Friday, September 14, 2012
Chapter 5- Post 1
Diversity is described as the reality of our national and
world community that is made up of people having cultures, languages, and
social customs different from our own (Harris & Sherblom, 2011, p. 73). Diversity
can be beneficial to a group’s performance; however, it can also make the
communication more difficult. This is because it is typically easier for us to
relate to people who are similar to us, whereas it may be more difficult for
people of different cultures to reach a common goal. In order for diversity to have a positive
effect, the members must work closely together and interact cooperatively. Peeters,
Rutte, van Tuijl, and Reymen (2006) suggest that agreeableness,
conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness are all qualities that are
beneficial to the cohesiveness and overall productivity of a group. I believe
that openness is the most valuable quality in embracing diversity as having an
open mind will allow us to be more accepting of diversity.
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You would think that knowing all of this about how we need to cooperate in order to succeed, we would put in more effort toward making friends in groups. We are still in such a hard wired state of mind to compete with those around us, especially in professional groups. The tough thing to understand is how we can't seem to get the fact that we are never doing ourselves good by putting down others. If you use diversity and competition to get ahead, you will never really be there in the right state of mind and ready for the next challenge. I think it is best to practice patients and understanding any chance you get.
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