Managing Diversity in the Workplace

Racism and irrational prejudices operate in a vicious circle. Racism is among the worst of ingrained prejudices that characterize sinful human beings. Racism's ultimate goal, according to Fredrickson, is to establish a permanent hierarchal order that, "has two components: difference and power." Dictionaries are not much help in understanding what is meant by the word. They usually define it as the belief that one's own ethnic stock is superior to others, or as the belief that culture and behavior are rooted in race.

Affirmative action in itself is racist. There are many reasons why affirmative action in favor of ethnic minorities is racist. First of all, it violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against the white. Equal opportunities denotes that no one is to receive special consideration based on ethnic background, but by affirmative action, people of color get a head start in the selection process. Second, racial preferences are meant to help the disadvantaged.

The distinction made between races has nothing to do with genetic characteristics. Instead, race was created socially, primarily by how people perceive ideas and faces that they are not quite used to. The idea of racism includes the perception that humans can be placed into group based on their rank as superior or inferior depending on the color of their skin. Many fail to realize that there are different types of racism. The Holocaust is a common example of institutionalized racism.

Diversity is the uniqueness which every employee brings to the workplace in an organization or establishment. Examples of differences include nationality, belief, disabilities, physical appearance, race, gender, age, educational background, sexual orientation, and work experience, social and family status. At the workplace, valuing diversity means creating a work environment that respects and includes individual variation by maximizing the potential of all employees or in which every employee feels included. It means acknowledging that other people, other races, other voices, and other cultures have an equal claim on the world. Valuing diversity is the recognition that there are many ways of viewing the world, solving problems, and working together.

This kind of discrimination happens in institutions. An example of institutional racism is when a person of a particular race is given priority position wise over others because he is of the same race as those who are doing the selection. Racism, though quite minimal in the present day, still exists. In the present day, there are different forms of racism which exist. For example, the whites may still feel superior to people of a darker complexion in some parts of the world and may seem to discriminate them in a way.

What kind of environment would I and other managers have to create to educate employees about cultural diversity? In order to understand the necessities and benefits of managing workplace diversification, the concept must be explored. This fundamental belief has led to changes in management practices primarily relating to the recruitment, training and retention of employees specially the changing face of the workforce, creating equal privileges and opportunities for every human being. What is diversity? There are several definitions of diversity that exists in literature.

In society there is a lot of misconception of the term racism. According to the merriam-webster dictionary members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of others race which many people would agree with. What is racism? The normal person if asked will simply reply, not liking someone for their color of their skin. Racism from my attitude which is substantiated by historically events is a system of power .Thus is a system of power i.e.

What is said to be “the God-given right to equality and ultimate freedom” (Nova; Marshall, Christopher) has been crushed for many, by the uncited ignorance of my ‘finely’ educated people. Racists often need someone to blame for the wrong-doings, hatred and stupidity in America. Who better to blame than someone with skin of a different color? Racism is just another form of prejudice. If a person or group of people acts or dresses differently, these people may get distrusted or disowned.

Managers and supervisors must understand the characteristics of a diversity mature individual; they also need to be able to articulate the differences between affirmative action, managing diversity, understanding and valuing diversity to build skills that transforms awareness into productive and supportive workplace behaviors. There are many different characteristics of a diversity mature individual. The most important characteristic is when a person accepts diversity management responsibility. The person will need to understand the different types of ethnic backgrounds in the organization, and the different types of techniques he or she will have to use to motivate the staff. He or she will also understand how to treat everyone equal no matter what gender, or ethnic background the employee may be.

Change is something that is part of trend and that is what the entire evolution depends on and that is why the due diligence process is so highly emphasized. We may come across various people in our lives that learn through to experience and have armed their arsenal to make their survival easier. These are the people who have shown that the diversity is a necessity today at all levels and ... ... middle of paper ... ...world knowing things is important because our responsibilities and commitments are that much more emphasized and important. All of us have the options to join a work group that is diversely represented and this way we can take the time to tell others about diversity, or examine our own organization’s commitment to diversity. It is a process that has to be examined rather critically all along.