An examination of the experiences of managing a diverse workforce within three US online firms located in Ireland

Donohoe, David (2017) An examination of the experiences of managing a diverse workforce within three US online firms located in Ireland. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Ireland has been a haven for foreign direct investment (FDI) particularly in the last decade as the country has recovered from the economic downturn that occurred in 2007. Many firms that make up the FDI population in Ireland are large US multinational firms who have chosen to locate here due to a large skilled workforce, low corporation tax and lucrative Industrial Development Authority (IDA) grants. Many of the US firms that are located here, are online firms who conduct their business online in sectors such as online market places, social media and online payments. As multinational firms choose Ireland as their European base, they attract employees from all over the world. With more employees moving to Ireland to join these multinational firms, diversity management has become a key practice among these firms as they try to maximise their workforces in order to drive performance and success.

Although the topic of managing diverse workforces has been examined on an international level, there has been very little research on the topic from an Irish perspective. IBEC published a report in 2003 around how diversity management should be practiced in Ireland and how important the topic of diversity management will be in in the future. Many of the previous studies have used a quantitative approach to gaining results. In this study, the qualitative research approach was used in the form of semi-structured interviews. Three US online firms were represented in the study by two managers from each firm. By using this technique an in-depth insight into the management of diverse teams was observed. The research question answered in the study is in relation to whether there are more opportunities than challenges in establishing diverse teams in US online firms based in Ireland. In brief, the research findings from the study, indicate that diversity management is actively practiced in US online firms in Ireland and there are more opportunities than challenges in establishing diverse teams. The main opportunities were identified as: large talent pool of employees to choose from, innovation, language skills and competitiveness leading to higher performance. The findings that were gathered in this study are valid as they provide a valuable insight into the opportunities and challenges of establishing diverse teams from an Irish workforce perspective, something that has not been done previously.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Diversity H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Specific Industries > Multinational Industries
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Science in Management
Depositing User:	Caoimhe Ní Mhaicín
Date Deposited:	22 Nov 2017 15:14
Last Modified:	22 Nov 2017 15:14
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/2903

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