The Impact of Ethnicity
The impact of Ethnicity, Gender, Geographical Differences and Age on Individual Behavior
The new era in business is facing with the globalization, and globalization brings diversity. Diversity is a very real aspect of the American’s culture. How does diversity impact individual behavior? According with Hung Ng (2005), “humans exist not only as unique individuals, but also as members of social groups that are formed on the basis of ethnicity, gender, age, and so for.” These dual aspects of the human being make people act different if they are among the people with the same background or not. Everyone can respect and adapt to a new culture, but not everyone is feeling the same comfort level when she/he is among people from a different background. For instance if a Hispanic coworker sees another Hispanic person come in to his/her workplace, automatically they start to speak Spanish. In the same way, if an American that is living oversea sees another American come to his/her way, they immediately start to speak in English. This happen because of the comfort level that the people feel when they are talking with somebody from the same background. This sense of belonging to a group is part of the reason that leads to discrimination. “ Contrary to common sense and despite the good will to believe in human empathy, factor more minimal than a war or a bad joke are often sufficient to trigger groups behavior.” (Hung Ng, 2005)(20). Having a diversified workforce in any organization is very important, because employees not only learn how to deal with different cultures but also learn how to respect the differences. Organizations should plan to increase diversity according with the percentages of diversity in population.
One of the most controversial changes in diversity was when women started to join workforce. Many women think that America is the best place in the world to live. The introduction of gender diversity in workplace, especially in the last century is enormous.
The new era in business is facing with the globalization, and globalization brings diversity. Diversity is a very real aspect of the American’s culture. How does diversity impact individual behavior? According with Hung Ng (2005), “humans exist not only as unique individuals, but also as members of social groups that are formed on the basis of ethnicity, gender, age, and so for.” These dual aspects of the human being make people act different if they are among the people with the same background or not. Everyone can respect and adapt to a new culture, but not everyone is feeling the same comfort level when she/he is among people from a different background. For instance if a Hispanic coworker sees another Hispanic person come in to his/her workplace, automatically they start to speak Spanish. In the same way, if an American that is living oversea sees another American come to his/her way, they immediately start to speak in English. This happen because of the comfort level that the people feel when they are talking with somebody from the same background. This sense of belonging to a group is part of the reason that leads to discrimination. “ Contrary to common sense and despite the good will to believe in human empathy, factor more minimal than a war or a bad joke are often sufficient to trigger groups behavior.” (Hung Ng, 2005)(20). Having a diversified workforce in any organization is very important, because employees not only learn how to deal with different cultures but also learn how to respect the differences. Organizations should plan to increase diversity according with the percentages of diversity in population.
One of the most controversial changes in diversity was when women started to join workforce. Many women think that America is the best place in the world to live. The introduction of gender diversity in workplace, especially in the last century is enormous.
References: Hung Ng, Sik. (2005) Intergroup Behavior and Ethnicity: A Social Psychological Perspective. Retrieved August 14, 2006 from EBSCO HOST Research Database. Ronay, Richard. & Kim, Do Yeong. (2006) Gender Differences in explicit & implicit risk Attitudes: A Socially facilitated phenomenon. Retrieved August 14, 2006 from EBSCO HOST Research Database. Schermerhorn, J.R., Hunt,J.G., & Osborn Wiley, R.N. (2005) Organizational Behavior (9th ed.)(Chapter 4)