Download - TLIG707B - Work in a Culturally Diverse Environment - Learner Guide

TLIG707B Work in

a culturally diverse

environment Learner Guide

Contents

What this Learner’s Guide is about ........................................ 3 Planning your learning ........................................................... 4 How you will be assessed ...................................................... 6

Section 1............................................................................................. 7 Communicating with customers and colleagues from diverse backgrounds........................................................................... 7

Section 2........................................................................................... 26 Dealing with cross-cultural misunderstandings .................... 26

Additional resources....................................................................... 36

Feedback on activities .................................................................... 38

TLIG707B Work in a socially diverse environment

Page 2 © Australian National Training Authority 2003 ADELG1042 Customised and developed by Armstrong’s Driver Education Pty Ltd August 2008


© Australian National Training Authority 2003 Page 3 Customised and developed by Armstrong’s Driver Education Pty Ltd August 1008 ADELG1042

What this Learner’s Guide is about

This Learner’s Guide is about the skills and knowledge required to work in a socially diverse environment, including the development and application of the cultural awareness that is required by all people working in the transport and distribution industries. It includes the cultural awareness required for serving customers and working with colleagues from diverse backgrounds.

The Elements of Competency from the unit TLIG707B Work in a socially diverse environment covered in this Learner’s Guide are listed below.

Communicate with customers and colleagues from diverse backgrounds

Deal with cross-‐cultural misunderstandings

This unit of competency is from the Transport and Logistics Training Package (TLI07).



Planning your learning

It is important to plan your learning before you start because you may already have some of the knowledge and skills that are covered in this Learner’s Guide. This might be because:

• you have been working in the industry for some time, and/or

• you have already completed training in this area.

Together with your supervisor or trainer use the checklists on the following pages to help you plan your study program. Your answers to the questions in the checklist will help you work out which sections of this Learner’s Guide you need to complete.

This Learner’s Guide is written with the idea that learning is made more relevant when you, the learner, are actually working in the industry. This means that you will have people within the enterprise who can show you things, discuss how things are done and answer any questions you have. Also you can practise what you learn and see how what you learn is applied in the enterprise.

If you are working through this Learner’s Guide and have not yet found a job in the industry, you will need to talk to your trainer about doing work experience or working and learning in some sort of simulated workplace.



Section 1: Communicate with customers and colleagues from diverse backgrounds

Are you able to: Yes No

1. treat and value customers and colleagues from all cultural groups with respect and sensitivity?

2. take account of cultural differences in your verbal and non-‐verbal communication?

3. use gestures, simple words in the other person’s language and other efforts to communicate where language barriers exist?

4. obtain assistance from colleagues, reference books and outside agencies when required for communication?

Section 2: Deal with cross-cultural misunderstandings

Are you able to: Yes No

1. identify issues that may cause conflict or misunderstanding?

2. address difficulties with appropriate people and seek assistance from team leaders?

3. consider cultural differences when difficulties or misunderstandings occur?

4. make efforts to resolve misunderstandings, taking account of cultural considerations?

5. refer issues or problems to the appropriate team leader/supervisor for follow-‐up?



How you will be assessed

Assessment of this Unit of Competency will include observation of real or simulated work processes using workplace procedures and questioning on underpinning knowledge and skills. It must be demonstrated in an actual or simulated work situation under supervision.

You will be required to demonstrate that you can:

• recognise cultural differences amongst colleagues and customers

• communicate with customers and colleagues from diverse backgrounds

• deal with cross-‐cultural misunderstandings.



Section 1

Communicating with customers and colleagues from diverse backgrounds



Section outline

Areas covered in this section

Communicating with customers and colleagues from diverse backgrounds including:

using respect and sensitivity in communications

accounting for cultural differences in communicating with customers and colleagues

avoiding stereotyping

making efforts to communicate where language barriers exist including seeking external assistance



How do you communicate with customers and colleagues from diverse backgrounds?

What is the context for diversity?

