Diversity

Manage Diversity within the Workplace

Very seldom has the management taken proactive action to prevent diversity problems before they occur. By understanding the importance of managing diversity and the impact of cultural diversity on organization are critical to any managers and supervisors today.

The organizations have not always addressed social problems head on. The symptoms are treated but not the causes. Thus, the problems never really disappear. In the past, the management gave diversity attention only when necessary. The result was temporary and usually created a backlash of resentment.

The organizations have made diversity training a standard for their managers and supervisors. The management has been offers numerous courses dealing with different issues related to diversity such as sexual harassment, equal opportunity and treatment and managing cultural diversity. However, these training programs are usually limited in scope due to time and money. Understanding diversity and valuing differences cannot be taught in on 2-hour class. It requires individuals to examine their own background and relate them to factors such as prejudices, stereotypes, discriminations, etc.

Diversity is a complex classification of human characteristics related to personal and biological traits. Diversity is an expanded view of human potential without applying labels or making other biased judgments. For example, the military is the most diverse organization in the country with an ethnic and racial makeup most reflective of American society. These differences can be manifested through gender, age, ethnicity, physical abilities/ qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, parental status, religious beliefs, work experience, job classification or in simple mannerisms.

The converging of these differences can create conflict. If not properly...