Analyzing Diversity in a Cultural Diversity Training Program

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As per Ezineartices, "Workplace diversity refers to the variety of differences between people in an organization. Hence diversity encompasses race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style, tenure, organizational function, education, background and more." Hence Diversity includes issues ranging from race, gender to background.

The organization's customers, suppliers and stakeholders are from countries all over the world, so the company needs to have a workforce which can cater to people of all countries and cultures. Having a diverse workforce lends itself to having workers who have more skills and experiences. Diverse work force promotes having a broader service range. "A diverse collection of skills and experiences (e.g. languages, cultural understanding) allows a company to provide service to customers on a global basis" (Greenburg, 2009).

Every culture has skills or experiences that the people of that culture excel at. Blending the skills and experiences from different cultures together makes for a more rounded and efficient workforce. "A culture or organization that is open to diversity or "differences" will provide a more fertile ground for the growth of new ideas than a culture or organization that is comfortable only with "sameness" (Salomon & Schork, 2003, p. 39). Having a diverse workforce at all of the organization would provide the company with a well-rounded workforce.

The Challenges of Diversity

Diversity is very important for the company. "Any organization that wants to expand internationally cannot hope to do so effectively without a detailed understanding of the cultural background of the new markets in which it hopes to succeed" (Spiers, 2008). But, with diversity comes many challenges that must be overcome. One challenge is communication and language barriers. Having employees that speak other languages other than English is an asset, but it can also make it difficult for workers to understand each other or for managers to communicate with their employees. "Perceptual, cultural and language barriers need to be overcome for diversity programs to succeed. Ineffective communication of key objectives results in confusion, lack of teamwork, and low morale" (Greenburg, 2009). Cultural differences are another challenge to a diverse workforce. What may seem as a natural action for one employee may seem intimidating or even insulting to someone from another culture. Body language and eye contact are two such ...