VARIABILITY OF BOUNDARY AND MEANING OF DIVERSITY ATTRIBUTES: STUDIES FROM DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AT A JAPANESE SMEVARIABILITY OF BOUNDARY AND MEANING OF DIVERSITY ATTRIBUTES: STUDIES FROM DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AT A JAPANESE SME

Abstract

Drawing on a case of diversity management in small and medium-sized Japanese enterprises (SME), this paper argues that an anthropological approach can contribute more to progress our understanding about the effect of diverse people working together in naturally occurring work groups. The paper reveals a more nuanced and fluid nature of the boundary of diversity attributes and meaning that people associate with them—such a perspective is not attainable through quantitative methodology which is widely used in current diversity management research in management science. The anthropological approach adds rich details that give the quantitative data depth and meaning in the real world.