The ability to work with people from a range of cultural backgrounds is more and more important in Australia as migration has created a population that is extremely diverse.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics provided the following breakdown of Australia’s population for 2000:

Total population 19,157,000

Male population 9,538,000

Female population 9,619,000

Indigenous population 418,800

Overseas born population 4,521,000 (23.6%)

Further more, the percentage of overseas born persons has risen from 22.9% in 1991 to 23.6% in 2000. This means that one in four people in Australia were born overseas. The percentage born in the UK and Ireland was just over 6%. This means that over 17% of our population were born overseas in a culture that is not ‘Anglo-‐Saxon’. Add to this figure family members born in Australia but living and following the culture of their parents, and you can arrive at a figure of one in five or one in four people living in a culture different to that traditionally seen as ‘Aussie’.

Australia has seen different cultural and ethnic groups arrive on our shores as a result of:

• changing immigration policies – Australia eliminated the ‘White Australian policy’ which was a fundamental change in Australian society and subsequently changed the ethnic population of this country

• labour shortages in Australia – both skilled and unskilled

• economic and humanitarian hardship in overseas countries (e.g. Vietnam after the Vietnam War).



These peoples have made an impact on Australia in terms of:

• cuisine

• contributions to the skills of our national workforce

• economic benefits from increasing need for services and goods

• increasing the available pool of labour

• cultural diversity in Australia

• fostering language studies and language acquisition for all Australians

• assisting with establishing trading links and business opportunities with other countries.

Cultural diversity extends beyond ethnicity. The traditional family unit of mother, father and children is increasingly less relevant in Australia as family units may consist of same sex couples, children of different fathers/mothers living in the same household, extended families, friends sharing houses, etc. Whereas in the past people with disabilities lived in institutions, the modern practice is to integrate people into communities.

So, a typical neighbourhood or staff of a workplace is no longer a collection of ‘nuclear families’ or members of such families but can be composed of a rich diversity and variety of individuals from different types of household units or family groups and from many cultural backgrounds.

The reasons that it is important to understand how to interact with others in today’s diverse society include that:

• the competitive markets in which Australia trades are now very different from the reliance we had in the past on trade with the United Kingdom and Europe (25% of our markets are new markets)

• beliefs and tolerance have changed as Australia matures as a society

• people will not accept behaviours that were considered ‘Ok’ in the past

• legislation is in place with regard to harassment and discrimination and understanding the diversity of culture is a fundamental building block to eliminating discriminatory behaviour.

These benefits have made Australia come to be recognised as a nation that has benefited from the diversity of its people and as a desirable place to live.



What are my responsibilities in a socially diverse work environment?

This introduction to this unit of competency pointed out that Australia has a diversity of cultures within a neighbourhood, and equally, within a workplace.

Diversity has many dimensions as follows:

The Core dimensions include inborn or inherent differences that will have an impact on one’s life throughout it. The secondary dimensions can be acquired or changed throughout one’s lifetime. These dimensions tend to have less impact than those of the core but still have an impact on a person’s life, self-‐definition and worldview.

ADDITIONAL (includes but not limited to):

Educational background Family responsibilities/parental status Geographic location Income Language Level/function Life styles Marital status Military experience Organisational culture Political beliefs Religion Skills Socio-economic status Thinking patterns Work background

CORE: Age Ethnicity Gender Physical ability Race Sexual orientation



Legislation has been introduced to make discrimination illegal in Australian workplaces. As a result, individual enterprises have formulated policies and procedures to address such issues. Training is an essential part of organisations’ responses to this legislation.

It is important to understand the responsibilities that you have as an individual in a workplace.

As well as the legislative framework and ensuring that you comply with these laws, the actions and behaviours of individuals are important in an organisation making use of and supporting cultural and social diversity.

Positive attitudes and behaviours are those that value people as individuals, regardless of culture or social grouping, and the contribution they make to the organisation.

In the next activity, you are asked to investigate your responsibilities in this area.



Activity 1: Responsibilities

Talk to your manager, a person in the Human Resources department of your workplace or access workplace documents that describe your responsibilities with respect to legislation such as: • Equal Employment Opportunity. • Anti-discrimination legislation.

Discuss how your workplace has incorporated its responsibilities into diversity policies, procedures and the training that is offered to support the implementation of these policies.

Summarise your findings in the space below:

There is feedback on this activity at the back of this Learner’s Guide.



What does your workplace offer to customers and colleagues from different cultural backgrounds?

Workplaces can see cultural diversity as an asset and work towards making the services of the enterprise easily accessible. Similarly, the employment of people from different cultural backgrounds can be made more accommodating.

