Cultural Diversity Essay

Benefits of a high workplace diversity environment is it not being stuck to conformity in group thinking, or being narrow-minded with similar thoughts and having preference to only be around people who think like you do which is known as the “diversity paradox”. According to a quote stated from Friedrich Nietzsche, Hackett (2014) “The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently” (p. 415). Instead, it reiterates the importance of having a diverse workplace because it constructs better ideas, coming from different minds, and build upon each other through brainstorming. However, a poor workplace diversity can also adversely affect one’s motivation, which leads to overall job dissatisfaction and demotivation. When there is poor workplace diversity, you can see less communication barriers and cultural resistance, but it also makes it harder for individuals to get used to working with others that aren’t the same as them. This can become a form of adversity for businesses if their employees cannot develop a strong skill set to adapt with not only coworkers but also customers in the environment. Therefore, better communication and interaction skills are essential to promoting a business and making it successful.

America is greatly influenced and enhanced by the many versatile cultures which inhabit it. Cultural diversity has added to our economy in such a way that it brings innovated ideas and contact structures throughout the world. International cuisines have come to America through subcultures, have expanded the food industry, and have allowed English Americans to try new foods and flavors. Immigrants have brought with them religious values that greatly differ and vary from those at which were natural in the main stream American culture. The educational development through foreign nationals has led America, as a nation, to excel and be deemed one of the most intelligent nations in the world! Consequently, the subcultures have kept our

Anthropologists have always had their discrepancies with the word culture and its background significance. There have been numerous definitions that have filtered through the field, yet not one that everyone can accept or agree with. Franz Boas, an anthropologist in the early 20th Century, and his students, had a difficult time figuring out the objective of what culture is. Culture is about learning and shared ideas about behaviour. Although Boas and his students had a slightly different idea in mind. They ultimately reached a conclusion, a definition of culture in their view that is a contradiction in terms. Boas sates that, “ culture was expressed through the medium of language but was not reducible to it;

First off, the population of the world isn’t just one type of people therefore having a diverse work group will allow for business to be conducted with a wider segment of the population. Being able to provide a goods or a service to a wider segment of the population directly impacts sales and company profits especially when starting to cut out its own niche’ in a new market. Having a diverse group of people working for you translates into a larger customer base and a larger language ability as well as knowing customs and traditions of other groups of people. Repeat business will increase as ones customer base increases. Being a diverse company is simply good

What does diversity, culture, gender, and race all have in common with one another? These are all names of labels. In the TED podcast, “Beyond Tolerance” Arthur Brooks, Verna Myers, and Aziz Abu Sarah introduce the main problem between all of these labels. The common problem between these labels is diversity. Society has this mindset of what everyone should be like and if stepped out of that perspective, that person will be looked down upon. This in turn creates diversity. In The Gender Knot, Allan Johnson introduces the fact “ As men go about their everyday lives, they don’t have to bother to think about how sexism affects women, just as whites don’t have to concern themselves with the consequences of racism and the upper class lives largely oblivious to poverty and middle-class anxiety.” Johnson is applying almost all problems between society and diversity. On this diversity expedition these common labels will be picked deeply apart one by one through the eyes of a uncommon feminist man.

I would like to consider my cultural heritage as diverse, but this is far from reality. Over the years as I matured through my teenage years, I was exposed to different cultures by life experiences and travel. I struggled to create both a personal and cultural identity while trying to adjust to my sight loss and with the support of my family I traveled overseas to experience other cultures for the first time. My family opened up their home to a foreign exchange program in turn allowing me the opportunity to travel over to Europe at the age of 16 years old. This opportunity started the slow progression of experiences that would open my mind to others who are unlike myself, especially traveling to a strange place and feeling different in

Through conversation we learn from one another, and in this learning create ways of overcoming obstacles, understanding differing points of view, implementing innovation, and bettering our world whether that is home, work, school, or society. Throughout diversity is where there is real value. Hearing different points of view makes us consider more options. At this point we need to stop worrying about being offensive to others and just be open and honest to having real conversations that advance our mission at work and in our communities.

