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MEANING AND BENEFITS OF CITIZENSHIP AND DIVERSITY

Citizenship and diversity has a huge correlation with problems that involve the public services. It
is crucial that public servants working in the public services of a country are aware with the
current national affairs to be successful. Citizenship and diversity bring forward a range of
debates, evaluations and discussions to make a public servant more aware.
Citizenship
Defintion
A citizen is an individual who is a member of a specific state or political environment, for
example a country like the United States. An individuals citizenship can be determined by
numerous factors such as; place of birth, family background, place of residence, place of
payable tax, where the individual is able to vote, place of work and place of education. However,
it is not always the case that a an individual is a citizen just because they live in a country or
because they are born in a specific country. This is often dependant on their family background
and nationality of their parents.
The expression citizen is often associated with a legal citizen where an individual meets all of
the national prerequisites of a particular political environment . These prerequisites can include
having to be born in a specific country or having to live in a country for a specific timeframe
(such as an individual living in the UK for the first 10 years of their life). Being a legal citizen
entitles an individual to be able to permanently live in a specific political environment. However,
citizens can also be looked at as moral and political citizens; which are ways an individual must
act in a political environment to be a citizen. This variation of citizenship is associated with how
well a citizen respects and assists the community in was such as helping the elderly, clearing up
rubbish, volunteering for charity organisations and taking part in local political activities.
Ultimately, the requirements of citizenship are decided by the governments of political
environments.
In addition to these definitions, moral and political citizenship can be defined be the following
three factors:
Social and Moral Responsibility - This is where individuals are respectful of their fellow citizens,
peers and those who have a specific level of authority. In addition to this, this concept presents
the importance of civic duty, which is the mindset of having a responsibility of the individuals
and members of a specific community, whilst the same applies vice versa in the sense that these
members also have a responsibility of that individual. This concept brings fourth the idea of
supporting each other. This can be shown through providing necessary welfare for senior
citizens of a political environment.
Community Involvement - This concept is where citizens have an interest in a specific community
and its issues through having concerns and giving service to the community. This can be shown
through citizens performing volunteer work and taking part in initiatives such as environmental
movements.

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Political Literacy - This is essentially where there is knowledge of politics and a political
environments society on local, regional and national scales. This includes being able to
understand how specific governments work and knowledge on what roles society have on
democratic affairs such as issues and social change. Political activities can also include talking to
local government issues or becoming politically active.
Citizenship in the sense of politics are defined by how involved a person acts towards their
community and the people in that community. Having political literacy involves caring for the
environment as a whole and for everyone that is in it.
Although citizenship is often described as being a member of a specific political state, being a
moral citizenship can extend far beyond the borders of a country. Attending to environmental
issues, human rights violations and other international issues can make a person a global citizen.
Public Services View of Citizenship
The public services and public servants very much make up moral and political citizenship
through their work and actions. They show their moral citizenship through different factors
including:

Involvement in the local, regional or national community

Taking fourth a responsibility for the safety of other members in that community
Taking fourth a responsibility for the local/regional/national environment
Developing personal and life skills
Positive approaches towards challenges
Respecting diversity and equality within an environment
An interest in a wide-scaled community
Making the local community better for all citizens

Regardless of the different acts and purposes of various public services, they all operate to
satisfy the same moral citizenship definitions. It is very crucial that good public services are put
into place to act as role models to other citizens, such as younger audiences.
Public servants working for the public services go through difficult and life-threatening
challenges each day. They are provided with the necessary training to prepare them for this and
would only be able to receive this type of training if they are able to portray their citizenship
qualities.
Legal View of Citizenship
Countries and political states have clearly stated prerequisites on what a person must have/do
to become a citizen. Different countries and political environments have different guidelines on
what makes a citizen. An example of a rule set by the UK government is that all British citizens
are allowed to enter and exit the United Kingdom at any given time. To become a British citizen,
there are two paths:
Registration - This is when an individual already has ties with the United Kingdom, for example
being a British Overseas citizens (a member of a former British colony), previously being

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protected by Her Majestys government. This can also be done when a former British citizen
wishes to obtain their citizenship again.
Naturalisation - These are individuals who have no ties with the United Kingdom, which include
citizens of Commonwealth countries. They have to apply and meet the prerequisite to obtain a
certificate. These requirements include:

Having to live in the United Kingdom for a period exceeding five years
Being 18 years of age or older
Having good intentions
Having a good personality/character
Having satisfactory proficiency in English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic
Having close ties with the UK.

