Diversity in the American workplace is very important but corporate culture in this country works against women and minorities to a certain extent (Tannen, 1995). The conversational styles that most women use tend to be less popular with businesses and corporations than the conversational styles that men use. Because of this, women are often overlooked for promotions, are seen as less confident, and are not considered as worthwhile when it comes to individuals giving their ideas and helping out with teamwork. Much of this comes from childhood when little girls were taught to be nice to other individuals and help to downplay their weaknesses, while little boys were taught to play up the weaknesses of other individuals and claim strength and domination if they were able (Tannen, 1995; Adams & Galanges, 2005).
             Individuals who come from one part of the country to another also face this and some men who lack a great deal of self-confidence and are not willing to speak up are also treated as though they are weak. Because of this, many women are overlooked for promotions and other issues in which they are extremely well-qualified but it is not believed that they are confident enough to do the job due to the fact that they do not speak up in the same manner that men do (Michard & Viollet, 1991).
             Women are not the only ones having difficulty, however. One of the main issues for organizational behavior that is both a challenge and an opportunity is the diversity of the workforce, and this is usually evidenced by conflict. Conflict is common within many organizations, and the larger they are the more potential they have for conflict. This is largely due to the greater number of diverse and conflicting viewpoints. People all have different ideas of how things should be done, and when those ideas clash on a particular project, conflict is born. This does not have to be a problem for the management team that is prepared for it. Co...