Diversity and Culture for Any Organization With

Diversity and Culture For any organization with the entire globe as its marketplace, the relevance of having a common understanding of culture, beliefs and values cannot be overstated. This is more so the case given that what might work in one country may not work in another. In this text, I come up with a concise definition of diversity.

Further, I will amongst other things also discuss the various ways in which an organization can establish a performance culture with an aim of enhancing its chances of achieving organizational goals and objectives. Diversity: A Concise Definition For the last two or so decades, gender and race have according to Griffin and Moorhead (2011) been regarded the primary dimensions of diversity most particularly in the U.S. However, as the authors point out, the issues entailed in diversity are broader than this.

In basic terms, diversity does not have an assigned definition. In that regard, various definitions of the same exist. At the workplace, diversity essentially "refers to all of the ways that employees are similar and different" (Griffin and Moorhead, 2011). Diversity can also be seen as all those characteristics that bring out the uniqueness in individuals. Griffin and Moorhead (2011) identify two key dimensions of diversity, i.e. primary and secondary diversity.

While primary dimensions are largely 'inbuilt' and hence more or less permanent, the secondary dimensions of diversity are in most cases temporal. Examples of primary dimensions of diversity include but they are not limited to gender, ethnicity, and age (Griffin and Moorhead, 2011). On the other hand, secondary dimensions of ethnicity according to the authors include but they are not limited to marital status, income, geographical location, religious beliefs, etc.

Ways to Come up with a Common Definition of Diversity It is important to note that an organization that understands and effectively manages diversity stands to benefit on several fronts. For instance, such an organization could benefit by having on board employees with unique perceptions and experiences. This could enhance not only the responsiveness of teams but also their productivity. In that regard, an organization must explore ways of coming up a common definition of diversity.

To begin with, an organization must have in place an organizational policy that guarantees fair and just treatment for all. For instance, a company could choose to go past the mere recognition of standard holidays. In that regard, coming up with a standard definition of diversity would in my opinion entail the recognition of other holidays that bear significant meaning to individual employees, i.e. religious holidays. Education could also play a key role in the formulation of a common definition of diversity.

Education in this case could be in the form of workplace diversity training. This way, employees could be sensitized on not only what diversity is but also what it entails. Developing a Culture of Performance In the words of Daft (2009), "culture can play an important role in creating an organizational climate that enables learning and innovative response to challenges, competitive threats, or new opportunities." The successful creation of such an organizational climate could play a key role in the enhancement of an organization's ability to achieve its goals and objectives.

To begin with, in seeking to create a culture of performance, organizations need to embrace flexibility. In most cases, rigidity often gets in the way of performance. Rigid organizations are more likely to respond slowly to emerging opportunities than flexible organizations. Flexibility could in this case be in terms of responsiveness to change, etc. Indeed, as Daft (2009) points out, organizational performance could be enhanced by a culture that embraces change and adaptation. Next, a company could in this case also spell out or clearly define the culture it strives for.

This could be via the development of values and principles that act as a guide to that end. The behaviors encouraged.