Global Communities
Introduction
The society today is a major combination of different people from diverse backgrounds. Many groupings and corporate circles attract people from different places. Many people have moved from their primary places of origin in to modern societies and setups, which have contributed to intermingling of different people thus diversity. As a result, it has become a considerable concern that people of both the affluent society and those of low or middle class to appreciate diversity. Diversity has thus resulted to significant studies concerning geopolitics. As a primary study that concerns international affairs, it has formed the basis of understanding in any matters relating to national or international crisis such as trade, war, hunger, etc.
As a fundamental factor that affect living trends and lifestyles, diversity refers to the combination of different styles and elements of living based on culture, races, and traditions. It is essential to realize that diversity includes other differences between people such as abilities, strength, and weaknesses in a given aspect (Kirst-Ashman, 2010). In this perspective diversity leads to a remarkable change in social, economic, and cultural settings, which is critical in the growth of down fall of a given society or culture.
Understanding the concept of diversity becomes a key to solidarity in any given place. It has becomes critical that people agree and stay in one accord in order to develop and enhance unity, which is primary in economic and social growth. Having a stable society calls for the participation and contributions of both the mighty and the lesser as they all play a different part in the establishment of an entity. In the same context, the mingling of people has resulted to a significant study on Geopolitics, which is fundamental in the growth of any society. This includes a reflection and integration of different resources that a given entity has in accordance with its aims and objectives. Such resources thus become the primary means of acquiring their targets.
In many cases, people have appreciated this concept of diversity, but some have neglected it and held on to their primary lifestyles. In the same context, such communities have been left in their old ways as opposed to adapting to modernity. On the contrary, business leaders and entrepreneurs have realized the importance of diversity and embraced the idea. According to Pedersen & Connerley (2005), diversity is an aspect that has been well incorporated in the employment sector. Many organizations today have considered it as a lead to prosperity and business success. Both Pedersen & Connerley (2005) agree that diversity does not include domineering acts that limit the performance of workers in a given organization. These are factors such as identical chance, gender, fair battle, and embrace of different beliefs, which influence growth. The principles or diversity include highlight that character is the most fundamental aspects that challenges corporate values. Consequently, diversity is an evident lead that point out the different critical features of a society.
While looking at the concepts related to diversity, cultural and ethnic diversity becomes paramount in any given grouping or community. It is imperative to understand that a majority of the community especially those in the modern societies today are composed of many people from different background. Such are the settings that call for an understanding and appreciation of various cultures and ethnicities. The discussion raised by Adler and Doktor (2006) point out that leaders such as managers must have the skills and knowledge to accommodate different people. They must be able to establish equity amongst their junior workers and enhance fair representation in ethnicity, culture, and gender. As opposed to merging such people, neglecting this aspect is a significant lead to division thus a collapse of the organization business or community.
Diversity at the Work Place
Multiples of aspects and principle features come in place in this subject concerning employment diversity. This subject matter focuses on elements such as gender, intellectual ability, ethnic background, age, physical ability, sexual orientation, and linguistic disparities. These affect the general out put in a given firm as each person in the company has a part to play, which is vital in achieving business goals. Hence, in allowing diversity in the work place equate to the establishment and accomplishment of the business goals in a firm (Kirst-Ashman, 2010).
A common cliché highlights that “united we stand” on the other hand it says” divided we fall.” This common line has been used at different work places. The phrase applies to the topic on diversity in the work place. One of the major detailing factors that have caused many organizations to fall while others remain stronger is the unity of employees. It is imperative that people in the organization stay in one accord. In this context, both senior and junior workers must learn to put the differences aside and build on the main agenda of the organization. However, there are companies that have been refused to embrace diversity. Such are the companies whose ideologies are self-centered only on the benefits of a particular culture. Employees from other ethnicities have had to content with the challenges in such work places (Miller & Katz, 2002). On the other hand, fellow workers in the same institutions are supposed to support their workmates. Failure to this support it becomes difficult to build such a team. This thought agrees with the discussion raised by Pedersen & Connerley (2005) that explains that character is an “important instrument” as opposed to cultural disparities.
