Cultural Intelligence and Capability

The report describes a scenario that highlights the difficulties caused by cultural differences and the importance of cultural intelligence and capability in creating a safe space. It also provides recommendations to overcome the hindrances in communication.

Running head: CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE AND CAPABILITY
Cultural Intelligence and Capability
Name of the Student:
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Background............................................................................................................................2
1.2 Aim........................................................................................................................................2
1.3 Scope......................................................................................................................................2
2. Summary and Observations.........................................................................................................2
2.1 Summary of the Video Clip...................................................................................................2
2.2 Observations..........................................................................................................................3
3. Analysis.......................................................................................................................................4
4. Recommendations........................................................................................................................6
5. Summary and Conclusion............................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

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1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Cultural capability, Cultural self-awareness and cultural intelligence are the several
aspects that determine whether a place is safe or unsafe. It is to be ensured that all these essential
requirements are created in order to ensure a safe place. A safe place is created only when all the
individuals present in the particular setting participates in a cordial and also positive manner.
Cultural capability includes the skills, knowledge, behaviour and the systems that are required to
plan, enhance and provide service in a culturally respectful manner.
1.2 Aim
The aim of the report is to describe a scenario, which resulted in difficulties, that were
caused due to differences in language of people , belonging to different culture . The paper also
describes why the situation is unsafe between two individuals as barriers in culture is noticed
between them. The report also discusses several recommendations so that the situation can be
overcome and hindrances in the communication can be resolved, which would lead to the
creation of a safe space.
1.3 Scope
The report primarily describes the scenes that emphasizes on the misinterpretations due to
the language difference between two individuals (Klitmøller & Lauring, 2013, pp. 404). This
problem has been depicted in the video which is taken from “Fawlty Towers”, which is a BBC
Television Program where receptionist of the hotel, Polly handles the complaints of a guest Mrs.
Richards, who barged and was being unfair to other guests (Spiers, 1979). The problem arises
when she was told to communicate with the waiter Manuel, who speaks Spanish but the guest,
Mrs. Richards was an English-speaking person (Flanja, 2009, pp.107). In the end, Mrs. Richards
is frustrated with Manuel and it is the evidence of an unsafe place between them.

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2. Summary and Observations
2.1 Summary of the Video Clip
The television program which is depicted in the video is of Fawlty Towers –
Communication Problems, Handling Complaints, a BBC Television program. It was released on
February 19, 1979 and it was episode 1 of the season 2. The TV program depicts a social setting
where the waiter of a hotel was asked to assist a guest in connection with her reservation in the
hotel. The waiter of the hotel, Manuel and the guest of the hotel, Mrs. Richards were the main
characters that were involved in the depicted video. The other noteworthy character in the video
was of the receptionist of the hotel, Polly.
2.2 Observations
The scene shows that Mrs. Richards barged into the hotel, and was being unfair to other
guests, as she demanded all the attention, and desired to be treated first without giving chance to
other guests. The receptionist of the hotel, Polly requested the waiter of the hotel Manuel to
assist Mrs. .Richards in connection with her reservation in the hotel .This is where the situation
of misunderstanding takes place , when Mrs. . Richards tries to convey her problems to Manuel
but Manuel being Spanish replies her in Spanish language, which English-speaking
Mrs. .Richards could not understand or comprehend. Thus, this problem is created due to the
cultural differences between two people. Mrs. .Richards is both disappointed and disgusted with
Manuel as he was not able to answer her queries in English and it is an example that depicts an
unsafe space between two individuals. This scene shows that the two individuals of different
culture ,one English and the other Spanish , if they talk to each other they would face lot of
problems in understanding . Such disappointment and disgust from Mrs. .Richards proves that
she and Manuel are in a place which can be deemed culturally unsafe considering the fact tht
they are unable to communicate with each other .
The size of the place is small as it depicts a confined workplace in a hotel . Polly is the
receptionist of the hotel, Manuel is the waiter of the hotel and Mrs. .Richards is one of the guests
in the hotel .

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Table 1 Scene Description
Scene
Number/Time
Frame
Sign of
Empathy
Body language Voice Tone
Scene 1: Polly
communicates
with Mrs.
Richards
Polly shows
cultural
intelligence, as
she is
hospitable to
her guests.
Impatience
depicted from
attitude of Mrs.
Richards
Complaining
from Mrs.
Richards
Scene 2 :
Mrs .Richards
communicates
with Manuel
Lack of cultural
intelligence
from Mrs.
Richards
Disgust and
disappointment
shown from Mrs.
Richards
Showing
disgust from
Mrs. Richards
3. Analysis
The term Safe Place can be used for the place or any particular environment where the
particular individual can feel the confidence and can unhesitatingly express his or her emotions
without being criticized, harassed or discriminated on the grounds of differences in culture,
gender, ethnicity ,sexual orientation and several other factors (Holley & Steiner, 2005 , pp.52). A
safe place ensures that the self-respect of every individual is guarded and it would create a
strong atmosphere for respecting other people. Cultural Intelligence or CQ can be defined as the
ability of an individual to relate and also efficiently perform his or her activities or duties in a
environment or situation , which is culturally diverse (Brislin, Worthley & Macnab, 2006,
pp.52). It is the capability of an individual to adapt to the differences in culture, as the person
interacts with the people of different region that have a different culture ((Brislin, Worthley &

