Transcript Cultural Competency - Campus Email Login

Cultural Competency
How is it carried out in
organizations?
How would you define cultural
competency?
What do you think are the
characteristics of culturally
competent organizations?
To truly describe how organizations function in
culturally specific ways, we must broaden our
definition of culture.
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Many demographic groups may have their own specific
culture.
Culture can include norms, language, slang, symbols,
music, behaviors, the meaning of certain behavior, and
patterns of interaction or exchange.
These behaviors and practices are distinct from those of
the dominant culture.
Consequently, the term culture can refer to any
subpopulation group that identifies itself as different
from the dominant culture: persons with disabilities, gay
men & lesbians, the Amish, goths, nudists, etc.
We can define cultural competency in
the following way:
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Social workers are culturally competent if they obtain knowledge
about a variety of cultural groups, understand, the concept of
cultural identity, be open to different perspectives, and be able to
communicate across these differences (Gutierrez & Alvarez, 2000).
“The ability of organizations and systems to function effectively in
cross-cultural situations” (British Columbia Ministry for Children &
Families, 2003, p. 1).
“Cultural competency is an engaging, life-long journey of expanding
your horizons, thinking critically about power and oppression, and
behaving appropriately (American College Health Association, 2003,
p. 1).
Cultural Competency should occur in at least 4
levels in organizations
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Individual practitioner
Management staff (commitment of
organizational leaders)
Organization as a whole
Linkages between the organization and its
external environment (local community;
service users; other organizations; political
system)
At the practitioner level, we use ethnographic
interviews to find out about someone’s culture.
Ethnographic interviews are:
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Usually unstructured. May be similar to a casual conversation.
Focus on a person’s personal history, experiences, values, and
behaviors as they pertain to membership in a specific culture.
Are a form of qualitative research.
Can include oral histories or narratives.
Can take place in a group format.
Require that the research gain the trust of the people he/she
interviews.
Don’t usually require the use of a standard questionnaire, but
research may prepare a set of open-ended questions in advance.
We can also use the following methods for finding out
about the cultural backgrounds of service users.
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Cultural guides
Establish linkages with community leaders
Staff should attend cultural events in the community
The organization can sponsor culturally specific events or
multi-cultural gatherings
Hiring and retaining a diverse workforce
Provide on-going staff training
Involving service users in organization governance,
program planning, and evaluation
Service user controlled service delivery (for example,
ethnic social service agencies or feminist organizations).
Cultural Competency Action List
(American College Health Association)
The culturally competent practitioner is:
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Aware of own cultural heritage and values.
Aware of how his/her own biases affect cultural perceptions.
Comfortable with cultural difference.
Sensitive to circumstances that may require you to seek a cultural guide.
Demonstrate a good understanding of social power structure and how nondominate cultural groups are treated.
Acquire knowledge and information about the particular group she/he is
working with.
Recognize institutional barriers that prevent members of disadvantaged
groups from using organization resources.
Send and receive verbal and nonverbal messages accurately and
appropriately.
Intervene appropriately and advocate on behalf of individuals from different
cultures.
Organization Managers of Culturally
Competent Organizations must be:
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Committed to the principles of cultural diversity, empowerment, and
social justice.
Role models for their staff
Inspire staff members to adopt and practice these principles
Work with their nonprofit board or government supervisors to
establish internal policies and procedures to support diversity.
Hire, train, and retain diverse staff
Establish behavioral objectives for appropriate staff behavior.
Monitor staff and organizational behavior and diversity outcomes
Kahn (1991) argues that organizations
become culturally competent when:
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They have organization structures that foster
equity in in resource sharing, program
development, and administration.
Recruit people from differing ethnic
backgrounds.
Provide on-going training and education about
race and cultural issues (for clients and staff).
Plan cultural and social activities that are
culturally appropriate and inclusive of all
organization participants.
National Mental Health Association recommends
that organizations should.
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Have a cultural competency plan
Form advisory boards with diverse members.
Provide applications and other materials in different
languages and Braille; pre-test material to make sure it’s
usable.
