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Is diversity beneficial outside of image?

Do you believe diversity offers a company benefits beyond their image?

  • yes

    Votes: 17 44.7%

  • No

    Votes: 17 44.7%

  • Other

    Votes: 4 10.5%
  • Total voters
    38
molten_dragon

molten_dragon

Anti-Hypocrite
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My company is on a big diversity kick lately. I believe the main reason companies strive for a diverse workforce is because it makes them look good. But that's not the message that they try to pass off to us (obviously).

So do you think that diversity offers a company benefits beyond making them look good? Do you think a diverse workforce works better/smarter/harder/more efficiently/etc. than one made up of the best qualified people regardless of demographics?
 
Efficiency and qualification should be the only two characteristics sought out by a company. If a company hires someone because they are a minority, that is still racism.
 
Jesse Booth said:
Efficiency and qualification should be the only two characteristics sought out by a company. If a company hires someone because they are a minority, that is still racism.
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no it isn't but this is a discussion that has been driven into the ground.

Diversity helps companies see the world differently giving new perspectives. It also helps reach markets that have been untapped because of a lack of understanding of a subculture in a way that market reasearch won't understand. A real life example is when a large American cereal company was trying to gain market share in Northern Europe. They created all kinds of commercials using local language and colloquialisms but still had the actors pour mild on the cereal. When they spoke to the Europeans who handled their business banking in the Netherlands they simply pointed out most people in the region put youghurt on their cereal.
 
Sababa said:
no it isn't but this is a discussion that has been driven into the ground.

Diversity helps companies see the world differently giving new perspectives. It also helps reach markets that have been untapped because of a lack of understanding of a subculture in a way that market reasearch won't understand. A real life example is when a large American cereal company was trying to gain market share in Northern Europe. They created all kinds of commercials using local language and colloquialisms but still had the actors pour mild on the cereal. When they spoke to the Europeans who handled their business banking in the Netherlands they simply pointed out most people in the region put youghurt on their cereal.
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In that situation, diversity would fall under the qualification category. You need many different cultures and points of view to effectively market a product.

And yes it is. Racial profiling when hiring people is still racial profiling, even if the racial profiler's heart is in the right place when he's racial profiling. Need I repeat racial profiling any further? Or has the point sunk in under the weight of my repeated repetition?
 
It's important to not imply that there is the slightest bit of morality or ethics inherent in the word "Diversity."

In the American corporate world, "Diversity" replaced the hated Affirmative Action quotas. In that world, Diversity means Do Not hire or promote straight white males. Nothing more.

Diversity is another Liberal death blow to the traditional American concept of Equal Opportunity for All.
 
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Depends on what level the diversity exists.
 
Ray410 said:
It's important to not imply that there is the slightest bit of morality or ethics inherent in the word "Diversity."

In the American corporate world, "Diversity" replaced the hated Affirmative Action quotas. In that world, Diversity means Do Not hire or promote straight white males.
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Sadly, I am a straight white male who will shortly be entering a workforce where people my age already face a 15% unemployment rate. And I don't like that.

It seems I have exhausted my supply of clever remarks for the time being. Oh well.
 
molten_dragon said:
That's a load of crap, since I see plenty of straight white males get hired and promoted.
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I firmly believe that if one cannot handle the answer, one should not ask the question.
 
molten_dragon said:
My company is on a big diversity kick lately. I believe the main reason companies strive for a diverse workforce is because it makes them look good. But that's not the message that they try to pass off to us (obviously).

So do you think that diversity offers a company benefits beyond making them look good? Do you think a diverse workforce works better/smarter/harder/more efficiently/etc. than one made up of the best qualified people regardless of demographics?
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What kind of diversity are they looking for? Racial? Irrelevant; we're all Americans. Sex? Again irrelevant; it should be based on the best person for the job. Religious? Again irrelevant; we're not supposed to bring religion into our jobs, unless we work for a religious group. Sexual orientation? Again irrelevant; a company's product or service shouldn't have anything to do with what happens in people's bedrooms, unless you're selling a sexually-based product.

A business should hire the person who can do the best job, regardless of skin color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, etc.

"Image" to whom exactly? In my line of business, nobody is buying our services and products because of anyone's skin color or sexual orientation. They are buying our services and products because they are the best fit for our customers' business models and go to market strategies.
 
tres borrachos said:
What kind of diversity are they looking for? Racial? Irrelevant; we're all Americans. Sex? Again irrelevant; it should be based on the best person for the job. Religious? Again irrelevant; we're not supposed to bring religion into our jobs, unless we work for a religious group. Sexual orientation? Again irrelevant; a company's product or service shouldn't have anything to do with what happens in people's bedrooms, unless you're selling a sexually-based product.

A business should hire the person who can do the best job, regardless of skin color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, etc.

"Image" to whom exactly? In my line of business, nobody is buying our services and products because of anyone's skin color or sexual orientation. They are buying our services and products because they are the best fit for our customers' business models and go to market strategies.
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Based on the things I've seen posted around the office, it seems like they're mainly talking about diversity of race, sex, and national origin.
 
