Importance of Communication in Society - Essay Example

The second chapter's summary dwells on the concept of diversity which primarily focuses on the aspect of differences that exist among people living in a similar group or location. From my own understanding, diversity is concerned with the aspect of co-existence among people from different groups. That it is, living together in harmony among people from diverse places. For instance, the US is a multicultural country and is comprised of people from diverse backgrounds. Measures have been put in order to accommodate the needs and interests of people from different backgrounds.

Chapter three looks at the concepts of melting pot and multiculturalism. From this perspective, I have gathered that the concept of a melting pot refers to the process where people from different backgrounds converge and establish a new society. For instance, America is comprised of people who came from different places who became united to build this powerful nation. On the other hand, I have observed that the concept of multiculturalism refers to the aspect of acknowledging other people’s values and believes such that people from different backgrounds come to appreciate them and adopt some of them in their own lives.

Chapter four focuses on how people react to the concept of diversity. More often, people tend to look down upon other people from other cultures or they can generally refer to them as inferior without the facts to prove their assertions towards individuals from different cultures. Intolerance of people from different cultural backgrounds is very common among other people who do not want to accept the cultural values of other people. Indeed, it is a fact that we hail from different cultural backgrounds and we must accept this hard fact that does not change. This will help us to tolerate each other.

Chapter six focuses on the challenges and benefits of diversity. The main challenge of diversity is related to the aspect of discrimination of the other group by another. In some cases, I have noted that members of the host group that is powerful tend to discriminate against people belonging to a minority group by virtue of their culture. The powerful group often tries to dominate the weaker groups. On the other hand, diversity is beneficial in that innovation and creativity are promoted when people from different backgrounds work together especially in an organization. This is so because ideas are exchanged among people from different backgrounds which helps to generate new knowledge.

Lastly, chapter six focuses on communication in diverse communities. Communication plays a pivotal role in any society or organization since it helps people to exchange vital information that can help to improve their lives. In diverse societies, I have realized that the use of a universal language like English in most cases is ideal when dealing with diverse communities. It is also important for the members of different communities to learn different forms of nonverbal communication from different groups in order to understand each other well.