Research paper: Communication, Gender, Race and Ethnicity: Managing Diversity in Contemporary Organizations
Introduction
Communication is an integral part of any organization. The need to pass clear and concise information between people is imperative as it allows individuals to coordinate and work together effectively for the benefit of the organization. An organization with an evident that observes the various aspects of communication will without a doubt be successful in its endeavors while that which ignores the elements of organizational communication is bound to fail. Organizational communication in the simplest form is defined by first understanding the meanings of the terms organization and the term communication. The term organization refers to persons who are organized into a body and work together towards a particular purpose and this commonly refers to businesses as companies, firms, or corporations.
The term communication refers to a link shared by people or places that can facilitate the exchange of ideas information or news. From the above definition, the fundamental understanding of organizational communication implies the exchange of ideas between individuals of a body who work together towards a particular goal. A more conventional definition states that organizational communication is a subfield of a larger discipline that studies communication and is thus the consideration, the criticism and the analysis of the role played by communication in the organizational context.
All this is geared towards providing the basis for understanding the human processes that occur in an organizational structure. It is also geared towards creating awareness of the essential communication skills that one needs to possess to meet the organizational expectations. The flow of communication in an organization can be either formal or informal whereas formal can be characterized by downward, upward, and horizontal channels the informal communications are referred to as Grapevine as they are more random than systematic.
This paper seeks to understand the underlying communication factors that can influence relations in the organization regarding gender race and ethnicity and especially concerning the story behind the founder of Olmec toys Yla Eason.
Background
The story of Yla Eason is a great inspiration and motivation to persons of color and individuals who wish to prosper even in areas where there is little to no hope of success. She as a mother who had never considered being a business woman and in the toy industry for that matter (Allen 2) but was moved and motivated when one day her son while playing with his toy told her how the toy represented everything he probably could never be including the race naturally. This drove her to rally for the introduction of interracial dolls into the toy and play industry but faced a lot of negativity both from persons who were outright racist to those who felt the status quo was good business since at the end of the day even children from the other races bought the existing toys.
It was at a fundraiser that the Olmec toys were born and its first toy to move from sketch to production in six months was sun man then followed by Imani then later developed other interracial dolls due to public demands from consumers and as the concept gained traction. With the industry’s eyes opening, she felt proud of her achievement in promoting equality and consideration for all races. With this information, it is clear that certain levels of communication can be significant in some regard especially in matters of such sensitive nature as race and gender more so in the organizational set up that in the current day and age. To this day, Olmec toys is an inspiration to minority-owned businesses
Gender relations refer to the way members of the opposing sexes relate to each other and in this case, the focus is on how they relate in an organizational setup. These are of great importance in all organizations and even in the social set up. As part of an organization that seeks to engage with members of the society one needs to understand the best possible communication strategies to employ so as to communicate effectively to the service consumer regardless of their sex.whatis most significant is the fact that in the course of the communication one does not misrepresent the goals of the organization as being biased in any way towards a particular gender and also, one does not demean members of a particular gender for whichever reason.
In the story behind Olmec toys perhaps would have been different if a man was behind the concept perhaps they would have taken his ideas more seriously one cannot be too sure but gender biases this underscores the importance of organizational communication and how members of the opposing sexes relate with each other appropriately. Workplace diversity needs to be appreciated and protected in any organization, and the best place to start is to ensure the proper organizational communication systems are put in place. This is inclusive of both the formal and informal channels. The respect for authority is of great essence in ensuring downward communication and understanding upward communication. Also horizontal communication or interaction among the peers is significant in protecting members of the different sexes from falling prey to any form of violations especially concerning gender relations.
Ethnic and Racial Relations
Ethnicity refers to a group of individuals who relate to each other based on shared social, cultural or ancestral experiences and mostly this status is inherited by members sharing the said ethnic background. Race, on the other hand, refers to a person skin, bone structure hair among other physical characteristics. The ethnic and racial relations are often confused, but the difference comes in when one observes that ethnicity refers to ancestral roots the racial factors are more based on the physical characteristics. Another serious issue is that of race and ethnicity, and this is especially relevant regarding the case of yla eason where she had to battle against organizations that did not see the need to address the issue of communication with the potential client base presented by the minority groups (Allen 3).
Proper communication strategies would have enabled one of the companies to jump on the opportunities presented by the emerging markets of the members of the other races other than the white Americans. The common mistake as observed in the yla eason story concerning the big companies is that they commonly overlook the small market needs as they are only after finishing the year with the immediate profits as compared to long-term gains, which would catapult them as being socially responsible.
The ability of a company to create favourable working conditions for members of a diversified workforce and catering to a wider clientele of multiracial consumers start with the simple act of practicing appropriate organizational communications among themselves and then extending the same to all their clients so as to ensure zero discrimination across the board this can also be essential in the informal communication who constitutes the bulk of communication in the organization.
Racial and ethnic diversities need to be analyzed in the dynamics that are a notable in a generation so as to ensure appropriate application of principles that are practical in solving the race and ethnicity issues in an organization. Communication is right at the center of these reforms as it is the tool that ensures information reaches its destination via various media and channels.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the story of Yla Eason is very inspirational and motivational to any individual belonging to a minority group and who wishes to succeed in their dreams or aspirations. Her hard work and never give up attitude are adorable and her saying that a no now doesn’t mean rejection of a concept or idea but rather means not now try again later just inspire the need for proper communication.
All those factors that enabled her to be successful especially knowing how to communicate effectively in an organizational setup. The use of organizational cultures can be useful for enhancing productivity and profitability and also informally approve off denounce certain behaviors, and the organizational cultures encompass various elements including issues of gender race and ethnicity.
With all this creating an essential bond so does organizational communication which if applied will ensure the adoption of progressive cultures and the discarding of retrogressive ones for the betterment of the company or organization.
Reference
Allen, Suzanne. "Yla Eason". The Business Enterprise Trust 996.9 1-11. Print.
