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Culture, Race and Ethnicity

Introduction

Diversity at the work place is an emerging social ideology that has various implications on organizational management. Recent trends ascertain that the US population is increasingly becoming diversified along racial, ethnic and cultural domains. The inherent differences have a wide range of benefits as well as challenges. If incorporated in a workplace, ethnic, racial and cultural diversity enable the respective organization to address the relative challenges with ease. In order to enhance executive functioning, public agencies such as the police department are being challenged to make this aspect a mainstream factor.

This would enable them to identify relative challenges and address the same accordingly. This is critical for empowering them to attain their fundamental goals and objectives of maintaining law and order, protecting the populations and enforcing justice. It is against this background that this paper provides an intrinsic analysis of three challenges that these personnel experience when executing duties to diverse populations. Moreover, it underscores possible solutions that are instrumental in curbing the challenges.

The US census bureau cites that there are thirteen racial classifications in America. Within these, there are various cultures or social groups that share common beliefs, traits as well as values. Further, they have different ethnicities that constitute subgroups of the various cultures. Adams (2006) indicates that the law enforcement agencies recently employed numerous personnel to deal with the unique needs of these populations. Nevertheless, the police continue to face various challenges that compromise their ability to deal with the inherent concerns effectively.

The first challenge that the police continue to grapple with is the inability to incorporate diversity at the work place. In this respect, Hess and Christine (2009) assert that a significant percentage of the police departments across the nation do not have sufficient representation of the persons from diverse populations. Just like other professions, the police department has a predominant White workforce. This has been particularly challenging for the departments that are located in states that have a high representation of diverse populations.

The inability to reflect the racial, cultural and ethnic diversity of the population has culminated in feelings of discrimination, distrust and isolation by the locals. At this juncture, it should be appreciated that communities are important in assisting the police with investigations. Thus this has undermined the ability of the police to carry out operations effectively. To counter this, the respective authorities need to hire personnel from diverse populations and empower them accordingly through training and promotions.

Language barrier is another challenge that the police struggle with during the execution of duties in diverse populations. The inability to understand the language of the natives makes it difficult for the police to carry out investigations in an effective and timely manner. In this regard, Shusta, Deena and Herbert (2007) argue that this affects the accuracy of the information as the police officers are forced to seek for interpreters. In addition, it compromises the safety of the officers as the offenders can easily plot to harm them or and escape in their presence and without their knowledge.

Of great concern is the fact that failure to understand the language of the population has the capacity to exacerbate the conditions of the crime. The most viable counter measure in this respect is to incorporate multicultural studies and bilingualism in police training. This would enable them to deal with the diverse populations effectively and without infringing on their cultural and ethnic rights. Short term solution to this includes hiring of a staff that is competent in multilingualism.

Further complexities stem from the sensitive issue of racial profiling. Shusta et al (2007) cites that even when used unconsciously, racial profiling triggers feelings of distrust in the operations of the police as it is considered a form of discrimination. Practical strategies that have been adopted to address this include the banning of racially generated information in profiling. In addition, Adams (2006) asserts that use of dialogues in problem resolution as opposed to use of argument can be rewarding. Social studies also posit that the police should partner with civil society organizations as well as other non profit oriented organizations to address racial profiling. This would be instrumental in enhancing objectivity when dealing with diverse populations.

Conclusion

The increase in the racial, ethnic and cultural diversity in the work place has generated various challenges to respective organizations. Public and private organizations are expected to address these issues in order for them to be able to operate in an executive manner. Failure to mainstream these concerns culminates in social conflicts that threaten the harmonic living. Indeed, it can not be disputed that the inability to incorporate diversity at the work place, language problems and racial profiling undermine effective functioning of the police. Effective counter measures include hiring of multilingual staff, incorporation of cultural studies during training and banning of racial profiling. Employment of independent bodies such as the civil society and the non profit making organizations when dealing with racial issues is also desirable.

References

Adams, F. (2006). Police Field Operations. USA: Prentice Hall.

Hess, M. & Christine, H. (2009). Criminal Investigation. USA: Delmar Cengage Learning.

Shusta, F., Deena, L. & Herbert, Z. (2007). Multicultural Law Enforcement. USA: Prentice Hall.