Taking a Look at Cultural Diversity

Cultural diversity can be defined as the cultural differences that exist between people such as, language, traditions, and the religious beliefs along with the way society carries itself. It is inevitable in the United States to notice the wide variety of cultures that with the years have come to share this land with Americans.

The United States of America is a perfect example of cultural diversity. Starting with the Mayflower landing in Massachusetts Bay in 1620, to the Great Migration from 1915 to 1930, to the continual immigration into our country today this country has seen its culture grow and reshape itself over the years. The culture of the United States is diverse but understanding and appreciating various cultures does not always exist within today’s classroom or in today’s society. Understanding or even defining cultural diversity , identifying the challenges cultural diversity brings, or how to face cultural diversity are all issues educators face in today’s classroom.

For the most part, culture is the shared of basic expectations learned by a group as it find possible alternatives or ways to solve its problems. On the contrary, diversity as stated in the textbook, is the different values and cultures among members, and is more than simply an understanding of black versus white. For instance, culture could by identify through artifacts which include visible signs on the wall, how people display emotions, and the ways people address one another. Although, diversity are differences among people that could impact a work environment due to a social identity. For example, there is an increasing number of women and people of color in the workforce.

Malcolm Forbes once said, “Diversity: the art of thinking independently together.” The same diversity that shaped the United States going back to the sixteenth century when immigrants landed in North America. Diversity of people and species, but their real differences were religion, politics, economics, social issues, and the fantastic ways they dealt with those issues.

Organizations are made up of man & woman, many cultures & races, and multiple generations. Some of the organizations are also comprised of disable employees. This is what we called diversity. Diversity is something that has been around in the organizations for decades. Diversity in Collins Dictionary means, the state or quality of being different or varied and range of different things. It is synonyms to variety, mixture, range, and multiplicity. According to Queensborough Community College in its website define diversity as “Understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.” Diversity is the mixture of people, culture, race, ethnicity, and more. Diversity can somehow affect the employees and can be challenges to the managers.

The book also explores how despite immigration seeing as a normality in the Silicon Valley area, most of the interaction is shaped by differences in ethnic and racial traits. Jimenez explains that “the way that interviewees articulated the “us” and “them” in their lives comported with social-scientific research that emphasizes ethnic and racial differences as sources of both unity and division” (Jimenez, 2017). Although the cultural diversity is so ingrained in the community of Silicon Valley, this diversity is also a constant reminder of the racial and ethnic differences in the community which could sometimes generate negative outcomes. It does not only serve as a source of unity, like with the mixed culture it generates, but it also could

Throughout history there has been a cluster of tension and conflict between police and minority communities within the United States. The job of a police officer is to enforce the law and protect all citizens regardless of their race, gender, or sexual preferences; however, more and more police departments across the United States are being accused of targeting and harassing those who are different. State and local police departments have been left to their own devices on how to police minority communities and improve cultural differences among their officers by seeking out a reform recruitment and adjusting policies in hopes to attract a significant improvement of minority applicants, all while training other officers in understanding

Although I am middle-aged, I have never traveled outside of the United States nor have I had the privilege to experience a wide diversity of cultures. Other than research or articles that I have read throughout my life, I have little knowledge pertaining to other cultures. However, through my former employment and my daughter, I have some experience and knowledge of the Hispanic families that relocated to our area.

Culture can be defined as “language, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, works of art, rituals, ceremonies, and symbols” (Merriam-Webster, 2014). The United States is currently experiencing a dramatic change regarding cultural diversity. According to a recent census, 36.3 percent of the United States population belongs to an ethnic or racial minority (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). Increased immigration from around the world is continually adding to the numbers of our already culturally diverse nation. However, despite a marked increase in life expectancy, a decrease in infant mortality, and other health care improvements, many minority groups still experience poorer access to heal care. It should be the goal of every health care worker, especially nurses, to do all that is in their power to not only culturally congruent care but also to attempt to eliminate these health care related disparities.

Cultural Diversity can define as the state of being different relating to the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a society. When discussing cultural biases, we are all made up of our cultural influences and inherit some of the racial, and gender, biases of our society. “Everyone (regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation) possesses biased beliefs, attitudes, and stereotypes toward others” (Sue & Sue 2013).

Today our society is built of different cultures and races. Cultural Diversity is a “diverse group in society, with varying racial classifications and national origins, religion affiliations, language, physical size, gender, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, and geographic locations” (Taylor, 2014, p.74). Nurses need to know the different types of cultures in our society in order to provide adequate care to clients with a different cultural background. As nurses, we need to understand that each client has different values and beliefs which are learned from families and communities. These values and beliefs can influence client’s health. For example, Muslim clients may refuse prescriptions containing gelatin, pork products, or alcohol while Jewish clients may be prohibited the use of the patient-controlled analgesia pump because it might be considered work during a Sabbath day (Arritt, 2014). These two cultures are different from the American culture in many ways, but they all need a good health care regardless of their values and beliefs.

So many government leaders aim to lower taxes on companies, with the knowledge that would help to understand the idea of less taxation could make more business.

Since I started this class, I have a learned a great deal about cultural diversity in the classroom and abroad. My perspective has changed slightly but my knowledge of this subject has improved. In my family, my father taught me about the civil rights movement and the evils of segregation in the U.S. My parents taught me to be tolerant of all humans, no matter what they look like, how they dress, or their sexual orientation. My family has always been liberal thinkers who taught me the dark history of racism and bigotry in this country. As an educator I would be accepting to all race, creeds, and religious peoples.

There have been a variety of attempts to develop a concise definition or reliable classification of what is meant by cultural diversity for a number of decades. Although there is no universal system available for determining what cultural diversity is there are several reappearing characteristics that are used by many of the experts attempting to arrive at a recognized system (Fearon, 2003).

While culture represents a society’s characteristics by means of a social phenomenon, diversity talk about individual differences. When we talk about diversity, we discuss how people of the same culture may have different beliefs, belongs to a different gender, background and many other features. Culture is man-made things while diversity is something biological and in short, I will say diversity can be something natural. Culture is whole things that include beliefs, art knowledge, law, morals, customs and any other things that can be acquired by an individual as a member of a society.