Cultural Diversity - Case Study Example

Difference in Cultural Backgrounds Introduction Culture consists of rules, practices, beliefs and codes that give awareness, education and motivation to individuals towards social behaviours that are acceptable. Culture is not inherited but learnt from teachers, families and those who share the same view, and is expressed in the behaviour of a person (Moir-Bussy & Sullivan 2007). Cultural Diversity is the multiplicity of people’s cultures in a specific religion or multiculturalism in organizations. However, different people have different perspective towards culture. In this paper I will look at a case study of two interviewees, their perspective on culture, culture impacts on the life experience and belief system and impacts on their interactions with others. Background information on each interviewee Participant A is a young female aged between 19 and 30 years. She is Australian but has a family background from Chinese, German and Scottish. Participant B is a female aged between 31-45, born in Australia and works as a service provider. She has nationalities or cultural groups that are part of her family background and are European, German, and French. Each interviewee’s perspective on culture Both interviewees feel it is important to understand their own cultures. Participant A despite being young doesn’t know any African or Middle East young people though she comes across them on the streets and work. The only perception she has towards them is that they escape violence and insecurity from their families in search of refugee and better life in Australia. Interviewee B being a very mature lady doesn’t know any person from a multicultural background has no idea of what to say about them. Though she has seen people from Africa and Middle East and other emerging communities from South Australia, she has never been interested in meeting any one of them or knows more about them. It could be because of the perception she has towards multicultural people. Different ethnic groups understand the world in different ways which may cause conflicts in the society and in the workplace. This is because different ethnic groups may expect different things from the environment they are in. This is why an organization’s management need to understand different cultures and ethnic groups in order to plan well and manage conflicts, by using culture comparative models to make comparison between different cultures and understand how cultures are related (Mead 2005). According to Dolan (2008), interpersonal conflict occurs when people in the organizations perceive goals, values, behaviour and attitudes differently. How culture impacts on the life experience and belief system of each interviewee Interviewee A uses English mostly when talking to her own parents. Probably she doesn’t value her language more or being young she decides to diversify. According to Hartoss, social and cultural factors drive language shift and pattern. Despite serving as a means of communications minority languages are important ways to express cultural heritage and ethnic identity. Language expresses the group one belongs as well the unity of that group. Spirituality is less important to her everyday life and belongs to neither of the religious groups nor attend any religious practices. She however thinks family stories and other story telling that are purposefully to include information about her ethnic heritage to be important as part of a child’s upbringing. The child is able to understand his heritage as he or her grows up and learns to appreciate as well as adapt the same. Interviewee A takes pride in her ethnic heritage because she believes it is an important part in developing a sense of identity. Just like interviewee A interviewee B also uses English when talking to her own parents. It is an emerging trend and it is affecting all ages, as they don’t talk in their own languages to strengthen their culture. Though spirituality is important to her everyday life she doesn’t attend any religious services despite being an Atheist. She doesn’t believe in teaching children their heritage as they can learn about their ethnic culture if they want to. She also doesn’t believe in telling stories and family stories to purposefully include information about her ethnic heritage. This shows lack of strong appreciation for her ethnic culture and there is likelihood that it is going to die in the next generation as the current parents are not willing to make their children understand their ethnic heritage. How culture impacts on each interviewee’s interactions with others Interviewee A thinks it is important and useful to understand other people’s cultures because it broaden a perspective of an individual and appreciate their difference. Instead of complaining about how other people behave or wonder about other people’s culture, learning and trying to understand those culture will bring appreciation as well as harmony among the people from different cultures. She always participates in the cultural events and rituals of other people and the one she attends more often is the Chinese New Year. Through this she has been able to understand the reason behind the celebration and all the practices that take place that day. This is the reason why she thinks it is important to have friends from different ethnic groups; however, she is uncomfortable developing friendship with people from certain ethnic groups. She has frequent contacts with people from new and emerging communities like Africa, Afghanistan through work and that makes her be interested in understanding the different cultures and ethnicities that make up Australian society. Participants A see the importance of providing easy communication with people from different cultural backgrounds. She uses clear and simple but not patronising language when interacting with people who speak English as a second language. She