Hispanic Cultural Competency 2 Questions Essays Example

1. Rich Furman in his article, “Social Work Practice with Latinos,” identified seven cross-cultural factors that apply to practice with all cultures. How does United Arab Emirates (UAE) compare or contrast to at least two of the factors?
One of the factors that Furman identified in his article that applies to working with another culture is “respect for the client’s worldview” (Furman, 2010). Without respecting a client’s worldview, there is an invisible wall between the social worker and the client that would be difficult to breach, since a client will not be wiling to open his or herself up to someone who fails to understand and respect where they are coming from.
The social constructionist model of culturally competent practice encourages “social workers are encouraged to understand the worldviews of their clients and understand how these worldviews may vary between and among different cultural groups” (Furman, 2010). In comparison to many Arabic countries, the United Arab Emirates is a place that is more prone culturally to understanding and empathizing with another’s worldview. Officially, the United Arab Emirates is an Islamic country, but there are workers from other 200 countries, making it a mecca for much different culture. Indeed, about 85% of the population comes from different countries. So part of working and navigating through the country is about navigating through other cultures. However, among these foreigners there are workers from some countries who carry less respect than others. One example is that of Indian workers working in low pay jobs. Many of these workers are not considered anything more than servants, and respect for their worldview, in practice is perhaps comparable to Latinos in the United States who are marginalized. Since all foreigners reside in the country as temporary workers, in UAE there is more of a contrasting “us” and “them” as there is with Latinos in the United States.
Another cross-cultural factor is “The importance of hope” (Furman, 2010). While important, this seems to be much more present in Latino populations in the United States than in minorities in UAE, yet it is present in it’s own way in both. Latinos in the United States are here in order to find a better life, a new and better permanent life. Few workers in UAE plan to stay permanently. So their hope is not within UAE itself, but there hope is to build a better life for themselves through the finanital benefits of working there. But that better life is either in their country of origin, or it is in a country where they plan to live and take their acquired financial resources after they leave UAE. The hope of Latinos in America seems a much more charged hope that is an extension of the American dream as understood by Americans.
2. According to Benavides, “Cultural Competency in Hispanic Communities,” what are some of the benefits of conducting a needs assessment? What may be some of the limitations of needs assessment?
Government officials in a democracy have been elected to provide voters and their communities with what they need. However, if a politician or a community government is out of touch with what those needs are, they will be unable to execute their job to their fullest ability. One cannot fulfill a need that one does not know exists. Benavides in “Culture Competency in Hispanic Communities” writes, “By engaging the community at this level [a level that speaks to minority Hispanics on their own cultural playing field] public official will gain a better understanding of what the community needs.”
One of the suggestions it to look at different festivals that are celebrated in Hispanic communities. This would be positive because it would engage that population on their own terms. But one of the limitations of this is that it could disrupt the norms of the majority citizens who might see Latino culture as an “outsider” culture and might feel threatened by such a celebration. But this is an instance where the positive effects seem to outweigh the limitations of such an implementation of a needs assessment.
One of the case studies included in Benavides article was having a Latino Advisory Council and Community Liaison in Seattle. This bridged a gap that existed between the local police department and the Hispanic community. The council was able to educate the police, and also was able to find out what crimes youthful lations in their community were creating. One of the limitations of such programs is finding the funds for it, but the end result of this program seemed worth any expenses that it incurred. Because of the Boxing Gym that was implemented, youth had more interaction with police officers, and therefore a mutual bond of respect was formed between the police and youth in the Hispanic community. As the author indicates, “A significant result of these initiateves has been a reduction in Hispanic youth-related crime.” So while the limitations of such programs are funding, the end result more than pays for itself by fostering better communities by doing away with misunderstandings and miscommunications between the enforcement body of the government and minority communities, such as Latinos, within that community.
It is only through understanding not just the percentages of a communities demographics, but understanding the cultural values and needs of those minority members of a community that the community government will be best positioned to serve as competent law and decision makers for that community.