Diversity effects on communication

Diversity Affects Communication

Distinct and unique cultures are developed when people live and work in association. These diverse cultures assemble an affluently varied collection of standards and customs. The consequential cultural diversity not only inflates choices but also facilitates the human beings to cultivate a mixture of skills, morals, values and worldviews. Cultural diversity, thus, proves to be a mainspring for individualistic and communal sustainable development. It is exceedingly important for every one of us to cherish, defend, preserve and revere the cultural diversity of the world ("Cultural Diversity" 2011).

There are innumerable organizations, both public and private, whose conditions are similar to a half-starved body. Though they look really well-nourished from outside but the inner condition is too ill and putrefying. The troublesome and unsettling cultural problems do the same to an organization. Workers who need help try to neglect their concerns while trying to do the assigned tasks. For most of the time, the displeased minority and the female employees are the main victims of such situations. As they do not know what to do and where to go, it also becomes difficult for the people who want to help the dissatisfied, culturally different colleague(s) to facilitate them in solving the problems (Henderson, 1994, p. 4). This all happens due to the lack or absence of communication and ineffective management at the workplace.

People are the central basis of any organization or group. And they are also the basic unit of change. It is really necessary to lessen the improper and inapt competition for a healthy and fruitful relationship among the colleagues who come from diverse backgrounds. It is important to appreciate diversity because effective communication and mutual cooperation in an organization can only develop if the people in it understand the diversity of individuality and culture of the each other. The manger or supervisor should remember that people always support what they help create or operate. It is highly required of the management to develop open communication, mutual trust, and confidence among the workforce. Therefore, it is important to bridge up any existing cultural conflicts among them for a better organization (Henderson, 1994, p. 4).

Cultural diversity provides new human resources and administrative challenges to the manager and thus helps in changing the workplace environment. There are several countries including the U.S.A. where there is a lack of skilled workers. Therefore, most organizations have to employ multicultural workers. This hiring of people from different cultures involves dealing with different attitudes toward time, status and roles, relations, dependability, decision-making, and technological expertise. Cultural background and distinct values affect the way people communicate with each others. Today, the technological advancement has reached to the highest level and it also affects the way people communicate with each other. Therefore, the global marketplace requires organizations to either acclimatize or mislead their competitive edge. It is totally dependent on the management of cultural diversity at the workplace for the businesses and industries to survive (Henderson, 1994, p. 195).

The vital form of communication is language and it is also one of the crucial causes of cross-cultural conflict. Similarly, sexism and racism are also integral parts in most of the societies. Sexism can be described as "any stereotyping resulting in arbitrary discrimination against females or males." In most organizations, sex discrimination is widely practiced whereby employees are hired on the basis of their gender. Similarly, colored people are seen as culturally downgraded and they are not given good ranks or positions of authority on the basis of their color. Such situations always make the communication gap wider. Gender difference is also a reason that affects communication. Males and females have different levels of comprehending and understanding a situation. Therefore, in most of the cases, they fail to understand each others' points-of-views that widen the communication process (Henderson, 1994, p. 48).

There are several competitive advantages that are held by companies which learn to administer a varied workforce. Firstly, they have the bright prospect to appoint and keep hold of the finest talent in the new labor pool. Secondly, such companies which support a diversified work climate always encourage innovation. Thirdly, an effective handling of diverse human resources by the companies can also help them in drawing out improved performance from women, minority, or older workers. Last but not the least, a diverse workforce boosts a company's capability to function and maneuver more efficiently (Abbasi & Hollman, 1991).