The Value of Cultural Diversity in Different Social Settings Report

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Updated: Dec 20th, 2023

Cultural Background Summary

When people think about Michigan, Detroit falls among the first cities that ring in their minds. This is due to several reasons that make the city famous such as the high population density, ethnic diversity among others.

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I was born and raised in this city and spent most of my teenage life there until the year 2000 when I left for my military career. We were raised in the city by my mother together with my two younger brothers and my elder sister. The neighborhood I grew up in mainly comprised of African Americans with other few members of from other ethnic groups.

As such, my identity would have been enormously influenced by my decision to reside in the city all my life. However, taking a step in pursuing my career changed several of my priorities and I now view things from a different perspective. Further information on how moving out of Detroit, Michigan impacted my character development is given in the following paragraphs.

Michigan is characterized by a number of ethnic groups that have been migrating into the region during the 1970s and higher. However, the African American ethnic group accounts for the majority of the people living in the region; hence, the lifestyle there is mostly influenced by this category of citizens (Brookings, 2003). In 2000, for instance, the population of the black population was estimated at more than 80 percent of the whole population residing in the region (Brookings, 2003).

Aside from that, there are other populations that reside in the region and include the Hispanics and Latinos, Asian Americans, Asian Indians, Filipinos, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese, Polish and Pacific Islanders. These ethnic groups, though a minority, have contributed to the multicultural status of Detroit. As a result, the city has consistently experienced an increase in the number of distinct ethnic neighborhoods (Experience Detroit, 2005).

Growing up in the city was an unexceptional experience since several individuals are raised in safe environments. Life there was threatening since violence was the order of the day, and people live expecting anything violent to occur every single minute (Experience Detroit, 2005). Daylight robberies, shooting, fighting, harassment and bullying were all the scenarios on the ground without a clear reason as to why these were happening.

As a child, I became worried about this situation because nothing seemed to improve. At least someone in the neighborhood had to create some problem in the neighborhood in order to feel like a real winner. Unfortunately, this was so selfish, unrealistic and backward moves that should not be accepted in the society. In addition to that, racism was another issue that extremely affected people living in Detroit. On several occasions, one would see in the news white men harassed a Chinese, Japanese or Indian and so on.

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In the late 1990s, fortunately, I left this violent city in order to pursue my military career where I experienced a real break in a long time. It is now 12 years since I joined the military and interactions in a multicultural environment has enormously impacted on my cultural identity.

Since I joined the military, I have learnt to interact well with members from different ethnic groups, something that landed me in several key mandates within the military base. Similarly, I have taken several courses over the years, and feel that education has also increased my appreciation of diversity within the American landscape. After moving from Detroit, I met new people in the workforce who played key roles in changing my perception to race, violence and ethnicity.

In my opinion, pluralism has played the greatest part in reshaping my cultural identity because, in the military, we receive training on how to interact with common goals. Working without the same objectives is the definition of failure, and this should not be practiced in any workplace.

In fact, I felt relieved from the racial problems and unnecessary violence that I coped up with in my early life. I now embrace pluralism as it gives a bright future for all people regardless of their color, ethnic group, or social status.

Furthermore, multiculturalism is a powerful tool that one must embrace in order to address all the issues of an identified audience (Feigenbaum, 2011). Once a deviation occurs, there are few success rates that can be realized. My military career has helped me embrace multiculturalism, which has significantly defined my current identity.

On the other hand, assimilation has played the least part in shaping my cultural identity as I retained most aspects of my lifestyle. As I complete my military career, I have a single message that people must practice equality and embrace multiculturalism in order to uphold peace in this diverse society.

Multicultural Matrix and Analysis Worksheet

Basing on the ethnic groups (Table 1: Appendix), several beneficial values that helped to shape the United States lifestyle can be described (Holland, 2006). In particular, the brief summaries have given the clear picture of Multiculturalism in the United States in relation to the origin.

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The United States, for that matter, is captured as a multicultural society that is open to all people with different backgrounds. From an early time, several groups started moving into the region due to various reasons, which allowed for the development of a culturally diverse society. Hence, the United States substantially benefited from the cultural diversity as improved workforce was available for the various work scenarios.

