Yesterday was an amazing anniversary, in terms of the person involved and his most incredible life work, which caused untold controversy in Victorian times, when first revealed to the world, but has been shaping the ideas of the scientific community around the entire world ever since.

No single person has been as influential about human understanding of life on Earth than English naturalist Charles Robert Darwin – born on 12 February 1809 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire into a wealthy and well-connected family and dying in 1882 -. whose theory of evolution by natural selection is now the unifying theory of the life science.

Darwen explained how the vastly diverse kinds of living things came about, how environmental adaptions occurred, his words the most plausible explanation for the phenomenon of evolution ever recorded. His massive evidence collecting was often based on his own observations and experimentation with natural flora and fauna.

Darwin clearly demonstrated that there is very little real difference between humans and other animals, and that degrees of difference in all things provoked profound reactions, many of which in heated debate to this day. Even were his theory of evolution to be put aside, his lifetime achievements are numerous, doing highly original and brilliant work in fields as diverse as geology, botany, psychology and scientific travel writing among other disciplines.

He was without a doubt one of the most original and influential people throughout science history. One of hisl grandfathers was Josiah Wedgwood – china manufacturer -, the other Erasmus Darwin – a leading 18th century English intellectual. Charles Darwin studied at Edinburgh University – at first for a medical degree – later switching to divinity at Cambridge before, in 1831, joining survey ship HMS Beagle on a 5-year scientific expedition.

Most Europeans of the time believed in creationism and the words of the bible, though Darwin’s reading of  Principles of Geology by Lyell – the author asserting that fossils had to be evidence of ancient life-forms – reinforced Charles beliefs about the animal world. It was the Galapogos Islands where he noticed that individual islands supported their own finches – closely related but subtly different in each case.

Returning to the UK in 1836, Darwin began a two-decade search for the truth, experimenting and observing before, in 1858 jointly announcing – with fellow naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace – their discoveries over 20 years before, one year later Darwin published Origin of Species. This book caused uproar, simply because the contention that humans might just have evolved from apes threatened prevailing society ideas on how the world was created.

The scientist was savagely attacked, by the Church and other scientists, but once he had let his genie out of the bottle, there would never be any going back. He died on 19 April 1882 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, but there is little doubt that, were looking down from on high at the way his ideas have shaped scientific thinking for the last 150 years, he would undoubtedly be extremely pleased.

Our India is home to the tradition of non-violence, and indeed, I must say, moderation and tolerance are values we value and cherish. The Father of our nation made the entire world look at us with awe, succeeding in sparking of a peaceful movement that made the sun set on the British empire.

We Indians are the greatest asset of India. We are Indo-Aryans, Dravidians, Mongoloids and more by ethnicity. We speak Hindi, English, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Urdu, Telugu, Khasi, Kashmiri, Bengali, Konkani, Marathi, Manipuri, Punjabi, Nepali, Sindhi, Santhali, Assamese and over 2000 other languages and dialects. We represent the greatest linguistic diversity on Earth.

By religion, we are Hindus, Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Jains, Animist and more. We, for the most part, live in harmony. We are a united people.

We are the patient and friendly people of the villages where 70% of us live. We welcome foreigners and their varied cultures. We almost never shy away from an opportunity to reach out to the neighbour.

Sadly, often, we tend to be blind followers, not questioning the many harmful policies our nation has adopted since independence.

Sadly, our fertile lands are being doled out to the greedy corporates.

Sadly, we seem to have forgotten our natural wealth.

This Republic Day, let’s make an earnest attempt to be better aware of the state of our nation and of where it is headed. Long live Incredible India! 

A.      Interconnectedness – or interrelatedness

1.       Air, water, land and the living things in and on them are all connected in ways obvious and subtle.

-          The connection may not be linear, direct or straightforward.

-          In 1990, Max Plank’s study led to the recognition that matter is energy and everything is made up of literally the same stuff.

-          Thus, everything has to be connected because everything is made up of the same thing.

2.       Humans are part of the ecosystems – how we live our life affects all other life.  

-          Every decision or action has consequences – seen or not, intended or not, direct or indirect.

3.       Butterfly effect – refers to the idea that a butterfly’s wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that may ultimately alter the path of a tornado or delay, accelerate or even prevent the occurrence of a tornado in another location.

