Cultural Diversity Issues In The World

Running head: Cultural Diversity

Cultural Diversity and Our Behavior Effects
Mary J. Shaw
Altenburg, Missouri
Abstract
How is cultural diversity created? Some think it simply exists. Cultural diversity is much broader than merely race and ethnicity. For example, it is quite possible that the cultural differences between the elite and the poor are greater than the differences between racial groups within the same society. So, how is cultural diversity created? More specifically, what are the general processes through which cultural differences are created, whether among racial, ethnic, class, or gender groups? This paper takes a look at some of the ways culture diversity starts and how it affects our behavior in the early stages of childhood and into adult life.

Cultural Diversity and Our Behavior Effects Culture refers to the beliefs, ideas; traditions and behaviors portrayed by certain communities and are passed from one generation to the other. Cultural diversity involves the changes that have taken place comparing what was deeply rooted in culture in ancient times and how it has been changing with time. Diversity goes way beyond race, color and religion. Diversity is the many differences between individuals including race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical abilities, socio-economic, jobs, education, geographical locations, personalities, and even diversity of thoughts. Diversity is what makes each and every one of us unique. Four of the major factors that cause diversity are ethnicity, gender, age, and religion. These four categories have some effect on the course of every decision made by the human race on a daily basis. Certain factors during childhood, teenage years, and adult life can occur that change a person’s behavior, ethics, and views on life. When meeting a person for a first time, it is impossible to say what made them behave the way they do. Some factors are easier to see than others. A very mature person will usually be older, which is an attribute that can be seen. Their behavior can be assumed by their age. Someone may also act differently because of their ethnicity. This is another visible attribute. Some attributes are not as easy to see such as religion. By simply seeing someone walking down the street, it is almost impossible to say what their religious beliefs are. This is what makes guessing the cause of the behavior of a certain factor so hard to depict (Durkheim, 1917). Today, ethnicity is a major role in society. Ethnicity impacts individual behavior in many ways. Not only does the culture in the ethnic group affect how a child will develop, the media and society affect how the child will be treated because of their ethnicity. This can develop either a positive or negative behavior. If the media and society turn away from the ethnic group, the individual will become angry and have a negative attitude. If the media and society welcome the ethnic group, the individual will be happy and have a positive attitude (Diller, 2011). The largest way that ethnicity effects individual behavior is childhood. A child is raised in an environment of a certain ethnic background. Since every race has their own customs and traditions, the child experiences these first hand and gains knowledge and understanding about them at a very early age. This leads to the second reason being that most behavioral characteristics ascribed to race are more likely to be culturally determined rather than biologically or genetically determined. Every race also has certain attitudes and opinions that the child learns very quickly. By the time the child reaches adulthood, they have experienced a lot of different aspects from their culture. This culture makes them act in a certain way, and that is how ethnicity impacts individual behavior (Richwine, 2009). Gender is another factor that is considered in individual behavior. In the same respect of ethnicity, a child learns gender and gender accepted rules at a very early age. A female is not supposed to play football while a male is not supposed to play with Barbie's. Throughout the life of a child they are told by parents and everyone around what is expected of them as a girl or boy. A girl is supposed to be polite and innocent while a boy can be loud and playful. While the child continues to age, they become less dependent on gender as a way of behavior. They no longer act in a certain way because they are a boy or a girl. In fact, in society today, more woman and men are exchanging roles than ever before. Women work while men stay home with the newborn child. There is a slice of diversity, which has been getting considerably more attention over the last several years: generational diversity. Beyond mere life stages, generational differences are based on broad variations in values that developed based on the contrasting environment and social dynamics each generation experienced as they were coming of age and becoming adults. In a historical analysis, they have identified significant “social moments” in history that, due to their weight and significance on the culture, mark the boundaries between generations. In the workplace, these differences seem to be generating clashes around work/life balance, employee loyalty, authority, and other important issues. Age is an important factor in how an individual will behave as the age of the individual progresses (Notter, 2007). While a child does not do an extreme amount of responsibility and cares, an adult must take on an entire different role. This will affect how an individual behaves simply for the reason of responsibility. While a child progresses in age they become more educated and realize more about the world around them. This makes them appreciate it more and become more mature by understanding. Their behavior is affected by this because they now treat people and things with respect because they know that they are supposed to. There are noticeably different attitudes and values from one generation to the next, on a cycle of approximately twenty years. While each generation continues to grow and change as they mature through different life stages, their unique generational identity tends to reveal itself in the way they deal with their different stage-related challenges. Because generational differences are forged during the time a generation comes of age, they revolve around core values and conclusions that generations have drawn about the way things are, or the way things “should be.” This tends to generate conflicts that are especially hard to resolve, because the different sides of a generational divide often fail to understand the other side’s perspective at a very core level. So although knowledge of generational differences will not by itself resolve generational differences in the workplace, it will help enrich cross-generational conversations in the workplace, which are increasingly common now that there are four generations coexisting in today’s workforce in the United States (Notter, 2007). All four generations bring assets to the workplace: Veterans are stable, have attention to detail and are loyal. Baby Boomers are service oriented, willing to go the extra mile and establish good working relationships. Gen X’ers are adaptable, techno-literate, independent and voracious learners. Millennials have a heroic spirit, multitasking abilities, and have technological knowhow. All have generational different attitudes about work ethics, career development, work/life balance, job expectations, adaptation to and use of electronic technology. It is important to understand how each generation is motivated and use the strengths they all bring into the workplace (Harvey & Allard, 2012). Religion plays a role in how an individual behaves as well. A person that is extremely religious will follow their belief word for word. If something happens that is against their belief than they will react differently than a person that is not as religious. This affects the behavior because of reaction. One of the ways that religion affects behavior is through fear. Many religious people fear a consequence if they do something wrong. This will make them act in certain ways and do certain things that other people won't. The only problem is that fear may not be the best way to control the behavior of people. It has been done since the beginning of time when law was created, but religion offers no real threat of punishment unless it is truly believed in (Durkheim, 1917). A non-religious person may enjoy a party lifestyle while a religious person would never party because of their beliefs. All of these factors affect individual behavior differently. When all of these factors are mixed together in one personality, it makes a unique person. These unique people are what make up the diversity of the world today. Each of the examples listed above show an impact on the personality and individual behavior of a person. The main thing to understand is that only one of these things does not affect how a person behaves. Each of these and many more all in some sort of way affect a person to make them behave the way they do. These are only a few of the factors that cause individual behavior to differ from person to person. There is no one factor that makes a person behave in one certain way. Behavior is one of the most non-understood parts of the human mind. Just like emotion and feeling, behavior may never be fully explained.

References

Diller, J. V. (2011). Cultural Diversity A Primer For The Human Services 4th Edition. Brooks/Cole.

Durkheim, É. (1917). The Problem With Diversity. Retrieved from Sage Publications: http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/36039_5.pdf

Harvey, C. P., & Allard, J. M. (2012). Understanding and Managing Diversity . Pearson.

Notter, J. (2007). Generaltional Diversity in the Workplace. Gaithersburg: Notter Consulting. Retrieved from Notter Consulting: www.notterconsulting.com

Richwine, J. (2009, August 12). A Smart Solution to the Diversity Dilemma. Retrieved from American Magazine: http://www.american.com/archive/2009/august/dealing-with-diversity-the-smart-way