The main point of the article is that diversity training has not been used to develop the competency needed to live better and work more productively with people from different cultures. It is primarily used instead for social engineering and to protect organizations against lawsuits due to incompetent behaviors. But it is rarely used in a serious effort to increase cultural competence. Developing competent diversity professionals is the key to changes this state of affairs.
(PRWEB) December 17, 2004 -- Diversity training has undergone changes over the past couple of decades and significantly so within the past five to ten years. Why? Poor training and a market driven by legal pressure are certainly among the most important. It is beside the point to dwell too much on the historical stuff here though. You can go to the following link for a more substantial discussion http://www.dtui.com/consultbkadv.html.
We can see the need for cultural competence in our daily lives, especially in the news media. It is not uncommon for a teacher, minister, parent, or public figure to say or do something culturally incompetent. The Republican Trent Lott lost his coveted position as House Speaker and sports announcers have lost their jobs for making racially insensitive comments about black athletes. One of the primary reasons there is a war against terrorism is the poor international relations competence among global leaders.
The more distressing aspect of the diversity training enterprise is the out-dated and limited understanding of how to identify and train cultural competence among diversity professionals. Early on diversity training necessarily needed to focus on increasing awareness of cultural differences and their impact on behavior. Awareness training even jived well with the legalistic use of the intervention.
While the legalistic concerns continue to drive diversity work, the reality today is that globalism, increased awareness training in public and private schools, as well as diversity training-saturated market make the approach outdated. Organizational leaders finally understand what the people they lead have been saying all along. We need diversity training that gives us something we can use, rather than social engineering."
People need knowledge and skills today. City administration offices need to know how to serve Spanish-speaking citizens, an executive from Volvo needs to shift negotiation strategies from country to country, and teachers need to educate a group of children with a host of cultural identities. We need to be aware of differences, but awareness without knowledge and skills makes us feel as though our hands are tied.
That is why Diversity Training University International (DTUI) trains diversity professionals to focus on identifying cultural competency gaps and developing training to address them. This is the surgery needed to develop culturally competent diversity professionals. Helping professionals discover the challenges of diversity and providing them with high impact tools requires state-of-the-art expertise. This is what DTUI has mastered.
Preston Daniels, a diversity trainer and ex-major of the city of Des Moines, states that DTUI training has led to [his] personal growth as well as a much better understanding of what it takes to be culturally competent. [DTUI] touches you intellectually as well as emotionally. [The] teaching skills are superior and the training materials provide you with the knowledge base needed to succeed in the dynamic field of diversity consulting and training."
You can learn more about the DTUI approach and our new High Impact Diversity Consulting book at the following link http://www.dtui.com/consultbkadv.html.
Contact Billy Vaughn, PhD billy@dtui.com
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