Imagine you are floating in the galaxy and you see the sun, a bright and powerful light in the center of the system. Revolving around this bright and powerful ball of light are celestial bodies orbiting and interacting with this sun. The closest bodies are the ones that are affected by the sun the most, the farther away the orbiting bodies are the less of an impact they have. Now, this is obviously not really about the actual galaxy, it is a metaphor for people’s personal systems and how they are affected by it or, in other words, a system perspective. In this example, the sun would be the individual and the celestial bodies or planets are the systems affecting the sun. For my personal system, the bodies closest to me that affect me the most …show more content…
According to the NASW Code of Ethics, “Social workers should have a knowledge base of their clients ' cultures and be able to demonstrate competence in the provision of services that are sensitive to clients ' cultures and to differences among people and cultural groups” (***). Basically, what this is stating is that social workers need to understand their client’s culture and be able to serve them in a way that is appropriate to their diversity. A social worker can also learn a lot about diversity through a system perspective framework. In the text, they discuss a social workers mission and say that it is to help enhance opportunities for all people. With a systems perspective framework, you get the opportunity to reach out and learn about many different cultures and communities because you are trying to help your client. And in order to help your client, you must reach out to different systems in their life to try and solve the situation. This creates diversity for the social worker because they are gaining new …show more content…
Since coming to university, my perspective on the world has changed because what I consider school has changed. In high school, my classes did not allow for much free thinking, there are exceptions to that but overall, my classes consisted of memorizing facts, formulas, and timelines. In college, I am taking more classes that allow me to think about the world more freely and gain new perspectives. This class would be an example of that, I am able to consider my perspectives and systems which is a new experience for me. And with this new system my context for understanding the world has shifted. I now spend more time thinking about diversity, genders, societal influences, feminism, racism, sexism, privileges of certain groups of people, and much more. Most of my systems have actually changed since coming to college, actually. My friend group has changed because I am an out-of-state student and came here on my own, some of my friends at school have different beliefs than my friends back home which have caused me to slightly shift my own beliefs. Also, my family system has been affected since I left for school. My grandmother lives about 20 min away from me here and for my whole life she has lived about 6 hours away so we did not see her has often as I do now. This has affected my family life because it has brought me closer to my mom because it is her mother that lives here, and it has formed a new
In the social work practice, social workers should abide by and respect the protocol of their particular organization. The first ethical standard I would like to discuss is that a social worker having cultural competence and social (NASW, 1999). A social worker must possess the knowledge of values, customs, tradition and history just to name a few in order to have success with clients that may identify as something other than their own identity. Culture directs impacts human behavior. Within this case study, due to Mrs. Sanchez’s culture, she struggled to assimilate with the American culture and this included her being able to learn the English language. Her culture was very important to her and I respect that. As a social worker, I would have
The National Association of Social Workers, NASW, considers the following as its six most core values; service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. The value of service is considered to be a core value because offering help to those in need is a crucial goal for all of those looking to practice in the field of Social Work. These services can include, but are not limited to, addressing social problems, helping those in need, and volunteering their knowledge to those who cannot otherwise afford such help. Social Justice is also an important core value for a Social Worker to develop. As a Social Worker one will encounter many people from several different walks of life, no two cases will ever be exactly the same. Some of these walks of life can leave a client vulnerable, defenseless, exploited, oppressed, and troubled. Therefore it is important to learn what Social Justice is, and how to help people from falling victim to injustice. Dignity and Worth of the Person is one of the most important values that one should uphold. People who need the help of a Social Worker many, but not all, times feel powerless, embarrassed, and worthless because they feel as though they cannot control aspects of their life an...
Diversity perspective is the up and coming theory that social workers need to be familiar with. In our area alone we have multiple different ethnicities, cultures, and people who will need assistance. Cultural diversity is something that you must be trained in to keep a license to practice. Social workers must have the ability to be competent working in diverse settings with diverse people. As time goes on, there will be more emphasis on culture
The data provides culturally competent guidelines for social workers. The social worker must understand and appreciate diversity among and within cultures. They should be aware of the history, culture, and contemporary realities. They also must have good skills in patience, listening, and tolerance of silence. A social worker needs to be aware of their own biases and need for wellness and display humility and a willingness to learn. They need to be respectful, nonjudgemental, and openminded. However, researchers must find a way to measure cultural competence with studies that examine beliefs and evaluate actions of social workers. It should include several cultural groups.This will be highly important in building a knowledge base. Doing these studies there can be a better plan to include cultural competence and serve clients from different backgrounds a lot better.
