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Diversity In The Workplace

Diversity in the Workplace
Cultural diversity is an aspect of everyday life, interactions and relationships that impact every person in a unique way. The American melting pot is speckled and swirled with cultures and subcultures that interact in every venue, from school and stores to hospitals and offices. McGee (2001) writes, “It is estimated that at least 2,500 cultures and subcultures coexist our planet” (p 110). A basic knowledge of cultural diversity and intercultural communication is an asset for anyone who adventures past his or her front door, but for those whose adventure is in business, more than basic knowledge is necessary, For any business to be successful, practices and communication must be based in a comprehensive and thoughtfully designed diversity plan. Effective communication is extremely important at the workplace to ensure effective coordination as well as to promote cooperation among the employees, thus enabling them to achieve the goals and objectives more efficiently.
Culture is a concept of similarities amongst groups, a way of life that is learned through interactions and perceptions of the world. Leininger (1994) defines culture as “the pervasive and continuous force that influences and shapes the lives of human beings in significant ways” and explains that “culture is largely the blueprint for predicting human motivation, action patterns” (p 14). Culture has been defined in many ways, but essentially envelopes all aspects of human life, including the way people think, feel, communicate and behave. Cultural diversity then is a disparity between people in how they think, feel, communicate and behave. Diversity is to be expected in any workplace and should be managed effectively through policies and positive attitudes from administrators and upper management.
This paper reviews findings from eight interviews conducted in 4 different companies. These interviews were structured with identical questions in the areas of organizational...