Diversity Awareness Paper

Diversity is a wonderful asset to an organization and brings with it many benefits. Employees bring in their own personal experiences and knowledge to the team (Burns & Kerby, 2012). Having diverse teams allows for the possibility to fix a problem or perfect a process by using different employee’s experiences and past knowledge to find solutions. A diverse workforce can drive economic growth and capture a greater share of the consumer market (Burns & Kerby, 2012). With diversity as a core value, the recruitment pool is widened to find the most qualified candidate and reduces employee turnover as a result. An organization can be highly competitive with a diversity initiative by adapting to a changing environment (Burns & Kerby, 2012).

As we enter the new millenium, diversity in the workforce is rapidly increasing. Businesses and organizations are living up to the great melting pot image the United States has always been popular for. Employees now reflect a diversity of cultural perspectives, ethnic backgrounds, ages, genders, physical abilities, and levels of education. This wave of multiculturalism is here to stay and cannot be ignored. It is in need of attention in order to uphold the well-being and success of businesses and organizations all over the country.

Three ways of gaining executive commitment to diversity are to gather data and to assess the organizations current commitment to diversity to show where and why there is a need for change. The development of diversity council can also garner executive support because it offers a way for executive members of an organization to have a dialog with other members of an organization about diversity. Systematic changes are also necessary such as hiring from a diverse roster of candidates when filling a position. (Moodian, 2009,

How do people behave? What makes us act the way we do? There are as many different answers as there are people. Each person is a unique makeup of individual characteristics which blend together to form the personality, the behavior of the person. We can identify certain broad characteristics of groups of people and apply them to individuals to get an idea of how they will behave in a given situation. This is called stereotyping and, when taken too far, will give a distorted picture of what to expect of a persons behavior. While you can never get a fully accurate picture of how someone will behave based on their demographics and characteristics, you can make certain general guesses that will point

This can broaden their understanding of their peers’ workplace strengths and barriers while allowing them to carry that knowledge back to their own flight for dissemination. Since it will be for just a few days, the impact on manpower will be minimal but the gains in organizational and structural diversity will be immense (BCEE, 2014b, p. 11). Another learning activity that can be done would be to incorporate each section into the orientation program. Currently, members only receive orientation to the base, squadron administrative section, and their section. By starting Airmen off in the unit with a better, more inclusive understanding of the organizational and structural diversity present within the unit, they will be more responsive and adaptive to the needs of their peers. Finally, utilizing a professional survey such as the Stanford Graduate School of Business Leadership in Focus can help to uncover latent biases within the organization (Streeter, 2014, p. 121). This then can be used to create targeted training towards any diversity barriers that may be hidden in addition to the organizational and structural barriers currently present (BCEE, 2014b, p.

An organizations success depends on it workforce. A talented and diverse workforce lends the most opportunities for success within the organization. A diverse workforce will also impact the organizations individual human behavior. Human behavior is the collection of activities by human beings and culture, emotions, ethnicity, gender, age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, religion, occupation, skills and abilities, personality traits, and values. This paper will discuss the impact that race and ethnicity, age, gender, and sexual orientation have on an individual's behavior.

Whether you are a business manager or a CEO, a new employee or a seasoned worker, a teacher or a student, this book offers something new for everyone in a field where almost nothing new has been offered in such a long time. Simply doing more and more of what we have been doing for so long, in the name of diversity and inclusion and equity, won't get us where we need to be. It isn't more diversity that we need. What we need is a better and different diversity, one that unpoisons the well, and one that works equally for all of us, whether among ourselves or among

The word diversity represents a large group comprised of different people with different experiences. These differences include race, color, religion, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status or citizenship. However, “diversity” does not address how these different people function or work. Inclusion enables us to strive to have all people represented and make all members, partners and employees feel welcomed and valued, not only for their abilities, but also for their unique qualities and perspectives. The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique,

Prior to taking this course I thought I had a clear understanding of what it meant to have diversity awareness. I have been exposed to many different cultures both through my experiences in the Army and as a civilian, however I was not very aware of diversity. Since taking this course I have realized that increasing my awareness in diversity, would greatly benefit me as an Army soldier and as a future Law Enforcement Agent. As a soldier, I interact with different cultures, races, and sexes on a daily basis. I have developed a better sense of understanding in how other cultures may interact. As a future Law Enforcement, having a better sense of diversity awareness, would prevent me from becoming too stereotypical of other cultures. Throughout this course I have been introduced to diversity in a way I never would have imagined. I’m more cautious before casting judgment about the way I view people and the way people interact.

Diversity is what makes people different, not just culturally but in human differences. Having a multitude of differences in the workforce gives an organization the ability to use many ideas to reach a common goal. A person could say that a diverse group of people together in one room can accomplish greater achievements than a room filled with the same types of individuals. Managers understand the concept of diversity, and how important diversity is to the success of a company’s ability to implement programs that continue to develop a harmonious and diverse workplace. The recognition that diversity is a reality in the workforce has generated an enormous amount of activity over the years among leaders in business, government, and civil

Diversity is considered a defining strength for the workforce and an essential element in accomplishing the various missions that reflects the nations or community that we serve. Ensuring a diverse and inclusive workforce enables the department or agency to be more responsive to the public it serves and offers every individual an equal chance to attain his or her professional goals. A diverse workforce contributes fresh ideas and offers unique perspective which is vital in achieving the desired success. Diversity is not limited to race, gender, or ethnicity. A diverse group includes people of different religions, sexual orientation, ages, work experience, cultures, physical abilities, military experience, and educational background (Security, 2015). Although those differences are a source of benefits, they can also be very hard in the work settings and there are two reasons behind that. First, the difficulty to deal with all the different kinds of people without having a misunderstanding that arise between the supervisor and the employees. Second, problems that arise must be mediated or arbitrated by the supervisor. It can be hard for supervisors to recognize the needs of individuals from other backgrounds and to know how to persuade those individuals to do well. Even if that does not happen, they may simply misunderstand one another and those misunderstandings may lead to conflict. In these ways, a diverse workplace can lead to difficulties for supervisors.

is a good word to describe the world around you. Children who are coming to the kindergarten may

The first thing to acknowledge about diversity is that it can be difficult. In the U.S., where the dialogue of inclusion is relatively advanced, even the mention of the word “diversity” can lead to anxiety and conflict. Supreme Court justices disagree on the virtues of diversity and the means for achieving it. Corporations spend billions of dollars to attract and manage diversity both internally and externally, yet they still face discrimination lawsuits, and the leadership ranks of the business world remain predominantly white and male.

With the changing demographics of the U.S. workforce (Ng & Burke, 2005) and the need for organizations to continually innovate their products and services to remain competitive, embracing diversity and the benefits its brings is going to be key to driving a successful organization

I believe, that understanding and achieving diversity is the key to understanding the complex demands society and the marketplace place on businesses today. I also believe, when organizations leverage the contributions of their total workforce, they not only survive they succeed. So, how do we get there? Experience has shown, programs that work have taken time to develop and communicate the vision have the most success. I personally, as a manager and future business leader will be shaping messages and keeping diversity at the forefront of the minds of my peers and rank and file employees.