187
Marja Katisko — Ph.D. (Soc. Sc.), Researcher, Diaconia University of Applied Sciences,
Helsinki Metropolitan Urban Research Program (marja.katisko@diak.fi)
Марья Катиско — Ph.D. (социальные науки), исследователь, Университет прикладных
наук Диакония, Программа исследований г. Хельсинки «Метрополитан» (marja.katisko@
diak.fi)
Marja Katisko
THE MULTICULTURAL WORKPLACE COMMUNITY
AS A LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Finnish educational and working life environments have become multicultural over
the past few decades. In this article, I will discuss multicultural workplaces as
learning environments from the perspective of interpersonal interaction, as well as
the challenges and possibilities that increasing multiculturalism creates in the
everyday of workplace communities.
In this article I will consider concepts of cultural competence and intercultural
competence. Cultural competence encompasses the idea of knowing a single culture
well. In intercultural competence individual becomes able to detach from knowing
a few cultural codes and shift to the kind of behavior required in intercultural
interaction.
William Howell’s and William B. Gudykunst’s ideas of cultural competence as well as
Milton Bennett’s (1998) model of development of intercultural sensitivity suggests that
cultural sensitivity is a gradual process of development. Theories mentioned above are
directional when I discuss intercultural learning and intercultural competence through
the working life experiences of three adult students of immigrant background, each
studying a degree on social and health care in Finland. The interviewees have lived in
Finland for more than five years, and they have accumulated extensive work experience
in their countries of origin as well as in Finland. In terms of approach the study is a
qualitative case study. Central research questions in this study is: How is intercultural
competence constructed in the story told by the person of immigrant background? Is it
possible to learn intercultural competence?
Key words: intercultural competence, multiculturalism, multicultural working
environment
Марья Катиско
МУЛЬТИКУЛЬТУРНОЕ РАБОЧЕЕ СООБЩЕСТВО
КАК СРЕДА ПОЛУЧЕНИЯ НОВЫХ ЗНАНИЙ
В Финляндии образовательная и рабочая среды за несколько последних деся-
тилетий стали мультикультурными. Я рассматриваю мультикультурные
рабочие места с точки зрения получения новых знаний о межличностных от-
ношениях, а также препятствий и возможностей, которые возрастающий
мультикультурализм создает в повседневной рабочей жизни.
188
В данной статье я обсуждаю понятия «культурная компетентность»
и «межкультурная компетентность». Культурная компетентность содер-
жит идею о хорошем знании одной культуры. Обладая межкультурной ком-
петентностью, индивиды могут абстрагироваться от знаний нескольких
культурных кодов и перейти на уровень поведения, который требуется
в межкультурном взаимодействии.
Согласно идеям о культурной компетентности таких авторов, как Уильям
Ховелл и Уильям Гудикунст, а также модели интеркультурной сенситивно-
сти, которую разработал М. Беннет (1998), развитие межкультурной сен-
ситивности представляет собой постепенный процесс. Эти теории исполь-
зуются, когда я рассматриваю межкультурное развитие и компетентность,
приобретаемые через опыт рабочей жизни тремя взрослыми мигрантами,
получающими образование в области социальной работы и здравоохранения.
Адресанты живут в Финляндии более пяти лет и обладают широким ра-
бочим опытом как в своей стране, так и в Финляндии. Исследование
качественное, использована методология «кейс-стади». Главный исследова-
тельский вопрос: Каким образом межкультурная компетентность кон-
струируется человеком, у которого есть опыт миграции? Возможно ли на-
учиться межкультурной компетентности?
Ключевые слова: интеркультурная компетенция, мультикультурализм,
мультикультурное рабочее сообщество
Preface
In this article, I will discuss multicultural workplaces as learning environments from
the perspective of interpersonal interaction, as well as the challenges and possibilities that
increasing multiculturality creates in the everyday lives of workplace communities.
Finnish educational and working life organizations have become increasingly
multicultural over the past few decades. Globalization has made the necessity to have
international competence a part of every Finn’s everyday reality. On a daily basis, in public
and private arenas alike, we encounter people who represent cultures and societies other
than the Finnish. However, encountering differences or, for example, participating in
situations involving international communication, do not in themselves promote
intercultural learning. Although multiculturality and world-wide international contacts at
best create opportunities for joint learning, as well as for well-functioning cooperation and
coexistence, they can result in misunderstandings, problems and, at worst, different levels
of conflict (Salo-Lee 2009: 65).
