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Module Six Paper

Ally N. Baker

Arizona State University

Dr. Emily Mertz

OGL 350: Diversity and Organizations

November 20, 2022

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Module Six Paper

In this paper I will be discussing my key findings on diversity conflict in organizations

and diving into why this conflict is so complex. I will also be discussing how people within

organizations function alongside one another despite the differences in culture we have. A lot of

this week's readings, including the giraffe and elephant story, have led me to a better

understanding of diversity management and how the dynamics of diversity affect individuals

differently. I also did a bit of self-reflection in module six after completing the cultural

intelligence post-test, similar to the one I took in module one.

Diversity Conflict in Organizations

One of my main takeaways on diversity conflict within organizations is the importance of

understanding that perspective plays a huge role in understanding cultural conflict. This is due to

the differences in social norms, practices, and beliefs that we share amongst one another

(Friedrich, 2018). At the same time, we share a linguistic code, better known as language, and

the desire to communicate collaboratively and in good faith. I realized that every human could

approach communication with good faith, but there will always be a potential conflict because

we each have a unique perspective and thought process. These conflicts can stem from

differences in cultural patterns, assumptions, beliefs, and differences in how to address or handle

conflict (Friedrich, 2018). First identifying your “range” of your own thoughts of conflict

management, communication style, and directness or indirectness well better equip you to

prevent and solve diversity conflict.

Diversity Conflict Within My Organization

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When I think about diversity conflict within my own organization, I specifically think of

a situation that happened a few years ago at Starbucks. I was the closing shift manager at the

time of this event. This incident involved a barista and an upset customer. An upset customer

was upset in our drive-thru because her order was wrong. I kindly addressed the customer at the

speaker box and let her know to pull around to the window and we would be glad to remake her

order. Before the customer got to the window, another barista said to me “let me handle the upset

customer”. I asked the barista why since I am the shift manager on the floor. The barista’s

response was “well you’re white and the customer is black, I’m the only black barista here right

now so I’ll talk to her”. I was honestly shocked by her statement. I continued to go ahead and

handle the situation at the window myself, but I was still thrown off by the barista’s comment. In

this moment, I wanted to ask the barista why she thought she should handle the situation and her

perspective on this because I did not understand. Once she got off work, I asked to have a

conversation with her. From her perspective as a black woman, she explained that from her point

of view sometimes being approach by a white person can be intimidating and she was just trying

to make the moment right with the customer by making her comfortable. From my perspective, I

would have looked very odd if I asked the only black barista there to address a customer

complaint with a customer who is also black, especially since I am the shift manger, and she is

only a barista. After this conversation, we both felt a lot better, and we realized there was just a

misunderstanding. I would say that this felt like harmony between the two of us. Harmony,

meaning going above and beyond agreement, but also coming together despite being completely

different from one another (Broome, 2017). I realized that neither of us was thinking wrongly in

that situation. It took communication from both of us to understand our differences in

viewpoints.
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Key Dynamics

The giraffe and elephant story showed just how important perspective is. There were two

perspectives in the story. There's the giraffe's perspective (dominant group) and the elephant's

perspective (subordinate group). The difference in perspective is especially important because it

explains the dynamics of diversity. Just like the giraffe and elephant story, we are all made up of

a diversity mixture. A diversity mixture is described as how we are all different from each other

but also the same (Thomas, 1999). The giraffe and elephant were different when comparing size

and height, but they are also similar because they are both into woodworking, both live in the

same neighborhood, and were both members of the PTA team. When applying this concept to us

and how we live, we may find many similarities between each other while also noticing visible

differences as well. A good way to go about this is to accept responsibility in how we perceive

one another and how we act in diverse scenarios. This will help in creating an environment that

nurtures and is open to diversity.

Approach to Leadership

Even before completing this week's readings, I have always set it as a genuine intention

to be a leader who fosters a safe and welcoming environment of diversity. That said, I still

learned many great leadership practices after completing the readings of inclusive leadership.

One of those is the practice of inclusive leadership. A leader who is in good practice of

inclusiveness creates a safe space where everyone feels like they can speak up, feel welcome,

and be heard (Jain-Link et al., 2020). A significant role I play in this is recognizing my own bias

when hiring new employees, how I take care of my current employees, and how I hold my peers

accountable. Since I am a manager at the company I work for, acknowledging these factors will

play a huge part in my store's culture.

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CQ Cultural Intelligence Score

After completing the cultural intelligence post-test, I can see that my cultural intelligence

has been raised 10 points since I took the pre-test at the beginning of this course. Comparing

myself now to before, I know that I understand a lot more about other cultures and just how

much we are different from each other. At the same time, we are also remarkably similar. On

many occasions, it is our lack of understanding of one another that causes conflict. Taking this

course has been extremely helpful because I am more aware of the simple fact that our

perspectives are so different, and we should come together first to discuss them rather than act on

them without knowing where the other person is coming from.

Conclusion

I have overall really enjoyed this course and for many reasons. I was able to reflect a lot

on what I did know about diversity and what I did not know about diversity in a safe space. I

learned a lot about myself and what I consider my identity. I learned a lot about other cultures,

including my boyfriend who is from a completely different culture from me. I have also learned

good leadership practices that nurture inclusiveness and diversity. Most importantly, I learned

how to simply be a better human being. Thank you for such a fun and educational course!
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References

Broome, B. (2017). Moving from conflict to harmony. In Conflict Management and Intercultural

Communication: The Art of Intercultural Harmony, edited by Xiaodong Dai, and Guo-Ming

Chen. Taylor & Francis Group

Friedrich, P. (2018). Cultural differences in conflict resolution. The TESOL Encyclopedia of

English Language Teaching. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Jain-Link et al. (2020). 5 strategies for creating an inclusive workplace

Thomas, R. (1999). Building a House for Diversity. New York: R. Thomas & Associates Inc.