Cultural Diversity Competencies - Essay Example

Cultural Diversity Competencies Introduction Cultural competence is a term that refers to the ability of a person to interact effectively with other persons with socio-economic backgrounds that are different from their own. The context of the term particularly relates to the human resources, government agencies, and the non-profit organizations in which the employees associate with a diverse social grouping consisting of persons coming from a different ethnic or cultural sphere. Today, most workplace environments involve people with cultural backgrounds that are different in terms of ethnicity and social grouping (Moule and Diller, 2012). In such environments, the employees are required to have awareness and skills of cultural competence in terms of the diversity in the environment. Generally, cultural diversity competence refers to having cultural awareness coupled with skills necessary for the successful interaction with the people with cultural backgrounds that are different from one’s, who are participating in employment in the same work environment (Matsumoto, 2012). This awareness and skills are commonly lacking in some workplaces of today resulting in people having diversity incompetency. To achieve success, it is important to develop the abilities of the employees to enable a good working relationship with the people from different cultures. Generally, there are four cultural competencies required to be in place in a workplace for diversity competency to develop successful working that is culturally diverse (Hogan-Garcia, 2013). These are: An understanding of culture as a multidimensional and multilevel concept A proper understanding of one’s own culture and the barriers of cross cultural interaction with an aim of cancelling their effects Having a practice of and actively developing communication skills that are centered on the different cultures existing in the field Having structures for the design and implementation of cultural competence skills on an organizational level Culture on a multidimensional and multidimensional view For a professional to have diversity competence, he or she should avoid a one sided view of culture and adopt views that take on different aspects of culture in terms of its dimensions and levels (Matsumoto, 2012). This entails having access to specific and relevant knowledge concerning the different cultures in his demographic area. The knowledge should encompass social-political systems and how they affect the marginalized communities in the country. The understanding of the effect of the different cultures of the communities will provide different dimensions in the lives of the employees because of their cultures (Hogan-Garcia, 2013). The views of differences arising from gender and the impacts in terms of gender inequality should also be availed. Awareness of one’s culture and cultural barriers Cultural diversity competence requires moving from a state of being culturally unaware to state of awareness and sensitivity of one’s cultural heritage (Hogan-Garcia, 2013). The professional explores the standards, values, and assumptions that he or she holds concerning human behavior. This also requires the identifying and understanding of the different social barriers that exist with respect to one socio-economic background’s relationship with other cultures (Moule and Diller, 2012). The effect of this is an acceptance of the cultural differences and having a respect for them. The professional develops a view of cultural equality with the other cultures. An awareness of one’s culture creates a state where one knows values that he or she shares and their effect on minorities and people of other cultural backgrounds. This will help in the avoidance of stereotyping and social prejudices that will help in the creation of good interrelationships in the workplace (Matsumoto, 2012). An understanding an awareness of one’s culture and differences with other culture results in the professional being culturally sensitive to the existing circumstances that will enable deferrals of persons to members of the same demographic groups (Hogan-Garcia, 2013). However, this should not be used to discriminate on people of different cultures. The awareness creates a culture of acknowledgement of incidences of negative attitude exhibited based on discrimination of one’s social-economic background. The result is a workplace culture of accepting responsibility for racist, sexist, or other discriminative acts in the workplace that will see a significant reduction in their occurrences (Moule and Diller, 2012). Practice of culture centered communication For the professionals in a workplace consisting of diverse cultures, to have diversity competence, they need to develop a skill of practicing the use of communication methods that are sensitive to the different cultures in the environment (Hogan-Garcia, 2013). This encompasses the verbal and non-verbal communication as well as the relationship building skills of the employees. Diversity competent professionals should have the ability to generate and use a wide range of communication responses of both verbal and non-verbal form that are sensitive to the different cultures in the environment. The skill should also allow the sending of thoughts and feelings and the receiving and interpretation of the message sent to him or he in a manner that will discriminate members of a different cultural grouping (Hogan-Garcia, 2013). The communication in the setting will be appropriate as it considers the different cultural cues that are in operation within the setting. This will reduce the cases of cultural conflicts in the setting creating a workplace environment that allows good interactions among the employees (Matsumoto, 2012). Relation building skills are an important if one seeks