DUE IN 5 HOURS..

 Respond to at least two of your classmates’ initial posts throughout the week identify similarities and differences in your experiences and perspectives. This is an opportunity to engage in respectful discourse. Each of your responses should be at least 100 words. Both your initial post and your responses should refer both to your own experience and to content from readings, media, or websites. 

DENISE’S POST:

Dimensions of Diversity

When thinking of the different dimensions of diversity the last thing I thought of was being different than someone else.  I believe that we are all the same when it comes to human beings.  We all have two legs, two arms, two eyes, etc.  However, when talking about culture some may argue the differences between us.  As for culture, I can say that there are many differences, there are people from different backgrounds, people who speak different languages, and some that are simply from another country.  When I look at my family, I can say that my sisters and I are different from one another because we pursued different occupations, and we also have different levels of education.   However, we have the same religious believes.  I can also say that I have cousins that are gay and lesbian.  I do not view them differently than me they just have different sexual preferences than I, I still consider their sex as male and or female.  However, I would consider their sexual orientation different than my own.  According to our text, “The term sex refers to biological characteristics of male and female.  The terms lesbian, gay, and bisexual refer to, sexual orientation, the direction of one’s sexual interest.”  (Kahn, 2015, section 3.3, para. 2,6).  Therefore, I do not see ourselves as being different as a person I only view our preferences as being different. 

At work, my co-workers and I possess different levels in rank due to our level of knowledge in our place of work some of us have different cultures but as people, we are all the same.  I view a difference in backgrounds, levels of knowledge, sexual orientation, and religious beliefs but as people, I view everyone as being the same.  In my community, the only differences that I see are where we live and how we decide to decorate our homes.  I believe that there are great diversities in our nation.  However, it depends on how we decide to include these diversities in our everyday lives.   Andres Tapia, the president of diversity best practices and author of The Inclusion Paradox, states that “diversity is a mix and inclusion is how we make the mix work.” (Ferdman & Dean, 2014 p.206).  I believe that there are things that we can and cannot change.  We can change our points of view, we can change our religious beliefs, and where we live or work.  We may even be able to change our level of knowledge, by returning to school and educating ourselves further.   However, I do not believe that people can change who they are and where they come from.  One cannot change where they were born or how they were raised.

I am a black Hispanic woman, and at times this is not always visible to others it is only when I speak that people realize that I am Hispanic.  Ferdman & Dean, (2014) speaks of making the mix work.  I feel that many people of different cultures, sexual orientations, and religious beliefs are doing everything in their power to make the “mix” work.  Some of these dimensions are not visible.  If you look at a person you cannot tell what their religious preferences are and in my case what nationality I am.  Other times you can tell if a person is gay because of the way they carry themselves.  The advantage of people not knowing if another person is gay or not is that they will not be automatically judged by others.  The disadvantage is that it does not allow the person to be themselves it does not allow them to be open and honest about who they like and what they would want in a mate.  The advantage of knowing one’s nationality or their religious beliefs helps stop others from approaching you with their beliefs or speaking in a language one does not comprehend.  The disadvantage is the opposite when others approach you with their beliefs and or speaking to you in a language that they assume you know because of the way you look or trying to convince you to practice religions you do not follow or are under.

References

Ferdman, B.M., & Dean, B.R. (2014). Diversity at Work: The practice of inclusion. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.proxy-library.ashford.edu (Links to an external site.)

Kahn, A. (2015). The ecology of diversity: Examining individuals, societies, and cultures. San Diego, CA. Bridgepoint Education.

CARMEN’S POST

When I think about the word different and its meaning, it goes beyond someone else being different than me. For me, different is thinking outside the box. We tend to categorize individuals based on what we see in front of us. But being different is being able to be mindful of each and every person in a unique way. Admiring that others have differences and unique perspectives than oneself. I determine this through conversation and getting to know an individual. I personally, like being mindful and admiring every person’s uniqueness.

“Mindfulness is more than paying attention. To be mindful of a thing is to see an appreciate its unique qualities. For example, to be mindful of a person is not just to be aware of and pay attention to that person. To be mindful of a person, as a human being, means trying to see and appreciate his or her uniqueness as a thinking and feeling being. When we are mindful of a person in this way, we see past stereotypes and prejudices.” (Schwalbe, 1998, p.3)

As mention in the instructor guidance video, individuals tend to become detective and try to decode people to categorize them to feel more comfortable. In my family, workplace, and community I tend to use different dimensions. Utilizing the eye on extension graph, I would say that I use several but the most I use would be the primary for all three.  In family I tend to engage more with family members that are closer to my age, and the females. I feel that it is because I want to be able to express myself and getting to understand me better. In the Primary dimension, I have no control and cannot change individuals age or gender. When it comes to family these dimensions are visual and it is an advantage because it is easier to point out. The disadvantages would not be as much to look forward to as you know what you will get.