Opportunity is a feature in employment that directly affects diversity. Many organizations have had to create space to accommodate people from different backgrounds. Such are the times that call for people of different expertise. For instance, a company may require having an expert in specified filed who may not be available. These instances call for people of international capacities. Consequently, resource managers and company leaders have to create space to accommodate such a person. Therefore, it becomes unnecessary to consider cultural differences. As opposed to the company or organizations values, it is essential to consider the experts contribution to the assignment ahead. In this case, diversity becomes a significant unifying factor, which is necessary for growth.
Gender is an aspect in diversity that has affected the growth of different companies. It is sad to see multiples of employers disregard gender and its importance in employment. Nonetheless, having people of different genders is beneficial in achieving the set objectives. For instance, it is evident that some job titles befit the male gender and like wise for the female. Having such basic understanding opens the doors for both men and women to work together in a company. Once people reach a point of understanding the essences of having different people in a company then they open the door to growth (Ayoko & Härtel, 2006).
Diversity and leadership
Leaders play a crucial part in the building and establishment of any entity. This is both for community and society based and in the cases of business entities. They are the people that hold the goals of a company including. They spear head all the operations of an organization. It is important to note that these people play a fundamental role in the success of an organization. Without leaders in an organization, growth becomes a great challenge. However, leaders must be people who are accommodative of all people.
It is common knowledge that people of various backgrounds are likely to meet at the work place. As highlighted above, the employment settings allows people from various social backgrounds to mingle. This includes that various disparities concerning social status and abilities meet. It is through such combinations that it becomes evident that different people contribute differently to certain achievements. Similarly, leaders play a key role in the appreciating diversity. It is important for a leader to understand the different types of people under his or her authority. This knowledge helps in finding the right work and place to position every employee in a given department. It becomes clear that one has to ensure that a disable person is in a position where he or she can perform to the best like a well-able person.
Leaders often become the instruments that facilitate the development of cultures in any given entity. It is the role of leaders (who are the vision bearers) to ensure that they merge all resources available to ensure that certain practices are followed without compromise. It is through such practice that an organization, business, or company can reach its goals and key objectives. In this context, diversity becomes a key feature that can be used by leaders to propel the mission of the business or company. It is the responsibility of company leaders to position every person in their appropriate places as abilities and qualities. This way diversity becomes an advantage as each person consributes to the common good of the establishment. This is a point where a leader can obtain various ideas that can help in solving challenges in the organization.
Several characters come in handy in a leader of a company or business. These are factors such as communication skills. This is paramount for a leader in a diverse company. One as to be careful to co-ordinate the dynamics present in the organizations. By having effective communication skills, a leader is thus able to link different people from unlike backgrounds to a common mission and goal. Additionally, he or she must be a problem solver. A leader has to have an exceptional skill to brainstorm, and to come up with different ideas and solutions for any challenges to come. This can be a product of diversity. This means that one can learn from his or her colleagues at work, which is a primary source to obtain diverse comments and ideas. Having a diverse team at work is the best that a leader can have, as this is primary to developing creativity in the work place. Hence, diversity agrees with leadership in building organizations considering new markets, innovations, and overcoming competitions (Miller & Katz, 2002).
Diversity and Politics
One of the social aspects influencing politics today is diversity. Although means to bring development change, and progress, politics have today turned to be one of the faces that continually take a new turn. Often, politicians come up with new agendas that do not propel the wellness of the people. Consequently, self-ambition becomes a driving force through such times. It is important to realize that diversity is a major contributing factor in politics. Understanding such trends in any settings includes the principles of Geopolitics as key in satisfactory leadership and politics.
Globalization has caused people to move from the original places of residence to the modern towns. This has contributed to having people with different agendas that meet at common social gatherings. Social movements and political parties have thus spring up every new day (Lawrence, 2005). While some are based on ethnic backgrounds, other are primarily based on linguistics and religion. Every person with a political ambition illustrates his or her ambition before the people as a means to prosperity of both the people and one self. At such a point, one can see how diverse political leaders can be while pursuing their dreams. The interests and powers that every leader fights for becomes the leading contributing factor that develops a place. While merging the interest of these leaders is a considerable challenge, it becomes easy when one looks at it from a geopolitical point of view.