Despite the obvious benefits of multiculturalism in the society, some negative forms such as racism, stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination flourished over several years (Holland, 2006).

In the recent past, for example, several ethnic groups such as the African American, Hispanic and Indian Americans have continually suffered racism, discrimination and being depicted in certain stereotypes. Firstly, segregation between the Whites and Blacks was a key characteristic of the population before the rise of the civil rights during the 1950s and over (Holland, 2006).

Workplaces, schools, commuter busses and residential areas were segregated between the two groups until in 1954 when segregation in schools was banned. As a result, people started integrating on a multicultural perspective, which led to the realization of better performances and solutions for the workplaces.

Besides the significant leap ahead, other factors such as prejudice and stereotyping still exist at the current date. For instance, the African American and Hispanic groups have been stereotyped in the villainous characters such as gangsters, robbers and the like for several decades (Holland, 2006). Such beliefs have existed for several years and are even a common occurrence in media the same way. Hand in hand, prejudice has also resulted from the occurrences.

Therefore, prejudice and stereotypes are a normal situation in the culturally diverse environment of the United States. However, the multicultural nature of the country’s population resulted in some positive factors such as creation of a multicultural workforce that can meet the requirements of the target population in an effective manner. In connection to that, all the ethnic groups in the American landscape are subject to some positive, as well as, negative aspects of the cultural diversity.

As a result, prejudice, stereotypes, racism and discrimination that were once extremely high have considerably low effects on the modern and socially active populations. In conclusion, the United States still leads with regards to the benefits of cultural diversity among its people.

Media Reaction Paper

In the American cultural landscape, the media take a monumental task in making generalizations about the existing ethnic groups. In fact, television programs and movies are the most used media category that is used in passing such information to the general public (Avatar, 2009).

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Since time immemorial, stereotyping, prejudice, racism and discrimination has dominated the American society until it seems like a normal practice. More often than not, certain communities and people have accepted the situation and even taken part in carrying on the notions over the next generations. Unfortunately, stereotypes strengthen the negative images of the affected ethnic groups resulting in false conclusions for such situations.

The African American ethnic group is one such group that has always suffered discrimination and been stereotyped as gangsters, dropouts, lower social status and as poor people living on welfare. Several TV programs, movies and series, and other forms of media have continually stereotyped the group in that sense (Avatar, 2009).

In addition to that, gender stereotyping is also rampant in the American landscape. For instance, celebrity women have constantly been stereotyped in commercial advertisements such as beer, car and apparel commercials. In this section, the author discusses ethnic stereotyping as seen in the Avatar movie.

After the unexpected death of his brother, Marine Jake, travelled into a far world known as Pandora in order to fulfill his mission (Movie Web, 2009). Pandora happened to be the home of an indigenous group known as the Navi, which was rich woodland with several precious resources that remained unexplored.

Once there, Jake discovers that Parker Selfridge plans of leaving the Navi to mine all the valuable resources that spread all over the rich area as a result of his greed (Movie Web, 2009). In order to fix his legs, Jake undergoes a surgery, which requires that he offers some highly required service in return.

Jake had to collect data for the military unit under Colonel Quaritch, as well as, try infiltrating the indigenous population with his “avatar” identity (Movie Web, 2009). When Jake begins the assigned mission, he surprisingly falls in love with an indigenous female known by the name Neytiri. Consequently, Colonel forces the war veteran to make a decision and fight back in the war for the fate of Pandora together with the indigenous population.

From my own perspective, the Avatar film has realistically captured the diversity in the American cultural landscape depicting just what the characters do in the real life situation.

In particular, the greed figure of the military colonel, helpless Navi natives, and the crippled soldier are stereotypes of the real life occurrences associated with the American influence. In the real life situation, several cooperate figures in America have the greed for wealth and power to the extent of neglecting the well-being of people from a low social class.

This scenario is well represented in the Avatar plot where the cooperate figure, Parker Selfridge, totally ignores the culture of the natives (Navi) due to his greed for riches and authority (Avatar, 2009). Additionally, several soldiers in authority also blindly follow to the orders of the greedy figure without raising questions about the hidden agenda.

