Culture and Diversity

Introduction 

Cultural diversity refers to inherent differences between people. Examples of cultural diversity include dances, language, and clothing. It is the dynamism of culture and diversity that establishes norms and status quo in a society. Culture is the general way of living while diversity relates to interaction and variety of features, elements or ideologies in a given environment or situation. Cultural diversity is the etymology of beliefs, institutions, and attitudes that make a society efficient.  The purpose of this essay is to provide a self-reflection of the six dimensions (race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, and physical and mental challenges), provide a preview of the public law requires that each corporate must have at least 40% of each sex and review intergenerational issues. 

Self-reflection

I have learned that cultural diversity is important because our schools, country, and workplaces increasingly comprise of different racial, ethnic and cultural groups. Before learning from each other, it is essential to know and understand each other. Cultural education and knowledge is a foundation for understanding different perspectives that exist in the world. It is a recipe towards eradicating issues such as personal biases and stereotypes. Understanding of dimensions of diversity enables to recognize and hence respect different cultures and ways of life that is not necessarily our own. Based on this diversity, individuals are able to understand, trust and respect other cultures. Besides, diversity makes society more beautiful and interesting to exist in it. People from different cultural background contribute extensively in new ideologies, language skills, new differences and new knowledge. I have learned that I come from unique culture and ethnicity and henceforth it is essential to appreciate others with different sexual orientation, physical and mental challenges, ethnicity and race since they are unique in their own way.

Of the six dimensions, age has caused a significant effect on my life. The process of ageing usually causes an extensive effect on someone’s physiology, cognitive and emotional aspects.  Personal age has been a source of controversy, especially in my life. People tend to associate certain career, educational requirements with the certain age bracket. For instance, people are always amused by the fact that I am a nurse at my tender age. They would prefer to have an older nurse since they think that I am too young to be a nurse. While growing up, individual experiences a variety of changes. There is physical, mental and psychological growth that enables an individual to handle life challenges effectively. There is intense psychological development as grows from one stage to another. Ideally, age is entirely a constant change in an individual’s life.

Developmental changes are inherently important in my life. Actually, age determines a myriad of issues in my life. Age therefore is important because it determines life experience and level of maturity. It is a key determinant of a person’s capacity to make amicable decisions and determines one’s generation. At a tender age, my mind was still forming while it has currently grown to an extent that I am able to make independent decisions. 

Generational Issues Julia Faces with Each Employee

Ms Julia is definitely within the millennial generation (people born between 1981 to 1996). Initially, she worked as a sales associate and later as assistant manager. She has the capacity to multitask and she is techno-literate. In her new position as an entry level manager, she is responsible for managing employees from different generations. As such, there are several generational issues which Julia faces with each employee such as retirement, communication, and ideologies. 

Ms Ethel is a baby boomer who has spent most of her work life (18 years) in the fabric and crafts department. The company hired her because is the revenue. However, for the last two years, she has been transferred from one department to another because of her skills. For the period she has been in the electronics department, she has been limiting her responsibilities to issues related to video and CD selections. Anything outside this, she would advise the customer to come back later especially when there is a young person to handle the situation. As traditionalists, she values hard work and commitment. She does not want to retire early because she is receiving a health package. She was influenced by the Great Depression, World War II, and the rise of new corporations, space age and the Korean War. She has experienced hard times in her entire life followed by prosperity times. Major societal values of Ethel include discipline, sacrifice, and adherence to rules, dedication, conformity, and not questioning the authority. Meanwhile, Miss Julia is a millennial who values achievement, diversity, cavity duty, high morals, extremely techno-savvy, and optimism and education. She grew up during the digital era, terrorist attacks, 9/11 attack, child-focused world, and school shootings. She values schedules and is eager to rectify what is currently deemed wrong. She has been influenced by economic expansion experienced during her age. Such issues tend to create conflicts among employees and between employers and employees. However, an understanding of the importance of diversity makes the different generational groups coexist peacefully. 

Such generational issues would affect Julia’s management of the department in a number of ways. She is compelled to tailor or adapt to different management approaches to ensure every generation is covered. For instance, she might need to use different communication channels with different employees (Stewart, Oliver, Cravens, & Oishi, 2017). Ethel is not technologically advanced hence she could not read and send emails as well as utilizing her phone efficiently. Other employees such as Rick and Larry would probably check their emails and their social Media.  

The 40% Requirement (Quota)

A case for passing U.S. legislation requiring a quota for women on corporate boards 

The number of men running large companies surpasses that of women in the US. The gender differences cause an imbalance in the management. In addition, increasing the number of women on corporate boards has proved beneficial to a company. A higher representation of women on the board enables a company to achieve higher financial performance. Ideally, gender diversity has a way of improving efficiency and effectiveness at the workplace. Women can bring different ideologies and perspectives during the decision making the process. 

Opponents believe that legislation of quotas would result in elevation of the unqualified female individual to leadership positions. Besides, such a move can result in discrimination as their counterpart males are disqualified based on gender. They believe such legislation will bring more problems than solutions. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is evident that culture and diversity are important in an individual’s daily life. Diversity entails different ideologies, perspectives, gender, race, challenges and physiology. It is essential to pass the legislation of quota for women on corporate boards in the U.S to achieve diversity and effectiveness. 

References

Desmet, K., Ortuño-Ortín, I., & Wacziarg, R. (2017). Culture, ethnicity, and diversity. American     Economic Review, 107(9), 2479-2513.

DeVaney, S. A. (2015). Understanding the millennial generation. Journal of Financial Service     Professionals, 69(6).Stewart, J. S., Oliver, E. G., Cravens, K. S., & Oishi, S. (2017). Managing millennials:     Embracing generational differences. Business Horizons, 60(1), 45-54.