Diversity: What Does It Have to Offer

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Diversity: What Does It Have To Offer? Abstract I just completed a class assignment in which we were to hold a ping-pong ball in our dominant hand, cover it with a sock, and go about our regular activities of the day with only two goals: don’t let go of the ping-pong ball, and don’t get the sock wet. Through the assignment, new insights and perceptions were gained of diversity and what it offers. This paper discusses what was learned from the assignment and the importance of understanding diversity, specifically by professionals in the business setting. Diversity: What Does It Have To Offer? A class assignment was given in which students were to hold a ping-pong ball in their dominant hand, cover it with a sock, and try to go about their normal daily activities. The idea was to live a day in a world designed for someone else. Through completing the assignment, two lessons were learned: 1. Different does not mean useless. 2. Any unit functions better as a whole, with all pieces present. Both of these principles can be applied to diversity in the business setting. Different Does Not Mean Useless While living in a normally right-handed world as a left-handed person for a day proved to be difficult, it was not impossible. Some daily tasks, such as sorting and washing laundry or dusting furniture, were found to be completed just as easily with the left hand as they normally are with the right hand. Other tasks, such as dialing on the telephone and using the TV remote, actually felt natural when being done left-handed. Is it possible they had always felt this way, but had been overlooked by the assumption that because the right hand is dominant, it would always perform ALL tasks? How does this idea relate to the business setting? When someone who is different is introduced in to a work environment, there can be some natural hesitation to accept them. It is

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