Managing Demographic and Cultural Diversity
Read this chapter for an in-depth look at how to manage demographic and cultural diversity. First, we will consider what constitutes diversity, as well as the benefits of managing it. We will attempt to describe the challenges of managing a diverse workforce, including multicultural workforces and those organizations with diverse demographics. We will conclude with a discussion on diversity and ethics and how standards of ethics may vary depending on culture, age, gender, and other traits. While reading this chapter, think about what you bring to the workplace. What unique demographical or cultural attributes do you possess? How do these characteristics affect your values and management style? What steps can you take to understand, work with, and manage those with different characteristics than you?
Conclusion
In
conclusion, in this chapter we reviewed the implications of demographic
and cultural diversity for organizational behavior. Management of
diversity effectively promises a number of benefits for companies and
may be a competitive advantage. Yet, challenges such as natural human
tendencies to associate with those similar to us and using stereotypes
in decision making often act as barriers to achieving this goal. By
creating a work environment where people of all origins and traits feel
welcome, organizations will make it possible for all employees to feel
engaged with their work and remain productive members of the
organization.