The world is increasingly becoming a global village, as people are moving towards an era where regional and national borders are becoming irrelevant and people and geographical distance is no longer a barrier. Enhanced transportation and communication technologies have led to rapid globalization that is changing how people across the globe are interacting. One of the main consequences of globalization is diversity. Diversity is rapidly growing in almost all sectors, organization, and societies. Therefore, in order to survive in the modern diverse world, people are required to have diverse skills and intercultural competence ( Saxena, 2014) . Diversity skills are important in the diverse world that is characterized by people across the globe.
Diversity is currently one of the most common concepts in the world today, especially in the workplaces in international companies. The concepts have been defined by many scholars, leading to different definitions. However, generally, diversity refers to many different human characteristics that include gender, race, sexual orientation, and different cultures. Diversity can also include national origin, age, creed, and religion ( Saxena, 2014) . Diversity is also made up of four main dimensions that include personality, external dimension, international dimension, and organizational diversity. Generally, diversity is about the inclusion of different people from different cultures or race in a group or organization. However, based on my understanding, diversity is mainly about cultural difference within a group of people in a group or organization. Even though factors such as sex and nationality are factored in the definition of diversity, they are not often given much weight in the definition of the concept as a culture. Cultural difference is the main factor in the definition of diversity. People from the different culture are what constitutes diversity. Even though the definition of diversity is broad, it is mainly about cultural difference.
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What surprised me the most in the assigned readings and class discussion was the importance of diversity in the modern world, especially for people who aspire to work in international companies or institutions. Acc0rding to Saxena (2014), g lobalization has made people across the globe to physically interact with one another in different settings. In addition, through class discussion, I realized that many people are not well conversant with diversity. It emerged from the discussion that people have different definitions and understanding of diversity. At the same time, the main insight that I gained in the readings and class discussion was that diversity is now inevitable in the modern world. Importantly, diversity skills and consciousness are now crucial in the 21 st century.
I have a number of diverse skills that enable me to cope in school and the workplace. Some of the main diversity skills that I have include receptive attitude, active listening, and broad awareness of different cultures. Receptive attitudes give me the opportunity to tolerate people from different cultures while active listening is a way of improving my communication and reducing misunderstanding in a diverse or multicultural setting. Broad awareness of culture is also a diversity skill that has helped me to successfully interact with people from different cultures in school and the organization. Therefore, I believe that I have adequate diversity skills that can enable me to cope in diverse environments such as schools and the workplace.
Mutual respect and tolerance to diverse perspectives are the diverse skills that could enhance my effectiveness as a leader ( Saxena, 2014) . As a leader, I must have mutual respect for everybody regardless of their socio and cultural background. Mutual respect helps in enhancing active listening and finding a middle ground when discussing controversial issues. In addition, I must have increased language skills that can assist in interacting and communicating with different people.
One of the main personal barriers that I encounter in the diverse setting is none receptive to new things. I find it hard to embrace new concepts, especially when they are against my ideology and beliefs. Consequently, I cannot easily tolerate extreme cultural beliefs. I can overcome this barrier by tolerating diverse concepts and perspectives. The second major barrier is difficulties of understanding new languages. Understanding a few phrases of foreign languages is important in diverse settings. Nevertheless, I cannot easily learn new languages. I am able to overcome the barrier by closely interacting with people speaking different languages.
In addition, one of the main action plans that I will take to improve my diversity consciousness is improving my openness and inquisitive. The action will enable me to easily relate to and understand people from different cultures. Being inquisitive will give me the opportunity to learn about other cultures. The second major action plan is to learn other cultures through online platforms. Currently, there is a lot of information about different cultures on the internet. As a result, I will be able to learn about other cultures through the internet, leading to improved diversity consciousness.
In conclusion, diversity skills and consciousness are crucial in the current globalized world. Many workplaces, organizations, and institutions are made up of people from different cultures and social backgrounds, making diversity skills and consciousness inevitable. As a result, people should learn about diversity and how to overcome the barriers. At the same time, people should improve their cultural competence to easily embrace diversity.
References
Saxena, A. (2014). Workforce diversity: A key to improve productivity. Procedia Economics and Finance , 11 , 76-85.
