Cultural Differences in Today\'s World. Then Explain

¶ … cultural differences in today's world. Then explain two ways you might address those challenges in your professional life. Support your responses using current literature.

Challenges of diversity: Positives and negatives

Affirmative action embodies many of the paradoxes of the diversity of American society. On one hand, America has long proclaimed itself a land of freedom and equality. However, for many years, African-Americans and other minority groups were discriminated against, resulting in economic, educational, as well as political disenfranchisement. Affirmative action, or taking race into consideration to promote a more diverse environment in schools and in the workplace, is one way to create a fairer and more pluralistic society. It reflects the fact that persons who are privileged in America have historically come from specific races, classes, and ethnicities. However, many people believe that affirmative action's use of racial preference is, in effect, a form of discrimination itself. The courts have tried to tread a delicate balance of not outlawing affirmative action entirely while still protecting the rights of individuals, regardless of color. For example, in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) the U.S. Supreme Court "rejected the use of racial quotas but said that schools could consider race as part of a 'holistic' review of a student's application" (Condon 2012).

This has still not proved a satisfactory solution for some. There is always a question of which minority groups should be protected. Asian-Americans, for example, may be disproportionately represented relative to their composition of the population some universities, despite the fact that they have been discriminated against in the past. Some affirmative action policies have hurt Asian-Americans; it was alleged in the U.S. Supreme Court case Fisher v. Texas, if Asian-Americans are deemed to be overrepresented at a university. In the case of Fisher, "the university's use of race in admissions discriminates against Asian-Americans, who are deemed to be 'over-represented.' Asian-American civil rights organizations filed briefs on both sides of the case," reflecting the contentiousness of the statement (Hsu 2012).

Of course, the term 'Asian-American' is a broad one, reflecting persons of vastly different class backgrounds and histories. A third-generation Japanese-American is deemed 'Asian-American,' as is a first-generation recent immigrant from Cambodia who learned English as her second language. Identity contains components of ethnicity, class, and a particular group's history and position within American culture. Diversity clearly should reflect all of these factors, including diversity of gender, sexual orientation, and different 'able-ness,' but creating a policy which truly creates a more level playing field and reflects American society without arbitrary quotas has proven to be a challenge.