Sherwan Faraj
Team 2 Project Management Plan
How to manage diversity at the work place
Diversity is a complex word that could mean very different things to different people. When I hear the word diversity, I think of a workplace that has people of different backgrounds and culture such as: Caucasian, African American, Hispanics, Asians, Middle Easterners, Europeans, etc. this of course includes both men and women; if a work environment is heavily populated by a single group compare to other cultural groups, then place is not very diverse. Other people think of diversity in terms of including people of different sexual orientation such as including lesbians and gays in the work place.
Looking back at a hundred or more years ago, people would have thought we were crazy if we talked about air planes, and giant machines flying in the sky, some people would have called us atheist if we talked about such things. However, flying has become a reality and people around the world depend on it. Diversity is the same way. Looking back to slavery, segregation, civil rights movement, no one could have predicted that our lives would be so diverse today. Inter-racial marriages, relationships, diverse work place, affirmative action policy, women’s right, and gay rights are a part of reality now as much as some would like to protest it. According to the Black Enterprise Journal, “Twenty years ago, people didn’t want to talk about diversity in the work place. Today, diversity is a reality at every level in corporate America […] at time non-minority managers want to give constructive criticism but they’re afraid someone will accuse them of being racist” the best way to avoid racial or cultural conflicts is to keep an open mind and be respectful of those around you regardless of what you want to talk about. Do not blurt out racial or hate remarks to someone even though you think they may not be offended. Many of the younger generations come from mixed marriages, so do not say...