1) Workforce diversity is not unique to Australia.

Most countries have

elements of diversity in the workplace. Consider diversity issues in other
countries you know of and the impact these issues have in the workplace.
Diversity in the workplace is generally regarded as a positive factor for companies that
manage it effectively. However, a workforce that has significant differences in ethnicity,
race, religion, gender and other individual traits can produce negative effects, especially if
not well-managed. These negative effects of diversity are understandable if the work
culture does not support tolerance and acceptance of differences. According to my
experience and observation the few negative impacts diversity has on the work place are
as follows:
A) Communication problems: A work place with employees from different cultures and
countries have a number of communication filters and language barriers that impact
internal and external communication process. Work cultures that are more
heterogeneous usually find communication easier because employees do not have to
work as hard to overcome language and culture issues.
B) Resistance to change: This is a very common in workplaces and when the company
becomes more diverse, it changes the relationships and nature of the workplace. These
changes can cause stress among the employees and lead to a negative workplace
relationship between employees.
C) Unfair treatment: According to a few cases, when a company becomes more diverse,
there is a higher chance of relationships between managers and subordinates and
between employees changing. This may lead to employees treating each other
unfairly.
2) There are several dimensions to diversity: race, gender, age, etc. What
role do you think language related diversity plays in the workplace? Most
organizations have a functional language which may be either the
language of the majority of the employees or the language of the parent
firm (in case of international business). From your experience in Australia
or in other parts of the world, suggest some of the challenges
second/foreign language speaking employees of the functional language
may face
Language and communication related diversity plays a very important role in the
workplace. Employees in the workplace are constantly communicating with one another
and with other professionals outside the workplace. Sometime one word understood
differently can change the meaning of the sentence and give a complete different set of
instruction. Miscommunication amongst employees can very well lead to major problems
for the company.
I come from India and some of the challenges I have faced while working for an Austrlian
based company are as follows :
A) Accent related problems
B) Australians talk speak the language faster than Indians
C) Slangs or certain words used by Australians are not understood by me
D) I have to ask my colleagues to repeat themselves which generally irritates them.
E) They have problems in understanding what I am trying to say