Brett T. Magnuson Mazzoni

(Pyne, 2013) defines diversity as “the difference in underlying attributes or non-observable differences, such as working styles, values, and personality types, as well as differences in culture, socioeconomic background, educational background, spirituality”. To me, diversity also means the inclusion of people not only of religion and those characteristics that are not easily seen, but also those that can be seen such as race, ethnicity, and gender.  

Reflecting on (Pyne, 2013) chapters 3 and 4 and all that we read regarding diversity and the laws in which protect job seekers from discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion and the other characteristics which a person might have and applying this information to my current employer, Father’s Heart Ranch (FHR), a group home for boys ages 6-12 in the foster care system, I would say that FHR is not very diverse in the ethnic makeup of its staff. Of the approximately 50 people who work in the organization in various roles from direct childcare to HR and management, about 95% of those employed are of Hispanic/Latino descent. There are four employees who are African American and six who are Caucasian. It seems that when people leave FHR, they are replaced with someone who is Hispanic, I cannot recall any new white or black employees recently. I don’t think that this is done intentionally as a means to discriminate against any group of people but if one were to look in from the outside, they would see that the ethnic makeup of the staff is not very diverse.

There is one thing that bothers me though which I have stated numerous times when using FHR as an example in my papers or class discussions and that is the issue of favoritism and nepotism that goes on in the organization. Even though for the sake of the children we are all supposed to work together and share information, that does not always happen due to racial and ethnic differences. An issue like this had happened recently where a child’s mother who is not allowed to have visitation with her child at the moment showed up on property unannounced wanting to see her child at around 9:00 pm when the kids are already in bed. The manager who spoke with her is black and so was the person I was working within my assigned house that day who I also happen to be good friends with. This manager told the person I was working in private that this occurred but failed to tell me which I thought was wrong and that this was probably information I too should know for we can’t be sure what this woman’s intentions were. This particular manager has done this to me and to others who are not black more times than I can count. There was a time when an African American male who was new was working with me and had no idea as of yet how things worked, but this manager still bypassed me and talked to this person. I do believe that there is a racial component to this manager’s behavior. Also, the Hispanics stick together and often talk in Spanish as soon as a Caucasian person comes around.

Now I’m not saying that anybody is racist or anything like that, but there are some serious issues with the lack of inclusion of the different groups that make up the staff. My recommendations would be; seek out more African American and Caucasian workers who are qualified for the job in areas such as education and experience in similar environments so that they are fairly represented, for management to not only relay important information to those who are the same race as them but to all employees so that everyone can do their job appropriately, hire fewer people based on the fact that they know someone in management or are related to someone in management because this prevents good people who would do well in the job from having an opportunity to do so. Nepotism is a big problem at FHR.

I can say though that FHR is very relaxed when it comes to people who have a lot of tattoos where the policy used to be that all tattoos had to be covered up. The policy has changed to tattoos are fine if they are nothing sexually explicit or hateful. This is good because several new people with a lot of tattoos have recently joined the organization. There are not any gay or lesbian individuals employed at FHR but since the facility works with the state and receives state funds if such a person were to apply and could prove that they were denied employment based on their sexual orientation, then FHR could be in serious trouble. I don’t see one’s sexual preference though being a barrier to employment as much as some of the other factors in which I mentioned.

Jasmine Jackson

“Diversity refers to difference in underlying attribute or nonobservable differences, such as working styles, values, and personality types, as well as differences in culture, socioeconomic background, educational background, spirituality” (Pynes, 2013, pg. 111). CDSS current approach to diversity is assessing candidates that possess these attributes. The current census in our department as far as ethnicity is: African American, White, Indian, Asian. My recommendations to improve the organization’s approach to diversity are: build a multigenerational workforce and make workspaces inclusive. These approaches will foster a diverse population of candidates for CDSS that will enhance the organization. Multigenerational  workforces heavily influence diverse thinking. The traditional ways of thinking are met with modern scopes which create innovative practices and solutions. There is much value to integrating multigenerational workforces into the organization. Another way to approach diversity is to implement inclusive workplaces. The inclusive workspaces interrupt traditional work settings. For instance, technology businesses have strayed away from cubicles. Now workplaces are configured in a way that foster diversity to become a habit, work environment. Diversity can be achieved through a hiring process and during the span of employee’s tenure. Diversity in CDSS is existent but can be improved.