Page 197 - Cultural Competence in Health Education

Toward a Culturally Competent Health Education Workforce 175

Organizational culture is “ the collective programming of the mind that distin-
guishes the members of one organization from another ” (Hofstede, 2001, p. 391).
Sometimes referred to as corporate cultures, organizational cultures are socially
shaped, historically infl uenced, and diffi cult to change. Whereas national cultures are
characterized by shared values, organizational cultures are characterized by “ shared
perceptions about daily practices ” (p. 394). These shared perceptions shape what the
organization does and how the work is done. Organizational culture can enable or
limit a health educator ’ s ability to deliver services in a culturally competent manner.
Health educators need to be equipped with an understanding of organizational culture
and with the skills needed to perform with cultural competence within the context of
accepted organizational practices.
The Profile of a Competent Organization

According to the National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC, n.d.), cultural
competence requires that organizations and their personnel “ have the capacity to
(1) value diversity, (2) conduct self - assessment, (3) manage the dynamics of differ-
ence, (4) acquire and institutionalize cultural knowledge, and (5) adapt to the diversity
and cultural contexts of the communities they serve. ” This clearly defi ned profi le of
organizational competence mirrors, from the individual employee ’ s perspective, much
of what was discussed in previous chapter sections about the ongoing learning process
that embodies cultural competence development.
The culturally competent model of care (Campinha - Bacote, 1994) and the recom-
mended learning objectives in Exhibit 9.1 could be applied in professional development
workshops and other training opportunities for health educators in the work setting.
However, though the competence of individual employees is critical to organizational
success, the full competence profile of the organization in which those employees work

encompasses some broader elements that are also important. Organizational compe-
tence is dependent in part on the degree to which organizational leaders and employees
understand common barriers to competence in their work environment and are commit-
ted to the institutional changes needed to overcome those barriers.

Common Barriers to Cultural Competence in the Work Environment
In a culturally competent organization, employees and clients from diverse ethnic and
racial backgrounds are valued and empowered through the organization ’ s policies
and practices (Hofstede, 2001; OMH, 2001). Factors related to hiring, promotion and
dismissal, salaries and rewards, supervision, and decisional control can infl uence an
employee ’ s perceptions about the work environment and her ability to perform at
optimal levels. Though overt discrimination within most organizations is operation-

ally defined and legally regulated, the quest for cultural competence within an organi-
zation must go far beyond the mere absence of discriminatory treatment. Even when
organizational leaders desire a culturally competent work environment, institutional-
ized practices can negatively affect employee performance and the quality of client
services.

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