Diversity

Diversity

By Kimberly Hawthorne

University of Phoenix

Abstract

Diversity within a workforce is a key element to the success of a company. A company that lacks diversity lacks a connection to the outside world. Organizations must be able to identify with their cliental. No one wants to buy a product from a company that has not been used by the employees of the company. Diversity encompasses a great many areas. Among some of the areas of diversity are age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Each of the areas of diversity impacts a person's behavior within the workplace and thus, impact the organization itself.

There are some key differences in a person's behavior in relation to their age. A person who is fairly young may not have the maturity to be able to interact within a group of coworkers Likewise, they lack the experience and technical skill. An older individual who has been with an organization for 20 or 30 years is full of knowledge and experience. A young person may be more inclined to have the computer knowledge necessary in today's era whereas an older person may be lacking in computer expertise. The differences in knowledge speak of the individuals' generation. An older generation did not have resources available like the younger generation does. The two age groups paired together would make for an interesting team. Each group would be able to play off of the others strengths and they would in essence be able to teach each other. Younger employees would learn a great deal of knowledge about the company from the older employees. Older employees must be willing to train their successors. Each of these age groups carry themselves in very different manners. The constant rotation of young and old within an organization ensures the organization will always have a wealth of knowledge within it.

Gender diversity is something that is unique within an organization because of how men and women react to different types of situations. The bottom line is men will react to a situation without emotion and women will react to it using emotion as their driving force. [Is this always the case?] Women use their emotions to their advantage whereas men tend to hide their emotions. For women, they must stop and think things through and decide what their intuition is telling them to do. Men will more times than not, go with a more calculated decision. Regardless of the method used to reach a goal, men and women will continue to complement each others actions by using their own method to reach their own conclusions.

A person's ethnicity defines who they are. Their persona; culture is the foundation of their values and beliefs. People from different parts of the country are influenced by how they were raised. We all have a different ethnic background. People who are from Japan are very focused in their work. They are driven by a long standing tradition of meticulous design. The Japanese do not have much use for play time within their organizations. When they are at work, they are there to get a job done. The hours that the Japanese put in on the job are meant for work and only work. Americans tend to be a little bit more laid back. We tend to work hard but we enjoy having fun while we are working. Each culture was raised to view work in a different manner and it affects our daily performance at work. Within every organization, there is a need for the individuals who are just about the work, but there is also a need for individuals who want to have