Essay: Respecting Difference, Ethical Professionals, and Communities

This essay examines the multifaceted concept of respecting difference, particularly within the context of communication across diverse communities. It begins with a critical analysis of assigned readings, exploring evolving definitions of community, the creation of both inclusive and exclusive groups, and the challenges inherent in these dynamics. The essay then delves into the roles and responsibilities of an ethical professional when interacting with diverse populations, emphasizing cultural competency. Furthermore, it underscores the value of self-reflection in both personal and professional spheres, highlighting its impact on effective communication and understanding. The essay concludes by assessing the influence of specific videos on shaping an individual's engagement with diverse communities, recognizing their significance in fostering empathy and respect. The analysis covers community definition changes, challenges, ethical professional roles, and the importance of self-reflection, along with video influences.

Running head: RESPECTING DIFFERENCE
RESPECTING DIFFERENCE
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Introduction
The aim of this essay is to understand the meaning of respecting difference especially
when it comes to communicating with people from diverse communities. Firstly, the essay will
provide a critical understanding of the readings provided in the unit that defines communities. In
addition, critical analysis will also be done of the reading on the creation of inclusive and
exclusive communities and the challenges that come up. Furthermore, the essay will discuss the
roles and responsibilities of an ethical professional when dealing with people from diverse
communities. The discussion will then focus on the value of self-reflection in both personal and
professional life. Lastly, the essay will state that the videos required for the session are in fact
influential in shaping the professional’s engagement with diverse communities.
Discussion
The reading first explains the relevance of the definition of community to NMCC. It
explains that the meaning of community in both cultural and social terms has changed over time
and “multiple, overlapping, converging and conflicting communities” have emerged. Roos, Trigg
and Hartman [1] comment that the scholars in the recent past have involved more in lamenting
the change in community than celebrate the new definitions that have come up. One of the most
interesting developments has been the dramatic change in the roles of men and women within the
communities. The women have become more independent as their roles have expanded from the
confinements of the house to other professional fields. Many however argue that the
governments are trying to exert influence in the shaping of the communities by stating that the
communities are in decline and that the government must intervene to restore the prosperity. The
structural changes to community happened due to globalization and the compression of time and

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space. The assumption is true because globalization has led to the creation of more exclusive
communities. Globalization led to the emergence of the internet, which in turn gave rise to many
new communities most of which are created online. The meaning of communities hence
changed.
The truth however is different. As Roos, Trigg and Hartman [1] note, the ruling regimes
have caused the distinctness of the communities to decline by interfering in their ways of living.
The reading further explains the need to define community stating that it is important because
human identity is related to community. Examples of George Herbert Mead, Bergner and
Kellner, Pierre Bourdieu and Irving Goffman have been provided to make the students
understand the importance of community in understanding one’s identity. Previously,
geographical boundaries were assumed as one community but this has also changed. Now, one
can find different sub-categories of community within one geographical boundary. For example,
within the Indian or Italian cultural community, one could find several other communities such
as the hip-hop community, the working class community or the youth community. In fact,
communities are formed based on particular interests of the people. The LGBTQ community is
an example of such a community.
With the change in the definition of community, many challenges have also come up.
One of the first challenges as explained in the reading is that the self-defined and externally
imposed communities might not align together. Second is that the change in communities might
cause tensions in terms of representation. Third is the need that would arise in negotiating
between the interests of the individual and the community. The fourth challenge, as Healey [3]
observes is the need to comprehend the community to manage people’s own “co-existence in the
shared space”. When analyzed carefully, these challenges are extremely relevant because

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tensions are visible within various communities and clashes have arisen between individuals and
communities. For instance, an individual could have different interests when it comes to her or
his educational, cultural or sexual orientation that might not be aligned with the interests of the
community.
After analyzing the complexities and challenges of communities, it is important to
understand the roles and responsibilities of an ethical professional to while communicating with
diverse communities. An ethical professional could be anyone from a businessperson to a
lawyer, a social worker or even a small vendor. While working with diverse communities, it is
important for the ethical professional to be culturally competent in order to communicate
effectively. Cultural competency refers to the ability to comprehend and communicate
effectively with the people of different cultures. A culturally competent professional is not only
aware of her or his own worldviews but also has awareness and respect for others’ views as well.
An ethical professional thus has the role of being culturally competent while working with
diverse communities. When it comes to responsibilities, the ethical professional must know that
there are two types of cultures – high context culture and low-context culture. When an
employee in a multinational corporation in a high context culture comes from a low context
culture, the ethical professional must make sure that the employee does not feel out of place. A
high context culture focuses on non-verbal communication mostly whereas a low-context culture
focuses on verbal or direct communication. Therefore, a person coming from a high context
culture would be less interested in direct verbal communication and vice versa for the one
coming from a low-context culture. Another responsibility of the ethical professional while
working with diverse communities is to understand the cultural differences as per the Hofstede’s
cultural dimensions and make adjustments accordingly. Hofstede has provided six different

