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Diversity In The Workplace- Blog 7
Studies show that 52% of people perfer to work with people like themselves. This begs the question, "What about diversity in the workplace?" Since most of us cannot choose who we will have to communicate with at work, how do we navigate through the complexities of a multicultural workplace? The top 4 diversity issues that cause problems are:
1. Language Differences
2. Differences in Values and Etiquette
3. Tone of voice
4. "Clustering" (hanging out with others from similar backgrounds)
Post an example of how a difference in one of these areas has caused a misunderstanding due to diversity. Offer some suggestions on how you think communication between people from diverse backgrounds can relate better to each other.
Well let’s see, being in the military we have to work and deal with people from all walks of life. Yes little groups of folks are formed and you do see people from the same backgrounds group up and become all buddy-buddy. Misunderstanding happen every single day with this many different types of people, it’s just something we all get use to and don’t really have a choice in the matter, and we deal or get the hell out of the way. We really don’t get much say in the matter. I truly think without diversity work would not get done. Well it might get done but not as good or fast with out diversity. So many people work at different speeds and different styles. If we just left it to one group you would have no other outlook on things. So diversity is needed in the work place, and even if you didn’t want it, well to bad.
ReplyDeleteJeffery Ziegler
Along side with Jeff's comment, I am in the military as well. We do have to work with people from different walks of life. Yeah, if I had the choice to work with someone who thinks and acts the same way that I do, it would be fun at first then it would be borning. I work with many people with different types of upbringing and work styles. Some people work slow and some people work fast. We are all different in one way or another. If we were all the same, it would be pretty borning. So having some diversity in not entirely a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteWell since the two above me used military I will choose something else. However I have not been exposed to many diverse things except the military. I did work in a hospital before we left Texas so I will use it. I worked in a hospital that was affiliated with Texas Tech University School of Medicine. We had Drs from all backgrounds but the most was middle eastern. Right after 9/11 they became the target of fear as did all middle eastern people. They were targeted by police and hospital officials. They lived in just as much fear as we did. I think one of the most important ways to get along is by tolerance. We have to learn to accept each other no matter who or what we worship or believe in. It is comfortable to us to be in our little circle and that is fine as long as hate isn't spread. I love place that have diversity. It makes life interesting and new. I think this is one reason why I feel so comfortable being affiliated with the military. There are all kinds of people and we learn from each other.
ReplyDeleteThough most of the people I've worked with are pretty similar to myself, there have been several individuals who are quite different. Mainly we've cooperated and learned a lot from each other, but one of my current coworkers is very difficult to get along with. He's extremely bossy (even though he's not a manager), talks about a mile a minute (so I can never understand him), and I get the impression that he's kind of misogynistic. In the workplace, I'm accustomed to collaborating with my peers, not taking orders from them. There have been a couple times where I've told him, "okay, okay!" in response to his bossy streak. Vocalizing my frustration without getting aggressive seems to shut him up for a while, but I'd really like to deal with the issue differently. I wish I could bring it up to him, but like I said, he doesn't listen to women. The only thing I can do is agree to disagree and tolerate his rudeness for the time being. Diversity does not only entail differences in color, religion, gender, sexuality, etc. That's a piece of cake. What's really trying are the people who act as if they're in their own worlds and they have no equals.
ReplyDeleteIn the math lab that I go to study has had it's share of foreign tutors with thick accents. At first I had trouble understanding their English and logic. But throughout the years of spending time with them at this lab, I have come to understand them much better. Also throughout the years I have observed plenty of students complain about the tutors, because they do not understand what the tutors are trying to teach them. I think that if they practice patience, they could have a better understanding of the tutors, like myself. I give these tutors a lot of credit when it comes to me passing my math classes.
ReplyDeleteMost people that I have worked with have not been very similar to me. Sometimes this can be good because different people have different ideas but this also can cause a lot of negative things. One issue i have seen in the past is a language barrier. I've worked with people that only spoke spanish and very little english and others only spoke english. Being able to speak and understand both languages equally myself, it wasn't hard for me to communicate with everyone but sometimes when they would try to communicate with each other they would get frustrated because they couldn't understand what the other person was trying to say. After awhile people start to understand each other even if they don't entirely speak the same language because they learn and grow from each other which is why I think diversity is needed.