In my workplace, I feel the dimension I used the most would be organizational. I tend to work closely with my staff and co-worker and like to see what network they have to bring to the company. I look for work experience and what good ideas they can bring into the organization. In this dimension, I feel that I can change as I can provide more resources; I can provide another position due to work experience and the individual can be promoted to a management status. This dimension would be non-visual until an individual can show their potential and work. The advantage would be that the individuals work ethics would be noticeable at some point but disadvantage is you will not notice in advance it would be noticeable with time.

In the community, I feel the dimension I noticed the most would be Cultural. I do not focus on primary as much because I like to engage with all individuals no matter the age, gender, ethnicity etc., I like to engage with individuals and focus on body languages; how comfortable they are with m if they are engaging well with me.  I like to respect individuals’ personal space, learning about the individual traditions, I feel that I am able to admire more and learn more from the individual in the cultural dimension. In this dimension, I feel that I don’t have control. I cannot control the individual’s ways of viewing, but in a sense my presence can change an individual’s way, this might be a bit tricky. This dimension is visible and the advantage is that you can respond to help an individual feel more comfortable. The disadvantage would be you don’t have control of the other individuals’ feelings and emotions.

Overall, this was an eye opener for me to see all the dimensions that at times we do not notice that we look for when we engage with people daily. It made me be more mindful and really think about how I perceive and look at things differently. As Tillett mention in her speech we tend to make “mental resume” of individuals as soon as we meet them without giving them a chance. Let’s stop placing individuals in boxes and being afraid of individuals being different or their uniqueness. Let’s celebrate uniqueness instead and embrace every part of it.

References

Kahn, A. (2015). The ecology of diversity: Examining individuals, societies, and cultures. San Diego, CA. Bridgepoint Education.

Kaufman, E. (2015). Eyes on extension: A model for diverse advisory leadership [SlideShare Image, p. 9]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/erickkaufman/eyes-on-extension-a-model-for-diverse-advisory-leadership (Links to an external site.)

King, R. (2014, September). How autism freed me to be myself [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/rosie_king_how_autism_freed_me_to_be_myself (Links to an external site.)

Schwalbe, M. (1998). The Sociologically Examined Life: Pieces of the conversation. (2nd Edition). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield

Wright-Tillett, iO. (2012, December). Fifty shades of gay [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/io_tillett_wright_fifty_shades_of_gay

MY POST:

Question 1

The dimensions of diversity include gender, religious beliefs, race, ethnicity, parental status, sexual orientation, income, geographic location, education, the mental ability, just to mention to a few. In my extended family, community, and workplace, the three dimensions that I think of when I think someone is different are age, education, and religious beliefs. I focus on the three when considering the differences that people have in my extended family and workplace. In my extended family, we have people of different ages as well as education. They also hold on various religious beliefs.

Question 2

According to  Geiger et al,2014, Of the three dimensions, the ones that can be changed are education and religious beliefs. Religious beliefs can be changed, as it is easy to change one’s perception of things. Education can also be transformed as one can learn and attain different levels of education whenever they need it. Age cannot be changed or be influenced at all.

Question 3

Age is a visible dimension, while education and religious beliefs are non-visible. By just looking at a person, one can tell if a person is young or old. Furthermore, people of different age s think and act differently. One can be able to predict his or her age, but for education and religious beliefs, it takes time for a person to discover the level of education and the views a person holds. The advantage of non-visible diversity that they are hidden, and thus they cannot hinder opportunities when they arise. When the diversities are visible, if they are negative, then they can easily prevent one from securing opportunities when they arise. The disadvantage, however, is that since they are hidden, it is easy for the negative impact of such diversities to be felt, unlike when the diversities are visible .

References

Geiger, K. A., & Jordan, C. (2014). The role of societal privilege in the definitions and practices of inclusion. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 33(3), 261-274. doi: 10.1108/EDI-12-2013-0115. Retrieved from Proquest.

Roberson, Q., Ryan, A., & Ragins, B. (2017). The evolution and future of diversity at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), 483-499. [PsycArticles].

Schmit, K. (2014). Working with different generations. Credit Union Management, 37(1), 24-26. [Proquest]

Secord, R. (2015). Managing cultural diversity. Leadership Excellence Essentials 32(9), 24. [Proquest