvo jer oni utiču na učinak.

Ključne reči: diverzitet, zadovoljstvo poslom, organizacioni ishodi, fluktuacija zaposlenih,

organizaciona kultura