Author: Dominique Van Gilst

 

1. Many People assume that __________ 

Many people assume that in order to allow for a safe and respectful work environment, Value-in-Homogenity Policy should be used. .However, Value-in-Individual Differences and Multicultural Policy makes it so that minorities feel respected. It also allows minorities to feel capable of achieving their goals and work in leadership positions.

This template is very simple, yet effective. In order to complete the template, I first talked about what others believe by saying “Many people assume…”. Next, I stated my argument. This allows for two sides of the argument instead of just one. Writers could use this template in any order. For example, the writer could state their argument, they say: However, many people assume… I think that the simplicity of this template makes it better because it is easy for readers to understand. The framing of the template is very  useful because the two arguments are clearly outlined in only a sentence or two.

2. This week’s reading adds to my understanding of diversity in organizations because all of the readings have shown that there are positive outcomes to having different people work for companies/businesses. The Gundemir article talks about minorities, and how to diversify a work community in that way. This article focused on ways to appreciate different cultures so that they are respected and talked about. The Austin and Pisano article talks about neurodiversity in the workplace, and explains the benefits. Unfortunately, the workforce is not nearly as neurodiverse as it should be. This article highlights the fact that everyone has different abilities, and that people who have disabilities do not need to be cured. Both articles show the importance of diversifying work communities. Diversity allows for different life experiences that can be utilized in the workplace to enhance work performance. While there may be challenges in diversifying companies or businesses, these articles show that in the end, it makes a huge difference. 

 

1. One question that this week’s reading has raised for me is, what can we do as a society to add more diversity to different businesses? I understand that it is in a company’s best interest to hire qualified people who also have diverse backgrounds. However, I wonder if there is a way to go about diversifying without making it too difficult. In Watkins article, “What is organizational culture and why should we care?”, the author talks about culture and how it is shaped by stating that “Culture is powerfully shaped by incentives. The best predictor of what people will do is what they are incentivized to do” (p. 1). In this case, the incentive is money. According to the article, “Why Diversity Matters”, companies will gain more money if they have more diversity in their staff. So, why does it seem like there is still not enough diversity in many companies and businesses?
2. In the article, “Why Diversity Matters”, there are many important and interesting statistics included. The main purpose of this article is to get readers to understand that diversity matters in business One of the statistics that struck me was “In the United States, there is a linear relationship between racial and ethnic diversity and better financial performance: for every 10 percent increase in racial and ethnic diversity on the senior executive team, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rise 0.8 percent” (p. 2). This is important to know because it shows that without diversity, it is difficult to succeed. This statistic was interesting to me because I did not realize that this was a fact. However, it makes a lot of sense because companies need all types of life experiences and backgrounds in order to reach others with whatever they are doing. At the end of the article, the author says that achieving more diversity is not going to be easy. However, it is extremely important that we do our best to include as much diversity as possible.