1. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.1 Understanding Cross-cultural Management CHAPTER 16 WORKING WITH INTERNATIONAL TEAMS Concept 16.1: Group processes during international encounters

2. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.2 Group processes during international encounters Definitions: ‘group’ and ‘team ’ When the members of a team display complementary skills to achieve a certain goal, then we can talk of teamwork The term ‘group’ usually refers to two or more individuals who share a collective identity and have a common goal The term ‘teamwork’ implies a synergy from working together which increases the performance of the work being done

3. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.3 Working Team?

4. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.4 Figure 16.1 Types of teams Source: Robbins (2000), p.106 According to Robbins (2001) there are four types: Problem-solving teams Self-managed teams Cross-functional teams Virtual teams Types of teams

5. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.5 Groups processes during international encounters Trust is a prerequisite for working effectively in a team, but this very concept can vary from culture to culture Cultures also have different assumptions as to the purpose of groups and teams: –to spread information and discuss problems, or –to make decisions and take action, or –to enable the creation of social relations

6. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.6 Team roles Two roles which each member of a team must perform: 1.show his professional aptitudes as a specialist in his area (personnel manager or sales manager) 2.demonstrate personal characteristics: play interpersonal role within the team According to Senge et al. (1995) also need for a trained facilitator: –helps to clarify how decisions are taken and by whom –can improve the team’s whole performance

7. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.7 The Belbin model The Belbin model is an instrument used by many organizations to measure the influence of team member diversity regarding the different roles played in a team at work The model shows –the different stages of development of the team: identifying needs, finding ideas, formulating plans, executing ideas, establishing team organization, following through –the different team roles which should each dominate in a particular stage of development

8. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.8 Figure 16.2 An overview of team roles in the Belbin model (adapted) Source: Belbin (1993), p.22 Types of teams Team roleDescriptors and strengths Completer-finisherConscientious, introvert, delivers on time ImplementerConservative, reliable, turns ideas into practical actions Team WorkerExtrovert, co-operative, averts friction SpecialistSerious, provides knowledge and skills in rare supply Monitor EvaluatorIntrovert, open to change, judges accurately Co-ordinatorDominant, good chairperson, delegates well PlantTrustful, creative, solves difficult problems ShaperEmotional, impatient, has the drive to overcome obstacles Resource InvestigatorDiplomatic, persuasive, communicative, develops contacts

9. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.9 Global management teams (1) Develop a global perspective and communicate a corporate culture while paying attention to the needs of the local market Establish and maintain relations with: –with suppliers, sales people and other intermediaries –between teams of managers and technical people who work together in locally operating companies in different parts of the world

10. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.10 Global management teams (2) Internal interactions at all levels go on at the same time as interactions with the external environment Therefore need for a global teamwork AND ‘pockets’ of cross-cultural teamwork and interactions that occur at many boundaries Global management team members share a number of national and professional identities

11. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.11 Team processes The group itself will develop properties which are more than the average of the properties of the individuals composing it Individuals influence group and team life but their behaviour in turn is changed through the dynamics which occur within the group Cultural differences in terms of –what the organization expects from the group –how group should operate These expectations have to be negotiated in terms of both task and process

12. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.12 Team processes (2) Adler (2002) noted differences between task- oriented cultures and relationship-oriented cultures when international team members first meet: Those from task-oriented cultures spent little time getting to know each other before getting down to business Those from relationship-oriented spent much more time establishing a personal relationship It may be more difficult for such teams to build strong relations than single-culture teams

13. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.13 Process strategies for global teams (1) Davison & Ekelund (2004) describe three aspects: Task and social processes: –the task process directly influences team performance –the social process is related to the ability of the team to work together over a longer time Emergent states through interaction, especially –mutual trust –collective team identity –confidence in the team’s ability to achieve its tasks’ Coordinating mechanisms: face-to-face/on-line meetings

14. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.14 Process strategies for global teams (2) The differences between team members, particularly in global teams, can be seen at several levels: profession culture, personality, style and role, as well as organization. These differences can help increase the performance of the team, but can also be the source of conflicts depending on the way the team deals with these differences. Davison & Ekelund (2004) have compiled a table which gives an overview of the ways in which differences can have an impact on global teams.

15. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.15 The impact of differences in global teams (1) Source of difference Opportunity presented Impact onExperienced asIntegrated mechanisms Preferred leadership styles To make leaders and members actively search for the most effective leadership role(s) and style where both adjust & align their expectations Effective leader/team member interaction, decision-making, levels of satisfaction Frustrations, disagreements on form. Disappointment due to failed expectations Openness about leader style and leader-team member expect- ations. Identific- ation of conflicts and the best ways to handle them National & organizational culture of origin & leadership of the organization Can give core identity and sense of cohesion that can be adjusted / improved through experience in other cultures People who share the nationality of the organization and its leadership are perceived as more influential than others Perceived bias in accepted norms and levels of influence and access to resources. Glass ceiling based on nationality Well-structured participative processes and inclusive policies Table 16.3 The impact of differences in global teams (source: Davison & Ekelund, 2004, pp. 232- 234, Table 12.1, adapted)

16. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.16 The impact of differences in global teams (2) Source of difference Opportunity presented Impact onExperienced asIntegrated mechanisms Preferred ways of' resolving conflicts Confronts team with need to find synergistic solutions Ability to address difficult challenges and conflicts Denial of conflict. Displaced frustrations. Lack of trust. Lack of group efficacy Joint definition of which conflicts need to be addressed and how. Also which conflicts are to be avoided Preferred ways of decision making Creates variety; highlights need to make decision- making processes explicit and suitable for different contexts The quality of, involvement in, and follow up/ implementation of decision-making processes Lack of loyalty to decision and team. Dissatisfaction and lack of respect Collective training on which type of decisions Table 16.3 The impact of differences in global teams (source: Davison & Ekelund, 2004, pp. 232- 234, Table 12.1, adapted)

17. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.17 The impact of differences in global teams (3) Source of difference Opportunity presented Impact onExperienced asIntegrated mechanisms Expectations and values around interaction and team behaviour Forces awareness of differences, assumptions, the tensions that they bring and the need to acknowledge and work with them Levels of participation, mis- understanding Missed timing, anger at inappropriate reciprocity. Feeling misunderstood. Things not happening Expectations and values around interaction and team behaviour Cultural pre- conceptions Increased awareness of these. Approaching them with humour, not acting on them. A learning opportunity that there are many different ways of seeing the world Preconceived perceptions of more or less relevant experience, education Stereotypical comments or implicit behaviour toward "disadvantaged" people or about those "in charge" Cultural preconceptions Table 16.3 The impact of differences in global teams (source: Davison & Ekelund, 2004, pp. 232- 234, Table 12.1, adapted)

18. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.18 The impact of differences in global teams (4) Source of difference Opportunity presented Impact onExperienced asIntegrated mechanisms International experience Can bring empathy, flexib- ility, humbleness, self-reflection. People with internat’l exp- erience can act as bridges between core & local sites Ability to -understand implicit rules & working norms -speak different languages. -empathize with other team members Bias that inter- national experience & linguistic skills are more essential for "other" nationalities than for those whose mother tongue is firm’s working language Insist on international experience as part of international career path and selection criteria for international team leaders Different geographical locations Allows global efficiencies, local responsiveness, and knowledge transfer and learning across the organisation Who meets face to face and who does not. Co- ordination, timing understanding of importance of required actions Impenetrable in groups in certain locations. Lack of loyalty, invisible agendas Stress integrated team model spread across world, not hub and spoke; visibility is local and global Table 16.3 The impact of differences in global teams (source: Davison & Ekelund, 2004, pp. 232- 234, Table 12.1, adapted)

19. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.19 The management of multi-cultural teams Some managers will appeal to the professional culture of its members to bring an international team together Other managers will stress on the communication between the actors, such as making the unspoken explicit, rules explicit Those multicultural groups which appear to have the most harmonious relations are those where its members: –have the same status –do not have contradictory interests –do not feel that their identity is threatened

20. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.20 Afro-Western Teams In their study on Afro-Occidental teams, Mutabazi and Deer (2003) show that the problems come from pre-existing attitudes about relation between Africa and the West. The dominant partner is the west, with its ideals and concepts of the world: perfect integration between western expatriates and local executives, also appears to be impossible. However, a high degree of integration can be achieved resulting in a mutual commitment which allows for talent within the teams to be developed the importance of time.

21. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.21 Afro-Western Teams (2) Time the key factor: needed for a group to develop a real team spirit, otherwise the team manager loses credibility and ability to mobilize all team members The members of a cross-cultural team must be given enough time to gain a clear perception of the project they are undertaking Time needed for every individual to grasp exactly the purpose of their work, the exact goal and period of time. These elements can then be incorporated into their own reference system

22. Browaeys and Price, Understanding Cross-cultural Management, 1 st Edition, © Pearson Education Limited 2009 Slide 16.22 Conclusion 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 organizations.