Diversity in the Workplace

Canas, K., & Harris , S. (2014). Opportunities and challenges of workplace diversity : theory, cases and exercises. (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ : Pearson Education,

The marketplace is more global driven by advances in communication and technology. For many organizations, managing diversity at the work place is an integral part of their culture. Management of diversity makes every employee sensitive to the needs and differences of others.

The general line of reasoning is that if we learn to incorporate each other’s diverse traits and characteristics in the workplace, we can then use these differences to foster an innovative environment, which will give the company a competitive advantage over the competitors that do not accept workforce diversity. According to the Allied Academies International Conference, “Diversity is rapidly becoming a common practice among companies due to the increasing number of minorities entering the job market today. As these groups become more prevalent throughout companies, upper-level employees are facing numerous challenges when determining what changes must take place to create a positive working environment for everyone. Management is responsible for the development and implementation of effective policies directly relating to diversity to ensure the acceptance of minorities into the workplace and to aid in minorities’ success through equal opportunities and treatment.” (Marcia L. James, 2001, Academy for Studies in International Business Proceedings)

One of the main advantages to having a diverse workplace is the synergy that occurs between people from different backgrounds, cultures and work values. Employees feel good about diversity that occurs naturally, instead of forcing diversity into the workplace. When diversity is the primary concern, members of nonminority groups sometimes feel excluded, and that minority groups are receiving preferential treatment. The opposition to diversity management manifests itself in many ways. The most detrimental is an employee who is resentful concerning diversity (Pros & Cons of Diversity). Drawing attention to a “problem” only makes it

The first factor that is increasing the diversity in the U.S workplace is welcoming social diversity meaning to recruit talented workers of both sexes, racial and culture backgrounds. The potential of employees requires meeting the needs of women and other minorities, which may not be the same as white men’s. The second factor is that the businesses must develop a way to deal with the tensions that are in the work place from social differences, which means they will have to work harder to make sure that everyone is treated equally and respectfully by having no tolerance for sexual or racial harassment. The third and last factor is that these

and Konrad, A.M. (2006) ‘Examining the contours of workplace diversity: Concepts, contexts and challenges’, in Handbook of Workplace Diversity. SAGE Publications, pp. 3.

Furthermore, diversity has infiltrated the workplace as organization today want to show consumers to that their organization is cultural diverse. In spite of this, diversity in the United States did not always received the support like it does now. At one point and time people of different backgrounds were more interested in fitting in; even if that meant sacrificing their own culture. However, organizations

First, understanding the meaning of diversity will be helpful before getting into the reasons of its importance in today’s organizational behavior. According to Williams (2013), “Diversity is a variety of demographic, cultural, and personal differences among an organization’s employees and customers.” (p. 487). Examining current trends, diversity is strategically utilized by organizations to take advantage of its benefits through acceptance while promoting its positive impact. It is known to the leaders and hiring managers that understanding diversity creates paths leading to success such as

“Maximizing and capitalizing on workplace diversity has become an important issue for management today.” [ (Kelli A. Green, 2002) ]

Many organizations are beginning to view diversity as an organizational change. This could possibly mean changes in the power dynamics and organizational structure, the way decisions are made, and the way an

Growing up as a child, I was always fearful of what other thought and considered of me. This fear brought forth self-esteem difficulties throughout my school as well as I entered college. Unfortunately, my fears restricted me from forming friendships, and even to the point of preventing me from developing as an employee. This fear that crippled me from within was the main source of what caused me to holdback in life rather than exposing to the world the true individual I actually was.

It is often said that the success of a Business has to do with how well its backbone team manages it. In today’s world, most of a company’s management and backbone team is one that is composed of up of a diverse group of employees. Strong, diverse teams play a vital role, on the success of a business. Diversity is understood to be the ways people can be similar or different from each other. Some examples of diversity in the workplace include culture, race, age, and gender. A good diverse workforce group is made of distinct employees from diverse backgrounds, different age groups, and distinct gender. Cultural Diversity in the workplace is one business component that has extreme importance in an organization. More and more organizations

Diversity in the workplace is a subject that has gained increased attention in the workplace over the past few years. After all, the impact of affirmative action and equal employment opportunity programs on the nation's work force is undeniable. Women and minorities were the first to dramatically alter the face of the economic mainstream, while gays, persons with disabilities and senior citizens followed not far behind. The result is a diverse American labor force representing a microcosm of our society - yet one that continues to struggle with its identity. Diversity as a social condition is not new to America. We were founded as a nation of Diversity. “America has always been a merger of cultures and, as such, has undergone periods of

Employers need to apply strategies will help solve conflicts in an organization and it will help create a well-organized environment and improve employee effectiveness. Diversity issues can cause serious conflict in the workforce and I will like to be addressed this in my dissertation. The Managing Workplace Diversity: Issues and Challenges article discusses how to properly manage diversity

As time goes by, it seems like the world is becoming smaller and smaller. We can instantly talk to someone halfway across the world and easily visit almost anywhere on the globe. Having this ability helps us to meet different types of people every single day. I think diversity is a beautiful thing, as it unites all types of people regardless of their differences. One of the areas where diversity can also be seen is in the workplace. Having a diverse culture in the workplace is wonderful, however, not everyone would agree with that statement. There are far too many cases of mistreatment and/or discrimination in the workplace that goes unnoticed, and sometimes, if identified, is mishandled or simply ignored. Whether it’s due to ethnicity, gender, age, or religion, there are those who cannot accept change in the workplace or in their personal lives, so they make it hard for those that are different from them.