How Diversity Makes Us Smarter

However, Thomsen et al. (2012) has a different conclusion and argued that diversity is not without its challenges. Diversity can also result in lower levels of cohesiveness and team work. This can lead to inability to agree on mutual goals, increased conflict and reduced information sharing. The empirical evidence (Bohren & Odegard, 2006; Wang et al., 2010; Ahern & Dittmar, 2010) does not support the idea that there is a business case for board diversity. They concluded that if anything, the available and emerging literature finds negative performance effects of

Diversity is not something one may think about in daily life, or even on a regular basis; however, it affects us each and every day, and in more ways than we would like to believe. The term diversity may be used to describe something positive, such as the diversity of a school’s athletics participants has helped reduce gang violence by facilitating cross-cultural friendships. It may also carry a negative connotation, as in a workplace’s lack of diversity has cultivated an environment of racism and sexism that affects company productivity. It is especially important for employers to be aware of the issues surrounding workplace diversity, as this can affect every aspect of a company. In my search to understand some relevant issues

A conversation needs to be had regarding the effects of diversity. Diversity in practical terms is the inclusion of people from different walks of life whether it be color, race, or heritage. This topic is one that is sensitive for many people because of the history attached to this subject. In the past decade there has been instances where the supreme court has had to address the topic of “Diversity” to justify this ongoing debate. Like in the supreme court, college campuses have also discussed diversity in their college for a multitude of reasons. Additionally, they too have found many reoccurring problems relating to diversity, which will be addressed in this paper.

Growing up as a minority in a close-knit small town with people of various other cultures around the world, diversity is a topic I am accustomed to. However, in the entirety of my eighteen years on this earth, I had never attended a university-level diversity lecture. Dr. Mindy West’s faculty lecture on Friday the twenty eighth of October at three in the afternoon, in the BAC building was my first university-level lecture on diversity. Dr. West’s lecture on diversity to the half-full room of anxious business students shocked and astonished me on multiple different levels.

“Businesses started caring a lot more about diversity after a series of high-profile lawsuits rocked the financial industry.” (Dobbin & Kalev, 2016). This first sentence in the Harvard Business Review’s article, “Why Diversity Programs Fail”, states a key fact about all organizations, do not want to “waste” or “lose” money because of a lawsuit such as; a race discrimination lawsuit or a sex discrimination lawsuit. There are many procedures and programs that can be implemented to prevent these types of issues in the workplace, are they still going to happen, yes, can these issues be addressed before a lawsuit is even a thought, yes. Therefore, this paper will look at two organizations that have been at the forefront of the diversity and inclusion

I believe that "Diversity" plays important roles in our lives. Without diversity, we cannot widen our field of view. Diversity helps us to open up our eyes and our world. From reading the essay "How diversity makes us smarter", written by Katherine W Phillips, I learned that there are some negative effects brought up by the social diversity where dialog of inclusion is advanced, but mostly diversity is something that has positive effect in our society and even individual. I could also reflect and make connection with my experience of moving from non diverse community to diverse community.

What is diversity and what does it entail? Luther College defines diversity as “complex differences and similarities in perspectives, identities, and points of view among members of an institution as well as among individuals who make up the wider community.” Diversity has been a hot topic in today’s news and social networking arenas with the ever-changing race relations that are prevalent in our country and around the world. The changes in perception towards minorities and women hasn’t just affected these groups socially, but has brought forth different questions about the benefits that a truly diverse would place would have on companies. What this work will attempt to do is elaborate on the treatment of

It has become an accepted business practice to meet a certain quota of hiring from diverse racial groups. This trend of identifying racial diversity began with “the idea of setting targets has its roots in affirmative action policies in the US and South Africa” (Jacobs, 1). Previous social movements resulted in the push to identify numbers regarding grouping those of different ethnic groups. As of the year 2016, the United States government issued “a three-hundred-dollar diversity fund” (Jacobs, 2) to identify the rate of hiring diverse groupings. Companies began to feel pressure from social activism resulting in this new quota that they must meet to stay respected within the community of those who fight for diversity on the internet.

The general line of reasoning is that if we learn to incorporate each other’s diverse traits and characteristics in the workplace, we can then use these differences to foster an innovative environment, which will give the company a competitive advantage over the competitors that do not accept workforce diversity. According to the Allied Academies International Conference, “Diversity is rapidly becoming a common practice among companies due to the increasing number of minorities entering the job market today. As these groups become more prevalent throughout companies, upper-level employees are facing numerous challenges when determining what changes must take place to create a positive working environment for everyone. Management is responsible for the development and implementation of effective policies directly relating to diversity to ensure the acceptance of minorities into the workplace and to aid in minorities’ success through equal opportunities and treatment.” (Marcia L. James, 2001, Academy for Studies in International Business Proceedings)

Purpose: My purpose is to share my research on diversity and how it makes an individual more creative with my intended audience. I am researching to find three authors that have three different perspectives and answers to the question, “How does diversity make us more creative?”

Irrespective of literature, diversity is widely accepted to be positive by reducing staff-turn over, and enabling the attraction of higher caliber candidates (Lewis and Cox, 2007). Furthermore, indigenous representation in engineering will allow developmental projects in remote, Aboriginal communities to occur in a more culturally appropriate manner. The most substantial argument for diversity is the ability to improve profitability via full productive capacity (Sharp et al., 2011). For example, Mckinsey & Company (2007) found “companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35 % more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.” Further empirical evidence from

The past decade, diversity in the workplace has become one of the most frequently discussed topics in management groups or circles, while interested academically in the actual prospective of workplace diversity has remained limited. To be successful in managing diversity in the workplace first one must understand it from a personal perspective. To be able to derive knowledge and strength from one’s differences shows deep faces in character. A book I read in high school defined diversity as “the mosaic of people who bring a variety of backgrounds, styles, perspectives, values, and beliefs as assets to the groups and organizations with which they interact” (Rasmussen, 1996, p. 274). Workplace diversity is characterized as representing two perspectives: functionalist perspectives and a critical believe there is several challenges with diversity in the workforce. Challenge because it requires organizational change; it means fostering a cultural environment that values differences and maximizes the potential of all employees. Workplace diversity is everywhere, from the small corner business to the fortune 500 company, and is one of the most important challenges facing companies today. This mixture of diverse gender, personality, experience, race, and culture is what makes a team successful. It is an opportunity because organizations that proactively address diversity have a competitive advantage. An advantage everyone wants.

Historically, diversity in the workplace was seen as an employment equity issues. As the years passed by, it all changed. The surge of globalization has needed the collaboration among people of different backgrounds and cultures. Nowadays, organizations are now creating a diverse workforce beyond just gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality. Many U.S. organizations are embracing women, ethnic minorities, and foreign-born employees more than ever before in history. Diversity calls for organizations to recognize individuals for themselves, regardless their designated groups. This paper will be focusing in three different parts of diversity in the workforce: type of organizations, the benefits & cost, and measurements taken by CEOs to promote diversity.

Organizational performance within the global realm has been studied and refined to meet the mission, vision, and the desired profitability. Over the past ten years, there have been great strides in determining both the positive and negative aspects of organizational diversity success. These strides have led the efforts in discovering how to influence and hold the workforce differences while advancing the organization. The search has led to the agreement that one overwhelming organizational behavior will successfully move the bottom line faster and in a positive global direction. Devoting the appropriate assets to diversity and diversity programs, the financial leaps will inevitably bring positive changes (Jayne & Dipboye, 2004). These

ABSTRACT Manuscript Type: Review Research Question/Issue: This review examines how gender diversity on corporate boards influences corporate governance outcomes that in turn impact performance. We describe extant research on theoretical perspectives, characteristics, and impact of women on corporate boards (WOCB) at micro, meso, and macro levels: individual, board, firm, and industry/ environment. Research Finding/Results: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive review of WOCBs, incorporating and integrating research from over 400