Session objectives

1
Session objectives

• Identify strengths and weaknesses of
  cross-cultural teams
• Learn to identify potential trouble-spots in
  cross-cultural teams
• Develop and practice a set of techniques for
  effective management of cross-cultural teams

2
Experiential exercise The new plant site

• You will be asked to work first in a
  single-culture team to determine the best site
  for a new plant
• You will then be asked to work in a
  multi-cultural team to make the decision

3
You are no longer students!

• Imagine this is a real business situation
• Please try to stay in character as best as you
  can
• But, please try to work effectively in your team

4
Cross-cultural teams have strengths and
weaknesses

• Strengths
• Innovative ideas
• Diverse information
• Minimization of group-think
• Wide-spread commitment
• Weaknesses
• Process loss (actual productivity potential
  productivity - loss due to faulty process)

5
Advantages of multicultural teams

• Diversity permits increased creativity--more
  perspectives more ideas less groupthink
• Diversity forces enhanced concentration to
  understand others ideas, arguments
• Increased creativity--gtbetter problem definition,
  more alternatives, better decisions
• Teams become more effective

6
Disadvantages

• Lack of cohesion caused by
• mistrust (lower interpersonal attractiveness
  stereotyping more within-culture conversations)
  miscommunication and stress (tension, less
  agreement)
• Inability to validate ideas, gain consensus, take
  concerted action
• Teams become less efficient, less productive

7
Balance of cultures critically important in
cross-cultural teams

• Tokens who deviate from group norms tend to be
  ostracized
• Tokens tend to be stereotyped
• Tokens tend to be less-listened to
• IMPLICATIONS
• Avoid tokens in group composition
• Build in explicit procedures to allow minority
  voices to be heard

8
3 critical tasks in team management

• Structure the task
• What is the objective?
• What is the time frame?
• What are the resources available?
• Set the norms
• How will we communicate?
• How will we present information?
• How will we make decisions?
• Build team emotional intelligence
• aware of the emotions of its members and work
  with these emotions

9
All of this takes time!
10
Cross-cultural teams Before the first meeting

• Prepare !
• get to know other team members
• circulate agenda and materials
• set a concrete goal and obtain team buy-in
• make sure that the team has the appropriate
  resources, training and authority
• Decide whether or not your team requires a leader
• base decision upon corporate culture and national
  culture
• Be conscious of mix of nationalities
• avoid tokens

11
Cross-cultural teams The first meeting

• Teams that start out right get better over time.
• Teams that start out badly are difficult to turn
  around.
• Build relationships before getting to work.
• Set norms for teamwork.
• promptness, interruptions, presentation of data,
  decision-making
• Set norms for equal participation.
• Provide written summaries of team proceedings.