In addition to this spouses of British citizens who reside in the UK for a period of three years can
obtain a British Citizenship through naturalisation.
Qualities of Good Citizens
Good citizens can be defined through numerous key qualities such as:
Responsibility - A good citizen takes fourth a satisfactory level of responsibility for their
community. These citizens take action in their communities, rather than complaining about the
local, regional or national issues. They form groups to ensure that things are done rather than
indicating small issues to the government.
Dedication - A good citizen tends to have strong motivation for community tasks and do not
give up. They perform tasks consistently until it is achieved and set action plans to ensure that
goals are met.
Attitudes to Other People - A good citizen would always have a good attitude to other members
of their community. These citizens would be caring and respectful towards others and do not
judge. They would also show no discrimination towards races, genders and beliefs.
Participation in Community Activities - A good citizen takes part in activities within a community
such as volunteer work.
Awareness of Needs of Others - A good citizen has awareness of the needs and wants of other
members in their community. They would do their best to provide support to these members
and include the community where possible.
Diversity
Definition
Diversity is basically the scope of different observable and non-observable dissimilarities
between people. These can include factors such as gender, colour of skin, sexuality, religious
beliefs, hair and disabilities. On the planet, there are a whole range of different people who
differentiate between one person to the next. It is very important for all global citizens to accept
different people and refrain from proving discrimination towards them.

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Public services take diversity into account on a massive scale. They wish to have diverse
workforces to implement more skills and develop the public services as a whole. Having a
workforce that is diverse can lead to easier handling of issues within a community, especially
where numerous ethnic, religious or social groups are involved. A range of languages, and
knowledge on cultures and religions can very much improve the efficiency and fairness of the
public services.
Composition of The Local and National Community
Many modern environments such as Hong Kong have to be able to deal with different beliefs
and cultures to be able to treat citizens and other members of a community fairly. This is also
needed where different ethnic groups of members of different beliefs could be present in a
public services workplace.
It is crucial that these groups feel that they are accepted and treated fairly by the public services
in environments like Hong Kong. Having citizens of diverse groups who feel happy with their
public services can have a huge impact on society and their operations. Not being able to treat
such diverse groups fairly and correctly can lead to a damaged public image and decrease the
trust amongst local, regional and national communities.
In order for Hong Kong to have a diversity in the police service the percentage of police officers
that are ethnic Chinese should reflect the population percentage (94%), and the ethnic minority
population should mean that percentage (6%) of the police force should be ethnic minorities
(far fewer than you would expect). This is so that officers can better understand the religions,
beliefs and cultures of their own ethnic groups and can more equally and fairly serve them. This
is beneficial for ensuring that all cultures and religions are respected.
Terminology
Racism/Racist
A race is a segregation between the global human population based on the physical
characteristics of individual such as origins, colour of skin and hair. Racism is essentially where
some of these races are indicated as inferior to another. Where a person discriminates a certain
racial group and relates them to being inferior, they are considered a racist.
Institutionalised Racism
Institutionalised racism occurs when organisations like public services organisations are
unsuccessful in providing efficient and fair services towards people as a result of their ethnicities,
beliefs and other characteristics. Where a company or public services organisation presents
recruitment materials only showing workforce images of what they perceive as superior races,
is an act of institutionalised racism.
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is where various ethnic and religious groups are accepted in a community. This
is when a community adopts no sole ethnic/religious group as superior or normal.

