OGL 350 April 25, 2018

What did you learn about individual diversity?

What I learned about individual diversity is that our culture affects who we are as a person. Our
culture affects our norms, our beliefs, our personalities and the way we view the world. In connection
with culture affecting who we are at our core, learning about implicit bias was eye opening. Because of
the way we are shaped by culture and society, it’s possible to have underlying bias to which we must be
aware of conscious of. Learning about subtle discrimination opened my eyes to ways that implicit bias
can impact what we do and say. Through this course, it’s become more apparent to me of the need to
be conscious, aware, and sensitive to diversity.

What did you learn about diversity in organizations?

What will stick with me about diversity in organizations is that diversity increases creativity. It
also provides exposure to other cultures for people who might not otherwise experience it, as well as
learning opportunities and the chance to learn how to be more open-minded. I’ve always been
appreciative of diversity within my workplace for these reasons. I enjoy learning about other people’s
cultures and appreciate the experience of working with others who are different from me.

What did you learn about leading diverse teams?

My takeaway from learning about leading diverse teams is that it’s vital to be inclusive,
accepting of differences, and that culture impacts conflicts. One of my favorite parts of this class was
learning about how people respond differently to conflict. I loved reading about Toyoda’s response to
upset and learning about the parts of his culture that were evident in it. Being able to now understand
the difference between high and low context cultures, neutral and affective, collective and independent
will impact the way I approach inter-cultural conflict as a leader.

Overall, this course has opened my sense of sensitivity to cultures and has taught me the
importance of being aware and having my eyes open to cultural differences.