The Diversity Dynamic: Implications for Organizations in 2005

Abstract

This article examines the forces that influence our understanding of and responses to diversity in the work place. Conceptually, diversity may either be understood as variety, in which all people are regarded as unique individuals, or as difference, in which specific groups of people (e.g., nonwhites and women), are regarded as being different with respect to a dominant group (e.g., white men). From either perspective, today's work force is becoming increasingly diverse as a result of changes in immigration patterns; demographic trends; and the increasing polar ization of society with respect to education, skills, and wealth. In the past, because of the influence of mechanistic management principles, organizations typically responded to diversity by minimizing or eliminating differences. In the future, the particular needs ofselectgroups of people willlikely be accommodated. In the distant future, organizations that fail to acknowledge the full range of variety inherent in their employee and customer populations will have difficulty surviving.

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