Social Sciences and Diversity



Social Sciences and Diversity

Introduction

The paper intends to explain the numbers of concepts to help understand diversity in the broader spectrum. The study will highlight the terms socio cultural theory, lack of diversity consciousness, personal and social barriers to success, combinations of prejudice and discrimination, and strategies for addressing the diversity barriers. The term diversity can be defined as the differences among groups of people and individuals due to their unique ethnicity, race, gender, language, sex orientation, religion, exceptionalities, and socioeconomic status. This differences causes to result in the distinction in the viewpoints, experiences, ideas, and thought patterns. Hence, diversity attempts to describe people with the variety of different experiences, identities, and backgrounds.

Discussion

Socio-cultural Theory

The socio-cultural theory is the part of sociology which attempts to describe the contributions that society makes in the development of the individual. This theory has been proposed by the psychologist Lev Vygotsky in 1986, who believed that personal development is the product of society and the culture in which people live. According to the psychologist that the parents, caregivers, and the cultures are radically accountable for the development of higher order functions. The socio cultural theory is concerned with the social processes and cultural normative activities (UNESCO, 2001). This is why, the socio-cultural theory states that the cognitive developmental and learning process of the individual are the by-products of society and culture. The culture teaches about the right behavior and the socialization within that specific culture shapes the entire behavior of the person and develops the sense of right and wrong. Hence, the major concept behind the theory of Vygotsky is that the social interaction plays the fundamental role in the overall development of the individuals which include their cognition, psychology, and behaviors (Valenzuela, 2002).

Lack of Diversity Consciousness

The diversity consciousness is the awareness, understanding, and skills of different people which make them different to others. Hence, the concept diversity consciousness actually illustrates the welcoming behavior of people which promote people to have the pleasant relationship with other while respecting their differences. However, the lack of diversity consciousness creates the numbers of conflicts. Hence, this deficiency causes to create the stagnation of the mind where people do not try to understand the differences between the behaviors and thoughts of other persons and which consequently results in terms of conflicts. Moreover, the lack of diversity is dangerous at the workplace due to the numbers of reasons. The lack of diversity consciousness interferes in the team work in terms of lack of communication, makes the problem solving and brain storming process difficult, and also interferes with the abilities of employees to provide the quality performance (Bucher, 2002). Hence, according to organizational perspective, the lack of diversity leads towards the compilation of likeminded people having the similar thought patterns, similar ideas, and no creativity. The similarities amongst the groups of employees cause to restrain to think out of box and hence contribute in stagnation of the organizational growth.

Difference between Personal and Social Barriers

The personal barriers ...