Diversity and Globalization: The US Military

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Diversity in the Workplace & Globalization

Diversity refers in its simplest terms refers to the differences that are many and varied. In a social setting, this refers to the following: Race, Culture, National origin, Region, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Age, Marital Status, Politics, Religion, Ethnicity, Disability, economic differences, Family structure, Health, Values, etc. In most cases, diversity is seen to connote multiculturalism, referring to racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the population/membership of a specific place or group, whether primary, secondary or referential like in a university, a corporation or business, a town, city or a country. Nowadays, nations the world over recognize that while differences can cause conflict, it is also a rich ground for improvement and source of new ideas for the purpose of development. Cities like New York for example find that its diverse population presents a good sampling of a global populace. As a financial centre, New York Banks, firms, and agencies has an employee list of varied ethnicities, races and cultures allowing said firms a good understanding of said ethnicities, their unique global markets. Nowadays, the issue about workplace diversity centres on equal and fair employment. The goal is to treat people equally without discrimination whatever their race, ethnicity, gender, age, or religion maybe. Since the Civil Rights movement mid-20th Century in the US, the nation has come to centre their efforts for equality against discrimination putting up The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that is still as relevant as it is today. The EEOC encourages diversity in the workplace by putting together policies as well as projects known as 'Diversity Training'. According to Vaughn (2007), diversity training is training for the purpose of increasing participants' cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills, which is based on the assumption that the training will benefit an organization by protecting against civil rights violations, increasing the inclusion of different identity groups, and promoting better teamwork. Many management practitioners find it difficult leading individuals whose differences are so pronounced - religion, culture, beliefs, socialization.

Globalization is the international integration of social networks and structures pertaining primarily to economics, cultural, political exchanges. By these exchanges cross-cultural adaptation by familiarity happens and one culture becomes accessible and opens up to another primarily by trade but in doing so allows for 'globality' --- a world where cultures despite geographic separation is not as alien as they were to each other before, adapting aspects of how the other lives. Depending on the dynamism of social networks and structures allowing for exchanges the fast or slow adaptation happens. As globalization is more than ever becoming a social agency in a most complicated encompassing manner, one can only judge the negative and positive impacts it has on nations & cultures within a social & historical ...