Males tend to communicate very directly and to focus on issues, often without considering more personal aspects of the conversation or the feelings of the other person. Females tend to communicate more indirectly and often devote considerable attention to the personal aspects of communications and the specific thoughts and feelings of the other person. Males also tend to discuss abstract ideas and tangible things whereas females tend to discuss people and relationships. Males are more likely to discuss things in impersonal ways whereas females are more likely to establish personal rapport before addressing impersonal issues. I have had experiences working with females where my focus on work was perceived incorrectly as coldness or unfriendliness because of the differences in our personal styles that were probably functions of gender. Describe three barriers to bridging differences. What strategies may you use to overcome them?

Specific prejudices held by individuals can be a tremendous barrier to bridging differences. If circumstances are such that I have no choice but to collaborate with someone harboring specific prejudices, I try not to let that knowledge influence the way that I interact with them but I hope that they might notice discrepancies between their expectations of me and their actual experiences. If I become aware that their prejudices are reduced by our interactions, I may look for opportunities to discuss their initial expectations if appropriate opportunities to do so arise.

Ignorance, such as that associated with the fact that a person may simply never have been exposed to other cultures, races, or ethnicities, is another barrier to bridging differences. To the extent I believe that a person is ignorant by virtue of lack of exposure, I may look for specific opportunities to communicate with them in contexts and in a manner that helps them broaden their perspective about people who are superficially different from them. Finally, negative expectations...

To overcome specific negative expectations, one can simply allow one's actions to demonstrate their falsity. I believe that I have encountered individuals who seemed to change their expectations based on racial ignorance through our working together.
Identify three advantages and three challenges of working in a multicultural team.

The advantages of working in a multicultural team include: (1) A wider perspective than might be characteristic of less diverse groups; (2) Greater ability to collaborate productively with a wider range of individuals outside the group or with other diverse groups; (3) The benefit of group members learning from one another within the group. The challenges of working in a multicultural team include: (1) A greater potential for conflict within the group; (2) Reluctance of individual group members to collaborate with other group members by virtue of cultural differences; and (3) The tendency of some people to gravitate to some group members and avoid others based on cultural differences.

Does diversity affect ethical decisions?

Diversity certainly can affect ethical decision-making. Those with cultural biases and prejudices may make decisions based on those specific beliefs or on allegiances with others based on cultural similarities instead of based on merit and ethical principles. Diversity can also undermine ethical decision-making by virtue of subconscious preferences of some individuals and negative expectations of others. Naturally, those perceptions and expectations conflict with decision-making based on objective merit or the value actually contributed by individuals to the group.

Sources Consulted

Healey, J.F. (2008). Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Sociology of Group

Conflict and Change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge.

Schaefer, R.T. (2006). Racial and Ethnic Groups. New York: Harper Collins.