Geopolitics plays a key role in enhancing proper and effective leadership. This aspect focuses on the development of a given place. For instance, while politics will focus on the person in power, geography will lead to the common interests of the land. In this context, geopolitics combines the power and interest of the people to bring up the common good of a place. As opposed to other factors, geopolitics embraces diversity. It is through the ideologies of diversity that leaders can establish stable governing systems. As a result, diversity becomes a vehicle to development in social and economic aspects. For instance, Brown (2011), points out the inflation of food prices in the United States. Such are the news that can push citizens to the edge to exclaim their interests. Then it becomes the role of leaders to consider these interest and bring them to manifestation with the power and authority given.
Transformation on an individual basis or the social perspective is through the rise of ideas and thoughts from dissimilar sources. This explains the importance id diversity especially in the cultural context. While different people have varying orientations of culture, often such people meet to merge their ideas and rebirth a new society. For instance, the rights of an individual in one place may not be the same in another place. As a result, there comes a rise of a new culture that may or may not embrace the present political system. In this regard, having people with opposing of diverse ideas becomes a key to societal transformation through political reformation (Lawrence, 2005). Hence, politics and diversity go hand in hand leading to transformation of a person or society, and the word at large.
Importance and Benefits of Diversity
The importance of diversity cannot be overlooked in the society today. It is a way through, which many developments have come to be established. Diversity has been at the forefront leading to people meeting from different corners of the globe. It is through such processes such as globalizations that many get to exchange ideas that result to significant growth in the community. Consequently, diversity has contributed to both social and economic growth. A as mentioned above, diversity is inevitable today. As people mingle and travel from one place to another mixing of cultures, religions, and ethnicities, become a fueling factor to developments. Because of diversity, the society thus gets to be much stronger and more accommodative than it used to be in the past.
Conclusion
In conclusion, diversity is a primary factor that affects and influences the direction of any given organization, business, company, or society. It is a leading feature that comes because of the intermingling of people of different people. It is an aspect that involves the coordination of people with dissimilar abilities and potentials. Consequently, diversity mixes people and brings out a new face that often leads to development.
Diversity affects different aspects of a society and individual. A key factor contributes to social and economic growth in any work place. The employment sector today has benefited with the merging of people from different backgrounds. Alternatively, it is a factor, which is paramount to all a leaders. This is primary in all entities as the leaders play a major role in enhancing growth all round. On the other hand, politics have bee remarkably influenced by diversity. It is evident that today political leaders from different backgrounds meet and merge their ideas to come up with a substantial pan to develop the society. In this context, diversity is an instrument for development, which cannot be overemphasized. Hence, it is imperative and inevitable that every person should embrace diversity.
References
Adler, N. J., Doktor, R. R., & Redding, S. G. (2006). From the Atlantic to the Pacific century: Cross-cultural management reviewed. Journal of Management, 12, 295-318.
Ayoko, O. B. & Härtel, C. E. J. (2006) "Cultural diversity and leadership: A conceptual model of leader intervention in conflict events in culturally heterogeneous workgroups", Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, Vol. 13 Iss: 4, pp.345 – 360.
Brown, L. R. (2011, June). The New Geopolitics of Food - By Lester R. Brown | Foreign Policy. Foreign Policy - the global magazine of economics, politics, and ideas. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/04/25/the_new_geopolitics_of_food
Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2010). Human Behavior in the Macro Social Environment: An Empowerment Approach to Understanding Communities, Organizations, and Groups Human Behavior in the Social Environment Series. New York: Cengage Learning.
Lawrence, D. G. (2005). California: The Politics of Diversity. New York: Wadsworth Publishing.
Miller, F.A. & Katz, J.H. (2002). The inclusion breakthrough: Unleashing the real power of diversity. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler
Pedersen, P.B. & Connerley, M.L. (2005). Leadership in a diverse and multicultural environment: Developing awareness, knowledge, and skills. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