Some of the ways that enterprises can make their services more accessible or user-‐friendlier include:

• having signs in other languages

• providing wheelchair access through ramps, lifts and with facilities set a the height appropriate to people in wheelchairs (public phones or service counters set at a lower height)

• employing staff of a socially diverse background (e.g. speaking a community languages, wheel-‐chaired, Auslan abled)

• having and providing access to telephone interpreters

• translating information into community languages

• training staff not to make assumptions based on religion, race, sexuality, marital status (e.g. “Madam, would you like to take home the details and discuss these with your husband?”)

• taking account of cultural taboos and accommodating these with sensitivity (e.g. in some cultures a man cannot interact with a woman unless another woman is present)

• providing graphic images for public information rather than using words (e.g. using a symbol for a phone/lift/etc rather than the words ‘phone/lift/etc’).

These strategies consist of both using positives measures and removing negatives or deterrents to customers or clients. Further information about the issues you might address in working with customers of different cultural backgrounds can be found on the Queensland Health web site at:

http://www.health.qld.gov.au/hssb/cultdiv/cultdiv/home.htm

The site discusses characteristics and history of different cultural groups. Although focused on the implications for health care staff, it is



a useful resource. In the next activities you are asked to start investigating ways of working in a culturally inclusive and sensitive manner.



Activity 2: Cultural sensitivity and respect

Use the web site reference given to you above or talk to friends who have come from other cultures or are from a different social and/or cultural environment to yourself. Use tact and try to read your friends’ body language (signs of discomfort, unease with your questions, etc) if you talk directly to people about this activity. Summarise ways in which you would work with customers from a different background.

Summarise your thoughts in the space below:




Activity 3: Resources

The web site reference given to you above is one example of a resource that you can use to determine how to work with clients or colleagues from a different social environment to yourself. Another resource is talking to friends, family members, reading, using the Internet. Talk to others people who you believe are good communicators, especially with people from different social and/or cultural backgrounds and try to identify further resources for information on how to: • work with people of other cultures • use interpreters • work with disabled people • work with vision impaired persons • make workplaces ‘user-friendly’ to wheel chaired persons • accommodate employees with families or those caring for

elderly relatives, sick family members (‘family friendly workplaces’)

• communicate with deaf people • avoid stereotyping (making a judgement about all people

having a common trait, e.g. deaf people, having the same characteristics) and assumptions about people’s values.





Activity 4: Cultural competence checklist

The following checklist is adapted from material used in the training of people working in culturally diverse organisations. There are no right and wrong answers and the checklist is designed to offer some points for discussion among your fellow team members. Responses can be ALWAYS/SOMETIMES/NEVER:

No. Statement A S N

1 I am aware of the need for signs, posters and other materials to be in community languages as well as English or to use graphics to convey the message (e.g. safety signs)

2 I am aware of how to get access to interpreters in a range of languages, in my workplace

3 With fellow team members who speak languages other than English, I have attempted to learn basic greetings and to communicate

4 When communicating with people with limited English proficiency, I do not raise my voice to be heard, I do not assume the person is of limited intelligence, I make every effort to communicate

5 I attend training that I am offered or is available in cultural awareness

6 I think about and reflect on how I communicate with others especially those from other cultural or social groups

7 I recognise and accept that individuals from culturally diverse backgrounds may not want to have anything to do with their own culture

8 I do not use racist, sexist terms and discourage others from doing so by discussing the impact that this has on others

9 I intervene appropriately where I see instances of racist, sexist and discriminatory behaviour



10 I understand that people’s religion and other beliefs may influence how people understand and respond in various situations

11 I understand and respect that factors such as gender, class, age, etc. have different significance among different cultures

12 I apply to my everyday actions what I have learnt about cultural diversity and on my reflections about how I communicate and what I learn from discussions with others




How do I communicate with people who do not speak English?

Your customers or colleagues may include tourists on holiday in Australia and people born overseas who have not learnt English. Communicating with these people may present some problems. However, ‘where there is a will, there is a way’.

If you have not had the opportunity to travel overseas in a non-‐English speaking country, try to imagine how you would manage (Australians have done this and in the reverse there are many non-‐English speaking tourists in Australia at any one time). As a tourist, life is fairly relaxed and communication difficulties are not a major problem. Now try to picture a situation in which you do your current job but in a country where English is not the spoken language.

