Cultural Safety Issues And Cultural Capability In The Workplace: An Analysis Of Fawlty Towers, Communication Problems, Handling Complaints, Season 2 Episode 1

Aim

Communication in an organization is very essential in the way employees relate to each other and how they relate to the clients and customers. In Fawlty Towers, Communication Problems, Handling Complaints, Season 2 Episode 1, there is really a communication breakdown between the four characters shown in the video. The background on this video depicts cultural communication in a workplace and the impact it has on the communication process (Ekdale, Singer, Tully, & Harmsen, 2015).

• Background 

The background of the video is a hotel setup where a lady receptionist attends to a gentleman in the waiting area. While he is waiting to be served, a lady interrupts and demands to be served where the employee tells her to wait because she is serving the gentleman. Out of respect and courtesy, the gentleman requests the receptionist to serve the hectic lady and she is served. After she is given the change, Mrs. Richards comes back demanding to know the room services allocated to her. She interrupts and says she has to be served to the end. Mr. Thorsten, the gentleman being served is quite waiting for the reception to finish with him. In the process Mr. Manuel, a Spanish janitor who isn’t really knowledgeable in talking English comes to the reception and is told to assist Mrs. Richards. She cannot here or understand what she is talking about and in that process there is intercultural communication breakdown (Johnson, Simmons, & Sullivan, 2017).

The aim of the topic is to show cultural capabilities in intercultural communication barriers and how someone is supposed to engage in order to clearly and effectively get the communication. The analysis of the unsafe space will need an improvement where appropriate.   

The report will focus on the video scenes where;

1. Mrs Richards interrupts the receptionist serving Mr Thorsten.
2. Manuel communication breakdown with Mrs Richards
3. The receptionist directing Manuel to serve Mrs Richardson despite knowing clearly that he know not how to communicate in English.
4. The last scene where the three do not entirely understand what each is talking about.
5. The altercations between Mrs Richards and the receptionist.

The communication between Mr Thorsten and the receptionist depicts a safe space where the two engage each other while also having progressive communication. The unsafe space is shown in the scene where there is breakdown in communication between all the characters. This sis entirely shown by Mrs Richards, Mr. Manuel and the receptionist who is arguably angry with the impatience and lack of courtesy shown by Mrs Richardson.

Communication in an organization is very essential in the way employees relate to each other and how they relate to the clients and customers. In Fawlty Towers, Communication Problems, Handling Complaints, Season 2 Episode 1, there is really a communication breakdown between the four characters shown in the video. The background or setting of the video is a workplace setting.

Scope

The background of the video is a hotel setup where a lady receptionist attends to a gentleman in the waiting area. While he is waiting to be served, a lady interrupts and demands to be served where the employee tells her to wait because she is serving the gentleman. Out of respect and courtesy, the gentleman requests the receptionist to serve the hectic lady and she is served. After she is given the change, Mrs. Richards comes back demanding to know the room services allocated to her. She interrupts and says she has to be served to the end. Mr. Thorsten, the gentleman being served is quite waiting for the reception to finish with him. In the process Mr. Manuel, a Spanish janitor who isn’t really knowledgeable in talking English comes to the reception and is told to assist Mrs. Richards.

 The relevant information to understand is the inter cultural communication is the safe and the unsafe space and the intercultural communications shown in the TV show (Mead, & Byers, 2015). . 

Identification of key characters

1. The receptionist
2. Richards
3. Mr Manuel
4. Mr Thorsten  

Lack of cultural intelligence, communication breakdown and physical factors depict either the safe or unsafe space displayed in the video.  

In early part of the video, the receptionist shows a high level of cultural intelligence by serving Mr. Thorsten by adjusting her behavior with a calm tone and a direct eye contact. She becomes aware that the gentleman has never been in this hotel again and she wants to has never been here again and wants to get the best service as he was waiting. This is an instant effect to the gentleman, Mr Thorsten who is visibly relaxed and begins to talk. Later in the video as Mrs Richards interrupts, the receptionist defines here awareness to cultural change in communication by trying to explain to the lady that she should wait. It is culturally intelligent for the receptionist to change to another culture and engage the stubborn Mrs. Richards. The receptionist shows that she is reading another person’s uncomfortable body language and adjust her approach appropriately for Mr Thorsten to feel safe in that environment. This is one way for the receptionist to make the customers feel safe as they are served in the hotel (Salazar, & Lant, 2018). 

This example shows ab example of a culturally intelligent employee shown in the video as she engages both an aggressive client and a calm client. She is able to serve both of them albeit hardly to the lady. The cultural intelligence in the video is also shown when she directs Manuel to assist Mrs Richards knowing clearly that he cannot be able to serve her. Mrs Richards and Manuel do not understand each other.

Summary And Observations

Empathy is shown in the video where the secretary serves both Mr. Thorsten and Mrs Richards while engaging as the body language indicates. 

The video in the scene where Manuel appears. After she is given the change, Mrs. Richards comes back demanding to know the room services allocated to her. She interrupts and says she has to be served to the end. Mr. Thorsten, the gentleman being served is quite waiting for the reception to finish with him. In the process Mr. Manuel, a Spanish janitor who isn’t really knowledgeable in talking English comes to the reception and is told to assist Mrs. Richards. 

Awareness of the body language is depicted in all the scenes. Firstly, this is when the receptionist is serving Mr. Thorsten. He is calm and listens to her while being served. He portrays a cool and composed demeanor that is ready to be served. The receptionist is aware of that and the sends Mr. Manuel to serve Mrs Richards. The awareness of the body language is shown when Mrs. Richards is being served. The receptionist is aggressive and has an aggressive body language while serving Mrs Richards while she has a calm body language while serving Mr. Thorsten.

• Recommendations

In intercultural communication, the body languages have to be observed in safe and unsafe spaces. In the workspace, the receptionist is calmly dealing with Mr Thorsten and should finish serving him so that she can serve Mrs. Richards. She should calmly tell the lady to wait while she complete to serve the gentleman. It is important to note that the body language of the three main characters in the video, Mrs. Richards, Mr Manuel and the receptionist are have a bad body language. They cannot understand each other due to intercultural communication barriers. They are not attentive to what each is saying unlike when the receptionist is speaking to Mr. Thorsten. The recommendation is to be attentive in listening and having a good body language while communicating (Sarooghi, Libaers, & Burkemper, 2015).. Allowing one to speak while listening and answering after is good for intercultural communication.

Conclusion

In conclusion, intercultural communication is determined by a number of factors. They include; body language, tonal variation, and language awareness. For understanding one another, the tone should be good, the people communicating should understand one another and the body language should depict a person willing to communicate to each other. The background on this video depicts cultural communication in a workplace and the impact it has on the communication process.  

References

Ekdale, B., Singer, J. B., Tully, M., & Harmsen, S. (2015). Making change: Diffusion of technological, relational, and cultural innovation in the newsroom. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 92(4), 938-958.

Johnson, M. A., Simmons, W. M., & Sullivan, P. (2017). Lean technical communication: Toward sustainable program innovation. Routledge.

Mead, M., & Byers, P. (2015). The small conference: An innovation in communication. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.

Salazar, M., & Lant, T. (2018). Facilitating Innovation in Interdisciplinary Teams: The Role of Leaders and Integrative Communication. Informing Science: The International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline, 21, 157-178.

Sarooghi, H., Libaers, D., & Burkemper, A. (2015). Examining the relationship between creativity and innovation: A meta-analysis of organizational, cultural, and environmental factors. Journal of business venturing, 30(5), 714-731.