Think of a world without Diversity, where everything was exactly the same. Where race, ethnic groups, cultures, music, your mind, style, romance, the way you spend your money is exactly the same as everyone else. Now think of your workplace, where your co-workers had the same ideas as you, where everyone talked, acted, spoke the same way. No one was different from another. You may find it hard to imagine a place like this; America is a country full of diversity. Whether it be cultural diversity, economic diversity, or workplace diversity it is something that makes us all unique in our own way.
Think of everyone believing in one religion, being from the same area. This is cultural diversity, which can be defined as the differences in race, ethnicity, language, nationality, religion, and sexual orientation represented within a community (Amadeo). Being exposed to diversity can be a tremendous benefit for a community, whether it is a specific community or a widespread community. Although it may seem like the benefits may outweigh the negatives, but whenever you mix different cultures, values, and opinions together, you will get arguing and ultimately conflicts. As mentioned in everything’s an argument; very few of today’s scientists believe there are not such things as races like there were in the past, instead there are social entities; however, they agree races haven’t disappeared. This means that we have all shared our cultures with each other so much that we all have something in common but still maintain our differences. Having respect for other heritages and beliefs while respecting those of others, an important factor is when being a part of a diverse culture.
However, there are those who resist diversity. These people might be unable to accept diversity or just completely refuse to accept it. What comes from this could be considered racism. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines racism as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial difference produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” This cannot be better described than the segregation in America’s own history regarding Native-Americans and African-Americans.
Thankfully, as society progresses and communication becomes easier between people of one culture to another, we now celebrate our diversity and our rich cultures throughout the nation and accept them. As society continues to progress, acceptance of cultures will become even better, which will result in more people being able to keep and practice their heritage with greater acceptance from society.
Go back to thinking of your job without diversity. Think of having to share the same role with everyone in your company. Now your job title as boss doesn’t mean anything. The ideas you bring to the table is the exact same as the person sitting across from you. This is where diversity in the workplace makes things different. It could be said to be a people issue, based on the differences and similarities that the people bring into an organization. To accept diversity in the workplace would mean creating a workplace that respects and includes differences. There are many different ways to look at diversity in the workplace. There is what is called workplace discrimination. For African, Hispanic (Latino), and Asian Americans to overcome racial discrimination they must be able to recognize the problems, understand the remedies and be willing to take action. This process could be used in other situations regarding diversity in the workplace. One of the challenges of diversity in the workplace is communication which includes language and cultural barriers, ineffective communication, and low morale. Another challenge is implementation of diversity in the workplace polices. This is the overriding challenge to all diversity advocates. They must build and implement a customized strategy to maximize the effects of diversity in the workplace for their particular organization. Another challenge is the resistance to change. Often there are employees who chose to not accept the fact of social and cultural makeup of the workplace is changing. Managers need to be prepared to handle the complexities of modern organizational life.
When organizations handle their diversity issues in the workplace effectively, develop and implement diversity plans, there are multiple benefits such as increased adaptability. Organizations that are employing a diverse workforce are able to supply a greater variety of solutions to problems in service, sourcing, and resources. Employees from diverse backgrounds bring individual talents and experiences in suggesting ideas that are flexible in adapting to changing markets and customer demands. There is also a broader service range. A diverse collection of skills and experiences such as languages and cultural understanding, allows a company to provide service to customers on a global basis. There is also a more effective execution. Companies that encourage diversity in the workplace inspire all of their employees to perform to their highest ability. Company wide strategies can then be executed, resulting in higher productivity, profit, and return on investment.
Diversity in the economy can mean several things. It can mean that the economy is widespread and contains many different businesses and other aspects. China, for example, has a very diverse economy. Just think of all the different things that are made and marketed in China. It’s astounding! It has brought them from a third world country, into a developing enterprise that may be a world super power as the U.S., or Russia once was. According to Economy Watch, the Chinese economy will grow between 10 and 12% each year between 2010 and 2015!
Diversity in the economy can also refer to the people in the economy. The main thing that drives an economy is capital and big business. So big business decisions can make or break an economy. Recent economic studies show that in the creative power of groups, sometimes the best answers will come from a group of intelligent people with very different cultural backgrounds and lifestyles as opposed to a group of people with similar backgrounds. According to Scott Page, a Professor of Political Science and Economics at the University of Michigan, diversity within groups leads to a diversity of problem-solving approaches and drives the power to innovate. Someone’s cultural background or upbringing can affect their point of view and thought process, so they will perceive problems in a different way. Also people from diverse backgrounds will know better what customers “like them” want out of a product. Diversity is becoming more widespread in our ever changing economy. Look as far back as the invention of the term “The Glass Ceiling” by Carol Hymowitz in 1986. Women fought an invisible barrier to management position. It was once thought that women would never be able to break through this invisible barrier but they did. “Through the Labyrinth” by Eagly and Carli confirmed through research that there were many more women in CEO and managerial positions in 2008 than in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Not only have women faced a glass ceiling, current-day minority groups are facing the barrier as well. Our economic workforce has come a long way in the past 20 years.
Since the recent economic downturn, we have witnessed the demise of big-business behemoths one by one. This is a tragic event, but it does present some interesting opportunities. All the holes left in the market of our economy can be filled by newer, younger entrepreneurs. This is the economic regrowth that is necessary, but it also diversifies our economy. Not only are the old businesses replaced with new ones, but a gap in the market can also present new markets altogether. The gaming system market diversified after the Atari went out. We then had more than one brand of gaming system from which to choose. The diversification of an economy is almost inevitable so long as there are resources, capital, and a workforce. Diversity IN an economy may not be inevitable, but it is definitely advantageous.
So see without diversity this world would be whack, who wants to be the exact same? Diversity is one thing everyone in the world has. So celebrate it!
"Racism." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2012.
Mon. 13 February 2012.
Hurwitt, Mara. "Cultural Diversity: Towards A Whole Society." City College of San Francisco . CCSF, n.d. Web. 13 Feb 2012. <http://www.ccsf.edu/Resources/Tolerance/lessons/div01.html>.
Amadeo, Kimberly. "About.com US Economy." About.com. About.com, n.d. Web. 12 Feb 2012. <http://useconomy.about.com/od/suppl1/g/Cultural-Diversity.htm>.
Lunsford, Andrea, John Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters. everything's an argument . 5th. New York, Boston: Bedford/StMartin's, 2010. 963-969wssw. Print.
Platt, Andrew. "Diversity Powers Innovation, Economy." Center for American Progress. 08 01 2008: n/a. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/01/difference.html>.
Legarde, Christine. "Chinese Economy." Economy Watch. 30 06 2010: n/a. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/china/?page=full>.
Boschetto, Laurence. "How Diversity Efforts Can Boost The Economy." AdAge Blogs. 02 11 2009: n/a. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://adage.com/article/the-big-tent/marketing-diversity-efforts-boost-economy/140134/>.
Fine, Marlene G.Johnson, Fern L. "Cultural Diversity In The Workplace." Public Personnel Management 19.3 (1990): 305. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 10 Feb. 2012
Broadnax, Walter D. "Diversity In Public Organizations: A Work In Progress." Public Administration Review (Washington, D.C.) 70.(2010): s177-s179. Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 13 Feb. 2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment