$5.$ Capitalizing on Workforce Diversity

As diversity grows in both society and the workplace, interacting and communicating with your coworkers will present specific challenges and rewards. It is important to be sensitive to the diverse backgrounds of your coworkers and to understand how to navigate an increasingly diverse workplace.

Which of the following are appropriate strategies for communication in diverse workplaces? Check all that apply.

a$.$Build on similarities.

b$.$Seek training.

c$.$Use stereotypes to understand others.

d$.$ Work with others like you.

e$.$ Develop healthy bias.

f$.$Make fewer assumptions.

g$.$Learn about your cultural self.

Read the following scenarios, and choose the best answer for the following questions.

As a manager, it is your job to put together workgroups that will produce creative and effective results.

Knowing that diverse groups often create better products, what strategy could you employ to come up with the best groups?

a$.$Choose not to focus only on differences in race or gender but also on the overall strengths and weaknesses of each person.

b$.$Choose teams that are primarily of the same culture or race and add one or two others based on their personal strengths and weaknesses.

c$.$Throw all the names in a hat and randomly choose your teams.

You are the head of HR for a growing toy company. Several managers have shared with you that there is an increasing incidence of verbal arguments between members of your diverse workforce. They ask you to produce a list of topics to cover for a discussion with the employees on improving workplace communication.

What would be the best list of topics to be covered?

a$.$How do you fit into your diverse workforce? Finding common ground; Assumptions and why you are always right; The glass ceiling: Why women are better employees than men

b$.$ Understanding the value of diversity; Diversity awareness scenarios; How do you fit into your diverse workforce?

c$.$How to avoid conflicts at all costs; Making fewer assumptions; How to conform