1.3.1 – Working in Multicultural teams:
In the previous chapters, we dealt with the concept of teamwork and high performance teams. In this chapter, let’s look at how the multicultural teams operate and how these teams can be managed in an organisation.
When individuals come together to form a team, there may be different ideas, conflicts and decisions. However, when a multicultural team comes together, there may be differences which could be more challenging than others as the team may consist of people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. However, the presence of a diverse team can have a positive impact on the organisation. Let us explore the various aspects related to a Multicultural team.
A multicultural team is one which consists
…show more content…
Managers dealing with multicultural teams must consider a few aspects such as:
- They must avoid the possibility of stereotyping as in grouping or thinking that people from one particular country or region may behave in the same manner
- Study the communication style followed by individuals from different countries
- Allow the members in the team to prepare towards a specific discussion as they need to overcome barriers of communication
- Managing the team requires the manager to monitor the roles of the team members avoid conflict between the team members.
- Managers must encourage team building activities.
1.3.2 - The nature of a multicultural team
The nature of a multicultural team is such that:
• The Employees develop a sense of cultural awareness among the employees.
• The employees contribute to the organisation based on their cultural background, experience and
…show more content…
Conflict management: When a group comes together to carryout a task, it brings together differing values, differing perspectives, sometimes leading to conflict. Conflict can arise when the team has been given a new task, or when the team members are unable to adjust to the environment. The presence of these elements has an impact on the performance of a multicultural team. Managing Multicultural teams is considered to be a process which proactively and strategically manages the needs of a heterogeneous workforce. The benefits that can be derived out of multicultural workforce includes a bigger pool of creative ideas , solutions , better accessibility to new markets and also better adaptability to marketplace changes.
1.3.4 - Performance: Cultural differences within a multicultural team must be dealt with in order to connect the people within the team. Research indicates that a multicultural team achieves better performance than a homogenous team.
A research by Jehn et al (1999) studied how various types of diversity affects team performance.
He created a model which discussed three types of diversity,
• Informational diversity: The differences that exist in the cultural background, work experience and other specialised