SU Inclusivity and Cultural Diversity in Organizations Discussion

Survey results have revealed dramatic shifts in social attitudes toward issues such as same-sex marriage and citizenship for illegal immigrants. Respond to these two questions in this week’s discussion:

1. How might these changing attitudes affect the manager’s job over the next few years?
2. What would be one thing you would do as a manager to promote a positive corporate culture in a global environment?
3. Attached are copies other student responses
4. Changes in social attitudes towards issues such as same-sex marriage and citizenship for illegal immigrants will give managers a greater responsibility in the workplace. A manager’s job will be affected because he will have to ensure the inclusivity and non-discrimination of these minority groups (Ueno, Jackson, Ingram, Grace, & Šaras, 2020). This might even involve changing or creating a culture that understands and accepts such people in the organization. Moreover, a manager will have to ensure that they are hired on equal terms as other people and provided with opportunities to grow. Also, a manager will ensure that their talent and abilities are not overlooked just because of who they are. Furthermore, the manager must ensure that the employees acknowledge that some of the clients belong to these minority groups and they contribute equally to the success of the business. As a manager, one thing I would do to promote a positive corporate culture in a global environment is to embrace diversity and inclusion. This will ensure that all people feel comfortable working for or with the company and together we can achieve the greater goal.ReferencesUeno, K., Jackson, T. M., Ingram, R., Grace, J., & Šaras, E. D. (2020). Sexual Minority Young Adults’ Construction of Workplace Acceptance in the Era of Diversity and Inclusion. Social Currents, 7(2), 91-108.
5. The changing attitudes get reflected in the workforce itself so this is not just about attitudes but people. What I mean is that if the public is more accepting of same sex marriage as a manager you are more likely to have a gay person on your team. As a manager you need to be cognizant of policies and practices that could cause disruption in the team. Logical falacies like, “that’s the way we’ve always done it” are not acceptable anymore and managers need to be able to accomodate individuals with from different backgrounds with different wants and needs.  
   2. One [of the many]  things I would do asa a manager would be team building exercises. When you work closely with someone, especially if you socialize with them at an event you learn more about eachother. These exercises show people how similar we really are despite hair color, music styles, food recipes and cultural differences. The undiscovered truth is that at the end of the day we are more similar than we are different.

   Reply:

Antonia wrote:

Changes in social attitudes towards issues such as same-sex marriage and citizenship for illegal immigrants will give managers a greater responsibility in the workplace. A manager’s job will be affected because he will have to ensure the inclusivity and non-discrimination of these minority groups (Ueno, Jackson, Ingram, Grace, & Šaras, 2020). This might even involve changing or creating a culture that understands and accepts such people in the organization. Moreover, a manager will have to ensure that they are hired on equal terms as other people and provided with opportunities to grow. Also, a manager will ensure that their talent and abilities are not overlooked just because of who they are. Furthermore, the manager must ensure that the employees acknowledge that some of the clients belong to these minority groups and they contribute equally to the success of the business. As a manager, one thing I would do to promote a positive corporate culture in a global environment is to embrace diversity and inclusion. This will ensure that all people feel comfortable working for or with the company and together we can achieve the greater goal.

References

Ueno, K., Jackson, T. M., Ingram, R., Grace, J., & Šaras, E. D. (2020). Sexual Minority Young Adults’ Construction of Workplace Acceptance in the Era of Diversity and Inclusion. Social Currents, 7(2), 91-108.

Thomas wrote:

It is very interesting. I begin to respond to this question roughly 5 days ago. Then I stopped and wanted to give myself some real time to consider my answer.

Past experiences and rationalities begin to prevent me from writing my initial response. Though I am currently not in a management role anymore (though, I was informed this week, that my change soon.) I began to relive passed situations, good and bad, that directly reflected the pro’s and cons of these questions.

I love to celebrate my team. When “we” achieve, “they” achieve and vis-versa was my motto for my passed teams. However sometimes, when we make a diligent effort to celebrate their differences, we inadvertently single them out when they may have not wanted that.

As a manager, as your role goes, I believe you have to be “Switzerland” remain very neutral on anything that may cause you to treat or manage someone different than their peers.

In my response to John Campbell I go into detail about just such a situation where a team member was singled out for what was thought something positive, but caused a negative reaction of sorts by the one singled out.

