The management of multicultural teams

 For Chevrier (2004), managing teams composed of people from

several cultures is the essential task of intercultural management.
 However, as Chevrier (2004: 31) remarks, the teams formed with
members from differ-ent countries have to face intercultural
difficulties. She therefore presents four strategies aimed at
overcoming cultural barriers:
 A firm can:
1. count on the international team members’ openness
2. contribute to developing interpersonal relations among the
participants to help them estab-lish efficient routines
3. bank on international occupational or organisational cultures
4. establish a coaching process to help the teams build
intercultural synergies.
• The way management deals with the cultural diversity of these teams can
vary. Some managers will appeal to the professional culture of its
members to bring an international team together.
• This appeal is not part of a Japanese manager’s strategy since Japan does
not attach the same value to professional culture as the West. Other
managers lay stress on the communication between the actors, such as
making the unspoken rules explicit, or using an approach that conforms
either to what Chevrier calls American culture – or to the corporate
culture.

• According to Chevrier (2000), multicultural groups with the most

harmonious relations are those whose members:
• have the same status;
• do not have contradictory interests;
• do not feel that their identity is threatened.
• Another characteristic of multicultural teams is their potential to be
creative. Adler with Gundersen (2008, 2002) argue that, thanks to their
diversity, such teams can work in a more creative way than homogeneous
teams.
• Although multicultural teams encounter more process problems, they
produce more divergent ideas, so favouring creativity, and propose more
solutions for problems.
• Thus, it remains the challenge for the leaders of these teams to balance
creativity (divergence) and cohesion (convergence).

• The word ‘multicultural’ can also refer to the issue of multiculturalism,

observable in the working relations between members of a team
composed of people who come from countries (large or small) or
companies (large or small) or of people with unequal power. This is
explained by Mutabazi and Deer (2003) when referring to Afro-Occidental
teams.
 Afro-Western teams

• In their study, Mutabazi and Deer (2003: 3) show that ‘the problem associated
with multi-culturalism comes from pre-existing attitudes about relations
between Africa and the West’. The dominant partner is the West, with its ideals
and concepts of the world. This has repercussions on the relations in a team
where one notices the indifference towards the values and perspectives of the
other members, as well as the inability to have spontaneous interactions.
Perfect integration between Western expatriates and local executives also
appears to be impossible.

• However, when the conditions regarding multiculturalism disappear, it is

possible to achieve a high degree of integration, to go beyond the superficial
relations work requires.
• This integration results in a mutual commitment that allows skills within the
teams to be developed rather than just what Mutabazi and Deer (2003: 11) call
‘the opportunist addition of know-how techniques’.
• According to Mutabazi and Deer (2003), time is needed for a group
composed of people from different national and professional cultures to
develop a real team spirit. Without it, the manager of the team loses his
credibility and the ability to mobilise all the team members.
• Enough time also needs to be given to the members of a cross-cultural
team to gain a clear perception of the project they are undertaking. This
will help them individually to grasp exactly what the purpose of their work
is, to understand how it is to be achieved and in what period of time.

• Working in a team implies change not only in the way of doing, but also in
the way of thinking. This teamwork pre-supposes the creation of common
values and ideas, a delicate process in multicultural teams and
organisations.
 Conclusion
• This chapter presented the range of roles that, according to Belbin,
individuals can play in a team. When considering how teams work in an
international context, it can be seen that the culture of each individual
involved not only influences their role, but also the dynamic process
within the team. The ‘culture’ variable therefore can increase the difficulty
of managing global teams, which may be composed of task-oriented and
relationship-oriented cultures, high-context and low-context cultures, or
even different ethnic groups, such as in Afro-Western teams.

• The success of teamwork is crucial to all international organisations.

Whether they meet face-to-face or online, teams must address problems
that go far beyond the field of communication. Creating common ideas
and defining one’s own values remains a challenge for those working in
cross-cultural teams.