Reflection On Inclusion And Diversity

1058 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay for interest in diversity and inclusion

Surprises
Looking back, as I began our readings, my initial thoughts were “I’ve been through inclusion and diversity sensitivity training and we’re doing all the right things at Sherwin-Williams; I’ll be able to teach a few things about inclusion”. I was so wrong! As I reflect back over our readings and discussions, I am more apt to say that my own discoveries were tearing down walls of presumptions of what inclusion, change, and diversity mean in the workplace. For me, in many ways, the process of experiencing a deeper attention to inclusion and change has actually been both a destructive process, as well as a constructive one. I can see now that my previous understanding of inclusion, LGBTA, diversity and being a change agent in the workplace …show more content…

However, that change may not come in the form of a new product from the engineering department, but rather utilizing the resources from within the team to inspire them answer questions and change their way of thinking about a situation or other individuals. For example, I have started to utilize white board in meetings very frequently and changed the dynamics of my meeting from “briefings” to “question sessions”. In this sense, through my readings and personal leading experiences, I aspire to be the creative change leader that Puccio, Mance and Murdock talk about, and understand that “becoming an effective leader is not a destination. It is a journey that involves continuous improvement and the starting point for this journey will vary from person to person” (p.291). In doing so, if I want to encourage others to participate and develop in others I have to be a model. “The leader who wants to create an emotionally intelligent team can help by raising it collective self-awareness” (Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee, 2004, p.183). I feel that successful leadership and motivating change are found in open dialogues between a leader and their staff. According to Sylvia Hewlett, Melinda Marshall, and Laura Shelbin in their article How Diversity Can Drive Innovation wrote, “ Leaders also need acquired diversity to establish a culture in which all employees feel free to contribute ideas.” Creating change and ultimately creating inclusion will not happen unless leaders expose their team to the creative process through dialogue and critical thinking. Thomas L. Friedman (2004) in his book, The World is Flat, stated that, to be successful in a flatlined or globalized world of today, “we have to be the masters of our imaginations, not the prisoners” (p.448). Furthermore, according to Kouzes and Posner (2002), stated the

Show More
Related

  • Diversity In Brave New World

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    Self proclaimed philosopher, english writer, and novelist Aldous Huxley wrote the book Brave New World. One of the issues in the novel is how uniform the society is. There is no diversity in the in Brave New World. Huxley carefully examined on why society is the way it is. He wants the audience to understand the philosophy of a unique society different from a normal society.

    Read More

  • Organic Evolution Of Change Case Study

    1242 Words  | 3 Pages

    Leaders benefit from building a team to create and implement change, this is a key theme in the Kotter model of change. This teambuilding engages employees throughout the process. Allowing employees to be a part of the change process gives them the opportunity and trust to be creative moving toward the future (Cochrane, 2002). Leaders can create opportunity for employees and leaders to dialogue about the change, which can help troubleshoot the process. Leaders who engage employees throughout the organization from various levels of the organization will receive perspectives from the entire organization helping them make better-informed decisions. Employees want to be allowed the opportunity to help an organization they believe in, in a way that enhances the

    Read More

  • Essay On Diversity And Diversity

    967 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dental professionals have a commitment to respect diversity and create equity of access to dental care for everyone (GDC, 2014). Diversity describes any dimension that can be used to differentiate an individual from others. It requires understanding that each individual is unique and accepting and respecting these individual differences (QCC,2013). These differences could be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender, age, socio-economic status or other ideologies (QCC, 2013). Understanding the impact that these differences may pose is vital in dealing professionally with people from diverse backgrounds and delivering equal treatment for all. Equality refers to identical treatment in dealings quantitates and values (Braveman, and Gruskin, 2003). Thus, creating equality for all might not mean that there are no disparities between different groups. Equity on the other hand refers to fairness and the equality of outcomes and involves recognizing aspects of a system that may disadvantage a certain group and correcting them (Braveman, and Gruskin, 2003). Therefore, in order to overcome potential pitfalls that may create inequity to access, there is a need to explore the different factors encountered in our diverse society that may create these issues. As an example, patients from different ethnic backgrounds may be faced with barriers accounting for the less frequent use of dental care (CQC. 2010). This group will be used as an example and some of the issues behind this inequity of access will be looked at further.

