Cultural Values, Research Paper Example

Cultural diversity is the difference in characters, behaviors, and belief of one culture to those characters that seem acceptable to the society or the majority of its occupants (Harvey, 2012).

Cultural norms are the rules either set or exist naturally, that guard the behavior of a society. Cultural norms may not necessary be guidelines that when broken lead to a criminal offence in a society. However, the norms set directions in which members of the society adhere to them (Hechter, 2001).

Values are the respectable or honorable characters and achievements one gets in a society. They both range from personal characters that seem fit in different cultural backgrounds to achievements such as sporting or political achievements. This implies that values are global since an achievement in several fields such as sports might find global value in different cultures.

Ethics refers to the global standards of behavior and character that people ought to oblige to them. While norms and values may differ from different communities, ethics ought to be global. They range from standards that make one refrain from inhuman acts such as rape to those standards that need one to acquire human characters such as love and honesty (Levine, 1971).

Workplace diversity refers to the idea of bringing together people of different views and characters to work in the same environment. Diversity ensures non-discriminative atmosphere and does not adhere to the legality of the individuals norms. This implies that not every member in a diversified workplace has to be in total agreement of the characters and cultures of other members (Harvey, 2012).

My thoughts of these terms have been in a consistent transformation. Ethics, for example, was a religious notion to me. I grew up knowing ethical acts are those acceptable to my religion. I have, however, discovered that different religions and cultures have different believes that may sound unethical to others. There, therefore, ought to be a global standard of ethics.

The meaning of these words keeps changing. An example is workplace diversification. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, hardly a nation could tolerate strange characters at their workplace. Throughout the world, lesbians and gays underwent discrimination in some communities. Currently, such persons work without discrimination.

References

Harvey, C. P. (2012). Understanding and Managing Diversity. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Hechter, M. a.-D. (2001). Social Norms. New York: Russell Sage Foundation Publishers.

Levine, D. (1971). On individuality and social forms. Chicago: Chicago University Press.