Diversity Policy Socio Economic Background

Question: Discuss about the Diversity Policy for Socio Economic Background. Answer: Diversity, especially in workplaces, helps create a conducive working environment for people of disparate socio-economic backgrounds. Moreover, it makes them feel comfortable by promoting equal opportunities among them. It enables a company embrace difference by accommodating employees of various backgrounds. This, in turn, expands a companys business partners, customer demographics as well as internal performance methods. Depending on the country an organization operates, there are legal considerations that a manager should consider. These considerations range from one country to another. These laws are formulated to encourage diversity in workplaces by embracing foreigners or employees from various cultures across the world. For example, the international laws champions for non-discrimination in workplaces. There are non-discrimination standards set internationally to ensure that employees are not discriminated based on their cultural backgrounds. Management practices also require ethical codes to help promote effective diversity management in workplaces. Such legal and ethical codes include[1]. One of the ethical considerations for management is language which is vital aspect in communication especially at workplaces. Second, it is important to consider the cultural beliefs of employees as they are the core factors in determining their workability and how they interact with others. Third, cultural and religious institutions are important determinants of peoples way of day-to-day lives. It also determines their reaction towards different people and incidences. Fourth, a manager should also consider one's values about work and education. This is important in boosting their morale at work. There exist social and economic differences between people of disparate cultural backgrounds which affects their workability. It is also ethical to consider values held by different employees about family structure. Various families hold different structural values based on their cultural backgrounds that affect their relations at the work place. Another closely connected factor is a power which comes with the family structure. For a hierarchical family structure with the male at the top gives a man more power. Consequentially, this determines how male relate with female colleagues at workplace. Finally, there exist rules on how people from similar background operate. Such rules define their behavior based on how they relate to their seniors at workplace. Service providing organizations deal with different individuals and families from various social backgrounds. Some they interact with patients or individuals speaking totally different languages with disparate beliefs and norms. It, therefore, becomes challenging to offers services especially when it involves interacting with such people. Some of the barriers to inclusive experienced by service providers are as follows[2]. One of the barriers to inclusion is language. Communication becomes a problem especially when there is no common language between them and the target community. Literacy among some communities also becomes a challenge. This is more pronounced when offering health services as some locals cannot even read drug prescriptions. The third is different decision-making systems in various communities which pre-suppose specific ethnocultural backgrounds. Some cultures make a decision concerning health based on their norms and hence would not welcome alien methods as they are considered a corruption of their culture. Fourth, negative experiences with previous organizations make individuals extend distrust to other new organizations. For instance, if a community has had cases of cultural oppression with a certain organization then it is unlikely to welcome any organization from the same region or place. Another barrier to inclusive is cultural stereotypes or misconceptions held by different people. Stereotypes such as those of a community being unwelcoming or harsh affect perception or relation with service providers. Sixth, lack of respect and sensitivity for difference greatly affects relationships between service providers and the community. Different communities also have concerns about confidentiality and the fear of disclosing community secrets. This limits the degree of communication between the community and service providers. Finally, some communities fear services providers based historical experiences or injustices. For example, some colonizers used brutal assimilation policies which are strongly opposed by their colonies. Cross-cultural communication has become vital especially in business environments for the purpose of expanding one's reach regarding customers and audience. Moreover, community service providers also require a better understanding of local languages for effective service delivery. However, it is important always to consider the difference in cultural and practices when communicating. The following are 10 effective strategies for cross-cultural communication[3]. First, it is important to have a better understanding of the culture one is dealing with. This is important in generating services that resonate with the community to minimize inclusive barriers. One should also be flexible regarding communication channels being used. They should be open to different communication methods such as word-of-mouth or face-to-face among others to relay the message. Third, there is a need to respect differences within the target communities. This can be achieved by conducting a prior research on the communities. Active listening