Diversity
There is no universally agreed upon definition for diversity though the term has grown into much prominence among people in the recent past (Blaine, 2000). There are those who consider the term as tolerance, others perceive it as acceptance, yet some think about it as attitude. Additionally, some people interpret the term as inclusion, some see it as gender and racial variations and to others it means numbers. Lastly, the same term has the interpretation as being the code of ethics that fight for the existence of the minority groups within the society (Blaine, 2000). As such, there is a commonality of all the perceptions held, which is the fact that humans are social yet different from one another. In this work, I reflect my perceptions of diversity, which will give the meaning of the social being of humans according to my views.
How I Would Describe Myself In Terms of Diversity
I appreciate the fact that the world consists of people of varied backgrounds who equally contribute to the beauty of our communities (Blaine, 2007). It means that I value the existence of persons with diverse personalities as well as cultures all around the globe. I have an understanding that the geographical regions and distances between individuals make their cultures different. Even people who belong to the same cultural backgrounds vary in their ideologies (Blaine 2007). I understand that I am an individual with distinctive personalities, but still realize that I live in the community where not everyone is like me. I accommodate others considerably because I realize that they can never be like me.
How My Family Discusses Differences
There are times when members of my family conflict on some matters, which need resolutions before we can move on. For example, my younger brother regularly clashes with my sister over the television channels that each of them would like to watch. The problem arises because they both want to express themselves simultaneously. My father always settles the dispute in a manner that makes me think of the society as being diverse. He respects the feelings of each one of them because he asks them to understand that the television belongs to the entire family. At one time, he asked them to think of the rest of the family who do not conflict and conclude if they too would like to watch or not. Therefore, the two have since learned to move by the decision of the rest of the family because it represents the majority.
My Experiences with Workplace Diversity
According to Choudhuri, Santiago-Rivera & Garrett (2012), there are people of diverse races, sexes, ages and social classes at my workplace. Each of this of individuals make up the staff and the management. The combination of their ideas and experiences makes the workplace a complete unit. It offers them an opportunity to learn varied approaches to managing issues related to the tasks that they face. The human resource department has strategized the approaches to managing the workplace diversities mentioned to suit the needs of the company and produce positive results out of collaboration.
In conclusion, every one of us stays in a social community. As much as we are often not aware of the fact, our lives reveal themselves in social contexts surrounded by individuals that differ from us. The differences existing among the people are the sources of the richness of the social community of humans. There is a need, therefore, that each learns to accommodate one another because the community belongs to all of us. The diversity that exists among us makes each of us unique in their capacity and responsibilities to the society.
References
Blaine, B. E. (2000). The psychology of diversity: Perceiving and experiencing social difference. Mountain View, Calif: Mayfield Pub. Co.
Blaine, B. E. (2007). Understanding the psychology of diversity. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Choudhuri, D. D., Santiago-Rivera, A. L., & Garrett, M. T. (2012). Counseling & diversity. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.