In the long run, while the selfish plan of Parker Selfridge continues, an individual recognizes the plight and injustice inflicted on the native people. These are a common scenario within the United States, and can be traced from the early interactions with the Native American Indians whose interests were neglected by the incoming authorities.

In connection to that, the media play a critical role in defining the state of interaction between different ethnic groups, gender, social status and even religion among others.

For example, the African American and the Hispanics have mainly been stereotyped as gangsters, school dropouts, drug addicts and several other negatives in the society. Stereotypes, unfortunately, can be extremely disastrous since the depiction in media can turn into a reality; hence, dehumanize the affected group and result in social prejudice and inequality.

Similarly, Avatar employs the same tactics of stereotyping key characters within the film setting. For instance, Colonel Quaritch symbolizes the classic military command; Parker Selfridge symbolizes corporate executives, while the Navi symbolizes the native culture of the Pandora world (Avatar, 2009). The Avatar film, therefore, uses the identified stereotypes to represent the interactions at different levels, and finally gives generalizations for each category.

In some scenarios, however, the original stereotypes are broken by individuals who deviate from the common adherence to certain stereotypical rules. These also happen in the real world scenario where some members would choose their own way rather than follow a selfish stereotype.

Aside from capturing the use of stereotypes, it is inevitable to mention that Avatar also plays a key role in improving the perception of diversity and multiculturalism through character development and interaction. After a long struggle, the Navi people engage in fighting the United States military whose main interests were on the precious resources of the Pandora (Avatar, 2009).

Since the Navi gets assistance in fighting the greedy forces of the distant world, the film gives an excellent consideration to multiculturalism. In conclusion, the Avatar film has successfully captured the use of stereotypes to expose cultural diversity within the American landscape.

Intercultural Communication in the Workplace Paper

Intercultural communication is of utmost value in workplaces as it evaluates how people with different cultural backgrounds, beliefs, values, customs and religions integrate to achieve a common objective (Swallow, 2009). With globalization, the global workplace has continued to evolve into a culture sensitive setting than any other period in history. During the 1990s, for example, the United States of America experienced the highest rates of immigrant workers, from all over the world, which raised the annual growth rate by approximately 33 percent. This resulted in workplace cultural diversity; hence, strategies to help in the execution of effective communication processes became mandatory. This would ensure that all the colleagues’ from different cultural backgrounds appreciated one another without necessarily becoming victims of misinterpretations and communications breakdowns. Unfortunately, the cultural setting is so diverse that all communication issues may not be totally eliminated. An example of a communication issue in a USA medical setting is highlighted, diagnosed, and the appropriate solutions are in the following paragraphs.

The Communication Issue

In the hospital setting, doctors and nurses deal with people having different views about certain practices due to their cultural, religion and beliefs. Unfortunately, some incidents expose the medical staff to key challenges and ethical dilemmas since the requirements may be even life threatening for the patient. Some cultural orientations, for example, are sensitive to the gender of the medical staff attending them and may require that an identified staff is used.

On the contrary, other patients may not feel a threat and would be free with any gender despite the conditions suffered. As a result, the health care training should be mandatory to accommodate cultural requirements other than the common requirements basing on the needs of the diverse cultural setting.

Relevant studies indicate that there are several cultural differences affecting the gender of medical staff because some patients are open to only one gender.

As a result, there should be better ways of addressing such issues so that all patient information is received to allow for the administration of proper medication. As a health care provider, the key function should be to allow patients determine their needs in accordance with their cultural requirement besides the single assumption that treatment is the only solution (Lindenberger & Marian, 2002).

Unfortunately, there are incidences when responding to the patient needs may be extremely difficult due to misunderstanding arising from language barriers. However, the medical staff should be trained and become attentive in such cases to avoid any further misunderstanding with the patient.

Several studies have shown that some people may be more comfortable to a preferred gender, and may only open up when the need is met. While the American-born patients are open to anyone regardless of their gender, several African males, for instance, feel uncomfortable with female medical staff.

In particular, the case becomes severe when it comes to manhood problems such as infertility, sexual problems, infections and other related relationship issues. In the African setting, this is exposed as a weakness and men as not free to discuss such issues with female partners.

