Understanding Diversity

On completion of this course, you will be able to identify the nature of diversity in the working environment.

Diversity is defined in terms of differences within a unit, including the difference in backgrounds, culture, beliefs, values, race, age, sex, language and education.  Diversity is explored as a potential source of discrimination. 

The implications of diversity for external and internal relationships are explored and explained with examples. Cultural biases, stereotypes and perceptions are identified together with the influence they can have on dealing with diversity.

The world’s increasing globalisation requires more interaction among people from diverse cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds than ever before. People no longer live and work in an insular marketplace; they are now part of a worldwide economy with competition coming from nearly every continent. For this reason, profit and non-profit organisations need diversity to become more creative and open to change. Maximizing and capitalizing on workplace diversity has become an important issue for management today.

Supervisors and managers need to recognise the ways in which the workplace is changing, evolving, and diversifying. Since managing diversity remains a significant organisational challenge, managers must learn the managerial skills needed in a multicultural work environment. Supervisors and managers must be prepared to teach themselves and others within their organisations to value multicultural differences in both associates and customers so that everyone is treated with dignity.