In the role of a case manager, you will be interacting with people from very diverse backgrounds. As a result, it is important to understand that not everyone has the same point of view. Chapter 4 discusses the need to be culturally competent regarding people having different backgrounds.

When thinking of cultural competency, the first individual characteristics that often come to mind are people having different racial, ethnic, and cultural background. However, people differ from one another on many sociological levels as was highlighted in Chapter 3’s discussion of the ecological model. For example, some people might want to generalize perspectives based on race or ethnicity. However, a married Hispanic female physician likely does not have exactly the same perspective on the world as a single Hispanic male blue-collar worker.

Even though individual differences impact behavior, there is also an underlying commonality among people raised and living within a cultural society. There are two major philosophies that the text discusses with regard to a cultural viewpoint: Individualistic and collectivistic.Once you have read the weekly material listed on the Module’s Lesson page, I want you to reflect on the culture from which you were raised. Review the characteristics outlined in chapter 4 of the text book.

Write a paper of at least 750 words:

• Introduce the concepts of individualistic or collectivistic cultures.
• Describe whether you come from an individualistic or collectivistic culture (or both).
• Support this assertion by clearly identifying, discussing and reflecting on 5 characteristics from the chapter that fit you best and 5 characteristics that fit you least.
• Discuss how a difference in culture (individualistic and collectivistic) between client and provider might contribute to miscommunication and ethical conflicts.
• Include at least 3 peer-reviewed articles that support your discussion.