If I were appointed mayor of a small town with a very diverse community, effective communication would be the most important aspect of effectively organizing members of the community to work together. To begin with, I would have to be culturally competent myself. Cultural competency means having the knowledge and skills to work effectively across cultures. Being culturally competent would allow me to demonstrate respect towards all members of my community, and thus gain their respect in return. In order to do this, I would have to get to know the people in my small town, and understand all of the ways that people can be culturally diverse. Culture does not specifically refer to race or ethnicity, though this is sometimes the most identifiable example of culture. But culture also includes a person's occupation, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age group etc… According to the video on cultural competency, I need to be aware of my own culture as well as my own biases that I inevitably have. Understanding my own mental determinations of different types of people can help me from making further assumptions and possibly forming prejudices. If I am aware of my biases, then I can also be aware of stereotypes that I may be relying on too much. If I know that my opinions are based on assumptions and stereotypes, then I can train myself to stop making those judgments. I can ask myself if the perceptions I have are based on real life experience, or if they are based on false beliefs or judgments passed by others.

Demonstrating cultural competency does not just mean understanding diversity, but it also means respecting differences and incorporating those differences into my policies and protocols as mayor. It doesn't mean I need to know everything about every culture I come across - although this is important - but what is more important is the flexibility and openness I demonstrate to the population. It is a self-awareness process. It is also an ongoing process. Becoming culturally competent is not a process that has an end. It is a continuous learning process.

In terms of organizing the community to work together, it is my responsibility as mayor to lead by example. I have to demonstrate the necessity of adapting to many different ways of doing things. I also have to send the message to my town's population that it is important to work together rather than have the town divided and isolated by culture. "It is not about being politically correct, it is about serving people to improve their lives." The fact of the matter is that cooperation among cultures is the most effective way to improve the quality of life of everyone in the community. Once we bridge that gap, we can begin to make sure that everyone's voice is heard, and all people's needs are met.

In order to have a change to be a mayor of even a small town you need to understand all the peoples' needs. This requires effective communication. Part of effective communication is being culturally competent, which is to say that you can effectively communicate across cultures. Each culture has different core values and put emphasis on different aspects of life. In order to best serve your contingency you must understand what's important to them. I also need to know what biases or preconceived notions I have so as to not make those mistakes and to work towards ensuring that I am as unbiased and as knowledgeable about my contingency as possible.

Cultural competency isn't just understanding people its' also being able to respect their ideas and point of view. I think that being able to see things in their shoes is a key to this. I don't have to know everything about everyone or every culture but must at least be open to their ideas and way of life and be respectful to them. The easiest way to turn people against you is to disrespect their culture or try to change their way of life.

As the videos talked about, the world is ever changing. More and more people from different cultures are moving closer together and many different cultures are being mixed and matched and changing our way of life. The video said that by 2020 we would have 35% of people being different ethnicity but the numbers now are a lot more than that and by 2050 at the latest people are saying Anglo Americans will be the minority.  Some people think this is bad, I think its good. I find different cultures very interesting and I think that we can always learn something from other people.

As a political figure I will be seen by many people and must show that all that I have said is actually what I do. I can't be all talk, and I certainly can't preach one thing and do the opposite. Unlike many political scandals I would have to live the life I preach and show others how to effectively get alone. By doing this not only would I secure reelections but I would be able to unite the town and create a strong community. Which , in my opinion, should be a goal of any and all political figures. We are here to serve the people and to try to make our city, town, state, country, and ultimately the world a better place then it started. 

First of all as a mayor of an ethnically diversified community, I have to focus on myself first. In the Cultural Competence video, there are several key characteristics that I have to identify with myself such as my awareness of my own culture, biases, and prejudices. There is also the expectation of my ability to become proficient in cross-cultural skills, assess culturally different community members accurately, design and implement programs relevant to many communities, and model skills for the people. Next would be effective communication in the community. Since the world is changing in demographics, I would have to work with people from different backgrounds as well as different experiences. I will state that I do not know much about their various cultures and traditions, but would be open to learn about it. That way I have culture-specific knowledge of that ethnicity. That would mean traveling to each community and meeting with the residents there in each part of my town. As the Native American HIV Cultural Competency stated, I would work with a person that is familiar in the language and culture aka interpreter. This way I can build strong cross-cultural relationships and be an ally for diversity. An example that comes to mind would be the movie "City Hall" from our previous material. The mayor comes to an African American boy's funeral and gives his speech and vision to the African American community for their votes. This shows that a mayor has to be actively involved in the community to better understand his city.