Europe might be a bit easier as many Europeans speak English to some extent (but may choose not to!) as do people involved in trade in Asian countries. English has become one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world and certainly the language of trade and commerce.

Communicating with people who do not speak English can be made easier by:

• using pictures

• speaking more slowly where the person has limited English (don’t make the mistake of speaking louder – lack of English and hearing impairment are different!)

• using interpreters or others in the workplace who speak that language (take care not to confuse language groups that may be geographically close but are in fact different and may be in conflict in their home countries)

• getting material translated into community languages

• learning some basic words in other languages such as danger/stop, etc. particularly where safety is concerned or as basic greetings.

The next activity looks at communicating across language barriers.



Activity 5: Communicating with non-English speakers

Talk to others in your workplace about how they communicate with customers and colleagues who do not speak English or have limited English. Discuss the techniques above as a starting point. You might also talk to people who have travelled in and worked overseas and look at how they coped with communicating.





Activity 6: Your workplaces efforts to communicate with non-English speakers and work with diverse cultures

Discuss with your fellow employees what measures are provided in the workplace to communicate with people (customers and employees) whose first language is other than English. Examples might include: information in community languages, safety signs using graphics, etc.)

Also look at ways that your workplace has accommodated the needs of people of other social groupings. Examples might include: wheel chair ramps, flexi-time and part time arrangements for parents, etc.)





How do I work with people of different cultural backgrounds to myself?

Workforces traditionally have worked hard to present the model of appropriate and successful behaviour within the workforce as that of a typical white, middle aged, Anglo-‐Saxon person (usually male).

Characteristics that are valued within this culture are:

• heterosexuality

• married with children

• excellent health and physical shape

• Protestant

• well educated

• impersonal management style

• rational, logical thinker

• experienced at playing team sports

• motivated to succeed and advance one’s career.

This model provides the assumptions for a workplace that means that only those who match this model can succeed. Even where an organisation actively recruits individuals who do not meet this model, success is limited within the organisation and if left unchallenged the culture will end up forcing those outside the model to leave to get promotion, equal pay for equal work and basic rights.

Legislation has changed the ‘outer face of organisations’ so that it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of the core and many of the secondary dimensions of diversity described earlier in this Learner’s Guide. However, only by changing the operating culture can discrimination be totally removed.

Stereotyping is seen as the key to changing the culture within an organization. Stereotyping involves making an assumption based on one’s own values about an individual or a group based on perceptions of that individual or group.

For instance, imagine you are a person serving behind the counter of a shop that sells expensive goods and a person enters who has not shaved and has odd footwear – one foot is in a soft slipper or shoe with a hole in the big toe and the other foot is in a ‘normal shoe’. When the person asks you for some assistance, their voice is affected in some way and not very coherent.



What are your assumptions?

Did you think that:

• the person shouldn’t be in the shop as he was a street person or ‘bum’

• the person might be drunk

• the person might be intellectually impaired

• they just weren’t the right sort of person for your very exclusive shop?

Think again!!!!!!

How about this for an explanation – the person is able to afford the goods in your shop and is coming in to buy some things. Recently, the person was involved in an accident which left him with a broken toe (hence the odd footwear), a broken jaw (hence the ‘odd’ voice) and a sprained wrist that meant that he was unable to shave.

Stereotypes are dangerous and the basis for perpetuating cultures that are non-‐inclusive.

In the Case Studies that follow, you are asked to check your own thinking for assumptions and stereotyping.



Activity 7: Assumptions and stereotyping

In each of the following Case Studies, you are presented with a scenario and asked to honestly and immediately record what your thoughts are about the subject being described. The ‘Feedback on Activities’ provides the detail that explains the subject’s action or appearance. Check your assumptions against the ‘facts’.

Case Study 1

As you walk along the street near your home, a young child runs out of her house with blood coming from her nose. An adult then follows the child out the door and runs after her calling out, “You come back here immediately” in an angry voice.

Case Study 2

You are standing at the station about to catch a train. A man in very old, worn clothes with paint spatters all over his clothes, walks on to the platform carrying a computer. He seems agitated and restless.

