Cultural Diversity Paper

The World is a diverse place; changing demographics, globalization and generational gaps. Diversity is the mix of people who make your organization. The workforce, including leadership should represent and look like the community in which business is conducted. Work place diversity is the key to survival and growth and is an essential business tool. Diversity promotes inclusion within and across business units and help all employees understand and respect individual differences and the value of everyone’s unique talents. Different types of people bring different talents and competencies to the table. Inclusion allows people to be themselves at work and letting them know they are valued regardless of their age, gender,

Recruiting and retaining a culturally diverse workforce are crucial components for an organization that wants to build and sustain a successful operation. Organization must identify and take necessary action to resolve issues involved in the recruiting and

The United States has become increasingly a culturally diverse society. The understanding of cultural relativism in a multicultural working environment can be of a great importance to the success or failure of an organization. What is cultural competency? Before we explain it, let’s take a step back and analyze culture, cultural diversity, and Cultural relativism.

Everyone’s background affects how they interpret information. It is important to take that into account when communicating with others. For example, when communicating with people from another culture they may converse with their faces only a few inches apart. I have experienced this in communicating with other cultures and I always find myself feeling uncomfortable with the situation. I feel that my space is being invaded. Some cultures take a long time to answer questions while others answer immediately. Another example is how some East Asian cultures believe it is rude to answer a question with a “no” even if they mean no. They will say “yes” just because that is how they show respect.

Individual factors such as personal weakness should be hibernated with strong traits and aspects that contribute to positive cultural competence. Moreover, people with good skill and abilities should promote good aspects at the diverse workplace through workplace practices that ensure cultural competence is performing better. The cultural diverse organization management should develop competent cultural policies that ensure there is inclusivity in aspects such as gender and cultural backgrounds for cultural competence development. Finally, diverse cultures at the workplace should strive to acquire necessary skills to enhance cultural competence at the workplace.

When thinking about cultural competence, it is hard to really understand without knowing what it actually means. According to Sue & Sue “Cultural competence is an active, developmental, and ongoing process, that is something people achieve through ambition rather than it just being achieved” (2003). What kind of competencies it takes to be successful working in a culturally diverse workplace, and how to develop these competencies are two things this paper will discuss. Also, a personal view-point from the author on; what kinds of strengths she has and what areas she needs improvement in regards to cultural competence, and a few ways she feels she could improve those areas in which she needs improvement.

As a business manager in human relations you must understand the differences in cultures. The labor force in today’s society in the United States workforce is getting more racially and ethnically diverse, as the number of women are also increasing. Companies use human resources management to gain a competitive advantage. Companies can no longer take the traditional approach of depending on white males to form the core of the workforce. In today’s society managers must look broadly to use talent wherever it could be found. Managing diversity is a huge issue in today’s society because each culture has a different way to be handled. If managers can be effective at managing diversity in different cultures, they will have an easier time

Across the world much attention has been given to workforce diversity. As a result of the expansion of the global economy across national territories, and the growth in workforce diversity as it relates to ethnicity, race, gender, age and disability, many organizations are now more intentional in their efforts to enhance and maintain workforce diversity (Peretz, Levi, & Fried, 2015). At the core, diversity is about inclusion. Firms have a responsibility to promote equity and social justice by considering the experiences, perspectives, knowledge, and abilities of various groups of people.

Adaptability is a great advantage for a workplace for all who are connected to it. Companies where customer service is a significant aspect, flexibility gives the ability for the promotion of the workplace and for the association with customers. If there is the ability to do this and provide service to consumers in their culturally appropriate tongue, the array of customers allows for the comprehensive understanding of what is wanted. The presence various social and ethnic backgrounds in a workplace allows for this to happen (Greenberg 2013.) Another advantage of a culturally diverse workplace is the many different views on an issue that can be accessed. The immense assortment of viewpoints that people of different cultural backgrounds can have is astonishing. The effective resolution of matters can be made possible due to this, whether there are issues regarding general workplace administration, or even possible discriminatory concerns. Similarly, the overall productivity of organisations can benefit from a diverse workplace as well. Varied abilities allow for communication between

Research has indicated that a diverse workforce can lead to several benefits. A varied group of employees provides the organization with access to a larger pool of knowledge and to differing points of view. Additionally, the creativity and productivity

Developing cultural diversity in the workplace is an important factor in creating a sociable and productive work environment. The mission and vision of an organization should be representative of the cultural diversity of their employees. When I immigrated to the U.S., like many other immigrant I chose New York as a place to live and work. My decision was based on the population diversity of this metropolitan city, which was going to ease my integration in the American lifestyle and workforce. Ironically enough, in my current work place I have had the unique opportunity to work with people from all over the world. As a joke we call our office the “United Nation”. Besides the employees born in the US, the rest of us originate from 9 different countries including Peru, Dominican Republican, Puerto Rico, Bengali, Egypt, Albania, Jamaica, and Nepal. It is the best environment to work as we have a conglomerate of upbringings, customs, backgrounds, languages, personalities and different perspectives.

Cultural, ethnic, and gender differences are all around us and in the workplace. Research has shown that groups of people who come from different backgrounds and have different life experiences have a greater ability to be creative and their problem-solving skills are better in the workplace (Bell 14). That being said many studies have shown that with increased diversity there is also negative outcomes in the beginning (Bell 17). Stereotyping individuals from other cultures and of different races must be overcome, and will be challenging. This is when managers and associates need to recognize, understand, and respect the differences in each individual. Bell (2010) researchers suggests over time the negative differences reduced once the employees got to know each other and had a chance to exchange job-relevant

Growth in the US working-age population in the next four decades will drop more than 60% from that seen in the previous four.1 By mid-century, the population of Caucasians in the US, currently about 70% of the total, will drop below 50%.2 In an increasingly tight—and diverse—labor market, companies will need cultural dexterity to attract and retain talent. The creation of an inclusive culture that encourages productivity, creativity, and loyalty among all employees does not happen overnight; companies that begin today will be more competitive in tomorrow’s market.

Diversity is an issue we have discussed, it has triggered different types of problems in an organization. In recent years the topic of diversity has become a vital strategy towards improving acceptance of individual differences in an organization. Companies that expand their business to a global market face diversity in a higher intensity than those companies that only do business in their own countries.

In today’s society there are many culturally diverse people in the workforce. Most organizations can no longer make the assumption that every employee has similar beliefs or expectations. When entering into the global marketplace, people are considered one of the most valuable resources to an organization’s success. A well-managed culturally diverse workforce has the potential to thrive if managed correctly; or if mismanaged, there can be devastating negative attributes. With great expectations, culturally diverse employees can foster positive outcomes in the workplace. A company’s acknowledgement to embrace diversity and change, and implement the value of management techniques are