Diversity in the Workplace
Diversity management is a philosophy intended to create and maintain a positive work environment where the similarities and differences of individuals are shared. Diversity management has mostly focused on organizational culture and its effect on human resources, organizational contexts and institutional environments. It also studies, expectations, requirements, incentives, and outcomes related to managing employee diversity.
Diversity management is the key to growth in today’s fiercely competitive global marketplace. Organizations that are seeking to expand in global markets must embrace diversity. Diversity can no longer just be about filing a quota, but rather how an organization embraces its employee’s different backgrounds. A benefit of a diverse workforce is the ability to tap into the many talents which employees from different backgrounds, perspectives, abilities and bring to the workplace. Many companies, however, still face challenges around building a diverse environment. Diversity cannot be easily categorized and those organizations that respond to human complexity by leveraging the talents of a broad workforce will be the most effective in growing their businesses and their customer base.
I personally think maintaining and creating a diverse work environment is extremely important to the success of a company. In my professional career I have had the pleasure of working closely with people of very diverse backgrounds. In the engineering world, it is really enlightening to see how people of different backgrounds approach the same problem. This topic is important to me because I have been raised and I work in a diverse environment. I have seen the benefits of how diversity can positively affect companies. As a leader, it is very important to provoke necessary interactions in the workplace to create a positive environment. We must respect each other’s differences. Employees from different cultures can vary in how they interact with others and their environment. At the end of the day, people are often a result of their cultures. Companies that reject and are hesitant to incorporate diversity within their practices are more prone to reject new ideas and make work environments more difficult. Cultural misunderstandings can be costly; sales can be lost if we don’t understand customer values; and productivity can decrease when global communication breaks down. Since there are laws that prohibit companies to discriminate against anyone based on their background doesn’t mean a company can unintentionally discriminate. In class we have learned how stereotyping can adversely affect how people act towards one another. As a future manager, I would definitely avoid stereotyping individuals and let their work speak for itself. I would actively seek out candidates from different backgrounds and cultures. Since our company allows for recruiting and has an international division I might tap into their candidate pool in search of employees. The main obstacle I would probably face in my endeavor is the reluctance of people to accept change. People seem to be very hesitant and tend to avoid change. The way you could counter the fear of change is to demonstrate your growth strategy, and show how beneficial it is to everyone within the company.
The bases of business organization are people and as core value they need to be respected despite their culture and origin. Avoiding misunderstanding, discrimination and cultural conflict among employees creates a pleasant work atmosphere which can increase effectiveness and profits. The main responsibility for the implementation of diversity into the organization is related directly with the entrepreneur, managers and especially HR managers. They are the first to communication and implement the necessary policies into the organization to raise the commitment of all employees. This will avoid the feeling of being different and in the same time will influence in reaching the mutual goals and objectives.

Resources: http://www.forbes.com/ http://www.experience.com/ http://smallbusiness.chron.com/ Fundamentals of Management by Robbins, Decenzo, Coulter; Essential Concepts and Applications 8th Edition