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cultural dimensions including power distance, individualism versus collectivism, achievement
versus nurturance and uncertainty avoidance.
The roles and responsibilities could be comprehended better when one understands the
value of self-reflection in both personal and professional life. Self-reflection refers to the careful
contemplation about one’s own thoughts and behavior. Self-reflection could also be said to be a
part of the intrapersonal communication where an individual communicates with the self or talks
within. The intrapersonal communication is influence by the perception of the self and others,
self-esteem, identity and feedback. Therefore, self-reflection is an essential part of
communication. In the personal life, it helps people alleviate their self-esteem and self-image.
Furthermore, self-reflection helps the individual learn about her or his own strengths and
weaknesses and work on them in her or his personal life. It also encourages the individual to
respect others irrespective of the communities they come from. Self-reflection is important in
professional life as well. As Bennett-Levy and Lee [2] have found, self-practice and self-
reflection are important aspects of cognitive behavior, which help people in improving their
experience. The authors conducted a study on some trainees and revealed that self-practice and
self-reflection as part of the cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has largely benefitted their self-
perception. This shows that self-reflection has great value in the professional life as well. It helps
the individual communicate and interact effectively with people from diverse background.
The videos that have been presented to watch before the first session of Recognizing and
Respecting Difference deal about the various diversities present in the society. After watching
the videos, it is clear that these would greatly influence the engagement with diverse
communities. The first video is about the Rio Paralympics 2016 Official Song titled Yes I Can,
We are Superhumans [4]. In this video, Tony Dee, an Australian singer with moving disability

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sings the song supported by visuals of various other differently able individuals demonstrating
their extraordinary talent. This video is very inspiring even for those who have no disability. The
second video is a TED Talk presented by Stella Young, a comedian and a journalist talks about
the use of disabled people for the benefit of non-disabled people to inspire them. She described
this practice as “inspiration porn” [5]. Watching this video greatly helped in realizing that one
should not treat disabled people differently. The third video titled What kind of Asian are you? is
a funny take on the way Asian people are treated in the western countries [6]. The Asian woman
in this video is repeatedly asked where she is from although she clearly mentioned it. She then
gives it back to the person asking this and in return, the person thinks that she is weird. This
shows exactly the way one should not treat people from diverse communities.
Conclusion
To conclude, it needs to be stated that respecting difference takes various forms. One
might think that appreciating a disabled person for her or his great work with bravery is respect
than the person is wrong. If one thinks that asking an Asian ethnicity person about their ancestral
land is respect then that person is wrong. Respecting difference includes respecting the fact that
all are normal human beings irrespective of the community to which they belong. The essay
discussed about the definition of communities and the way it changed over time and the
challenges faced. It also discussed the roles and responsibilities of an ethical professional while
working with diverse communities. Furthermore, the essay discussed about the value of self-
reflection in both personal and professional life. Lastly, the essay found that the videos that have
been provided for the first session are actually significant in influencing the engagement with
diverse communities.

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References:
[1] PA Roos, MK Trigg and MS Hartman, “Changing families/changing communities: Work,
family and community in transition”, Community, Work and Family, vol. 1;9, no. 2, pp.
197-224, May. 2006.
[2] J Bennett-Levy and NK Lee, “Self-practice and self-reflection in cognitive behaviour therapy
training: what factors influence trainees’ engagement and experience of benefit?”
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 48-64, Jan. 2014.
[3] P. Healey, Collaborative planning: Shaping places in fragmented societies. Macmillan
International Higher Education, 1997
[4]"YES I CAN - Paralympics RIO 2016 - We're The Superhumans!", YouTube, 2019. [Online].
Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzjuQoNM534. [Accessed: 19- May-
2019].
[5]"I'm not your inspiration, thank you very much | Stella Young", YouTube, 2019. [Online].
Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K9Gg164Bsw. [Accessed: 19- May-
2019].
[6]"What kind of Asian are you?", YouTube, 2019. [Online]. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWynJkN5HbQ. [Accessed: 19- May- 2019].