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Cultural diversity
refers to the different human cultures within a specific region, business or organization. Cultural diversity includes differences among people, such as language, traditions and dress, religion, the way they interact with their environment, foods and other significant differences in their societies. Cultural diversity is difficult to quantify. One way is to count the number of languages spoken in a region or in the world as a whole. According to research in the 1990s by David Crystal (Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor) one language in the world was falling into disuse every two weeks. By his calculations, if this trend were to continue, by the year 2100, more than 90 percent of the languages (therefore cultures) in the world will have gone extinct. Difficult to imagine at this time in history.
Workplace diversity or within an organization includes cultural diversity and language, but also includes gender, age, education, background and more. In order for a variety of different employees to function well together, employers and human resource specialists must take into consideration issues like communication and adaptability. It is recommended that an assessment of diversity is taken in a workplace and any changes made by management that deem necessary. Recommendations to foster cultural diversity include encouraging an attitude of openness in the organization, training in diversity and promoting diversity in leadership positions.
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