Melissa Knapp
ALEC 302
Diversity and Interdependence Diversity and interdependence are important to understand in any type of situation that includes group work and fulfilling goals. According to Dr. Kotter in Power and Influence, diversity, in these type of situations, applies to people that have different goals and values. A lot of the time, when the word diversity comes up, people think of differences in ethnicity and other physical characteristics, but in this case, it's much more vague. It refers to any type of person within the group in comparison to other members, no matter the race; it's more intellectual. Interdependence refers to parts that need each other in order to survive, or in the workplace, people depend on each other to finish a task. A simple example of interdependence could include two roommates that have to pay rent each month. They both need each half of the month's rent in order to pay it on time. If one doesn't have their share, they both fail. In the workplace or within an organization, diversity and interdependence can easily be related. During high diversity and high interdependence, the most difficult situations occur. High diversity means there's many people with many different opinions along with high interdependence, which means they all need each other in order to make a decision. Imagine how difficult it would be to get that group of people to decide on one solution; this usually creates conflict. During low diversity and interdependence, people may