also has friends from different cultural or ethnic backgrounds like Jamaica and Philippines. To ensure that everyone is comfortable, she discourages other people from using racial slurs or telling inappropriate joke about people from different cultural or ethnic backgrounds. Understanding other people’s culture is very important in all aspects of life including; work places, counselling and so on. According to Bjourn (2005), a therapist and a patient may have different ideas concerning health in regard to psychiatric symptoms, thus the interpreter, therapist and a patient may have conflict aspects of treatment. The interpreter should have the knowledge of the patient’s and therapist’s culture in order to provide exact symptoms and correct treatment. Participant B doesn’t have frequent contact with people from new and emerging communities like A, though she is also interested in understanding different cultures and ethnicities that make up Australian societies. Just like interviewee A she prefers to provide a good communication environment when interacting with people from a different cultural environment. She uses clear and simple but not patronising language when speaking to people whose English is their second language. She however has never attended any cultural festivals and events and this is the reason she doesn’t have much to say about people from other cultural backgrounds. Though she has friends from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, she doesn’t know which backgrounds they come from. This shows the lack of interests people are in knowing more about other ethnic groups. However, she discourages others from using racial slurs or telling inappropriate joke about people from different cultural or ethnic backgrounds. She understands at least one different culture and ethnicity and that is Japanese as she appreciates the fact that it is important to understand other people’s cultures, though she has never participated in any of the cultural events and rituals. She enjoys having friends from other ethnic groups though she doesn’t think it is important to develop friendship from those groups as she finds other groups of people like Indian men to be immoral especially on the internet. A summary of each interviewee’s suggestions for lessening the impact of cultural divides that may occur Interviewee A values the understanding of her own culture as well as other people’s culture in because it helps appreciate other people’s difference. When this happens, there will be no discrimination in the society due to the manner people behave differently from the local native culture. She believes that attending events of people from other ethnic backgrounds helps one know more about those people. Since native people speak fluent English or their language compared to emerging communities she believes the only common language to use is English in order to make those communities feel comfortable. Learning to appreciate those people as well as stopping those people who use racial insults against them in order to create a good living environment for them. Since interviewee B interacts less with people from different ethnic backgrounds she has less to say about them. She however agrees with A in creating a comfortable living environment for emerging communities by speaking to them in a common language like English and stopping other people from using racial insults against them. According to Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW (2006), lessening culture divides is very important in the workplaces. Employers and supervise should treat other people fairly whether they are from different ethnic groups, gender or families. Use of stereotypes, harassment and racial humour underpins the cultural norms and values of individuals from different ethnic backgrounds at the work places Kirton & Greene 2005). Similarities and differences between the cultural experiences of the interviewees It seems like both the interviewees didn’t come from strong cultural backgrounds as they don’t speak about it with enthusiasm. This is even portrayed in the language they use when speaking to their parents; English instead of their indigenous language. All ethnic groups have languages that are the basis formation of their culture. There are differences in the use of language and its type among cultures. As some cultures have no writing and only oral some have only writing. Languages enforce culture as well s reflects importance between cultures. This is the reason why it is important for every individual to know their language as it portrays his or her culture (Matsumoto 2005). They both value the feelings of other people who are from different cultural backgrounds. According to Yusuf (2009), Muslims in Australia are treated in a discriminatory manner as they face prejudices especially when referred to as ‘Muslim community’ by the leaders. The Muslims have to define themselves by their religion every time they feel the census forms. Interviewee A understands the importance of her culture and prefers children to be taught about culture so that they can appreciate it as well as understand where they came from. Interviewee B on the other hand doesn’t see the need to teach children about their cultural backgrounds and what it entails. Instead she prefers to set it free for her children to decide whether they want to learn about it or not and they may choose to embrace that culture or not. This means culture is not highly valued by interviewee B the way is valued by interviewee A. Interviewee B hasn’t interacted much with people from different backgrounds and that is why she doesn’t have much to say. She hasn’t experienced any culture from them as she neither has friends from those backgrounds nor attended any of their events. Interviewee A has interacted with people from different cultures and even attended some of their special events. She finds it interesting