The expanding conflict over cultural diversity in corporate America may present as many opportunities and problems as affirmative action. Today, culturaldiversity is an important fact of life and business,due to the changing face of society, and therefore,the work place. It is growing ever more essential forpeople to interact with others outside of their racial,ethical, religious, regional, social, etc. boundaries.To stay on top of their competitors, especially in the1990s and going forward, corporations must change theirapproach, and see diversity not as a necessary evil or a mere threat, but as a source of enrichment and opportunity that may bring a wealth of benefits to thecompany.In an examination of the U.S. workplace andspecifically looking at management positions, it isclearly evident that minorities are "under"represented. The reasons behind this seem to varydepending on which point of view it is looked at. Some argue that minorities "haven't been in the laborpool long enough to work [their way] up". It isridiculous to believe this because there are plentyof qualified minorities for any of those jobs.(1)Others argue that "minority employees don't know therules that allow one to 'win' in the corporate 'game'".If this is true, then what is keeping them fromlearning these "rules" and what can be done to teachthem?(2) While these reasons may hold some truth, it isalso, as proven time after time in this country'smedia, a matter of race and/or gender.There is an inherit distrust on the part oftoday's managers (typically white males who grew upwith little exposure to people from other cultures)in the abilities of others outside of the white, malework-force. At the time many of today's leading CEOswere in school, they were taught "that blacks hadsmaller brains than whites" and that women were not assmart and were overly emotional. The attitudes andbeliefs of these men have "undoubtedly [been]influenced by such training". They h...
