The use of culturally diverse business teams is an increasingly common situation in today’s world; especially as the world continues to become a global village. Leveraging on the cultural diverse backgrounds and experiences of members of such teams can be a source of improved performance which can ultimately reflect a competitive advantage in the business market. As Symons and Stenzel (2007) aptly state, “culturally diverse teams are more likely to engage in innovative `out-of-the-box' thinking, given their different life experiences in diverse social environments.” Another pointer to suggest that multicultural teams tend to be a source of competitive advantage in business is found in the paper by Di Stefano and Maznevski (2000) where they state that “multicultural teams have an enormous wealth of material with which to create innovative approaches to complex organizational challenges.” They furthermore state that “today’s business cannot flourish without the creative value afforded by high performing global teams.”
There are several factors that are important if a culturally diverse business team is to flourish and realize its vast potential. Di Stefano and Maznevski (2000) claim that there are three imperative steps to achieving multicultural team success; namely, mapping the team; where the team members need to clearly understand their cultural differences in how they work and view success. This is often led by the team leader. Next, the team must bridge, that is, to communicate with one another, bearing in mind their cultural differences. Finally, the team must integrate, meaning that they bring together these differences and leverage on them to succeed.
Symons and Stenzel (2007) also tell us that for a multicultural team ...
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Di Stefano, J.J. & Maznevski, M.L. (2000) ‘Creating value with diverse teams in global management’, Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 45 – 63,
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“Project teams operate in global environments, and because they do, there are a host of issues that face project managers” (Chapman, 2008, week 1). Project teams are all over the world and face to face interaction is limited. Projects can be conducted via electronics; phone, web conferencing, instant messaging, fax, email and video conferencing. Communication, leadership and direct support from the executives are key factors in running a successful project. Clear roles need to be established by the PM based on individual member skills and understanding of the project goals.
Kossek, E.E, Lobel, S.A & Brown, J. (2005) ‘Human Resource Strategies to Manage Workforce Diversity: Examining the Business Case’. Available at: http://books.google.com.ng/books?hl=en&lr=&id=zUYHDw_detEC&oi=fnd&pg=PA53&dq=HR+strategies+in+designing+multicultural+teams&ots=GQEMrnrt3N&sig=jXJCo2ifZdrMBa4rC-8ruKFJClw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false Accessed: 27th March, 2012.
The purpose of creating teams is to solve a problem or issue through the use of diverse ideas and solutions. There are many times in life, whether at work or at school that one will encounter a diverse mix of personalities. Workplace diversity is everywhere, from the small corner business to the fortune 500 company, and is one of the most important challenges facing companies today. This mix of diverse personalities, gender, race, experience, and culture is what makes a team successful. This is an example of a heterogeneous team. On the other hand, a team with the same make-up, or homogeneous, has limitations on creativity, viewpoints and ideas. This paper will look at cultural diversity and demographic characteristics, specifically age, gender, expertise/ experience and how each plays an integral part in the construction of a high performance team.
