Diversity and Inclusion Paper
Thinking About Diversity and Inclusion Paper
SOC/315
December 15, 2010
Professor Dr. Lorthridge
Introduction
This paper will discuss and focus on the four dimensions of diversity: ethnicity, gender, differences in skills, abilities and personality traits and how they have an impact in my workplace. To be able to go further in this paper one should understand the definition of diversity. Diversity is a variety between people associated to factors such as culture, employment status, education, family orientation, gender, origin, physical appearance, religion, sexual orientation and thinking style (Harvey, C. P., 2009). Although the differences themselves are unquestionable, organizations and society often reject them by acknowledging only a few of them. Although some differences might have been overlooked in the past, understanding roles they play in an organizations success has successfully put diversity on the spotlight. Diversity not only involves how people perceive themselves, but how they perceive others and these perceptions affect their interactions. In this society when one person thinks of diversity he or she might think of race, but it also includes ethnic and cultural aspects that might be in the workplace. Society has come a long way and many changes have taken place, therefore many businesses need to learn how to adapt whether it is through training seminars or from firsthand experience.
Differences between diversity and inclusion To understand the difference between diversity and inclusion one must first define and understand the definition of diversity. There truly is no universal agreement of workplace diversity, it is defined as, “The ways in which people differ that may affect their organizational experience in terms of , communication, performance, motivation, and inclusion” (Harvey & Allard, 2009). When it comes down to it, diversity is about a business balancing the skills of his or her employees to help enable an
SOC/315
December 15, 2010
Professor Dr. Lorthridge
Introduction
This paper will discuss and focus on the four dimensions of diversity: ethnicity, gender, differences in skills, abilities and personality traits and how they have an impact in my workplace. To be able to go further in this paper one should understand the definition of diversity. Diversity is a variety between people associated to factors such as culture, employment status, education, family orientation, gender, origin, physical appearance, religion, sexual orientation and thinking style (Harvey, C. P., 2009). Although the differences themselves are unquestionable, organizations and society often reject them by acknowledging only a few of them. Although some differences might have been overlooked in the past, understanding roles they play in an organizations success has successfully put diversity on the spotlight. Diversity not only involves how people perceive themselves, but how they perceive others and these perceptions affect their interactions. In this society when one person thinks of diversity he or she might think of race, but it also includes ethnic and cultural aspects that might be in the workplace. Society has come a long way and many changes have taken place, therefore many businesses need to learn how to adapt whether it is through training seminars or from firsthand experience.
Differences between diversity and inclusion To understand the difference between diversity and inclusion one must first define and understand the definition of diversity. There truly is no universal agreement of workplace diversity, it is defined as, “The ways in which people differ that may affect their organizational experience in terms of , communication, performance, motivation, and inclusion” (Harvey & Allard, 2009). When it comes down to it, diversity is about a business balancing the skills of his or her employees to help enable an
References: Department of Veterans Affairs (2009). Army Equal Opportunity Action Plan. Retrieved from: http://www.diversity.hr.va.gov/ileaddiversity Harvey, C. P. (2009). Understanding and Manging Diversity: Readings, Cases, and Exercises. Retrieved from; http://www.worldcat.org/title/understanding-and-managing-diversity-readings-cases-and-exercises Schaefer, R. T. (2011). Racial and Ethnic Groups, Census Update (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Retrieved from; http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/race/api.html Sappal, Pepi (2002). Latest Diversity Efforts Continue to Fall Short. Retrieved from: http://collegenews.com/thewallstreetjournalonline