Barriers that must be overcome for Diversity to flourish in an Essay

Barriers that must be overcome for Diversity to flourish in an organization - Essay Example ?the mosaic of people who bring a variety of backgrounds, styles, perspectives, values, and beliefs as assets to the groups and organizations with which they interact.† For the Pillsbury Company, diversity is defined as â€Å"all the way in which we differ.† Kraft Foods Inc. spells out its commitment to diversity in metaphors with which people can identify: â€Å"A stellar meal requires contrasting and complementing textures and tastes. A winning sports team depends of the different talents of its members. A first class orchestra needs many variety of thought, energy, and insight to attain and maintain a competitive edge.† (pp. 25) Diversity, Simmons (2003), refers to variety of difference related to factors such as age, culture, disability, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, socio-economic level or thinking style. In business context diversity includes business background or function. Diversity is a process that corrects inequities and brings fairness and inclusion on all fronts and as broadly defined, carries an inherent benefit for every employee. As Simmons argued, only in this context it is realistic to expect a positive view and an active contribution from every employee. Organization alignment, Simmons continued, is the goal of every culture change process, including diversity. You wont achieve that alignment unless every person can benefit from it. In his book, Johnson (2003, 399-400) explained that in every relationship you decide how to manage the differences between the two of you. Diversity among your acquaintances, classmate, coworkers, neighbors, and friends is increasingly inevitable. Such diversity is an opportunity that can have positive or negative consequences, depending on your engaging in an eight-step program: The first step is to recognize that diversity exists and is a valuable resource. The second step is to build cooperative relationship with diverse individuals. Cooperation promotes a process of acceptance while competitive