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Ethnocentricity
Ethnocentricity is where a persons beliefs and ethnicity is perceived as normal to them and that
all other groups are thought to be inferior. This is where other races are judged and
discriminated.
Sexism
Sexism is where a persons gender or sexuality is being discriminated. This happens all the time
in society, and often in organisations such as public services where females are not recruited the
same as men due to the perception of them being weaker.
Heterosexist
A heterosexist is a term that describes when a person believes that dual-sex relationships and
interactions are superior when compared with single-sex interactions.
Homophobia
Homophobia is where a person has a fear or greatly dislikes the idea of homosexuals and their
activities. This leads to much discrimination towards gays and lesbians in communities.
Equal opportunity
Equal opportunities is when all ethnic, sexual, religious and social groups are provided with the
same benefit of being able to live alongside, work, go to school and be around each other. It is a
principle that states that everyone should be provided with the exact same benefits regardless
of their differences.
Equality
Equality is where all ethnic groups are treated the exact same way and that no ethnic group is
indicated as more superior than others.
Prejudice
Prejudice is where a belief, whether it is positive or negative, is held for an issue based on
stereotyping. This is where other ethnic groups and members of other beliefs are perceived in a
specific way. This can be done intentionally, where these members are discriminated on purpose
and where a person involves themselves in such beliefs and actions purposely. It can also be
done overtly, where organisations or members perceive a certain ethnic group or members of a
specific belief are of bad quality, so they reject their applications based on that, however give an
explanation to those members that the rejection was a result of not meeting the perquisites.
Covert prejudice is basically prejudice where it is unintentional.
Harassment
Harassment is where undesired interactions are given to people of different ethnic groups or
members of different beliefs, including offensive comments, violence and touching. These
actions can be a result of discrimination towards a persons race, gender, sexuality, culture and
religious beliefs.
Victimisation
Victimisation is a term that describes how a person is treated unfairly and unlawfully in regards
to equality. In simple terms it is basically where an individual has brought forward comments on
how they have been discriminated.

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Disability
Disability is a term used to describe when individuals have certain impairments, whether that be
physical or mental. Disability is the cause of numerous restrictions to day-to-day activities such
as speaking, hearing, seeing, walking, moving, or it can have an effect on an individuals mental
health through disorders such as ADHD or ADD.
Direct and Indirect Discrimination
Whilst discrimination is a term used to describe the action of mistreating or unfairly treating
members of different religious, sexual, gender, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, it can be done
both directly and indirectly. When individuals purposely offend and discriminate those who are
different, it is considered direct discrimination. On the other hand, indirect discrimination is
slightly less offensive, but can still have a negative effect on those of different religious, sexual,
gender, ethnic and cultural groups. This occurs when members of different groups are provided
with a different service whether that be when the public services serve them or when they are
recruiting for jobs, purely based on their physical features or beliefs.
Concepts
Integration
Integration is the process of different religious, sexual, gender, ethnic and cultural groups,
entering into a larger, wider community. Integration occurs when these groups go to reside,
work, attend school and activities with individuals of different religious, sexual, gender, ethnic
and cultural backgrounds. There have been many different occasions in history when there has
not been acceptance of different religious, sexual, gender, ethnic and cultural groups, making it
difficult for some to integrate. An example of this was during the South African apartheid, where
there was a clear segregation between the whites and blacks.
Tolerance and Multiculturalism
Tolerance is the degree of acceptance and want in regards to different religious, sexual, gender,
ethnic and cultural groups. Where these different groups are not welcomed and accepted, it
makes it difficult for them to integrate, in particular with getting recruited and finding places in
schools.
Multiculturalism is a term used to describe a nation without obvious national identities. Whilst
nations such as india, where there is a very predominant population of indian nationals,
countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong do not present as dominant of a single national
identity, making them multicultural countries.
The Rights and Responsibilities of Individuals in Society as Citizens
Every country has a link between its government and its citizens, each presenting a range of
different rights and responsibilities. The rights are the benefits that each citizen of a country is
entitled to such as free education and health in the United Kingdom. However with these
benefits, there are also a range of responsibilities that must be met by citizens, such as paying
tax each financial year. An example of rights and responsibilities is in Israel, where all citizens are
required to enter a draw that determines whether or not they have to serve time training in the

