Diversity Reflection Essay

Exploring Diversity in Personal and Work Environments

Diversity is a subject that affects most of us either in our personal lives or at work. For me, I have encountered diversity mixes in both my personal and work lives in a way I never thought I would. For the last twelve years, I have had the pleasure of working in different industries such as insurance, state government, education, transportation, waitressing and catering. While working as a waiter, there was little diversity with the majority being white and only two African Americans. Black Americans are more likely to be found in low-end neighborhood restaurants as compared to the whites who work in restaurants with huge tips (Freeman et al., 2017). At catering, however, things were the opposite with the blacks dominating this sector. While working at my transportation job, blacks (mostly male) were more compared to white and other races.

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Interactions and Experiences in Various Workplaces

When I got the job at a state government agency, I encountered more diversity, unlike all other posts I was working on previously. This department had people of all kind form the Indians, whites, blacks, Americans and the ratio of male to female was much balanced. Another workplace I experienced more diversity is when I was working at a campus library during my undergraduate years.

Throughout my life, I have experienced more diversity in places where I have lived as compared to my workplaces. Living in southern California, I have interacted with more with the blacks who are more populated in this region as compared to other parts of the country. The Mexicans are sparsely populated in this area, but they are hardworking individuals who I like to interact with. Nevertheless, one thing I love doing is interacting with people from all groups. I find it interesting how they have different opinions and preferences about various elements in the society. Whenever I associate with them, I always find out new things or perspective about an issue that I did not know previously. I always make an effort learn about diverse groups by approaching them and befriending them especially if they are my colleagues at work or in school.

Ever since I was young, I always wanted to meet and interact with new people. However, at a younger age, my parents were a bit strict with the kids I was hanging out with. They wanted to protect me from bad influence, and sometimes they could specify which groups I should never interact with. Nevertheless, growing up I got more freedom, and I could choose any friend to hang out with. What I have learned over the years is to appreciate everyone I interact with, and that is why when I meet a diverse individual either in my work or in school, I always avoid judging him or her from one single story I know about them. According to (Adichie, 2009) people usually judge others are basing only on one single story they heard about that particular group. As much as it can be sometimes hard to get along with every group, it always good to give people a chance without judging. Additionally, For me I when I meet people from diverse groups, I always try to figure out what they like or dislike, their favorite music, food, beliefs and rituals they practice.

Bias and prejudice in a workplace is something that is quite common. Some people might see you and judge you are basing on how one looks or the group they represent. Whenever joining a new job, I always encounter bias and prejudice but I think I always make sure is to speak out since I believe it is not right to judge people. I cannot tolerate bias and prejudice at my workplace, and I usually question individuals who treat me with such in ways to see if their reasoning is justified. However, I moderately do this so as not to cause any trouble or disagreement that can affect a particular organization that is working for.

If the head of my workplace at any given time informed the upcoming free position is reserved for "Gay or lesbian or bisexual, African-American, Hispanic/Latino, or someone with a disability", I would begin by first questioning them about the criteria they will to find out some of the features they are looking for. Some things like LGBT are not possible to obtain when doing job recruitment since they are personal things (Russell & Brannan, 2016). However, for individuals with a disability, I would understand and commend them for such considerations.

Enhancing Diversity Behavior and Understanding

To expand my diversity behavior and understanding, I can do several things differently. First, I would do my best learn many other cultures to understand them and anticipate how things will go when I meet them. This will go a long way in ensuring that there are no conflicts between them and me since I show them the respect they deserve. Secondly, I will work more on my listening skills. Listening is considered a valuable tool when it comes to preventing and resolving conflict (Brownell, 2015). Effective listening will enable me to understand what others are trying to communicate to me and this can be achieved by observing all types of communication that are using. Lastly, I would apply the golden rule, which teaches us to treat people the same way we would like them to treat us. This rule is something that I always want to guide me whenever am dealing with a new group of people.

References

Adichie, C. N. (2009, February). Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story

Brownell, J. (2015). Listening: Attitudes, principles, and skills. Routledge.

Freeman, R. E., Parmar, B. L., Dresnick, J., & Mead, J. (2017). Differences and Diversity Issues: Selected Vignettes. Darden Business Publishing Cases, 1-9.

Russell, S., & Brannan, M. J. (2016). "Getting the Right People on the Bus": Recruitment, selection and integration for the branded organization. European Management Journal, 34(2), 114-124.