Social Perceptions Stereotypes and Diversity

Stereotypes are bad. Diversity is good. Such ideas seem to be truisms in today's American business climate, which is often broadly brushed with the label of being 'politically correct' to the detriment of productivity. However, it is easy to speak highly of the value of diversity. It is easy to say the cultural wars of the business world have been won. It is easy to engage in such rhetoric but far more difficult to achieve a truly harmonious and diverse workforce in a functional fashion. After all, stereotypes are one of the ways individuals apprehend the world -- making assumptions based on what they have been told about other people and past experiences.

Often this cognitive tendency towards stereotyping can work against creating a climate of positive diversity in the workplace. But being aware of possible differences between individuals is not necessarily an act of stereotyping. It can be quite positive and tolerant to remember how perceived differences simply make certain employees culturally unique from one another and that certain relational styles may be more particular to the opposite gender's socialization process. For instance, an awareness of an Italian vs. A Japanese individual's more highly confrontational style enables one to interpret his or her behavior in a less hostile fashion (Tannen, Talking from 9 to 5, 2001). Understanding that women may stress commonality rather than difference, even in conflict-based situations helps both genders have a more working harmonious life. (Tannen, You Just don't understand!...

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on irrelevant matters pertaining to race and gender. But beyond not discriminating in the hiring process, organizations must continue, throughout the training process, manage the implications of diversity in the workplace and decrease the negative effects stereotypes in the minds of employees though heightened awareness. Then, when individual employees are working collaboratively on projects they may hopefully use the different backgrounds of individuals in their midst, international and national, to create a more fertile creative environment rather than a conflict-based working environment.
But diversity, again, must be ore than a buzzword or a phrase. Company attitudes towards diversity regarding gender might be reflected in its maintenance of day care and effective family leave policies for its female employees, for example. Individuals whom are in prominent leadership positions of various ethnic and racial backgrounds must used as mentors to lower-level minority employees and recent, young hires, rather than remain remote figureheads and thus be seen as 'tokens' fairly or unfairly.

One way that diversity has been improved in the workplace is the monitoring of outside organizations for businesses that deploy positive internal strategies. Proctor & Gamble is one such a company, proudly listing on its website awards not only from Hispanic and African-American employee monitoring organizations, but also from organizations that…