Diversity In The Workplace

Diversity in the workplace is not a new idea or concept. From the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s the majority of people living in the United States were immigrants from other countries including Italy, Russia, and Ireland. Each of the members from these countries spoke different languages, came from different cultures, and had different customs and work ethics. Acceptance to them was fought for in the workplace in industries such as coal, steel, automobile manufacturing, and other labor forces. This type of struggle still continues today in the workplace from cultural differences, and language differences to racial and gender differences. This paper will examine the obstacles managers face when overcoming generational differences

As times are changing, so is the world’s vision of normal. Discrimination and segregation were a huge part of history, but the fact is that in this modern society, culture diversity is the new norm. Companies and organizations incorporate culture diversity in the workplace due to the benefits of various experiences, language skills, and productivity. Employees are the face of the company, and if they have the mentality of prejudice and ethnocentrism, it can affect the success of the business. While most people understand that the world is a melting pot, discrimination still exists in this world and these people are at a disadvantage. Whether it is because they are living in the past, had a bad experience, or have not been exposed to it, the world is a melting pot of culture, gender, and ethnicity. Regardless of how we are different, once “we can learn to appreciate that differences do matter and that becoming aware of those differences will make interactions with others much easier” (Devry University, n.d.).

“Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?” When George W. Bush spoke those words amongst a crowd of people in Florence, South Carolina several years ago, he probably had no idea that it would one day be put on a list called The top 25 Bushisms of all time -- and it wouldn’t even be #1. As a politician, no matter how inconsequential your position may seem, you are constantly under a microscope being looked at by your peers, your employers, and the media. Everything you say or do will have an outcome on your career, no matter how unrelated to your field it may be, or how secret you try to keep it. It is for reasons such as this that one must always be aware of their words and actions. To survive under the scrutiny of others, a

Are today's corporation’s diversity programs really successful? The idea of diversity going well past the traditional work environment and implanting diversity programs that allow a welcoming work environment. Diversity requires the acknowledgment of commitment that every employee is their own individual, not similarly as individuals from administrative assigned gatherings. Diversity calls for administration of associations to be extremely comprehensive enduring the individuals who are diverse as well as praising those distinctions. It requires the opening of non-conventional occupations to men and ladies of all ideologies, backgrounds, religions, races and ethnicity. University Hospital (UH) diversity and inclusion concepts creates a work

Diversity has impacts everywhere and has impacted and changed Certified Public Accountants (CPA’s)? CPA’s are accountant that are certified through a national organization. They maintain that all financial statements to be completely accurate. When you take history into account it was always just the white men that could do anything that required higher education. This was also true for CPA’s at one time, of course this is not the case in the 21st century. Every company has a diversity statement, even Western Michigan University has one. These Diversity statements stat that the company does not take offense to or illegally discriminate agent’s people that fall into different categories. Some of the categories that I will be discussing are sex,

As the demographic changes throughout the country shape the infinite amount of social environments. Now more than ever will there be an emergence of new contexts for cross cultural problems. This contexts are brought about by passages of legislation like the Civil Rights Act, changes in economic uncertainties and a plethora of other issues. Although some of these issues are older than others they all require a revisiting in order to prevent and resolve employee problems. This is due to the fact that these new issues and recurrences will always find their way into the workplace as individuals interact with each other, and share ideas or opinions.

Today’s management in the workforce is composed of all types of people verses thirty years ago when white males held a majority of upper-management positions in companies. These positions are now held by a mixture of ethnic back grounds and women who hold just as many if not more management positions then men. Just by looking at the changes in management demographics shows how important it is for people to understand cultural competency in the workplace. Dr. Roosevelt Thomas Jr. (1999) stated, “Diversity is the collective mixture of whomever we have in our workforce characterized by their differences and similarities” (p.11). Managers and supervisors must understand the characteristics of a diversity mature individual; they also need to be

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

Next, as organizations promote diversity, employees and workers need to as well. It is important to note that the word diversity does not mean varied morals and values, rather, varied backgrounds, experiences, and cultures. “One surprising finding from research is that appreciating diversity encourages both open discussion and productive conflict management, “(Kouzes & Posner, 1995). Employees of different generations need to stop neglecting one another’s differences, in terms of experience, and communicate to promote these

When it comes to managing a culturally diverse workforce, it can be very challenging to overcome. The most noticeable challenge with managing a culturally diverse workplace is communicating with one another. Multiple cultures communicate in diverse ways through not only language but through nonverbal messages and single words. When one does not communicate with another person, it can cause a hold in the workforce due to all the coworkers not fully understanding one another. If everyone does communicate if one is upset, the problem can be resolved much faster than holding a grudge or spreading rumors and causing drama. In addition, diversity can cause many people in the workplace to feel upset or cause tension between one another. People typically

The importance of understanding cultural, ethnic and gender differences by managers and professionals in a business setting is essential to make the work environment comfortable. In every culture there are basic standards of thinking, and acting and these cultural differences strongly influence workplace values and communication. What may be considered acceptable and natural in the workplace for one person may be unacceptable for another person. People from diverse cultures bring new ways of thinking, creativity and language skills needed to survive in today’s work force. In many

The contemporary workplace environment generally requires sensitivity toward and awareness of the sensibilities and expectations of individuals from a wide range of different cultural backgrounds (Robbins & Judge, 2009). Therefore, virtually all modern business organizations maintain employee training programs that include cultural diversity sensitivity training to ensure that their employees respect

Diversity is emerging as a major issue in the workplace today, yet most employers are not prepared to deal with it. Nor are their managers. Many managers grew up having little contact with other cultures. They are actually "culturally deprived," and their academic training did not cover the kinds of situations that arise in today's multicultural settings. (Copeland, 2004.)

In any society, how we see ourselves and how others treat us depends on many factors. Race, ethnicity, and cultural background are identifiers of individuals. Most people have confronted prejudice based on these identifiers, either personally experiencing discrimination or knowing someone who has. Beyond ensuring organizational compliance with a country’s anti-discrimination laws, it is incumbent upon managers to support diversity in the workplace and to be culturally competent.

There are two major cultural divisions, Hispanic and Caucasian, to further complicate the work environment the ratio of Male to female workers is 20 to 1. No effort from either group of being sensitive to the others existence is apparent. (DuBrin, 2004, p. 67). Management’s main concern is for “ethnic diversity” to the point of not having issues with the equal employment opportunity act.