Page 15 - HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS-BUSTAMANTE

WHAT IS DIVERSITY IN A WORKPLACE?

As we all know, every individual has differences in life. They

have their own values, behavior, preferences, ideas, culture,
language and perspective. The diversity within a work envi-

ronment may impact negatively or positively. However, most
organizations viewed diversity as an advantage and not as

their weakness. It is a fact that dealing with diversity is a
challenge for the management but when it is embraced

properly, it makes an effective organization.

One positive impact of viewing different perspectives to the organization is
that it increases the productivity of the employees and the work group itself.

As they have different perspectives based on their experiences and
knowledge, they can share and apply those as new ideas and the organiza-

tion may acquire new sets of talents, skills or methods from employees.

For example, a company who just started only focuses on gaining profit

and not satisfying their customers or caring for employees. Although they
achieve their goals, as the company gets bigger, it decreases the profit

gained. That is because of their only one perspective. But, as soon as one
of the employees speaks up about his perspective on how to satisfy both

customers and employees while gaining profit at the same time, the or-
ganization becomes more effective. This means that it is also important to

view others' perspectives because it can be a great way to improve or de-
velop the organization as well as achieve its goals.

This also leads to creativity and innovation. Employees having diverse

minds create more ways and solutions in order to succeed and meet
the goals of the organization. Overall, if an organization views differ-

ent perspectives from employees, it will create an environment with a
wide range of skills, new set of ideas and unique solutions which can

be used to build a positive reputation and effective management.