National Center for Cultural Competence
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Introduction & Rationale Home References Appendix A Self Assessment Resources Module Resources Processes and Tools Vignette Introduction & Rationale Benefits, Values, & Guiding Principles Key Content Areas About NCCC Relevance Teaching Tools, Stategies & Resources Self Discovery Excercise Self Assessment Excercise Acknowledgments
Cultural Self-Assessment

Teaching Tools, Strategies, and Resources, continued

Vignette

The state health department is interested in conducting an organizational cultural self-assessment. Leaders indicate that changes in demographics and public health priorities are reasons cited to undergo such a process. Additionally, a self-assessment process and outcomes would be instrumental in planning for the State Title V Block Grant application.

There are 1,500 employees in the health department and eight different regions. The department provides basic public health functions and contracts to county and local organizations and individual practitioners for an array of services.

The university has been awarded a contract to conduct the self-assessment process. You have been appointed to the leadership team for this effort.

  1. Develop a plan for the overall process. Include level of effort, time frames, resources, partners, key constituency groups, instrumentation, and other components to implement successfully the self-assessment process.
  2. From your perspective, describe the leadership challenges for such an effort.

Faculty Guidance

=The following are suggested questions to guide faculty in evaluating the plan and leadership challenge developed by students.

1. The Plan

  • Does the planning process include:
    • A work group, committee, or task force that is representative of the employees within the state health department and the eight regions?
    • Key stakeholders and constituencies that are representative of the cultural and linguistic diversity within the state?
    • Dedicated time and effort of staff and the resources necessary to support participation in the process?
  • Are the tools and process for self-assessment strengths based?
  • Did the work group, committee, or task force select tools and assessment strategies appropriate to their context and purpose?
  • Do assessment strategies make use of forums and other approaches to ensure the meaningful inclusion of diverse voices from all segments of the community?
  • Can the results of the self-assessment be used for strategic planning?

2. The Leadership Challenge

The vignette presents a number of leadership challenges that will need to be addressed to conduct a successful self-assessment process. At a minimum, are the following challenges considered?

  • The appointed leadership team will need to get buy-in and acceptance for a self-assessment process from state health department staff and contractors.
  • State health department staff and contractors may be particularly sensitive to or feel threatened by the process of cultural self-assessment.
  • Leaders and credible voices within diverse communities in the state will need to be identified.
  • Meaningful participation and mutual respect between community leaders and the state health department must be ensured.
  • Provisions for addressing potential conflict and agitation that may arise from the self-assessment process must be made in a timely and respectful manner.
  • Leadership must be prepared that issues of racism, discrimination, and bias within the public health system may be identified in the self-assessment process.
The following literature is suggested to support learning related to the issues presented in this vignette:

Bellman, G. M. (1992). Getting things done when you are not in charge. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Couto, R. A., & Eken, S. C. (2002). To give their gifts: Health, community, and democracy Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.

Dreachslin, J. L., & Hunt, P. L. (1996). Diversity leadership. Chicago: Health Administration Press.

Fisher, R., & Ury, W. (1991). Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving it. Penguin USA.

Goode, T. (2001). Policy Brief 4: Engaging communities to realize the vision of one hundred percent access and zero health disparities: A culturally competent approach. Washington, DC: National Center for Cultural Competence, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development.

Heifetz, R. A. (1994). Leadership without easy answers. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.

Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (1990). The leadership challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Marsh, D.S., Daniel, M.H. & Putnam, K. (2003) Leadership for Policy Change, a publication of Policy Link, available from
http://www.policylink.org.

Ponterotto, J., & Pederson, P. (1993). Preventing prejudice: A guide for counselors and educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Senge, P. M., Ross, R., Smith, B., Roberts, C., & Kleiner, A. (1994). The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. New York: Currency & Doubleday.

Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Currency & Doubleday.

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