Case Study 3

A young woman dressed in ‘goth’ gear (dyed black hair, thick black mascara, long fingernails with black nail polish, black clothes, white face powder, etc) walks out of a house with her long fingers circled around an old woman’s arm and looking as if she is trying to hurry the old woman along. The old woman seems resistant to moving quickly and is shuffling along slowly.

Case Study 4

You enter the tearoom at your workplace and a group of employees are talking in a language you don’t understand. As soon as they see you they stop talking and move off out of the tearoom.

Case Study 5

Two young men meet in the street and greet each other with a kiss.




Section 2

Dealing with cross-cultural misunderstandings



Section outline

Areas covered in this section

Dealing with cross-‐cultural misunderstandings including:

identifying issues that may cause conflict or misunderstanding

seeking assistance with dealing with such difficulties

considering cultural differences and their impact on such issues

resolving such issue and problems

following up on issues and problems with team leaders/supervisors



How do you deal with cross-cultural misunderstandings?

What can cause conflict or misunderstanding in the workplace as related to cultural issues?

Many people believe that visitors to Australia or people taking up citizenship here will quickly learn how to ‘fit in’ and the ‘Aussie way of doing things’. Culture is more deeply ingrained than this picture presents and some people will never replace their own culture with ‘the Aussie way of doing things’ but will, in time understand and be sensitive and respect Australian culture. Similarly, the cultures of visitors and those born or raised in other cultures should be respected. However, misunderstandings can occur.

Some simple Case Studies are presented her to illustrate how misunderstandings may arise in the workplace through stereotyping and making assumptions.

Case Study 1:

Boris is a native of an Eastern European country where the police force has powers of interrogation and arrest on the basis of suspicion rather than hard evidence. Boris himself has been arrested and tortured in his country for suspected subversive activity. He fled to Australia and still treats any questioning with suspicion.

As part of his learning and development he is told that he will be assessed via observation and questioning. He refuses to be assessed without giving any reasons for his actions.

Case Study 2:

Sheila was born and raised in the Northern Territory before moving interstate and taking up a job in a transport company in Sydney. After a stocktake it is discovered that stock losses are occurring that cannot be explained by any other means than theft. The manager of the company questions all staff members including those with or without authority to access the stock storage area.

When questioned by the manager, Shelia does not make eye contact with the manager. She explains that she has no access to the storage area and says she loves her job and is pleased to be given an opportunity to work in the City.



The manager does not trust her answers and suspects her of theft because she does not ‘appear honest’. Others in the company have noticed that Sheila does not make eye contact. Together with the fact that she is new to the company, she is suspected of stealing stock.

Case Study 3:

Aziz never attends social functions put on by the company social club. These involve events such as a summer BBQ, a night at an ‘Irish Pub’, a wine bottling and a visit to a country horse race meeting. His excuses vary from family commitments, his wife being ill that weekend, being away, having to take his children to a Saturday morning language school. When invited to join his mates for a drink after work, he again makes excuses. Although he is a good worker and joins in conversations at lunchtime in the lunchroom, he is seen to be a bit ‘stand-‐offish’ because he does not go to the social club functions.

The opportunity arises for a team leader’s position, to be filled by internal application. Aziz applies and during the application process, his non-‐attendance at social functions and drinks after work is raised as a reason for not promoting him.

Case Study 4:

Houng arrived in Australia by boat as a refugee from Vietnam in the early 80’s. He owned a transport business in his own country but left that behind when he fled with his family. Over a period of years he has learnt English and shown himself to be a good, conscientious worker. As a result he has gained employment in a warehousing company and been promoted to leading hand, supervising the work of four other team members in the despatch department.

The company is not a closed shop and Houng although in conversation seems to be in agreement with the union’s position on many issues, is not a member of the union.

As a result of a stalemate being reached over Enterprise Bargaining, a strike is called of all employees. Pressure is put on non-‐union members to go out on strike and pickets are threatened.

Houng refuses to go on strike. His colleagues, including the team that he supervises are most angry but he continues to claim that “a good worker should never do that to his/her boss”.



Case Study 5:

Immigration becomes a ‘hot topic’ due to a statement made in the papers that “all immigration should be stopped as they are taking jobs away from real Australians”.

