- One topic I instantly became attracted to came after reading the title of one of this weeks required readings. ‘Why diversity matters’ unlike the other readings, makes a direct claim shy of any open question or neutral position. It exploits the sum saying “We know intuitively that diversity matters.” While we can agree that there is undeniable research benefits brought by diversity, I would argue that its subject title and opening statement suggest no room for counterargument value. Throughout the entire article it implies diversity is always correspondent for the subject. What I would be interested in finding out are cases where diversity rather is not always relevant– areas where diversity might actually bring more harm then good, inside and out of business. Ofter time organizations that are tailored for minority populations such as Black and Latino communities reserve themselves from other cultures. Why is it that diversity, in this case, may implicitly or explicitly exclude Caucasian or Asian races? Equally, why or why not would it be important to celebrate only one ethnic or one gender population? Why might diversity not always matter?
- I found the article written on organizational culture rich in its elaborative ability to aggregate multiple voices (over 300) and relate them back to the value of what ‘they say’. It shifts the over-arching complicated nature of culture with smaller scale supporting claims inviting one to feel apart of an overall discussion. The question “why we should care” I would add unavoidably becomes the most important part of the article. Understanding how far one sees an organization fit requires putting yourself in the shoes of someone else. Being apart of the university-student culture, for example, required I work and continue pursuing academic studies. Being apart of the Latino community meant having this pre-determined characteristic I was born with because of my Hispanic upbringing. Being somebody who lived abroad influenced my will to learn and become apart of that areas cultural surroundings. Culture, from what I’ve come to learn, is something we are forced to accept, reject, or try and sublime into. This, I would contend, should be another another universal agreement. Regardless of whichever above positions we take, we will all fit on some side of the spectrum.
Writing and organizational cultures
Questions of why and how diversity matters are provocative and worth exploring, for sure–one of the important ideas we can glean from this particular article is that it’s not at all simple or settled. And as for culture, let’s remember that cultures are made and remade all the time–there’s nothing static about culture, even if we often think of it in terms of traditions. Consider how many shifts we’ve made in the last 3 months alone–humans can and do change patterns of behavior and even of thought all the time.