Culture

What is my Culture

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

Cultures: An All Inclusive View

As interesting as it is to live in a country so diverse that one benefits from so many different perspectives each day, it's also imperative to understand the limitations that people from different communities face due to their cultural values. There are countless aspects because of which differences in lifestyles occur. When it comes to education, for instance, 33% of individuals from a Caucasian background have a graduate or professional degree, whereas African Americans are at a 20%, Native Indians and Hispanic population score really below average with 12 and 14% respectively. The highest percentage of 63% of individuals with a bachelors degree or more is of the Asian population (Yau, The Demographics of Others, 2018). The Asian community is stereotyped as "the model minority" that states Asian Americans place a lot of value on working hard and education (Lee, 1994). Similarly, when it comes to employment, An individual from a white background would have a high likelihood to be employed compared to a Native American, Hispanic or Asian Americans with a high percentage of 87% employment rate (Yau, The Demographics of Others, 2018). However, a lot of it is also based on the population of each race in USA which also affects the results. An estimation carried out stated that 63.3% of people in U.S.A were white, with a 16.6% of Hispanic populations, 12.2% African Americ and 4.8 % and 0.7 % Asian and Native American respectively ( Yau, Mapping The Most Common Races, 2018).

As far as I am concerned, hailing from a low-income family with no religious ties and living in a region which is considered very diverse, I understand how privileged I am because I am a caucasian male. Even though I personally do not associate any supremacy within myself that is often ascribed to my race. I enjoy serenity and peace as I am accepting of all religions, creed and believe in co-existing in harmony.

I am like any other American because the largest racial strata comprise of White Americans. So quite a lot of similarities are evident (Yau, Mapping the most common races, 2018). However; interestingly, as age is not seen to effect a person’s ability to earn, it shows I might be as capable of providing for myself and my family in old age as I am now. Apart from differences in gender another similarity I noticed across all races in the presence of veterans above age 60 which reaffirms my confidence in our armed forces and highlight that individuals in the USA actively worked to keep America safe, as racial factors did not affect their love for the country (Yau, The Demographics of Others, 2018).

It is quite evident, however, that most communities are mostly at a disadvantage compared to my own. For instance, it is noted that a woman in my own community is as much entitled to all the rights and benefits that I am entitled to, yet on other groups the median for aspects such as income and employment they score quite low. Interestingly, however, women are on a higher median compared to men when it comes to education and being a degree holder (Yau, The Demographics of Others, 2018). Which leads me to believe that even though the women lead in the education sector, they are unlikey to have been given enough opportunities to utilize their skills.

Nevertheless; I am very hopeful that as our country and communities continue to grow and improve, all these issues will be duly catered for and the difference will start to diminish. Because even though unique-ness is encouraged and appreciated, everyone living in America should be provided with equal opportunity and chances.

It is widely known that diversity-related programs often times aren't carried out as intended, in order to cater to this issue researchers have highlighted gaps in ability, motivation and limited evaluation as the major causes (Nishii, Khattab, Shema & Paluch, 2018). So awareness of these cultural differences play a huge role in understanding variances among all the demographics in a work setting. Assuming that I am given the responsibility to lead a diverse group of people. I would like to implement a system that looks at employes through regional, organizational and personal level and highlight which particular individual needs to be given more confidence, some might require a leverage with the English language as it may not be their strong suit, also implementation of fair treatment and payment plans for all individuals irrespective of their race and culture.

References

Lee, S. J. (1994). Behind the model‐minority stereotype: Voices of high‐and low‐achieving Asian American students. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 25(4), 413-429.

Nishii, L. H., Khattab, J., Shemla, M., & Paluch, R. M. (2018). A multi-level process model for understanding diversity practice effectiveness. Academy of Management Annals, 12(1), 37-82.

Yau, N. (2018, April 26). Mapping the Most Common Races | FlowingData. Retrieved from FlowingData: http://flowingdata.com/2015/05/04/map-of-most-common-race/

Yau, N. (2018, April 26). The Demographics of Others | FlowingData. Retrieved from FlowingData: http://flowingdata.com/2018/01/23/the-demographics-of-others/

Yau, N. (2018, April 26). This is an American Workday, By Occupation | FlowingData. Retrieved from FlowingData: http://flowingdata.com/2017/05/17/american-workday/