Practical Example from F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
The phenomenon of Globalization has made the world a comparatively smaller place where diversity has become a common formula whereby the different cultures have come together and due to this they are required to interact with one another (Appadurai, 2013). The different students, as well as the expatriates who are required to visit the other countries, have to understand the way the other cultures work so as to ensure success in their personal as well as professional lives. For this reason, the report highlights the use and application of cultural capabilities in different scenarios. The cultural capabilities can be essentially described as the capability as possessed by an individual which goes a long way in assisting the individuals to adjust to different situations. In the same context, a safe space is an environment whereby different beings feel safe with respect to their emotions and deviate from any harm which exists.
The primary objective of the chosen report is to analyze the concept of a cultural capability with the help of a practical example. The report will be essentially based on a video whereby a clip shall be analyzed in terms of cultural capability and discuss the concept of cultural awareness. The statements and theories which have been made will be with respect to theories and frameworks.
The report will be based on the video of one of the episodes from the iconic television series named F.R.I.E.N.D.S. whereby the clip is from season 4 where one of the primary characters present goes for an interview for a promotion. The example can be used to explain the concept of an unsafe space when the lead was exposed to a mental harm by her boss.
The clip which has been chosen for the specific assignment is from the TV show F.R.I.E.N.D.S whereby the life of six friends living in New York has been narrated who go through the daily ordeals of life but have each other’s back. The clip has been taken from Episode 7, Season 4 whereby the episode has been titled as `The one where they go to a party`. However, the five-minute clip relates to that of Rachel who has been approached with an opportunity to win a promotion and thus, the clip is based on an interview round. The interview clip comprises of three interviewers and Rachel in the first half of the video with the second half a conversation between Rachel and her boss Joanna (Youtube.com. ,2018). Rachel`s boss Joanna, refuses to lose out on a talented assistant like Rachel and tries to convert the interview an unsafe place for her by trying to sabotage her image. The season released in the year 1997.
Understanding the Concept of Unsafe Place
From the clip, it can be rightfully observed that the scene is of an interview whereby Rachel is excited as well as nervous for her interview which she is undertaking for a higher post. The atmosphere in the room is also very different. However, her only relief in the entire scene is that her Boss, Joanna already knows her as an employee and for this reason she might be extra supportive of her during the discussion which will then help her to bag the promotion successfully, however, Joanna does not engage in any of this and due to her own reasons, tries to tarnish the image of Rachel in the eyes of the other panelists. When Rachel was faced by this scenario she became stressed and felt unsafe (Youtube.com. , 2018). Another reason why the environment became unsafe for her because of her standing in the organization. All the other characters in the scene were in a post higher than her and thus became relatively inclined to Joanna`s comments because even Joanna belonged to a higher post. Estimating that Joanna would support her, observing the betrayal, Rachel performed poorly in the interview and could not respond well (Brislin, Worthley & Macnab, 2006). She felt excluded from the specific interview whereby she could not get an opportunity to clarify her thoughts. In the latter half of the report it was seen that when Rachel understood that her boss tried to take advantage of her, she portrayed cultural intelligence by trying to respond quickly to the changing dynamics.
For the purpose of the analysis, the scene can be essentially divided into two parts whereby in the first part Rachel is in a stressful situation and on the other scene, Rachel is in a dominating position. The first part relates to the to the interview scenario whereby Rachel is shown to be in a compromising position where her boss changed completely to keep her on her side (Russell, 2011). With respect to this, Rachel is extremely disappointed and sees her career failing in front of her eyes. The second scene reflects Rachel in a powerful position when she observes that her boss is anxious to keep her and understanding this Rachel portrays cultural intelligence by trying to turn the situation in her favor and her boss now is afraid to lose her tends to abide by her conditions.
The scene begins with the interview of Rachel in front of her panel. It has to be noted that the interview begins on a positive note but then after that things start falling out because to her utter disappoint, the boss starts to sabotage her image in the eyes of the other panelists (Van Dyne, Ang & Tan, 2017). She begins to narrate the incidents whereby Rachel has been inefficient and how she often messes up with the basic tasks as well. Rachel, due to workplace ethics is unable to argue and present her point which puts her in a rather compromising situation whereby she was not able to communicate in a better manner with the panel. As stated by Mor, Morris, and Joh (2013), the interview environment became highly unsafe for Rachel as she was shocked by the blames placed by her boss on her. For this reason, she found it difficult to adjust in the environment.
Change in Dynamics and Cultural Intelligence
A cultural shock can be rightfully described as a situation whereby one is exposed to a different behavior from the one which the individual expects (Holley & Steiner, 2005). When Rachel observed the behavior of Joanna at the interview, she can be stated to be in a state of a cultural shock whereby she got a different treatment from Joanna. As she has performed well previously, she thought that she will be speaking for her but instead the scenario was just the opposite. Hence, quite logically, Rachel was taken back and was unable to react in a manner which would support her innocence.