Improve school-based and out-of-school learning opportunities in areas such as science, technology, engineering, arts, and math and other areas

Diversity management is extremely important and must be an ongoing process within all levels of an organization. Diverse work groups often have better and more ideas because of their wide-ranging backgrounds and experiences. Also, companies with a diverse work force that operate globally may perform better. While working in a group people need to have a common way of communicating and accomplishing task. If the group members do not get along then the group is likely going to suffer. Diversity in groups can also either help or hurt team performance. In most situations demographic diversity should not affect team performance. Teams that are mixed with “highly” educated and just “average” educated members might not perform as well together

The concept of globalization, which is the increasing integration and interdependence of different countries from one another in terms of economic, communication, and technological aspects, leads one to address the concept of cultural diversity or multiculturalism. Cultural diversity in the health-care system touches lives of many Americans in one way or another. No matter what our own cultural background is, when we go receive medical care, we may encounter a care giver who comes from a different cultural background than ours(Naylor 1997,291).. In the concept of cultural diversity, it can be recognized that two terms are equally important. The first concept is culture, which refers to the total way of life of individuals, and the unique

Currently I am employed with a company that some may say is the 'melting pot' of diversity. Working for Corporate Safeway, now Albertsons-Safeway, I can appreciate how judgement free the environment is in our work place. They are open to hiring minorities, LGBT, (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender), disabled veterans and that's just to name a few. Hiring a staff that is of many different cultures, nationalities and belief backgrounds is a great way to show the awareness of diversity. I am a true believer that a great business starts at the top. If management can provide their employees with the skills and knowledge of working in a diverse setting this will lead to a steady and smooth work environment. Knowing how to properly and correctly carry yourself is the first step in working with the different variety of customers or co-workers you may encounter.

From our research, we identified three different perspectives on workforce diversity that people embrace, each with different implications for a work group’s ability to realize the benefits of its cultural diversity. We use these observations here to examine critically some of the themes and basic assumptions of previous research and to propose new directions for both researchers and practitioners interested in diversity (Ely &Thomas, 2001). When organizations have a diverse economy, it makes the company strong. Once our nation has embrace the changes from the demographics that reap the economic benefits of a diverse and inclusive workforce. Burns et al. (2012) stated in their investigation that:

When an organization invests in diversity, It results in the creation of many forms of talent. The employees exchange and learn each others skills. Such talent provides the organization help to progress in a competitive environment. It is natural that people with many experiences and perspectives in life would be able to generate unique ideas and solutions to problems. These take place by people having different perceptions come to people who think similarly and belong to similar cultures. Creativity increases when people who think differently ways of solving difficult problems work together towards a common solution. Other cultures can offer what Americans can not. Productivity increases when people of all cultures work together towards a goal. Executives that are foreign are very successful in the American corporate world because of globalization. People from China may benefit U.S. firms with their stellar quantitative skills and European citizens like Germans, French, and Britons do well in high level jobs. Language skills are obviously needed in today’s economy, and diverse workers often have this skill. If a company needs specific knowledge or language skills, they may hire foreign nationals for help. International job seekers have the advantage in some markets. For example, companies breaking into European markets will need foreign expertise. High tech firms are

By the year 2050, nonwhites will represent close to half of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau projections. By 2005, the ethnic minority share of the workforce is expected to grow to 28 percent, up from 18 percent in 1980 and 22 percent in 1990. Although the African American population is now the largest minority group, the Hispanic and Asian populations are growing much faster. In 1994, the African American population was estimated to be 33 million, or 12.7 percent of the total population, up from 11.7 percent in 1980.

This involves competitive advantage over other organisations along with prospects and development of employees for retention purposes. Diversity initiatives retain a competitive advantage by improving employee confidence, decreasing interpersonal conflict, facilitating development in new markets and increasing creativity. It also includes the understanding of the marketplace in terms of the changing needs of consumers. Building workplace diversity will also result in the improved extent of understanding in leadership positions that encompasses a variety of skills. Better quality of team problem solving to bring in different perspectives resulting in creativity of ideas and solutions and lastly reduction of costs induce lower turnover, absenteeism and lawsuits (Daft, Kendrick, & Vershinina, 2010).