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Cultural Competence: Inspiring,
Mobilizing, and Energizing
Volunteers and Beyond
December 3, 2010
Ahmad Daniels, M.Ed., Transformation Facilitator
Creative Interchange
“Where Changed Philosophies Lead to Changed
Behaviors”

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IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE
 “THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF
AN INDIVIDUAL IS DEPENDANT UPON
THE CULTURAL WELL-BEING OF A
PEOPLE.”
-----Dr. Wade Nobles

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CULTURAL COMPETENCE
 A set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and
policies that come together in a system,
agency, or among professionals and enables
that system, agency, or those professionals
to work effectively in cross-cultural situations.
----- Terry Cross

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CULTURE
 Implies the integrated pattern of human
behavior that includes thoughts,
communications, actions, customs, beliefs,
values, and institutions of racial, ethnic,
religious, or social groups.
-----Mark A. King, Anthony Sims and
David Asher

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CULTURE
 The totality of thought and practice through
which a people creates itself, sustains itself,,
develops itself and introduces itself to history
and to humanity.
------Dr. Maulana Karenga

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COMPETENCE
 Having the capacity to function in a particular way:
the capacity to function within the context of
culturally integrated patterns of human behavior
defined by a group.
 Being competent in cross-cultural functioning means
learning new patterns of behavior and effectively
applying them in the appropriate setting.
-----Mark A. King, Anthony Sims and
David Asher

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EFFECTIVE CULTURAL COMPETENCE
 Must occur at both the intellectual and emotional
level.
 Referencing relevant literature and crucial statistics
are important.
 Acknowledging the importance of sharing feelings as
well as thoughts.
----Rohini Anand, Ph.D.

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REMEMBER
 Ours is not to discover diversity (cultural
competence) but to determine what it is that
is currently preventing us from experiencing
it.
 “Talking doesn’t solve all problems but no
problems can be solved without talking.”
Frederick Douglass, Abolitionist

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CHANGING ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE
 Cultural competence training alone does not
change organizational culture.
 Workshops designed to enhance cultural
competence is only one component of a
larger system change initiative.

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ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN A
CULTURALLY COMPETENT
ORGANIZATION
1. Structure -Formal policies and procedures
that ensure equal access and
opportunity.
2. Systems – Systems of implementation and methods
used to interpret and implement the
organizational policies including
recruitment and retention, promotions
and employee development, and systems
of rewards and recognition. (cont.)

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(cont.) ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN A
CULTURALLY COMPETENT
ORGANIZATION
 Culture (organizational and Individual)
1. Represents the most ambiguous and informal yet
perhaps the most powerful of the three levels.
2. Culture impacts individual and organizational
values, core assumptions, and norms.

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THE BENNETT MODEL OF CULTURAL
COMPETENCE
 There are many developmental models of
cultural competence.
 Commonly referenced is the (Thomas)
Bennett model.
 Consists of six stages moving from
“ethnocentrism” to “ethnorelativism.”

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BENNETT MODEL OF CULTURAL
COMPETENCE
SIX STAGES
ETHNOCENTRISM
1. Denial
2. Defense
3. Minimization
ETHNORELATIVISM
4. Acceptance
5. Adaptation
6. Integration

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ETHNOCENTRIC STAGES
1. DENIAL – Individual denies that cultural
differences exist.
 This belief may reflect either physical or
social isolation from people of different
cultural backgrounds.

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(cont.) ETHNOCENTRIC STAGE
2. DEFENSE – An individual acknowledges
the existence of certain cultural differences,
but because those differences are
threatening to his/her own reality and sense
of self, the individual constructs defenses
against those differences.
 Bennett offers three commonly used defense
mechanism.

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(cont.) ETHNOCENTRIC STAGE (2)
DEFENSE MECHANISMS
1. Denigration – Negative stereotyping of
another group.
2. Superiority - Individual places his or her
group above another.
3. Reversal - It involves the denigration
of one’s own culture and the
idealizing of another.

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(cont.) ETHNOCENTRIC STAGE
3. MINIMIZATION – Individual in this stage
acknowledges cultural differences but trivializes
them in the belief that similarities far outweigh any
differences. Similarities are assumed rather than
known.
 Generally speaking, people who have experienced
cultural oppression are wary of the “liberal”
assumption of common humanity. Too often the
assumption has meant “be like me.”

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ETHNORELATIVE STAGE
4. ACCEPTANCE – Individual recognizes and
values cultural differences without
evaluating those differences as positive or
negative. This stage moves an individual
from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism. First
comes a respect for cultural differences in
behavior, and then a deeper respect for
cultural differences in values.

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ETHNORELATIVE STAGE
5. ADAPTATION – Individual develops and
improve skills for interacting and
communicating with people of other
cultures. The principal skill at this stage is
perspective-shifting, the ability to look at the
world “through different eyes.”

