Interdisciplinary Cultural Competence

Changes In Attitudes, Knowledge, And Skills

 What I have learned initially from this course is that a change in attitude is the first outcome of diversity training. It isn't a change from bad to good, but more a change from apathy to awareness.  For me, trudging through life dealing with issues with co-workers, family, pets and all the drama that life provides is sometimes all consuming. I have rarely slowed down enough to even become aware of the cultures around me or how my behavior or communication style may or may not fit. 
As many have said before me, awareness is the first step toward solving a problem. Admittedly, if I personally have been less than stellar in my intercultural dealings, nobody has said anything to the fact.  There is the key shift in attitude that I see - after going through some training, it becomes apparent that nobody should have to bring it to your attention. A person in a multicultural environment should desire the knowledge and skills of cultural competency. It is far better to have such skills and knowledge and not need them than vice versa.

A common definition

Cross has "a definition of cultural competence for child social services which has been used broadly since 1989. It defines cultural competence as a “set of congruent behaviors” for working effectively in cross‐cultural situations." 1 However I don't think that this is specific enough to be considered useful across either a broad range of fields or a broad range of cultures.  It is effectively true, but not as specific as the one I found in the LIS framework I wrote about in a previous post.

Cultural competence is the ability to recognize the significance of culture in one’s own life and in the lives of others; and to come to know and respect diverse cultural backgrounds and characteristics through interaction with individuals from diverse linguistic, cultural, and socioeconomic groups; and to fully integrate the culture of diverse groups into services, work, and institutions in order to enhance the lives of both those being served [by the library profession] and those engaged in service. 2

The above is quoted directly, however I added the brackets to indicate the words that I would remove to make this definition the one I would propose applies to anybody, in any field.

Reflection on progress 

Listed below are the three learning outcomes I chose for myself for this class.

1. Attain the ability to recognize cultural issues in both my personal and professional environments.

I think I have had a decent exposure to recognizing culture and inclusion issues, especially in my professional careers of the military and information technology. One of the gifts of the military experience, especially after a long career and the privilege of leadership is the exposure to one of the most diverse work forces anywhere. In both arenas I have had formal and informal training, sometimes web based yawn-fests that don’t have much impact, and sometimes facilitator lead classes that I find much more engaging.  Where the most learning occurs however is out there, in the offices, in the field, on the ships and shore stations.  Since I won’t be on the receiving end of any more military training, I believe that I have gained a new interest in maintaining a higher level of cultural competence.  I have a desire to advance out of the technical leadership role I have now and into management, so this is not a skill I should let go stale.

2. Reach a higher level of understanding how different cultures approach the "work" environment. 

Unfortunately, I have not made a great deal of progress with this item, perhaps because it was overly general and not as applicable to an educational setting as it would be in an on the job learning environment. When I wrote this outcome, I was thinking specifically of the different cultures I am exposed to at my job with Wells Fargo.  One of the things that makes this learning difficult is that I very often work from home.  My contact with co-workers is mostly via email and IM, some over the phone, but almost no direct, personal contact. I think this is an area where I will continue to self-educate, because I have a desire for the knowledge, but will likely not get it in a classroom setting.

3. Understand better the impact of culturally inappropriate behaviors on the workplace.

I think that the case-studies assignment gave me a great deal of insight into how behaviors can affect outcomes.  This is particularly true in the health care setting, and I would like to continue my learning and discover similarities in the world of information technology.  One of the key things that I have learned, and this doesn’t necessarily apply to any of the above three stated goals, is that the health care industry focus is just that, an industry focus.  What I suspected I would find, and did, was that in information technology, the focus on cultural competency is more employer based.  I suspect that if you moved between hospitals and clinics, you would find less variance in the attention paid to cultural issues than if you moved between difference technology employers.  This is reflected in the lack of formalized training recognized by the governing bodies of technology when compared to those of health care.  Who knows, maybe as I progress into management, this might be an area of my industry that I can help improve.

References:

1. Cross, Terry L.; Bazron, Barbara J.; Dennis, Karl W.; and Isaacs, Mareasa R. Towards a Culturally Competent System of Care. Washington, DC: CASSP Technical Assistance Center, 1989. 

2. Overall M. Cultural competence: a conceptual framework for library and information science professionals. The Library Quarterly. April 2009;79(2):175-204. Accessed here: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu.ezproxy.lib.uwm.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/597080