-          While the butterfly does not “cause” the tornado in the sense of providing the energy for the tornado, it does “cause” it in the sense that the flap of its wings is an essential part of the initial conditions resulting in a tornado, and without that flap that particular tornado would not have existed

B.      Balance of Nature

1.      Ecological systems are usually in a stable equilibrium (homeostasis).

-          A small change in some particular parameter (ex. Population size) will be corrected by some negative feedback that will bring back the parameter to its original “point of balance” with the rest of the system ex. Predator/prey systems, herbivores and their food source, the relationship between the Earth’s ecosystem, the composition of the atmosphere and the world’s weather

2.      Systems remain in approximate equilibrium most of the time.

-          Small perturbations cause negative feedback that result in fluctuations from some mean state.

-          Some perturbations may be large enough to destabilize the system too far for a return to the previous approximate equilibrium, then a new approximate equilibrium will be established.

3.      In populations, a tiny change in the population of a species will affect all other species in the community.

-          To maintain the stability of a population, the combined number of immigrations (moving in) and births must equal the combined number of emigrations (moving out) and deaths.

4.      Besides natural factors, human factors can also upset the balance of nature thru deforestation, pollution, overhunting, and livestock grazing to name a few. Ex. Introduction of janitor fish, tilapia, etc; overfishing

C.      Biological Diversity

1.      The degree of nature’s variety in the biosphere:

-          Genetic diversity – each member of any animal or plants species differs widely from other individuals in its genetic makeup. Today, the variety of nature’s bounty is being further exploited by using wild relatives to create new varieties of more productive, disease-resistant crops and to breed superior domestic animals. Modern biotechnology also manipulates genes to develop better types of medicines and a variety of industrial products.

-          Species diversity – the number of species of plants and animals that are present in a region. At present, there is about 1.8 M identified species on Earth but it’s only a fraction of what exists. Many new species are still being identified.

-          Ecosystem diversity – variety of habitats, living communities, and ecological processes in the living world. Ex. Forest, marine ecosystem, deserts, etc. In a particular ecosystem, there are also specific organisms living on it and also specific ecological processes happening inside it.

2.      The more species present, the more stable the community because several species keep other species in check, preventing any species from overpopulating the habitat.

3.      The great variety of life on Earth has provided for man’s needs over thousands of years.

-          Understanding the varieties in nature has helped in utilizing the Earth’s biological wealth for the benefit of man and has been integral to the process of development. Ex. Better health care, better crops, and the use of life-forms as raw materials for industrial growth.

-          Thus, prevention of species extinction is important.

D.      Finiteness of Natural Resources

1.      There are limitations and boundaries in utilization.

2.      Even the most abundant of natural resources are in danger of being depleted in the light of human overpopulation and overexploitation. This is why there are environmental laws limiting exploitation like in fishing there are closed season, fish sanctuaries, etc. Ex. Recent regulation on sardines at Mindanao

3.      Natural resources are limited by the Earth’s capability to renew them. Most of the time, the time it takes for the earth to replenish its resources is slower compared to the time it takes for man to exploit them.

4.      “Resources” is not, ultimately, a physical concept; it’s an economic concept. And to be limited physically is not necessarily to be limited economically.

-          Finiteness or infiniteness of resources is irrelevant because of man’s ability to create, develop and manage resources.

-          As long as human ingenuity is free to create, there is no necessary practical limit to the amount of any ‘natural’ resource that is available for humans to use productively.

E.       Carrying Capacity

1.      The maximum population of a given species that can survive indefinitely in a given environment.

-          The population size at which the population growth rate equals zero. If population is smaller than the carrying capacity, population growth rate is positive so population increases in size and vice versa. Eventually, populations will either increase or decrease in size until it equals carrying capacity at which the growth of population will stop.

2.      It depends on the condition and resources available in the specific area, and the consumption habits of the species considered.

-          Population is constrained by food availability, competition with other species, and interactions with predators and diseases.

-          Carrying capacity is a measure of sustainability within these changing conditions.

3.      Carrying capacity is always changing.

4.      When applied in human populations, refers to the number of individuals that the earth can hold at different standards of living and levels of resource consumption.

-          Earth’s carrying capacity if smaller if everyone is to achieve the average standard of living of people in the US than if everyone is to achieve the average standard of living of people in developing countries.

-          Carrying capacity has been difficult to apply to human populations because human can change environmental constraints through technological innovations.

If cultural diversity can be managed effectively, there is a potential to use diverse workforce for organizational benefits. It is proved that multi-culturism is directly linked to organizational success. It is because effectively managed multi culture companies have cost effective competitive edge over its competitor. It helps in promoting minority friendly reputation among current and potential employees. Diverse cultural corporations help to get better customers which have a variety of people. Moreover diverse group of employees are perceived to be more creative and efficient in problem solving as compared to homogeneous group. Last but not least ability to manage cultural diversity increases adaptability and flexibility of an organization to environmental changes.