ReplyDeleteThe perfect example of a real life working situation that I can remember about is one where I was working at Orderup, and I had this one customer approach me at the counter. He demanded to buy an alcoholic beverage and as policy rules, I asked for Identification. He quickly rushed to say "Just because I look like I'm from Iraq right? I don't see you asking anyone else...
ReplyDeleteThe language difference can be best said as the problem between the customer and I. He assumed I took a discriminatory approach towards his asking to purchase an alcoholic beverage. Obviously, there was a wrong interpretation between us.
^^^^ I wrote that sorry!
ReplyDeleteJonathon Tapia
When I got hired this summer by target I was introduced to a very different work environment than I was used to. Where I had worked before everyone was very upfront and a bit hostile. So I assumed people at target would be the same. So in my first couple days I started questioning several mangers to my co-workers. The managers were constantly micromanaging me and I thought it was very annoying. Eventually one of my co-workers told on me and said I was saying rude things and not being respectful. Then I was threatened I’d be fired, so I decided I had to assimilate to the right attitude. Now, I still work there and I come to work every day with the same target attitude as the other workers. Also, I hold in my insults around certain people because I don’t want to get fired. Basically the store encourages cultural diversity, but draws the line there and wants all the employees on the same page. I guess it’s reasonable.
ReplyDeleteIn my job I deal with people from every walk of life, from those in high positions of power to those some would deem to be deviants. This has taught me to be tolerant of everyone. This allows me to listen to each person without bias or discrimination of my own beliefs. By doing this I am able to understand the person as an individual and make judgement and assumptions based on their personal character rather than some stereotype of who they may be.
ReplyDeleteWith my co-workers however it is easy to see a "clustering" effect with those who share common values such as those of us who are family men, versus those who are still single, young guys. While we can be found talking about the new triumph of our toddlers, the single guys are usually planning their next night on the town or talking about the new girl they happen to be chatting up. This doesn't affect our job performance, but does lay way to lots of inter office gossip.
When it comes to how to curb this lack of communication is for everyone to learn to be more tolerant of others and become more open to listening rather than just hearing people. This works wonders when breaking down the barriers of communication and helps to lessen the gap between people of different background/beliefs.
When I worked at a small pizzaria it was often brought into question who was talking about who. The owners spoke arabic and many times I would catch them getting very upset at me and speaking to me in arabic. I'd often times question if they were saying something bad about me, cussing me out. or something like that. It was later that I found out that the way their language is if you're loud it's a sign of excitement not necessarily anger.
ReplyDeleteA few semesters ago I took a course called International Relations; it was basically an international politics class. We had a model U.N. and I was partnered up with another student who was from Morocco. Together, we represented Russia. It was sometimes difficult to understand him though, partly because of his accent, and partly because he sometimes had trouble explaining what he meant. Sometimes I would have to guess at what he was trying to tell me until I got it right. It’s important to be patient in situations like these where language can become an obstacle. Some people get annoyed when they cannot understand teachers with accents. The other person is probably having as hard a time trying to explain something to you as you are trying to understand them.
ReplyDeleteAn example can be my current co worker. She is African and nothing against them but she tends to be very obnoxious and loud (tone of voice). At times when we work together and try to communicate I often get annoyed because she screams for everything and can’t seem to just talk right. On the other hand, that is her culture people of her descent at least the vast majority I have encountered tend to be very loud and obnoxious so nothing wrong with her way of being but our culture differences do seem to bump into one another as the Mexican culture can be loud but it definitely is not as obnoxious as the African. One of the main suggestions that I would give is to find common ground with the other individual from a different culture. I have found in my life that when I communicate with individuals from different cultures I try my very best to find common ground (something in common) and it helps me communicate with them a lot better. In addition I always try my best to put myself in their shoes and instead of being annoyed right away or frustrated with the other individual I see as one of them. -ivan
ReplyDelete