Workshop+on+diversity

=**Managing Diversity**=

//**Diversity** is acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing, and celebrating differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and public assistance status.//

Of the many resources utilized in project-based work, the most important—and the most unpredictable—are people. While supplies, time and cost can be quantified and risks determined and managed, the human element remains the hardest one to manage consistently. To address human variability, project managers use human resource management tools.

Human resource tools allow project managers to review project requirements and then decide on staffing needs. In most projects, human resources, with respect to the number of people and their skill sets, is a defined quantity. What is not always accounted for is the cultural variability of the people in the project. In fact, very few teams have complete homogeneity, how then does one handle the very real probability of a team that is actually quite heterogeneous, made up of individuals with diverse backgrounds. It is also important to remember that even in the most homogenous of groups you will find difference in background and shared understanding. In these cases, a project manager will have to direct a group with different understandings and norms of operation. This variability of the team can either benefit or compromise the structure of the project plan.

What actually constitutes a diverse team anyway? This can often be a confusing question. Culturally diverse is not explicitly a difference in race, ethnicity, nationality religion or culture. Culturally diverse does not mean difference in preference or opinion such as political ideology. Rather, a culturally diverse team is any team that is made up of people from different backgrounds and experiences. This could be a group with people from China, Greece or Brazil. It could also be consisting of people from engineering, marketing and human resources.

One of the major tenets of good business is relationship building. This is important to consider because we**,** the human race**,** are inherently social creatures. Relationship building establishes trust, develops bonds and motivates production. Business depends on relationships. Every interaction happens within a social context and in turn, that social context shapes the interaction. The same is true in project management: the greater the degree of internal team comfort, the greater the chances for successful interaction. In short, team members will be more productive if they trust, feel mutually valued, understood and respected.

Cross-cultural firms will focus specifically on the challenges of working with people from one particular culture who are working in another particular culture. These firms can be very helpful and provide tremendous advantages to bi-cultural teams. Nonetheless, it is also important to remember that this work takes time and one cannot learn all the social norms and cultural idiosyncrasies of a new environment or culture in one afternoon.

Despite the challenges, working with diverse teams can also be exceedingly beneficial. One of the immediate advantages is that diverse teams will bring unique approaches to problem solving. The lack of homogeneity provides for a greater pool of knowledge and experience from which the team can draw. This can be a great force for innovation and improvement. With good management, a diverse team will be able to outpace and outperform homogenous teams. Also as a project manager, working with new groups will grow your own skill set and provide new tools.

What are the effects of cultural diversity on project management? Project management will need to evolve as the workforce continues to globalize. Project planners must consider the additional variables involved with managing cultural diversity. Developing sensitivity and the skill set to manage diverse teams effectively will become more and more important. Diversity has the potential to bring new life, fresh thinking and new solutions to problems. It will also add a level of complexity to the processes of project management. It will be companies and project managers who can effectively work with diverse teams and leverage the new ideas that will be on the forefront of global business.