Culturally Safe Spaces

This report analyzes the concept of cultural capability and the presence of safe and unsafe spaces in the workplace, organizations, and universities. It provides recommendations for improving the safety and security of unsafe spaces.

Running head: CULTURALLY SAFE SPACES
CULTURALLY SAFE SPACES
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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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 Video clip summary...............................................................................................................2
2.2 Observations..........................................................................................................................3
3. Analysis.......................................................................................................................................4
4. Recommendations........................................................................................................................6
5. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................6
6. References:..................................................................................................................................8

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1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Background Cultural capability signifies to the ability knowledge, systems and behaviors which
are essential to deliver services, support and plan and improve the services in an environment
that is culturally safe and respectful. When a space is created that is culturally safe, it could be
stated as a safe space. A safe space is where people are able and willing to participate and
struggle honestly with challenging issues.
1.2 Aim
The report aims to provide an analysis of cultural capability and the safe and unsafe
spaces in the workplace, in organizations and universities. First, the report will provide a clear
description of cultural capability or cultural intelligence followed by the analysis of the safe and
unsafe spaces. It will provide recommendations for the improvement of the safety and security of
the unsafe spaces.
1.3 Scope
The report will primarily focus on the analysis of the video from the television program
titled Fawlty Towers where a particular clip will be discussed. The report will particularly
explain the scenes in the video where instances of cultural capability or intelligence or the lack of
it has been demonstrated. Furthermore, the report will explain the the scenes that depict
culturally safe or unsafe spaces.
2. Summary and Observations
2.1 Video clip summary
The particular video has been chosen from the television show Fawlty Towers, Season 2,
Episode 1. Bob Spiers is the director of the second season. The show, specifically the second
season aired in the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC) in the year 1979 (Busby, 2019).
In the video, the setting is that of a hotel reception desk where the employees are busy
attending the customers over the phone and in person as well. the scene starts with the outside

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view of the Fawlty Towers hotel and then moves on to the scene of the stairs where a butler is
seen bringing down the luggage of a guest. The scene then shifts to the reception desk where the
employees are busy attending to customers. The reception desk woman attends to a guest when
suddenly another guest, a woman with some hearing problems probably interferes.
The main characters in the scene are the reception desk woman with hearing issues and
the butler from Barcelona.
2.2 Observations
In the video, there are ample evidences of cultural safety issues and issues of cultural
capability as well. At first, the place is quite congested, as people do not have much space to
roam about freely. Secondly, the people are positioned in such a way as to make them look like
they are inferior to the others. In particular, the butler from Barcelona has been shown as a short-
heighted man, possibly to show that he is inferior to the English people. This is shown in the
sequence starting at 2:02 in the video. Thirdly, in terms of body language, the butler from
Barcelona seems to be wary and out of place whereas the reception desk woman seems to be in
command. She instructs the butler, who is seen entering the scene with his hands behind his back
(1:59) to take care of the woman with hearing problem in order to attend another customer. This
depicts the reception desk woman’s authority over the butler who is from another culture.
3. Analysis
Culture is a difficult term to explain but has great significance. It could mean different
things to different people. Spencer-Oatey and Franklin (2012) compile numerous definitions of
culture from across the literature to bring forth the complexities of understanding this term. The
scene from Fawlty Towers encompasses the various meanings of culture through the behavior of
the different characters. In the beginning of the video, the butler is seen coming down the stairs
with heavy luggage on his back. It is discovered later in the video that the butler is Barcelona,
Spain. The depiction of a Spanish man as a short, funny looking butler in an English TV show
provides clear evidence that the space is not culturally safe. This show a lack of cultural
intelligence, which has been explained by Brislin, Worthley and Macnab (2006). According to
the authors, cultural intelligence or the lack of it refers to the success of the people “when
adjusting to another culture”. The authors further state that cultural intelligence could be

