MGB 610/611: Organizational Behavior & Team Skills

Fall 2014, Week 4

Teams & Teamwork:

Diversity and Multicultural Teams

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Many Types of Global Career

Experiences

Global teams (often virtual)

Functional/administrative matrix organization
Occasional brief travel
Extended travel
Short-term global assignments
Expatriate
Transnational

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If something works in one culture,

it will probably not work in another
Trompenaars (1998)

Things never translate exactly the same.

They mean different things in different
cultures
Dont assume: Take the time to understand
how we are alike and how we are different
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Culture
The shared assumptions,
values and beliefs of a group of
people which result in
characteristic behaviors/habits

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HOFSTEDES (1980) STUDY

Over 88,000 managers and employees;
116,000 surveys at two points in time
One Fortune 500 multinational (IBM)
66 countries
Found significant differences that did not
change over time
National culture explained more variance in
employee work-related values and attitudes
than did position, age, profession, or gender
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Culture Dimensions (Hofstede)

Individualism/Collectivism (in-group or institutional)
Competition/Collaboration?

Take Risks/Avoid uncertainty

Dominance: Control the world/

Subjugation: natural force, Gods will

Quality of Life/Quantity of Life

Being/Doing? Urgency?
Relationships/Task? Performance orientation?

Power distance/orientation

High/Low Power distance? Egalitarian or authoritarian?

Communication Style

High context/Low context

Time Orientation

Long-term/Short-term? Past/present/future?
Time is free/money
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Key Dimensions of Culture

independent

Individualism/Collectivism

I believe everyone looks after

him/herself and competition is good.
Identity is based in the individual,
not in the group or company.
egalitarianism

risk

I believe people relate to groups which

protect them in exchange for loyalty.
Collaboration is best way. Identity is
based in the group to which one belongs.

Low / High Power Distance

I believe inequalities among people

should be minimized. All should
have similar rights. Earned power
is deserved.

status

I expect there to be reasonable

inequalities among people. I believe
power holders are entitled to privileges
and innate power is deserved.

Take Risks/Avoid Uncertainty

I prefer unstructured, risky, ambiguous

or unpredictable situations. I believe I
control a lot of what happens to me.

interdependent

restraint

I prefer structure, rules, regulations and

controls. I believe there are many things
out of my control.
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Key Dimensions of Culture (cont)

direct

Low / High Context Communication

I believe in explicit meaning. Clear

communication requires explaining
yourself in detail.
relationship

short-term

I believe in implicit meaning. People

should understand what you mean
without need to explain every detail.

Quality/Quantity (Achievement)

I believe quality of life has priority over

goal achievement. Personal relationships
are necessary for task effectiveness.

task

I believe goal achievement has priority

over quality of life. Being as efficient as
possible is a personal goal. Task
completion is prerequisite to good
personal relationships.

Time Orientation

I believe it is important to do things

quickly and on time. Deadlines,
plans and schedules should be
adhered to.

indirect

long-term

I believe things get done eventually.

It is better to take your time and not
rush things. Deadlines, plans and
schedules are targets.
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Low

High
Low

High
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Helpful generalizations on culture

Culture is normally distributed. Not really accurate to talk
of U.S. culture, Japanese culture, etc.

Helpful generalizations are:

Accurate
Consciously held (know you are using them)
Descriptive rather than evaluative
The first best guess
Modified (get to know people you are working with as
individuals)

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Understanding and Adapting to Cultural

Differences in Multicultural Teams
Discuss in your team where team members place
themselves on:
Direct
Egalitarianism
Short-Term, Rapid,
Deadline Adherence

Direct vs Indirect Communication

Attitudes Toward Hierarchy
Time & Decision Making Orientation

Indirect
Appreciation of
Status/Authority
Longer-Term, Slower
Pace, Flexibility of
Deadlines

Where are the biggest cultural differences in your team?

How might they potentially be sources of conflict?
How could your team understand and value those differences,
while also creating your own team culture?
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Strategies for Successfully Managing

Multicultural Teams
Representative
Problems

Enabling Situational
Conditions

Strategy

Complicating
Factors

Conflict arises from decision

making differences
Misunderstanding or stonewalling arises from
communication differences

Team members can attribute a

challenge to culture rather than
personality
Higher-level managers are not
available or the team would be
embarrassed to involve them

Adaptation

Team members must be

exceptionally aware
Negotiating a common
understanding takes time

The team is affected by

emotional tensions relating to
fluency issues or prejudice
Team members are inhibited
by perceived status
differences among teammates

The team can be subdivided to mix

cultures or expertise
Tasks can be subdivided

Structural
Interventio
n

If team members arent

carefully distributed,
subgroups can strengthen
preexisting differences
Subgroup solutions have to fit
back together

Violations of hierarchy have

resulted in loss of face
An absence of ground rules is
causing conflict

The problem has produced a high

level of emotion
The team has reached a stalemate
A higher level manager is able and
willing to intervene

Managerial
Interventio
n

The team becomes

dependent on the manager
Team members may be
sidelined or resistant

A team member cannot adjust

to the challenge at hand and
has become unable to
contribute to the project and is
harming the team

The team is permanent rather than

temporary
Emotions are beyond the point of
intervention

Exit

Talent and train costs are lost

Team feels frustrated
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Key Points
Countries can be described on general dimensions of
culture
Cultural value frameworks can be used to understand the
behavior and attitudes of global team members and
employees
Respect for cultural values increases the chances for
leadership success
Culture is a two-way street; you are learning about other
cultures but you are also teaching about your own
Cultural models are only the beginning, get to know
individuals (in addition to countries and cultures); When in
Rome
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Quiz 1 Format
Date: 9/30
Format
20 Multiple choice questions (1.5 points/ea)
4 Short answer questions (5 points/ea)

Coverage
Weeks 1-5
All class content
Notes, class discussion, exercises, video clips
Readings
Focus on key principles and concepts
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