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Cultural Diversity is an Opportunity!
Cultural diversity within your business is an opportunity and needs to be embraced as one. Just take a look around you. Opportunity abounds because our world is a diverse place. Whether you have come to realize it or not as a small business owner, your awareness and respect of cultural diversity in the workplace truly matters to your employees and your client base. If you want your business to be successful and competitive in the future, you will have to utilize these human resources and participate in these diversity trends. As we move further along in the 21st century, it will be necessary for business owners to compete in a more global arena. You’ll compete for resources, for people, and much more. Even though your business may be based in the United States it doesn’t mean your customers will be or that your suppliers are. We are in an age that includes the world wide web. And with the internet the boundaries to doing business in other countries have been overcome. The rest of the world is not just for the big boys anymore. But can you take advantage of that? Do you know what kinds of products will sell in India, China, Finland, Germany and elsewhere? Do you know what kind of goods can be purchased for your business? That is where being a culturally diverse company is an advantage. Your employees may know how to do business in places that you don’t.
Successfully managing cultural diversity in the workplace is a challenge, but one that can be overcome and taken advantage of. The people you hire will always have diverse cultural backgrounds. And that culture is not just based on the color of their skin. They come from different countries, states, regions, and neighborhoods. They can tell you things about places you’ve probably never been and are not likely to visit anytime soon. They’ll be of different genders and social backgrounds. And they’ll things know of things that can impact your business either now or in the future. Read the rest of this entry »
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Cultural Diversity In The Classroom Equals Language Success
Cultural differences in communicating are important for a teacher to understand because cross-cultural communication abounds in early childhood classrooms. Diversity represents the richness and uniqueness of human life. It is something that is valued and shared with children that teachers encounter on a day to day basis.
Multicultural education hopes to prepare children for a diverse society in which different languages and customs abound. Its goals include communicating despite differences, cooperating for multicultural unity, and respecting the values of others.
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Cultural Diversity in Nigeria A Blessing or a Curse
Cultural diversity is a phrase generally used in describing a society with people of different ethnic roots which manifest in their languages, mode of dressing, arts, as well as other traditional practices which are either similar or distinctively different from each group. Such traditional practices are highly valued and held with great admiration among people of an ethnic group. In Nigeria for instance, when it comes to dressing a core northerner is identified with a starchy ironed fez as a cap. In the western part of Nigeria which is dominated by Yoruba ethnic group, people generally sew their cap in a long style which is neatly folded when worn on the head. On the other hand, in the eastern side of the country the Ibo are know for their red cap which is traditional worn (but mostly) by title holders. Other minority ethnic groups within the middle belt region like the Tiv, Ngas, Idoma, Nupe, etc, also have unique cultural attributes which help in recognizing their cultural roots when appeared in the public. For example, the Tiv people in Nigeria are widely known for their a’nger, a unique traditional costume (fabric), lineally sewn in black and white features, which is generally worn by Tiv people to identify with their cultural origin.
The picture created above is that of a cultural mosaic or congress of cultures consensually residing in one community called Nigeria. However, to express how culturally diversified Nigeria is, there is need to have mental cross-section of Kaduna state which has, over the years, remained a unifying point for varying cultures.
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