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Israeli armed forces. In return, these individuals are entitled to reside, enter and exit Israel at
whatever time they wish, unless a war is present.
Also, there are certain moral responsibilities that citizens are expected (but not legally required)
to follow such as assigning others in the community where possible, and refraining from any
form of discrimination.
Equal Opportunities and Positive Action to Find Solutions for Greater Social Inclusion
It is crucial that equal opportunities are present in society within all types of communities. It is a
desire for all to be treated indifferently and have equality. It should not matter what ethnic,
sexual, gender, religious and social group people come from, equality should be present.
Positive action occurs when actions are taken to better include ethnic minorities and other
groups into society, such as including them in sporting activities or recruitment efforts fairly.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is the degree of action an organisation such as the public
services take in helping the community around them in order to make it a better place for all.
This includes helping in issues such as human trafficking or the environment.
Benefits of a Good Citizen
There are many benefits to society of good and proactive citizens within a community as they
can make a difference in making society better for all.
Benefits
1. Improves communities as a whole through making a difference positively - These individuals
take initiative to help the community in which they reside and do what they can to make it a
better place for all, especially younger generations.
2. Protects the environment - Citizens that are regarded as good do what they can to make the
community that they live in more environmentally friendly and reduce the carbon emissions
where possible. They are proactive and take opportunities working with charitable
organisations such as Greanpeace.
3. Challenges justice and enables fairness - Those who fight for what they believe is right such
as homosexual relationships and fighting against racial discrimination are also regarded as
good citizens. They do what they can and challenge the government in order to get what
they believe in.
Volunteers working in public services
In many communities volunteer public services organisations such as St. Johns Ambulance or
life boat volunteers are present to encourage members of the community to volunteer in order
to assist the public services. Those who volunteer for such services are regarded as good
citizens due to their devotion of time and effort. As these citizens work in these organisations on
a volunteer basis only part time, they are not remunerated in any way further showing their help
to society.
Volunteers in the Community
Many people devote their time in volunteering to help their community by taking part in
activities led by charity organisations. These volunteers can make a huge difference to society by

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providing charities with the necessary manpower. These volunteers add value to society as a
whole.
The Importance of Good Citizens in Respecting Equality to The Public Services
In this section, I will be looking into the ways in which good citizens help the public services and
how they are important through looking at the key diversity terms.
Integration
It is very beneficial to the public services when society are accepting of different diverse groups
as it makes it easy for such ethnic, cultural, religious, sexual, gender and social groups to
integrate into a wider community. With acceptance, the level of potential conflict, violence and
abuse is lowered. This is beneficial for the public services as less conflict means less efforts for
them.
Tolerance
As mentioned above citizens that accept the process of integration can greatly benefit the
public services organisations. This is due to the level of potential decreased harmful activities
such as crimes and fights. It is crucial for the public services to act as role models and have a
high tolerance of different diverse groups.
Positive Action on Inclusion
The process of encouraging the integration of different ethnic, cultural, religious, sexual, gender
and social groups into a wider society is greatly beneficial to the public services as it provides
for a minimised level of prejudice amongst society. It is important that these actions are carried
out within the public services to obtain a more diverse workforce, which in turn allows the public
services to better serve the community.
Corporate and Social Responsibility
CSR is a huge benefit to the public services as it means that private sector industries and
organisations can spend funds that the government and public services don't have to in order to
help society, which can better develop the community as a whole as those funds could be spent
elsewhere.
Volunteers in The Public Services
Volunteers within the public services helping in partner organisations are of a massive
advantages to public services organisations as they provide extra workforce where necessary to
fill in the roles of full-time public servants in order to increase productivity and efficiency.
Racism
Racism is not at all a benefit to the public services as it creates far more harm than good, due to
the fact that it really provides no good at all. Racism results in violent acts such as physical harm
and verbal abuse. This causes the public services to have to perform more tasks in able to deal
with such situations and enforce them. In organisations such as the public services, racism takes
a huge toll on team cohesion as it may be a reason why some employees and team members
dont work well with each other, harming the efficiency and productivity of the entire
organisation.

