Reflection from class February 1st

Class last night was full of information. Once again I wanted to discuss more of the articles, but I think you are all capable of doing that here.

Guest Speakers:

Our first guest speaker, Dr. Porthen was a lot of fun. She is so full of energy. I enjoyed listening to the historical aspects of the country and why things are the way they are! I thought it was interesting how they called the Rainbow Nation. I would enjoy listening to the Afrikaans language. I think listening to German and Dutch would be really interesting (especially after studying German for 5 years). I also find the culture of the Indigenous people to be fascinating. I like how she talked about the caste system. I actually have a former colleague who was from India and he talked to my class last year about the caste system and the dowry, and other things. I really think it is interesting how that compares to other cultures. When Dr. Porthen discussed the reverse Apartheid, I thought it was interesting how the minority ruled (but I think we are going to see more of this in other countries). When she gave the example of the pass people had to have if they wanted to leave their area, I just couldn't believe how segregated they were. However, in a sense we did the exact same thing to the Native Americans. Also, being able to show someone a mirror and then they gave up their land alarmed me. It is so scary how much power some people can have over others. There was so much here that I could talk about, but I learned a lot about South Africa. I think it would be great to be able to try the different foods that are traditionally made there.

Corey was a very laid back speaker. I enjoyed the comparisons between Canada and the United States. One of the biggest surprises was the fact that even if it is not an emergency, you can get into the doctor in less than 30 minutes. We always here about the long lines in Canada and doctors coming to the USA to practice medicine. So, this really surprised me. I also think it is interesting that the education level is so much more intense. It sounds like students in the USA really should be thankful for what they have. I also found it interesting that a lot of the commercials in politics focus on the positive. This is something of which I really wish we would do more! I sometimes wish that we would have to learn another language like they do in Canada. The law enforcement sounds completely different. This brings me back to how our law enforcement acts here. If anyone has been watching the news, there were four people killed in Minot last week and there are no leads. Plus, there was a murder in 2007 that still has not been solved. I often times wish that we would focus our efforts on things that mattered a little more (rather than the person who is driving 2 miles over the speed limit or parking in a parking lot waiting for someone to do something). I did realize that I would really like to go to Canada to go hunting. I think it would be a lot of fun! The concept of the Canadian military made me laugh a bit. 7 submarines and 5 of them are on display in malls is a concept that is totally foreign to me. Our military has more submarines in one Naval base than their entire country and I think would be safe to say they aren't sitting in a mall somewhere.

Our articles:

The Guyot article had a lot of statistics about the glass ceiling. I think we have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go in order for men and women to actually be equal. I think we just assume (today) that men and women are equal. I can honestly say I have been a victim of sexism and it is an interesting (and NOT fun) position to be in. Another one of our articles talked about businesses having the 'good ol' boys club'. I promise you this still exists in today's society. In my experience, people who still value the 'good ol' boys club' hinder women from moving up in the workforce. How can we break down this mentality? How do we get people in this club to understand that women can do a good job? Honestly, I have a problem with people who say they fear women in power and they fear what women 'are like at that time of the month'. I think that any man or woman can be in this situation. Any man can be too powerful and have mood swings, just like any woman. Therefore, basing a woman's behavior on her biological settings (probably not the best term here) is a horrible and discriminative thing to do!

Our demographics in the workforce are changing. By 2050 Caucasians will be the minority. By 2020 women will make up half of the workforce. We are already seeing these changes with older employees staying in the workforce instead of retiring, more women and minority workers, etc. Do we need training opportunities to learn how to deal with these situations? If you think we do, what kind? We are seeing increased flexibility in scheduling and telecommuting. This allows for men and women to have a family and be able to work. In the Alverson article, I really liked seeing the skills that the author thought were important (leadership, interpersonal skills, open mindedness, diplomacy, persuasiveness, ethics and educational interests).

I thought the Kluge article was the best. He immediately defines diversity and tells us stories that have happened to him. He explained how discrimination can happen even to the white male. "Diversity is more than just a one time activity, more than just a human resources program, policy or strategy. Diversity is a state of mind. It's a mentality that automatically values the contribution that different nationalities, races, genders, ages and even different styles and experiences can bring to an organization." (p. 172)
     4 Values: commitment to stewardship, encouragement to initiative and creativity, excellence in everything we do, respect for EVERY individual
      "You many not like everything you hear. But you must be willing to listen." (p. 172) All I can say is AMEN! I think sometimes we put up our blinders and think everything is going to be our way. In the workforce and life in order to effectively communicate, you must be willing to listen!
     "As we learn to value and manage diversity across the organization, our capacity to serve our diverse customer base is also enhanced." (p.172) This is true in any situation. You learn how to serve people better by learning how to value and manage diversity.
     5 individual but interconnected criteria to gauge progress: 1) employee perception, 2) business integration, 3) representation, 4) leadership, 5) public perception
     Don'ts: Don't use quotas, Don't force diversity down people's throats, don't join clubs that discriminate or deny membership to women or any minority or religious group, Don't want to be legislated into adopting a diversity strategy
    Do's: identify and establish core values as an organization, communicate and reinforce its messages and principles constantly to your employees, be champion diversity personally (embrace it, live it, talk about it, believe in it), celebrate diversity, recognize and honor employees who practice diversity, and measure!
    Diversity is more than equity!
    Weaving diversity into the very fabric of your organization takes time
     Diversity will delivery bottom line results from business and results will be substantial if you make a commitment!!
     Diversity means recognizing uniqueness of another person whether they are a customer, employee, or ourselves!
     Creating a diverse culture is a bottom-up, gradual exercise.

Remember: Change is scary! Most people are not comfortable with change.

Hand's on Strategies:
    Personality, sensibility and work style drive the company's success! Homogeneity does not breed innovation. For good problem solving and decision making we need diversity in our personalities. Teams work best when they are extremely diverse or hardly diverse at all. A couple words out of this article that you probably didn't know before are:
     Teetotaler--one who doesn't drink
     Polyglot--ability to speak several language

Lastly, Affirmative Action...What are your views? It was designed to benefit disadvantages descendants of American slaves rather than socially and economically advantaged immigrants. Women have been able to make the most gains from it (57% of all college students are female and on this campus it is even a larger percentage). It attempted to end racial and gender discrimination and provide equal opportunities for women and minorities. Has it done this? How do you feel about Affirmative Action?

I think you have a clear idea of what we talked about now. What do you think? What is important to you? Why is this important? How will you use this information?

Until next week...