Each time the topic comes up at work, Hannah seems to disappear and go off to the toilet or go for a cigarette or go back to work before her break is finished. Opinion is divided around the workplace but most people feel that the author of the statement is racist and ill informed.

Her work mates gradually realise what is happening and accuse her of being “ a racist follower” of the author of the statement.

Case Study 6:

E. A. S. Y. Storage Pty. Ltd. provides storage for customers’ goods on a short to longer-‐term basis. The company’s manager decides to invest time and energy into a continuous improvement program. Following a series of training exercises funded by the company and held during work time, an Action Plan is formulated for teams to be formed and for these teams to meet fortnightly to discuss ways of getting jobs done and how these could be made safer, how quality can be maintained or improved and how the tasks could be made more efficient.

Paola has attended every training program and each of the team meetings over the first two months of the program but while she was attentive in the training and completed all activities, she has not asked one question during the training, offered to share her ideas or make a comment and has made no verbal contribution to the team meetings.

Her supervisor feels that her time would be better spent being back at work while the others meet and discuss improvements. The supervisor raises the matter with the production manager of the company with the view to suggesting that Paola attends to the phone and other work duties while the others meet.



Activity 8: Potential misunderstandings

Talk to other team members about the Case Studies presented above. You could arrange to do this as a group as part of a learning and development exercise for all staff. Select 4 of the 6 Case Studies and decide: • what assumptions are being made about the person in the

situation that might not be accurate? • what aspects of these situations might be influenced by cultural

considerations? • how could you as an individual support this person or what

would you do? • what (positive) actions could supervisors/managers take in each

situation? • what (positive) actions might other team members take in each

situation?





How can you contribute to working in a socially diverse environment?

Your own behaviour in the workplace is a role model to others, even if you are not a manager or trainer. People will notice how you make contributions to working with others of other cultural backgrounds by:

• understanding and modelling the appropriate workplace behaviour with regard to diversity and the workplace Code of Ethics

• being aware of cultural differences and treating these differences with respect and sensitivity

• using strategies to try to communicate where language is a barrier to communication

• making suggestions and implementing strategies to provide access for customers to your company’s services

• trying to assist colleagues who speak other languages than your own and who are disabled, to perform their work role safely and effectively

• taking the time to appreciate others points of view and the cultural values behind those views

• trying to deal with issues and problems that might arise in the workplace that have some link to differences in culture

• reporting issues that arise and seeking the assistance of team leaders/trainers/managers/specialists in the workplace (HR manager, etc) to deal with these issues.

Your roles and responsibilities in this area need not stop there. Your role modelling can be taken further and you might:

• learn a community language or some basics to help communicate in the workplace

• invite speakers into the workplace to talk about relevant issues

• arrange a special event that honours other cultures and their peoples

• locate resources that might be useful in the workplace to support others and for educating team members

• take a stand against racism, sexism, other objectionable practices



• make suggestions about translating information for the use of customers and colleagues

• raise issues of access to the workplace for disabled persons.

The following activity asks you to develop a project that models the behaviours and attitudes explored in this Learner’s Guide. You might do this project with others in the workplace as away of spreading the work load and the ‘message’.



Activity 9: Being a role model

Use the suggestions above to take up a project in your workplace where you contribute to ‘work in a socially diverse environment’. You might like to get assistance from others, particularly team members going through the same module as you are.

Document the following: • what you plan to do including what you set out to achieve? • how you got approval to do this project? • why you did this particular project rather than something

else/why this project is relevant to your workplace? • how you ran the project? • how the project worked compared to what you aimed to

achieve? • what you learnt from this project?

Examples might include: • working with a group to look at more family friendly

arrangements of work such as flexitime, permanent part-time, gaining access to child care for employees children

• translating customer information into community language versions

• celebrating diversity in the workplace through festivals and celebrations

• evaluating ways to recruit staff so that the organization’s profile is closer to that of the community it works with (according to gender, ethnicity, other factors)

• evaluating the organisation’s strategies and practices to include the diversity of employees through a series of consultations with different groups

• developing a Code of Ethics or Customer Service charter that values and builds on diversity in the organisation and across the customer base.

Make sure you choose a project that can be achieved and has support from management in your workplace.