Other benefits include: identify previously overlooked cultural markets, create new products for existing markets, change corporate culture to attract a different employee mix, get things done in better ways. Therefore understanding cultural diversity in workplace is become utmost important for the managers.

Today’s manager must understand the importance of diversity in order to remain competitive, respond to globalization and promote innovation and productivity within its organization. It also contributes to increased human resource retention and productivity. It can enhance the organization’s responsiveness to an increasingly diverse world of customers and improve relations with the surrounding community. The world today is more diverse than ever before. Therefore the rationale for understanding and managing diversity has never been stronger.  As new possibilities and opportunities in the business environment arise, the need for diversity programs will be the key to successful organizations of the future. 

Image by Eric Kilby via Flickr

Image by Eric Kilby via Flickr

Objective:

This basic objective of the study is to find out the importance of cultural diversity in the workplace. To achieve the basis objectives our study covers the following specific goals:

a.        To know the cultural diversity theoretically and

b.       To know the importance of cultural diversity

Methodology:

Methodology refers to a settled kind of procedure, usually according to define, established logical or systematic plan. It means “the under lying principles and rules of organization of a philosophical system or inquiry procedure”. The information and data inserted and discussed are based on desk research and collected from secondary sources.

Literature Review:

According to Alicia Kenyon, “As now a day businesses compete in a more global arena, the value of different perspectives and talents will be vital to an organization’s survival and growth.” This is a fact that workplace diversity is a multi-faceted concept that will continue to evolve as more industries move toward a global marketplace.  The globalization of business is changing the face of the local workforce thereby emphasizing the importance of effective leadership in managing diversity in the workplace.  Managers are now expected to have a firm understanding of managing a diverse workforce to be effective in positioning organizations for future business opportunities. In order to determine the both positive and negative impact of culturally diversified workplaces, mangers are in need to understand diversity. That is why, Ann C. Schauber  says, “A healthy organization is one in which an obvious effort is made to get people with different backgrounds, skills, and abilities to work together toward the goal or purpose of the organization.” Your leadership challenge says Stever Robbins, is to explore cultural differences in your workforce and help the group discover what they suggest about the business.

Cultural diversity

Before going in to discussion why understanding cultural diversity is important for managers, let us first see what is culture are what is called cultural diversity?

Culture may be defined as the values, beliefs and behaviors shared by a group of people. A group may be identified by many criteria such as nationality, religion geography or language. Culture plays a significant role in workplace assumptions, behavior and organizational cultures. According to Wikipedia4, “Cultural diversity encompasses the cultural differences that exist between people, such as language, dress and traditions, and the way societies organize themselves, their conception of morality and religion, and the way they interact with the environment.”

Cultural diversity includes but is not restricted to: language, race, ethnic background, country or region of origin, dress, values, religion and associated practices, social and community responsibilities, sexuality, disability, notions of family, family responsibilities and political views.

Understanding cultural diversity: why it is important

In Australia, for example, Hotel Nikko in Sydney has customer relations teams composed of staff members from different cultural background. In direct guest contact areas they speak a total of 34 different languages. Similarly Qantas Flight Catering has sixty-six nationalities on staff, with various overseas-born chefs. These diverse ‘ethnic’ kitchens gave Qantas a huge competitive edge that offers food based on customer’s ethnic taste and requirements. Moreover language and cultural trainings increased cross-cultural communication and increased profits while lowering costs at the same time. Similarly The Cheesecake Factory had put special effort to understand Japanese quality and packaging culture as Asian employees assist management to understand Asian tastes so that they can target exports to Asia.

Above three are some small examples of the importance of knowing cultural diversity in workplace. Now let us see more specifically how cultural diversity plays a vital role behind the organizational success now a days and why should the managers being aware of this.  

 Changing demography

According to Cole  by 2010, the Hispanic labor force is projected to be larger than the African-American labor force in US job market.  Asians will continue to be the fastest growing group in the labor force, projected to increase by nearly 45% this decade. Women currently comprise nearly half of the labor force. The majority of workers entering the workforce this decade will be woman, minorities and foreign nationals. The labor shortage that began in the 1990’s will continue to grow and is projected to reach 10 million workers by 2010.

 Now let us assume ConAgra Foods, Inc. is a company that employs over forty thousand people.  According to the above statistic, twenty thousand of ConAgra’s employees are women.  Since the majority of workers entering the workforce will be minorities, including women, by the year 2010, over 65% of the employees within the organization will be minorities.  It is evident by the changing demographics that diversity must be an integral part of a corporate culture. This new workforce will, of course, mirror the changing demographics of the country.  As a result, the new workforce will be comprised of older workers, more women and greater numbers from minority groups. 

