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Value of Diversity in the Workplace

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Value of Diversity in the Workplace
Carolina Silva
Soc/315
April 11, 2011
Ashraf Esmail

Value of Diversity in the Workplace
Introduction
In the active times that we are living now, every company faces challenges that could be better handled if a diverse environmental workplace is put into play. Some issues may arise leaving some of the protagonists defenseless and the majority of the time unable to deal with the daunting situation at hand. Diversity is one of the most useful tools that any company at any point in time could ever possibly used, due to the fact that trends of growth in the population—in the US particularly—is becoming more diverse than ever. “Diversity in the workplace is about learning from different groups enabling a Company to benefit from the diverse perspectives and achievements.” (Cornell University ILR School, 2009) I am a real estate agent and a few years ago when I first started working my profession as a realtor in Florida, I joined a big franchise to get acquainted with the market and to make a name in the business. As a big franchise, one of the duties of the realtor is to stay at least one day in the office to provide information and to help any walk-in client that might happen to walk in. On one occasion, I was the one doing “floor duty” when a middle-aged Korean couple sat and waited for me at the office. I welcomly introduced myself, asking “How may I assist you?” Beyond obviously looking for a place to live they mentioned how they would love to find a place in a couple of neighborhoods where they ever so happened to have some friends, wanting to settle down near them. They did not request anything in particular, just a three bedroom, two bath room home and the neighborhoods that they had in mind. I started my search in the computer and after selecting a few properties; we took off to take a look. Our first day we visited eight properties and by the end of the day I asked which of the eight they preferred from the whole. I noticed that, to answer me, they always asked me again for the number of the property, and soon after a quick exchange of words and comments in their native language, they replied with “No, it’s not going to work.” No further explanation as to why given. Usually the first time out is when I get the chance to know my clients and learn what it is that they really are looking for in a home. In this way I am able to pre-select the ones that are better suit for them and present to them in order to choose the ones that they are interested in visiting. The following day I did the same. We pre-selected and few and then headed out. Once again they asked for the numbers that they were perhaps interested in, and again I got the same response. This happened again and again a few times after and I was started to get frustrated because I was unable to understand what they were really looking for in a home. I asked them repeatedly what it was that they were really looking, leaving me with just a smile and the modest words, “a home.” Apparently I was getting more worked up than they were because they had already painted a pretty good image of the home they were looking for, but were unable to explain to me exactly what it was that they wanted. I asked for help from my broker and colleagues and they were just as puzzled as I. At some point my broker suggested for me to sit down with them and try to refer them to another agent that might be able to help them with their search. In our company, there were mostly Americans working and only a handful of Spanish speaking agents, lacking at that time any Asian agents. I have the tendency to develop a strong relationship between my clients and myself, and even though I was unable to find them just what they were looking for, we established the foundation of a friendship to a certain degree. As a last resort I invited them to lunch at the restaurant where one of my past clients (who happens to be Korean) worked at as the lead chef. I asked for him and he kindly came to the table, introduced himself, and started some chit-chat with the couple in Korean. He looked at me and smiled, saying in English to me and to them that I was the only agent patient enough to deal with him and his family and find the perfect home, recommending me as the best agent suited to work with them. That was not my intention when I invited them; in fact I invited them to let them know that I was going to refer them to another agent in another company to help them in the search. By the end of lunch the wife smiled at me and told me shyly, “We trust you, and we don’t want to work with anyone else, but we couldn’t tell you exactly what we were looking for.” She proceeded to mention how they thought I would have laughed at them if they actually told me what it was. The house that they had in mind had to have the specifications that the Feng Shui required and the numbers had to add up to produce one number rather than a double digit number. I was so relieved when I finally heard their explanation because I understood their predicament as well as also feeling better about myself due to the fact that it wasn’t me that was doing her job inadequately. We came back to the office, and with all of the details finally given to me, I was able to pre-select just the right home that fell under all of the requirements. Although it did take me a while, in the end it was worth seeing the happy couple getting just what they wanted without mentioning to me that they had taken the liberty to refer several of their friends to me.
Conclusion
We take for granted that the diversity that we are experiencing at any level o out life is always present in the workplace, but sometimes that isn’t the case. There are still a few companies that do not embrace diversity as others have come to do and their limitations are evident. Diversity by definition “is the inclusion of things, people, and places that are different. For example, having different races, genders, ages, and ethnicities of people in one place is showing great diversity. No one thing or person is the same and is made up of different cultures and backgrounds. Also diversity can be the different opinions of individuals.” (Edwards, 2005) Diversity is one of the best tools that any company can have in their favor, providing personnel and clients with a wide range of options and opportunities to conduct business efficiently. Reference
Cornell University ILR School. (2009). Workplace Diversity. Retrieved from http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/research/subjectGuides/workplaceDiversity.html
Edwards, Taunda. (2005)What Is the Definition of Workplace Diversity? Retrieve from: http://www.ehow.com/about_5154350_definition-workplace-diversity.html#ixzz1J7iDwSCi

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