A core concept of the social sciences applied in this article is integration to the Finnish
society. A central element of Finnish multiculturality and integration policy is supporting
immigrants to integrate into society through work and education. The discourse often
centres around the ideas of participation in working life or citizenship of the job market (e.g.
Katisko 2011: 31; Linnanmäki-Koskela 2010: 15). The high significance of the job market
is not an exclusively Finnish characteristic in terms of integration policy, but something
apparent in many international contexts. Seppo Paananen (2005: 178–179) notes that in
the Nordic countries the aim has been to integrate immigrants from the beginning through
the job market, for reasons connected to ideology and views on social morality.
Multiculturality, as a concept, means something associated with several cultures or
containing characteristics from several cultures. The concept is used in at least three ways:
as a synonym for cultural diversity, or to denote something associated with either political
Стрессы миграции и ресурсы мигрантов
189
work connected to cultural diversity or an overall political agenda connected to managing
cultural diversity. In this article, I will consider culture and multiculturality from the
perspective of everyday life and as an interpersonal interactive relationship.
In the course of history, the concept of culture has taken on many forms. In the light of
modern knowledge, cultures do not consist of a single culture but many, along with several
cultural models. Cultures have mingled with each other as a result of global population
movements and factors such as the development of data transfer technology. Similarly,
nations are not localized, clear-cut or internally homogenous. Cultures do not rely on
classification of various cultural characteristics or, for example, divisions between different
ethnic groups, but rather consist of networks that people inhabit and generate through their
action. (Hall 2003: 85–86.)
An individual as a member of a culture is not separate from the surrounding community
or society. Culture shapes people, and people shape culture. We are constantly surrounded
by our culture and cultures, and our relationship to our own and other cultures is constructed
in this complex interaction.
The concepts of cultural competence and intercultural competence
Culture is manifested in meanings and codes that we give to things, objects and
phenomena. We can talk about culturally determined knowledge, which means producing
knowledge through interaction between individuals. For example, dividing people into
categories on the basis of ethnic background, race, sex or other characteristics is based on
socially constructed definitions of differences and criteria for categorization. Having
culturally and historically defined knowledge means that understanding something is
connected to where and when the people in question live, as well as what kinds of experiences
people have in a particular society (Burr 1995). Thus, experiences like interacting with the
welfare service system or participating in working life take on different forms, depending on
their cultural and societal context.
Knowledge and social action are linked to each other in everyday interaction.
Knowledge guides people to act in a certain way, but people also have numerous alternative
ways of understanding the world. We can also talk about a kind of social knowledge
repository which grows, develops, accumulates and is passed on through social interaction.
The form and content of skills, know-how and competence required in working life are
in constant flux. The demand for expertise created by internationality and globalization
concerns, among other things, language skills, cultural competence, tolerance, ethical
principles and adaptability. Kaarina Mönkkönen (2007) emphasizes the ability to apply
goal-oriented and cooperative knowledge in practical work, as well as context dependent
and dialogue based competence.
Competence can be defined as capital that is generated through the process of
succeeding in interaction. Competence can be strengthened through education and job
guidance, but above all it is created in social and intrapersonal processes associated work,
leadership and the workplace community (Wallin 2013: 60). It is important to build
training on the basis of strengthening the kind of competence that provides the student or
the worker with an opportunity to utilize their experience in a genuine and relevant
learning environment, thus developing the professional capabilities that are needed in
working life.
As a concept, cultural competence is narrower than intercultural competence. Cultural
competence encompasses the idea of knowing a single culture to sufficiently well to be able
to act in an optimal manner within that cultural sphere. In intercultural competence, cultural
Katisko M. The Multicultural Workplace Community as a Learning Environment
190
competence expands and the individual becomes able to detach from knowing a few cultural
codes and to shift to the kind of behaviour required in intercultural interaction. In this
article, I will use the concept of intercultural competence. (Salo-Lee 2005: 139).
Intercultural competence involves the idea of intercultural processes. Thus, it is not only
about changing one’s behaviour to match another culture, but an ability to adapt to different
situations in the best possible way. This concerns interactions involving individuals from
any culture. Intercultural competence means ability to communicate with people from
another culture in a way that wins their trust and respect. Further, it means that the
individual is able to adjust on a personal level to acting and working comfortably in a foreign
cultural environment (Salo-Lee 2005: 139).
