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How Do You See Diversity?

As a manager, Tiffany is responsible forinterviewing applicants for some of the positions with her company .During oneinterview, she noticed that the candidate never made direct eye contact. Shewas puzzled and somewhat disappointed because she liked the individualotherwise.

He had a perfect resume and gave goodresponses to her questions, but the fact that he never looked her in the eyesaid “untrustworthy,” so she decided to offer the job to her second choice.

“It wasn’t untilI attended a diversity workshop that I realized the person we passed over wasthe perfect person,” Tiffany confesses. What she hadn’t known at the time ofthe interview was that the candidate’s “different”

behavior was simply a culturalmisunderstanding . He was an Asian-American raised in a household where respectfor those in authority was shown by averting(避开) your eyes.

“I was justthrown off by the lack of ye contact; not realizing it was cultural,” Tiffanysays. “I missed out ,but will not miss that opportunity again.”

Many of us have had similar encounters withbehaviors we perceive as different. As the world becomes smaller and ourworkplaces more diverse, it is becoming essential to expand our under-standingof others and to reexamine some of our false assumptions .

Hire Advantage

At a time when hiring qualified people isbecoming more difficult ,employers who can eliminate invalid biases(偏爱) from the process have a distinctadvantage .My company, Mindsets LLC ,helps organizations and individuals seetheir own blind spots . A real estate recruiter we worked with illustrates thepositive difference such training can make .

“During myMindsets coaching session ,I was taught how to recruit a diversified workforce.I recruited people from different cultures and skill sets .The agents were ableto utilize their full potential and experiences to build up the company .Whenthe real estate market began to change, it was because we had a diverse agentpool that we were able to stay in the real estate market much longer thanothers in the same profession.”

Blinded by Gender

Dale is an account executive who attendedone of my workshops on supervising a diverse workforce . “Through one of thesessions ,I discovered my personal bias ,” he recalls . “I learned I had notbeen looking at a person as a whole person , and being open to differences .”In his case , the blindness was not about culture but rather gender.

“I had amanagement position open in my department ;and the two finalists were a man anda woman . Had I not attended this workshop , I would have automatically assumedthe man was the best candidate because the position required quite a bit ofextensive travel . My reasoning would have been that even though bothcandidates were great and could have been successful in the position , I assumedthe woman would have wanted to be home with her children and not travel.”Dale’s assumptions are another example of the well-intentioned but incorrectthinking that limits an organization’s ability to tap into the full potentialof a diverse workforce.

“I learnedfrom the class that instead of imposing my gender biases into the situation , Ineeded to present the full range of duties, responsibilities and expectationsto all candidates and allow them to make an informed decision .” Dale creditsthe workshop , “because it helped me make decisions based on fairness .”

Year of the Know-It-All

Doug is another supervisor who attended oneof my workshops .He recalls a major lesson learned from his own employee.

“One of mymost embarrassing moments was when I had a Chinese-American employee put in arequest to take time off to celebrate Chinese New Year . In my ignorance , Iassumed he had his dates wrong , as the first of January had just passed . WhenI advised him of this , I gave him a long talking-to about turning in requestsearly with the proper dates .

“He patientlywaited , then when I was done , he said he would like Chinese New Year did notbegin January first , and that Chinese New Year ,which is tied to the lunarcycle ,is one of the most celebrated holidays on the Chinese calendar .Needless to say , I felt very embarrassed in assuming he had his dates mixed up. But I learned a great deal about assumptions , and that the timing ofholidays varies considerably from culture to culture .

“Attending thediversity workshop helped me realize how much I could learn by simply askingquestions and creating dialogues with my employees , rather than makingassumptions and trying to be a know-it-all ,” Doug admits . “The biggest thingI took away from the workshop is learning how to be more ‘inclusive’ todifferences.”

A better Bottom Line

An open mind about diversity not onlyimproves organizations internally , it is profitable as well . These commentsfrom a customer service representative show how an inclusive attitude canimprove sales .”Most of my customers speak English as a second language . Oneof the best things my company has done is to contract with a language servicethat offers translations over the phone . It wasn’t until my boss receivedMindsets’ training that she was able to understand how important inclusivenesswas to customer service . As result , our customer base has increased .”

Once we start to see people as individuals. and discard the stereotypes , we can move positively toward inclusiveness foreveryone . Diversity is about coming together and taking advantage of our differencesand similarities . It is about building better communities and organizationsthat enhance us as individuals and reinforce our shared humanity .

