Diversity

Introduction

Today, diversity is getting a great deal of attention. One doesn't have to look far to see why. Imagine a group of employees at work or a class of students at college. Then imagine how that same group might have looked, thought, and acted differently two or three decades ago. Now picture how this same group might change by the year 2050. (Bucher, Chaney, and Martin, 2002) Diversity has affected each adult individual at one point in time. The encounters have sometimes been positive while other times they have been negative. Diversity is not a controllable issue to deal with because you never know how another person is going to handle being around various cultures or people of different age, sexes or races. A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management revealed barriers including stereotyping and preconceptions, corporate culture, exclusion from informal networks, and lack of mentors and role models. (Noe, 2002) Diversity is something, however, that can be managed.

Dimensions of Diversity

Dimensions of diversity refer to precise characteristics viewed as distinguishing one person or group from another. Ethnicity, race, and gender are three examples. Race relates to physical differences while ethnicity focuses on cultural distinctiveness. Race refers to a class of people who are perceived as physically unique on the basis of certain traits, such as skin color, hair texture, and facial features. Gender has to do with the cultural differences that discern males from females. For example, in any given culture, people raise males and females to act certain ways. When talking about the dimensions of diversity, social class, sexual orientation, age, religion, learning style, and family background are consistently disregarded. Some people may perceive these and other dimensions to be more important than race or gender.

Meaning of Ethnicity

Ethnicity is defined as likely patterns of association and identification with joint national or cultural origins of a subgroup found within the larger community. Furthermore, a sense of common origin has four elements often defining ethnicity, they include: self-perpetuating population; shared cultural values; a field of communication and interaction, facilitated by a common language; and members who define themselves and are identified by others as a distinguishable class. (Arnould, Price, and Zinkhan, 2003)

Racial and Ethical Diversity

A unique perceptive for the need to appropriately manage and take advantage of increasing diversity within labor markets is not common to the United States. Concern for the incremented level of diversity is played out in various ways. In one aspect, age, sex, and ethnic differences can lead to stresses regarding perceived value and temperamental differences. But from a different perspective, many see the successful management of diversity as being a key attribute of leadership effectiveness. (Dougherty and Dreherm 2001) Taking full advantage of all expendable talent in a company must certainly be associated with higher levels of company performance.

Twenty-nine percent of Americans which is approximately 70 million people and 25 percent of Australians are of non-Anglo origin. Germany has over two million Turks and five million other ethnic minorities. Eleven percent of the Canadian population is of non-Anglo origin; the largest of the groups being Chinese. Indonesia is a mosaic of hundreds of ethnic groups. Many countries, including the United Kingdom, Russia, and China, have significant ethnic minority populations. As a matter of fact, 91 million Chinese belong to one of 55 different ethnic minority groups. Therefore, ethnic diversity is widespread globally, and the drastic increase in economically motivated migration in recent years results in increasing ethnic diversity, especially in wealthier countries. (Arnould, Price, and Zinkhan, 2003)

Multicultural marketing is not the same as recognizing ethnic diversity in markets. It implies a general social acceptance that cultural diversity is not a hindrance to economic progression. This is saying that a country may be ethnically diverse, but this diversity may not be socially acceptable to, or acknowledged by, majority segments. In France, for example, the census only identifies immigrants, unlike the U.S. and Australian censuses that recognize the ethnic origins of citizens. In countries where ethnic classification is not associated with claims to special handling in the marketplace, multicultural marketing is not so likely to do well. Ethical Dilemma suggests that even in the Triad nations, consumer culture and ethnic diversity are not always cordially linked. (Arnould, Price, and Zinkhan, 2003)

Religious Diversity

Increased diversity in the workforce can result in dysfunctional group dynamics. Within any social setting, those individuals with characteristics in common tend to gravitate into social masses, or cliques. Sports fans at a bar, computer geeks at a LAN party (LAN party, 2005), ethnic groups, and religious beliefs all support humanity's need to be among "people like us." In the workplace, though, humans are asked to be themselves and be comfortable with others who are not like us; to be alike in our differences.

Cinco de Mayo and Columbus Day have been tightly integrated into many American Cities and organizational cultures to such a degree that people can often feel pressured to celebrate and participate. Why not add Beltane or other obscure holy days and rites? In the area around Boston, MA, there are about 13 different recognized religious traditions; among them are Islam, Wicca, Bahal'I, and Sikhism (Eck and Pierce, 2000). Integrating that many belief systems into a productive team can be a difficult task for any size organization. Workers like to feel at home when they are on the job, office

workers especially. In the traditional corporate cubicle farm however, there are likely to be others who may have not only different, but very possibly conflicting or even controversial religious perspectives. Some religious groups have been actively spreading the word about religious diversity in general (Jackson, 2000), though not necessarily in a good way, while others have been working toward it and embracing humanity's

differences. One of those organizations is the United States Conference of Religions for Peace (USCRP), which is made up from leaders in many different religions (Unitarian Universalist Association, 2003).

Theological interaction occurs at a much more personal level in the workplace. This interaction can instigate the development of a hostile work environment similar to one where racial jokes are passed around, and