The literature indicated that the U.S. population will continue to become more diverse. U.S. companies will continue to expand through acquisitions, mergers, and the transfer of facilities overseas and will be faced with increasing diversity in the workforce (Fernandez, 1993; Thomas, 1996). As the world competition increases and the U.S. competes in the global marketplace, diverse work teams will be a reality:
The key strategy to deal with the complex issue of forming high-performance, decisive, quality-oriented work teams is for corporations to understand the crucial link among diversity, team building, and total quality management. Unless people understand and value one another organizations cannot develop trust, which is the key to effective work teams. And without effective work teams, U.S. corporations will not become world-class, competitive organizations that produce quality products and services. (Fernandez, 1993, p. 285)
Nelton (1995) noted that having a diverse workforce and managing it effectively will be good business in the future. Diversity training will have to continue so as to prepare managers for a more diverse workforce. Nelton described six characteristics that successful managers will have in the future. First, they have to be multilingual. They will have to at least understand other languages to "feel comfortable around other people who do not speak English" (p. 27). Second, they will have to be well-traveled. It means that they will have to interact with other cultures by going to other countries. Third, they will have to be well-read. This means that managers will have to read information not only about their culture, but also other cultures. Fourth, managers will have to feel comfortable crossing cultural lines. This means that they will establish relationships with individuals outside their own culture. Fifth, they will have to be open-minded. Morrison (1992) defined open-mindedness as the willingness to do things that have never been done before. Finally, managers will have to demonstrate commitment and fairness to employees. They will have to give the same opportunities for all employees. Thomas (1992) believed that effective implementation of managing diversity in the future will make Affirmative Action unnecessary. Thomas warns, however, that given the magnitude of the change required, for most organizations, institutionalization of managing diversity as a way of life will require a long-term perspective.
In addition, Loden and Rosener (1991) stated that new attitudes will be required from managers to deal with diversity in the future. Managers will need to recognize cultural diversity, learn to value and respect fundamental differences, and find common ground on which to build relationships of trust and mutual respect with diverse employees (p. 223). Similarly, Melkonian (1995) indicated that in the future "to thrive and advance as a professional, individuals will have to effectively communicate with people cross-culturally, among races, between genders, and across subtle barriers of deeply rooted individual values. They will be an integral part of an evolutionary journey toward a new multiculturalism" (p. 37).
As demographic changes will bring more and more diversity, many problems will remain. More training professionals will face the challenge of dealing with backlash (Mobley & Payne, 1992). Sims and Sims (1993) forecasted that organizations and their training staff will be confronted with finding ways to stem the tide of increased training costs. To measure the effectiveness of training programs and techniques, organizations will continue to strive to obtain hard and soft data. Organizations already committed to diversity will strive with new difficulties. Organizations will have to respond to the different learning needs and styles that a diverse workforce requires: "The future challenge on the differences in learning styles must be addressed as a key to successful diversity and difference training while recognizing yet another example of the differences that exist among us" (p. 87).
Wheeler's (1994) perception is that diversity itself is evolving and is unlikely to be a passing fad. According to Wheeler, diversity is "likely to develop into a more integrated strategy that incorporates the basic elements and tenets of diversity into traditionally established, standard training curricula such as management development and orientation programs" (p. 41). He thinks that "in addition to becoming more integrated, the emphasis of programs is likely to change, or incorporate more issues" (p. 41). Furthermore, Wheeler explains, future training is likely to incorporate work-family issues and be more focused on productivity and competitive business needs than on valuing of differences. Diversity training will continue to be an essential diversity strategy to help organizations maximize the full potential of all employees in an increasingly diverse and global marketplace. According to Fernandez (1993), managing diversity needs to be a corporate strategy that is directly tied into the business strategic plan for managing organizational change and improving productivity now and in the future.