ESSAY: Workplace Diversity and Effective Communication

For this discussion, you will choose to write an initial post about Option A (Diversity) or Option B (Communication). Initial posts are due Day 4. By Day 7, you will write responses to at least two classmates who posted about the option you did not choose.

Option A: We have all worked in diverse settings, whether in hospitals, clinics, health departments, or schools. The staff in these healthcare settings is hopefully becoming more diverse to meet the needs of a diverse clientele. Let’s discuss the differences you have seen and how you can become a more effective leader in a changing culture. Respond to the following questions.

Describe age and gender differences you have observed in the workplace.
Suggest strategies for you to become a more effective leader in an age diverse work setting.

ANSWER

Workplace Diversity

Capitalizing and maximizing on workplace diversity is a critical concern for management. Healthcare institutions have to embrace diversity and need to look for ways to become more inclusive because workplace diversity has the ability to yield greater competitive advantages and productivity. Diversity aims at valuing, accepting, understanding, and acknowledging differences among people with respect to cultural background, languages, education, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, race, religion, and abilities. Diversity in the workplace can also be in the form of age and gender differences, which is essential within any healthcare facility. Diversity has multiple benefits, both from an external and internal perspective. Some of which include helping to embrace new views, improved patient care, higher engagement, increased creativity, and faster decision making (Barak, 2016). In recent years, healthcare facilities have become more diverse to meet the needs of a diverse clientele and to fix age and gender imbalance. More women are encouraged to become medical leaders. In addition, the hospital management strives to discourage employment bias, fix gaps in promotion and payment, and discourage all forms of sexual harassment. There have been more men becoming family caregivers, while more women pursue higher roles such as those of corporate board leaders and chief medical officers. Therefore, quantification is key and not age or gender. As a leader, some strategies would be useful in ensuring the effective management of an age-diverse work setting. The first strategy would be to celebrate the age differences in the workplace (Guillaumeet al., 2017). This can be done…