As a result, they may prefer to open up to fellow men than women. Similar situations can be extremely challenging to handle because there is usually a breakdown in effective communication between the parties. In the end, the patient may end up receiving the wrong diagnosis and medication due to inadequate or evasive information about the problem at stake.

Diagnosis of the Issue

Several studies have been conducted in order to compare the differences between the Western (American) culture and the African culture in the workplace scenario. The deviations are measured through the comparison of evident cultural orientations in relation to gender and other relevant factors.

In most scenarios, ethical dilemmas result from gender related issues especially along the leadership lines, responsibilities, and behavior. As studies indicate, it is unfeasible to separate an individual from his cultural background despite the society, or lifestyle that he leads (Lindenberger & Marian, 2002).

The attachment is so strong that only individuals with extremely strong wills can adjust to a different cultural practice. Hence, workplace issues resulting from different cultural influences will always exist and remain rampant in workplaces comprised of several people with different cultural backgrounds.

As seen from the earlier discussed communication problem, it is mandatory that the cultural orientation of the patient is observed other than just basing the whole service on the health of the patient (Lindenberger & Marian, 2002).

Where the medical personnel appreciate the patient’s requirements with regards to his or her cultural backgrounds, a better service is guaranteed that leaves both parties happy with the service. The medical profession ensures that the well-being of a patient is respected besides taking care of their physical health status in order to meet the ethical standards of service.

The theory of symbolic interactionism holds that social structures and meanings are developed and sustained in social relations; hence, social life is continually changing due to the process of interaction. The medical staff, basing on the theory, should have the capability to learn, comprehend and accept the requirements of the patient.

At other scenarios, however, the patient may hide some useful information due to personal or cultural reasons. For example, male chauvinism in the African culture may be the key cause of hiding critical information to a female medical staff. In such cases, the medical staff should be attentive and respond adequately to the patients requirements. This would then allow for proper conditions for carrying out the medical assessment to be identified and set right for the purpose.

Strategies for Solving the Issue

The expertise and knowledge, in selected lines of work, are not the only measures for an individual’s competence level and performance. In particular, a medical professional should also have excellent communication skills in order to communicate and interrelate effectively with people having different cultural backgrounds (Lindenberger & Marian, 2002).

As such, issues regarding race, gender, religion and age must be handled skillfully in order to prevent possible cases of disappointments for either of the parties. In the workplace, the observation of such issues will allow for the development of effective working groups that would result in an excellent performance (Swallow, 2009).

The medical provider, from the above case, should first of all get a clear picture of the client’s cultural background before carrying out any further actions. This would help to create an excellent environment for both parties as all the differences between them would be tabled and necessary solutions established. Therefore, it is inevitable that medical staff members are equipped with the necessary training in order to respond to cultural issues in an effective manner.

Finally, medical professional must be trained in the effective approaches of relating with patients with different cultural backgrounds. This means that the medical staff should well understand the patient using both the verbal and non-verbal expressions that can be deducted.

Such training would enable the medical staff to interact with patients through sign language in scenarios characterized by language barriers and so on (Kenyon, 2005). In the end, an effective communication process would be achieved leading to success in the workplace.

Value of Diversity in the Workplace Paper

Over several years, globalization has continuously influenced change in the workplace as organizations plan to meet the needs for a diverse population (Feigenbaum, 2011).

In fact, organizations gradually evolved into heterogeneous workforce, unlike in the early times when homogenous workforce was a normal occurrence in several organizations (Lindenberger & Marian, 2002). Fast travel, education and need for high-class jobs have enabled several people with different cultural backgrounds to meet in the job market; hence, giving an opportunity for integration.

As a result, several people coming from various locations, cultural backgrounds, and having different socio-economic status can frequently be identified working on similar projects with common objectives. This is a key boost in the workplace as the overall target market population, which is also culturally diverse, can be addressed through efforts obtained from work employees representing such groups.

By having a diverse workforce, therefore, all the inadequacies that would be experienced without the effort from selected cultural groups are substantially eliminated; hence, organizations effectively meet the needs of the whole population (Feigenbaum, 2011). The value of diversity in the workplace setting, for instance, is appreciated by analyzing an organizational case study as highlighted in the following paragraphs.