Proportion and growth of non-Irish national workers in Ireland

 Sectors                                                                                 2006 %                                                 % growth 2005 to 2006

Hotels & Restaurants                                                          25                                                            33

Construction                                                                         12                                                            49

Other Production industries                                               11                                                            27

Financial & other business services                                 10                                                            34

Health                                                                                    10                                                            41

Other services                                                                      10                                                            34

Wholesale & retail trade                                     8                                                              28

Transport, storage and communication                           7                                                              31

Education                                                                              5                                                              7

Agriculture, forestry & fishing                                          4                                                              8

Public administration & defense                       0.5                                                           27

Total                                                                                       10                                                            32

Source: CSO (2006) Quarterly National Household Survey Q2 2006 (www.imi.ie)

The above table shows us % growth rate of non-Irish workers in various sectors of Irish economy.

 Actually the picture is more or less same for other Western, European, Gulf and some Asian nations too. Immigration is now an established feature of various society and international trends indicate that it will only continue to flourish with the increased mobility of people and globalization of business. This immigrant people are bringing different set of belief, taste, preference, behavior pattern, political view etc in the countries. Moreover they form different types of market for them too. That is why creating high performing organizations through valuing and using all the talents of employees of different cultural groups are the challenge facing by managers. It makes understanding cultural diversity obvious. Only understanding cultural diversity in workplace will help them to cope with the fast changing demography.

Innovation

According to Santana, “Companies that have managers who are equipped to successfully leverage the distinct and rich talents and skills and knowledge of all employees will not only avoid drains on profitability; they will actually attain a number of strategic benefits. Managing diversity is essential for success in any business.  Diversity breads creativity and creativity drives innovation. To be successful in business your people need to be able to innovate so that you can remain differentiated from the competition. Otherwise, your company becomes a collection of “commoditized” people that produce “commoditized” products and services. The bottom line:  the ability to manage diversity is extremely valuable to any organization.

We know high productivity depends on effective functioning teams.  A team that composed of variety of diverse characteristics individually, which comes together collectively, can spark creativity and innovation.  Diversity can be a “looking glass” through which, new ways of thinking about products, markets and innovation can develop.  Promoting innovation and diversity efforts can improve organizational effectiveness. 

According to Procter and Gamble CEO Pepper, “The success of this company is a direct result of our diverse and talented workforce.  Our ability to develop new consumer insights and ideas and to execute in a superior way across the work is the best possible testimony to the power of diversity any organization could ever have.”

That is why workforce teams that are more diverse in nature generate ideas that are superior in creativity and in quality. 

Better decision making

Diversity is not government mandated. But managing and valuing diversity gives an organization a competitive edge.  According to Simmons, Clemons, and Bennett, “The more diverse your workforce, the better your decision-making”

Decision-making groups that are characterized by higher levels of diversity are more likely to generate a higher number of possible solutions and consider a higher number of alternatives before finalizing their decisions and such processes are generally associated with higher quality decisions.

It enhances the creativity and problem-solving abilities of the organization. Once an organization can incorporate difference, previously unexplored talent and energy will be focused on achieving organizational goals.

Future legal requirement

It is a legal requirement. In the U.S., equal opportunity is supported through laws such as the Civil Rights Act, Equal Pay Act, Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Age Discrimination Act, and Americans with Disabilities Act. Organizations, especially the ones that receive government funding, maintain affirmative action programs in an effort to comply with these laws (Cox).

This is another reason why organizational cultural diversity is important. It may be more economical in the long term. When an organization is perceived as not complying with equal opportunity laws, fines and costly litigation are often the result. In the long run, it may be more economical to invest in incorporating multiple perspectives in an organization before the need for litigation arises.

New opportunity

According to Alpert “The workforce will be increasingly composed of “minority” populations.  By the year 2005, projected changes in the ethnic composition of the American Workforce include 51% of new entrants into the workforce will be minorities.  Looking at women alone (minority and white) will make up 62% of new entrants.  These demographic changes will significantly alter the composition of the population as a whole and the workforce.  In addition, these changes will have a major affect on who has “buying power” and the definition of the markets that will provide growing business opportunities. IBM, for example, accounts its dramatic expansion in minority markets to the promotion of diversity within its own workforce resulting in a virtuous circle of growth and progress.

Human Resource Issue

Employees are an organization’s most valuable asset. These are the people who are going to carry out strategic plans, business plans and company policy thereby making them the most precious possession within the organization. Personal qualifications, characteristics and talents make employees the bloodline of the company, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or sex. What an employee contribute to the company with respect to experience, thoughts, opinions and actions is vital to the business environment.  Because of this, retaining employees from diverse backgrounds is critical.  Evidence suggests that a diverse workforce leads to profitability and minimizes the cost of employee replacement.

