Introduction
Diversity management is the process of seeking and resolving tensions in collectives where various social groups are present. Those groups can be distinguished by race (for example, Black or Latino), sexuality (various representatives of LGBT society), cultural and national background, gender, and social class. Tensions between them are usual, as they used to behave in different ways within the boundaries of their own group, and it is hard for them to understand other groups’ representatives.
Main body
Inclusion is the process of integrating a specific social group into some collective while understanding and managing the inevitable tensions in it. I think it is a crucial element of diversity management, as it starts the process of connecting people with various backgrounds. One of the crucial elements for inclusion is a “well-defined container,” the clearly defined ethics, rules, and regulations for the collective, mandatory for all its members (Ferdman, 2017, p. 251). It should not be a repressive regulation: instead, those rules should prevent conflicts and wrong attitudes toward each other. Another example of inclusion is maintaining equity between various social classes, ensuring that poor people can access all opportunities, such as healthcare or education, which are open to the rich class (Rothenberg & Munshi, 2016, p. 144). In my opinion, inclusion makes the collective more stable, and its members become happier.
On the contrary, the exclusion is the process of alienation of social groups by rejecting them from various activities. For me, it is rather a negative process that should not be used in everyday life. The mechanism for exclusions is discrimination: a certain status of a particular group is claimed and maintained in society. Extreme examples of exclusion were claims that other races are inferior to some “ruling race,” such as Blacks and Native Americans to Whites in the 19th century United States (Rothenberg & Munshi, 2016, pp. 5–6). Modern examples are homophobic laws in various countries, where one can be sentenced to death for homosexual relations. Everyday discrimination is more common: it is the remnant of the past, as people can be discriminative even when they think they are not. For example, a language teacher can think that people with different cultural backgrounds are worse at learning English (Rothenberg & Munshi, 2016, p. 248). Such examples of exclusion are wrong; still, I think that this mechanism can be justified and useful in some cases.
For example, some social elements, such as criminals, are really antisocial, and repressive measures against them make society safer and more stable. However, in my opinion, even in their case, humane treatment is essential, as those social class members are people too, even despite they make wrong actions. Those measures should prevent them from doing such actions, not destroy them completely. According to the article of Ferdman (2017), a good inclusive collective should have simultaneously solid and flexible regulation rules: be both conservative and open to changes. Such findings correlate with my opinion, as those regulation rules should prevent people from making wrong actions, maintaining stability and well-being among collective members.
Conclusion
As one can conclude, diversity management is an important part of the modern world, where various social groups often live together. In my opinion, inclusion is the crucial mechanism for creating strong and stable societies and collectives where each member is satisfied and happy. It reaches such results by working with tensions inside those collectives. Along with that, exclusion may be used to alienate antisocial and destructive social elements from society, preventing them from destroying it.
References
Ferdman, B. M. (2017). Paradoxes of inclusion: Understanding and managing the tensions of diversity and multiculturalism. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 53(2), 235–263. Web.
Rothenberg, P., & Munshi, S. (2016). Race, class, and gender in the United States: An integrated study (10th ed.). Worth Publishers.