to try to learn other people’s culture as it creates diversity and provides understanding of why people behave the way they do. If an individual doesn’t appreciate his or her own culture he or she wouldn’t be able to make any efforts to appreciate other people’s culture. It is understandable why interviewee B doesn’t appreciate other people’s culture because she doesn’t appreciate her own. It could be that her parents didn’t give her an opportunity to learn more about her culture and that’s why she doesn’t acknowledge it in the first place Cultural diversity should be encouraged in Australia to help people appreciate each other’s culture. The government disregards Australian speakers communities like Mandarin which are substantial while giving priority to certain languages in schools like Asian by introducing them as foreign languages (Clyne 2008). According to Atkinson & Bowers (2007), the values individual posses will results on how he or she communicates with other people. Reference List Anti-Discrimination Board of New South Wales 2009) ADB factsheet: Discrimination, EEO and affirmative action. Lawlink. (Online). Available: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/adb/ll_adb.nsf/vwFiles/Disc%20EEO+%20AA%200106%20for%20web.pdf/$file/Disc%20EEO+%20AA%200106%20for%20web. Pdf. (12 April 2010). Atkinson, J., Kennedy, D., & Bowers, R. 2007. Aboriginal and First Nations approaches to counselling. In N. Pelling, R. Bowers, & R. Armstrong (Eds.). The practice of counseling. Melbourne: Thomson. Pp 224-245 Barak, M. E. M. 2000. The inclusive workplace: An ecosystems approach to diversity management. Social Work, 45(4), 339-352. Bjorn, G. (2005. Ethics and interpreting in psychotherapy with refugee children and families. Nord J Psychiatry, 59, 516-521. Clyne, M. 2008. A linguist’s vision for multicultural Australia. Eureka Street. (Online). Available:http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=9919. (12 April 2010). Daly, A., & Smith, D. 2003. Indicators of risk to the wellbeing of Australian Indigenous children. Australian Review of Public Affairs, 6(1), 39-57. Dawson, E. 2008. Australia’s diversity advantage. Centre for Policy Development. (Online). Available: http://cpd.org.au/article/australias-diversity-advantage. (12 April 2010). Dolan, S., & Lingham, T. (2008). Managing power and conflict in the workplace. In Fundamentals of international organisational behaviour (pp. 169-191). New Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi, India: Sara Books. Gannon, M. 2008. Conceptualising and perceiving culture. In Paradoxes of culture and globalisation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Pp. 18-43 Gannon, M. 2008. Globalisation and culture. In Paradoxes of culture and globalization. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Pp190-209 Hasegawa, T., & Gudykunst, W. B. 1998. Silence in Japan and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 29(5), 668-682. Hatoss, A. (n.d.). Identity formation, cross-cultural attitudes and language: Maintenance in the Hungarian diaspora of Queensland. Unpublished manuscript, University of Southern Queensland, Queensland, Australia. Pp 71-77 King, R., Bambling, M., Reid, W., & Thomas, I. 2006. Telephone and online counseling for young people: A naturalistic comparison of session outcome, session impact and therapeutic alliance. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 6(3), 175-18 Kirton, G., & Greene, A.-M. 2005. Diversity in an organizational context. In The dynamics of managing diversity: A critical approach. Boston, MA: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2nd ed. Pp 83-112 Lui, G. 2009. Mina mir lo ailan mun [Proper communication with Torres Strait Islander people]. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy and Development. (Online).Available:http://www.atsip.qld.gov.au/everybodysbusiness/protocolstorres-strait-islander/documents/minamir.pdf. (12 April 2010) Matsumoto, D., & Juang, L. 2008. Culture and social behaviour. In Culture and psychology (4th ed., pp. 224-256). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Matsumoto, D., & Juang, L. 2008. Culture, language, and communication. In Culture and Psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 4th ed. Pp 224-256 Mead, R. 2005. Comparing cultures. In International management: Cross-cultural dimensions. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing, 3rd ed. Pp 27-54 Mead, R. 2005. Shifts in culture. In International management: Cross-cultural dimensions Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing, 3rd ed. Pp 55-75. Moir-Bussy, A., & Sullivan, B. (2007). Culture and diversity in counselling. In N. Pelling, R. Bowers, & R. Armstrong (Eds.), The practice of counseling (pp. 160-181). Melbourne: Thomson. Schnoebelen, J. 2009. Witchcraft allegations, refugee protection and human rights: A review of the evidence. New Issues in Refugee Research. (Online). Available:http://www.unhcr.org/cgibin/texis/vtx/search?page=search&docid=4981ca712&query=witchcraft%20allegations. (12 April 2010) Sue, D., Carter, R., Casas, J., Fouad, N., Ivey, A., Jensen, M., LaFromboise, T., et al.1998. Multicultural counseling competencies. In Individual, professional and organizational development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Pp 80-92 Triandis, H. C., & Wasti, S. A. (2008). Culture. In D. Stone, & E. Stone-Romero (Eds.), The influence of culture of human resource management processes and practices. Philadelphia, PA: Taylor & Francis. Pp1-24 Van Krieken, R., Habibis, D., Smith, P., Hutchins, B., Haralambos, M., & Holborn, M. 2006. Race, ethnicity, national identity and Aboriginality. In Sociology, themes and Perspectives. Sydney: Pearson Education, 3rd ed. Pp. 261-299) Veitch, H. 2009. It’s our own strain of strine, habib. The Sydney Morning Herald, 6. Yusuf, I. 2009. Australian Muslims not a monolith. The Sydney Morning Herald, 11. Read More

