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?

Introduction

Learning Objectives


After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following:

  1. Understand what constitutes diversity.
  2. Explain the benefits of managing diversity.
  3. Describe challenges of managing a workforce with diverse demographics.
  4. Describe the challenges of managing a multicultural workforce.
  5. Understand diversity and ethics.
  6. Understand cross-cultural issues regarding diversity.


Around the world, the workforce is becoming diverse. In 2007, women constituted 46% of the workforce in the United States. In the same year, 11% of the workforce was African American, 14% were of Hispanic origin, and 5% were Asian. Employees continue to work beyond retirement, introducing age diversity to the workforce. Regardless of your gender, race, and age, it seems that you will need to work with, communicate with, and understand people different from you at school as well as at work. Understanding cultures different from your own is also becoming increasingly important due to the globalization of business. In the United States, 16% of domestic employees were foreign born, indicating that even those of us who are not directly involved in international business may benefit from developing an appreciation for the differences and similarities between cultures. In this chapter, we will examine particular benefits and challenges of managing a diverse workforce and discuss ways in which you can increase your effectiveness when working with diversity.

As we discuss differing environments faced by employees with different demographic traits, we primarily concentrate on the legal environment in the United States. Please note that the way in which demographic diversity is treated legally and socially varies around the globe. For example, countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom have their own versions of equal employment legislation. Moreover, how women, employees of different races, older employees, employees with disabilities, and employees of different religions are viewed and treated shows much variation based on the societal context.

Creative Commons License This text was adapted by Saylor Academy under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License without attribution as requested by the work's original creator or licensor.