As future Public Relations practitioners, we all have an ethical obligation to understand how to foster diversity in the workplace in order to enhance the potential of our industry. As you being your career and enter the workplace, having a thorough understanding of the importance and benefits of diversity will strengthen your performance in the field. The first step in understanding diversity is to look at the behaviors that are suppressing it in many workplace environments. The following are four common stereotypes that are present in workplaces that are hindering the potential for a more diverse workforce. Recognizing these before entering the workplace can help you avoid conflict, increa
Season one, episode two of “The Office” documents a witty, yet relevant resemblance of common stereotypes in the workplace during an in-office seminar on diversity. “It’s Diversity Day, Jim… I wish everyday was Diversity Day.” -Regional Manager, Michael Scott. This line within itself proves problematic. When Michael claims he wishes this day was celebrated every day, he implies that the workplace overlooks diversity on a day-to-day basis. Michael goes on to try and justify the presence of diversity in the office when the seminar instructor brings up the problem of race-ignorance within the workplace . “This is a color-free zone here,” Michael says and immediately points out Stanley, an Afri
Some say age is just a number, but with age comes a wisdom and maturity that cannot be taught at a university or workshop. On the contrary, younger professionals bring a new found excitement and ambition to the workplace. The mix of aged wisdom and vibrant youthfulness in the workforce can be of benefit to any company. In an age-diverse workplace, each generation brings various skill sets and ideas to the table. With a staff that is diverse in age, a company will benefit from the technological skills of the younger generations and the in-person communication skills of older generations. The larger knowledge base will allow the company to benefit from a plethora of ideas, giving them an edge
The 2018 PRSSA National Conference took place last weekend, and frankly, it would take a semester’s worth of blog posts to pass on the knowledge I gained to all of you. Rather than put you through that, let’s take a look at a topic becoming more relevant and imperative in today’s professional world: how to handle your organization during a crisis. Every organization makes mistakes, and according to Deborah Hileman, president and CEO of the Institute for Crisis Management, the average number of news headlines signaling corporate reputation risk has increased exponentially each of the past few years. Causes of crises vary, but for the most part, they are at the fault of the organization. When