According to C. K. Prahalad, and G. Hamel, “Estimates of the cost of replacing an employee vary, but a good rule of thumb is that replacing an employee costs four times that worker’s salary.  These costs include such factors as the time involved in recruitment, hiring and training, as well as the dollars lost to production while the position is unfilled.  Such calculations, moreover, do not take into account the costs of lost accumulated company knowledge and the current and future potential of contribution of the employee who has left.  If turnover is high, poor morale also increases the real cost of attrition.

Measuring how diversity contributes to an organization’s profitability raises difficulty, but evidence shows there is a link between profitability and a sound diversity program. 

Conclusion

Although some people think that diversity does nothing but create problems and challenges, it offers remarkable benefits. If the corporate society does not address the issue by learning how to manage diversity, they will fail.

As demographics continue to change, the importance of successfully managing workplace diversity will continue. Ignoring diversity within organizations does have its consequences.  The inability to manage diversity in the workplace can be extremely harmful and costly to a business.  Many aspects of business can be damaged with this attitude resulting in discrimination suits, litigation time and money, legal fees/settlements, high employee turnover and a negative community image.  Furthermore, productivity, morale and the organizations’ ability to recruit high quality individuals will suffer.  All of these aspects can be detrimental to the success of an organization. Supervisors, managers, directors and leaders should educate themselves comprehensively so that they can be role models for their personnel.

Kudos to Walgreens— one of the nation’s largest drugstore retailers — who recently opened a state-of-the-art distribution center in Windsor, Conn. It is the company’s second facility designed specifically to employ people with disabilities and is patterned after the 5,571-store group’s Anderson, S.C., center that opened last summer.

Managers at both facilities share a goal of having people with disabilities fill at least one-third of the available jobs.

They have taken steps that few companies in the past have been willing to do. Despite positive stories such as Walgreens’ and others, the employment rate of working-age people with disabilities remains only half that of people without disabilities— 37.7 percent compared with 79.7 percent in 2006, according to an annual analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Businesses have a blind spot about recruiting and hiring people with disabilities, says Neil Romano, former assistant secretary of the U.S.  Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP).

That blind spot comes from “a legacy of misunderstanding” based on outdated notions that hiring persons with disabilities is a charitable cause rather than an integrated part of an overall business plan.

The key to making more progress in this area is to encourage companies to focus on abilities, not disabilities. This is largely untapped workforce and by providing a chance for people with disabilities to work, we all win. Employers can widen the pool of potential talent they have to choose from and end up with a better qualified, diverse workforce which more accurately reflects the make-up of our society today. In addition, workers with disabilities statistically have lower rates of absenteeism and turnover, and higher rates of loyalty. So come on, Corporate America…See the person, not the disability! 

Diversity is generally defined as the recognition, understanding, acceptance, value and celebrate differences between people with regard to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and public assistance status (Esty, et al., 1995).
Diversity issues are now considered important and are expected to become increasingly important in the future due to increasing differences in the U.S. population. Companies need to focus on diversity and find ways to become fully inclusive organizations because diversity has the potential to lead to greater productivity and competitive advantages (SHRM, 1995). Stephen G. Butler, co-chair of the Business Forum on Higher Education, believes that diversity is an invaluable asset competitive than the U.S. cannot afford to ignore (Robinson, 2002). Managing and valuing diversity is a key component of effective people management that can improve labor productivity (Black Enterprise, 2001).
Demographic change like the woman in the workplace, organizational restructuring, and equal opportunities legislation, that require organizations to review their management practices and develop new and creative approaches to managing people. Changes will increase job performance and customer service.

Women in the Workplace

The need to understand diversity is also driven by women in the workplace. Today’s workforce has higher levels of participation in employment of women ever. The number of dual income families and single working mothers has increased. Change in family structure mean that fewer men and women in traditional family roles (Zweigenhaft and Domhoff, 1998). Therefore, diversity issues are covering both race and gender.

Organizational Restructuring

Significant changes in organizations as a result of downsizing and outsourcing, which has greatly affected human resource management. Working practices have changed due to the impact of globalization and technology and there is a tendency to longer hours of work (Losyk, 1996). In general terms, usually, re-organization results in less people do more work.

Legislation

Federal and state legislation on equal opportunities describes that discrimination in the workplace illegal. These laws specify the rights and responsibilities of employees and employers in the workplace and keep the two groups responsible.

Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace

Diversity is beneficial to both employees and employers. Although the members are interdependent in the workplace, respecting individual differences can increase productivity. The diversity in the workplace can reduce demand and increase marketing opportunities, creative recruitment, and company image (Esty, et al., 1995). In an era when flexibility and creativity are the keys to competitiveness, diversity is essential to the success of an organization. Moreover, the consequences (loss of time and money) should not be overlooked.

Challenges of Diversity in the Workplace

There are challenges to managing a diverse workforce. Managing diversity is more than a simple recognition of differences in people. It is about recognizing the value of differences, combating discrimination and promoting inclusion. Webmasters can also be challenged with the loss of personnel and labor productivity due to prejudice and discrimination and complaints and legal actions against the organization (Devoe, 1999).
Negative attitudes and behaviors can be barriers to organizational diversity because it can damage working relationships and damage morale and productivity (Esty, et al., 1995). Negative attitudes and behaviors in the workplace include prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination should never be used by management to recruitment, retention and completion practices (could lead to costly litigation.)

Execution of diversity in the workplace plan -

The personal commitment of executive of managerial team is a necessity. Leaders and managers within organizations must incorporate diversity policies in all aspects of the organization’s role and purpose. Attitudes toward diversity originate at the top and filter down. Management cooperation and participation is required to create a culture conducive to the success of your organization’s plan.

Recommended in the range of working solutions include:

Ward off change resistance with inclusion. – Involve every employee possible in formulating and executing diversity initiatives in their workplace.
Promoting openness in your organization. – Encourage employees to express their ideas and opinions and to confer a sense of equal value to all.
Promote diversity in leadership positions. – This practice provides visibility and realizes the benefits of diversity in the workplace.

Use diversity training. – Can be used as a tool to shape your diversity policy.

Launch a survey of employee satisfaction provides comprehensive customizable. – Use the results to build and implement successful diversity at work policies.
As the economy becomes increasingly global, our workforce becomes increasingly diverse. Organizational success and competitiveness depend on the ability to manage diversity in the workplace effectively. Assess your organization’s diversity policies and plan for the future, starting today. Tools needed for Managing Diversity

Effective managers are aware that certain skills are necessary for creating a successful workforce, diverse. First, managers should understand discrimination and its consequences. Secondly, managers must recognize their own cultural biases and prejudices (Koonce, 2001). Diversity is not about the differences between the groups, but rather on the differences between individuals. Each individual is unique and does not represent or speak for a particular group. Finally, managers must be willing to change the organization if necessary (Koonce, 2001). Organizations need to learn to manage diversity in the workplace to succeed in the future (Flagg, 2002).

Unfortunately, there is no single recipe for success. It all depends on the manager’s ability to understand what is best for the organization based on teamwork and the dynamics of the workplace. According to Roosevelt (2001), managing diversity is a global process for creating a work environment that includes everyone. By creating a diverse workforce successfully, an effective manager should focus on personal awareness. Both managers and partners should be aware of their personal prejudices. Therefore, organizations must develop, implement and maintain ongoing training and a session of a training day will not change people’s behaviors (Koonce, 2001). Managers must also understand that justice is not necessarily equality. There are always exceptions to the rule.
Managing diversity is more than equal employment opportunity and affirmative action (Losyk, 1996). Managers should expect change to be slow, while at the same time promoting the change (Koonce, 2001).
Another fundamental requirement when it comes to promoting diversity is a “safe” for communication partners (Koonce, 2001). Social gatherings and business meetings where each member has to listen and have the opportunity to speak, are good ways to create dialogue. Managers should implement policies such as mentoring programs to provide associates access to information and opportunities. In addition, associates will not be denied necessary, constructive feedback, critical for learning from mistakes and successes (Flagg, 2002).

Conclusion

A diverse workforce is a reflection of a changing world and the market. Diverse work teams bring high value to organizations. Respecting individual differences will benefit the workplace by creating a competitive advantage and increased productivity. Diversity management benefits associates by creating a fair and safe environment where everyone has access to opportunities and challenges. Management tools in a diverse workforce should be used to educate everyone about diversity and issues, including laws and regulations. Most workplaces are made up of different cultures, so that organizations must learn to adapt to succeed.

