Reference no: EM133306517

Assessment 1

CASE STUDY 1 - Team Conflict

A team of community services workers is experiencing conflict.

There is an Aboriginal worker on the team (Barry), a Muslim worker (Ahmed) and two white Australian workers (Janice and Julia).

It started when Ahmed accused Barry of being lazy and rude - ‘He never rushes, even when we are rushed off our feet and he doesn't even look me in the eye when he talks to me.'

Barry retaliates by accusing Ahmed of taking time off all the time to ‘pray on his stupid prayer mat'.

Janice responds by saying, ‘For God's sake, why can't you just be like the rest of us?'

Janice and Julia get caught up in it with, both Ahmed and Barry complaining all the time about each other and trying to get them to take sides.

Their conflict is impacting on their clients and colleagues.

Identifying issues

There are a range of issues that are causing difficulties within this work team.
List each one you can identify.
For each issue you identify, indicate the cultural differences that are being misunderstood among the team members.

Staff Bonding"

Think of a staff "Bonding Day" activity that could bring this team together which would result in greater appreciation for each other.

Case Study 2 - JOAN

Joan is a new, Aboriginal carer at Elise's service. Lately Joan has had a couple of days off work, and has also had a few days where she has started work later than others in her team.

Hani, another carer who is also one of Elise's good friends, begins to gossip about Joan at lunchtime. She says that Joan excludes herself because she is always so quiet and avoids eye contact with people. Hani doesn't like the fact that Joan is new but gets special treatment - no one else comes in late and takes time off, especially in their first two months at a new job!

Elise is not impressed by Hani's behaviour and decides to remove herself from the lunch group. She instead begins to spend some of her lunchtimes with Joan and some different carers. She learns that Joan takes time off to help with the care of one of her Aunties, who is very ill.

One afternoon Joan approaches Elise and tells her that she will be taking time off work due to Sorry Business. Elise is not sure what this means, but does not want to appear ignorant and gives Joan her best wishes - she assumes it must not be good news due to the word ‘sorry'. Joan says that their supervisor is very compassionate and she is lucky to work for a company that respects her cultural traditions, but says that some of the staff make her feel shame.

The next day, Hani is talking negatively about Joan again. Elise has had enough, she decides to research Aboriginal culture so she educate Hani before she gets herself into trouble.

Aboriginal culture

Using your knowledge of Aboriginal culture, explain:

Why Hani's opinion of Joan's approach to communication is incorrect and inappropriate.

Why Joan was caring for her Auntie.

Sorry Business and how Joan, her family and community would mourn.

Why Joan's community has a tradition to not say the name of the deceased for some time.

What impact is Hani's behaviour having on Joan? What did Joan mean about feelings of shame?

Elise's contribution

How do you think that Elise is contributing to a culturally safe and culturally competent workplace?

How should the workplace support Joan in terms of her absences?

CASE STUDY 3 - Terese

Terese a new client in a full-time care facility who requires more care than her family is able to provide. Terese's family have historically been able to take her to all her appointments, however due to an increase in the number of appointments required for Terese, they are no longer able to provide her with the level of support she needs.

Terese speaks only a limited amount of English but can mostly understand what is being said to her. Her family has always communicated to others for her, and have previously taken her to all doctor appointments, specialist appointments and even banking and other daily needs.

Explain the role of a language interpreter and how it differs from a cultural interpreter. Explain which interpreter is required in this scenario and how it will help Terese.

Local interpreter

Terese's family has given permission that the services of an interpreter can be used. Use the Internet to locate an interpreting/translation services provider in your own local area. (You can choose Terese's cultural background to locate specific translation/interpretation services.) Write down their name, address and telephone number.

CASE STUDY 4 - Tom & Dave

A group of care workers are planning a social night out. Their manager is organising dinner at a local pub, and advises staff they are welcome to bring a friend or partner and to respond via email of their acceptance and if they will bring someone.

A new employee, Tom, is keen to attend - it's a great opportunity to be social and get to know his new colleagues in a more relaxed environment. He decides he will bring his partner of 5 years, Dave.

Tom responds to the email invite his manager has sent out, saying in the body of the email that Dave will attend too.

The next day, the date of the dinner changes due to ‘a number of staff being unable to attend' . Tom accepts the new date. Two days later it changes again. He is unable to attend this time, Dave has his own work function and Tom always attends them.

A couple of days later, Tom is in the lunch room telling a colleague about Dave's work function and how much of a good time they had. Two staff get up and leave the kitchen during this chat.

The colleague tells Tom it's fantastic that Dave's work is so accepting, and rolls their eyes in the direction of those who departed the room.
Tom discovers that some people in the department were uncomfortable with the idea of Dave going to the dinner, and that the manager kept changing the dates with the hope that Tom would be busy, and that the rest of the staff could still come.

Questions Identify the type of legislation and types of workplace procedures that have been breached and how.

Explain how this situation can impact the cultural safety of the workplace.

Explain how this situation can impact Tom socially and professionally. Consider in your response the impact on his relationships with others in the workplace and his relationship with Dave.

Explain actions that Tom could take in this situation. Imagine that his workplace does not handle the situation and Tom continues to be excluded. What could he do next?

