Ob Diversity

Diversity in the workplace

Diversity defined by Webster’s dictionary is, “a range of different things.” How is diversity in the workplace or within an organization defined? According to Whitelaw, Defining Diversity: Beyond Race And Gender, Only 30 percent of human resources professionals say that their company even has an official definition of diversity. With things in society changing so does the definition of diversity. A diverse group would be a group who is not made up of just one type of person. For example, groups of people who are not all the same race or all share the same religious belief. Now, a harder question would be how to define diversity within an organization when speaking about sensitive issues? This is likely to get harder as our population ages. This brings in an older population, which for right now is the majority according to, Robins Organizational Behavior.

With the population aging each age group is going to bring something new to the table. It is the general consensus that, “employees over 60 in 2006 belong to the Traditionalist generation. Those in their mid-40s to 60 are Baby Boomers. Employees in their late 20s to early 40s are Generation X. The new generation entering the workplace, in their early 20s or younger, is generally called Generation Y” according to, (Bell 2007.) This article goes on to briefly describe the work style of each generation. Describing Traditionalist as being having a strong work ethic and very influential. Where as, baby boomers having been raised by traditionalist value hard work and personal growth, described as the “me” generation. Generation X is family focused after experiencing the toll of having baby boomer parents. This group tends to seek out an employer that best suits their needs. Generation Y is described as already having been exposed to diversity and strive to work faster and better. Due to each generation having a different way of thinking and working managers and organizations, as...