I’m sure we can remember a time when Negro was an acceptable term.  In the 1970s, that changed.  Blacks must now be referred to as “African-American”.  Excuse me and correct me if I’m wrong, but unless you’re from Africa, you are not an African-American!  Also, there is a “history month” for just about everyone, but as soon as someone says they’re proud to be Caucasian, they’re labeled as a racist.  I’m pretty sure if other cultures can be proud, Whites can be proud, too.  After all, we’re all people.  You know, in the human race.  Gender is a whole new can of worms.  When I was a child, it was perfectly all right to call a snowman just that, a snowman.  Today, you have to specify if it is a male or female snowPERSON.  CAN YOU GET ANY MORE RIDICULOUS?! What?  Is my child supposed to put breasts and a penis on these creations now?  And for Heaven’s sake, leave religion alone.  In recent history, a little girl said that her administrator told her that she could give out Easter eggs if she didn’t call them – you got it! – Easter eggs.  Apparently, they’re supposed to be called “spring spheres”.  Do you see where I’m headed with this?  If not, I’ll spell it out for you.  We’ve gotten soft. 100% nasty squishy.

You can’t make everyone happy in this world.  If you think you can, stop reading this and go get some help because you are clearly delusional and need to seek a professional that can fix your issue.  The only thing you can do is hold your head up high and be on your merry way.  Political correctness fosters division among our citizens and builds walls that we tried so hard in the past to tear down.  Of course, one should have some tact and not be a complete tool, but when you take it to an extreme, you create a society of people who are afraid to be themselves for fear that someone else will take offense.  What happened to the days of old where America didn’t give a damn about everyone else’s feelings?  Our own democratic experiment that lead to us becoming a nation in the first place was frowned upon and laughed at by other more established countries, but did we care? No!  If anything, it fueled our desire to succeed and be as badass as we could possibly be.  I don’t want to be an old woman and have to tell my children about a time when it was all right to call a rapper a rapper instead of a “beat lyricist”.  Now, it’s up to you, to all of us.  After reading this, are you going to sit back and do nothing, allowing this travesty to go unnoticed for generations or are you going to rise up and do what our forefathers did – diversify without hesitation and restraint?

            The truth is a majority of companies are concerned with the amount of racial diversity found within their buildings. An example can be found on J.C. Penney’s corporate website: “J.C. Penney recognizes that our long-term success depends on our ability to leverage the unique skills of our diverse workforce.” An individual interested in being hired at any company within the United States is required to fill out their race before an interview is given. When asked why, the companies respond with their desire to fill their employee ranks with a wide range of races, but in reality that is not true, which can be seen in the handbook published by ExxonMobil: “It is also the Corporation’s policy to undertake special efforts to: develop and support educational programs and recruiting sources and practices that facilitate employment of minorities.” It isn’t a mindset centered on all races but one focused on the number of minority groups represented. This mindset does not stop at corporate companies. It is evident in the schools across America whether they are private, public, college level, or high school. The need to represent minority groups permeates the American society. (J.C. Penney Corporation, ExxonMobil Corporation 18)

            The reasons for why this need is evident are varied. It could come from a wish to right the wrongs committed towards minority groups in the past. Young children grow up learning about the slave trade in the early days of American history and the fanatical goals of historical figures like Hitler, who were bent on the idea of eliminating minority races in an effort to exalt a chosen race. Later on in life teenagers and adults attend college and are taught in depth about the necessity to support and defend minority groups because of the wrongs committed against them in the past. It is an idea that is cultivated from an early age, so much so that it is now the right or popular “thing” to do.

            A glance at a TV or magazine reveals this aspect. It is looked upon with respect when a celebrity adopts a child who is a part of a minority group. Jennifer Aniston represents this point well. She adopted a young child from an outnumbered people and was featured in magazines, but it does not stop there. Commercials, billboards, and organizations use racial minorities as bait to pull people into what they are selling. They offer up aide to those less fortunate races and are successful in doing so. They do this by depicting a sad child with ratty clothes standing in front of a broken down building asking for help. This is an effective ploy that tugs at the heart strings and pulls people into acting on behalf of the unfortunate minority group. Chevron recently came out with a commercial depicting an African-American woman that pulled her struggling business off the ground with the help of chevron. This commercial not only succeeded in promoting Chevron but it ended with a plea to buy chevron and in so doing aid other people like the woman in the commercial. 

A common opposition to this thought would say employing and focusing on minorities insures there will always be some aide to help the unfortunate. Also, with minorities represented within schools and corporations there is an opportunity for those groups to speak up for their rights and privileges. This thought is valid because these groups do need to be helped and represented within companies. What needs to take place is not a total elimination of racial minorities within public entities, but a focus that is less narrowed and intense. Being surrounded by individuals who are different helps people to grow and become better and more complex. Not only that, diversity lends itself to better problem solving. The more open-minded a person is the more solutions present themselves. The answer to this problem is not ending diversity as a whole but setting up a balance, so that diversity does not become focused on the issues of racial minority representation.

