Groups and Teams

Workplace Diversity

In the majority of organizations, there will be workplace diversity. In general, diversity refers to the ways that people in organizations differ (Diversityworking.com, 2006, para. 6). In an era when flexibility and creativity are keys to competitiveness, diversity is critical for an organization’s success (University of Florida, 2009, para. 10). Diversity comes in all different forms Cultural, gender, age, and work experience are just a couple of ways that members inside of an organization can be diversified. Diversity can also include how people perceive a person or how they perceive him or her because personalities are different for every person. It is important for an organization to recognize workplace diversity and to interact with the different needs of each member in the organization.

Cultural diversity is present in most workplaces. People inside of an organization may come from different backgrounds and countries. Organization members who come from different areas and countries can be helpful to an organization because there could be many thoughts and ideas.

Diversity in sex is also a big diversity in the workplace. Although some jobs may have mostly women and others might have more men, there can be a great deal of both at any job. Some work may be preferred by women and other work may be preferred by men.

Another diversity in the workplace is age. In organizations today, there are many age groups. Young people may with older people. Different age groups may prefer to do different jobs. Most jobs do not require one age group to work there.

Work experience is another type of diversity present in the workplace. People who have worked at a job a long time might have to work with others who are just starting. Different types of work can appeal to people of all different ages.

Diversity in the workplace can be an advantage for an organization. If there are many people working on a problem, there is more than one person to come up with a solution. People from many different backgrounds and work ethics can work together to solve problems. With workplace diversity, there will be a broader range of ideas from the different personalities inside of the team. People who have been with the organization a while also can be helpful with the organization by contributing their expertise. A wider range of people working in an organization can help with communication through other countries. One of the most important advantages is workplace diversity is that the organization will require all sets of skills to perform all the duties that the organization will require. Different types of personalities and work experience is helpful in an organization because there are several types of jobs available and different jobs require different skills.

Conclusion

Organizations can either have groups or teams. A group in an organization is people who work individually to achieve a desired goal. A group may be described as a business where everyone works in a different department. A team is a group working together to

achieve a goal. A team could be people working together on a project. Workplace diversity in the organization is important because it lets people of different backgrounds, sex, age, and work experience to all work together and come up with different ideas.

References

Diversityworking.com (2006) DiversityWorking-About. Work Teams and Diversity. Retrieved

April 3, 2006 from http://www.diversityworking.com/employerZone/diversityManagement/?

id=5

Dummies.com (2010) Differences Between Work Groups and Teams. Dependent-Level Work

Groups. Retrieved April 3, 2011 from http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/differences-

between-work- groups-and-teams.html

Green, K, Lopez, M, Wysocki, A, Kepner, K(2009) University of Florida. Diversity in the

Workplace: Benefits, Challenges, and the Required Managerial Tools. Retrieved April 3,

2011 from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hr022