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developed using the the aspects of behavior, emotions, cognition and awareness. They claim that
being culturally intelligent could be possible if one considers the behavior of people when they
are overseas, try to introduce the reasons for such behavior, look into the emotional implications
that come with the behavior and use the new knowledge to become culturally capable. Towards
the sequence at 2.21, the butler and the woman customer are seen conversing where the butler
has no idea what she is uttering and vice versa ("Handling complaints 2", 2019). Prior to this
scene, the receptionist asks the butler to deal with the woman, Mrs. Alice Richards, who was
becoming a pain for her. This clearly implied that the receptionist knew about the incompetency
of the butler to speak and understand English. When Mrs. Richards and the butler converse it is
clearly visible, both are unaware of each other’s culture. Added to that, the woman has some
problems with hearing as well. Here, they lack the cultural awareness, which Quappe and
Cantatore (2005) explain. According to the authors, cultural awareness “involves the ability of
standing back from one’s own selves and becoming aware of one’s cultural values, beliefs and
perceptions”. However, they state that cultural awareness becomes important when it comes to
interacting with individuals from other cultures. This sequence also represents a case of culture
shock as Flanja (2009) describes in her work titled Culture Shock in Intercultural
Communication. The author describes culture shock as the “state of discomfort experienced by
the intercultural traveler, in a more or less profound way, once she or he is placed in an
unfamiliar environment”. In the video, the butler, Manuel and Mrs. Richards both are in culture
shock because they face a state of discomfort while interacting with each other.
The analysis however brings forth that the place shown in the video is not at all a
culturally safe space. As Holley and Steiner (2005) observe, a safe space is where every
individual is allowed to share her or his point of view and ideas without any prejudice or
stereotyping. The authors give clear description of the safe space from the classroom perspective
stating that a safe space allows the students to “feel secure enough to take risks, honestly express
their views, and share and explore their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors”. Safe space does not
refer to the physical safety. The safe space refers to the space where the students are not harmed
emotionally or psychologically. In the video, there is lack of culturally safe space because the
other employees present in the scenario do not provide that freedom to the woman and the butler
to express them freely. While the woman is shown as someone with a bad temperament coupled
with hearing problem, the butler is shown as an incapable Spanish individual who does not have

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the capability to communicate effectively. The makers of this episode have demonstrated little
awareness about culture of other people. As Quappe and Cantatore (2009) have stated,
misunderstandings in culture arises when someone perceives other cultures from her or his own
perspective. The perception here in the video is that people from Barcelona or Spain are not
competent to hold high positions in English companies or hotels. It also shows that people from
the Spanish culture look wary and funny, not possessing any sense of professionalism.
4. Recommendations
The scenario in the video could be changed to make it a culturally safer space. The
following are some of the recommendations that could be suggested:
It should be recommended that the employees and customers in the scene show respect to
the individual from another culture. The makers of the episode should make sure that whenever
they include a character from another culture, they give due respect to that character.
Second recommendation that should be given is to improve the communication between
the two culturally different characters. Communication is one of the cultural capabilities that has
been lacking in the scenario.
Third, it needs to be recommended that the butler who is from another culture must not
do the task of carrying heavy luggage. This includes the cultural capability of understanding.
5. Conclusion
Therefore, it could be stated that cultural capability is an important capability to ensure a
culturally safe space. The report analyzed the various concepts associated with culture including
cultural intelligence, culture shock and cultural awareness. These concepts were applied to the
scenario given in the video from the first episode of Fawlty Towers, season two. The report then
provided recommendations based on the analysis of the video using credible sources. It was
found that the presence of cultural capabilities is important to develop and maintain a culturally
safe space.

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6. References:
Brislin, R., Worthley, R., & Macnab, B. (2006). Cultural intelligence: Understanding behaviors
that serve people’s goals. Group & Organization Management, 31(1), 40-55.
Busby, M. (2019). Fawlty Towers named greatest ever British TV sitcom. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/apr/09/fawlty-towers-greatest-ever-
british-sitcom
Flanja, D. (2009). Culture shock in intercultural communication. Studia Universitatis Babes-
Bolyai-Studia Europaea, (4), 107-124.
Handling complaints 2. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=6_cDmwlbVkg
Holley, L. C., & Steiner, S. (2005). Safe space: Student perspectives on classroom
environment. Journal of Social Work Education, 41(1), 49-64.
Spencer-Oatey, H., & Franklin, P. (2012). What is culture. A compilation of quotations.
GlobalPAD Core Concepts, 1-22.