Work Effectively with Culturally Diverse Clients and Co-Workers - Assignment Example

HLTHIR403 C Work Effectively with Culturally Diverse Clients and Co-Workers Name Institution Date Assessment Task 1: Short Answer 1. How would you define culture? I can define culture as those patterns of behaviour and interactions that affect understanding as well as cognitive constructs that people learn through the socialization process. It is these shared patterns of behaviour and interactions that differentiates specific groups of culture (Spencer-Oatey, 2012, p.2). 2. Give 2 examples of workplace adjustments to cater to the cultural needs and requirements of individuals in the workplace. The following are examples of workplace adjustments that cater for the cultural needs and requirements of individuals in the work place; For Islamic employees, altering their working hours to accommodate their time for prayer When recruiting, recruitment practices should value and respect all people from diverse communities in Australia, so as to allow equal chances for all cultures to work for the organisation. 3. Describe the cultural diversity of the people who live in your community. I come from the Australian community which has a unique history that is shaped by the cultural diversity of its people. The Australian population is diverse both linguistically and culturally. This is a central feature within the Australian modern life. Cultural differences in Australia are what present challenges as well as opportunities for organisations. The Australian population comprises of three major different demographics including; the indigenous populations (2%), British colonial past and immigrants from overseas countries. 8.5% of the population come from non-English speaking countries. 16% of the population in Australia speak languages other than English including Chinese, Arabic, Greek and Italian. About 61,000 people in Australia speak the Indigenous languages. There are more than 50 indigenous languages that are spoken in Australia including Australian creoles. . Currently, there are 400 different languages that are spoken by the Australian population. There are more than 270 ancestries that the Australian population identify. 75% of the population in Australia identify with ancestries that are not Australian. More than a quarter of the Australian population were born from one of the 200 countries overseas. Out of every five people in Australia, two of them have a parent who was born overseas. The migration rate is very high in Australia. People from other nationals including; New Zealand, china as well as India among other countries are immigrating to Australia every year. More than two thirds of these immigrants come from backgrounds that are non-Anglo Celtic. 4. Give examples of how you could promote a culturally safe and diverse workplace with your colleagues and students. Discuss what workplace practices you may need to amend. The following are some examples that we can follow to promote a culturally safe and diverse workplace with my colleagues and students including; Encouraging an environment where everyone is accepted fully without denial of identity. This can be achieved through embracing shared respect, knowledge, meaning as well as experience of learning together. By examining our cultural identities and attitudes, staying open minded as well as flexible in our attitudes on people from other cultures. Identifying what makes other people different from us Understanding other people’s culture Understanding our own culture and the influence it has on our thinking, feeling and behaviour. There are various workplace practices that must be amended such as; communicating openly and respectfully, recognising and avoiding barriers of stereotyping, being prepared all the time to engage with other people in a two way dialogue that allows sharing of knowledge and start developing trust. 5. Under what policy and procedure would you find information on cultural diversity to inform your work practices? The policy and procedure that I can find information on cultural diversity to inform my work practices is the Public Service Act 1999. This policy has a complementary series known as Working with the Act, which is designed for helping organisations to carry out their operations within the legal framework of values and conduct. The framework gives guidelines on how values and conduct are managed in the work place. The policy also provides Guidelines on Workplace Diversity that helps agencies in meeting their legal duties. Organisations are required to come up with a workplace diversity program that embeds their workplace diversity principles of culture and management systems. 6. Where a language barrier exists with a work colleague, what action or steps can you take to resolve this? To resolve language barrier with a work colleague, I would take the following actions; Encourage the worker to study English Provide the colleague with the appropriate translations Use a multilingual software that can be used by workers from different language backgrounds 7. Name 5 strategies you can use to eliminate bias and discrimination in your workplace with work colleagues and with students. The following strategies can be used to eliminated bias and discrimination in the workplace including; Treating people as individuals Reading and learning more about other cultures Stop pre-judging or appling stereotype pictures of how people’s background should look like Accepting cultural diversity and contributing to the workplace development as well as professional relationships Respecting cultural diversity when communicating and interacting with colleagues and students   8. List and describe 5 communication strategies you need to consider when working in a culturally diverse environment. Choice of language – the choice of language is very important so as to avoid the use of idioms and slang language that may not be easily understood by people from different language backgrounds. Non-verbal communication - it is important to be careful when using non-verbal communication. The reason is that, different cultures understand this type of communication differently. Therefore, one must understand the non-verbal communication skills of the culture they are working with. Communicating constructively - it is important to constructively communicate by using methods that easily understood by people from the culture you are working with Where English is not first language-for those English is their second language, it is important to give enough time when communicating and ensure to receive feedback for clarifying their understanding. Inappropriate references to one’s culture - when communicating, it is advisable to avoid inappropriate references to one’s culture. Use a universal way of identifying people with a certain culture such as; a person is an Australian. 