Diversity

Cultural diversity is defined as the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole (Wikipedia).  It is based on the values and practices of society.  People absorb culture through early process of socialization and the process carries over to the way in which one perceives themselves and the world.  Some people agree that cultural diversity in the workplace develops our country’s skills and contributes to it’s growth.  Many corporations have recognized that diversity contributes to the bottom line by making it easier to retain good employees, lowering costs by developing skill in-house and developing a reputation that helps attract new employees.

Many problems arise when a person begins to argue or believe that only his culture seems right, adopts the right values and represents the right and logical way to behave.  Difficulties certainly arise when there is diversity within an organization.  Most of us have limited information about other people’s worldview.

Cultural diversity changes the workplace by providing new resources and managerial challenges to employers. This often involved with employees who have different attitudes toward time, status and roles, relationship, responsibility, decision making and technology.  To effectively manage diversity, managers and supervisors must be aware of the values, motivations, communication styles, attitudes and needs of their employees.