Diversity at Work
Diversity is the presence of people from different backgrounds and possessing different traits as well as differences in ages and race. Ethnic origin, culture, physical abilities, religion and sexual orientation are just some possible contributors to diversity when you think on the lines of building or working on a team, being in Leadership or Management. A diverse workforce combines workers from different backgrounds and experiences that together breed a more creative, innovative, and productive workforce. And businesses have learned that they can draw upon our nation’s diversity to strengthen their bottom line. In this way, diversity is a key ingredient to growing a strong and inclusive economy that’s built to last. There are many challenges for company leaders when it comes to diversity in the workplace. Many people are unfamiliar with other cultures and have never had to learn to coexist with people from completely different backgrounds. Companies that offer some diversity training and proactively manage; their workplace will be acceptable to promote tolerance and acceptance of differences, and a better chance of being successful. We understand that people with different cultural, gender and national backgrounds will, with contrasting experiences behind them, offer differing perspectives and opinions about any given problem. It is a more important implication that people, who appear to be similar to each other, such as two middle-aged white men or black men, will share the same views. The benefit of diversity does not principally come from people who are “different” offering “different” perspectives to me are the benefit. An organization’s success and competitiveness depends upon its ability to embrace diversity and realize the benefits. A diverse collection of skills and experiences (languages, cultural understanding) allows a company to provide service to customers on a global basis. Companies...