From Conflict to Cooperation: Building Stronger Cross Cultural Teams

 

This article addresses five suggestions to strengthening a cross cultural team.

 

1.     Acknowledge and Respect Cultural Differences

–   Address the team's cultural differences, such as language, culture, and behavioral differences caused by norms and values. Hofstede's cultural dimension model is useful for categorizing differences. Discussing cultural differences in a team meeting where everyone can share their ideas is one way to encourage cultural diversity.

2.     Establish Norms for the Team

–   The second step is to establish team norms. The goal is to get all members involved and make them feel committed. Check in with the team on a regular basis to see how well the norms are being implemented.

3.     Develop a Team Identity and Outline Roles and Responsibilities

–   To avoid misunderstandings, divide common goals into distinct roles and responsibilities. Encouraging team members to get to know each other in a social setting aid in the team's relationship bonding.

4.     Over-Communicate

–   Allowing over-communication is a good strategy in a culturally diverse team because one member may not understand the other member's cultural background, which can lead to misunderstandings.

5.     Build Rapport and Trust

–   Respecting differences, adhering to group norms, and focusing on a common goal all contribute to team bonding.

 

Many people understand and accept cultural differences in the workplace; all that was required was the implementation of a framework to facilitate communication and collaboration.

Source:            Henman, M. (2022, September 1). From Conflict to Cooperation: Building Stronger Cross Cultural Teams. business.com. Retrieved October 14, 2022, from https://www.business.com/articles/from-conflict-to-cooperation-building-stronger-cross-cultural-teams/

6 ways our cultures shape how we work together in a globalized world

 We are, according to Hofstede, the direct result of our own cultures. Applying this to actual workplaces, where organizations operate in an increasingly globalized world with people from diverse backgrounds, it means that diverse and inclusive thinking can lead to innovative solutions. At their worst, working relationships are fraught with misunderstandings, power struggles, and ideological clashes.

There are 6 core cultural differences affecting the workplaces.

1.     Running your own show… or not

–   People in Western Europe and North America are more individualistic, preferring to work on their own to achieve their goals. Asian, African, and South American cultures, on the other hand, prefer to work as a group by sharing ideas. 

2.     Who’s the boss?

–   Cultures in Europe and North America have a low power distance, whereas cultures in Asia, South America, and Africa have a higher power distance. This means that employees with low power distance cultures are less likely to respond to questions or comments about their work. Employees in positions of power may perceive these attitudes as arrogant and disrespectful.

3.     When life is a competition

–   The types of workplace cultures we cultivate can be influenced by masculine and feminine culture. Companies in Scandinavian countries, for example, adopt a more feminine culture. They place an emphasis on the quality of life outside of work and frown on competitive behavior.

4.     Come what may

–   Uncertainty-avoiding and uncertainty-tolerant cultures are diametrically opposed. Employees with an uncertainty-avoidance culture are more at ease operating within defined boundaries.

5.     The only constant is change

–   Within workplaces, there are long-term oriented and short-term oriented cultures. Employees from a long-term oriented culture adapt to the company's circumstances, which means they fit in. Employees in a short-term oriented culture adhere to their norms and draw a clear line between right and wrong.

6.     Free like a bird

–   The final one is between indulgent and restrained cultures. Employees from a restrained culture may feel detached in a less restrictive work environment.

The author advised us to be aware of cultural differences and to use the values found within them.

Source:         Barnes, C. (2022, May 2). 6 ways our cultures shape how we work together in a globalized world. Hospitality Net. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4110262.html

How Corporate Cultures Differ Around the World

 

According to research from Pew Research Center, 64% of respondents believed that diversity of race and ethnicity positively impacts American culture. (Horowitz, 2019). Diversity in American workplaces is rapidly gaining importance. While there are usually more similarities than differences amongst employees, culture is frequently one of the differences.

 

Aspects of culture that are commonly known, such as language, appearance, habits, and conventions, represent the top of the cultural iceberg. However, the bigger, less apparent portion of the cultural iceberg is difficult to identify and is comprised of more complicated components, such as beliefs, values, attitudes, ideals, norms, and worldview. In the literature, aspects of culture that are commonly known, such as language, appearance, habits, and conventions, represent the top of the cultural iceberg. However, the bigger, less apparent portion of the cultural iceberg is difficult to identify and is comprised of more complicated components, such as beliefs, values, attitudes, ideals, norms, and worldview. 

 

The good side for it is this level of cultural variety in the workplace would be extremely advantageous to a firm.In the literature, the advantages of introducing ethnic variety into companies have been extensively documented (Thomas, 1990; Martin, 2014; Al-Jenaibi, 2011; Adler, 2002). The advantages include: enhancing the recruitment and retention of ethnically diverse personnel; enhanced originality, motivation, and invention extending the scope of the company and enhancing its potential to attract new customers; having additional resources to address issues; developing innovative work and management approaches; establishing new kinds of interpersonal partnerships; constructing support systems that better meet the different worker and client requirements. 

 

However, while there are numerous benefits associated with a culturally varied workplace, it also brings unique problems, such as the integration of multicultural teams may be hampered by negative prejudices; Professional communication across cultures and languages is susceptible to misunderstanding and misinterpretation; professional etiquette can vary among cultures, and teams with opposing working approaches.

 

In their book, they also identify the six fundamental concepts of cultural diversity management for success and provide six steps to properly integrate cultural diversity management into an organization.

Source:    Windon, S., Plaza, C. H., & Robotham, D. (2020, December 7). Cultural Differences in the Workplace. PennState Extension. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://extension.psu.edu/cultural-differences-in-the-workplace

 How Cultural Differences Can Impact Global Teams

This HBR article offers some interesting perspectives on cultural differences. According to the article, over the last 24 years, 95% of the 1100 studies published in the Journal of International Business Studies focused on the negative effects of team member differences. However, this article focuses on the benefits that cultural differences can bring to teams. 

 

The research team observed the behaviors and interactions of over 5000 people in 800+ international teams who collaborated on business consulting projects for several months using only digital communication tools. They primarily tracked the personal and contextual diversity of those teams. Personal characteristics such as age, gender, language, skills, and values were all considered. Contextual diversity represented team members' residences, economic development, educational backgrounds, political systems in their respective countries, and so on. Measurable outputs include the economic viability and originality of their business plans and product designs. Another output is the team climate, which includes cohesion, satisfaction with team members, enjoyment of the process, and interest in working on additional projects with the same team. 

 

The findings revealed that personal diversity has a negative impact on teams, whereas contextual diversity has a positive impact on performance. Team members are less likely to communicate and collaborate with people of different ages, languages, or socioeconomic backgrounds. Members from different countries with different institutions, economic, and political systems, on the other hand, bring more diverse knowledge and experiences. This is why contextual diversity can be advantageous to teams. This research finding is especially useful for team leaders. When a project focuses primarily on routine tasks, the manager should consider forming a team with a low level of personal diversity. To maximize efficiency, members should be of similar age, language, and skill levels. Finally, two strategies for maximizing the benefits of team diversity are proposed. The first step is to reduce the negative impact of personal diversity through trainings or policies that encourage friendly interaction. Second, increasing contextual diversity through free exchange of ideas, brainstorming and friendly discussions, constructive criticism and disagreement.

Source:       Taras, V., Baack, D., Caprar, D., Jiménez, A., & Froese, F. (2021, September 17). Research: How Cultural Differences Can Impact Global Teams. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved October 14, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2021/06/research-how-cultural-differences-can-impact-global-teams