Additional resources



Web sites:

• Diversity@work http://www.work.asn.au/

• Queensland Health diversity web site http://www.health.qld.gov.au/hssb/cultdiv/home.htm

• Diversity Victoria (government web site) http://www.diversity.vicnet.net.au/

• Diversity Australia http://www.diversityaustralia.gov.au/

• RacismNoWay web site http://www.racismnoway.com.au/library/cultural/

• Centre for Workplace Communication and Culture http://www.edoz.com.au/cwcc/docs/cwcc/diversity.html

• Workplace diversity in the Australian Public Service http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications01/diversityguidelines.htm

• Attorney General’s Department (relevant legislation) http://scaletext.law.gov.au/html/pastereg/1/617/0/PR000170.htm

• University of Newcastle web site (legislation and other resources including a guide to working with persons of diverse cultures (Cultural Sensitivity Book) http://www.newcastle.edu.au/services/equity/policy/cultural_sensitivity_book.doc

• Cross-‐cultural training (Migrant Resource Centre, North East Melbourne) http://www.mrcne.org.au/training.html

• Queensland University of Technology Equity Plan http://www.equity.qut.edu.au/plan/2002/equity_plan_2002.doc



Feedback on activities

The responses provided in this section are suggested responses. Because every workplace is different, your responses may vary according to your specific workplace procedures, the equipment available and the nature of the business.



Activity 1: Responsibilities

Your summary might cover areas like: • non-discrimination in selection of staff • special considerations for religious observance such as

Ramadan • penalties for racial vilification or racism in the workplace • how a culturally diverse workforce can assist an organization to

market and trade across a culturally diverse customer or client base

• positive statements that reflect a belief that a workforce can utilise the skills of a culturally diverse group to facilitate business operations

• confidentiality of personal information.

Activity 2: Cultural sensitivity and respect

Your responses to these questions will vary according to how you researched your information and the group you identified to research.

The key will be to try to understand what the values of the group are and what is considered acceptable/’normal practice’ in their culture that might be considered unacceptable/’abnormal’ in your own culture and vice versa. Some key differences may be: • form of address • eye contact • respect for elders, religious figures • forbidden topics of conversation and topics uncomfortable to

discuss (e.g. sex, religion, politics) • interactions between males and females.

It is useful to remember that Australians are seen as very open and ‘laid back’ by other cultures. The informality of Australians and forthrightness has caused problems in the past in overseas countries.



Activity 3: Resources

Responses to this question will vary. Your resources might include: • government departments and publications that they put out • web sites • commercial publications • training programs (consider attending such a program) • Migrant Resource Centres and publications that they put out • other companies strategies for working with other cultures,

people of diverse social background • disability support groups.

Activity 4: Cultural competence checklist

There are no right and wrong answers and the checklist is designed to offer some points for discussion among your fellow team members. Discuss your responses with your trainer.

Activity 5: Communicating with non-English speakers

Responses to these questions will vary. The techniques suggested are a good starting point. Patience and a commitment to communicating are useful in this situation.

Activity 6: Your workplaces efforts to communicate with non-English speakers and work with diverse cultures

Responses to these questions will vary from nothing to changing working arrangements, changing physical conditions, installing specialised facilities and equipment, etc.



Activity 7: Assumptions and stereotyping

The ‘facts’ behind these situations are as follows:

Case Study 1

The child is from next door and has a blood nose. She is attempting to run home to her own parent. The adult knows that no-one is at home and is anxious that the child has panicked and run into the street.

Case Study 2

The man is a painting contractor who has just been to pick up a computer advertised through a local paper. The computer will replace the present computer (the main box) as the screen, etc are still OK but the box has a bigger capacity (memory) and speed. The painter wants to get back home in time for his favourite TV show and is annoyed that the train hasn’t arrived.

Case Study 3

The ‘goth’ is the older woman’s grand-daughter and is taking her to the doctor’s for a check-up as her grandmother has had trouble with her hip and is moving very slowly and with some degree of pain.

Case Study 4

The group were just chatting about ‘nothing much’ but realised as you came in that their break was up and moved back to work. (You might assume that you were being talked about!!!)

Case Study 5

The two young men are cousins and coming from a European background, always greet each other with a kiss.



Activity 8: Potential misunderstandings

Case Study 1

Because of Boris’ experience with the police in his former homeland, he may be very anxious about assessment. Assessment is a voluntary process undertaken when the candidate is ready for assessment. Boris could refuse to be assessed but this could cause resentment or cause a loss of income to Boris if assessment is linked to promotion or salary.

