Diversity Training
As Superior Wrench Corporation (SWC) continues to expand at an explosive rate beyond its national borders, the dire need for the implementation of an aggressive diversity training plan is imperative. Management must focus on energizing employees at home and abroad, as well as provide customer satisfaction to national and international customers. These tasks can prove to be difficult without the understanding of a diverse workforce and diverse markets. “Management and leadership teams which lack diversity cannot possibly comprehend and respond to the issues that organizations must deal with in a multi-cultural world” (Gandz, 2007, Diversity and Globalization, para. 1). The challenge lies on how diversity is viewed, perceived, or defined in the United States versus the rest of the global community. Will training that is founded on US values suffice to promote diversity in other parts of the world? The obvious answer is no, therefore it can be determined that significant differences will apply to a diversity training plan at a national and international level.
The difference in training a national and an international audience could stem from the inability of U.S.-based companies to broaden the definition of diversity. Peggy Hazard, managing director and head of global services for Simmons Associates, explains that “Even when there is a broad definition, we tend to base diversity on race, ethnicity, handicap, sex, or sexual orientation…If you are taking this definition abroad and managing an international office, they’re not going to relate to what you are saying” (Thomas, 2008, Global Worries, para. 2). At first glance, it can be deducted that U.S.-based companies tend to ...