Multicultural Matrix and Analysis Worksheet

Part 1: Matrix

Using Ch. 10 of Sociology in Modules and your own Internet research, select and identify six different ethnic groups. Complete the matrix for the groups you identified.

Ethnic Group	Explain a historical fact about this group that has implications in the present. (100-150 Words; Citations needed)	What are some cultural practices and/or customs shared by this group? (100-150 Words; Citations needed)	How is this group represented in the media? (100-150 Words; Citations needed)	What is a current challenge faced by this group in the workplace? (100-150 Words; Citations needed)
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Part 2: Analysis

Write an analysis of the advantages of a multicultural society and labor force. To do so, fill out the empty spaces in the following items (each item should have 100 to 200 words). Include specific examples related to at least three of the ethnic groups you identified in Part 1. Provide appropriate citations following APA.

 

 

 

• Intro:

 

 

<Write your intro here.>

 

 

 

• How has U.S. society influenced these ethnic groups’ mindset and identity? Provide at least four points.

 

 

 

 

 

<Write your analysis here.>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• How has each group been stereotyped? How accurate are these stereotypes?

 

 

 

 

 

 

<Write your analysis here.>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• How do the social concepts of prejudice, discrimination, and privilege affect multicultural groups?

 

 

 

<Write your analysis here.>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• How do the behavior and thinking patterns in U.S. society (biases, stereotypes, discriminatory practices) affect multicultural groups, especially regarding class systems and employment?

 

 

 

<Write your analysis here.>

 

• Conclusion:

 

 

<Write your conclusion here.>

 

Part 3: References

Include references formatted according to APA guidelines.

<List your references here.>

 

Multicultural Matrix and Analysis Worksheet

Part 1: Matrix

Using Ch. 10 of Sociology in Modules and your Internet research, select and identify six different ethnic groups. Complete the matrix for the groups you identified.