This can affect the efficiency of the operation. Members of a group can be two or more new professionals in a group, but have difficulty communicating knowledge, making it difficult for a group to identify their own experience and gain profits. Conflicts and problems can arise when people are frustrated because of lack of fluency. Non-influential speakers are less concerned about their performance evaluation and future prospects. The entire company pays the biggest price: the investment in multicultural teams fails to compensate. Third challenges , it is Differing attitudes toward hierarchy and authority. It is These challenges speak of multicultural teamwork, and by design the team has a fairly flat structure. However, people in some cultures where people are treated differently depending on their position in the company are uncomfortable with flat teams .Final challenges, it is conflicting norms for decision making . The Culture is incredibly different in decision
Cultural sensitivity and cultural intelligence are vital to the success of the leaders as well as the associates of a given organization. Successful organizations have programs that focus on cross-cultural training as well as conflict resolution. Reguieg (2014) also stated that cross-cultural training is the most effective means for increasing the understanding and awareness for individuals who are confronted with cultures outside of their own! Organizations looking to achieve cultural diversity must have the buy-in from the executive level leadership and be willing to hold themselves and others accountable for achieving diversity in the workforce. Recent studies show the organizations are embarking on diversity training for a great number of reasons, but the ability to compete on a global level is the stand out. According to Lockhart (2002), “The ability of organizations to effectively compete in a global economy increasingly depends on their competence in managing their diverse human resources for strategic advantage” (p.1). Diversity and cross-cultural training are necessary initiatives for organizations that want to make a difference on a global scale and back home in diverse
At times cultural diversity and large groups find it difficult to accomplish task submitted where as smaller teams work well. A team should be formed stormed and continuously normed about the goals for the team to be effective
It was very interesting the multicultural teams concept in the lecture and seminar. Even I came across with multicultural team but I haven’t recognize our culture difference and never realized that differences in culture causes division and conflicts between member of team. Culture is primarily formed in the environment of individual childhood home and this point out those individuals brings their preferences culture to the team. This has consequence on how individuals view each other’s, leaders, decision making and communication. (Guilherme,
Recent years, organisation are much more relay on diversity teams to developing products, making decisions and also gain the business success (When and how), therefore diversity team are becoming a very important element for the organisations. In USA, diversity usually refer to demographic characteristics such as age, gender, and ethnicity, however, diversity is not only refer to demographics, it also means the diversity in psychological characteristics like skills, personality, abilities, and education backgrounds (book diversity). Although team diversity leads to some benefits like the positive organisational cooperation, share the knowledge and experience, it can also leads some problems to the organisation, such as the tension between members
First of all, it is very essential to have employees from different backgrounds because they will start to accept the fact that there are different points of view, and also they will learn how to manage to work, all together, as a group without quarreling; in other words cultural diversity will enhance group functioning. Furthermore, multiculturalism makes an organization not only focus on a single market but also open to other various markets. In fact, a study has been conducted, and it perfectly proves the pros that cultural diversity has on companies. Simply, it shows how the presence of different cultures causes the majority of the employees to learn new skills, which affects the general performance of the organization. Also, it shows how this type of diversity leads to gaining access to and legitimacy with diverse markets and clients, making organizations more profitable. Another point proved by the study is that ethnic inclusiveness promotes justice among all employees because all workers have equal chances in hiring and promotion (Ely & Thomas, 2001). All in all, the research’s conclusions, the firm’s development and the employees’ opinions supported that fact that cultural diversity is one of the factors that affected the organizations
Organizational leaders who educate and appreciate cultural diversity will create an organizational culture of tolerance and acceptance. Once leadership has begun this process, he or she can share the experience with others in the industry. Implementing various training programs to address cultural diversity is imperative for competing in diverse markets (Markraiova, Caganova & Cambal,
However, cultural differences can interfere with the successful completion of organizational goals in today’s multicultural global business community. The traditional strategies used by management to manage a culturally diverse workforce are proving inadequate and may not be able to solve the problem of cross cultural diversity in the era of globalization Why Culture Matters in International Business? Effective handling of the cross-cultural interface is a critical source of a firm’s competitive advantage. Managers need to develop not only empathy and tolerance toward cultural differences, but also acquire a sufficient degree of factual knowledge about the beliefs and values of their foreign counterparts.
In today’s globalized world, multicultural teams accomplish a significant proportion of organizational work. Multicultural teams are formed because they improve organizational effectiveness in the global business environment. As such, multicultural teams offer huge potential to organizations. The most critical and practical challenge multicultural teams face is managing conflicts across members’ national cultural boundaries. Other cultural challenges in multicultural teams include dealing with coordination and control issues, maintaining communication richness, and developing and maintaining team cohesiveness. For multicultural teams to be effective, members must learn to address the challenges that arise from team members’ differing nationalities and cultural backgrounds.
Butler and Zander [M2] formulate a model for multicultural team effectiveness based on Composition, Communication, Conflict, and Creativity. Their model is useful but does not fully take into account past experience and is based on current activities that are used by the team members, rather than past experience from intercultural orientation. Although they do say that the cultural background of team members can positively impact the team 's