Introduction
Diversity has become an increasingly important issue to every individual, manager, and organization in America. White males already are a rapidly shrinking percentage of the work force while the numbers of women and minorities are increasing. This demographic shift has generated a dramatic response. Numerous publications and training approaches have flooded the market in an effort to meet the challenges that changing demographics pose to the workplace. But there are many ways into which these problems can be solved.
Body
In order to solve the problems on the diversity in workplace, it is important that these things are considered:
The demographic trends transforming the workplace. These trends need to be honestly and factually addressed without hyperbole, on the one hand, or denial, on the other, both of which hinder reasonable and timely adaptation. Demographically, the face of the United States is changing quickly. The sense of urgency necessary to deal with these shifts is masked by the size of the baby boom generation. Behind these shifts lies a different America. Diversity is a reality that needs to be reckoned with and to be solved and understanding the demographic trends that transform the workplace will be of big help not just to the managers but to all people involved in the process whether directly or not (Henderson, 55).
The general impact of culture on human behavior. This is a phenomenon that many Americans in their continental country have yet to address. Culture shapes behavior. As America is demographically transformed, the operational impact of culture increases because culturally diverse contexts generally complicate face-to-face communication and with that more culture should be learned and understood.
The concept of cultural paradigm. The components of a cultural paradigm or communication paradigm are the cultural historical background, the culturally-specific central values, nonverbal communication behaviors, and verbal communication behaviors of each major demographic group in the work force white males, white females, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans. This concept can help members of each ethnic group become aware of their own as well as other groups'
communication paradigms. The larger American historical setting. The American national experience includes discrimination and exploitation, but its larger historical experience is one of inclusion and assimilation of new entrants into its work force and society. Just as dynamic convergence has been the experience of ethnic groups in America, so it will be the experience of differing communication styles converging to create a new order of talk. The theory of reflexive communication. Reflexive communication is a practical and pragmatic approach to mitigate the problems of stereo- typing that frequently and spontaneously emerge when we encounter diversity. The goal is not only to acknowledge but also to transcend cultural generalities through the process of reflexive communication to access the individual better. In today's diverse workplace, effective communication is more than information transmission, it is mutual understanding (Riccucci, 113).
Conclusion
It can therefore be conclude that face-to-face communication is a central activity of managers. It also is an activity that culture complicates. This chapter explores the impact of cultural diversity on interpersonal communication in the workplace. It proposes that effective communication in any organization involves a common order of talk as a requirement for personal and organizational effectiveness. Individuals who represent the increasingly diverse work force are often as unfamiliar with the mainstream rules for discourse as are mainstream workers. Differing communication modes create new misperceptions and problems among workers. To address this problem, the impact of culture upon face-to-face communication must be highlighted. Propose the concept of cultural or communication paradigm to help individuals realize the linkage between culture and communication. We find that grasping each demographic group's cultural paradigm is an essential first step to help individuals communicate more effectively across gender and ethnic lines.