Ethnic Group	Historical fact	Cultural practices and/or customs	Media    Representation	Current challenge faced by this group in the workplace
1.African Americans	African Americans have an existing history in the United States as the first African slaves that arrived in Virginia in the early 1600s. Their long battle as American slaves continued until 1865 after the 13th amendment that prohibits African American slavery was established. African Americans are one of the largest ethnic groups who were part of the forced migration that was unique in American history bring the Africans to American to work as slaves. Over the years, African Americans have been facing challenges due to health disparities caused by their unhealthy living conditions in their communities.	Family practices were central to African American culture. The family includes the whole community that associates with them. There is a great obligation for those that are considered as a family since they feel that they have a close bond with those people. Standing for one’s family and standing for oneself is highly considered in the African American culture. African Americans value family reunions, which help in maintaining their cultural heritage. African Americans are spiritual and religious and have sturdy church affiliations. Health and wellness are considered as harmony with God and nature, while illness is believed to be a punishment from God.	The media has portrayed African Americans as people with low standards of living. The media has shown a negative perception and a collective image of the African American men as stereotypes media perception of African American men. Media also shows that African Americans have an implicit bias against the unknown face, which leads to racial biases that are how against them by the whites. Gender biases have also been portrayed among the African American communities with different social identities for different genders. African Women have been considered as matriarchal, stereotypes, and objectification of black women’s bodies.	Workplace discrimination has been prevalent even though it has been prohibited. Workplace discrimination has been a systematic inequality that has led to harassment and work-related illness. Black women have encountered both racial and sexual harassment in the workplace, which has involved threats, verbal abuse, unwelcome remarks, and hostility.
2.Hispanic	Spaniards landed in the United States in the 1500s. There were a lot of Spanish explorers that were coming to the United States. The first Spaniard to land in the United States was Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513. Over the years, Hispanic were believed to come to the United States for welfare and looking for job opportunities to improve their living standards. The Hispanics were the first American citizens that acquired the Southwest territory and have remained as a major in a number of states in the United States. They helped in the progression and development of the United States, which is still currently encountered.	The Hispanic community/culture pays attention to the core values that are often referred to as as the five Fs of the Hispanic culture,, consisting of family, food, faith, fiesta,, and full. For instance, bringing the birthday celebrations, new year, and any other forms of celebration is highly valued among the Hispanics. Celebrations are intended for fun, but they have some religious reasons tied to them among the Hispanics.	Stereotypical representation of the Hispanic characters on media has considered resulted in the negative representation and confrontation of the entire Hispanic community’s work ethic, morality, dignity, and intelligence. They are perceived as a race with a stereotyped mixed-race appearance and unemployed, manual labor, and lazy citizen. Hispanics have been reported in drug-related stories, illegal immigration, and other forms of crime rather than accomplishments. Hispanic men have been represented as comedic, unintelligence, unprofessional, and criminals. The impact of media on portrayals of Hispanics has built racial stereotypes in real-life experience.	Latinos have increasingly experienced employment discrimination since they are Latinos. Considerably being ethnic minorities and media representation has influence ethnic and racial discrimination in the workplace. This is because they have been portrayed as lazy people in the media. The majority of the Hispanics say that people perceive them as if they are not smart. Hispanics with darker skin tones have been more subject to discrimination.
3.Asians	The Asians were well accepted in the United States when they first arrived. The Asian Americans consisted of the Japanese, Filipino, and Chinese Americans, which was aimed at bringing the groups together for strategic political aims. During the migration, Asians, especially the Chinese that came in large groups due to the gold rush. They arrived in America as unskilled workers who help in the building of the railroads. Just like any other ethnic group, the whites felt that the Asians were a threat and passed various laws against Asians. After the Vietnam war, Asian migration increased significantly.	The Chinese highly celebrate the new year in the United States. There are other cultural celebrations that were conducted countrywide by the Asian. For instance, the Ching ming Festival and Holi festival are among the most celebrated ceremonies by the Asian Americans. Buddhism has been highly practiced among Asian communities. Tea ceremonies have been a significant part of Asian cultures. Dim Sum is among the Asian traditions, consisting of a meal that has many dishes and various foods, including fried and steamed dumplings. Another major practice among Asians is Origami, which is a learning activity that is practiced in school by young children.	Asian has been viewed as a model of a minority group in the United States. The media has perpetuated Asian Americans as racial, ethnic stereotypes. The racial, ethnic stereotype representation of the Asian Americans has influenced the interaction behaviors with other groups. This is because the people’s perceptions about the Asian Americans have been aligned to the media representation.	Implicit bias has been the main challenge facing Asian Americans in the workplace. This is because people hold a certain perception of Asian Americans. Ideally, implicit biases are the stereotypes and attitudes that influence actions, understandings, and decisions in an unconscious manner that are based on the learned relations and interactions between the social categories and qualities. Asian Americans have been overlooked in the discussions of racial bias in the U.S.
4. Native Americans	The Native Americans began settling in the United States in the 1500s as explorers from a variety of societies, peoples, and cultures from Asia through Beringia. The native Americans resisted colonization and were forced to give in their lands. They were then gathered up in specific areas where they worked as laborers and peasants.	The Native American cultural practices are shared and encountered enormously among the Native Americans. These include clothing, language, customers, and other major cultural features. The native Americans’ religious ceremonies are highly valued as well as singing, fasting, and praying in their ancient languages—other traditional practices such as the use of sacred medicinal herbs.	The media represents the native Americans in a historical and stereotypical perception. The media has portrayed the Native Americans in a negative manner, which has greatly influenced the perception of the majority group. Native Americans are rarely represented in the media, which means stereotypical representation will result in a problematic perception.	Discrimination in the workplace has been as a result of a negative attitude against race interactions and bias. Native Americans have encountered exclusion from informal social networks and stereotyping of white co-workers and supervisors. Discrimination has been motivated by the feeling that Native Americans are inferior as compared to other races.
5.Arabians	Arabians arrive in the United States in the late 1800s, like any other group that came to the U.S. with the hope of economic opportunity. They were focused on earning a living and improving the standards of living for their family. By the 1950s, most of them had settled in major towns and cities in the United States.	Religious practices are highly valued in the Arab culture since it is considered as the foundation of a person’s moral compass. Religion is at the center of individual development in Arab culture. The religious practices are celebrated as a communal. Relatively, premarital sex practices are not allowed among Arab Americans.	The media has presented the Arab Americans as stereotypes since most of the Arabs are Muslims. Ost, the Arabs, presented in media, have shown how the Arab men oppress their women. The mass media has presented the stereotypical actions of the Arabs and Muslims in the United States and how it has led to adverse repercussions and negative daily interactions with the ethnic group.	Racial and gender discrimination has been evident since Hispanic women are less due to their gender. Acceptance and respect for Hispanic have been a challenge due to increased discrimination. Perceived racial discrimination has resulted in negative mental health issues among Hispanics  such as higher psychological distress
6.Samoan	The existence of the American Samoans in the United States was as a result of the agreement between the United States and Germany after the civil war. Most of the Samoans had been enrolled in the military services while others migrated due to religious beliefs and settled in Utah, after which American Samoa was established in 1899.	The traditions of Samona are based on food, family, and dance. For the American Samonas, both women and men wear a single piece of cloth that is worn wrapped around like a skirt and is referred to as LavaLava. The outfit is completed and complemented by colorful floral prints on the blouses and shirts and leather sandals.	The political representation fo the American Samoa and the empowerment of Samoa women in the media has shown the harmful practices and norms, patriarchal attitudes, and traditions of American Samoa show a deep-rooted stereotypical society with regards to the responsibilities, roles ad identities of men and women in their communities.	Equality and discrimination at work have been the main challenge for American Samoans in the United States organizations. Ethnic origin is among the most challenging factor among different American Samoa. There has been a high level of workplace conflict resulting in racial discrimination for such an ethnic group.

