Cultural Diversity in the Workplace - Essay Example

Issues of diversity have gained prominence and they have been forecast to become very important in the future; this is because of the increase in diversity in different demographics across many countries. Many organizations have realized the importance diversity, they are considering different options that will make such workplaces to be all-inclusive, and this is because diversity can bring positive results in terms of productivity and competition. Effective management of people encompass implies proper management of diversity and correct valuation of the same.

Understanding the concept of diversity People in a group can choose to identify and categorize themselves using factors, which seem similar or different to them, and thus the term diversity becomes a very subjective intonation. Mazur (2010) defines diversity to be those features, which differentiate one category of people from another, and these features are based on two different dimensions, which are identified as either primary or secondary. Primary dimensions of diversity implies those that people identify with and include primal influences such as disability, gender, race, sexual orientation, age or ethnicity.

These primal influences have been found to have a lot of influence on the different categories in not only the workplace but to the whole society. Secondary dimensions on the other hand, are not very discernible and the influence they exert in the workplace is variable, and only relevant to the extent of personal identity. They may include such factors such as family status, educational background, geographic location, work experience, role in the organization, style of work, religion, income, style of communication and first language (Mazur, 2010).

The latter dimension has been found to have a lot of impact in an individual’s self-esteem and personal definition and realization. The concept of diversity is not limited to these examples above; it manifests itself differently to a given environment. Arredondo (2004) includes language, culture and social class to the first dimension, the primary dimension while he adds healthcare beliefs and leisure benefits to the secondary proportions. Other writers have further added the third category of dimension to the first two dimensions, the tertiary dimension (Bolton, 2007).

This has frequently been identified as the central feature of an individual’s identity and it is at the base of the surface. It is the most important, because if it is uncovered it can propel both the individual and the organizations to higher echelons. Understanding cultural diversity in the workplace Cultural diversity in the workplace is the situation where people with diverse behaviors and worldviews come as one in the workplace. The depiction of people, in one social system who are a distinct group with diverse associations of cultural importance aptly summarizes the definition of cultural diversity.

Empirical studies and analysis on cultural diversity in the workplaces with emphasis on the value of such diversity have revealed that effectiveness is always realized. Consequently, empirical studies that have focused their research on such issues as social identity and other self-categorization concepts have revealed that