In just a matter of the previous couple of decades, our society in America has become increasingly influenced by a melting pot of foreign cultures. It is a well known fact that we are a country of immigrants and we open our arms up to others throughout the globe; much more so than many other country who do not welcome immigration. While in the past, many lived in their own worlds, secluded from the rest of society, we are in a brand new millennium. Now we are influenced from countries so far that our ancestors could never imagine traveling to, simply by driving up the stree to a restaurant, grocery store, kitchen or market. This amazing transformation has taken place in the United States and it can have negative and positive effects on society within the realm of social conflict, functionalism, psychology and human interaction.
Today, it is advantageous to get be influenced from cultures outside our own borders. These people lend so much in the way of development as they introduce different ways of thinking, multiple languages, and various skill sets. However, some immigrants do not wish to integrate into a new society. Sometimes they are so hard wired and set in their ways, they refuse to work, learn a new language, adapt to a new culture and only mix and mingle with people from their own ethnic groups. While this can be frustrating, it is important to remember that often times, immigrants may be intimidated or afraid to branch out for fear of reprisal. It can build barriers and develop the wrong perception within a society.
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"Multiculturalism".
The target of multiculturalism began in the 60’s when minority issue started to dominate society, particularly in the Caucasian dominated country of the U.S. The term multicultural meant a specific race or ethnicity and so began the Civil Rights movements. As this progressed, the focus of multiculturalism expanded to include gender, religion, socio-economic status, age and even sexual preferences. The focus directly mostly toward social issues such as equality, political biases, policies and programs. The world is multicultural psychology became a study toward influences of many different ethnic backgrounds in the social context of human behavior.
Most business firms expand focus on a global level which means another realm of human resource issues that must be developed, international business and cultural influences the become more and more prevalent within America. A better understanding of multiculturalism must be learned by business professionals as more and more businesses are going abroad.
MULTICULTURALISM 3
The U.S. Has many ways to protect minorities and many of these protections are instituted by
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Their goal is to recruit a pre-determined percentage of workers that hail from other ethnic backgrounds. They have guidelines they must adhere to when it comes to hiring and firing workers and is a protective agency for issues that may stem from discrimination due to varying ethnic or cultural clashes. According to their website, “The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information” (2010, EEOC).
There is little doubt that the make up of our previously Anglo dominated society from 50 years ago is constantly changing. This means schools, neighborhoods, businesses, non-profit and for profit organizations are constantly changing as more ethnic groups integrate within them. There is no longer a monoculture type of concept in the field of social psychology, as it has been replaced with targeted goal of achieving a successful and prosperous multicultural society; both on personal and professional levels.
- About the EEOC: Overview. (2010). U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
- Nagayama Hall, G.C. (2010). Multicultural Psychology (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
- Reynolds, A.L. & Constantine, M.G. (2004). Feminism and Multiculturalism: Parallels and
Intersections. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 32, p.346.