    Read More

  • Tina Seelig Insight Out Analysis

    1643 Words  | 4 Pages

    When attempting to bring about change, some people are more successful at it than others. Some people find it relatively easy to change something while for others it is very difficult. One of the reasons that occurs is because the successful people enhance and utilize their skills in order to bring about change. In the book Insight Out by Tina Seelig, four main skills are discussed in a hierarchal and cyclic system. Seelig then highlights each skill in turn and includes projects for the reader to do in order to enhance that particular skill. These skills include imagination, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

    Read More

  • Interview Paper

    1258 Words  | 3 Pages

    Diversity means understanding that each individual is unique, while recognizing and accepting individual differences. These differences can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs and other ideologies. For this paper, I have chosen to explore the differences between ethnicity, nationality, gender, and religious beliefs by interviewing “Andy” a Romanian, agnostic, non United States Citizen male, who is studying in America.

    Read More

  • Intersectionality Reflection Paper

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    After learning and reviewing the action continuum chart in this class it brought a specific quote to my mind, “if you’re not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem,” while I was aware of other forms of oppression, I only really involved myself with topics and intervention tactics that dealt with racism and sexism, as these were the two areas directly affecting me and my life. One of the topics in this course that stood out to me was the discussion on transgender oppression, before coming to college, information about the transgender community and even sectors of the LGBTQ community was somewhat taboo to me..

    Read More

  • Social Diversity And Diversity

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    One problem that affected my family pretty deeply was diversity issues when they both started working in their careers. My mom and dad both started out in their careers working for Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). “The treatment of Native Americans, Asians, African Americans and Hispanics by California Anglos has been characterized by systematic and individual violence at worst, and consistent political, economic, and social discrimination at best” (DeBow, pg. 238) During the start of their careers, my mom and dad faced difficult challenges, a lot of racism and bullying. My mom would be bullied by her boss and I remember she would complain on a weekly basis of her boss treating her poorly and embarrassing her in front of other employees, until one day her boss moved on to another job. Meanwhile, my dad was bullied by other employees and was constantly being picked on, calling my dad with racial slurs and treating him with a hazing-like mentality. It was brutal, but they both persevered in a way I have never seen to this day. They stuck it out like true champions, but it was a time in their life where they really had only each other. My mom continued to stay, while my dad left for an even better job, thus with City and County. Diversity is still an issue today because I still hear from my dad that he witnesses diversity issues in the workplace.

    Read More

  • Diversity and Inclusion

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    Diversity is a notion, when applied to the majority of circumstances, can create a positive conclusion. The trick to producing a positive outcome is often how the different aspects are brought together. Consider a classic dinner combination peas and carrots, the two colors look appealing and the two flavors comes together as one making a superb side dish. Now consider oil and water, these two substance are not often considered a good combination. Although, this is not always the case; olive oil and vinegar (which is water based) when mixed, come together into a delectable salad dressing. Diversity and inclusion should also apply to humans by bringing people together who are different it can creates a whole that is enhanced by the uniqueness of each individual.

    Read More

  • Inclusion: The Past, Present, and Future

    4020 Words  | 9 Pages

    There are millions of children that are passing through the United States school system every day, not all children possess the same traits, and not all children can learn at the same rate, and do not perform at the same ability. The fact that all children learn differently and some have difficulties learning in general classrooms, special education was put into place to try and take care of these issues. Special education programs were put into place to help all students with disabilities. These children range from general disabilities to more complex and severe disabilities. There has been a revolution occurring in the past several years with education systems, and special education. There have now been several laws that have been passed that mandate changes in special education and the treatment that children, and parents receive, it also changes how the children are being taught, and how the teachers are to also change and conform to this idea called inclusion. Inclusion in the school system simply is stating that children who have learning disabilities, and more severe disabilities are to be included in the general education environment for as long as possible daily. There has been several different names other than inclusion that have been used, but in present times and since the 1990’s inclusion has been the most common term used. “The change in terminology was pushed in part by the philosophy that inclusion would mean more than only physical placement of children with disabilities in the same classroom, but rather it conveyed that children with disabilities would become a part of larger social, community, and societal systems” (Odom, Buysse, & Soukakou, 2011, para. 3). There has not been just one major law that was passed...

