CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

It is evident that the advances in art, science and technology have made it possible for global economy to bring the people of the world closer together than we can ever think of. As a result of this, organisations, educational systems and other entities are now embarking on the ways to better serve their constituents. This means, ability of organisations to be able to attract and retain workers based on merit. The ability of organisations to formulate, develop and make use of the necessary policies and procedures in doing this will make it possible for such organisations to have competitive advantage ahead of their counterparts and increase their effectiveness. However, to achieve success and maintain a competitive advantage, we must be able to draw on the most important resource like the skills of the workforce. As a result of the increase in diversity in the workforce, there is the need for organisations to expand their outlook and use creative strategies to achieve better organisational performance. This means, employees must be critically examined in the provision of this resource. This study investigates effect of workforce diversity on the performance of an organisation in Nigeria.