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Institutional Racism
Institutional racism occurs often in the public services and it is actually a huge issue for many
organisations, particularly in human resources efforts. Where recruitment or promotion is
necessary, it is important for organisations to consider members of different diverse groups
equally. In the public services, should institutional racism be present, it presents bad face for that
organisation and may lead to resentment or mistrust amongst society.
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is a very good thing, especially for the public services. Having a multicultural
workforce within the public services allows them to be able to understand suspects, victims,
patients and other members of the public better, especially if there is a diverse population. This
can lead to reduced discrimination which in turn, provides a better face for the public services as
a whole.
Ethnocentricity
Ethnocentricity can have a huge toll on the public services, or even society as a whole. Where
people have a biased opinion believing that their background is more superior than those of
others, it sparks arguments and disputes, which could escalate into violent acts such as physical
fights. This can cause a huge issue for the public services as they'd be expected to enforce and
put an end to such acts. In the workplace, this again can have a negative effect on the cohesion
of team members and can harm the performance of public services organisations.
Sexism
Like racism and ethnocentricity, sexism can lead to huge negative impacts for the public services
and society as conflicts of opinions and discrimination of gender can result in all sorts of violent,
or even unlawful acts such as rape and sexual harassment. In the workplace, sexism can be a
threat to public service organisations as sexism higher up the ranks can present a bad image for
such organisations in efforts such as recruitment. At a lower level, it can be harmful towards the
efficiency of these organisations.
Heterosexism & Homophobia
Heterosexism & Homophobia are both forms of sexuality discrimination that can spark violent
acts and verbal abuse. Public services and government organisations can have a huge issue
dealing with populations and societies that do not accept LGBT relationships and can create a
huge job. With there always being two sides to an argument, the public services would be
expected to help control situations such as protests and public disputes. In the workplace is is
very important for LGBT applicants to be treated the same, especially in the public services as
they must be respected by the public and act as role models.
Equal Opportunities
Equal Opportunities and equality as a whole is very important in society in order to provide all
types of diverse groups with the same level of opportunity as others. This is particularly
important in the public services as it will provide a better image for such organisations and let
them serve the public better by having a diverse workforce.

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Prejudice
Prejudice is one of the many reasons why violent acts occur within society, and why
discrimination is made in the workplace, notably in the process of recruitment. This can happen
where the consideration of an applicant is based on their beliefs and physical attributes rather
than their merit, qualifications, skills, qualities and experience. This can lead to resentment in
organisations like the public services and show a bad public image.
Harassment
Harassment can be argued as a crime in many different cases, and has a huge importance
amongst the public services. Harassment can involve a range of public services and can be a
huge issue in society, especially amongst young people. Harassment can also occur in the
workplace, and can be an issue as enforcement measures must be put into place, which takes
focus off another area that could be helping society.
Victimisation
Victimisation can be harmful to society as it exploits individuals of different ethnic, sexual,
gender, religious and social group as a result of their physical features or beliefs. Victimisation
can be an issue in the workplace as it can hinder performance and efficiency.
Disability
Discrimination against disabled individuals can have a huge negative effect in society as it
presents precede, harassment and inequality. With this, it could lead to increased amounts of
work for the public services.

