Intercultural Collaboration

Group 5

Presented by Tori Zhou, Jacqui, Haleigh Durkin, Keyur Palan, Almanda Le

 Introduction
What is a virtual team?

● People who are geographically dispersed to work on short or long term work conducted most
entirely through electronic technology (Grosse).

Why is it important for virtual teams to establish effective intercultural

collaboration among team members and businesses?

● Pros and cons of intercultural communication

● Show a video that addresses the stigmas that can arise
● Review two case studies
 Intercultural Collaboration Pros and Cons
Pros: Cons:

● Team members feel more comfortable

● Hard to establish relationships & trust due to
communicating, which in turn increases
the disconnect of not being face to face
work progress
● The time required to learn and operate new
● Any business, regardless of size can
technology can be challenging (Grosse).
flourish and compete in an international
● Challenges communicating geographically
marketplace (Grosse) .
(Grosse).
● Development of new innovative and
creative production.
Diversity in The Office - Good or Bad?
 Case Study: Boeing Dreamliner
● The Boeing Dreamliner was a feat of aviation innovations and
international collaborations
● 50 partners from more than 130 locations worked together through
virtual means
● Issues:
○ Test and delivery delays
○ Cost and schedule overruns
○ Communication failures that lead to dissatisfaction among
internal staff
● Accomplishments:
○ Fuel efficiency
○ 75 customers from over 30 nations
Case Study: Boeing Dreamliner (continued)
Case Study: eChina-UK Program
● 5-year project involving the collaboration of British and Chinese teams
● Process required:
○ Heavy attention to individual and group learning
○ Intercultural sensitivity/self-awareness
○ The building of social relations which established a “common language”
● Issues:
○ Divergence of interests
○ Language barrier
● Members cited a greater understanding of varying cultures and a sense of
adaptability
 Conclusion
● Intercultural collaboration is the ability to communicate and interact
successfully with individuals from other social and cultural
backgrounds.
● Key Benefit:
○ Development of new products by working with multiple people and
companies worldwide who all embody different ideas to develop
new unique products for lower cost
● Major Con:
○ It is incredibly hard, yet crucial, to establish relationships and trust.
Lack of face-to-face communication hinders usual interpersonal
business development.
 Bibliography
Grosse, C. U. (2016, November 23). Managing Communication within Virtual Intercultural Teams - Christine Uber
Grosse, 2002. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/108056990206500404

MacCormack, A., Forbath, T., Brooks, P., & Kalaher, P. (2007, August 14). Innovation through Global Collaboration: A
New Source of Competitive Advantage. Retrieved from https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication Files/07-079.pdf

Reid, S. (2009, February). The Learning Process in Intercultural Collaboration Evidence from the eChina-UK Programme.
Retrieved from
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/globalpeople/resourcebank/gppublications/learning_process_model_ic.pdf

US, The Office, director. Michael Scotts School of Management - The Office US. YouTube, YouTube, 28 Aug. 2014,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLp8pjqwlsc.