As global competition opens world markets, North American business people will increasingly interact with customers and colleagues from around the world. At the same time, the North America workforce is also becoming more diverse - in race, ethnicity, age, gender, national origin, physical ability, and countless other characteristics.

No longer, say experts, will the workplace be predominantly male or Anglo-oriented. Nearly 85 percent of new entrants to the workforce will be women, minorities, and immigrants, according to estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

By the year 2005, groups now considered minorities (African-Americas, Hispanics, Asians, Native-Americans, and others) will make up 27 percent of the workforce, women will make up 48 percent of the workforce, and more than 22 million workers will be 55 years or older.

While the workforce is becoming more diverse, the structure of many businesses in North America is also changing. Workers are now organized by teams instead of by individuality. Organizations are flatter, and rank-and-file workers are increasingly making decisions among themselves. What does all this mean for you as a future worker?

Simply put, more jobs may require you to interact with colleagues and customers from around the world and from different cultural backgrounds. Your work environment will probably demand that you cooperate effectively with small groups of coworkers. And these coworkers may differ from you in race, ethnicity, gender, age, and other ways.

A diverse work environment has many benefits. Consumers want to deal with companies that respect their values and create products and services tailored to their needs. Organizations that hire employees with different experiences and backgrounds are better able to create the different products that these consumers desire.

In addition, businesses with diverse workforces suffer fewer discrimination lawsuits, fewer union clashes, and less government regulatory action. That's why a growing number of companies view today's diversity movement as a critical bottom-line business strategy for improving employee relations and increasing productivity.

Tips for Effective Communication With Diverse Workplace Audiences

Capitalizing on workplace diversity is an enormous challenge for most organizations and individuals. Harmony and acceptance does not happen automatically when people who are dissimilar work together. The following suggestions can help you become a more effective communicator while you survive in a rapidly evolving workplace with ethnically diverse colleagues and clients.

· Understand the value of difference. Diversity makes an organization innovative and creative. Sameness fosters "groupthink," an absence of critical thinking sometimes found in homogeneous groups. Diversity in problem-solving groups encourages independent and creative thinking.

· Do not expect conformity. Gone are the days when businesses could say, "This is our culture. Conform or leave." Workers bring new cultures into the workforce and companies would do better to conform to diversity.

· Create zero tolerance for bias and stereotypes. Cultural patterns exist in every identity group, but applying these patterns to individuals result in stereotyping. Do not tell sexist or ethnic jokes at meetings or around the workplace. Avoid slang, abbreviations, and jargon that imply stereotypes.

· Practice focused, thoughtful, and open-minded listening. Much misunderstanding can be avoided by attentive listening. The most important part of listening, especially among diverse communications, is judging ideas, not appearances or accents.

· Invite, use, and give feedback. A critical element in successful communication is feedback. Make sure your listener understands your message clearly.

· Make fewer assumptions. Be careful of seemingly insignificant, innocent workplace assumptions. For example, do not assume that everyone wants to observe the holidays with a Christmas party and a decorated tree. Do not assume that everyone is married or wants to be or is even heterosexual. Valuing diversity means making fewer assumptions that everyone is like you or wants to be like you.

· Learn about your cultural self. Knowing your own cultural biases helps you become more objective and adaptable. Become more aware of your own values and beliefs. That way you can see them at work when you are confronted by different values.

· Seek common ground. Look for areas where you and others not like you can agree or share opinions. Be prepared to consider issues from many perspectives, all of which may be valid. Although you can always find differences, it's much harder to find similarities. Look for common ground in shared experiences, mutual goals, and similar values.

Source from: The Essentials of Business Communication. Guffey, 2001