    Read More

  • Diversity Reflection Paper

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many definitions relating to diversity, equity and inclusion that and sometimes the terms used interchangeably. Definitions that are helpful in understand the concepts are as follows. Diversity can be the sum of the ways that people are both alike and different. The dimensions of diversity include race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, culture, regions, mental and physical ability, class, and immigration status. While diversity itself is not value-laden term, the way that people react to diversity is driven by values, attitudes, beliefs, and so on. Full acceptance of diversity is a major principle of social justice. I personally didn’t have that much knowledge about the diversity social justice because I came from

    Read More

  • Essay On Diversity And Diversity

    752 Words  | 2 Pages

    Diversity is a value that shows respect for the differences and similarities of age, sex, culture, ethnicity, beliefs and much more. Having a diverse organization, helps notice the value in other people and also how to teach respect to people that might not know how. The world is filled with different cultures and people that might believe in different things as you, but that doesn’t mean you need to treat them any different. It is imperative for people to grasp diversity because it’ll help people how to engage with others in a respectful yet a hospitable way.

    Read More

  • Reflection On Creativity And Innovation

    1581 Words  | 4 Pages

    (1) I would like to create an optimum work environment by demonstrating collaborative behavior myself. This will inspire my team to follow or model the same behavior (Gratton and Erickson, 2007). (2) I will also allow myself adequate time daily to coach my team on the basis of creativity and innovation to improve business performance (Coutu and Beschloss, 2009). I will give clear direction to my team as to where we are going as a team together. According to Coutu & Beschloss (2009) unless the leader provides a clear direction, there is a real risk that different members will pursue different plans. That is why it is important to articulate a clear direction for my team to makse that everyone is on the same page as we’re moving forward (Coutu and Beschloss, 2009). (3) I will establish a sense of community – When people feel a sense of inclusivity, they are more likely to reaching out to others and share their knowledge to improve effective collaboration in a creative and innovative way (Gratton and Erickson,

    Read More

  • Special Needs Education

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lazarus, Belinda D. “What is Inclusion?” Making Inclusion Work. Feb 2001. University of Michigan-Dearborn. 18 Mar 2011.

    Read More

  • The Reflection Of Systems Thinking And Learning Organization

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lee and Green stressed that feedback and learning are essential to systems thinking organization. Neumann (2013) replaced the word feedback with the word reflecting, noting leaders must reflect on the interactions of the parts to gain a better understanding of the system. Learning is the other component to a systems thinking organization. Neumann offered the ‘know why thinking’ approach to learning. According to Neumann (2013), to guarantee learning is happening within a systems thinking organization, leaders need to confirm workers understand the ‘why’ they are doing the job they are doing. According to Simington (2015), people desire to know the ‘why’ behind what they are asked to do for the organization. Simington noted that leaders should embrace the questions from the employees because that provides an opportunity for the leader and workers to explore and innovate new ways to improve the organization. One method of improving a company is to change the environment into a team driven organization. Zoltan et al. (2013) noted a team consist of three factors. The first factor is each member has a skill. Next, the members of the team need problem-solving skills, evaluate situations and make competent decisions. The last factor a team need is people with good listening skills, desires feedback, and members trained in conflict resolution. Zoltan et al. stressed leaders must blend the skills in

    Read More

  • My Past Present And Future Essay

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    Now that we have explored my past, present, and future experiences with diversity, it is time to see how they are present within and effect each other. Firstly, let’s look into how my future is present in my past. The most obvious portion of my future that is in my past is my willingness and efforts to love and include everyone and to spread this world view. It took a fellow classmate of mine to demonstrate to my third grade self that we are all human beings and we all deserve to be treated as such. In my future, I aspire to demonstrate this world view to my students and inspire them to treat each other accordingly. This aspiration directly reflects my world view struggles I went through in third grade, for I want to help my students come to

    Read More

More about Reflection On Inclusion And Diversity

Open Document