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ETHNORELATIVE STAGE
6. INTEGRATION – Characterized by individuals
valuing a variety of cultures and are constantly
redefining their own identity and evaluating behavior
and values in contrast to and in concert with a
multitude of cultures.
 Insists on rising above the limitations of one culture,
these individuals integrate aspects of their own
original cultural perspectives with those of other
cultures.

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THE (TERRY) CROSS MODEL OF
CULTURAL COMPETENCE
Cultural Competence Defined
--Individual Level--
 Cultural competence can be defined as “the
state of being capable of functioning
effectively in the context of cultural
differences.”

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Cultural Competence Defined
--Organizational Level--
 At the organizational level, cultural
competence can be defined as “a set of
congruent behaviors, attitudes, and practices
which come together in a system, agency, or
amongst professionals to work effectively in
the context of cultural differences.

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Cultural Destruction
(Most negative end of the continuum)
Individuals:
 View culture as a
problem.
 Believe that if culture
could be suppressed or
destroyed people would
be better off.
 Believe that people
should be more like the
“mainstream.”
 Assume that one
culture is superior and
should eradicate
“lesser” cultures.

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Cultural Incapacity
(corresponds with the Denial stage of the
Bennet Model)
Individuals in this phase:
 Lack cultural awareness and skills.
 May have been brought up in a homogenous
society and were taught to behave in certain
ways and have never questioned it.
(cont.)

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Cultural Incapacity
(cont.)
 Believe in racial superiority of a dominant
group and assume a paternalistic posture
towards others.
 Maintain stereotypes.
 At the organizational level, this translates into
supporting segregation or having lower
expectations of persons from other cultures.

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Cultural Blindness
(corresponds with Bennett’s Minimization
stage)
Individuals in this phase:
 See others in terms of their own culture and
claim that all people are exactly alike.
 Believe that culture makes no difference.
“We are all the same.”
 Believe that all people should be treated in
the same way regardless of race, etc.

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Cultural Pre-Competence
(corresponds with Bennett’s Acceptance
stage)
Individuals in this stage:
 Recognize that there are cultural differences and
start to educate themselves and others concerning
these differences.
 Realize their shortcomings in interacting within a
diverse environment.
 At the organizational level, an attempt is made to address
diversity issues by, for instance, hiring a diverse staff, offering
cultural sensitivity training, promoting diverse staff to upper
management, etc.

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Basic Cultural Competence
(corresponds with Bennett’s Adaption stage)
Individuals in this stage:
 Accept, appreciate, and accommodate cultural difference.
 Value diversity and accept and respect differences.
 Accept the influence of their own culture in relations to other
cultures.
 Understand and manage the dynamics of difference when
cultures intersect.
 Are willing to examine components of cross-cultural
interactions (communications, problem solving, etc.) (Cont.)

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Basic Cultural Competence
(corresponds with Bennett’s Adaption stage)
(cont.)
 At the organizational level, an effort is made
to hire unbiased employees, to seek advice
from communities of color, and to assess
what can be provided to diverse clients.

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Advanced Cultural Competence
 Move beyond accepting, appreciating, and
accommodating cultural difference and
actively educate less informed individuals
about cultural differences.
 Seek out knowledge, develop skills to
interact in diverse environments, become
allies with and are comfortable interacting
with others in multicultural settings. (cont.)

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Advanced Cultural Competence
(cont.)
 At the organizational level, this translates into
conducting research, hiring staff who are
specialists in cultural competence practices,
and acting as an advocate.

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REFERENCES
 Anand, Rohini (1999) Teaching Skills and Cultural Competency. NMCI
Publications, Third Edition, Washington, DC.
 Bennett, M.J. (1993). Towards Ethnorelativism: A developmental model of
intercultural sensitivity. In R. M. Paige (Ed.). Education for the intercultural
experience. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.
 Cross T., Bazron, B., Dennis, K., & Isaacs, M. (1989). Towards a culturally
competent system of care, volume I. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University
Child Development Center, CASSP Technical Assistance Center.
 Davis, K. (1997). Exploring the intersection between cultural competency and
managed behavioral health care policy: Implications for state and county mental
health agencies. Alexandria, VA: National Technical Assistance Center for
State Mental Health Planning.

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Strategies For Strong Cross-Cultural
Team Relationships
--Exercise--
 Objective:
1. To identify the benefits of strong cross-cultural
teams to an organization and strategies for building
team relationships.
2. To identify barriers to strong team relationships and
strategies for overcoming them.
3. To identify characteristics of strong and weak team
relationships.
4. To create a common vision of an effective
multicultural team. (cont.)

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Strategies For Strong Cross-Cultural
Team Relationships
--Exercise-- (cont)
a) What are the characteristics of weak and strong
team relationships?
b) What are the behaviors and values necessary to
build strong cross-cultural team relationships?
c) What are the barriers to strong cross-cultural team
relationships?
d) What are the strategies to overcome these barriers
and build strong cross-cultural team relationships?
e) What are the key points from your discussion?