The concepts of multiculturalism and diversity are related to the ethnic and racial composition of the population. Various cultural traditions, values, and customs significantly influence individuals and shape their self-identity because as a person grows, he or she adopts particular behavioral pertinent to his/her social environment. In this way, individuals’ cultural identity defines their actions, decisions, social orientations, and preferences. Thus, leaders and advocates in the field of human behavior should be aware of these multicultural differences, their effects on individuals’ conduct, as well as their relationships to various social issues such as oppression and discrimination (NASW, 2014).
In the professional performance requiring an unprejudiced attitude, such as counseling, cultural biases may create significant barriers to the provision of high-quality service. Prejudices based on the demographic factors interfere with the establishment of professional relationships and increase misunderstanding. Therefore, the development of awareness of own cultural and social biases may be regarded as the initial phase in increasing multicultural competence. Hays (2008) suggests to analyze own cultural heritage and develop the understanding of how cultural values affect interactions with diverse people. When a person shows the willingness to change shehe becomes more open to the reception of new knowledge, the transformation of a cultural perspective, as well as the development of new personal and cultural values. In the field of human behavior, it is possible to build intercultural competence through the investigation of relevant ethical standards and multiple informational sources. It can be useful to develop relationships with diverse people within the multicultural professional or academic contexts. The development of cultural awareness is essential for every advocate and leader, and it is an intrinsic part of the professional competence which is liable for the successful communication, maintenance of objectivity, and compliance with a significant number of ethical standards and principles.
Cyberbullying
Nowadays, communication via online social networks is widespread. Although the use of the Internet is beneficial in many spheres of life, it also can negatively impact human lives when misused. Cyberbullying is a contemporary topical issue that affected millions of children and teenagers. According to the recent statistics, over 25 percent of adolescents are repeatedly exposed to bullying through their cell phones, and online pages and less than one out of five incidents of cyberbullying are reported (“Cyberbullying statistics,” 2016). Unlike offline bullying, cyberbullying is anonymous, and it makes the identification of offenders almost impossible. At the same time, any form of bullying is detrimental to victims’ psychological and social well-being. For these reasons, the prevention of the problem is one of the major public concerns.
The preventive strategy may include the following activities: educating youth on how to react to cyberbullying incidents, promoting a supportive environment in schools, designing and enforcing relevant policies. To engage adolescents in prevention endeavors, the strategy should be aligned with their interests and needs. The personal benefits which the young people may gain through the involvement include academic success, friendships, improved peer communication, emotional health, and so on. The major barrier to the implementation of the strategy is the sense of bullies’ invincibility because they remain faceless in the cyberspace. However, by improving the school climate, we may promote the understanding that the problem can be inhibited. As Notar, Padgett, and Roden (2013) state, “bullying is mainly framed as an issue of the school climate on the part of the participants” (p. 136). Based on this, to prevent bullying, it is essential to develop a safe, respectful, and positive school environment as it may play an important role in preventing cyberbullying.
Society in the 21st Century: Connected Leadership
Staying connected to forces that impact society is one of the essential developmental trends in the 21st century. According to Marx (2006a), the connected leadership implies the acknowledgment of “the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, demographic, and other forces that are affecting the whole of society” (p. 5). The assessment of potential impacts these environmental factors may have on organizations and systems is one of the most efficient external scanning tools. By evaluating the community in which the organization is located, leaders become able to create an appropriate vision and formulate relevant goals that will worth striving for.
When pursuing synergy with and close connections to society, organizations should also analyze their abilities to become better. For this reason, Marx (2006b) suggests using the internal scan instruments such as review of the corporate history, culture development, evaluation of financial health, improvement of the organizational image, and so on.
The development of corporate culture may be regarded as one of the best tools for the improvement of organizational connectedness to the external environment. Organizational culture is a complex of values, norms, and behaviors shared among all employees, and it affects the representation of a company in the society, its image, and perceptions held by stakeholders (Tilchin & Essawi, 2013). Thus, as a leader, I will strive to incorporate the essential ethical and social values into everyday organizational practices and activities. The process of cultural development should start from the evaluation of stakeholders’ interests, needs, and concerns, as well as the current external developmental tendencies. With consideration of the accumulated data, our organization will modify the current mission and generate new values which will consequently be manifested in employees’ professional behaviors and attitudes. Through the incorporation of the social values into the corporate culture, the organization may raise public awareness regarding the up-to-date social problems and encourage the movement towards their resolving. In this way, the firm will manifest itself as a responsible corporate citizen and gain public trust. Based on this, it is possible to say that the establishment of the stakeholder dialogue and the improvement of stakeholder relationships through value creation are highly beneficial.
Society in the 21st Century: Developmental Trends
“Continuous improvement will replace quick fixes and defense of the status quo,” “Scientific discoveries and societal realities will force widespread ethical choices,” and “Polarization and narrowness will bend toward reasoned discussion, evidence, and consideration of varying points of view” are among the sixteen societal trends proposed by Marx (2006b, p. 6). The trends have some serious implications for both social and professional development as, due to the increase in the international links, people become more and more aware of multicultural differences but do not understand how to deal with them so far. The given trends emphasize the need to embrace diversity and innovation, practice accountability, and consider multiple points of view.
Leadership plays an essential role in bringing positive changes to the community. Additionally, by monitoring the developmental trends, leaders become able to spot the upcoming problems and crises beforehand and undertake measures to avoid them. To maintain continual learning and encourage innovation in my professional practice, I will try to promote an interdisciplinary management approach. Being transformative does not necessarily imply inventing new things out of nothing but rather means using the available resources in a new way (Kim, 2015). By encouraging interdisciplinary discussions, we may consider multiple perspectives on various issues more efficiently and develop a holistic picture of problems. By doing so, we may significantly increase the organizational and community fitness to the ever-changing environment, become more responsive to the needs of stakeholders, and support social sustainability.
References
Cyber bullying statistics. (2016). Web.
Hays, P. A. (2008). Looking into the clinician’s mirror: Cultural self-assessment. In P. A. Hays (Ed.), Addressing cultural complexities in practice: Assessment, diagnosis, and therapy (pp. 41–62). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Kim, S. (2015). Interdisciplinary approaches and methods for sustainable transformation and innovation. Sustainability, 7(4), 3977-3983. Web.
Marx, G. (2006). Using trend data to create a successful future for our students, our schools, and our communities. Web.
Marx, G. (2006). Future-focused leadership: Preparing schools, students, and communities for tomorrow’s realities. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
National Association of Social Workers. (2014). The importance of cultural competence in social work practice. Web.
Notar, C., Padgett, S., & Roden, J. (2013). Cyberbullying: Resources for intervention and prevention. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 1(3): 133-145.
Tilchin, O., & Essawi, M. (2013). Knowledge management through organizational culture change. International Journal of Business Administration 4(5), 24.