is also a significant factor for understanding the needs of a particular community. It also involves giving the communities a voice to express their needs. Fifth, one should have a high degree of self-awareness to make a change in society. It is thus important to develop services that are self-aware of the target communitys cultures and norms. One is also encouraged to ask questions to clear any doubts rather than making assumptions. It expands ones knowledge of the cultural norms. Seventh, honesty is an important aspect of cross-cultural communication. It is through honesty that one can win the communitys trust and hence their corporation. However, dishonesty leads to distrust hence a barrier to inclusive. Stereotyping is an important tool for understanding a target community. However, stereotyping ones target community may lead to rejection. One should clearly distinguish perspectives when dealing with different communities. A clear understanding of a communitys values, beliefs, prejudices, and biases enable him, or she addresses them effectively. Finally, it is important to keep the communication simple for better understanding by the target audience. Most of the target communities may be speaking the common language as their second language hence has little understanding. Inclusivity promotes effective service delivery and communication in a cross-cultural interaction. Moreover, individuals relate effectively in workplaces by being able to understand others cultural norms and practices. Therefore, practices and principles supporting inclusive are vital in promoting difference cultural awareness in communities and workplaces[4]. A principle such as treating everyone with respect and fairly helps create a feeling of belonging among them. Respecting others cultural values and beliefs makes them feel accepted in a certain professional or social setting thus promoting inclusivity. There are practices in workplaces or in community service delivery that promote acknowledgment of diversity. For example, embracing unique skills and qualities among employees creates a multicultural society in workplaces. It makes employees feel appreciated thus boosting their morale. Moreover, acceptance at workplaces also enhances work relations which in turn improve the productivity of employees. Assigning appropriate diversity roles to individuals at workplaces also encourages performance. It promotes individuals such a leader's or managers commitment to promoting diversity among employees[5]. Moreover, assigning diversity role makes it every employees responsibility to promote and foster a diverse work environment. Additionally, monitoring employees performance in diversity role also helps shape their attitudes towards others of different cultural background. Workplace objectives define the short-term goals an organization is aiming to achieve. They can include the size of customers a business is targeting over a given period. Objectives can also include financial goals such a specific amount of assets an organization is aiming to attain over a certain period. Achieving such objectives require the corporation of everyone in the company from subordinate employees to the top leaders. Moreover, it requires aligning their activities or practices towards achieving such objectives. One way of determining whether workplace practices match its objectives is examining the commitment of everyone towards achieving the objectives. Low commitment among employees indicates low productivity which translates to an inability to achieve company objectives. On the other hand, a high degree of commitment among employees indicates high productivity. Secondly, setting and adhering to ethical codes is also an important factor in attaining company objectives. Ethical codes are important since they dictate the relationship between individuals at the workplace. Good workplace relationships promote conducive working environment hence increasing productivity. Project Diversity childcare Policy. Diversity is a concept that encompasses respect and acceptance. It requires one to understand that everyone is unique and accepting our differences. Such differences can be along dimensions of ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, gender, age, socio-economic status, religious beliefs, physical abilities or ideologies. Diversity, therefore, explores such differences in a positive, safe and nurturing environment[6]. Moreover, it supports understanding one another to embrace their individual dimensions of diversity. Diversity is important to organizations and their clients because it promotes interaction that translates to understanding client need to provide appropriate services. Moreover, diversity opens up horizons for expansion hence increasing customer base. Rationale The childcare diversity policy is aimed at protecting young people and children of diverse linguistic, cultural, religious or ethnic backgrounds who are at risk of harm or are harmed. Cultural Awareness Culture can be described as an integrated way of human behavior that includes actions, thoughts, communications, values, beliefs, and customs, religious, ethnic and social groups[7]. Therefore different cultures have disparate values regarding childcare. It is thus important to create awareness to various communities on matters regarding child labor, forced early marriages among others to protect child rights. Principles and Values The policy is based on the following principles and values to ensure child protection[8]. Respecting and valuing diversity: The organization should respect and value diversity by accommodating individuals from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. This