The Importance of Cultural Diversity Within Organizations Essay

When discussion is raised in relation to diversity, society talks about the group who possess individual qualities that are diverse from other individual’s traits. Diversity is the uniqueness, which every employee brings to the workplace in an organization or establishment. Examples of differences include nationality, belief, disabilities, physical appearance, race, gender, age, educational background, sexual orientation, and work experience, social and family status. At the workplace, valuing diversity means creating a work environment that respects and includes various individuals, by maximizing the potential of all employees or in which every employee feels integrated within the organization. Cultural diversity means acknowledging that other people, other voices, and other cultures have an equal claim on the world; we need to consider everyone as one human race. Instilling cultural diversity practices within the organization begins with structure that produces benefits, and then is proven through success stories of organizations that have implemented diverse practices. The concept of cultural diversity helps in a significant way for success of organizations. Through the structure of the organization, individual’s can see that a multicultural structure has many benefits compared to limited structures. The organization will be more successful through their overall structure. According to Taylor Cox, there are three organization types, which focus on the development of cultural diversity. The three organization types are, the monolithic organization, the plural organization, and the multicultural organization. In the monolithic organization, the amount of structural integration (the presence of persons from different cultural ... ...ups, Firms, Schools, and Societies. New Jersey, USA: Princeton University Press. Proctor and Gamble. (2011). Company: Who We Are. Retrieved 2011-5-February from Proctor and Gamble: http://www.pg.com/en_CA/company/who_we_are/diversity.shtml Redfield, R., Linton, R., & Herskovits, M. (1936). Memorandum for the Study of Acculturation. American Anthropologist , 149-152. Rosenzweig, P. (1998). Managing the New Global Workforce:: Fostering Diversity, Forging Consistency. European Management Journal , 16 (6), 644-652. Schein, E. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2010-22- October). Cultural Diversity. Retrieved 2011-5-February from UNESCO - Culture: http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php- URL_ID=34321&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html