Govern Electronics, a fictitious electronic dealer shop located in Alabama, appear as an organization that failed to solve problems and create excellent service from a group effort, which resulted in lose of business. Since the dealer was new in service, the managerial authority had to ensure they carry out the market analysis and identify the cultural needs and preferences of the diverse population.

Otherwise, a slight deviation would lead to unexpected results for the whole organization. Peter Hassan, an Indian investor, was a senior member in the management team and was assisted by Andrew Mayor who was a sales person from Alabama. Andrew Mayor was responsible for marketing the products alongside other employees of the organization.

Including Mayor, the planning and marketing group consisted of six key personnel that comprised of two Whites (US-born), two Indians, and two American Blacks. Out of the planning and marketing group, only two were female (one Black and one White), while the rest were males.

The organization’s workforce was also diverse where three members were between the ages of 21 and 30, two between the ages 30 and 50, and the remaining two (the founders) beyond the 50 years age bracket. Therefore, all the age groups were well represented within the organization, as well as, the cultural diversity of the workforce.

Hassan, one of the founders, assumed an active role in the team and literally wanted to have the final say in most of the organization’s decisions. Unfortunately, he did not seem to realize the seriousness of doing business in a culturally diverse society such as in the United States. The entrepreneur had just moved into the United States two years earlier, at 51 years, before engaging in the venture with a 42 year old Hispanic male.

Severally, Hassan confirmed that he was the final decision maker and that every suggestion he makes should be followed so as to avoid crossing with him. In fact, his biased decisions substantially interfered with the progress of the team in several occasions, and most of the team members started withdrawing from taking part in team decision making.

The main setback occurred when Hassan interfered with the normal planning of a commercial advertisement intended to market the dealer’s key products, which turned out disastrous. In his suggestions, Hassan only wanted Indian ladies to appear in the advertisement commercial asserting that excellent results would be realized by using his idea.

However, several other members of the planning and marketing team were against the plan citing that it would be depicted as discrimination; hence, negatively impact on the firm’s ability to sell. Furthermore, the other employees explained that using only Indian women for the commercial would be seen as a bias and neglect of members from other cultural backgrounds.

Consequently, that would generate negative emotions in the target market and result in an advertisement disaster. Unfortunately, Hassan was hard to convince and insisted that his idea must be implemented in the advertising commercial regardless of suggestions from other team members. As such, team members felt that he was a real racist and did not care about the cultural diversity of the target market, as well as his own workforce.

After six weeks, the commercial advertisement was completed in accordance to the requirements and suggestions provided by Hassan. Therefore, the advertisement was aired in the local television stations and several newspapers circulating within the region.

Unfortunately, as predicted, the advertisement negatively impacted the potential target market; hence, the sales remained low for the following six months never even reaching the target values. As such, the results were disastrous because the commercial advertisement failed to address the expectations of the whole target market; possibly, it only addressed the Indian population who are a minority in the region.

Consequently, the whole planning and marketing team came together with an aim of preparing an appealing advertisement, which would address all issues of diversity. Hassan was then eliminated from this second attempt in order to produce a commercial that was not culturally biased. Since the team was culturally diverse and equipped with sound knowledge of the target population, it created a commercial advertisement with women from different cultural backgrounds, social status, and race buying the firms products.

Surprisingly, all the needs of the target market were met, and a substantial rise in sales realized within the first month of the advertisement (Kenyon, 2005). Hence, the second attempt was a complete success for the team. Consequently, the founder (Hassan) regretted his attempted to boycott the firm’s decisions and almost plunging it into total failure.

As such, he vowed to address the issue of diversity when participating in future decision making, as well as, consider the thoughts of other members of the organization from that time onwards. Based on the results of the above case, therefore, the following assumptions may be deducted.

Firstly, the marketing field offers a potential opportunity to reach a wide variety of people when an effective plan is devised. In a diverse workforce, however, the benefits that could be achieved are much higher than in a homogenous workforce due to several thoughts available from the members (Kenyon, 2005).

Secondly, a workforce comprising of individuals with different ages and social perceptions results in continual learning and sharing of valuable information. As a result, the interaction brings people close to one another; thereby, breaking all the incidences of bias and discrimination (Lindenberger & Marian, 2002).

