Workplace diversity in the United States: the perspective of Peter Drucker

Abstract

Purpose

The emergence of diversity in organizations is typically traced to the 1960s when legislation was enacted in the USA to prohibit discrimination against ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, and religion. However, Peter Drucker found that workplace diversity had its origin in the aftermath of World War I. In response, this paper aims to address the historical evolution of workplace diversity through the lens of Drucker.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper traces the historical evolution of Drucker's perspective on workplace diversity and the circumstances that catapulted him to advocate for understanding and valuing diversity in organizations. Further, it uses passages from Peter Drucker's published accounts to illustrate his understanding of demographic trends and how these trends impacted the competitiveness of the organization and management of workplace diversity.

Findings

Drucker's early life experiences influenced him to become a tenacious advocate for workplace diversity. As a reflection of these experiences, Drucker's understanding of human resource management led him to implore his readers to use human resource practices to leverage the power of evolving demographic trends. Drucker later refined his prescriptions on workplace diversity by incorporating several assumptions from the strategic human resource management literature into his research.

Research limitations/implications

Future workplace diversity research would benefit from evaluating Drucker's propositions on leveraging the power of demographic trends through human resource management practices.

Originality/value

This historical analysis of Drucker's vast body of research provides substantial insight into his practical arguments for understanding and valuing diversity in organizations. To the best of one's knowledge, organizational researchers and management historians have not extensively evaluated Drucker's contributions to the workplace diversity literature.

Citation

Oyler, J.D. and Golden Pryor, M. (2009), "Workplace diversity in the United States: the perspective of Peter Drucker", Journal of Management History, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 420-451. https://doi.org/10.1108/17511340910987338