Showing the benefits of the process and talking about how the assessment will be carried out can often be useful strategies to address people’s suspicions. Special consideration could be applied to Boris so that he can select assessment methods that are less threatening than questioning. He might take a support person with him during assessment. Talking to others who have been assessed (especially people of a similar background) might also help.

As his manager/trainer, patience will be required. Perhaps letting him sit back and see the results of others being assessed might help. Another strategy might be to get him trained an assessor so that he can be an advocate for assessment for people in similar situations to himself.

Kangan-Batman Institute of TAFE in Victoria have some resources for assessment of indigenous people and people of other languages and cultures.

Case Study 2

The assumption that lack of eye contact means that a person is ‘shifty’ or dishonest may be made in this situation. Indigenous people will not make eye contact with persons of authority (this is also true for some Asian cultures). Sheila could be telling the truth and be totally innocent. She may also be reluctant to disagree with the manager when accused of theft.

The manager should not assume that lack of eye contact implies guilt. Further investigation of ALL staff is required to clear up the matter. The question of theft that is internal to a company is probably the most uncomfortable situation that occurs in a workplace and also leads to misunderstandings. Stereotyping can also affect peoples’ judgements in such situations. The manager should be careful to presume innocence until otherwise proven and has a responsibility to take this message to all staff.



Case Study 3

Perhaps Aziz is Muslim and has a problem with events involving alcohol and non-Halal meats. Assumptions could be made that he is not a very sociable person rather than he following his religious beliefs in his own quiet way!

As his manager/trainer or as part of the selection committee, there is a responsibility to ensure that anti-discrimination legislation and related policies are followed. Selection should be based on merit and competence. Maybe a discussion with Aziz about him communicating his real reasons for refusing to attend social function would be in his interests.

Case Study 4

Houng has a problem that may cause some friction in the workplace. His stand may be affected by his culture. Many Asian cultures have a respect for authority figures such as managers that is different to how Australians view work and the right to strike.

The company is not a closed shop and Houng can make a choice of belonging to the union or not doing so. Some unions have encouraged the donation of a day’s strike pay to ‘fighting funds’ where members cannot join in with the action taken. Houng’s colleagues might suggest he does this to show his support for the issue while maintaining his own beliefs. This may present an option that results in preventing the issue escalating.

Case Study 5

An assumption is being made that Hannah agrees with the views and opinions of the statement made in relation to immigration. The truth may be that she is too angry to talk about the issue because of her own history. She may have been an immigrant herself. She may be afraid that she will be targeted or regarded as someone who is taking away Australians’ jobs when she is actually an Australian who happens to have been born overseas.

Some situations are better left alone and this might be one of them. Perhaps a friend at work could have a ‘quiet word’ with her and raise the fact that some people think she is a supporter of the view given because she avoids talking about it with her fellow workers.

When the topic is raised, as an individual you might suggest that people who are migrants may feel uncomfortable about the discussion.



Case Study 6

Just because Paola does not speak up, this does not mean that she is wasting her own and everyone else’s time in being involved in the program. She may have valuable ideas to contribute but the forum of an open meeting and the style of training delivered may not have suited the way she contributes and learns.

Good trainers take account of learning styles and provide opportunities for everyone to contribute. Sometimes a different training style can be used where contributions are made anonymously (ideas put onto paper and read out by the facilitator) or less personally (suggesting that instead of talking about your own personal experience, contribute ideas that others have discussed with you).

Similarly, meetings can be restructured or varied to promote contributions from all members of the group. Breaking groups up into pairs or small groups may be useful for quieter contributors. In a group sometimes people can tend to dominate and a good facilitator will work to get contributions from al members rather than the loudest or most vocal people.

The manager/trainer might also talk to Paola or get her involved in a special task force or work group to work on a project to encourage her to contribute her ideas.

Activity 9: Role modelling

Discuss your project with your trainer/manager/others supporting your learning. Use their feedback to guide what you do. Try to involve others in the project so that they learn from what you are trying to achieve. Pick a project that is achievable and gains the approval of your manager or other relevant people in the workplace. If you have a Human Resources manager, he/she might offer support and guidance.