She however thinks family stories and other story telling that are purposefully to include information about her ethnic heritage to be important as part of a child’s upbringing. The child is able to understand his heritage as he or her grows up and learns to appreciate as well as adapt the same. Interviewee A takes pride in her ethnic heritage because she believes it is an important part in developing a sense of identity. Just like interviewee A interviewee B also uses English when talking to her own parents.

It is an emerging trend and it is affecting all ages, as they don’t talk in their own languages to strengthen their culture. Though spirituality is important to her everyday life she doesn’t attend any religious services despite being an Atheist. She doesn’t believe in teaching children their heritage as they can learn about their ethnic culture if they want to. She also doesn’t believe in telling stories and family stories to purposefully include information about her ethnic heritage.

This shows lack of strong appreciation for her ethnic culture and there is likelihood that it is going to die in the next generation as the current parents are not willing to make their children understand their ethnic heritage. How culture impacts on each interviewee’s interactions with others Interviewee A thinks it is important and useful to understand other people’s cultures because it broaden a perspective of an individual and appreciate their difference. Instead of complaining about how other people behave or wonder about other people’s culture, learning and trying to understand those culture will bring appreciation as well as harmony among the people from different cultures.

She always participates in the cultural events and rituals of other people and the one she attends more often is the Chinese New Year. Through this she has been able to understand the reason behind the celebration and all the practices that take place that day. This is the reason why she thinks it is important to have friends from different ethnic groups; however, she is uncomfortable developing friendship with people from certain ethnic groups. She has frequent contacts with people from new and emerging communities like Africa, Afghanistan through work and that makes her be interested in understanding the different cultures and ethnicities that make up Australian society.

Participants A see the importance of providing easy communication with people from different cultural backgrounds. She uses clear and simple but not patronising language when interacting with people who speak English as a second language. She also has friends from different cultural or ethnic backgrounds like Jamaica and Philippines. To ensure that everyone is comfortable, she discourages other people from using racial slurs or telling inappropriate joke about people from different cultural or ethnic backgrounds.

Understanding other people’s culture is very important in all aspects of life including; work places, counselling and so on. According to Bjourn (2005), a therapist and a patient may have different ideas concerning health in regard to psychiatric symptoms, thus the interpreter, therapist and a patient may have conflict aspects of treatment. The interpreter should have the knowledge of the patient’s and therapist’s culture in order to provide exact symptoms and correct treatment. Participant B doesn’t have frequent contact with people from new and emerging communities like A, though she is also interested in understanding different cultures and ethnicities that make up Australian societies.

Just like interviewee A she prefers to provide a good communication environment when interacting with people from a different cultural environment. She uses clear and simple but not patronising language when speaking to people whose English is their second language. She however has never attended any cultural festivals and events and this is the reason she doesn’t have much to say about people from other cultural backgrounds.

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