Now that I understand all that I could from each community and culture, then I would try to host an annual get together of all ethnic groups to participate in an event called "Diversity Day" for example. This can lead different communities to interact with each other. There may be some disagreements, but I would persuade to see the similarities, not the differences. Of course I cannot only have this in a community level. I have to have individualistic level also. This is where people can have the strongest bond.

There is a study/program in the education system that it is called the Jigsaw Classroom. I am curious if this principle would apply to a larger community. Of course, this could occur in the job environment with each ethnic group working together. Even though this sounds good, there will be some drawbacks because the community members would be unaware of the differing sets of communications and fear of differences and the unknown which will lead to assumptions, biases, prejudice, and stereotypes. This would reflect on me because in the Multicultrual Toolkit, "it is not the degree of difference between groups that causes harm…it is the lack of skill in identifying breaches of trust based on ethnic differences and the lack of skill in restoring trust once it is broken." I can say that innumerous events in history this concept happened between two groups that caused war and loss. 

Having cultural competency from one of the videos described it as being aware of your culture and respect differences, being aware of your own biases and prejudices, having cultural knowledge, communicate effectively( not only just listening but understanding and be able to speak with people from different cultures), build strong cross cultural relationships, and being flexible and adaptable to diversity have the mentality of go with the flow. 

If I was appointed as a mayor of a small town where the population is ethnically diversified I would used many different kinds of cultural competencies to effectively organize all theses people to work together as one community.  I would make sure that everyone understands what the characteristics are to work together as one community. I would make sure that every individual is open and realizes that everyone does have his or her own stereotypes meaning standard pictures that we have in our minds, I want to make sure that they don't act on their stereotypes of make any generalizations (elderly people wanting to act in a certain way), I want to make sure that not only myself but everyone who is in my community working together is sensitive to diversity, and understands that demographics is changing (different ethnic groups). In the video that woman mentioned that by the next few years that the US will be extremely ethnic based and there will be lots of diversity. I feel that in order to have a successful community as a mayor you need to be open and flexible to change. Especially if in the next years the population will be very diverse. I also believe that not only having my people in my community seeing diversity but they also need to be knowledgeable about it. Meaning they need to know the difference between language barriers and what is right and wrong to say. If individuals know more about individuals backgrounds myself as a mayor would have to deal with a lot of discrimination but a lot more of people understanding. I believe as well is that if people understood more about different races they would be left so much in the dark and learn about other people's culture and I think others would respect and want to know about others backgrounds as well. I would want to make every individual in my community as a mayors duty to have cultural competency. 

It would not be an easy job to be a mayor of a small town with a population that is ethnically diversified.  This job would require many skills in order to organize a community that works together.  The basic concepts video for cultural competence describes a number of characteristics that make someone culturally competent.  Defined, this person must understand the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors to work effectively across cultures.  Diversity is also described in the video as the differences between specific groups.  The ability to overcome differences is difficult, but necessary, for the mayor of a small town. 

Unfortunately, we learn that all humans have a natural tendency to develop barriers towards other groups.  All humans have biases and prejudices that result in individuals to hold mental perceptions towards a specific group.  However, many people deny such accusations and it can be extremely difficult for most people to face those biases.  The ability to overcome such biases is also important for a mayor that aims to integrate a diversified community.

After today's lesson, I have learned the skills that would be most needed in order to effectively organize a small town of diversified people.  Being a mayor requires the sensitivity to incorporate all others in making important decisions in the community.  This person must have the characteristics of a good leader, as well as the ability to effectively communicate with the diversity within the community.  Not only does the mayor need to be educated on the beliefs of others in the community, but also the skills to interact with all citizens of a small town.  It is crucial that the mayor has awareness of the cultures that make up the community and respects the differences between them.  A successful mayor not only understands the other groups, but knows how to effectively communicate with each group and motivate them to interact with everyone in the community regardless of the differences.