Finally, using information from all people regardless of the cultural background and social status encourage all parties to participate in the decision making process. Consequently, unique results can be obtained from the value of their ideas, which would otherwise be neglected (Lindenberger & Marian, 2002). In conclusion, diversity is a key aspect in effective decision making, and can only be appreciated when all participants are allowed to take part in the process.

Legal Issue Analysis of a Newspaper or Magazine Article

In the United States, there are several incidents that occur, and affect members of different ethnic groups either equally or in a biased manner. Many such occurrences may be racially imposed and mostly affect members of a minority group. According to several sources, some of the mostly affected ethnic groups are the African American, Hispanics and members of the Islamic religion.

Severally, legal issues will arise in schools, workplaces and even in residential homes, and victims may suffer harassment, racism or even near death beatings. One such legal issue is the scenario is the “Ortega Melendres, et al. v. Arpaio, et al.” described in the following paragraphs.

In July, 2008, “a Latino community-based coalition, sued Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County Sheriffs Office (MCSO) and Maricopa County, charging that they or their members were unlawfully stopped and mistreated by law enforcement because they are Latino” (ACLU, 2008).

The Sheriffs frequently raided the Latino neighborhood harassed and handcuffed some of their members in what they termed as crime suppression sweeps. Unfortunately, that may not have been the case as the Sheriffs targeted people that appeared to them as immigrants. One plaintiff, for instance, claimed that he was blocked and arrested within his family business just because he was listening to music in Spanish (ACLU, 2008).

However, the man was a United States Citizen and deserved his full rights as a citizen, but not to be discriminated by the same government. In particular, Sheriff Arpaio was notorious at imposing the discriminatory harassment, inhuman stops and arrests and continued doing that without fear. On the contrary, the federal government did not seem to show any move to control his practices.

Racial profiling of Latinos in the Maricopa County disheartening, but depicts the real situation of what happens in the United States of America. While diversity gradually increases among all aspects of the American landscape, emerging problems keep on rising and undermining any progress that could be achieved.

It is so unfortunate that racism in the United States keeps on taking a new dimensions and nothing seems to be done about it. With the current trends in institutional racism, any efforts to eliminate the vice may be extremely difficult as institutions remain uncontrolled, unchallenged and unnoticed.

As a consequence, racism in the American landscape will continue to grow its roots at various institutional levels and turn out disastrous. The racial discrimination, harassment, and arrests captured in the mentioned case are alarming and relate to the time when segregation was all over the United States.

Literally speaking, history seems to be repeating itself only that, this time, the outcome might be so unpredictable, but lethal. As equal citizens of the United States, justice should have been granted to the Latino coalition members through controlling the racist operations conducted by Sherrif Arpaio.

The ACLU Legal Director, Dan Pochoda, asserted that the United States fosters equality and fairness to all its citizens regardless of the race, social status, origin and so on. Furthermore, he confirms that Sheriff Arpaio lacked the legal authority to profile individuals because they were Latino despite their immigration situation.

Therefore, all the Latinos deserved their right to be handled as citizens of the United States and not as inferior people. In fact, the Sheriff went beyond his mandate in trying to act as an immigrant officer when he was not one. As such, the only person that needed to face the arms of the law was the Sheriff.

Unfortunately, this is a difficult situation as the federal government could not take a step of controlling the actions of the police officer. These are the indicators of injustice in the law enforcement institutions where the individuals of a minority group are harassed and oppressed, but have few chances of receiving justice.

The case emphasizes the need for neutrality and fairness in the law enforcement institutions in order to create a peaceful coexistence between the common person and the law authorities (Keeanga-Yamahtta, 2003). After the case for illegal harassment had been filed, things turned out that the Sheriffs were searching for illegal immigrants. In my opinion, however, this seems like racial and ethnic discrimination; hence, steps should have been taken to control the situation.

Any form of racial discrimination or prejudice is not an acceptable practice within the American landscape because it only sorts to destroy what has already been accomplished (ACLU, 2008). With globalization, education and growth of economies, several people have migrated into other countries in search of better lives. Consequently, this resulted in cultural diversity in the society, schools and workplaces.

