Diversity Training
Gender and Cultural Diversity
Diversity training can be considered as the oldest intervention that is connected to diversity management (Karsten 2006, p. 76). The said change is because of the ever-changing working environment because of the different individuals and groups’ differences primarily the issue of gender, race and ethnicity. Gender and cultural diversity are considered as the two of the most famous issues in any workplace or working environment.
The gender diversity training enables improved performance. Even though, currently men and women have the same opportunities and rights in the working environment, it is not right to conclude that men and women are the same. This training reveal that small differences between the genders can cause stress, underlie problems, affect leadership, at the same time, worsen small issues and problems. As a result, this training will enable the participants to understand the gender differences in problem-solving, stress management, motivation, leadership and style, thus improve communication and behavioral flexibility with the opposite gender (Mars & Venus Workplace Seminars n.d.).
On the other hand, the cultural diversity training enables to show that differences in attitudes and behaviors are commonly, conditioned by culture-values, assumptions as well as perceptions that are instilled during early life and are expressed in the way that people behave and interact. The said influences are so strong that people act upon them instinctively – in everything that individual does. This is important because it can affect different important factors in human resource management, particularly conflict management and decision-making because these factors can lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication which commonly result to chaos (Communicaid n.d.). This is important because of the changes in the workplace environment due to the impact of globalization – international mergers and cross-cultural working environment.
Training Professional
Both gender and cultural diversity have a strong impact on the performance of the employees, particularly regarding the relationship or connection between them, which affect the overall performance of a company. However, it can be said that cultural diversity is more comprehensive training compare with gender diversity. This is because of the fact that the cultural diversity focus on the whole or holistic factor which affect the behavior, attitudes and effectiveness of an employee inside an organization. Furthermore, it is important to take note the fact that gender preferences differs or varies from one culture to another. Therefore, it is very important to focus on the cultural beliefs of the general group where an employee belongs to. Therefore, it can be said that the diversity in gender can be encompassed by the issues regarding cultural differences.
As a training professional, I would chose cultural diversity training because it will enables me to have the knowledge and awareness towards different cultures, because it will enable me to communicate in a cross-culture working environment in effective manner, therefore enables me to work more efficiently with counterparts from other cultures. This is important because the world is becoming smaller, and it can be observed in different companies where in different people from different cultures are working together in order to improve and maintain the overall performance of a company.
References
Communicaid, Cultural Diversity Training, viewed 14 April 2009, < http://www.communicaid.com/cross-cultural-training/cultural-diversity.php>
Karsten, M F 2006, Gender, Race and Ethnicity in the Workplace: Issues and Challenges for Today’s Organizations, Greenwood Publishing Group
Mars & Venus Workplace Seminars, Gender Diversity Training for Improved Performance, viewed 14 April 2009, <http://www.marsvenusatwork.com/#>
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