CASE STUDY 5 - Martin
Martin, 58, is sitting in a conference room being interviewed for a job. It is all going well, but then one interviewer asks how old he is, as his date of birth wasn't indicated on his resume.

Martin refuses to give his age - he states that his age is not an indicator of whether he can do the job well, but his work experience, knowledge and strong references should be what proves his abilities.

Martin does not get the job. A friend who works in the organisation tells him that they employed a 25-year-old female because they felt a ‘younger person with a soft approach' would be best for the position.

Questions
Answer the following questions about Martin's situation:

What breach has the workplace committed?

What could be the consequences of this scenario?

What do you think would be the impact on Martin in this situation?

Assessment 2

Item 1
In your own words provide a definition of diversity and the concepts of diversity.

Item 2
Explain how "cultural awareness" can be of benefit to your relationship with clients, community members and your team in your workplace.

Item 3
In your own words, describe the concepts of 'cultural competence' and its importance when working with clients and colleagues in community services. What is the impact on clients and colleagues if we arent culturally compentent?

Item 4
In your own words, describe the concepts of 'cultural safety' and its importance when working with clients and colleagues in community services. What is the impact on clients and colleagues if we don't have a culturally safe service?

Item 5
What ways could an organisation and its staff develop cultural competence? Provide at least three (3) strategies.

Item 6
Briefly describe each of the following legal and ethical considerations
• Standards of practice (what it is, why it's important in the health and community services sector, and what happens if you break or breach this consideration)
• Duty of care (what it is, why it's important in the health and community services sector, and what happens if you break or breach this consideration)
• Work role boundaries (what it is, why it's important in the health and community services sector, and what happens if you break or breach this consideration)
• Workplace Health & Safety - Hazard identification and risk assessment (what it is, why it's important in the health and community services sector, and what happens if you break or breach this consideration)

Item 7
a) Describe the purpose of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

b) Do human rights necessarily cover all human needs? Explain your answer in one (1) paragraph and provide an example.

c) Choose one (1) of the human rights and explain why you chose it, how it is applied to our society today or if it isn't - how. What are your personal views of the Human Rights declaration?

Item 8
List at least three (3) effective strategies that could encourage effective communication in a situation where there is a language barrier.

Item 9
List two (2) strategies you could use if you were involved in a cross-cultural conflict with a work colleague and needed to sensitively resolve it.

Item 10
Describe the effectiveness of visual imagery when communicating information to diverse audiences. Provide at least three (3) examples of universal imagery or colours used within the workplace (you may draw examples where required) e.g Green Exit sign is universal

At least 3 examples:

Item 11
Explain how diversity has impacted Australia's ever-changing economic, employment, social, cultural and political (e.g changes to the law) landscape.
Write at least one (1) paragraph for each area.

Item 12
Please choose three (3) key areas of diversity listed below and explain the following:
a) What is your definition? e.g I think race means ...............
b) What do you personally think about the key area you have chosen? e.g When it comes to race I think........
c) Why do you think that way? e.g The reason I feel this way is.........................
• race
• ethnicity
• disability
• religious or spiritual beliefs
• gender including transgender, intersex
• generational
• sexual orientation/sexual identity - lesbian, gay, bisexual, heterosexual
Note: remember to be sensitive and respectful in your definitions and responses.

Item 13
Explain what is marginalisation.

Item 14
Explain how those in marginalised groups may be impacted by trauma, discrimination, negative attitudes and exclusion. In your response, refer to the needs of:
• people with disability - (discuss impact of trauma, discrimination, negative attitudes and exclusion)
• those who are ageing - (discuss impact of trauma, discrimination, negative attitudes and exclusion)
• those with mental health/emotional issues - (discuss impact of trauma, discrimination, negative attitudes and exclusion)

Item 15
List three (3) protective factors that can help those impacted by the effects of marginalisation to cope.

Assessment 3

Item 1
List one piece of legislation that protects the cultural safety of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.

Item 2
Describe two of your own cultural biases that could impact on you and the way in which you provide culturally safe practices in your own work.

Item 3
For each of the following historical issues, describe what happened and the impact of this on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities today.

Personal Cultural Bias

Where has this cultural bias come from?

What will you do to ensure that this bias does not impact on your work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People?

 

British colonisation and power imbalance
Loss of land and culture
Stolen generation
Racism and discrimination
Past and present power relations
Own culture, western systems and structures and how these impact on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people and their engagement with services

 

Item 4
In approximately 100-200 words explain why kinship is so important in Aboriginal society.

Item 5
What is one issue facing Aboriginal people in relation to traditional kinship in modern-day Australia?

Item 6
List two things about your own culture that may affect the way you perceive others.

Item 7
How can you ensure that your work practices are not affected by your own cultural bias?

Item 8
List two community agencies or groups that assist services to develop partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.

Item 9
What are some of the culturally sensitive issues you may need to be aware of when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People?

Item 10
When thinking about culturally sensitive issues such as Sorry business or Stolen Generation describe how you would ensure that communications are culturally appropriate when engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals and community

Item 11
In your own words describe the concept of cultural awareness.

Item 12
In your own words describe the concept of cultural competence.