The workplace involves interpersonal communication and it is important for everybody to be able to express his or her views for achieving effective productivity. Until a person is able to share his own views and expresses themselves, then it will be impossible to achieve the desired outcome. Every employee working in an organization should poses cultural competence so that they can appreciate cultural diversity and respect every culture in the workplace (Rom, 1998). People need to follow cultural intelligence that is by understanding and adjusting with the cultural differences.
This report aims to observe and analyze whether the characters in the scenario show effective cultural capabilities and whether it maintains a culturally safe space. This report provides the description and analysis of the cultural capability, cultural intelligence in the diverse culture in the workplace and recommends how the characters can improve their cultural capabilities.
This report will mainly focus on Episode 18, Season 2, from a TV show, House MD depict the cultural diversity and the cultural capability and provides a demo of introducing the safe spaces for girls and importance of sex education.
In the TV show House MD, Season 2 Episode 18, this has been shown that a Chinese woman along with her daughter visits a doctor. The woman was suffering from the upper respiratory infection and she has come to the doctor for proper medication. She was also unable to speak the English language for which she required an interpreter to communicate with the doctor and her daughter interprets the problems of her mother to the doctor.
The scene was going on in the health care place, which is generally consist of doctor, nurses and patients. Thus, it was the safe space for anyone to express himself or herself and share out their problems. The patient are always in safe space when there are doctors to look after their problems.
The Chinese woman’s daughter interpreted that her mother was having a premenstrual syndrome for which she requires birth control pills, so she was there so that the doctor will be able to prescribe her the birth pills. This was very clear to the doctor that is not possible for the aged woman to suffer from the premenstrual syndrome as in most of the women at such age faces menopause. Therefore, the doctor was able to figure out that was the requirements of her daughter, he advised her that she could visit any healthcare sector in New Jersey alone in order to get the birth control pills and for that she does not need her mother or anybody.
The doctor does not disclose the matter to her mother that her daughter was asking for birth control pills for reducing depression since she was having premenstrual syndrome. He prescribed the decongestant medicine for the Chinese woman and the medicines for her daughter. The girl made a mistake by giving her medicine to her mother, which affects her health. When she came to the doctor for complaining, then, the doctor found that her daughter did the mistake, whereas her daughter was blaming him for prescribing wrong medicine in the Mandarin language to her mother. She was unaware of the fact that the doctor was bilingual and he knows the Mandarin language, thus he discloses the matter to her mother in the Mandarin language that it was her daughter’s fault (Singer, 2004).
The key characters in this scene were the doctor, the girl, the girl belongs from the traditional Chinese culture, and the doctor belongs from the renowned culture. The doctor plays an essential role by advising her to openly state her problems and the girl was not comfortable in opening up her problems to her parents so she needs to rely on the irrelevant excuses.
The Chinese woman was not able to speak the English language as she tried to share her problem by making actions and both she and her daughter belong to a conservative culture that is the traditional Chinese culture. In such culture, the girl cannot openly ask for the birth control pill and hence she gave an irrelevant cause. Her body language was reflecting shyness in the first part but in the second part that is in 2:18 of that episode, the girl tried to act smart by complaining about the doctor to her mother in front of him in the Mandarin language. She tried making the doctor fool but she did not expect him to be bilingual. The doctor showed his respect towards the cultural diversity by not disclosing the original matter to the woman, though he knew the Mandarin language. The doctor was smart enough at the last of the episode when the girl tried to blame him; he reveals the matter to her matter and proves the girl to be the foolish one (Singer, 2004).
In this video clip, the doctor’s action reflected the safe space in the health care as that the girl was not comfortable to open up the matter to the society, the doctor understand and make her comfortable by advising her to openly discuss the problems alone in the clinics of New Jersey. The doctor assures her that without any irrelevant excuses, she can discuss her problem alone and this behavior shows the cultural intelligence (Holley & Steiner, 2005). This was clear that she tried to hide this fact from her mother so she wrongly interprets her mother’s problem. She feels scared to ask for the birth control pills for herself and the doctor was able to detect the actual matter so he advised her to visit any health care in New Jersey, where she will be able to open up her problem and she does not anybody to accompany her. The doctor prescribed medicine for both the women, but the girl made a mistake and she has given her medicines to her mother, which creates an effect on her health. The doctor understands the problems, which denotes the effects of the cultural differences, so he at first did not let her mother know about the original scenario, tried to solve the problem. However, he discloses the matter that it was her daughter’s mistake since the girl blames him and she thought that he would not be able to find out what the girl was saying to her mother. This shows that making fool of people by speaking in a different language is not always safe (Singer, 2004).
Cultural intelligence is considered the individual’s capability in managing and functioning in culturally diverse situations (Spencer-Oatey & Franklin, 2012). In the first part of the episode, the doctor showed the level of cultural intelligence by adjusting and also by understanding the cultural differences, he deals with the situation and he tried to solve the problems of both the women (Ng & Earley, 2006). He could have disclosed the matter to that Chinese woman but he did not as he knows that due to the effects of the cultural differences, the girl would not be able to open up the matter to her parents and anybody due to the limitations of their culture. This behavior reflects the level of cultural intelligence in the presence of cultural diversity in his workplace (Moye, Henkin & Egley, 2005).
