(2) Diversity Questions With (4) Peer Reviews

Throughout this course you will read scholarly work on questions of diversity, exclusion and inclusion. You will write a weekly blog reflecting upon those issues, but rather than offering an unsubstantiated opinion on these matters, you’ll be expected to offer a unique but informed opinion supported by scholarly research and empirical evidence.

You will have freedom to choose the topic and the particular angle of the issue as you wish to explore it, but there are some clear parameters you’ll need to follow.

Each blog entry must have:

1. Minimum 500 words (15% penalty for falling short of the word count)

2. 1 citation from academic source materials read that week in class. This must be cited with a page number and author. Sources may not be reused week-to-week.

3. 1 citation of an academic source (a relevant peer-reviewed article) from outside of class. See the writing guide to determine what is an appropriate source. Hint: Wikipedia is not an academic source. Sources may not be reused week-to-week.

4. 1 citation of a news media article relevant to the topic.

5. At least 1 audio or visual element that adds substantial content to support your argument. This could be a link to a video, pictures, etc.

Peer Review 1:

Robert A:

I might be on the other side of this issue as a lot of people that I have come across are, but inequality in the United States might not be as big of problem as some people make it out to be. Is there inequality in the United States? The answer to that question is yes, and yes, the top 1% own 36% of the wealth in this country (Emmanuel Saez, 2016). It’s been a lot about who has the wealth rather than concentrating on making wealth for yourself.

              There is absolutely nothing we can do about who controls the wealth of this country, what are we going to do? Are we going to take it away from them and distribute it to the poor, like Robin Hood? No, the answer is simple, start making better financial decisions for ourselves and create wealth that way. I apologize if I come out rash in this blog, but I have done enough research on this topic to have a good understanding of it.

              Another thing that people talk about is racial inequality, well there is that in these United States to this day, however; once again it is on the individual to work their way toward a brighter future. One of my main examples of this is the military, the military is close to half and half, meaning half majority and half minorities (George M. Reynolds, 2018). This is a path that everyone can follow and gain retirement and benefits for themselves and families for the rest of their lives no matter where they came from. I’ve seen people from all walks of life, from different countries, from bad neighborhoods, from good neighborhoods, from gangs, and pretty much anything you can think of in the military. Granted some people don’t want to be in the military, but the same holds true for government service. Most companies have policies that divert to hiring a diverse workforce as well.

              Companies like Nike, Pinterest, Microsoft, Verizon, and too many others to count have programs in place to hire diverse workforces. The last point I want to make on this topic is gender inequality. It seems like this is a hot topic as well. Gender inequality does exist and has existed in the United States for as long as women have been working. Things are starting to change from my research, childless women in their 20’s are now earning 8% more than men of the same age group (Sharockman, 2014). Things are starting to look up for our country and things are starting to equalize more and more every day.

              But yes, there is still inequality in the workplace and I think it’s on me and you to make sure that any and all of this type of behavior stops. We, as a society, need to call out these types of issues until they disappear completely. There is too much to talk about on this particular subject in the blog, but I am looking forward to the feedback on this.

 

Works Cited

Emmanuel Saez, G. Z. (2016, February 16). Wealth Inequality in the United States since 1913: Evidence from Capitalized Income Tax Data . Retrieved from Oxford: https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/131/2/519/2607097

George M. Reynolds, A. S. (2018, April 24). Demographics of the U.S. Military. Retrieved from Council of Foregin Relations: https://www.cfr.org/article/demographics-us-military

Sharockman, A. (2014, April 19). What pay gap? Young women out-earn men in cities, conservative pundit claims. Retrieved from Politfact: https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2014/apr/09/genevieve-wood/what-pay-gap-young-women-out-earn-men-cities-gop-p/

Peer Review 2:

Michael:

Running a business is a challenge in and of itself, but running an international business is a huge challenge with many possible facets for diversity to benefit, but can also hinder the business.  Production may happen in one country, design in another, parts may be produced in multiple countries before they are sent to the production country.  Many teams will be formed to represent the different aspects of the company.  The first problem that may be faced with international businesses is communication.  Speaking multiple languages regarding one product can cause so many problems for the company.  Instead of pointing out the problem in the product or design, one team may ask a question, which they intend to have it point out the problem, but is not clear to other teams.  Accents can be another large problem.  There are hundreds, if not thousands, of accents and location specific jargon within just the United States, an international team could very easily have misunderstandings.  Decision making is the last large problem to be faced.  If one group puts in too little thought beforehand or too much thought and delays the final decision it can lead to problems.  International businesses having a knowledge of multicultural teams can help them be better prepared for problems they may be faced with.  "Putting people together as a group, and thus combining their intelligence and creativity, often leads members to come up with new and unexpected ideas and solutions," (Wheelan, 2016, pg. 8).  There are some key things that will directly effect the success of groups and teams working in a multicultural business.  "If group members believe that whatever they come up with will be rejected or changed by upper management, the chances of group success are diminished," (Wheelan, 2016, pg. 9).  Team members feeling as if their ideas are not being given a chance will feel discouraged from participating, limiting the diversity thought process in the business.  Companies want to make money. No matter how philanthropical or greedy a company may be, they want to make money.   "Man is dominated by the making of money, by acquisition as the ultimate purpose of his life," (Weber, 1905, pg. 4).  Trying to understand the multiple cultures a business team may be working with is the responsibility of everyone involved.  It does not fall back on one team member to understand all cultures involved in a multicultural business.  "Remember that it is up to you to make the effort to adapt; not attempting to understand and take into account the other party's cultural background may be felt as an insult," (Moneywatch, 2007).  The picture below is an "iceberg analogy" that can show how little can be understood when working in multicultural teams.  The tip of the iceberg shows the "common sense" problems most people will think of when working in a diverse group.  The rest of the iceberg shows how much more goes into working in a diverse team and that it is no easy task to be accomplished.  Understanding the people or groups you may be working with will improve the overall experience and flow of thoughts when working together.

(LED 410, 2019)

References 

LED410. (January 2019). LED410-Week One Lecture. National University. Retrieved from                                                                                                                    https://nu.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id       =_92123_1&content_id=_6884323_1&mode=reset

Moneywatch. 2007. Negotiating in a Multicultural Business Environment. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/negotiating-in-a-multicultural-business-environment/

Weber, M. 1905. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.

Wheelan, S. 2016. Creating Effective Teams A Guide fro Members and Leaders.  Los Angeles: Sage.