- Why is it important to work on diversity?
- How to improve an organization with diversity?
- Control task conflicts and avoid personal ones
- Use heterogeneous groups for difficult tasks and homogeneous groups for tasks that require easy tasks.
- Promote communication
- Promote positive attitudes
- Promotes the integration of different groups
- conclusion
The working range is when a public or private organization consisted of individuals who share different characteristics, whether surface (such as skin color or nationality) or functional (skills and abilities).
Diversity is a characteristic of a group of people or a social group that makes people different from each other, objectively or subjectively. In general, a difference is made between two broad categories:
-Functional diversity: they are internal differences such as experience, skills, values, aptitudes, attitudes…
-Social diversity: superficial differences; skin color, age, sex…
Currently there have been great changes in society that have caused enormous diversity. Among them are globalization, incorporation into work for the disabled, age differences in work groups…
Why is it important to work on diversity?
Because diversity is a reality (for example Spain is the most multi-ethnic country in the EU), we must know how we can increase the positive consequences of this phenomenon. Thus, the research affirms that diversity, if it is promoted under certain conditions, increases the information, communication and quality of work teams.
On the other hand, it is known that not all groups with diversity function equally well. Those that are functionally diverse (skills, knowledge, training) work better than those that are socially diverse (sex, age…).
This can be taken into account in a company / college / institute / university when the boss or teacher does the teamwork groups.
However, it should be noted that diversity does not have positive effects by itself, it must be optimized. What conditions can we improve to increase the positive results of diversity?
How to improve an organization with diversity?
Control task conflicts and avoid personal ones
Homework conflicts are those that arise due to problems of the same job or activity that is being done (for example, not agreeing on what a magazine cover should look like).
The personal ones are those that are based on the physical or psychological characteristics of the people (criticizing the physical appearance, values, opinions…).
Task conflicts at a medium level are positive because that way groupthink is avoided (that all members of the same group think the same thing), which is very negative.
However, personal conflicts are very negative and you have to set clear group rules to avoid them.
Use heterogeneous groups for difficult tasks and homogeneous groups for tasks that require easy tasks.
Heterogeneous groups perform best on tasks that involve creativity and are not urgent. Homogeneous groups perform better on simple, time-pressured, and monotonous tasks.
Promote communication
Functional diversity increases group effectiveness if there are communication processes: hold meetings, dynamics…
Promote positive attitudes
It promotes a culture of positive attitudes towards differences, in which diversity is valued as an added value.
Promotes the integration of different groups
Encourage integration into diverse groups in which you consider that there are functionally or socially different people.
conclusion
In short, diversity is a reality in today's society and in itself has no positive or negative consequences.
We will have to manage the named factors so that they add value to us (either as a person or in a company) and we can see effects such as quality of work groups, creativity, innovation…