Intercultural competence and communication require knowledge of one’s own cultural
background, general cross-cultural knowledge, and culture-specific knowledge, i.e.
knowledge concerning a certain specific culture (Lustig et al. 2006: 64–70). Awareness of
one’s own cultural identity may develop only as an individual moves outside the sphere of
their own culture. Understanding one’s cultural background means awareness of values,
patterns of thinking, beliefs, norms and rules associated with the local culture.
Cultural competence can be defined as a process in which the individual learns and
adjusts their behaviour, independently of the particular culture involved. William Howell
(1982) has developed a theory that can be used to analyse the individual development of
cultural competence.
Table 1
Awareness and the development of competence (Howell 1982)
competence: no
competence: yes
awareness: yes
aware,
no competence
aware,
competent
awareness: no
no awareness,
no competence
competent,
no awareness
William Howell’s (1982) and William. B Gudykunst’s (1991) theories involve the idea
of cultural competence developing through a gradual process. On the first level, a lack of
clarity due to lack of awareness is dominant, which means that the person does not become
aware of culturally determined characteristics in their own or the other’s behaviour, and
thus often ends up in situations where one or the other party feels misunderstood or insulted.
The second level is awareness and incompetence (non-competence), where misinter-
pretations still happen, but the person is aware of the limitations of their understanding.
The third level is awareness and competence, where the person is able to consciously modify
their behaviour when dealing with someone representing a different culture. At the fourth
stage, unconscious competence allows the person to act without consciously altering their
actions, as the culturally appropriate way of communicating has become an integral part of
their behaviour.
Conscious competence is learned intercultural competence which allows the individual
to adjust their behaviour in the necessary manner, regardless of the specific culture involved.
Unconscious competence means an ability to adjust to any situation without being aware of
this process, by modifying one’s behaviour as the situation requires (Salo-Lee 2006). This is
a difficult stage to attain ― some people have this kind of ability naturally. They can be
considered to have inherent cultural sensitivity.
Стрессы миграции и ресурсы мигрантов
191
Intercultural competence cannot be discussed without considering its language-related
aspect. However, researchers put different levels of emphasis on the significance of language
skills. Some feel that good language skill is the basis for acquiring cultural competence. Some
feel that language skill is a necessary but not sufficient prerequisite for cultural competence.
Milton Bennett’s (1998) model of the development of intercultural sensitivity suggests
that cultural sensitivity is a gradual process of development, taking place over several years.
Being ethnocentric shows at the beginning of the development process in attitudes such as
rejection or belittling of differences. Bennett calls the next stage enlightened ethnocentricity,
where people apply the values and norms of their own culture in assessing others. Later, in
so-called ethnorelativistic stages ― acceptance, adaptation and integration ― the approach
reflects awareness, respect and competence. Attitudes towards the person’s own culture and
the foreign culture are balanced (Bennett 1998).
The significance of the concept of intercultural competence is easy to understand
through cultural sensitivity. It is possible for a person to develop their cultural sensitivity,
which means developing the ability to detect culturally based patterns in people’s behaviour
and thus understand the cultural meanings behind certain models of behaviour. Cultural
sensitivity is an excellent quality in a person who repeatedly faces interaction with people
from other cultures (Bennett 2008).
When a person learns the behavioural patterns of a particular culture, meaning they can
adjust their behaviour to the customs of that culture, we can talk about a culturally competent
individual. Intercultural competence is always based on interactive situations. In an
interactive situation there are always two or more individuals involved, who never represent
a single culture in a pure form, and rarely represent all the characteristic features of a single
culture simultaneously. Therefore, systematically following the behavioural models of
a single culture rarely leads to profound cultural competence.
The research questions and research data
In this article, I will discuss interpersonal and intercultural learning with the aid of both
theoretical concepts and empirical research data. As theoretical framework, I have used
William Howell’s (1982) theory of interaction, Milton Bennett’s (1993) theory of learning
cultural sensitivity, and William B Gudykunst’s (1991) theory of cultural competence. I will
not go through theories above mentioned inclusively, rather theories are directional to ap-
proach intercultural competence and learning processes in working place environment.
The research data analysis is grounded in the data.