The change in dynamics took place Rachel confronted her boss at the latter stage during the scene and understood Joanna`s intention to retain her in the firm When Rachel understood this aspect, she threatened her to design which caused in the change in dynamics of the boss and as Joanna understood that in the heat of the moment, Rachel was capable of leaving the job, she agreed to abide by her demands. Hence, by maintaining an eye contact with her, Joanna calmed her down and reflected a high range of cultural intelligence by telling Rachel that she could actually benefit from the opportunity which relates to Quappe and Cantatore (2005)`s statement. This proves to be a great support of the statement by Erez (2013), that a person who is culturally intelligent has the knowledge of adjusting to the environment at a fast pace.
The beginning of the video clip shows that Joanna portrayed a defensive body language as she was in a dominant position and had the objective of tarnishing the interview as well as the image of Rachel. On the other hand, the body language of Rachel was nervous and shocked. She was not still and kept on reflecting nervousness through the movement of her hands.
In the latter half of the act, when the panelists rejected Rachel, she came to the understanding that Joanna had tried to sabotage her image in the interview and one can notice the change in her body language who become confident and took what was hers. This scene reflects how Joanna is the weak person and agreed to whatever Rachel asked for. In their paper, Earley and Mosakowski (2004) mentioned that body language goes a long way in depicting the emotional state of an individual and is a predictor of their reaction.
Body Language as a Predictor of Emotional State
Joanna knew the value of Rachel as an assistant and knowing the fact that she is skilled and professional, she did not want to lose out on her which made her act in a manner in which she behaved. She understood because she was culturally aware that if she wanted to keep Rachel to herself then she would be required to speak against her. Hence, she proclaimed that Rachel was an irresponsible employee and an alcoholic whose unprofessional ways and manners made her unfit to work in any organization. Chen and Lin (2013), state that Joanna reflected cultural awareness by understanding the different points which would make the panelists doubtful of the capabilities of the candidate and hence, continued with her act. Hence, the case of Joanna can be considered to be a good example of the manner in which one needs to be aware of the different cultures and turn the people in her favor.
From the discussion, it can be observed that the scene related to that of an unsafe place whereby Rachel, the female lead was subject to mental as well as emotional distress. The scenario was that of an interview and although it was expected that she will not be comfortable, she underwent a torture which was not asked for. Joanna portrayed annoyance and disrespect which reflected in her behavior during the interview. This capability as portrayed by Joanna angered Rachel.
Had Rachel been successfully able to apply cultural capability, she would have been able to understand the intentions of her boss and could have then portrayed cultural intelligence in order to ensure that the scenario with the panel could have been avoided. Necessary actions could have been assisted by Rachel`s anger had she been aware of the office politics which are very common in the workplace which can be supported by the statement of Bruhn (2005).
Hence, it can be largely understood that in order to ensure long-term success, it is important for an individual to possess long-term capability as it assists the person to turn the situation in one`s favor and achieve success.
Conclusion
From the given analysis, it can be stated that the safe place is an important component which plays a great role in assisting to determine the mental balance of a person. When an employee operates in a safe place, he tends to feel valued and positive. The clip reflected on the consequences when there is an absence of the safe place as Rachel was imposed as a weaker person and her morale was pulled down. The latter half of the scene in the clip witnessed the tables to turn whereby Joanna portrayed awareness culturally and influenced Rachel to stay with the firm.
References
Appadurai, A. (2013). The future as cultural fact. Essays on the Global Condition. London and New York: Verso.
Brislin, R., Worthley, R., & Macnab, B. (2006). Cultural intelligence: Understanding behaviors that serve people’s goals. Group & Organization Management, 31(1), 40-55.
Bruhn, J. G. (2005). Culture-brain interactions. Integrative Physiological & Behavioral Science, 40(4), 243-254.
Chen, M. L., & Lin, C. P. (2013). Assessing the Effects of Cultural Intelligence on Team Knowledge Sharing From a Socio?Cognitive Perspective. Human Resource Management, 52(5), 675-695.
Earley, P. C., & Mosakowski, E. (2004). Cultural intelligence. Harvard business review, 82(10), 139-146.
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.
Holley, L. C., & Steiner, S. (2005). Safe space: Student perspectives on classroom environment. Journal of Social Work Education, 41(1), 49-64.
Mor, S., Morris, M. W., & Joh, J. (2013). Identifying and training adaptive cross-cultural management skills: The crucial role of cultural metacognition. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 12(3), 453-475.
Quappe, S., & Cantatore, G. (2005). What is cultural awareness, anyway? How do I build it. Retrieved July, 17, 2008.
Russell, K. M. (2011). Growing up a third culture kid: A sociological self-exploration. Human Architecture, 9(1), 29.
Van Dyne, L., Ang, S., & Tan, M. L. (2017). Cultural intelligence. Oxford University Press.
Youtube.com. (2018). The One Where Rachel’s Boss Doesn’t Want to Lose Her – Friends Season 4. YouTube. Retrieved 11 October 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuyGLDvve-A
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