As such, people should learn to interact with one another in the most peaceful manner so as to prevent any unconstructive interference. In the American landscape, however, these seem to be difficult as every time there are new cases of discrimination, harassments and other illegal activities aimed at lowering some ethnic groups (Keeanga-Yamahtta, 2003).

As learned individuals, we must empower ourselves to eliminate the negative deeds that hinder multiculturalism success in the American landscape. In particular, the workplace can substantially benefit from through the respect and acceptance of one another regardless of race, color, origin or social class (Swallow, 2009).

Reference List

ACLU. (2008). Sheriff Arpaio Sued Over Racial Profiling of Latinos In Maricopa County. Web.

Avatar. (2009). : The Journey Continues. The Avatar Movie Website. Web.

Brookings. (2003). Detroit in Focus: A Profile from Census 2000. Retrieved from the Brookings Website:

Experience Detroit. (2005). Ethnic Neighborhoods. Retrieved from the Experience Detroit Website:

Feigenbaum, E. (2011). The Value of Diversity in the Workplace. Retrieved from the Chron Website:

Holland, C. (2006). Ethnic and Religious Diversity in Central America: An Historical Perspective. Retrieved from the Prolades Website:

Keeanga-Yamahtta, T. (2003). Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs: Racism in America Today. Retrieved from the International Socialist Review Website:

Kenyon, A. (2005). The Importance of Diversity in the Workplace. Web.

Lindenberger, J., & Marian, S. (2002). Diversity in the Workplace. Retrieved from the Zero Million Website:

Movie Web. (2009). Avatar: Synopsis. Retrieved from the Movie Web Website:

Swallow, D. (2009). Intercultural Communication in the Workplace. Web.

Appendix

Table 1: Multicultural Matrix and Analysis Worksheet.

Part I: MatrixWhat is the group’s history in the United States?What is the group’s population in the United States?What are some attitudes and customs people of this group may practice?What is something you admire about this group’s people, lifestyle, or society?
1. The African AmericanSeveral African American people are linked to a history of slavery since their ancestors were brought in the United States as slaves. This happened first during the 1600s-1700s, and where they assisted English colonialists to get American independence. Later, prominent leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. helped to change discrimination against Blacks. As a result, a breakthrough into the rampant segregation between the whites and blacks reduced.The African American has an approximate population of about 37 million forming about 13 percent of the total population of the United States.The African Americans are characterized by the practice of several cultural activities depicted in their music, art and lifestyle. As such, they form a significant part of the USA as their culture substantially influenced the American culture.I appreciate the African American lifestyle and their music such as Hip-hop and reggae music.

Additionally, I love their celebrations such as the Black history celebrations in which they remember their historic past.