Cultural capability involves the skills, knowledge, and the behavior required for supporting and delivering the services, in a respectful and appropriate manner towards every culture (Erez et al., 2013). The capability of understanding and adjusting with the different culture has been reflected by the behavior of the doctor. Doctor’s action reflects the proper understanding of the situation, then how he solved the problems that are by prescribing the medicine for premenstrual syndrome and the medicine for the upper respiratory infections (Quappe & Cantatore, 2005).
The video clip shows the effect of the cultural differences that is the girl feels scared and many girls in their society are not comfortable in discussing anything related to the pregnancy, birth control, menstruation. The sex education should be present in their society as from the video clips as the girl was not comfortable in opening up the problem to her family and to doctor (Iyer & Aggleton, 2013). The doctor mentioned the term Stupid American Child (SAC), this shows that the youth generation was not as intelligent as for the premenstrual syndrome there is no need for the birth control pills. The girl may have the requirement of the birth control pills but that she can go alone and ask for if she was brought up in the open society. The girl gave an irrelevant reason that is for the premenstrual syndrome she requires the birth control pills so the doctor used that term. This shows effective cultural capabilities in the health care and the doctor’s way of dealing with his patients maintains a culturally safe space (Good, 2011). The doctor and his patients belong from the different culture, which is the girl belongs from the traditional Chinese culture, and the doctor belongs from the renowned culture. In the traditional Chinese society from which the women belongs, in their culture the girls are not allowed to talk openly about the sexual relationship, which reflects cultural diversity (Flanja, 2009). The society from which the girl belongs creates a great impact on the youth generation and especially the girls are not able to open up their views and likings in the society. In the workplace, the doctor maintains the cultural intelligence and his behavior also reflected his cultural capability and he respected the cultural diversity in his workplace (Rajaguru & Matanda, 2013).
The girl thinks that she cannot openly ask for the birth control pill for herself as, in their culture, a girl before marriage asking for such a thing is generally frowned upon. This is the reason why such scenario occurred, the sex education is must in every culture and this will ensure that the girls of every society can openly discuss regarding their menstruation, pregnancy and other, with their parents. In any workplace, it is important for everybody to express them for the desired outcome, which requires cultural compatibility (Singer, 2004).
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion, it can be concluded that the cultural capability is important in every situation and in the culturally diverse workplace. The doctor maintains cultural safe space in the health care by asking the girl to go alone for open discussion regarding her problem. In this episode, the doctor showed cultural intelligence, cultural capability in his actions, he tried to solve the problem without disrupting the cultural aspects, and he advised the girl to go alone so that every time, she does not need her mom. This episode shows the maintenance of safe space and cultural capability.
References
Erez, M., Lisak, A., Harush, R., Glikson, E., Nouri, R., & Shokef, E. (2013). Going global: Developing management students’ cultural intelligence and global identity in culturally diverse virtual teams. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 12(3), 330-355.
Flanja, D. (2009). Culture shock in intercultural communication. Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai. Studia Europaea, 54(4), 107.
Good, M. J. D., Willen, S. S., Hannah, S. D., Vickery, K., & Park, L. T. (Eds.). (2011). Shattering culture: American medicine responds to cultural diversity. Russell Sage Foundation.
Holley, L. C., & Steiner, S. (2005). Safe space: Student perspectives on classroom environment. Journal of Social Work Education, 41(1), 49-64.
Iyer, P., & Aggleton, P. (2013). ‘Sex education should be taught, fine… but we make sure they control themselves’: teachers’ beliefs and attitudes towards young people’s sexual and reproductive health in a Ugandan secondary school. Sex Education, 13(1), 40-53.
Moye, M. J., Henkin, A. B., & Egley, R. J. (2005). Teacher-principal relationships: Exploring linkages between empowerment and interpersonal trust. Journal of Educational Administration, 43(3), 260-277.
Ng, K. Y., & Earley, P. C. (2006). Culture+ intelligence: Old constructs, new frontiers. Group & Organization Management, 31(1), 4-19.
Quappe, S., & Cantatore, G. (2005). What is Cultural Awareness, anyway? How do I build it. Retrieved July, 17, 2008.
Rajaguru, R., & Matanda, M. J. (2013). Effects of inter-organizational compatibility on supply chain capabilities: Exploring the mediating role of inter-organizational information systems (IOIS) integration. Industrial Marketing Management, 42(4), 620-632.
Rom, R. B. (1998). ‘Safe spaces’: reflections on an educational metaphor. Journal of Curriculum studies, 30(4), 397-408.
Singer, B (Director). (2004, Nov 30). House MD, Season 2 Episode 18, Bilingual Backfire (Fox Studios). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYGuWN1OhD8
Spencer-Oatey, H., & Franklin, P. (2012). What is culture. A compilation of quotations. GlobalPAD Core Concepts, 1-22.
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