Part 2: Analysis

 

 

Introduction

Multiculturalism is essential since it dissipates and dilutes the divisiveness of ignorance. It is essential since it encourages interaction between different cultures that have radically varying perspectives. A multicultural society is good as long as people from varying backgrounds learn to appreciate and respect each other (Schaefer, 2011). Businesses often high people from different cultural backgrounds with different identities, which generates a multicultural workforce. A multicultural society is essential since there is more understanding, increased creativity since people are able to consider more than one way and see things from more than one perspective. A multicultural society promotes intercultural approaches and integration, which facilitates growth and development.

How has U.S. society influenced these ethnic groups’ mindset and identity

The U.S. society consists of various ethnic groups and races that are put together as one. The racial identity has influenced the self-identity of the ethnic groups, which has impacted the sense of identification with given kinship, cultural values, and beliefs. The media and politics have influenced the perceptions of ethnic groups. Additionally, in the workplace, the ethnic group’s employees have been discriminated against due to t their cultural backgrounds, which have led to collective identity for the ethnic group. The U.S. society has increased the cultural differences due to racial discrimination and share common beliefs about a certain ethnic group have resulted in increased identity choices.

How has each group been stereotyped? How accurate are these stereotypes?

The ethnic groups have faced varying stereotypes from gender to racial stereotypes. The ethnic groups have continued to be stereotyped with negative stereotypes in the news, in the films, and other forms of media. The stereotypes are widespread, diversified, and long-standing among the ethnic group members. Most of the studies have argued against the media and news stereotypes of the ethnic groups which have been pervasive. The stereotypes and generalizations of African Americans have evolved among Americans. The stereotyping of ethnic groups has had negative impacts on ethnic groups and families. Additionally, this has contributed to inequalities in employment, education, and denial of human rights.

The social concepts of prejudice, discrimination, and privilege

The social concepts of discrimination, prejudice, and privilege may affect interaction among the members of a multicultural society (Schaefer, 2011). Discrimination and prejudice are sources of human conflict. Prejudice, privilege, and discrimination lead to the formation of social groups, which lead to the identity of a person with one group than the other. Relationships, interactions, and contact building are influenced, leading to negative traits associated with one group resulting in human conflict. For instance, racism is a form of discrimination and prejudice, which has been experienced among most multicultural groups, which leads to biases and negative perceptions among the multicultural group members.

Behavior and thinking patterns in U.S. society

As the number of people migrating from various continues to the United States rise, the thinking and behavior patterns in the U.S. society has kept on changing. This is because there are new changes and ideas that the U.S. has continued to adapt over the years, which have changed the thinking pattern. Many ethnic and racial groups in the United States have enabled the reduction of discriminatory behaviors and increased multicultural workforce in organizations. The United States society has continued to embrace the cultural differences. Customs, beliefs, and traditions in organizations have been adopted in the United States to build a better future.

Conclusion

In summation, American society has continued to grow with increased diversity and cultural awareness, which have played a great role in reducing racial and cultural differences among the people. The U.S. society has continued to benefit from a large and diverse workforce, which has enabled creativity and different behavioral patterns that play a part in the country’s development. The multicultural workforce has led to the adaptation of different customers and beliefs in organizations and increasing the visibility of the minority groups. Stereotypes based on gender, race, and ethnicity have reduced significantly due to increased cultural awareness in American society.

Part 3: References

Harvey, C. P., & Allard, M. J. (2009). Understanding and managing diversity (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

 

Schaefer, R. T. (2011). Racial and ethnic groups (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.