If appointed mayor of a small, culturally diverse town, then I must possess certain characteristics to ensure group cohesiveness and to avoid major conflict.  Everyone must be treated with respect and empathy and each individual must be valued.  To attain this, I must have the knowledge and skills necessary to work with cultures different then mine.  It is important that I value diversity and do not encourage assimilation.  I must show sensitivity for differences between other cultures and mine and be respectful and accommodating. 

First, I must be aware of my own culture and what that entails while respecting differences between my culture and others.  It's important that I have self-knowledge of who I am and that everyone else was not raised the same way I was but alternatively, were raised with sometimes different values and morals.  I must also be aware of my own biases and prejudices.  However, being aware is not adequate, but I must also be able to know how the biases I have effect the way I treat others and how they perceive my actions.  Being cognizant of the way I think and the effects it has is imperative to communicating effectively.  Communicating effectively is the only way to achieve serenity in the town and to make progress.  Although I may have prejudices I must also be open and flexible to others and have a desire to learn about them and their culture and respect them for their similarity and differences.  I must have culture-specific knowledge and be able to refer to them by proper terms instead of for example, calling a Native American individual an Indian.  Referring to them with the proper terms will diminish the chances that I offend them.  Offending them would likely cause them to be close-minded in regards to myself.    I should have knowledge about how they react in certain ways because of their culture and the differences in how things may be expressed.  But although I understand that cultures react and think in different ways I must be certain to remember that each person is an individual and not everyone of a certain culture thinks and acts the same way. 

I must be sure to build cross-cultural relationships between myself and the citizens as well as encourage the citizens to be knowledgeable about the cultures of other citizens.  If the town as a whole was knowledgeable about the many cultures that reside there, then they would be able to treat each other in a respectful way.  Building cross-cultural relationships entails being open and respectful and expressing a desire to learn instead of treating it as an obligation.  I should be sure to treat the people individually and understand that the differing cultures are in different places and will react in different ways.  To do so I must be flexible and understand that everyone is in a different place and hold people to the best they are capable of but to not expect perfection from everyone.  I should be able to be an ally to members of other cultures and to be there for them as support if needed or as an advocate if a certain group or groups need special attention because of discrimination.

I need to be show through my words and actions that I respect everyone for their differences and am not only willing to learn about their cultures but also have the desire to do so.  I must show that I am open-minded and aware of my faults such as biases but I am working to achieve the skills necessary to create a cohesive community.  I must have respect for the different cultures but also have a respect for each individual within a culture.  I cannot treat everyone in the same way I must respect boundaries and customs of certain cultures if I want to gain their respect.  I need to promote knowledge of others and an attitude to show the citizens that although we come from different places, we are all people and worthy of respect and show that personal growth is achieved through accepting others the way they are. 

It has always been said that the key to any kind of relationship is effective communication. If I were appointed mayor of a small town with a diverse population I would be sure to be aware of everyone's individual needs as well as stress communication between themselves and I, as well as communication between themselves and fellow neighbors. I feel it is very important that in order for people to work together tolerance and awareness are present. As mayor I would be sure to emphasize on the importance of getting to know one another and communicate about our feelings and letting ourselves get vulnerable with one another. I am a strong believer in letting your guard down in order to make strong connections. It is the idea that if the members of my community know the individual, there will be more cultural competency. In order to get my community members become vulnerable with one another I would hold community activities, set up clubs, plan events and hold meetings. These activities could really help break the ice in order for the community to become closer and work as a whole.

The first video on the Blackboard site discussed the key characteristics of someone who is culturally competent. The first one was about how the person needs to be more aware of his or her own culture and accept the differences it has from others. The second one described how it is important to be aware of how we all have biases. It was also described how effective communication is the most important to being culturally competent. One characteristic I found was the most important was to become an ally to those that are different than you. As Mayor I would be sure to learn from my fellow community members as well as encouraging them to learn from each other, in order to develop effective communication people need to become educated about the world around them. I feel that education leads to being able to communicate that leads to cultural competence.