- Some of the researchable questions that this week’s readings raised for me is wanting to know which other companies in the US stand at being the most diverse, like McKinsey, and how they can further set examples of expanding diversity in the workplace. While I completely agree with putting race, ethnicity, and gender aside when hiring someone because I do think the decision should be based on an individual’s skills and knowledge for that position, one statistic in the “Why Diversity Matters” caught my attention. The article says that “the unequal performance of companies in the same industry and the same country implies that diversity is a competitive differentiator shifting the market share toward more diverse companies.” As I read this, I came to understand how diversity is a strong component to making up a company. At the end of the day, it’s the consumer’s choice whether or not to purchase from a business or invest in them. I feel as though if consumers notice that a company is lacking in diversity, for this reason they may not choose to not give them any business. So while it gives me hope that more diversity in a company may equal more success for that business, it will be interesting to see how long (will it be years and years?) other companies will take to become accustomed to this new change in the work space.
- In the article, “What is organizational culture and why should we care?,” Richard Perrin writes that “Culture is a carrier of meaning.” This sentence alone intrigued me because it reinforced the thought that everything we do, we do for a purpose. In this definition, he puts emphasis on the “why is” and on having a story. I think this idea is very significant because it can help employees understand their importance in a company and how they’re so much more than just a worker. I feel as though having values and rituals create a routine, so I really like the glue analogy. That without these values and rituals, cooperation and strategy in a business would not be as successful. I understand that culture is how we communicate, as Richard explains the importance of understanding language and symbols. A question that this definition sparked within me though is how opened to accepting other values and rituals would leaders need to be while also making sure they do not lose sight of their own narrative and original culture?
Writing and organizational cultures
I really like and agree with your points on culture in the workforce. How having these rituals and values create a routine that can be very beneficial to the worker and organization. Culture now plays such a huge role in the way we go with our everyday lives and that includes in the workforce. Although for some people, it is hard for them to accept other cultures even though it is beneficial for the organization.
We’ll be reading some more about diversity and inclusion in the weeks to come, and will have opportunity to explore these potential economic benefits some more. As we’ll see, it’s not just consumer preferences that drive more diverse workplaces–having a more diverse workforce makes companies more responsive, better at problem-solving, and ultimately more effective *because* that diversity ensures a wider range of valuable perspectives in decision-making.