I will discuss intercultural learning and intercultural competence through the working
life experiences of three adult students of immigrant background, each studying a basic
degree in social and health care and working on permanent contract in Finland. For the
interview material, I use the term working life story. The data is part of the material I used
in the research for my doctoral thesis.
The interviewees have lived in Finland for more than five years, and they have accumu-
lated extensive work experience in their countries of origin as well as in Finland. In terms of
approach, the study is a qualitative case study. The focus of the interviews has been on the
interviewees’ working life experiences both in their country of origin and in Finland. The data
concerns learning in the context of work only, not learning at the educational institution.
Central research questions:
• How is intercultural competence constructed in the story told by the person of
immigrant background?
• How is it possible to learn intercultural competence?
Katisko M. The Multicultural Workplace Community as a Learning Environment
192
Stories of working life
Aisha: Realization that supports awareness of the significance of team work
Aisha’s country of origin is in Africa. At the time of the interview, she has lived in
Finland for about five years. She has completed elementary school in her country of origin
and worked in various roles in tourism and catering. In Finland, she has worked in assistive
positions at a library and in social and health care. I have interviewed Aisha twice.
In Aisha’s stories of working life, the parts that emerged as the most prominent were the
ones where she described the power structures of the workplace communities, about
working in a hospital in Finland, and about the different styles of interaction within
workplace communities in Finland and her country of origin. She does not stop at
recounting her employment history, but rather gives an assessment of the work experience
she has acquired in Finland, along with the events and phenomena associated with it, from
her own cultural perspective.
The storytelling includes comparisons between Finland and Aisha’s country of origin.
She had worked at a day care centre around Christmas, and she describes traditions
associated with Finnish Christmas celebration that were new and interesting to her. She
talks about working with children and how children in Finland learn things through play.
She also refers to differences between the societies of her country of origin and Finland in
terms of social security systems and school systems. Below, I present two excerpts from
Aisha’s stories of working life, illustrating gradual development of intercultural competence
and awareness. The topic of the discussion was power relationships and interaction in
workplace communities in the country of origin and in Finland.
Marja: Is there anything else that comes to mind about your work at the day care centre (in
Finland), about the children, the workers, the children’s parents, what it was like to work there
(at the day care centre)?
Aisha: For example, some colleague, if she had an appointment with a doctor, another
(colleague) would let her go there (to the clinic). They (colleagues) discussed it together and then
one was able to go...
Marja: What did people do in that kind of situation in your country, then?
Aisha: Things were different there. The boss decides, workers don’t speak freely, because
the worker is afraid that they will be treated badly if they disagree about anything. There are no
clear discussions between boss and worker, for example if you disagree with the boss, you don’t
discuss that with your supervisor. The boss just wants to fire you, or will punish you directly or
indirectly. The boss has that option in our country, no one tells them…
… In Finland I have courage to do more. They (Finnish colleagues) take it seriously if
I say something. There (in the country of origin), even if you know something better than
someone else, you know that you can’t say it, because you have no power or position. You
have to be quiet, you keep it to yourself. I didn’t dare say things in Finland right away,
I thought and checked several times. I thought that they (Finnish workers) know how to do
things better, but then I found the courage to start saying what I thought, and one of my
Finnish colleagues said: hey you really are right. Your own country probably does have an
effect, although I know I’m right, I’m still not bold, I have to think a lot, do I dare to say it,
am I right or wrong, do I dare to say…
In the last section of the data excerpt Aisha recounts how she noticed a concrete
example of mismanagement that hampered everyone’s daily work routines. However, she
did not have the courage to bring the matter up for discussion, because she felt the other
workers knew better. Aisha describes how she checked several times that the problem was
Стрессы миграции и ресурсы мигрантов
193
real before she brought it up at a team meeting. She was aware that her fears and suspicions
were based on habits and sets of values related to the hierarchical structure of a workplace
community, learned in her country of origin. They appeared to be part of a script that
determined Aisha’s way of being a member in a workplace community.
A crucial factor in the growth of awareness was a Finnish colleague whose encouragement
and friendly words became pivotal for Aisha. She appraises her earlier working life
experiences in her country of origin by stating that in Finland she has courage to do more
because Finnish colleagues take her seriously and listen to what she has to say. In Aisha’s
story, it is possible to see a clear connection between competence and interaction. As Howell
(1982: 56) and William Gudykunst’s (1991) demonstrate there is a gradual process in
learning the cultural competence. For Aisha learning process started from the very small
occurrence at work. She started to be aware of her culturally determined characteristics in
her own and other’s behaviour.