I have grown to appreciate diversity and I seek out opportunities that will increase my competency in this area. While working with diverse populations I have learned that diversity represents individual and human differences that impact how we problem-solve, work, and learn. Often times we sum diversity into three main categories, race, gender and ethnicity; however, diversity is expanding and we must include all aspects of diversity. There are several factors that distinguishes us and the dimensions of diversity may be hidden or visible. They may remain constant or fluctuate as life changes and they may not be easily defined. Social workers must embrace diversity as well as its dimensions and understand that diversity is multidimensional.
In the National Association for Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, there are many standards a social worker should uphold in order to promote a healthy and helpful relationship with the client. One such aptitude is Cultural Competence and Social Diversity, which is in section 1.05 of the NASW code of ethics (National Association of Social Workers, 2008). There are three sections associated with this competency “Social workers should understand culture and its function in human behavior and society, recognizing the strengths of all cultures”. It is assumed that “social workers should have a knowledge base of their clients’ cultures and be able to demonstrate competence in the provision of services that are sensitive to clients”. As a final point “Social workers should obtain education” in order to understand cultural diversity and oppression in people (NASW, 2008, p. 9).
As a social worker, the ability to merge cultural competencies with social work methods and theories allows intervention to be customized to meet their client’s need-based which vary upon culture. Since there are a massive amount of different cultures with different traditions, values, and beliefs the social worker needs to obtain the fundamentals of the culture in order to assess and advocate for the ethnic group effectively. The NASW of Ethics clearly values the competence and the Ethical Principle of Social workers practice within the areas of competence and enhances their professional expertise. In addition, “ Cultural competence is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system or agency or among professionals and enable the system, agency, or professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural situations” (NASW, 2000b, p. 61). Cultural competency ensures that our primary mission of the social work profession to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.
A social worker must present themselves as a learner and understand clients from all experts of their own experiences. To show your respect to the clients as a social worker you must be able to show that you understand complexity of cultural identity. Cultural competence targets social workers knowledge of development, focusing on culturally specific demographics, characteristics, values, and intravenous technique. When dealing with cultural sensitivity a worker’s genuine appreciation of the client’s uniqueness and universalistic respect for the client’s humanness is needed. To have success in multicultural practice, cultural responsiveness come in to play, which means to be culturally responsive, social workers use dialogue skills that place the client’s construction of reality at the center of the
In an environment that deals with a vast amount of the diverse population, culture is very important. In fact, many healthcare organizations benefit immensely from the impact of culture in a diverse setting. One benefit of this setting is that culture provides guidelines for employees, patients, doctors, visitors, and others that utilize these facilities. Healthcare organizations set the foundation of their companies using cultural beliefs, values, and a code of conduct to create a diverse and accepting workplace.
Companies such as Buzztronics are leading the way in the global economy because of their dedication to diversity in the workplace. In order to build a diverse and successful workforce, a business needs to recruit, train, and retain capable and talented minorities.
In social work, a social worker has to come to the client’s level and start from there. The client does not have to come to the social workers level. In order for this to happen the social worker has to know the importance of culture, race, gender, sexual, diversity and other forms of diversity to make the best decision for choosing a type of intervention. Understanding the client’s culture, race, gender, sexual diversity and other form of diversity is important because they affect each person differently. An example, Roberto is Latino and in their culture they believe in machomism, so this is something his social worker needs to know when addressing Roberto or someone of the Latino culture. Hispanic women bring machomism
NASW Code of Ethic states core values is embraced by social workers: Dignity and worth of the persons. As an aspiring social worker, it is my duty to, “Treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity” (The National Association, “n. d.”) Evaluating my own personal beliefs, and setting them aside, will allow me to put my best foot forward when pursuing my professional path and future
It is imperative that social workers become knowledgeable about their clients’ cultures and are culturally sensitive. In learning about their clients’ cultures, social workers need to be aware of how powerful and significant culture is in relating to clients’ behavior, values, and beliefs. Becoming culturally competent requires the ability to integrate awareness, knowledge, and skills while maintaining a positive working relationship with the client (Sue and Zane, 1987). Today, the concerns regarding cultural competency continue to accentuate the importance of preparing social workers for a diversified society.
My understanding about the social work profession is one that works with a diverse group of people to better their well-being in all aspects. Social workers requires: responsibility, passion, and knowledge. The social worker has to understand their own personal cultural values, beliefs, and appreciate the multicultural identities of different people. The profession of social worker requires a lot of skills because they have different tasks and responsibilities. They are aware of social policies and programs for the diverse clients advocating.
Social Workers shall develop an understanding of their own personal and cultural values and beliefs as a first step in appreciating the importance of multicultural identities in the lives of people…Cultural competence includes knowing and acknowledging how fears, ignorance, and the “isms” (racism, sexism, ethnocentrism, heterosexism, ageism, classism) have influenced their attitudes, beliefs, and feelings. (citation)