1st Edition

Cultural Competence for Public Managers Managing Diversity in Today' s World

    414 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Our increasingly globalized society demands a higher level of sophistication when working cross-culturally and internationally in local, state, and federal governments; tribal corporations; and nonprofit organizations. Cultural Competence for Public Managers offers guidance on how to become a leader in developing cultural competence in your organization. It provides a conceptual foundation and successful examples for developing cultural competence, including competencies for international collaborations.

    The authors clearly define terms and provide their own cultural competence model that will add significantly to the current field. They describe the rapidly changing worldwide demographics that are bringing new cultures into many countries and societies. They also examine the issues that culturally diverse landscapes create in the United States, Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America, highlighting the differences between assimilationist and the multicultural viewpoints. Drawing on a wide range of examples from universities; local, state, and federal governments; health care service providers; and nonprofit organizations, the book illustrates management practices that are then extended into the relevant cultural context. It also includes examples of cultural missteps and cultural competencies that have worked in practice.

    Written in an accessible format and style, the book provides practical and useful standards and performance measures, proven coaching and mentoring guides, as well as templates, checklists, exercises, and guidelines. It includes downloadable resources with coaching guides, checklists. Organized thematically, the book defines the scope of cultural competencies, highlights best practices, and describes variations in responsibility for administering cultural competence for executives, managers, supervisors, and employees.

    INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL COMPETENCE: DO I REALLY NEED TO BE CULTURALLY COMPETENT?
    Why Cultural Competence Is Important
    Introduction to and Short History of Cultural Competence
    Why Public Managers Need to Be Culturally Competent
    Obstacles to Cultural Competence
    Cultural Characteristics
    Perceptions of Time
    Other Dimensions of Culture
    Questions That Need to Be Asked about Cultural Competence
    Why a New Cultural Competence Model Is Needed
    What Public Managers Need to Know about Cultural Competence as a Leadership Competence
    Top 10 Reasons Why Cultural Competence Is Important
    Summary and Conclusion

    How Globalization and Immigration Are Changing the World
    Introduction
    The United
    Central and Latin America
    Africa
    Additional Commentary on Generational Issues
    Additional Commentary on International Cultural Issues
    Summary and Conclusion

    Defining Cultural Competence for Public Managers
    Introduction
    Research on Cultural Competence
    Definitions of Cultural Competence
    Cultural Intelligence and Its Contribution to Cultural Competence
    Cultural Intelligence and Leadership
    Understanding Diversity, Social Equity, and Cultural Competence
    Summary and Conclusion

    Cultural Competencies
    Introduction
    Developing the Foundation Cultural Competencies
    Foundation Cultural Competencies
    Respecting and Understanding Culture
    Communicating with Culturally Diverse Employees
    Creating Common Ground or a Shared Culture
    Being Adaptable and Flexible
    Inclusiveness as a Way to Create Effective Teams and Collaboration
    Summary and Conclusion

    CULTURAL COMPETENCE FOR EXECUTIVES, MANAGERS, SUPERVISORS, AND EMPLOYEES
    Experiences from Successful Multicultural and Diversity Programs

    Introduction
    Cross-Cultural Lessons
    The Multicultural Leadership Program
    Examples of Public Sector Initiatives
    Learning from the Private Sector and Public Sector Initiatives
    Summary and Conclusion

    Cultural Competencies for Executives
    Introduction
    Cultural Competencies for Executives
    The Political Appointee and Career Civil Servants
    Major Department Heads
    Leveraging Diversity
    Creating the Future by Leveraging Diversity as a Strategic Goal
    Preparing the Organization to Be Culturally Competent: Shaping the Organizational Culture
    Communicating to Inspire Diverse and Multicultural Employees
    Developing and Mentoring Managers to Be Culturally Competent
    Summary and Conclusion

    Cultural Competencies for Middle Managers and Supervisors
    Introduction
    Cultural Competencies for Managers and Supervisors
    Developing Culturally Competent Managers
    Mentoring Multicultural Managers
    Becoming a Culturally Competent Mentor
    Mentoring Career Skills
    Supervisors
    Summary and Conclusion

    Cultural Competencies for Employees
    Introduction
    Cultural Competencies for Employees
    Establishing Leadership Cultural Competencies for Employees
    Developing a Long-Term Career Plan
    Creating a Long-Term Career in Diverse and Multicultural Organizations
    Acquiring Diverse and Multicultural Mentors
    Creating Relationships with Diverse and Multicultural Employees
    Executive Protocols and Manners
    Summary and Conclusion

    BUILDING THE CULTURALLY COMPETENT ORGANIZATION

    Establishing the Organizational Cultural Competence Framework
    Introduction
    The High-Performance Organization
    How Current and Future Situations Set the Stage for Culturally Competent Practices
    Reasons for Culturally Competent Policies
    The Culturally Competent Organization
    Defining Diversity
    Creating Culturally Competent Practices
    Creating a Supportive Organizational Climate
    Summary and Conclusion

    Human Resource Management and Cultural Competence
    Introduction
    The Evolving Field and Its Inattention to Diversity
    Managing Diversity
    Obstacles in Diversifying HRM Curricula: A Lack of Teacher Preparation and Coverage
    Why Is HRM Curricular Reform Needed?
    Elements of Diversity
    Creating Culturally Competent Orientation Programs
    Cultural Competence Organizational Measures
    Human Resources as the Feedback Loop for Policy Development
    Summary and Conclusion

    Using Cultural Competence to Develop International Collaborations
    Introduction: Cultural Competence in Context
    Race Theory
    What’s Up with Xenophobia?
    The Recent Passage of Arizona’s Controversial Bills
    International Collaborations for Public Managers
    Creating International Opportunities
    Developing International Relationships
    Universities and International Collaborations
    Working through Difficult Issues
    Maintaining International Relationships
    Summary and Conclusion

    CASES IN CULTURAL COMPETENCE
    Cultural Competence in Health Care

    Introduction
    The Federal Government’s Role in Developing Cultural Competence in Health Care
    Delivery of Services
    Culturally Competent Health Administration
    Culturally Competent Hospital Administration
    Culturally Competent Human Services Administration
    Additional Resources on Cultural Competency in Health Care
    Medical Tourism
    Summary and Conclusion

    Cultural Competence in Higher Education
    Introduction
    Reasons for Higher Education Cultural Competency Models
    The Tilford Group Cultural Competence Model
    Challenges in Building a Cultural Competency Curriculum
    Overcoming Obstacles to Culturally Competent Faculty
    Cultural Competence for University Administrators
    Summary and Conclusion

    Resolving Difficult Employee Issues
    Introduction
    Defining the Types of Employee Problems
    Discovering the Real Problem or Issue
    Working through Emotionally Charged Issues
    Communicating to Resolve Issues
    Moving beyond the Issues
    Summary and Conclusion

    The Human Resource Office: The Last Resort
    Introduction
    When to Use Human Resources in Troubleshooting Difficult Issues
    Setting the Stage for Using Human Resources as an Impartial Mediator
    Using Human Resources as an Early Warning System
    Establishing a Long-Term Relationship with Human Resources
    Summary and Conclusion

    WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
    What the Future Holds: More Change

    Introduction
    What Tomorrow Will Look Like
    The Changing Face of Organizations
    Remaining a Step Ahead
    Culturally Competent Leadership for Tomorrow
    Appendix
    References
    Index

    Biography

    Espiridion Borrego, University of Texas Pan American, Edinburg, USA

    Richard Gregory Johnson III, University of Vermont, Burlington, USA