Cultural Diversity in Corporate America Essay Example For Students

Cultural Diversity in Corporate America Essay The expanding conflict over cultural diversity in corporate America may present as many opportunities and problems as affirmative action. Today, cultural diversity is an important fact of life and business, due to the changing face of society, and therefore, the work place. It is growing ever more essential for people to interact with others outside of their racial, ethical, religious, regional, social, etc. boundaries. To stay on top of their competitors, especially in the 1990s and going forward, corporations must change their approach, and see diversity not as a necessary evil or a mere threat, but as a source of enrichment and opportunity that may bring a wealth of benefits to the In an examination of the U. S. workplace and specifically looking at management positions, it is clearly evident that minorities are under represented. The reasons behind this seem to vary depending on which point of view it is looked at. Some argue that minorities havent been in the labor pool long enough to work their way up. It is ridiculous to believe this because there are plenty of qualified minorities for any of those jobs.(1) Others argue that minority employees dont know the rules that allow one to win in the corporate game'. If this is true, then what is keeping them from learning these rules and what can be done to teach them?(2) While these reasons may hold some truth, it is also, as proven time after time in this countrys media, a matter of race and/or gender. There is an inherit distrust on the part of todays managers (typically white males who grew up with little exposure to people from other cultures) in the abilities of others outside of the white, male work-force. At the time many of todays leading CEOs were in school, they were taught that blacks had smaller brains than whites and that women were not as smart and were overly emotional. The attitudes and beliefs of these men have undoubtedly been influenced by such training. They have a deep seeded belief that women, blacks, and in effect, all others than themselves are less competent, and they believe it to be true to a biological, molecular level.(3) At least this is true of the older generation, but what of the younger, civil rights, generation? It seems that . . . the younger executives coming in now are worse theyre less tolerant, high on their big M.B.A. education. Their attitude is that the laws will take care of everything. They have little personal concern with doing whats right.(4) The training received by most of these managers have usually been based on the assumption that managing means managing a homogeneous white, male work force and not on managing any type of With this in perspective, is it any wonder why minorities are leaving organizations to open their own business? Their corporate managers cant relate to them not as employees, co-workers or people. When promotion time comes around, the managers promote only what they know other white males. People are comfortable with others who look, act, and think like themselves. So the people in power bring in others like themselves. (6) This means that as a minority, a person can only go so far in an organization. No minority to feels comfortable in such an atmosphere, which is why so many of them are leaving the corporate scene and starting their own businesses. A person can be their own boss and not have to deal with the issue, at least at that level. It is unfortunate to note, however, that 65% of minority owned businesses fail in their 1st year of operation. To combat these problems and help alleviate tensions among the different ethnic groups, many organizations are integrating cultural diversity into the workplace. They have many means by which to approach this. .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3 , .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3 .postImageUrl , .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3 , .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3:hover , .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3:visited , .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3:active { border:0!important; } .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3:active , .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3 .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc93ce7ce6bffe503bcd75d3150d901e3:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: One Of This Centurys Icons In Photography Henri-Cartier Bresson, Thou Essay Some companies offer management courses dealing with racial and gender related issues. In others, the focus is placed on coaching women and minorities how to be successful in the white, male, dominated business environment. Still others have developed means of ensuring the upward mobility of women and minorities on an executive level. Many of these organizations also celebrate the different cultural holidays. This serves a dual function in that it not only makes minorities fell welcome, it also serves as a way of exposing white America, and specifically the white, male mangers, to part of what this person is. It introduces to them something that they more than likely would not have gone out and discovered on their own. It shows them that different doesnt mean .