Multicultural Development in Human Services Agencies: An Evaluation of Hyde's Article

Running head: HUMAN SERVICES RESEARCH 1
Human Services Research: Research Evaluation
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HUMAN SERVICES RESEARCH 2
Human Services Research: Research Evaluation
Globalization is increasing at a fast rate, and every individual and organization
currently strives to come up with strategies for managing diversity. Human services agencies
are faced with a challenge of how to handle different cultures. According to Holvino (2008),
multicultural organization development refers to a change process that supports an
organization to move from a monocultural to a multicultural or inclusive organization. To
determine whether an organization practices multicultural development, the first step is to
assess where the organization is and its commitment to achieving its vision and future goals.
The assessment will then lead to an analysis of the identified gap between the organization’s
vision and its current position which will guide one to come up with interventions that are
designed to accomplish the change goals identified (Holvino, 2008). This paper presents an
evaluation of an article by Hyde (2004) on multicultural development in human services.
Theoretical Framework
A theoretical framework is a crucial component of a research paper that all
researchers ought to embrace. Iqbal (2007) noted that many researchers struggle to find the
most appropriate theoretical framework for their studies and hence, end up writing papers that
are inconsistent with the topic and the purpose. There are critical elements that need to be
considered when developing a theoretical framework, one of which is that it should be
limited to two pages. The two pages should elaborate the proposition within the framework.
The second important element is an introductory paragraph which should indicate how the
theoretical framework is organized. The framework should also contain statements which
elaborate definitions, assumptions, and propositions. All these statements should be
introduced appropriately and in a systematic manner. Endnotes or references must be
provided to support any claim in the theoretical framework.

HUMAN SERVICES RESEARCH 3
A closer look at the article by Hyde (2004) reveals that the author did not provide a
section for the theoretical framework; rather, he linked the study to a theory that serves as the
theoretical framework that guided the study and decisions. Specifically, the theoretical
underpinnings are based on the agency of life. The author views the challenges of
multicultural practices that organizations face from the lens of realities of the agency of life.
The article makes use of different perspectives to build their research and propositions and to
achieve this; the agency perspective is used throughout the study to develop the research and
help in bringing new insights regarding the topic. This helps a researcher to produce a paper
that applies to other disciplines and hence improve external validity (Micthell & Jolley,
2012). The daily realities applied in the study include agency climate, motivations for
multicultural organizational development (MCOD), and the current multicultural practice
(Hyde, 2004).
An in-depth analysis of the theoretical framework also reveals it is specific to the
topic. The researcher applies a more specific approach to the study as opposed to viewing the
topic from a broad spectrum. The author applied the agency life perspective as a particular
view rather than the overall organizational set up which would have lead to confusion as to
what should be handled in the study. A specific framework is essential since it enables
researchers and the reader to easily identify the specific theories regarding the various human
existence aspects (Beaton & Funk, 2008). The framework makes reference to other studies to
support the claims. One of the most critical studies that were referenced is by Rubin and
Babbie (2010) which extensively covers the development of multicultural dimensions in
organizations today. The theories applied in this study can be used in studying real-life
events. The theoretical framework in this study was used to analyze the topic and guided the
interpretation of data and results. The problem, however, is that there is no concrete model