In order to happen at the individual level, the development of competence requires,
above all, social processes within the workplace community as well as personal, internal
processes. Thus, students should be allowed to experience learning situations in real-life
learning environments. This means that attention should be given to careful planning
and organizing of on-the-job learning periods in cooperation with representatives of
working life.
Zahra: Awareness of personal ethical and moral values becomes the basis for practice
Zahra has studied in her country of origin, which is situated in the Middle East, at the
natural science faculty of a university. She was forced to interrupt her studies because of the
political and religious issues in her country. In her own words, she “tried many occupations”
before leaving her home country. She worked as a dressmaker and studied information
technology. The longest period of work experience in her country of origin was work at
a day care centre. At the time of the interview, Zahra has lived in Finland for about nine
years, and she has worked as a temporary worker at day care centres, as care assistant in
hospitals and in sheltered housing for the elderly, and as a home service worker. I have
interviewed Zahra on three occasions.
From the start, Zahra’s story is dominated by an analysis of values, as well as interactions
and encounters between people. She does not limit her story to descriptions of working life
experiences, but wants to share her experiences of other areas of life in Finland, as well. She
recounts an interaction with a Finnish neighbour. When the neighbour had come down
with a cold, Zahra went to ask if they needed help. The situation was an encounter between
neighbours whose cultural scripts, or ways of acting, were different. The neighbour refused
help, explaining they would be fine on their own. Despite the neighbour’s resistance, Zahra
decided to provide some soup and bread. The neighbour was pleased with the help and
attention, but had noted that they were not used to receiving that kind of help from
a neighbour. Zahra comments in her story that the neighbour did not know that this was
a perfectly normal reaction on her part. In her country, a neighbour is in the same position
with a family member or relative.
Helping the neighbour is something I interpret as a kind of perspective Zahra has on the
world, the value basis through which she interprets the surrounding world and interactions
between people. The sections of her working life stories contain knowledge that is part of
cultural competence. This knowledge she uses to structure events and the people and
interactive relationships involved in them. In the background of Zahra’s story, it is possible
to see an “ideal” of being a mother and a neighbour, and on the other hand a care
Katisko M. The Multicultural Workplace Community as a Learning Environment
194
professional, based on a certain set of values and view of humanity. She describes her work
at the hospital on the same basis as the incident with the neighbour. Zahra talks in a beautiful,
almost poetic manner about care work where interaction can happen through channels of
interaction other than speech: gaze, showing appreciation, touch, listening. Zahra’s
account lends support to Bennett’s (1993) view on language skill being necessary but not
sufficient in the theory of learning cultural sensitivity.
Nevertheless, Zahra’s story does illustrate that the significance of language skill in
a Finnish hospital organization is often in a more central role. In the following excerpt, the
topic of the conversation was the significance of language skill and emotions in health care
work.
Zahra: I understood them (Finnish colleagues) well, but they did not always understand
me. I have a soft voice, often they (Finnish colleagues) reminded me that I have to talk louder
to the patients, that otherwise they (the clients) won’t hear me. I have to practise, although the
patients did actually hear me...
Zahra is making an attempt to resist the idea that elderly clients should be addressed in
a loud voice. She defends against criticism aimed at her language skills by bringing up her
habit of speaking “softly”. She understood what the Finnish nurses said, but the
understanding was not mutual. It is interesting that the Finnish nurses did not criticize
Zahra’s language skill, but only expressed the wish that she should talk more loudly to the
clients. However, this conflicted with Zahra’s view that other kinds of interaction besides
speech, for example listening, are important in client work. Zahra’s experience lends
support to the notion that the crucial thing in intercultural communication is not what you
say, but the way the things you say are heard.
There are many parts in Zahra’s story of working life where she talks about the closeness
of contact with people and about emotions in the caring professions. She does not actually
compare or criticize the care work carried out in Finnish hospitals, but the following excerpt
expresses her cultural competence and awareness. Zahra talks about a patient’s death.