Provide translation services (including sign language).
Provide culturally acceptable treatments.
Providing cultural competency training.
Make sure service providers have specialized assessment
and treatment skills needed to treat diverse clients
(ethnicity and sexual orientation).
Organization typology for supporting
diversity (Perlmutter, Bailey, & Netting,
2001)
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Level 1 – token equal employment opportunity. Women and persons
of color are hired, but have no power or authority.
Level 2 – Affirmative Action organizations. Hires women and persons
of color. Prohibits sexist and racist behavior. – Has a “glass ceiling”
that limits promotion among members of these groups.
Level 3 – self-renewing organization. Systematically assesses its
own values, behaviors, and symbols. Uses findings to design
management strategies that increase productivity. Finds ways to
incorporate different perspectives into the organization culture.
Level 4 – multicultural organization. Supports a culture of diversity
through hiring and promotion. Prohibits all discrimination, sets new
standards for social behavior within the organization. Seeks alliances
with organizations of similar values and behaviors.
Another typology for understanding the degree of cultural
competency in organizations was developed by Terry Cross
(2001):
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(Lowest level) Cultural destructiveness. Organizational policies
are designed to destroy the cultural orientation of the people who
receive services (for example, English-only boarding schools for
Native American children).
Cultural blindness. The organization is committed to treating all
clients the same and ignores specific needs of various cultural
groups. Values and organizational practices tend to be only those of
the dominant culture.
Cultural pre-competence. Adapts services to the cultural norms
of service users and tries to hire unbiased employees.
Advanced cultural competency. Staff actively seeks new
knowledge to develop innovative services and advocates for the
adoption of cultural appropriate policies and services. Services are
consumer-oriented and strengths-based. Service users are involved
in organizational decision-making.
Dr. Roger Simpson and other authors (Nagda et al., 1999;
Gutierrez et al., 2005: Hyde, 2003; 2004) writing on
cultural competency in social work practice identify four
levels of cultural competency in social work practice:
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Ethnocentric: incorporates only the values and practices of the dominate culture.
Ethnic-sensitive: practitioners are to respect and tolerate the values of others.
However, this method does not require social workers examine issues of power and
oppression nor does it require that social workers actually do anything about
oppression or oppressive social service policies or institutional structures.
Ethnoconscious practice: The social worker or the agency focuses on one ethnic
group and incorporates practice methods that are developed exclusively or members
of this group.
Multicultural practice: Social workers providing cross-culture services or agencies
serving diverse clientele utilize a variety of culturally appropriate service delivery
methods to serve their clientele. Such organizations incorporate social justice
principles into the service delivery process and assist service users in obtaining
resources and political power by engaging in organization decision-making and social
action.
One management method to enhance
diversity is Multicultural Organization
Development. MCOD practices include:
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Explicit commitment to diversity and empowerment
among organizational leaders.
A strategic plan to increase cultural competency.
Diversity hiring.
On-going efforts to maintain a diverse workforce.
Recognition of issues in the organization related to the
interaction of power/status and gender/culture. (For
example, staff members may be assigned a mentor)
Staff training in cultural competency
Evaluating the implementation of the cultural
competency plan as well as the outcomes produced.
Outcome Evaluation
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Measure staff perceptions of their own
skills.
Measuring behavioral changes in
individuals as well as in the organization
Measuring changes in service user
perceptions of the organization.
References
Lee, E. (2003). Bridges to wellness. Retrieved on February 24, 2003 from
http://www.serve.com/Wellness/culture.html
National Mental Health Association. (2003). Cultural competency in mental
health systems. Retrieved on February 24, 2003 from
http://www.nmha.org/position/ps6019a.cfm.
North, C. (2003). The ethnographic interview. Retrieved on February 24, 2003
from http://www.umaryland.edu/cmchswe/html/ethnointerview.html.
Permultter, F., Bailey, D., & Netting, E. (2001). Managing human resources in
the human services. New York: Oxford University Press. (Chapter 6,
Supporting diversity).
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