Ashley Miller

August 7, 2023

OGL 350

Diversity Conflict in the Workplace

In today's interconnected and diverse business landscape, the combination of cultures,

perspectives, and values within workplaces offers a opportunity for growth and innovation.

However, this rich diversity also gives rise to the potential for conflict. While some conflict can

be positive leading to increased collaboration it can also be disruptive and lead to interpersonal

issues. This paper explores the multifaceted dynamics of diversity conflict in the workplace, the

journey toward creating a multicultural organization, and the essential components of ethical

viewpoints, negotiation strategies, and conflict management.

Diversity conflict refers to disagreements, tensions, or disputes that arise within a diverse

group of individuals due to differences in cultural backgrounds, values, beliefs, norms,

communication styles, or other aspects related to their diverse identities. This type of conflict

occurs when people from different cultural backgrounds face challenges in understanding and

communicating with each other. Identifying differences involves knowledge of where conflict

arises from. “Conflict occurs at least in part because of differences in perspectives, goals, and the

means to achieve desired outcomes. Often in conflict situations, groups on each side will operate

according to stereotypes and misconceptions that can keep them apart and lead them to take

unnecessary actions against each other.” (Broome, B. 2017) Diversity conflict can result in and

include misunderstandings, stereotypes, and misinterpretations, It may arise in both personal and

professional settings, such as workplaces, school systems, or community organizations. While

diversity can bring creativity and innovation, it can also lead to friction and challenges if not

negotiated properly.

As a leader, I always want to create an inclusive and diverse working environment. This

requires some understanding of underlying bias for me and others, being diligent, and acting with

immediacy. I put my team through bias and anti-harassment training, and I constantly evaluate

my techniques such as behavioral interviewing and good communication. I find that assumptions

are a common indicator of cultural conflict. For example, I have a tenured partner who is a

middle-aged white woman. I have a new hire who is from Valenzuela and is also a woman and

middle-aged. It is common for new hires to take about two months to become proficient at their

roles, this is a process that we are supportive and patient. However, with my new hire, some of

my other employees started saying things like, she doesn’t speak English, she can't read, she's

lazy, and more. When I checked in with Carmen, she told me that employees were often

impatient with her and not very nice. When certifying Carmen, I realized she was quite

knowledgeable, but she just worked at a slower pace- something that is common with new

baristas that are not functioning on autopilot quite yet. I really felt for Carmen, because she's

learning in an environment that she's not very well set up in. Spanish is her preferred language

and English is a second language to her. She’s done a very good job learning and worked hard to

get there but people still assume she isn’t catching on and make snap judgments based on her

culture. In some conflicts, it is best to find a compromising conflict style. Normally I like this

approach because it helps me to understand what everyone needs out of the situation. If a tenured

employee is complaining to me, they may feel more stressed and need more support from

customers. However, in this instance, I felt it best to integrate.

 In The Elephant and the Giraffe, an Elephant visits a giraffe however the building was

built for giraffes and the elephant's visit was strained as a result while he tried to fit into a space

that was not set up for him. The story depicts three common problems in the workplace,

affirmative action, understanding differences, and diversity management. The elephant and

giraffe got along very well which is understanding differences but despite this, the elephant

caused a lot of damage in the space. The giraffe invites him in and removes a panel so he will fit,

very similar to affirmative action which is intended to alleviate underrepresentation. When the

giraffe wants the elephant to fix things, the elephant thinks that maybe they should fix the

giraffe's space, this is a metaphor for diversity management which is a two-way dialogue and

involves effective communication. In some ways, this story even reminded me of my recent

example with Carmen. The Giraffe essentially said to the elephant “Since you don’t fit in the

house let's fix you.” I think in some ways this was illustrated in my store with my new hire

carmen. Since she didn’t fit into our house many jumped to saying she needed to change. At

Starbucks, diversity is a huge priority but if they want to be truly inclusive perhaps, we need to

make some improvements for our employees that primarily speak Spanish and are learning a

complex job in a language that is not as comfortable to them.

My pre-test score from module 1 was 80 and now my score has increased by 10 points to

90. I believe the reason for the increase has been from this course made me a bit more aware of

how I manage diversity professionally and personally. There are some areas that I scored myself

lower on because I feel it’s something that I must be more aware of and keep progressing. The

areas I feel I have evolved the most in is asking questions, and not making assumptions. I think

that people want to have their culture acknowledged and you don’t have to shy away from it.

When I first started studying anti-bias training there's this thing where you feel you can't
acknowledge or see cultural differences because it could be considered racism. It's ok to

acknowledge cultural differences, I think where I have learned to grow is by challenging

stereotypes, and assuming we won't have things in common just because we have a different

background. “Our two most basic human desires are to be unique and to belong. (Lamba, S.,

Omary, M., Strom, B. (2022). I like this quote because it's exactly what I have learned that we

want to celebrate what makes us unique while also feeling included.

Ethical viewpoints contribute to how individuals approach negotiation and conflict

resolution. Understanding ethics across cultures is imperative for effective negotiation strategies.

Negotiating across cultures requires adapting to different negotiation styles, communication

norms, and cultural differences. Gender differences in negotiation also play a role, illustrating the

need for equity and awareness.

Diversity conflict in the workplace acts as an indicator of an organization's commitment

to inclusivity and diversity. By learning about the complexities of diversity, organizations and

leaders can evolve conflicts into opportunities for understanding, learning, and collaboration.

Creating a multicultural organization requires ethical awareness, adaptability in negotiation, and

nimble conflict management. Doing so contributes to a global community that thrives on

understanding, collaboration, and shared success.

 Works Cited

1. Lamba, S., Omary, M., Strom, B. (2022). Diversity, equity, and inclusion: organizational

strategies during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic Journal of Health Organization

and Management, 36(2), 256-264.

2. 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.

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

Associates, Inc