Zahra: in our culture we show more feelings, that is self-evident to me. When that woman
(patient) died, I actually cried, she (patient) was all alone, there was no one, no one close to her,
perhaps she wouldn’t have wanted to be alone, perhaps she would have liked to be at home,
hearing the voices of her family members. But she was there at the hospital, and no one knows
what she felt…
As intercultural competition and intercultural communication require knowledge of
one’s own cultural background, for Zahra this process meant very strong awareness of her
own values, patters of thinking, beliefs, norms and roles associated with the Finnish culture.
Zahras’ story also reflect the process of immigration: when person comes to the new
country, she/ he don’t just bring the work force, but also her/his background, values and the
personal history.
Rami: Trust cannot be won
At the time of the interview, Rami has lived in Finland for 15 years. He moved to
Finland from his country of origin, which is in Asia, when he was quite young. He has
completed elementary school in his country of origin and worked as a substitute teacher at
a private school. For the entire time that he has lived in Finland he has worked in various
tasks: cleaner, waiter, and had numerous short-term and temporary periods of employment
in social and health care. I have interviewed Rami on two occasions.
Rami’s story of working life contains many personal experiences of distrust between
workers of immigrant background and the so-called native population. For example, when
Стрессы миграции и ресурсы мигрантов
195
working as a cleaner at a store, he describes how cleaners of immigrant background were
subjected to checks by the store guards at the end of each shift. According to Rami, Finnish
cleaners were not checked for possible shoplifting. In his account, it is possible to detect the
existence of a certain kind of “immigrant category” in the workplace community, also
when he worked at a hospital ward. Becoming the target for marginalization through this
categorization shows as a feeling of having the employee’s work monitored and their basic
vocational skills doubted (see also Nieminen 2010: 155). The following is a brief excerpt of
Rami’s story of working life, from a section where the topic of the discussion was winning
trust in a Finnish workplace community.
Rami: But it’s a really long process before you gain any trust. They (Finns) aren’t able to
trust you because you’re foreign, that shows. Same in a patient-carer relationship, it takes a long
time to build that relationship. It depends on the person, of course. But certain people have an
attitude towards foreigners, that’s difficult to change, no matter how hard you try. For example,
if a foreign guy comes to the ward, the Finns will rather work alone that as a pair with the
foreigner.
Marja: Do foreign workers complain about this treatment to anyone...
Rami: The foreigners won’t talk, probably talk to each other, at some point someone
might give feedback to recruitment and to the ward, but where does that feedback disappear
then, I don’t know. Sometimes we talk at some ward meeting but then it’s over and done with.
And if, for example, some property has gone missing from a patient, you (the foreigner) are
always the prime suspect in it, no matter how nice and reliable you are. And, for example,
when medication is dispensed, Finnish nurses always check that you got it right. And still
you’re the one who’s responsible for it and you try to do your job right. And then when family
members come to visit the ward, and I could talk to them too, but there’s always some Finn
between me and them…
Rami constructs his experiences of employment in such a way that the story paints
a picture of incomplete participation by the employee of immigrant background in the daily
life of the workplace community. The incomplete participation is a result of the actions and
interactions of the employees of Finnish background. Rami also talks a lot about how
interaction between workplace community members was closer in his country of origin,
and how colleagues could even become personal friends outside the workplace.
Despite his long history of work experience (about 15 years) in Finland, his excellent
Finnish skills and his Finnish citizenship, Rami expresses that he has not been able to attain
the kind of interactive relationship he has hoped for in Finnish workplace communities. He
often interprets and observes things and events in a Finnish workplace community from the
perspective of his own culture. But he didn’t do the decision to ‘read’ social functions from
the Asia-perspective himself, he was forced to do it by the social interaction in the work
community. Competence can be defined as a capital that is generated through the process
of succeeding in interaction. Interaction and joint learning should be based in dialogue.
Thus it appears that mastering the language is not a sufficient part of the so-called
cultural literacy. Salo-Lee (2009: 66) writes about cultural capital, which is needed to attain
cultural literacy. With the help of this literacy, a person of immigrant background learns to
understand the local way of thinking ― the mental landscape ― and is able to act both
sensitively and effectively in their new environment.
However, Liisa Salo-Lee (2009: 66) emphasizes that cultural literacy is necessary for
the people representing the host country as well, as intercultural adjustment is a mutual
process. Cultural literacy, awareness and understanding of the meanings used by oneself
and others, develops through interaction.