When we begin to question our assumptionsand challenge what we think we have learned from our past , from the media,peers , family , friends , etc , we begin to realize that some of ourconclusions are flawed(有缺陷的) or contrary to our fundamental values . We need to trainour-selves to think differently , shift our mindsets and realize that diversityopens doors for all of us ,creating opportunities in organizations andcommunities that benefit everyone.

注意:此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

46. Dougfelt very embarrassed when he realized that his assumption was wrong.

47. Afterattending Mindsets workshops, the participants came to know the importance ofinclusiveness to their business.

48. Whenwe view people as individuals and get rid of stereotypes, we can achievediversity and benefit from the differences and similarities between us.

49. Increasingunderstanding of people of other cultures is becoming essential in the courseof economic globalization according to the author.

50. MindsetsLLC is a personnel training company.

51. Afterone of the workshops，account executive Dale realized that he must get rid of his genderbias.

52. Tiffany'scandidate just wouldn't look her in the eye bothered Tiffany during aninterview.

53. Tiffany'smisjudgment about the candidate stemmed from cultural ignorance.

54. Dalethought that Mindsets LLC's workshop helped him make fair decisions.

55. Doug,a supervisor，told aChinese American employee to get the dates right when he require to leave.
参考答案
【参考答案】

46. G)根据题文中Doug felt可知文中相关部分在G段，其中提到“Needless to say，I felt very embarrassed in assuminghe had his dates mixed up----”(毫无疑问，我当时觉得十分困窘，自己竟然认为他搞错了日期•）与题干相符，因此答案为G。

47. H)根据题文important可以找到文中H 段“It wasn't until my boss receivedMindsets, training that she was able to understand how important inclusivenesswas to customer service. ”（我们老板接受Mindset培训之后才理解包容对客服来说多么至关重要。）这一点对其他的培训案例来说也适用

48. I)题文中viewpeople as individuals and get rid of stereotypes 就是文中see people as individuals, and discard the stereotypes的不同说法，可知文中相关部分在I段，其中提到.we can move positively towardinclusiveness for everyone. Diversity is about coming together and takingadvantage of our differences and similarities... ”（......我们就能够向积极的方向发展，达到对每个人的包容。多样化就是联合起来，利用我们的异同获得优势……•）与题干相符，因此答案为I。

49. B)根据题文中“becomingessential”可定位到文中B 段，其中提到“As the world becomes smallerand our workplaces more diverse, it is becoming essential to expand ourunderstanding of others and to reexamine some of our false assumptions. ”（随着世界变的越来越小，我们的工作场所越来越多样，扩展对他人的了解并重新审视我们的错误假设也变得越发重要了。）与题干相符，因此答案为B。

50. C)根据题文中Mindsets LLC可知文中相关部分在C段，其中提到“My company, Mindsets LLC,helps organizations and individuals see their own blind spots. ”(我们Mindsets LLC 公司可以帮助单位和个人认识到他们的盲点。）从后文的参加Mindsets LLC公司研习班的人的讲述中也可以看出，Mindsets LLC公司是1个培训机构，教授培训者如何挑选优秀人才，与题干相符，因此答案为G。

51. D)由题干知相关部分在文中戴尔的例子在第二个小标题下,其中D段提到“In his case, the blindness was not about culture but rather gender. ”(就戴尔而言他的盲点不是关乎文化,而是有关性别。）接着阐述了他因为思想陈旧，对女员工有一定偏见，与题干相符，因此答案为D。

52. A)由题干知相关部分在文中A 段，提到“During one interview, shenoticed that the candidate never made direct eye contact. She was puzzled andsomewhat disappointed because she liked the individual otherwise.，，C-次面试时，她注意到应试者i直不与她的目光直接接触。她既疑惑又有些失望，因为她所欣赏的类型恰恰与之相反。）与题干相符，因此答案为A。

53. B)根据题文中“misjudgment”找到文中同义词misunderstanding，可知相关部分在B段，.文中提到What she hadn’t known at the time of theinterview was that the candidate’s “different”behavior was simply a culturalmisunderstanding.(面试时她还不了解，那个应试者的所谓“木同常规”的行为不过是一种文化上的误解。)与题干相符，因此答案为B。

54. E)由题干知文中相关部分在E 段，其中提到..•Dale credits the workshop, “because it helped me make decisionsbased on fairness.，，(戴尔将这归功于研习班，“因为它帮我在公平的基础上做出决断。”)与题干相符，因此答案为E。

55. F)由题干知文中相关部分在F段，其中提到“When I advised him of this，I gave him a long talking-to aboutturning in requests early with the proper dates. ”（向他提出这一点时，我说了他很久，要求他算好日期早点请假。> 可卑多格的反庳是他认为员工擒错了时间，与题干相符，因此答案为F。