Multicultural Diversity, Essay Example

Cultural Competence Concept

Cultural competence relates to specific strategies developed by individuals, intuitions and groups, which allow them to express their abilities in effectively communicating with persons of different ethnicities, beliefs and values. Simultaneously, these persons exercise the expertise of keeping their boundaries by not merely tolerating the other persons or group, but accepting them for who they are as cultural expressions (Moule, 2012).

There are four components of cultural competence. They include the awareness of one’s personal cultural worldview. Secondly is the attitude towards cultural differences. The third component pertains to knowledge of different cultural practices and worldviews. Finally, it is demonstrating cross-cultural skills.  A person who is culturally competent has developed an understanding to communicate effectively with people across cultures without becoming judgmental or critical of their cultural disposition (Moule, 2012).

Individual level

Cultural competence at the individual level requires that a person becomes aware of his/her own culture from a broader perspective including the way culture is conceived within the global society. Importantly, it means taking a self assessment through introspections asking the questions pertaining to how do I perceive another person who is not my race? Would I be eager to interact with that person? Do I withdraw from people who seem to have a different sexual orientation?  Am I quick to tell another person how he/she is wrong if we have different perspectives on an issue?

Answering these questions would give anyone an idea of how others are perceived, based on looking at cultural competence from a world conception. At an individual level cultural competence is supposed to allow me to understand that the world does not consist only of persons of my race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or values. Everyone has to live on this planet and do so based how he/she was raised culturally. In reality there is no one right or wrong culture, but humans adapt ways to survive the ages of civilization. They acquire these skills that facilitate living through trial and error and have kept them sacred through the ages as part of their life/customs. From my level as an individual this is the meaning of cultural competence.           .

Local level (neighborhood, town/city)

Perceiving cultural competence at the neighborhood level is being sensitized into understanding and appreciating everyone who must live in a community such a village or part of a city. In some countries segregated villages, especially, due to their race. Neighborhoods, which are separated, do not interact with others they categorize undesirable. Culturally competent neighborhoods interact and develop goals/aspirations for the greater good despite religious or racial differences. They use their diversity as a strategy for learning from each other how to survive better when cultures are blended.

Institutional level

At the institutional level researchers have identified the value of cultural competence particularly in health care and education. For example, it was revealed that cultural competence in health care and education was responsible for reducing immense disparities among groups to which basic services were inaccessible. Some communities across America have a strong immigrant presence. Many of these people do not speak English fluently or at all. Language culture is a huge problem for them in both education and healthcare. Consequently, institutional cultural competence must be practiced because they are consumers of services too. Measures to provide employees who are bilingual or speak more than one language have been adopted to enhance cultural competence within these organizations (Moule, 2012).

References

Moule, J. (2012). Cultural Competence: A primer for educators. Wadsworth/Cengage, Belmont, California