Katisko M. The Multicultural Workplace Community as a Learning Environment
196
Conclusions
In this article, I have discussed a multicultural workplace community as a learning
environment. When a workplace community becomes increasingly multicultural, what
kind of journey does this open for the members of that community? The aim of this article
has been to illustrate the diversity of multicultural everyday life through small
autobiographical stories. Internationality is present in people’s interactive relationships,
reciprocity and trust. Each one of us can observe culturally determined patterns in our own
and others’ behaviour.
The development and learning of intercultural competence is generated through a
process of succeeding in interaction. Intercultural competence does not arise through
personal, intra-personal processes only, but closely involves a social community such as
educational institution or workplace community.
Developing intercultural competence cannot be accomplished by seeking out inter-
national communication situations only or, for example, by participating in international
student or teacher exchange programmes. Globalization is already present at the local level
in Finnish educational institutions and workplace communities. When the ethnic
backgrounds of students, teachers and workplace community members, representing both
so-called native and immigrant backgrounds, are considered as opportunities and action
strategies, the angle of observation shifts to a wider context. Different cultural customs,
conceptions and knowledge concerning work, interactive relationships, working methods
and roles in the workplace should be brought into shared discourse in educational institutions
and workplace communities.
In workplace communities representing the social- and health sectors, the daily inter-
actions between workers, as well as between workers and clients, is close and intensive. When
the workplace community members and clients represent cultures and languages from
different backgrounds, it is crucially important to be able to communicate with people from
other cultures in a way that wins their trust and respect. Also, it is important that the individual
is able to feel comfortable about being and working in a different cultural environment.
In all the stories of working life presented in this article, interaction between workplace
community members is crucially important. From the perspective of developing intercultural
competence, understanding one’s own cultural background is in a central role. Of the
interviewees, Zahra has clearly consciously acquired and recognised the norms and values
concerning interaction with elderly clients associated with her own culture. Her working
life story conveys the impression that acting according to her own values is not always easy
in a workplace community. However, Zahra does not abandon her own cultural knowledge.
It is important to bring Zahra’s cultural knowledge of high ethical standards in handling
social and health care clients to the entire workplace community as something everyone
can utilize, and as something that will benefit the clients. This would be an example of true
utilization of intercultural competence.
One of the basic needs involved in human life is being recognized in a community and
having one’s existence and actions accepted. Being a full member in a workplace community
involves being heard and respected. This is a matter of reciprocity and interaction. It is
important that employees representing both immigrant backgrounds and the so-called
native population recognise their own cultural models and scripts concerning ways to act in
working life. Workplace communities consist of social interaction, and part of their everyday
practices should be the exchange, sharing and utilization of cultural knowledge. The right
to also disagree and to question the prevailing cultural models in working life is the starting
point for equality in working life and education.
Стрессы миграции и ресурсы мигрантов
197
The individuals of immigrant background I interviewed have brought a piece of the
globalized world to their new home country as they moved to Finland. Legislation regulates
and various information packages guide the person arriving in the country regarding the
service system and applying for jobs and training. However, the main part of concrete,
everyday integration takes place at perfectly ordinary Finnish workplaces, educational
institutions, day care centres and schools. In the course of everyday interactions and
encounters, the basis for integration takes shape, as well as the sense of belonging and
participation in the new country.
References
Clarke J. New Labour’s Citizens: Activated, Empowered, Responsibilized, Abandoned?
Critical Social Policy, 2005, 25(4), pp. 447–463.
Bennett M.J. Intercultural Communication: A current perspective, in: Bennett M.J. (ed.)
Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication. Selected Readings. Yarmouth, MA.: Intercultural
Press, 1998, pp. 1–34.
Burr V. An Introduction to Social Constructionism. London and New York: Routledge, 1991.
Dwyer G. Welfare Rights and Responsibilities. Contesting Social Citizenship. Bristol: The
Policy Press, 2000.
Gudykunst W.B. Bridging Differences: Effective Intergroup Communication. Newbury Park,
CA.: Sage Publications, 1991.
Hall E. Kulttuuri, paikka, identiteetti [Culture, position, identity], in: Erilaisuus [Dif-
ference], Lehtonen M., Löytty O. (eds.). Tampere: Vastapaino, 2003, pp. 233–281.
