1. Workforce Diversity: How Can A Leader Manage A Diverse Workplace?<br />Successful Workplace Diversity For Managers<br />Monique Rodgers<br />Colorado Technical University<br />January 9, 2011<br />The dimensions of diversity include; race, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability and gender. Diversity in the workplace has an influential perspective on the atmosphere of the workplace. A diverse workplace is one that does not focus primarily on the job alone but also on the employees that work at the company. The diverse workplace is centered around bringing people together as one and working together on a common goal. At times this is not easy to do in a workplace as it creates a lot of conflict between the workers due the differences that are being displayed. For some people, is not easy to work with someone of a different gender, and for other’s it is not easy to work with another person who expresses a different religion. Then for others they cannot handle working with someone who has a different sexual orientation such lesbian, bi-sexual, or gay couples. Diversity helps to bridge the gap between the differences and helps employees to work on a level that is conducive and effective for the workplace. A manager helps to bridge the diversity gap by joining the company together to celebrate the differences that are associated amongst the employees. A manager’s role is not to necessarily accept or believe in what the employees portray but to only accept them and respect what they believe in. <br />Diversity helps to capture an understanding about the other person and helps to encompass a theoretical belief that is most beneficial for the development of the company. Some companies hire only diverse people in their company and it is centered around a diverse environment whereas some workplaces as not as diverse and only hire a selected amount of differences for the workplace and a lot of times the amount of different cultures in the workplace are limited. There are different levels of diversity in the workplace. Robbins & Judge describe it as, “Surface level diversity which can lead employees to perceive one another through stereotypes and assumptions and deep level diversity where differences are more important characteristics, such as personality and values. Deep level helps people to get to know one another a lot better. The age of an employee may play a role in the diversity of the workplace in that for some it is easier to get along with a certain age group and for others it may be easier to get along with an older age group. A manager’s team would have a mixture of all age groups and different people. <br />The challenges that are presented by globally expanding the workplace is that there may be an even greater amount of diversity in expansion because the manager will have to hire more people and not everyone is going to be from the same background, believe in the same religion, or have the same sexual orientation. With global expansion it promotes more diversity for the company and the opportunity to hire people from different cultures that would create a more diverse environment for the company. The other thing to consider in global expansion is the intellectual level of the person in the other country versus the USA and being able to communicate successfully and understand the language. The challenges and opportunities for ensuring organizational goals are achieved are to hire a diverse team that loves working together and to build that team to enjoy what they are doing. When an employee is happy it helps the company and workplace to be happy. Some of the challenges however may be that some people are not used to working in a diverse background and may start rumors, gossiping and disrupt the workplace because of it. A team that does not work together would cause the organizational goals to not be met. <br />The challenges for leading a virtual and global customer service organization are that some employees may not do as well on a virtual level and it could cause conflict for the company. Then it may be hard for the workers that are not virtual to communicate on a global level due to inexperience or lack of diversity skills. A good manager will be well-rounded and will possess the ability to work on all levels and aspects with the employees. <br />The way that a manager would successfully prioritize the challenges and opportunities presented to them are to recognize the root of the problem in the beginning with the employees and handle it in a professional manner. If it is an issue with a team then the manager should meet with the team to get the issue in order so that it does not spread in the workplace. The way to end the drama in the beginning is it get to the root of the issue and find a solution to it quickly. Robbins & Judge also describe diversity management as, “The process and programs by which managers make everyone aware of and sensitive to the needs and differences of others.”(Robbins &Judge, 2011) The have a successful diverse workplace the company should have a diversity appreciation day at the workplace, diversity groups, diversity programs that help to celebrate differences. Diversity managers have to work hard to keep the workplace fun and enjoyable by helping to celebrate differences continually. <br />References<br />Robbins, S.P & BIBLIOGRAPHY 1033 Judge, T (2011). Organizational Behavior. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.<br />