Achieving Organizational Change Within the Context of Cultural Competence

Abstract

SUMMARY Cultural competence has become more topical as the United States has become more diverse. Conceptualizing culture as constantly emerging in interaction, practitioners can enhance their skills through an inquiry-centered approach to clients. Using ethnographic inquiry, and building skills as culture brokers, social workers can work toward mutual cultural accommodation. This process of mutual adaptation, based on carefully obtained and interpreted information about the other's vantage, has the potential to enhance client outcomes and encourage organizational change based on mutual respect.