SPCH-101-N702 Cultures

This assignment meets the following course objectives: Identifying and demonstrating appropriate skills in interpersonal, group, and public
communication situations.
Understanding and applying appropriate ethical standards to interpersonal, group, and public communication situations.

Assignment: In Chapter One, we learned that competent communicators are tolerant of ambiguity, meaning that they aren’t threatened or uncomfortable when they meet someone who is different than them. In Chapter Two, we learned that our self-concept is made up of many components, both internal and external, and that our self-concept plays a huge part in how we communicate. Our self-concept perceived and presenting self, and everything else that makes us who we are helps determine our future behavior, including how we’ll act in diverse workplaces.

Diversity in the Workplace
Choose a specific career field.  It can be the career you intend to pursue or a career that looks interesting to you. Write a paper (2-4 pages, double-spaced) that answers all the questions below, and cite at least two credible sources to back up your answers. Include a Works Cited page that includes those sources, formatted in MLA style. The Works Cited page does not count toward your overall page count.

1. How do you personally define diversity? What would a “diverse” workplace look like to you? Find demographic information about the career you chose. How do you fit into this demographic information? (Example: will you be in the minority or majority?)

2. Given this information, how do you feel about entering this career field? Think about a few of the demographics that contribute to your self-concept: gender, sexuality, culture, religious beliefs (or nonbelief), socioeconomic status. Do you think you might face discrimination (legal or illegal) in the workplace because of any of those demographic factors? How does that make you feel?

3. Think about the ways in which you are privileged (gender, socioeconomic status, religion, race, and so on). What benefits will this privilege bring you? In what ways are you lacking because of this privilege? Is there anything you do that contributes to the discrimination of others?

4. What can you do now to prepare yourself to enter a diverse workforce? What can you do to ensure that you are fair to everyone who works alongside you? How can you use your privilege to help those who are different than you?