How To Develop Cultural Competence?
Cultural competence is a crucial skill in today’s global society. With globalization and increased diversity, it is necessary to know how to interact with people from different cultures. Cultural competence can help businesses run more effectively and efficiently and can elevate customer service skills. This article will define culture, cultural intelligence, and cultural competence and explain why developing cultural competence is essential. Additionally, it will provide strategies for developing an attitude and components of cultural competence.
Culture is a dynamic relational process of shared meanings that originate in the interactions between individuals. It includes learned beliefs, values, and behaviors that are shared within a group. Culture is a pattern of thinking, feeling, reacting, and problem-solving that is considered in historical, social, political, and economic contexts.
Cultural competence is the appropriateness and effectiveness of one’s behavior in an alien cultural environment. It is the acquisition and maintenance of culture-specific skills for effective functioning within a new cultural context and interacting effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds. Cultural competence is the ability of individuals and systems to work or respond effectively across cultures in a way that acknowledges and respects the culture of the person or organization being served.
Developing cultural competence helps us understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across cultures. It gives us the ability to compare different cultures with our own and better understand the differences. Unconsciously, we bring our own cultural frame of interpretation to any situation. Developing cross-cultural attitudes allows one to develop skills for better engaging with people from all kinds of cultures. Cross-cultural skills are demonstrated through the ability to communicate with respect; recognize others’ values, accept knowledge, skills, and talents; and tolerate, engage, and celebrate the success of others.
Deardorff defined competence as “the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in intercultural situations based on one’s intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes.” The following are strategies for developing cross-cultural attitudes that help to develop and enhance one’s ability to practice effective communication in intercultural situations:
- Practice openness by demonstrating acceptance of difference.
- Be flexible by demonstrating acceptance of ambiguity.
- Demonstrate humility through suspension of judgment and the ability to learn.
- Be sensitive to others by appreciating cultural differences.
- Show a spirit of adventure by showing curiosity and seeing opportunities in different situations.
- Use a sense of humor through the ability to laugh at ourselves.
- Practice positive change or action by demonstrating a successful interaction with the identified culture.
Cultural competence is a non-linear dynamic process that is never-ending and ever-expanding. It is built on increases in knowledge and skill development related to its attributes. The following attributes will guide you in developing cultural competence:
- Self-knowledge and awareness about one’s own culture.
- Awareness of one’s own cultural worldview.
- Experience and knowledge of different cultural practices.
- Attitude toward cultural differences.
Cultural competence is crucial in today’s global society, where we interact with people from diverse cultures. Developing cultural competence is a lifelong process that requires an understanding of one’s own culture, an awareness of cultural differences, and the adoption of cross-cultural attitude strategies. Culturally competent individuals and organizations are better equipped to interact with people from diverse cultures, which can lead to improved communication, increased productivity and efficiency, and better customer service. By enhancing our cultural competence, we can develop more meaningful relationships and a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Sources:
- https://youtu.be/NSCFxDKJWwo
- https://extension.psu.edu/what-is-cultural-competence-and-how-to-develop-it
- https://casaforchildren.wordpress.com/2018/07/11/the-importance-of-cultural-competence/
- https://chat.openai.com/
- https://readloud.net/
About Author