9. What are some examples of cross-cultural misunderstandings that may affect you in the workplace? Examples of cross-cultural misunderstandings that can affect a person in the workplace include; polite forms of language, idioms, questions, compliments, dress, social customs, space, time and response to good as well as bad news. 10. Describe 5 Ways in which you could resolve these issues To resolve the above issues, the following ways can be used; Identifying issues that may cause conflict – some of the issues that cause conflict include; voice tone, non-verbal communication, gestures, body language, posture expressions and facial expressions. Identification of these issues helps one in avoiding cross-cultural conflicts. Considering cultural differences when misunderstandings occur – it is important to have an understanding that people come from different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, it is necessary to learn their culture so as to help in resolving cross-cultural conflicts. Making an effort to resolve differences sensitively while taking into account cultural considerations - this can be achieved by way of negotiating culture in conflict resolution. Understand that different interactions and situations require different responses – learning the relationship between the people who are involved in a conflict is important, since it helps in determining the best way of responding to the situation. Different cultures accord different power levels to various people based on gender, occupation and age. Addressing difficulties with the appropriate people and seeking assistance when in need - this is important especially when one is faced with the challenge of resolving a conflict due to lack of cultural knowledge. Assessment Task 2: Scenario Cultural Awareness Program Cultural influences we have in our school There are various cultural influences that we have in our school including; value of education, participation style, teacher perceptions on education, parents perceptions on education, language, interactions, students and their social class background, changes in the society, political and economic forces, history, context and the people within the school. Legislation that informs the cultural awareness The legislation that informs the cultural awareness in our school is the Australia’s Human Rights Framework. This framework is set out by the Australian Human Rights Commission. It advocates for the creation of a society that respects and promotes human rights for all. It requires schools to teach students on human rights education. How the school will demonstrate respect and inclusiveness of culturally diverse people. The school will demonstrate respect and inclusiveness of cultural diverse people by valuing diversity, cultural self-assessment, being conscious on cultural interactions that are dynamic, institutionalization of cultural knowledge and adapting to cultural diversity. Identify and implement culturally safe work practices for colleagues and students. The school will identify and implement culturally safe work practices for colleagues and students through, reflecting on their own culture, beliefs and attitudes of colleagues and students, clear communication, promoting values that are free and respectful, developing trust for colleagues and students, recognizing and also avoiding stereotyping barriers as well as ensuring to engage all colleagues and students in a two way dialogue for the purpose of sharing knowledge. How the school will respond to cultural beliefs and practices that may cause harm. The school will respond to cultural beliefs and practices that may cause harm through; continuous critical inquiry, continuous improvement, a widely shared vision and involvement in decision making. What conflict resolution and negotiation practices the school can use in regards to cultural awareness. The school can use various resolution and negotiation practices with regards to cultural awareness including; promoting cooperation, constructive controversy as well as conflict resolution processes. How the school will address and eliminate discrimination and bias in the workplace The school will address and eliminate discrimination and bias in the workplace by using several strategies such as; developing a recruitment strategy that serves to promote diversity in the workplace, provide training programs for the staff to educate them about unbiased employment practices, and laws that prohibit discrimination as well as bias within the workplace. The school will also develop a written policy for a zero tolerance workplace rule on discrimination and bias. They will also implement a diversity awareness program to focus on the factors that improve relationships in the workplace. Assessment Task 3: Reflection Your school is predominantly made up of English speaking students. All students read and speak English well. You have been told that you are to work with a student from a different culture that is totally unfamiliar to you. Explain (in 500 words) how you would: 1. Inform yourself of this new culture I would inform myself about this new culture through reading about the customs, regions and country from which the student comes from. Information is available in books, internet, encyclopaedias, travel guidebook and articles. 2. What information you need to know before you can work with this student Before working with the student, a teacher needs to know the student’s information including; whether the student is a non-native student, the level of ESL they are in, what the student knows, what the student does not know and their capacity to apply knowledge. This information will help me in having an idea of how much English the student understands, together with realistic expectations of what the student will be able to understand and do in my lessons. 3. Find out about the cultural influences on this student and what these cultural differences are. The teacher can find out about the cultural influences of the student using different ways including; discussing with the student by way of a dialogue and visualizations, the teacher can talk to a previous instructor as well as a graphic organiser, the parents of the student. The teacher can also make translations from the student’s behaviour to understand their cultural influences. Some of the cultural influences of a student include; styles of interaction and response to authority figures. Finding out about this information will help the teacher understand the challenges that the student may face in the event of learning English. 4. Build trust with this student where English is his second language. The teacher can build trust with the student where English is his second language by using different ways. The teacher can have regular check-in and talk to the student regularly by asking him of his experience in and out of school, during lessons and whether the lesson can be improved. This makes the student feel that the teacher has interest in their lives. The teacher can read the writing of the student on problems, successes and feelings on his weekly reflections. After reading, the teacher can share with the student through a quick note. Students are found to be comfortable when they share with their teacher through writing. The teacher can also build trust through a teacher-student letter exchange, weekly reflections and evaluations. 5. Accommodate his diversity with other students. The teacher can use various strategies to accommodate his diversity with other students including; having a clear sense of his own ethnic as well as cultural identities, communicating high expectations for the students success and a belief that they can succeed, being committed personally to achieve equity for all students, appreciating and accommodating the similarities among all cultures of the students, building relationships with the students, focusing on the ways that students can learn, observe students to identify their task orientation, teach students on ways of matching their behaviours to different settings, considering the cultures as well as language skills of students when coming up with learning objectives as well as instructional activities. 6. Reflect on your own views of multiculturalism in Australia. How do these affect the ways that you interact with the student? How can you avoid stereo typing and misunderstandings? Multiculturalism is evident in Australia due to the existence of diverse cultures within its population. Diversity of culture in Australia affects the way I interact with the student because, I must consider the culture of the student before making any learning decision. When communicating, interacting and handling the student, I must be careful to use a language, a voice tone and communication skills that are appropriate. Multiculturalism affects every aspect of teaching and interacting with the student. To avoid stereotyping, I must consider every situation alone when dealing with the student. I must also learn and understand the culture of the student. References Spencer-Oatey, H. What is culture? A compilation of quotations. GlobalPAD Core Concepts. Available at GlobalPAD Open House. (2012). Read More