Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

One thing that all U.S. business leaders and managers need to understand is that the fastest growing segment of the workforce is Latinos.

It is estimated that by the year 2008, Latinos will make up 20 percent of the U.S. population. To successfully take advantage of this increasing reality, leaders must learn how to manage a workforce that will have a growing Latino identity.

Like any demographic, it would be wrong to conclude that what appeals to one portion of the Latino demographic will work with another.

Dr. Robert Rodriguez business school professor from Capella University says "Employers need to understand the complexity of the Latino demographic, never assume that what appeals to one segment of the Latino population will work with another."

I believe that we have gone astray in other demographic groupings as well. For example, do we make the same mistake with woman who are presented by the media as some type of "glob" or "groupthink" community that all think the same. This is a great mistake for those who make marketing decisions based upon that illusion.

We no longer live in an unsegmented world. People are no longer grouping together because of sex, race or age; we now build communities based upon ideas and belief systems. This of course doesn't mean that there aren't times when certain groupings do get together, but it is based increasingly upon agreeing and shared experiences, rather than age, race and gender.

While there are always exceptions to these rules, overall this is going to be the trend for decades, if not longer, for years to come.