Howell W.S. The Empathic Communicator. University of Minnesota. Wodswarth Publishing
Company, 1982.
Kanniainen M.R. Kulttuurikompetenssista kulttuurien väliseen kompetenssiin ja yksilön
kohtaamisiin [From cultural competence to intercultural competence and encounter with the
individual], in: Imre B. (ed.) Maahanmuuttajataustaisten ohjaus koulutuksessa ja ty
öelämässä
[Providing guidance for individuals of immigrant background in education and working life].
Helsingin yliopisto. Koulutus- ja kehittämiskeskus Palmenia. Yliopistopaino. Helsinki, 2010,
pp. 30–37.
Katisko M. Kansalaisuus ty
öyhteisön arjessa. Maahanmuuttajien kertomuksia työelämästä
[Citizenship in the everyday life of a workplace community. Immigrants’ stories of working life].
Sosiaalitieteiden laitoksen julkaisuja 2011, 9. Helsingin yliopisto. Unigrafia. Helsinki, 2011.
Katisko M. Tasavertaisena vai ulkopuolisena kansalaisena? Monikulttuurisessa työyhtei-
söissä rakentuu kansalaisuus osallisuutena, jäsenyytenä ja mahdollisuutena. [Equality or
exclusion in citizenship? In a multicultural workplace community, citizenship is constructed
through participation, membership and opportunity], Siirtolaisuus, 2013, 3, pp. 11–15.
Landis D., Bennett J.M. Handbook of intercultural training. Sage Publications. Thousand
Oaks, 2004.
Linnanmäki-Koskela S. Maahanmuuttajien työelämäintegraatio. Vuosina 1989-93 Suomeen
muuttaneiden tarkastelua vuoteen 2007 asti [Integration of immigrants into working life. Follow-
up until 2007 of people who moved to Finland in the years 1989–1993] Helsingin kaupungin
Tietokeskus. Tutkimuksia, 2010, 2. Helsinki, 2010.
Lustig M.W., Koester J. Intercultural competence. Interpersonal communication across
cultures. Boston: Pearson Education Inc., 2006.
Mönkkönen K. Vuorovaikutus. Dialoginen asiakastyö [Interaction. Dialogue based client
work]. Edita Oy, 2007.
Nieminen S. Neuvotteluja ammatillisesta jäsenyydestä ― maahanmuuttajasairaanhoitajat
terveydenhuollon työyhteisöissä [Negotiations on professional membership ― immigrant nurses
in health care workplace communities], in: Wrede S., Nordberg C. (eds.) Vieraita ty
össä.
Ty
öelämän etnistyvä eriarvoisuus [Strangers at work. The increasingly ethnic inequality of
working life]. Palmenia-sarja 70. Univeristy Press. Helsinki, 2010, pp. 147–171.
Katisko M. The Multicultural Workplace Community as a Learning Environment
Paananen S. Maahanmuuttajienintegrointi: vaikea ja ristiriitainenhanke [The integration
of immigrants: a difficult and internally inconsistent venture], in: Seppo Paananen S. (ed.)
Maahanmuuttajien el
ämää Suomessa [Living as an immigrant in Finland]. Helsinki: Tilastokeskus,
2005, pp. 173–180.
Salo-Lee L. Kohden kulttuurienvälistä kompetenssia [Towards intercultural competence],
Varis T. (ed.) Uusrenessanssiajattelu, digitaalinen osaaminen ja monikulttuurisuuteen kasvaminen
[Neo-renaissance thinking, digital competence and growing into multiculturality]. OKKA.
Saarijärvi, 2005, pp. 123–133.
Salo-Lee L. Monikulttuurinen osaaminen ja kulttuurinen lukutaito [Multicultural com-
petence and culturalliteracy], in: Lampinen J., Malen-Paaso M. Tulevaisuus meiss
ä. Kasvaminen
maailmanlaajuiseen vastuuseen [The future in us. Growing into global responsibility]. Opetus-
ministeriön koulutus- ja tiedepoliittinen osasto 2009: 40. Helsinki, 65–75.
Wallin A. Monikulttuuriosaaminen. Uudistuvan ty
öyhteisön valttikortti [Multicultural
competence. The ace in the hand of the reforming workplace community]. Klaava Media/
Andalys Oy, 2013.
Стрессы миграции и ресурсы мигрантов
Dostları ilə paylaş: |