Meaning of Multiculturalism - Essay Example

Going through the meaning of multiculturalism and its implications with respect to the different aspects, it can be perceived that different roles have to be rightly played and challenges conquered for multiculturalism to attain its purpose. In simple language, multiculturalism means the existence of diverse cultures in the same community. Multiculturalism is a concept which needs to be understood from both a historical and conceptual perspective. Historically it came into being in the context of the public school curriculum and came into wide public use during the early 1980s. Multiculturalism is also related to the global shifts of power, population, and culture in the era of globalization. Globalization is transforming the previously homogenous cities into complex meeting grounds for different groups thus challenging the previous cultural system to accommodate this diversity. Multiculturalism is sometimes also used as a substitute for the term race, as it is losing its former credibility (Jay 1). Multiculturalism is the latest American social reform and it is dedicated to social equality. It has three major forms, which are Pluralism, relativism, and racialism. The three major forms of multiculturalism are all of American origin, but they have different visions of man and society (Gottfredson 7).
Multiculturalism with respect to education shows that some form of change or reform has to be established in the educational curriculum. The selection in a particular country, province, or city of the language to be taught or to be used as a medium of instruction is an important aspect of education and national planning in the multicultural society. It is also important to define goals and objectives as carefully as possible. No matter what type of approach is taken there is a necessity for continuing formative feedback to inform the language policy and language practice. This type of practice is however lacking in many American school districts (Reynolds and Lambert 74).
There are different implications of multiculturalism in the workplace with respect to every individual. The organization commits itself to individuals to enhance or develop the individual’s commitment towards the organization. The individual strengths and needs may be distributed differently by race, gender, religion, etc. but these strengths and needs vary in the capacity of individuals. Members of the group are not alike. The difference between every individual with each other is more than the difference between the groups to which they belong. This is the reason why they should be treated on their individual merits rather than treating them as the representatives of some group. Group membership may be an important part of one’s identity but they cannot define the attribute of a healthy individual. Some organizations give importance to group members but they are wrong in the sense that it gives rise to the majority opinion that individuals' rights and opinions are dependent on group membership thus giving rise to stereotypes (Gottfredson 15-16).
Education is required for managing cultural diversity in the school and workplace. The challenges are to create constructive multiculturalism that is supporting, educates, and unites the people rather than doing the opposite (Gottfredson 15). Workers in a multicultural environment may not share the strengths, lifestyle, and personal goals, but they work towards a common goal. For instance, in multinational corporations, cultural differences do exist but they are accommodated for the organization to function. The cultural differences between the workers have to be by setting some common goals in the sphere of production, marketing, sales, and service goals and also by enhancing cross-cultural communication. The probability of multiculturalism doing good in business is less unless the workers of such businesses are committed to serving some larger shared goal . Multiculturalism by itself cannot eliminate the racial-ethnic inequalities and employers by themselves cannot relieve us from that burden. Employers can be expected to do their part. Employers should provide a discrimination-free environment and treat all their employees with respect (Gottfredson 16).
All the movements of multiculturalism are directed towards attaining social equality. Multiculturalism must promote respect for individuals as individuals, as they have differences between themselves not only by taking birth in two different groups but also by their individual differences (Gottfredson 16). Read More