includes respecting and valuing positive parenting practices of individuals from different backgrounds. Interests and welfare of a child are important: Irrespective of ones cultural background, they should adhere to the laws concerning childs right. They should not use culture as an excuse to violate child rights. Objectives and goals One objective of the policy is to develop cross-cultural competence. This involves ensuring that systems and individuals respond respectfully to those of different languages, classes, religions, cultures and ethnic backgrounds. The first strategy to achieving this is by creating cultural awareness about ones culture as well as the associated interactions and behaviors. It involves recognizing ones personal biases as well as stereotypes, valuing cultural diversity and acknowledging cultural influence. Secondly, cross-cultural competence can be achieved by acquiring knowledge concerning other cultures. There is need to learn about other peoples cultural behaviors and practices as a way of accepting and embracing cultural difference. Thirdly, cross-cultural competence can be implemented by developing cross-cultural skills such as cross-cultural communications among various communities. For example, cross-cultural communication promotes communication among different communities hence enhancing cultural acceptance[9]. Another objective of the policy is to ensure that needs of children are met appropriately by collecting accurate information about different cultures. One strategy to achieving this is through creating close contact with various communities. It requires close interaction with individuals of different cultural backgrounds. Second strategy is by understanding cultural practices of various communities. Cultural practices such as circumcision are closely related to childcare directly or indirectly. For example, it is important to identify the age at which a child is considered an adult to go through circumcision. Thirdly, recording relevant information concerning various cultures is crucial in understanding their historical way of lives. The information recorded can thus be used in understanding the community and their practices in relevance to childcare policies and regulations. Benefits The childcare policy will help promotes effective childcare by creating culturally sensitive awareness among communities. Moreover, the organization will be able to develop efficient communication approaches to relay childcare message to various communities. By understanding cultural and linguistic differences, the organization will be able to relate to the communities and offer resonating services. Inclusivity Inclusivity ensures that every individual is accepted regardless of their cultural, ethnic, religious, or social groups. By supporting inclusivity, the policy will ensure that every individual is aligned with the policies and legislations protecting children rights. Strategies Some of the strategies that will employ by the organization to achieve diversity include[10]: Creating working knowledge of child rearing practices of different communities: The organization will examine and recognize different ways of parenting practiced by disparate communities. This will involve issues such as the age at which a child is left unsupervised or to take care of another child. Learning about traditional cultural practices: By understanding different traditional cultural practices, the organization will be able to distinguish those harmful and beneficial to a child. Legislation The childcare policy is supported by policy and legislative requirements such as: The Child Protection Act 1999 The United Nations Convention on Childs Rights. Child Safety Policy No. 458-2, and department of communities. Monitoring Implementation of the policy will be monitored by ensuring that parental cultural practices of different cultures do not violate the child rights. This will bring about success by developing a multicultural society sensitive about child rights[11]. Communication styles The policy supports cross-cultural communication styles that involve active listening to understand cultural differences among different communities on parenting practices. It will also involve honesty with the target communities. The organization will also use interpreters to gain a clear understanding of the needs of various communities. Organization policies and guidelines For the child care policy to work successfully there is a need to align it with the organizational policies and guidelines. Organizational policies determine how the employees and will relate with each other as well as their leaders at the workplace. It is thus important that employees adhere to organizational policies in dealing with clients by being sensitive about cultural development. List of References Child Protection Act 1999. Child safety policy No. 458-2 Congress, E. The use of culturagrams to assess and empower culturally diverse families. Families in Society, 1994. Devore, W. and Schlesinger, E. (1999). Ethnic-sensitive social work practice. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Gelfand, D. and Yee, B. Trends and forces: Influence of immigration, migration, And acculturation of the fabric of aging in America. Generations 15, 1991. National Association of Social Workers. Code of ethics. Washington DC: NASW Press. 1999 Parry, J. and Ryan .Across-cultural look at death, dying, and religion. Pacific Grove, CA: Wadsworth.1995 Webb, N.B. Social work practice with children. New York: Guilford Press, 1996 Strategies for effective cross-cultural communication [online]: https://www.cnw.newswire.ca accessed: August 30, 2016