Leveraging Affinity Groups in Organizations: Exploring Organizational Culture, Operational Excellence, and Employee Retention
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Brief Abstract
Workplace affinity groups aid in organizational culture, operational excellence, and employee retention. To be successful, organizations need to develop effective affinity group programs and initiatives. The purpose of this qualitative generic inquiry study was to explore how affinity groups support organizational culture, operational excellence, and employee retention in organizations.
Presenters
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Extended Abstract
The research question for this study is: What programs or initiatives are developed by affinity groups to support organizational culture, operational excellence, and employee retention in organizations? This study used a generic-qualitative-inquiry method, and convenience sampling to collect data. Robert Yin’s five step data analysis process of thematic analysis and NVivo were used to analyze data that answered the research question. Eight participants provided narrative answers to semi-structured interview questions. This data added to the current literature on affinity groups and organizational theory. The findings and major themes that emerged from the data provide insights on programs and initiatives utilized by affinity groups to support organizational development.
The three key points revealed from this research study include: 1) some of the effective programs and initiatives being used to promote affinity groups, 2) how affinity groups can affect organizational culture, operational excellence, and employee retention, and 3) why affinity groups are important to engage employees in organizations.
The purpose of this session is to provide and discuss our insights about the key points from our generic-qualitative-inquiry and what the findings revealed from our research study. In addition, we would like to share our findings from this research that reveal insights to successful programs and initiatives that are being used by affinity groups to support organizations. These can be used by affinity groups to further support organizations through effective program development. We look forward to sharing our research and having a great session!