Diversity and Inclusion

Thinking About Diversity and Inclusion

Dimensions of Cultural Diversity

According to Andresen (2007), there are three main dimensions of diversity within a person’s personality, which are organizational, external, and internal dimensions. First, organizational dimensions start at the functional level. Second, external dimensions are based from experience. Third, are the internal dimensions, which are based on personal issues (p. 745). An organizational dimension of diversity includes a person’s functional level, field of work, area or department of work; seniority status in the workplace, union affiliation, and management status. In summary, a person’s organizational dimension of diversity is based from their work experience and seniority of their respective career field. The external dimensions of diversity are a person’s geographic location, income, personal habits, leisure activities, religion, knowledge, education, work experience, appearance, parental status, and marital status. This can go further in detail with how an individual person was raised as a child. The internal dimensions of diversity are based from a person’s age, sexual orientation, physical abilities, ethnic group, and race.

Self-Identified Cultures and Ethnicities

Cultural diversity is a critical part of my everyday life. First, I went to a high school where I was one of three white people in a Native American school so I learned at a young age the importance of working with people that do not have the same beliefs as me. Second, I completed eight years in the United States Air Force. Through the military experience, I have learned to work in an environment with diverse personalities and backgrounds. Third, I am engaged to a person who has a completely different ethnicity than I. Both circumstances have taught me how imperative it is to be conscious of how I interact with each individual person. I agree with Andresen because the roles a person takes part in at work or in personal situations are based from your work seniority, racial and religious backgrounds; and so on. The social circles of members I interact with have one thing in common, the military lifestyle. Even though, we come from many backgrounds and lifestyles, we have one goal and that is getting the mission done with timely and quality work so we can enjoy our family and things that are often taken for granite in life.

Diversity and Inclusion

In my personal opinion, there is no difference between diversity and inclusion. I believe they both work hand in hand together. Inclusion is ensuring all people are included in a work environment with no discrimination. Bourne (2009) contends, “An inclusion breakthrough is a powerful transformation of an organization’s culture to one in which every individual is valued as a vital component of the organization’s success and competitive advantage. In the past, diversity has been seen as something that must be managed, tolerated, or molded to fit the dominant culture. Even those organizations that embrace diversity usually see it as an end in itself, rather than connected to the main mission of the organization. Such views create diversity in a box strategy for most organizations, limiting the potential and power of diversity.
With an inclusion breakthrough, differences are understood as mission-critical, not something extra linked only to human resource policies and practices” (p. 263).
Importance of Workplace Diversity Training

Workplace diversity training is imperative because there are an abundance of different races, sexual orientations, backgrounds, personalities, and work experiences that diversity training can aid in workplace cohesiveness. It takes hard work and dedication for a company to incorporate the training though. Not only corporate, but the others in the least corporate positions need to be on board. Everyone needs to play his or her parts in recognizing the diversity of people within his or her organization and be conscious of how a person interacts with another. Workplace diversity training allows that to happen a lot more efficiently than if there was no training.

My Experience with Workplace Culture and Inclusion

My experience with different cultures within the workplace is very easy for me. I have worked with an outnumbered amount of diverse cultures in the military and I absolutely loved that I got to work with such a diverse group of people. I believe the military has many flaws concerning inclusion, but there are also standards military personnel need to hold. Fitness is imperative for military and all individuals must be in good physical condition. This could technically be discrimination in any normal work environment. All in all, based on my life’s experiences, I favor working with people of diverse personalities, cultures, and so on.

References

Andresen, M. (2007). Diversity Learning, Knowledge Diversity and Inclusion; Theory and Practice as Exemplified by Corporate Universities. Equal Opportunities International, 26(8), 743.

Harvey, C. P., & Allard, M. J. (2009). Understanding and Managing Diversity (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Schaefer, R. T. (2011). Racial and Ethnic Groups (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

References: Andresen, M. (2007). Diversity Learning, Knowledge Diversity and Inclusion; Theory and Practice as Exemplified by Corporate Universities. Equal Opportunities International, 26(8), 743. Harvey, C. P., & Allard, M. J. (2009). Understanding and Managing Diversity (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Schaefer, R. T. (2011). Racial and Ethnic Groups (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.