Diversity is often placed into two categories: primary dimension and secondary dimension. Primary dimensions are those characteristics that are intrinsic, including age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender and physical abilities/qualities (Loden & Rosener, 1991), and secondary dimensions are those differences that people can actually “exert more control,” including values, language, religion, income, marital status, interests and hobbies (Sha & Ford, 2005). Within the workforce the successful management of diversity is dependent upon valuing differences among people, instead of just tolerating those differences, and it is important to recognize that individuals in the workforce would rather celebrate their differences than assimilate or “fit in” to mainstream cultures (Thomas, 1991).
Since organizations are culture-producing organisms that develop their own unique corporate cultures (Deal & Kennedy, 1982), it is important to understand that corporations have obligations to make sure they create environments that are comfortable and inclusive. In addition, with the need for corporations to reflect the new multicultural America within their organizations, communicating their stance on diversity becomes very important to ensuring internal and external publics understand their positions. Yet, it is important to note that hiring a diverse workforce is not about filling a quota, and it is not about equal employment opportunities. Equal opportunity is about ensuring underrepresented individuals have a place in the workforce, but diversity focuses more on the workplace culture and environment (Richardson, 2005).
A company that decides to focus on maintaining a diverse workforce understands that it ultimately works for the greater good of the company. Within my study, the reasons why companies maintained a diverse workforce included maximizing diverse employee input, developing a positive community image and increasing communication. However, the overwhelming reason most companies seemed to choose to diversify their workforces was to reflect and meet the needs of their diverse customer bases. It is believed that if you have employees who look like or are members of the same groups as your customers, than those employees will be better equipped to understand customer needs and work to satisfy their desires.
Tomorrow I will provide the actual results of my study and a few links to web sites that include diversity information
