Tanisha Brewer-Lott

October 3, 2023
OGL 350: Diversity and Organizations

Capstone Project: Your Personal TKD Plan

This final exercise is designed to help you identify areas of your Cultural Mindset (CM) that you need to
address and design a plan to improve your CM. It is your capstone project for this course and hopefully
you have been working on it all semester. For this capstone you will be pulling together all your
knowledge gained and going through the Plan-Do-Review process with emphasis on the plan part and a
bit of the do, knowing that in such a short period of time, the review will most likely just be a timeline for
review. This is a modified version of the Final Exercise in the textbook.
Your goal is to engage in some version of this process on a regular basis through the semester. After you
plan, you implement changes, then review the outcomes leading to new plans. This Plan-Do-Review
process is used in many organizations to encourage goal setting, taking responsibility, solving problems,
and ensuring continuous improvement.

Your Commitment
Before you undertake any planning, reflect on your level of commitment. How motivated are you in
developing your CM? What is your level of commitment and what are your goals? Based on that
reflection, draft a cultural mission statement for yourself that includes the following elements: your
end goal, the reasons why, and your level of commitment.
You can start your mission statement by filling in the information below. If you do this at the
beginning of the semester, you may find you have adjusted as you went through the course
● My overall goal regarding developing a CM is to ensure that my actions and decisions
are culturally considerate and that I remain respectful of people from different
backgrounds.

● This is important to me because it is critical to encourage an inclusive environment and

to help break down stereotypes and biases .

● Growth in my CM will allow me to grow as a person and better navigate various

cultural situations with confidence and open-mindedness .

● Growth in my CM will allow my team/organizations to promote an environment of

diversity, inclusivity, and appreciativeness of people from all backgrounds and cultures.

● My level of commitment to this endeavor is fairly moderate. I definitely understand the

importance of understanding different cultures. However, I may not always be able to
make it my top focus in the present time of my life. But, I’m willing to make an effort to
learn and appreciate diverse cultures as the need and opportunity arises.

Review and revise your CM mission on an occasional basis.

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Review
You should have completed a number of self-assessments while reading this book, including the
ICMI. In this section, pull together all the information from those self-assessments and provide the
results. You are going to be looking for trends, strengths and weaknesses. There will be things you
know and perhaps some that will surprise you.
● Your overall ICMI score and score in each factor (Self-Assessments 2.1; 4.1)

● Your cultural background (Self-Assessments 1.1, 2.1, 3.1, 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3)

● Your key values (Self-Assessments 1.2 and 7.2; Exercises 2.1, 7.2, 10.1, and 10.2)

● Your biases and the stereotypes you hold (Self-Assessments 5.1 and 5.2; Exercise 6.1)
● Other personality or abilities (Self-Assessments 2.1, 6.1, 7.1, 9.1, 9.2, 10.1, 10.2, 11.1, and
11.2)

● Your overall knowledge of culture and bias. You can use you ICMI cultural knowledge-factor
score and your work in TBW as starting points

Identify Areas of Strength

Based on your review of the various information you have gathered about yourself, your experiences
while reading this book, and other personal and professional experiences that may be related to CM,
identify your top 5 to 7 areas of strength. What are you good at? What can you do?
1. Empathetic: I am able to have empathy for people, regardless of their background, if they
are faced with a difficult situation or challenge.
2. Interpersonal skills: I have the ability to “get along with everyone”, trying to find a common
ground or something I can relate with in interpersonal situations.
3. Appreciation for different viewpoints: I can appreciate and be respectful of other people's
perspectives, even if they differ from mine.
4. Effective communication: I effectively communicate with others, in both personal and
professional settings.
5. Listening skills: I make concerted efforts to be a good listener, speaking less and just
focusing on what is being said.

Identify Weaknesses/Areas of Opportunity

Based on your review of the various information you have gathered about yourself, your experiences
while reading this book, and other personal and professional experiences that may be related to CM,
identify 5-7 areas that present a challenge. What are some key weaknesses? What is hardest for you to
learn/do? What are you least motivated to learn/do?
1. Language Barriers
2. Cultural Biases
3. Managing Conflict
4. Lack of awareness of cultural nuances
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5. Avoidance of difficult conversations related to cultural issues

6. Lack of curiosity regarding (some) other cultures

Reflect on Your Destination

Using the TKD roadmap in your textbook, reflect on what you would like to or need to address and
adjust your mission accordingly if needed. Please note if you adjust your mission.
● Think: In this initial phase, I likely need to expand my cultural diversity awareness. The
world has become very interconnected so having a good understanding of other cultures
is becoming even more important in professional contexts.
● Know: In the "Know" phase, in order to expand my cultural diversity awareness, I should
aim to grow my knowledge about various cultures and their traditions, customs, and
social norms. This may mean engaging in educational opportunities and conversations
with people from various backgrounds.
● Do: In the last TKD phase, the following are examples of actions I could take to expand
my cultural diversity awareness:
○ Attending cultural activities
○ Participating in cross-cultural interactions
○ Take advantage of cultural opportunities in the workplace that encourage learning
about others to promote diversity and belonging

Set SMART Goals

Using all the information you have gathered from this exercise so far, identify short-term and
long-term goals; you may also choose to further create in-between goals or any time frame that you
prefer. As you now know, your CMC may affect your goal-setting time frame. You should refer back
to your mission statement and revise it if necessary. While long-term goals may be more generic and
less precise, similar to short-term goals, they should follow the SMART guidelines; meaning they
should be specific, measurable, achievable, reasonable, and have a time frame. Use your strengths and
weaknesses to assess the degree to which the goals are achievable and reasonable. For example, if
your general cultural knowledge is low, it would not be reasonable to achieve a high level of
knowledge through a short-term goal.

