When I first arrived on campus here at my university, my expectation was just to meet Koreans. As I look back on my stay, however, I realize that I have met the world. Beyond my Korean friends, I have met friends who come from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Russia and Vietnam. It couldn’t get any more diverse than this! Of course, diversity itself is just a word, an observation of the demographics. It doesn’t mean anything unless it’s acted upon, preferably with openness and tolerance. Forming friendships with people of various backgrounds is relatively easy as people tend to focus on similarities when making new connections. It’s when the differences come out that diversity poses a real challenge. In fact, beyond cultural differences, personality differences can also take their toll. For instance, let’s say that you were assigned to a diverse team. This is good because diversity’s strength is the sharing of various opinions. On the other hand, if the members just listen without any intention of incorporating or learning, then diversity just ends up becoming a hindrance to completing a project.
Let’s put this into perspective. Many people dislike group work, and I'm one of them.