2. The Hispanic and Latino AmericanThe Spanish became among the first settlers, before Europeans, to settle in some areas of America such as Florida and California. Several people of this group speak the English language only and have adopted the European-American Culture.On average, the Latino and Hispanic population in the United States is approximately 16 percent of the whole population. This accounts to almost 50 million people.The Hispanics are depicted as religious people who believe in helping one another. Families may be nuclear or extended, and the father is the final decision maker in the family setting, while the mother is the home care taker. However, all family members are expected to assist in the effective functioning of the setting.I love Hispanic music and their musicians such as Ricky Martin and Jenifer Lopez. Additionally, their Mexican foods are an excellent appetizer that I always can not ignore.
3. The Indian AmericanThe Indian American officially became legal citizen in the United States in 1946. The Indians immigrated into the United States via other countries such as Jamaica, South Africa, and United Kingdom among other countries.The Indian population in America is reasonably low at approximately 0.89 percent of the whole population. As such, this reflects to about 2.5 million people.The Indian Americans have a strict cultural background and adhere to strict rule on religion, culture and food among several other practices. Their religions are diverse and may include Hinduism, Islamism, Christianity and Buddhism.I value the cultural practices of Indians especially those practicing Hinduism as they have fascinating ideas. One example is the caste system, where once in a low or high case system; one is destined to remain right there.
4. The American AsianAsians of the Chinese background came into the United States due to mainly conflicts from their countries. One situation was the Vietnam War, which led to massive migration of the affected into the USA. In the 1970s and 1980s, therefore, was time for the largest Asian migration into the United States.The Americans Asian account for about 5 percent of the United States’ population.As a result of cultural diversity, the American Asians are exposed to several challenges.I admire the Chinese way of life that comprises of fun in the form of art and craft. Additionally, I find pleasure watching some of their movies and appreciate the Yoga.
5. The Native AmericansThe Native Americans were the original settlers of the United States of America. Relevant sources indicate that they enabled undetectable communication during the World War II using their native language.As pertains to name, the Native Americans, are recognized as the first settlers of the United States. However, they account for a small population percentage of about 1 percent.The Native Americans culture show dissimilar practices in all other nations. In particular, those living on reservations show dissimilar cultures from the ones not living on reservations; however, some similarities may exist in their heritage and traditions.The Native Americans fascinate me with their incredible lifestyle such as them living in tepees and their spiritualism.
6. The Bahamian AmericanThe Bahamian American migrated into the United States from the Caribbean during the late 19th century in search for job offers in the agricultural sector.The Bahamian American has an extremely low population of about 40,000 people. Hence, it accounts for approximately 0.01 percent of the whole population.Bahamian Americans preserved their cultural heritage; hence, have a distinguished way of living and culture.The Bahamian way of living and cultural heritage provides an excellent measure of modern living from historical setting. Their cultural practices are engaging.
Part II:

Analysis

Basing on the above listed ethnic groups, several beneficial values that helped to shape the United States lifestyle can be described. In particular, the brief summaries have given the clear picture of Multiculturalism in the United States in relation to the origin. The United States, for that matter, is captured as a multicultural society that is open to all people with different backgrounds. From an early time, several groups started moving into the region due to various reasons, which allowed for the development of a culturally diverse society. Hence, the United States substantially benefited from the cultural diversity as improved workforce was available for the various work scenarios.

Despite the obvious benefits of multiculturalism in the society, some negative forms such as racism, stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination flourished over several years. In the recent past, for example, several ethnic groups such as the African American, Hispanic and Indian Americans have continually suffered racism, discrimination and being depicted in certain stereotypes. Firstly, segregation between the Whites and Blacks was a key characteristic of the population before the rise of the civil rights during the 1950s and over. Workplaces, schools, commuter busses and residential areas were segregated between the two groups until in 1954 when segregation in schools was banned. As a result, people started integrating on a multicultural perspective, which led to the realization of better performances and solutions for the workplaces.

Besides the significant leap ahead, other factors such as prejudice and stereotyping still exist at the current date. For instance, the African American and Hispanic groups have been stereotyped in the villainous characters such as gangsters, robbers and the like for several decades. Such beliefs have existed for several years and are even a common occurrence in media the same way. Hand in hand, prejudice has also resulted from the occurrences. Therefore, prejudice and stereotypes are a normal situation in the culturally diverse environment of the United States. However, the multicultural nature of the country’s population resulted in some positive factors such as creation of a multicultural workforce that can meet the requirements of the target population in an effective manner. In connection to that, all the ethnic groups in the American landscape are subject to some positive, as well as, negative aspects of the cultural diversity. As a result, prejudice, stereotypes, racism and discrimination that were once extremely high have considerably low effects on the modern and socially active populations. In conclusion, the United States still leads with regards to the benefits of cultural diversity among its people.

Part III:

Sources

Holland, C. (2006). Ethnic and Religious Diversity in Central America: An Historical

Perspective. Retrieved from the Prolades Website:

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"The Value of Cultural Diversity in Different Social Settings." IvyPanda, 20 Dec. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/cultural-diversity-2/.

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IvyPanda. (2023) 'The Value of Cultural Diversity in Different Social Settings'. 20 December.

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IvyPanda. 2023. "The Value of Cultural Diversity in Different Social Settings." December 20, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cultural-diversity-2/.

1. IvyPanda. "The Value of Cultural Diversity in Different Social Settings." December 20, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cultural-diversity-2/.


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IvyPanda. "The Value of Cultural Diversity in Different Social Settings." December 20, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cultural-diversity-2/.

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