Diversity is great if it occurs naturally, but government enforced segregation and government enforced diversity are responsible for a lot of societal ills. However, race isn't relevant to whether or not someone is going to do a job better or worse. In fact, Affirmative Action is partially responsible for continued existence of racism. Many people are resentful towards minority groups because they get special treatment.
 
SocialDemocrat said:
Diversity is great if it occurs naturally, but government enforced segregation and government enforced diversity are responsible for a lot of societal ills. However, race isn't relevant to whether or not someone is going to do a job better or worse. In fact, Affirmative Action is partially responsible for continued existence of racism. Many people are resentful towards minority groups because they get special treatment.
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Another person who doesn't know what Affirmative Action is.
 
If diversity is a valid qualification for a given job, sure.
 
Sababa said:
Another person who doesn't know what Affirmative Action is.
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What is that supposed to mean? I recognize a company choosing to be diverse on its own isn't affirmative action, but since the topic was about diversity, I thought it would be on topic to bring it up.
 
molten_dragon said:
My company is on a big diversity kick lately. I believe the main reason companies strive for a diverse workforce is because it makes them look good. But that's not the message that they try to pass off to us (obviously).

So do you think that diversity offers a company benefits beyond making them look good? Do you think a diverse workforce works better/smarter/harder/more efficiently/etc. than one made up of the best qualified people regardless of demographics?
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I believe diversity is essential to a productive work environment, however I define it as a diversity that is measured by perspective, not diversity in color, race or sex.
 
The problem with diversity is that it's used in all the wrong ways and the PC police and the progressive movement have managed to turn this otherwise good word into a tool for oppression.

What is more diverse?

An ethnically homogenous group formed out of people who have different professions and different life experiences (1 policeman, 1 fireman, 1 teacher, 1 doctor, etc) or an multi-ethnic group all of the same experience (all of them are firemen but one is asian, one is white, one is native american, one is latino, one is black etc). If you believe that race is just skin-deep, a superficial determination, a social construct as the most idiotic of people would say despite the fact that they don't know or can't explain what that is, then surely the benefit from having a multi-ethnic group is also superficial. Because the differences are superficial.

But lets talk about companies. What is the benefit of hiring a black programmer, a white programmer and an asian programmer, all who program in the same language, say, C++. What would be the benefit? You hire these people simply because they know C++ to an acceptable degree and because you have to fill racial quotas. Why not hire 3 blacks or 3 whites or 3 asians or 3 latinos or any combination to get the job done based on the skill level. So if 3 whites came out on top, you hire them. If 2 whites and an asian came out on top, you hire them. If 3 latinos came out on top, you hire them. Racial quotas and affirmative action is bad.

Point is. Are racial differences superficial? If yes, then the benefit of a racially diverse group is also superficial and everything that is superficial is not worth investing in.
Are racial differences not superficial? are they more than just skin color? Then... ofc, if you believe that, you'd be called a racist.

So the progressive movement and the PC police that supports these ideologies are alive and well simply because people haven't dedicated 30min to think about this. I know it seems trivial but simple logic will result in this conclusion. And the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. It's not that hard.
 
HonestJoe said:
Maybe if you had access to a wider range of perspectives and opinions you would see the benefit. :)
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I live and practice medicine in Southern California. I am exposed to a wide array of people-my coworkers, my friends, my neighbors, and my patients.



All I need to see, is a study that shows the apparently undeniable benefits of diversity. I await your publications. Of course-I dont need to say that I want scientific data-surely you would not suggest anything tangibly beneficial can't be measured. :cool:
 
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US Conservative said:
I live and practice medicine in Southern California. I am exposed to a wide array of people-my coworkers, my friends, my neighbors, and my patients.



All I need to see, is a study that shows the apparently undeniable benefits of diversity. I await your publications. Of course-I dont need to say that I want scientific data-surely you would not suggest anything tangibly beneficial can't be measured. :cool:
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Sowell is the man, man.

He's a genuine intellectual, stops and thinks and questions.... as opposed to many the "progressive" movement hails as intellectuals which are just pretentious pricks who go along for the ride.
 
If every person is unique, then every hire is a diverse one.
 
molten_dragon said:
My company is on a big diversity kick lately. I believe the main reason companies strive for a diverse workforce is because it makes them look good. But that's not the message that they try to pass off to us (obviously).

So do you think that diversity offers a company benefits beyond making them look good? Do you think a diverse workforce works better/smarter/harder/more efficiently/etc. than one made up of the best qualified people regardless of demographics?
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Actual diversity, as in a mixture of specialties and knowledge would be, but if they're hiring anyone but the absolutely best candidates for the job, they're hurting their company. Hiring just to be diverse is a ridiculous way to do business.

(And to the discussion on the first page, YES it is racist to hire someone based on their race.)
 
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