8) Know your own biases, including what stereotypes you have of people from different groups and how well they may perform on the job, what communication styles you prefer, and acknowledge that what one may consider to be appropriate or desirable qualities in a candidate may reflect more about personal preferences than about the skills needed to perform the job (UCSF, NDI). In order to facilitate tolerance in the workplace organizations should institute programs related to diversity training for both employees and managers. These programs should focus on raising awareness of the current demographics in the organization as well as the community and the industry. Sometimes it may be necessary to institute a policy of affirmative action. Affirmative action focuses on specific groups of historical discrimination and emphasizes legal necessity and social responsibility. Organizations face enormous responsibilities for helping women, members of various cultural groups, and those who are physically challenged to contribute to the economy. Failure to do so is not only a waste of more than half the nation's workforce, but also detrimental to the organization's public image. Some socially responsible companies are now encouraging diversity in their business suppliers (Kurtz, 2010).

Conclusion

Ignoring diversity issues costs time,...

Some of the consequences can include unhealthy tensions, loss of productivity because of increased conflict, inability to attract and retain talented people of all kinds, complaints and legal actions, and inability to retain valuable employees. This can result in lost investments in recruitment and training (UCSF, NDI). Supporting diversity in the organization is just good business.
References

Bear, J.B., & Woolley, a.W. (2011, June). The role of gender in team collaboration and performance. Interdisciplanary science reviews. Vol. 36, Issue 2, 146-153. Retrieved February 26, 2012, from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=aa10aca0-9710-4ddf-82ca-36d1d2518fd5%40sessionmgr10&vid=4&hid=12

Jonas, M. (2007, August 5) the downside of diversity. The New York times. Retrieved February 26, 2012, from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/world/americas/05iht-diversity.1.6986248.html?pagewanted=all

Kurtz, D.L. (2010). Contemporary business. 13th Ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

UCSF. (NDI) Chapter 12: Managing diversity in the workplace. Guide to managing human resources. University of California, San Fransico. Retrieved February 26, 2012, from http://ucsfhr.ucsf.edu/index.php/pubs/hrguidearticle/chapter-12-managing-diversity-in-the-workplace/