First, let's define diversity according to Grebner and Mattingly (2017), it
"refers to differences among people, such as age, race, nationality,
gender, sexual orientation, or tenure with the organization or position."
In our scenario, St. Luke says that they treat a diverse group of people;
however, the only diversity in the staff is age. Hickman has already said
they were deemed noncompliant with the ADA (Americans with
Disabilities Act), based on the last Joint Commission survey.
Furthermore, they did not give the African American man a fair chance
based on his qualifications. Instead, it seemed like he was judged
because he needed a wheelchair and possibility his race.
When training on cultural diversity, it is important to talk about
prejudice, stereotyping, and bias. In Oachs and Watters (2020), they
say that prejudice "judges a person based on cultural elements without
reviewing all of the information." This definition is important for the
staff to understand so that they know it is not okay to pick and choose
who they like based on their nationality. We should be open to talking
to everyone and not singling anyone out. Stereotyping is important to
understand because it places a preconceived notion that all people
from a certain age group, race, etc.. are the same. Having awareness of
this can enlighten the staff to be more accepting of each other. Lastly,
bias is a huge part of diversity because it "prevents a person from
having an impartial judgement" (Watters & Oachs, 2020, p. 906). If you
have bias in a department, it has the potential to distort the truth.
Instead of looking at a person for their qualifications and quality of
work, you might look at their race or age and decide you do not like
them. This will lead to them potentially feeling like they are not good
enough, when really it is not possible for them to get past the bias that
has been created. It can create hostile work environments if not dealt
with properly.
So, the question becomes, how do we implement training to ensure
that cultural diversity is addressed. I believe that having training for just
about everything is important, but the time to do training has to be
considered. In the hiring phase for staff, I believe that going over the
above definitions would be beneficial. There should be an employee
handbook that they receive, and it should go over why cultural diversity
is important. It should also address the equal employment opportunity
commission. This " prohibits companies from discriminating against
employees for any reason" (Kesee, n.d). This will let the staff know that
you are an equal opportunity employer. That will already set the staff
member in the mindset that they need to treat everyone with respect.
Secondly, I do think that the cultural self-awareness tool that we used
in module one would be a great tool beyond the employee handbook.
That would get the new staff member thinking about how they are as a
person. Speaking from my experience, that test really opened my eyes.
Perhaps, this could be added to an online module that is completed.
That should fit right into the training and would not take much more
time.
Third, I think that behavior-based training is the best way to address
diversity issues. Behavior-based training "focuses on what it means, in
everyday situations, to think and act inclusively — whether interactions
are in-person, online or on the phone" (Glavin, 2018). This type of
training is focusing on correcting issues before they occur. This helps
the manager address issues that are common problems or potential
problems before they happen. I think that is a fantastic idea. Other than
this, seeing something and keeping a staff member accountable
immediately is a great on the job continuance of making sure diversity is
thriving in your department. Make sure that staff are looking at each
other with multidimensional lens and no one is put into a race, age, sex,
or gender box. In this, I also think it would be a good time for the staff to
bond a little in the training. When a new employee arrives, it would be
good for everyone to introduce themself. It is important to start off
with an atmosphere that allows everyone to feel included and
respected.
Lastly, maybe sending out an email like the announcement today.
Letting people know that time has changed the way certain words are
perceived. As the example today talked about the change of using the
word spaz because of the perception, it is important to stay updated.
Yearly training on this topic should be fine as long as the department
keeps each other accountable in the meantime.
This plan should help encourage others to apply knowing that there is a
safe work environment for them to step into. The reputation that the
employer has is very important to the outside world.
Coming from different backgrounds and being different races, genders,
ages, etc. helps us have different ideas. Learning how to communicate
with one another effectively and be respectful and understanding
other people is important. If we work together, it helps us learn from
one another. It can allow us to explore different beliefs, different
religions and different cultures. Doing that helps us become more
culturally diverse.
Glavin, P. (2018, July 25). 5 reasons cultural diversity & sensitivity training
is important. Traliant. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from
https://www.traliant.com/blog/5-reasons-cultural-sensitivity-
training-is-important/
Grebner, L. A., & Mattingly, R. (2017). Management of Health
Information: Functions & Applications. Cengage Learning.
Kesee, C. (n.d.). Cultural diversity training in the Workplace. Small
Business - Chron.com. Retrieved August 4, 2022, from
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/cultural-diversity-training-
workplace-43290.html
Oachs, P. K., & Watters, A. (2020). In Health Information Management:
Concepts, principles, and Practice (pp. 906–906). essay, AHIMA,
American Health Information Management Association.
