The Importance Of Cultural Competency Enhancing
Cultural competency enhances services provision; however, it is very unlikely to be able to offer a one size fits all approach given the ever-changing demographics and acculturation of groups. Drawbacks in cultural competency trainings is falling into over-generalization (Healey et.al., 2017, p.22.) While studies and models move towards guidelines that enhances and entrenches cultural competency models through multifaceted platforms, there is a fine line in falling to the same tribulations we are trying to elude. As our competency increases towards understanding other cultures our ethics should be the compass that supports our work, otherwise “when we don’t know what to do, we do more of what we know” (Bolman & Deal, 2013, p. 7). As a result,
cultural competence framework needs to expand beyond the provider’s recognition of one’s own limitation to effectively design and execute these initiatives. Adamson et al. (2011) recommends the “policy making process should assess the impact on diverse communities. These strategic activities need input from local communities if services are to reflect diverse needs of service users. Accordingly, future research can build our understanding further by eliciting the service user perspective” (p. 7). One approach to improve outcomes is through cultivating a threshold of understanding and tolerance towards the norms and behaviors that are peculiar to cultural factors. Cultural competence must be planned and implemented in a way that has enough elasticity that modifications in policies, procedures, and treatment modalities can be implemented swiftly. The world is changing. In fact, change has always been a feature of public administrative practice. It is now incontrovertible that effective negotiation of this complex terrain of social change requires cultural competency” (Koliba, 2013, p.378). Cultural competency cannot be achieved by one individual, it requires the perspective and world view of many to form a collective group who can disseminate the surface level aspects of culture but can also plunge into the unspoken structures of peoples diverse outlook and behaviors.
cultural competence framework needs to expand beyond the provider’s recognition of one’s own limitation to effectively design and execute these initiatives. Adamson et al. (2011) recommends the “policy making process should assess the impact on diverse communities. These strategic activities need input from local communities if services are to reflect diverse needs of service users. Accordingly, future research can build our understanding further by eliciting the service user perspective” (p. 7). One approach to improve outcomes is through cultivating a threshold of understanding and tolerance towards the norms and behaviors that are peculiar to cultural factors. Cultural competence must be planned and implemented in a way that has enough elasticity that modifications in policies, procedures, and treatment modalities can be implemented swiftly. The world is changing. In fact, change has always been a feature of public administrative practice. It is now incontrovertible that effective negotiation of this complex terrain of social change requires cultural competency” (Koliba, 2013, p.378). Cultural competency cannot be achieved by one individual, it requires the perspective and world view of many to form a collective group who can disseminate the surface level aspects of culture but can also plunge into the unspoken structures of peoples diverse outlook and behaviors.