Institutional Diversity : Developing Cultural Competence: Individually and Organizationally

On June 16, 1997, President Bill Clinton issued a challenge to everyone throughout the country to participate in discussions on race and ethnic relations. He said that ending affirmative action is a mistake and he cited the drop in enrollment of African American students at the University of California as an example of that and other mistakes being made at institutions throughout the country. Consequently, dialogue is taking place in the legislature, at universities, in churches, local taverns and in our homes. The tone of these discussions range from curiosity and hopefulness to anger and resentment. Confusion abounds and the question of why we are still talking about race relations, affirmative action or cultural competence deserves to be answered. However this question must be answered in the context of who is asking the question. The problem is that everyone has acculturated or assimilated into mainstream society at different levels and most of us don't understand how our personal perceptions of health, healing, relationships and problem solving have been influenced by our cultural histories. We don't understand how our culture has shaped our behavior, values, way of thinking and world view. Therefore, in order to discuss an emotionally power-packed subject such as race/ethnicity, it is extremely important that each of us work toward becoming "capable of functioning effectively in the context of difference"(cultural competence). The more culturally competent we become, the more each of us will be in a better position to:

- Understand why it is difficult to discuss issues of race and ethnicity.

- Develop mechanisms for dealing more effectively with issues of difference.

- Realize the benefits associated with individual and organizational cultural competence.

Understanding the Difficulties in Discussing Difference
Individuals, particularly mainstream society, feel discussing cultural competence and diversity-related issues will lead to disorder or chaos. Often individuals have been made to feel extremely uncomfortable during past discussions of culture and race. They don't understand that one of the contributing factors to those feelings is that we tend to look at culture as being monolithic and not the dynamic, differentiated entity that it is. Consequently, even cultural awareness sessions can perpetuate stereotypes. For example, trainers occasionally will make broad sweeping generalizations about how they perceive a particular culture without explaining that one person's view of culture is simply that person's view based on that person's experience with mainstream society, that person's review of the literature, level of assimilation etc.. A case in point would be the fact that values, attitudes and beliefs of certain individuals within the African American community may have been influenced by their having been reared in the south as opposed to the north or the West Indies as opposed to the urban centers of our major cities. Unfortunately, trainers often don't adequately explain that culture shapes behavior but does not predict it and that in order to have meaningful dialogue about culture and race one must know what questions to ask, how to ask the questions, when to seek more information and where to turn for reliable information (T. Cross, 1995).

Developing Mechanisms for Dealing More Effectively With Issues of Difference
In order for each of us to deal more effectively with individuals who are different from us, we must develop a "bias busting" type of attitude. That process begins with each of us changing the way we look at the issue of "difference." We may develop a good theoretical foundation of how to function effectively in the context of difference, we may use the terminology and we may have read the literature. However, utilization of the following five elements of cultural competence will help all of us to internalize the basic concepts of what it means to move toward becoming culturallycompetent:

1. Awareness and acceptance of difference (Individual); Valuing diversity (Organizational)

2. An awareness of one's own Cultural values (Individual); Cultural self-assessment (Organizational)

3. Understanding the dynamics of difference (Individual); Understanding the dynamics of difference (Organizational)

4. Development of cultural knowledge (Individual); Institutionalization of cultural knowledge (Organizational)

5. Ability to adapt practice skills to fit the cultural context of the client (or person's) value system (Individual) Adaptation to diversity Policies (Organizational)

Each of us must work toward becoming "cultural change agents" within our homes, places of employment, churches, social groups, etc. That process begins with our personal awareness of and acceptance of difference as a result of our experiences with this issue of difference. We can then begin to analyze and become more aware of our own cultural values. Then and only then can we understand the dynamics of difference ( communication patterns, food, music, etc.) and the need to develop cultural knowledge (cultural demographics, kinship patterns). We can then adapt practice skills to fit the cultural context of the client's (or cultural groups) value system.

Written by:  Samuel H. Hancock, Ed.D.