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Macnab, 2006, pp.52) . Thus, it can be said it is the natural capability of an outside individual to
interpret an unknown as well as ambiguous gesture of other individuals. It is the ability, which
allows to cross the divides and dwell in the culture which are multiple in number. The cultural
capabilities includes the behaviour, skills and knowledge that are essential to plan, support,
improve and deliver the services in such a manner that it is apt and also it is respected by other
culture . Cultural self-awareness of an individual plays a very important role in building the base
of communication and cultural self-awareness also includes the capability of an individual to be
are of the different cultural group and identify the cultural values and practices (Quappe &
Cantatore, 2005). It conveys the procedure to do things in a particular way. It defines the
procedure to view the world .The awareness related to culture plays a very important role when
there is interaction between people who belong from different cultures. It has been observed that
the individuals interpret in the way, which is different from each other. The behaviour which
may seem apt and justifiable in context of one culture may be inappropriate in context of some
other culture . Thus, it is necessary for a person who belongs to one culture to possess a strong
cultural intelligence so that he has the ability to adapt with those individuals who are from
different culture. This cultural intelligence would help to develop higher cultural capabilities for
the person to make better adjustments (Kubicek, Bhanugopan & O’Neill, 2017, pp.16). It also
help to improve the cultural awareness of the person by being aware of the features of other
culture. Thus, it can be said that by integrating the cultural intelligence, cultural capabilities and
the self –awareness, it is possible to create a safe place for the people of different culture
(Roestone Collective., 2014, pp.1352).
In the early part of the sequence of events, Polly displayed a high level of cultural
intelligence by adjusting her behaviour with direct eye contact and maintaining a calm tone of

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voice even in the situation when Mrs. Richards was unjustifiably asking for attention from her .
It is excellent example of cultural intelligence from Polly who showed proper gesture of
hospitality to Mrs. .Richards .Polly’s cultural capability in her role of hotel receptionist, as it
would make the guest feel safe as they enter the hotel (Holley & Steiner, 2005 , pp.52).
However, Mrs. Richards showed a lack of cultural intelligence when she had to communicate
with the waiter, Manuel (Livermore & Soon, 2015, pp.23). She did not have the capability to
comprehend that she and the waiter belong from different culture and should have adapted to the
people of different culture like Manuel but on the contrary, she was disgusted with the fact that
he was not able to understand her cultural language, English. This resulted in creation of unsafe
place for both Manuel and Mrs. Richards due to the language differences.
4. Recommendations
After analyzing the report that is depicted in the provided video, the following
recommendation can be stated:
 Maintaining Patience - It is important to maintain patience in order to respect culture of
each other. If Mrs. Richards and Manuel had shown patience in order to maintain respect
of culture of one another, the scenario would have been completely different and it would
have resulted in healthy relationship between Manuel and Mrs. Richards.
 Respecting Language - It is evident that Manuel had little understanding of English
language, he should approached Polly and told her about the inconvenient situation.
Instead, Manuel decided to converse in Spanish, which could have hurt the sentiments of
Mrs. Richards and it resulted in the creation of the messy situation.

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 Making Good Gesture – Both Manuel and Mrs. .Richards should make use of body
languages and gestures in appropriate way , which would enhance and develop the sense
of interest for one another in the mind . Both Manuel and Mrs. Richards should maintain
their composure and expresses calmness and coolness through their attitude.
5. Summary and Conclusion
It is evident from the depicted video from the Television program, that the cultural
incapability resulted in a environment which can be deemed as not a safe place for both the
individuals .The TV program depicted a scenario how cultural incapability can create a situation
of situation of unsafe space between two individuals. Manuel tried to be culturally capable by
busing Spanish words to communicate with Mrs. .Richards. However, Mrs. Richards lost her
patience, showed disgust in her attitude, and complained about Manuel to Polly. The scenario
took place because there was dearth of cultural intelligence from both Manuel and
Mrs. .Richards. Mrs. Richards lost her temper and it showed that she is incapable of cultural
adaptation .Thus in order to improve the condition, both Mrs. Richards and Manuel should
neglect the cultural obstacles and pay respect to the culture of one another by showing patience.

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References
Brislin, R., Worthley, R., & Macnab, B. (2006). Cultural intelligence: Understanding behaviors
that serve people’s goals. Group & Organization Management, 31(1), 40-55.
Flanja, D. (2009). Culture shock in intercultural communication. Studia Universitatis Babes-
Bolyai. Studia Europaea, 54(4), 107.
Holley, L. C., & Steiner, S. (2005). Safe space: Student perspectives on classroom
environment. Journal of Social Work Education, 41(1), 49-64.
Klitmøller, A., & Lauring, J. (2013). When global virtual teams share knowledge: Media
richness, cultural difference and language commonality. Journal of World
Business, 48(3), 398-406.
Kubicek, A., Bhanugopan, R., & O’Neill, G. (2017). How does cultural intelligence affect
organisational culture: the mediating role of cross-cultural role conflict, ambiguity, and
overload. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1-25.
Livermore, D., & Soon, A. N. G. (2015). Leading with cultural intelligence: The real secret to
success. Amacom.
Quappe, S., & Cantatore, G. (2005). What is Cultural Awareness, anyway? How do I build
it. Retrieved July, 17, 2008.
Roestone Collective. (2014). Safe space: Towards a reconceptualization. Antipode, 46(5), 1346-
1365.

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Spiers, B. (Director). (1979, Feb 19). Fawlty Towers, Communication Problems, Handling
Complaints, Season 2 Episode 1 (BBC Television program) Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_cDmwlbVkg