I never stray away from differences, I just never use them as a defining trait. I will always ask “how’s the family? The spouse? How are you doing today?” whether same sex marriage or not. I am genuinely interested in the lives of my teams’ families. If they choose to broach the subject and it somehow addresses these none work related differences, then I can approach it on a one by one and individual bases that does not cause any unwanted attention for that individual.

IN my opinion, our position as managers should always be broken down to two questions…

1) “what does your companies best practice and tha law dictate as far as actions are concerned?”

And

2) “What does your morality and common-sense dictate?”

If question two conflicts with how you are able to perform the function and parameters of question one… Maybe you should not be in management for said company.

I was in a position where I was told to “find whatever reasons you can to write up” a certain employee. The reality was that the employee was good and finished their work, but that particular member of upper management simply had a bad experience with the employee once and wanted to let them go. When I said I would continue to develop them in role and document as needed, I began to be overly coached and documented myself. I soon realized; I was not meant to be with that company since I morally felt what I needed to do to uphold the best practices defined to me fell short of what I felt was the right to do. Since, I found I wasn’t the only one presured into similar situations, I was simply the one that chose to walk away.

I guess at that point, I was more like pre WWII United States than Switzerland by remaining neutral until being forced to pick a side and stand up for what I felt was right.

John wrote:

Hello professors and class,

The world is an ever-evolving landscape. With the constant change occurring, many things that were once considered different are now considered normal. With these changes, managers need to be able to adapt and change their way of thinking.

The first thing a good manager should do, is eliminate his or her previous biases. The world has changed drastically, and managers need to evolve with it. A manager that is unable to put his or her biases aside for the betterment of the company, will hinder their performance and possibly lead to legal troubles. There is no room for bias in the workplace.

As a manager, I would not turn a blind eye to my employees’ differences, I would embrace the individuals. There are things that make each of us different, and those qualities should be embraced. I do not believe in colorblindness; we are not all the same. Each of us comes from a different place and has a different culture. These differences should not be ignored.

In a perfect world, I would try to include an employee spotlight during team meetings. This is not a very feasible thing to incorporate, but there are ways to make it happen. Highlighting what makes each employee different does not set them apart from each other but creates a feeling of importance for everyone. The individual will be embraced, without taking away from the team mentality. I will do everything in my power to embrace everyone’s differences and ensure that my employees understand that there is a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination. Each person will be viewed by their work, rather than their race, gender, sexuality, or religion.

John Campbell

Stephanie wrote:

Greetings all,

As a manager it is our job to not allow for discrimination of same sex marriage and illegal immigration status in the workplace. Same sex marriages are legal and are common place in many families. As changes in immigration laws sweep across America, it is import that you should ensure that you follow federal laws when hiring and abide by discrimination laws when concerning immigrant status. Sexual orientation and immigration status are both federally protected categories and as manger we should fully understand what that entails. Furthermore, any discrimination creates a negative work environment and should not be tolerated. With both same sex marriage and illegal citizen status, it is important that as a manager we ensure our team members feel welcome and valued. Even if that means having to take corrective action against another team member for an act of discrimination or making other team members feel uncomfortable regarding sexual orientation and immigration status. As mangers we must ensure that as attitudes change, that we exude respect and value of all our team members.

The one thing that I could do as a manager in a global environment is to celebrate all people and the differences that make us unique. I believe this would foster a positive environment for all team members in a global environment.

Devinn wrote:

Good afternoon Professor and Classmates.

There have been huge shifts in social attitudes in a relatively short period of time. On top of that, there are still lingering stigmas in the workplace that date back decades. These things don’t always make a manager’s job an easy one. It is important to remember that while most companies have corporate-level guidelines that are meant to create a more inclusive workplace, it doesn’t trickle down on its own. The manager is often the first line of contact for employees, so it’s important that the manager sets the tone for inclusivity. The manager should be able to neutralize their own biases when it comes to the workplace. It is unrealistic to expect everyone to hold the same beliefs, but respect for each other must be normalized.

One thing that I would do as a manager is to stay educated. I stay educated regarding legal changes as well as social trends. I am not as young as I used to be and it seems like there is always some kind of new lingo that kids and trendy folks are coming up with. It’s become too easy to be offensive without ever knowing it. However, not knowing doesn’t negate the offense. I would also suggest team-building activities so that team members are given the opportunity to interact with each other in different ways.