Role of Good Citizens in Supporting the Public Services

In this section I will be analysing the advantages, disadvantages and implications of good
citizens in supporting the public services. In addition to this, I will be including my personal
opinion.
Improves Society and Makes a Difference
There are a range of advantages for how improving society and making a difference helps
society as a whole. Improving society helps to develop the entire community, and with that
much is improved, such as education. This can be greatly positive as it would help to lower the
levels of crime within the community, making it a safer environment for all. Also with an
increased eduction, it can also decrease the levels of prejudice and discrimination, again
potentially lowering crime and violence rate, leading to less work needed from the public
services. Helping society can also lead to even further development, as where citizens improve
the community, the government don't have to, resulting in a smaller government expenditure
which could mean that the budget can be spent on other developments, taking those
improvements to another level. Moral citizens that work together can bring the community into
unity which can again benefit society by lowering the chances of discrimination.

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However, although improving society is widely a great thing, there are also some drawbacks to
citizens taking their own initiative to improve society. It is often the case that governments have
certain development plans in place for future projects. If citizens go ahead to try and make that
development themselves, it could be harmful towards the governments plans. Should the
government intervene with their developments, it could lead to resentment and they could be
challenged through public protests.
The implications of citizens not developing and improving society is that developments in the
community could be slowed down dramatically as citizens do not take initiative to improve their
community. It also would mean that the government would have to disburse more spendings as
they would have to cover the developments rather than the citizens doing it. Without citizens
who actively look to develop their community, poses an issue with the cohesion they have with
their peers and fellow citizens which could lead to prejudice, discrimination and potentially
crime.
In my opinion, members of the community who actively look to improve society and make a
difference are a huge asset to any town, city or region as they devote their time in making the
environment of the community better for all. This can make the community safer for everyone
living in it through working with other citizens, boosting cohesion.
Challenges Injustice and Enables Fairness
The benefits of citizens challenging injustice and enabling fairness for all is that they are fighting
for causes that they believe in, to help their fellow citizens and peers. The issues that are being
challenged could be to do with the environment, treatment of people or discrimination, where
the government may not be aware and it is up to those citizens to make their points heard. This
is beneficial to the public services as these challenged issues could be able to help a whole
range of citizens, and to make them happier. Enabling fairness could decrease the level of
prejudice and discrimination.
On the contrary, there are also some disadvantages to citizens challenging the justice system. In
efforts to challenge injustice, activists may carry out protests that get out of hand and may need
involvement and enforcement from the public services, which can present a negative image of
the public services as a whole. In addition, some challenges can be against the public services,
such as the treatment of ethnic minority groups. This can be very harmful to the image and
respect of the public services.
The implications of having citizens challenge the law and enabling justice could be a greater
level of discrimination in society. Without activists and citizens speaking out, there would not be
the same level of diverse acceptance that is globally present today. Without the acts of Martin
Luther King, the black ethnic group in the United States may not be as integrated to the same
level that they are today.
In my opinion, I think it is very important for the justice system and the way people are treated to
be challenged in order for real change to occur. The level of discrimination may be much higher
if this was not carried out. However, I believe it is the moral responsibility of these activist citizens
to maintain public peace in order to avoid violence and abuse.

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Protects the Environment

Citizens who look at protecting, preserving and improving the environment that the whole
community live in can be widely beneficial to society. Governments and government
organisations can save funds as citizens improve the environment themselves, saving potential
budgets for other environmental change, making the protection and improvements even more
significant. A bad environment can lead to numerous health effects, especially those associated
with breathing. With the development of the environment, it is likely that some of these health
issues could be improved in a specific environment.
However, there are some negatives of citizens protecting the environment themselves. Citizens
may actively look to improve the environment to the extent that may effect the development
plans of the government, I.E. improving infrastructure or demolishing buildings.
The implications of citizens protecting the environment is that environmental development
would be far slower, resulting in negative issues such as worse pollution or a lack of recycling.
This could have a negative impact on the health in the community, and affect plants and animals
in the area. It could also lead to a lack of renewable energy which could lead to less
sustainability within communities.
In my opinion, I believe that it is important for environmental activists to do what they can to
make a difference to the environment that all citizens live in to better develop it. I think that such
citizens can do more harm than good and that the government should encourage it rather than
look at it negatively.