Systems theorists maintain that diversity is a characteristic of thriving human systems.
Demographers and sociologists inform us that our current society and most of its major institutions are becoming increasingly more diverse and will probably continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Globalization of economies and communications systems seems to be connecting people to others who may be very different from themselves, and these networks are expanding rapidly. And yet, the concept itself is broader than these applications. The concept of diversity as used in this course will be in this broadest sense of the word. A critical leadership task in contemporary settings, be they community, organizational, or societal, is to bring diverse people together toward a common goal.