Cultural Identity
Cultural Identifier refers to a person’s perception of another individual or group regarding their culture, abilities, or even physical appearance. Cultural identity differs from one region to another based on the way one society perceives the other. Therefore, cultural identity is an essential factor to consider when developing a functional organizational culture. Organizations should create a diversified culture that accepts every individual from all walks of life. In some cases, people are discriminated against regarding gender, sexism, age, or even ability, which causes an organization not to achieve its goals. Therefore, this study analyzes some of the cultural identities that are mostly used in recognizing an individual or group.
Three identifiers that I identify with most.
From my perspective, I mostly identify individuals basing on age, gender, and ability. According to Aristova (2015), identifying with age refers to linking individuals according to age groups. For instance, university students may still be referred to as kids even though they are adults. But on the same identifying people with age helps an individual to understand how to approach and exchange a conversation with them.
Identifying by ability refers to how individuals judge other people according to physical, mental, personal appearances, or even in their way of reasoning. (Aristova 2015). From this point of view, you can judge a person from their way of conversing or even how they undertake certain activities. On the other hand, identifying by gender refers to other individual perception according to the type of sex. Examples of gender include male, female, and transgender.
Cultural Identifiers from Individuals in the Workplace
My workplace incorporates personnel from different cultures, and they exhibit different identifiers. Some identify others according to ethnicity, ability, and lastly; others use socio-economic status as an identifier. For instance, a colleague may identify the other basing on the ability to perform a specific task. Employees may also identify others in terms of hierarchy levels, which means that how they approach a person in the management team is different from how they perceive their equals.
Diversity in the Workplace
Cultural diversity refers to the way individuals appreciate others despite their culture. (University of Minnesota, 2017). I believe that the organization has created a culture that accommodates every individual indifferent to their cultural beliefs. Individuals in the workplace have incorporated a diverse culture where everybody is treated as one family. This means that the organization ensures that very personnel has a bonded relationship with another to facilitate work processes. For instance, the organization has created a social network amongst the employees that discuss other matters affecting employees in their societies to find solutions. Therefore, such networks are the right platforms for understanding other individual cultures.
The Aspect that I Identify with Most and What is the most important thing about this Identifier
I prefer to identify individuals according to their abilities. This is because I will get along with them quickly, no matter their gender or age. Identifying by ability means that you have the idea of what the individual is capable of or what the individual can accomplish. For instance, in the workplace identifying by ability provides me with precise details on who can help find a particular solution. An organization comprises different departments. Therefore, when a problem arises in my department, which needs another section’s intervention, it is essential to identify the most capable person to solve the problem based on their ability.
Is the Identifier above Common with Individuals in the workplace
Generally, I have noticed that most individuals in the workplace identify others according to their abilities. People like to be associated with individuals who exhibit great ideas and help create a solution where applicable. I believe it is a standard identifier in the workplace.
Stereotypes in my culture that do not apply to me
Stereotypes indicate the way individuals believe and perceive a particular group or culture (Jhangiani and Tarry, 2014). Generally, most individuals in our society have different beliefs and thoughts toward other individuals. The typical stereotypes are racism, age discrimination, culture profiling, and gender profiling. I prefer not to identify others based on these stereotypes since they appear to demean others. For instance, identifying by race shows that you are discriminating against the individual based on their skin color, and this may harm them.
Is there positivity in prejudice and discrimination?
According to Jhangiani and Tarry (2014), prejudice refers to the way individuals feel about a particular group or other people’s culture, while discrimination refers to different ways in which individuals treat others negatively in terms of gender, sex, or race. Prejudice can be regarded to be negative, positive, or even a mixture of the two. It is also essential to understand that prejudice can stimulate stereotypes and this where positivity comes in. For instance, if the feelings are positive, then the beliefs will also be positive. Some cultures may undertake activities that other societies perceive to be wrong or inhuman; in this case, individuals’ feelings are positive. Discrimination shows negativity, and it is hard to refer it positively. It is an act that undermines the other person for the reasons for being who they are naturally.
References
Aristova (2015). Rethinking Cultural Identities in the Context of Globalization: Linguistic Landscape of Kazan, Russia, as an Emerging Global City. Retrieved from. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042816316895/pdf?md5=94bff356d8ed5e77189358064acb5cdc&pid=1-s2.0-S1877042816316895-main.pdf&_valck=1
Jhangiani and Tarry (2014). Principles of Social Psychology-1st International Edition. Retrieved from. https://opentextbc.ca/socialpsychology/front-matter/about-the-adapted-edition/
University of Minnesota (2017). Organization Behavior. Retrieved from. https://open.lib.umn.edu/organizationalbehavior/