Diversity

Diversity Paper

Diversity Paper

What is diversity? Diversity is "the state of fact of being diverse; difference; unlikeness; variety; multiformity (Random House, 2006)." Today's workforce, by necessity, is a diverse group ranging from various age groups, gender, and ethnicity. With these different groups come varying points of view and beliefs that can become essential to the success of a company. The diversity within a group must be managed correctly to be beneficial or it can also be what may ultimately become the end of the company. This paper will briefly describe the diversities mentioned and the effect they have on individual behaviors in the workplace.

Ethnicity brings many different types of beliefs to the workplace. One set of beliefs may be that the hierarchy with in a company must be followed at all times. Regardless of how difficult a situation becomes the hierarchical belief may lead one to believe there is no choice in the job situation therefore the employee will do everything that is asked and more to appease his/her superior and this may seen as loyalty.

However, others that come from a more influential and educated background may believe that in order to succeed one must steal the limelight and out shine those above him/her. These individuals may be looked at as go-getters and hard workers. They may move rapidly up the corporate ladder making many enemies along the way.

Gender is another diversity that may play a large part in the make-up of a company. The "glass ceiling" for women has been a dominate issue in the corporate world for many years. Women continually seek equality in job status, pay, and respect. Women striving to make it in the corporate world will sometimes work twice as hard as their male counterpart just to make it appear that they are more than capable of accomplishing everything their male counter part can. Again, this may seem to some to be a hardworking, loyal employee but eventually the female employee will begin to see the unfortunate "glass ceiling" and become disgruntled. The "glass ceiling" is becoming less and less apparent and this is a good thing not only for the female gender but for businesses too. The majority of the customer base is female and the selling and marketing of products needs to cater to that customer base. A woman's point of view in the boardroom is essential.

Age is also a major factor in the business world not only for the customer base that bring in but also for the wealth of knowledge and experience. Age discrimination may come into play occasionally but with laws on place to mitigate such things age can be a company's top assets. Many older generations have seen the ups and downs of an industry, while many younger workers have the creativity to appeal to a new group of consumers. Managed correctly, the proper mix