Reflective summary on Managing Diversity in Business - Essay Example

Examine that how this course helps me to analyse discrimination against women and ethnic minorities. Develop a broader perspective in relation to the benefits of this course. Reflective Analysis I selected the course of Managing Diversity in Business mainly due to two reasons. Firstly, diversity has become an unavoidable characteristic of almost any work group in the countries like UK due to globalisation and immigration. Secondly, I wished to know that what effects gender has in creating diversities; or how women are treated in a demographically diverse setting.

While choosing the course, I wanted to get more knowledge in the areas I stated above. However, as I covered the course I came to know about certain perspectives, theories and information which raised some questions and issues in my mind. My initial observations had already revealed that the course highlighted some practical aspects of the corporate world. I often recall the story of one of my friends, who had found a respectable job in a reputed corporation. She was skilled and sincere; and she belonged from an ethnic minority community.

At work, her ethnic and sexual identity gradually emerged as her drawback. Her superior, who was also a member of the board of directors, often harassed her sexually during the duty hours. At first, she complained to the Human Resource (HR) Manager, but her application was not processed. The HR Manager took it as a trivial issue and her superior continued to harass her even before her colleagues. In the department, her colleagues were all males and those who belonged from her community were on work visa.

Therefore, nobody protested either due to racial contempt or because of fear. Finally, when she warned her superior and the HR Manager that she would seek police intervention and write to the human rights groups, she was sacked on the plea of theft and a false complaint was lodged against her. Consequently she lost her job and could not proceed to court lest she was blacklisted in the industry. The lesson learned from such stories as that of my unfortunate friend is that ethnic minority women have almost no voice in the HR management system.

Through the lecture on ethnic minority women and the suggested readings, my thoughts and indirect experiences regarding discrimination against ethnic minority women were reinforced. When it comes to racial segregation and sexual abuse, HR managers often tend to neglect the victims (Kamenou and Fearfull, 2006). So the main question regarding discrimination against women is that how can we erect an unbiased corporate HRM culture and what legal, social and technical constraints it might face? Moreover, will the Government take a sympathetic approach in this regard?

Organisations like Runnymede Trust, Amnesty International, etc. are tirelessly working to raise and resolve these issues. Through the lecture on race and ethnicity, I came to know that over 300 assaults on Muslims in UK had taken place since the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks. An interesting detail on Islamophobia further reveals that racial intolerance combined with gender discrimination creates highly complicated situation for the Muslim women in the Western countries (Runnymede Trust, 1997). Hence, public awareness is needed most.

I think that this course has finally reinforced my