to have cultural competence that respects the diversity in the environment (Moule and Diller, 2012). Good relation building skills help professionals build good working relationships with other professionals in the setting. Good working relationships spell a working environment where there are healthy interactions between the employees. The diversity competency of a professional with good relation building skills is enhanced. This is because he or she priorities the cultural norms of the concerned parties prior to the formation of the relationship (Moule and Diller, 2012). Design and implementation Though the change of an organization to one that is cultural diversity competent mostly entails the making of changes in behaviors among the professionals in the setting, a major part of the shift requires adaptation of changes to the organization structure (Hogan-Garcia, 2013). The organizations need transformations to have more flexible systems, which are not only reactive and hierarchical. This will enable them to become culturally competent, as the communication skills will be appropriate and the design of culturally sensitive policies is possible. An appropriate communication system is both an end and a method of achieving diversity competence through making structural changes to organizations as it enables the continual restructuring and strategy production to respond to the ever-changing social-economic environment. The structural changes will allow the implementation of the cultural sensitive policies designed for the organization (Hogan-Garcia, 2013). Developing cultural diversity competencies Development of cultural diversity competencies in an organization requires the adoption of a multilevel plan, as the challenges are multilevel (Hogan-Garcia, 2013). The plan should therefore cover all levels of the challenges. The first stage should involve identifying the needs of the organization based on the four competency skills discussed. The assessment of the capacity of the organization will help to determine which areas the development should focus. The awareness among the employees as well as their understanding of different cultures should be increased alongside their interaction skills through training. Workshops and seminars educating on the four cultural competencies should be held and should involve demonstrations. The training will provide information on overcoming obstacles of cultural competency. Training all employees creates a foundation for cultural competency on the organization wide level. The next stage involves the development of a strategic plan for the implementation of strategies for the attainment of diversity competence (Hogan-Garcia, 2013). Employees should develop useful action plans for implementation of the skills of cultural diversity competence learnt in the training sessions. The strategies should involve processes aiming to reduce cultural discriminative actions. The final stage involves the setting up of measurable objectives and timelines to be used in the monitoring of the effect the changes have had on the organization. Again, the formulation of the timeline should focus on the needs of the organization. My cultural skills and abilities Generally, my cultural skills and abilities are similar to those advocated in the competencies though not fully. I am fully aware of my culture and tend to communicate with others through channels that respect their diversity. My strengths in the area of cultural diversity competency is that I am well aware of my culture and what it entails. This helps me to identify differences with other cultures to avoid using methods that will result in a conflict of culture (Moule and Diller, 2012). The awareness of my culture creates another strength as it helps me identify the barriers to communication with persons of different backgrounds which aids in using channels that are appropriate for communication. However, in terms of viewing cultural differences in different levels and dimensions, my understanding needs improvement. From the information on creating a plan for the improvement of cultural competency, in improving my skills, the following steps are necessary (Hogan-Garcia, 2013). In the assessment of my needs, the low understanding of culture on multiple dimensions and levels poses the biggest problem. Registering for a short course on the issue is necessary for attaining the knowledge on the different socio-economic groupings in the area. Depending on the knowledge accrued, a strategic plan implementing in the information in the relations with people from other backgrounds. A review of the impact of the training and the information on relationships with other people is necessary some time after the training exercise. Conclusion Cultural diversity competence awareness and skills are important parts of workplaces of today. The awareness and skills are commonly lacking in some workplaces of today resulting in people having diversity incompetency. The employees are required to have the awareness and skills of cultural competence in terms of the diversity in the environment in order for the organization to attain success. The development of the skills is possible in the implementation of the four competencies of cultural diversity. Implementation of the plan outlined in an organization will result in the foundation of cultural diversity competency, which is on an organization wide basis. References Hogan-Garcia, M. (2013). Four skills of cultural diversity competence: A process for understanding and practice. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. Matsumoto, D. R., & Juang, L. P. (2012). Culture and psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Moule, J., & Diller, J. V. (2012). Cultural competence: A primer for educators. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Read More