DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES

Demographic Changes

Demographic Changes

Each organization's personality is like a puzzle whose elaborate pieces are characteristics that are placed together to form a distinctive image. Some characteristics are hereditary such as gender, ethnicity, and the way a person looks. Other characteristics are formed by a person's environment like religious affiliation and value or attitude differences. All characteristics work in various combinations to impact human behavior in different situations. The complexity of a person's behavior as seen through his or her actions or reactions in various situations is inconsistent. The same organization may respond completely different to the same situation at different times or places. In this paper the writer will examine the impact ethnicity, age, personality traits, and value and attitude differences have on organization behavior in the workplace and in the community.

Diversity and demographic characteristics impact organization behavior in many different ways. The impact can be positive as well as negative. Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn (2005), define diversity as the presence of organization human characteristics that make people different from one another. "Demographic characteristics are the background characteristics that help shape what a person becomes" (Schermerhorn et al, 2005).

In comparison, by way of the university's diversity initiative, North Carolina State University has adopted the following definition of diversity: a reality created by organizations and groups from a broad spectrum of demographic and philosophical differences (Diversity, 1997). Further, to support and protect diversity because by valuing organizations and groups free from prejudice, and by fostering a climate where equity and mutual respect are intrinsic? is extremely important (Diversity, 1997).

In recent years, as more businesses are moving toward a global marketplace, diversity has changed. Of general consensus is the belief that everyone is of equal importance, and is permitted the same privileges and opportunities, without regard to race, gender, disability, or age. Because of this belief, changes in management practices have altered in the workplace. People have grown to understand workplace diversification and employees' organization behavior. Diversity management provides a climate where all employees feel that they are valued by and contributing to an organization? (Schermerhorn et al, 2005).

Ethnicity is the term which represents social groups with a shared history, sense of identity, geography and cultural roots which may occur despite racial difference (Ethnicity, 2007). For example, many whites do not consider themselves to be ethnic or to have an ethnicity although all organizations have some form of ethnicity. Whether an organization comes from a Mexican background, an Irish background, or a combination of the two, these ethnic cultures have played a very integral role in shaping how he or she views, interprets, and interacts with the world.

In examining how ethnicity helps mold one's identity, it is important to gain a clear understanding of what ethnicity truly is (Eriksen, 2002). An organization's environment is the single most important element in creating identity. Ethnicity plays an important role here because it regulates the way the environment is perceived by providing a foundation for what is right and ...