The author Hanna Guthrie wrote an article titled Black History Month. The article talks about the focus on representing minorities with different holidays and how that endeavor is hurting attempts at equality among the races. A quote from the article clearly represents this point: “Still, when that movement radicalizes, it undermines itself and creates a familiar divisive rhetoric. We are all Americans, and we should all be held to an equal standard and judged based on our merit, as opposed to our skin color or ethnic background.” I find myself agreeing with Guthrie when her point is applied to more than just holidays. It is applicable to diversity and the ever increasing focus on racial minority representation. Diversity is one of the underlying problems perpetuating an unnecessary focus on races in America. If the American society was less concerned about the numbers of racial minorities present in schools and corporations, society as a whole would be able to move past the racial differences between individuals and progress forward as equality is reached between the races. (Guthrie 2)

Americans want to live the dream; we want to become something more by working our way to our goals. As Americans, we each have a higher standard of moral and ethical behavior; these values are shared with our fellow citizens. So, by working hard and striving to achieve goals and dreams, anyone can be an American.

Let Freedom Ring

Americans believe in free will and liberty. Each person has certain intrinsic rights that can never be taken away or ignored, and our founding fathers named these rights in the Constitution. We have freedoms that other countries do not have. We believe in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Americans support equal opportunities and democracy, since these things are the very foundation of our country.

Image via Wikipedia

The Divided States of America

The very thing that unites us also divides us. We are all people with intrinsic, unalienable rights; this is the one thing that every single American person has in common. Our cultural experiences, the sense of belonging to something greater; our communities and our nation also unite us as American people. As Americans, we share a common goal and dream. Our desire for success is what unites us. People from diverse cultures are united through the “American Dream.”

A Nation of Diversity

Although we accept the fact that our unique, diverse culture is a huge part of what made America what it is, this diversity also segregates us. Our rights as Americans give us the option to divide ourselves. We are entitled to free will, opinions, and beliefs of our own. As a result of these intrinsic freedoms, we effectively divide ourselves.

So, although our nation is comprised of a wide array of different cultures, the very diversity that our nation was built upon also separates us. Not only do we want to be American, we also want to be individuals. This inner battle, the need to belong to something larger and the need to be our unique selves, is what both unites and divides the American people.

The American Dream

No matter what happens to this country, the very core desire of American people is to live the dream. It is the very substance of our national identity; it makes us who we are. There is an inner drive in each of us; this ambition is largely what makes us Americans. Despite the changes in America as a result of what this country has endured, the core of the American identity has not changed.

Image via Wikipedia

American Identity

If anything, the hardships the country has suffered has made the American people even more aware of what we all share. As I stated before, the very thing that unites us also divides us; anything that happens to the country will not change this. Over time, tolerances, attitudes, and tensions shift, but the core of the American identity remains the same. 

Publish your writing on Triond and earn cash!

For more great reading check out:

How to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse

Sneak and Peek Searches and More

How Does the Government Spy on You?

The Patriot Act: Title II

In spite of being united by one language, culture and belief, I’ve often heard people belonging to the same ethnic group make distinctions amongst themselves using their geographical origin and clans. They will describe how regional dialects differ from each other, and outline the varying characteristics of the women and men from this village and that valley. They will find that little something that sets them apart from the larger group. It is no wonder therefore, that Kenyans still feel the need to make distinction upon distinction about their belonging. Some call it tribe. Others call it ethnic group.

Tribe is an ethnocentric term that typically refers to a primitive, homogeneous, static, isolated group of people. Ethnicity on the other hand, refers to aspects of relationships between groups, which consider themselves, and are regarded by others as being culturally distinctive (Eriksen, 1993). Anthropologists view ethnicity as a coping mechanism to social and political circumstances and a way of getting through the challenges we face in life. So, although the two terms are used interchangeably in the Kenyan context, a more accurate description of this social phenomenon would be ‘ethnic group’, being dynamic culturally distinctive groups of people, not existing alone, but with relations to other groups.

We are social animals, who in this country as in many others, cleave to our ethnic groups, whether we’re in constant contact with other group members or not. Seeking a sense of identity and belonging, and being proud of the distinctive characteristics that make a positive and valuable contribution to the larger group, which we call nation, can never be wrong. Having been lumped together by historical events that we had no control over, Kenya is a plural society that has to acknowledge differences and respect them. This would in fact make it easier for us to become as loyal to the state as we are to our ethnic groups. Only then will we strive to bring the best that our diversity has to offer to the table for the benefit of the nation. Under the still prevailing conditions of inequity, injustice, marginalization and polarization, this may sound like a Herculean task. But every journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.