Short Term Goals (1-3 Months)
1. Explore different ethnic cuisine
2. Watch an international movie
3. Expand cultural knowledge (maybe read
articles about another culture)
4. Join a cultural group at work
5. Reflect on potential cultural biases I may
have
Long Term Goals (6-12 Months)
1. Engage in a cultural event
2. Learn more words in another language
3. Review potential for a trip outside of the US
since I recently received my passport
4. Continually seek out opportunities to learn
more about diverse cultures (classes)
5. Research volunteer opportunities for a
culturally diverse group
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Strategies: How Will You Get There?

Now that you have a series of goals, for each of them identify strategies to achieve them. For
example, if your goal is to increase your cultural knowledge, strategies might include taking a course,
attending cultural festivals, reading literature, watching films, traveling, and so forth. The worksheet
below is just a suggestion to get you started. You will need strategies, time frame, and resources.

Short Term Goals (1-3 Months) Strategies to Get There

1. Explore different ethnic cuisine ● Identify local restaurants
○ Research and identify local
restaurants that offer diverse
ethnic cuisines.
○ Make a list of at least three
restaurants in the local area.
● Set a timeline
○ Choose a date within the next 2
months to visit the first
restaurant on the list.
○ Schedule subsequent visits to
the other restaurants over
months.
● Try new dishes
○ Ask for recommendations from
the staff or review online
reviews.
2. Watch an international movie ● Select a movie
○ Research international films.
○ Choose one that interests me .
● Set aside time
○ Set a specific date and time in
the next two weeks to watch the
selected movie.
● Reflect
○ After watching the movie, take
some time to reflect cultural
elements.
3. Expand cultural knowledge (maybe read ● Choose topic
articles about another culture) ○ Identify specific cultural topics
or countries to learn about
○ Find online articles/blogs
● Set schedule
○ Set time each week over the
next three months to read
articles or blog posts related to
different cultures. (maybe 1 per
week)
● Take notes
○ Make note of interesting facts
about the culture represented
○ Share with family
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4. Join a cultural group at work ● Identify groups

○ Review intranet for available
diversity groups
○ Find upcoming meeting info
● Attend meeting
○ Attend the upcoming meetings
that (as work schedule allows)
○ Actively participate.
5. Reflect on potential cultural biases I may ● Self-Reflection time
have ○ Set aside time to self reflect on
potential cultural biases (maybe
during the evening).
● Write down any thoughts
○ Make a note (i.e. electronically)
of any profound thoughts.
● Feedback
○ Reach out to close family for
feedback on my thoughts to see
if they have any suggestions on
addressing them.

Long Term Goals (6-12 Months) Strategies to Get There

1. Engage in a cultural event ● Research cultural events
○ Research upcoming events in
the local area.
● Plan which events to attend
○ Put on calendar the events to
attend (aim for 1 per quarter if
possible)
● Attend
● Attend events/engage/participate, and
have fun!
2. Learn more words in another language ● Choose a language
○ Select a language (probably
Spanish)
● Set weekly goals
○ Commit to weekly goals
○ Dedicate a specific time each
day or week for learning
● Practice
○ Practice with those that I know
that speak Spanish
3. Review potential for a trip outside of the US ● Research destination
since I recently received my passport ○ Explore potential international
destinations (review list I have
already made)
● Planning ($)
○ Start saving
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○ Set target date for trip and

saved $
● Travel prep
○ Plan for trip
○ Monitor any safety concerns
4. Continually seek out opportunities to learn ● Identify opportunities
more about diverse cultures (classes) ○ Search for courses online
○ Make of list of courses found
● Make a plan
○ Aim to enroll in 1 class or
workshop every 6 months or so
● Share
○ Share with family my
experience
○ Connect with people in the
courses
5. Research volunteer opportunities for a ● Find volunteer organizations
culturally diverse group ○ Research organizations that
work with culturally diverse
groups.
● Commitment
○ Set goal to volunteer with at
least once per year
● Learn
○ Reflect on how volunteering is
helping with my culture
mindset

Do
Implement your various strategies and keep track of your progress. Obviously, in the space of a
7-week course, you cannot completely implement everything, but if you have started moving forward,
tell us about it. Hopefully, in the future you will be able to move forward with your plan/thought.
Remember to take small steps and do not get overwhelmed or discouraged. Consider mistakes to be a
learning opportunity (growth mindset) and keep your sense of humor. Achieving your goals and
developing a CM is a journey; expect successes and failures and learn from both. Enjoy the process;
the outcome is worth it!

Review
Best practice is to set yourself a timeline to review your progress and assess whether your strategies
are having the right impact, or whether your goals are appropriate. At this point, depending on your
level of commitment and your motivation, you can start the cycle back with new goals, and so forth,
and continue to develop and refine your CM. Again, there isn’t enough time in the course to execute a
timeline, but please describe what you think your timeline will look like.