Culture refers to the set of values, standards, beliefs, art, music, and practices shared by a particular group of people and passed from one generation to another (Borrmann, Klassen & Spatscheck, 2007). It defines human societies throughout the world. Different groups of people in the world are differentiated based on their culture. However, in today’s world, there has been a controversy with regards to the sets of beliefs and traditions among various cultures. Some critics argue that certain cultures are highly sophisticated and hence more valuable while others are less sophisticated. Highly sophisticated cultures are characterized by high level of civilization whereby people are well educated and well-informed in the fields of sciences, arts and other aspects that define the modern world (Borrmann, Klassen & Spatscheck, 2007). Less sophisticated cultures on the other hand are characterized by lower levels of civilization and primitive way of life (Borrmann, Klassen & Spatscheck, 2007). However, this categorization of cultures is based on people’s opinion. Issues related to culture are complex. Therefore this paper explores cultural competence as an issue in our society today.
Cultural Complexity Issues
Cultural competence is a cultural issue that was misunderstood in the past. But it has gained importance in our lives today. Cultural competence involves fully understanding, communicating with and interacting easily with people from different cultures (Lambert, Myers & Simons, 2009). A culturally competent person is aware of four things:
a) Being aware of one’s own cultural worldview (Lambert, Myers & Simons, 2009).
b) Recognizing that there are cultural differences among different group of people in the world and thus the need to have the right attitude towards these cultures (Lambert, Myers & Simons, 2009).
c) Recognizing existence of different cultural practices and appreciating them (Lambert, Myers & Simons, 2009).
d) Recognizing that an individual can learn different cultures and transfer skills from one culture to another (Lambert, Myers & Simons, 2009).
The above four factors point to the fact that human cultures are diverse but it is crucial to appreciate each and every culture. Intercultural competence theory has been framed by some psychologists to explain the relationship between people and their culture. According to this theory, cultural competence is a set of cognitive, behavioral, and affective or motivational components that enable individuals to adapt effectively in intercultural environments (Lambert, Myers & Simons, 2009). This theory also posits that language proficiency and regional knowledge are key skills that enable an individual to interact easily with different cultures. There are four facets of this theory, i.e., knowledge, empathy, self-confidence and cultural identity (Lambert, Myers & Simons, 2009). These four facets are the basic requirements of intercultural competence. They stress the importance of understanding other people’s behaviors and ways of thinking and also the ability to express one’s way of thinking.
Various entities including firms, schools, health care centers, government agencies and non-governmental organizations tried to apply intercultural competence theory in their daily activities in the past. However, this did not often yield good results. One possible reason that led to failure of the implementation of this theory is lack of understanding how the theory operates. Studies indicate that the development of intercultural competence is based on the individual’s experiences while he is interacting with people from different cultures (Hersen, 2004). For example, an individual will first experience difficulties in communicating with a person from a different culture due to language barrier. This may motivate the individual to learn the language of this culture to enable him to effectively communicate. In this way, language proficiency develops leading to intercultural competence.
The concept of intercultural competence was in the past viewed as discriminative. United States is one such country that has experienced challenges with issues regarding culture in the past. The United States had a culture influenced by Europeans mainly from Britain who had immigrated to America in the 18th and 19th centuries (Baxter, 2008). There were also Africans and Asians who had migrated to the United States either voluntarily or involuntarily through the slave trade (Baxter, 2008). The British introduced English language in the United States and the other immigrants also had their own languages (Baxter, 2008). The natives were known as Indians and they spoke their own native language.
In the 20th century, the U.S. population had a mixture of cultures from various parts of the world. Unifying these different cultures became a challenge. The British were dominant and therefore they introduced their own culture including their education system whereby English was the main language of communication (Baxter, 2008). The natives and immigrants from Africa and Asia had to learn the European culture and language but they initially resisted. To some people, being forced to learn a foreign culture is like enslavement. Equally, the European teachers who taught in the American institutions had to develop cultural competence to enable them to interact effectively with students from different culture. The issues that teachers had to understand include practices among different cultures and how treat students from different ethnic backgrounds (Baxter, 2008).
Today, the United States is made up of a diverse cultural society where every person appreciates different cultures (Baxter, 2008). This has been as a result of cultural competence development. Therefore, I believe that issues of cultural competence can be solved individually by having a positive attitude, being aware of different cultures and appreciating them, avoiding prejudices and biases towards other cultures and being ready to learn the culture of other people including their language and way of life (Hersen, 2004).
Working in a culturally diverse environment can be quite challenging. However, individuals need to amass enough knowledge and skills as well as being aware of existence of other cultures and having the right attitude as to effectively interact with people of different cultures (Galarraga, 2014). For example, a white police officer who serves people from across different cultures needs not be aware of the existence of these cultures. Using a prejudiced language like referring to foreigners as illegal aliens is not acceptable. Thus knowledge, skills, awareness and attitude are the important components of cultural competence development that will allow an individual to work in a culturally diverse environment (Galarraga, 2014).
Personally, I am aware that cultural competence is becoming increasingly necessary in our daily lives at work and even in our daily social lives. In order for me to succeed in my professional career, I need to be aware of cultural diversity and be ready to appreciate different cultures as well as learn something from them. I would like to be a human resource manager in future and my job will entail handling employees from different cultures. Cultural competence will allow me to value the inputs of different employees and recognize the fact that their differences serve as a uniting factor rather than a separating one. In this case, creating an inclusive system that values all employees will help to maximize the productivity of all employees (Galarraga, 2014).
Conclusion
In summary, cultural issues are complex. Cultural competence is one issue that had been misunderstood by many people in the past. However, today it is gaining more importance. It involves understanding and appreciating different cultures. Development of cultural competence leads to positive outcomes in various entities including companies, non-governmental organizations and government agencies.
References
Baxter, A. (2008). The USA. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Borrmann, S., Klassen, M., & Spatscheck, C. (2007). International social work. Opladen:
Barbara Budrich Publishers.
Galarraga, F. (2014). Diversity at Work: The Practice of Inclusion. Journal Of
Psychological Issues In Organizational Culture, 5(1), 73-80
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jpoc.21132
Hersen, M. (2004). Comprehensive handbook of psychological assessment. Hoboken, N.J.:
John Wiley & Sons.
Lambert, J., Myers, S., & Simons, G. (2009). 50 activities for achieving cultural
competence. Amherst, Mass.: HRD Press.
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