Transcript Definition I - Uni

Cross-cultural
teambuilding and
Diversity
management
Definition I
• groupwork = teamwork
• A team is a group which works on a clear
defined task. A team can manage a whole
project or only part of it. Teams exist for a
special task-orientated reason and their
existence is limited to the fulfilment of the
task.
Definition II
there are two kinds of groupwork to distinguish:
1. formal group
(which was founded on organisational
composition)
2. informal group
(which is formed through personal wishes
and sympathy)
Types of Teams
1. Traditional work groups
(Natural work groups)
2. Impromptu short-term teams
(Swat teams)
3. Special purpose teams
(project teams)
4. Cross-functional teams
5. Self-managed teams
(“direct team”)
Stages of Group Development
1. Forming
-getting to know each other and testing
2. Storming
-group structure begins to emerge
3. Norming
-developing cohesion
4. Performing
-working structure
Social Group Structure I
1. Status structure
- a relative and valued position of
a member inside the group
- mediator in a communication
process
M2
M5
M3
M4
M1
M4
M5
Circle
M1
M2
M1
Y
M3
M2
M4
M3
M5
Chain
Social Group Structure II
2. Role structure
- gives information about the
behaviour and the expectations of the
behaviour
3. Leadership
- formed informally lead back on
behavioural attributes
Group Composition I
• Group Size
small team (3-5 members)
big team (8-12 members)
• the number of team members
should depend on the tasks
which have to be solved
Group Composition II
• homogeneity & heterogeneity
- homogeneity is needed to develop
group cohesion
- heterogeneity is necessary to produce
the potential for change in a group
• Redl´s law of optimum distance:
“homogeneous enough to ensure stability
and heterogeneous enough to ensure
vitality” (?????)
Group Composition III
• Descriptive attributes:
- Age
- Gender
- Race and ethnicity
- Social class
• Behavioural attributes:
- these refer to the way in which
individuals behave, their
personality, attitudes and lifestyles (talkative vs. quiet,
dominant vs. submissive)
Definition of Diversity
• “diversity can best be described in terms of
differences from the accepted mainstream
population”
National origin
Language
Religion
Gender
Family situation
Race
Sexual orientation
Marital status
Workforce
Diversity
Culture
Age
Physical ability
Socio-economic status
Mark M. Deresky, „Managing in a Diverse Workforce“,
MBA paper, West Florida Universuty (Spring 1994)
Myers, S.:Team Building For Diverse Work Groups, p.8
Aims of Group Composition
• the goal is to create a workplace in which
individuals are not limited by traditional
barriers, stereotypes and restrictions
• Cohesion through trust, openness and diversity
Cultural diversity...
...can have positive as well as negative impacts on a
team.
+
a well managed diverse team augments the
potential productivity because many different ideas
and perspectives concerning a special situation play
a role
-
cultural diversity increases the complexity of the
whole process and can therefore lead to difficulties
in integrating and evaluating the various
perspectives
Disadvantages I
• Differences in language
• Differences in communication
• Differences in management styles
• Differences in norms, behaviour
• stereotyping/ prejudices
personality conflicts, mistrust
Disadvantages II
• greater complexity  problems in reaching
agreements, the decision-making process is
influenced in a negative way
• lack of trust, communication inaccuracies 
stress, tension

decreased effectiveness
Advantages
• sharing technology
• sharing skills and talents
• sharing experiences
• opportunity for cross-cultural
understanding
• limited “groupthink”
• varied backgrounds exposure to
different viewpoints and alternatives 
more and better ideas

higher productivity
When does diversity become most
valuable?
• When the need for agreement remains low and
relatively high need for creativity is required, that
means when an organisation wants to launch a new
product, create new ideas or develop a new
marketing plan from a new perspective, diversity
becomes most valuable.
• Diversity can lead to better customer relationship
because different market issues are handled from
different points of view; customers are seen more
individually and can therefore be treated more
appropriately.
Team effectiveness
from: N.Adler: International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, p. 137
Team effectiveness
“When well managed, diversity becomes an asset and
productive resource for the team. When ignored, diversity
causes process problems that diminish the team’s
productivity. Since diversity is more frequently ignored
than well managed, culturally diverse teams often
perform below expectations and below organisational
norms.”
N.Adler: International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, p. 138
Synergy
“The combined effect of two or more things,
processes, etc that exceeds the sum of their individual
effects: the synergy achieved by merging two
companies“
[Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary]
Synergy
“The synergy approach assumes that we are not all the
same – that the various groups within society differ and
that each maintains its cultural distinctness. Appreciating
a pluralistic, rather than a homogeneous, society
underlies the synergy approach. Whereas the most
commonly held assumption is that similarities among
people are most important, cultural synergy assumes that
similarities and differences share equal importance.”
N.Adler: International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, p. 107

Cultural diversity should be seen and treated
as a resource!
Synergy
David Kearns, chairman of Xerox:
“We have to manage diversity right now and much more
so in the future. American business will not be able to
survive if we do not have a large, diverse workforce,
because those are the demographics.”
Deresky, H.:Managing Human Resources Around the World, p. 446
If a company wants to develop new markets and merge
with other companies, it has to be able to deal with
differences and diversity!
Managing cultural diversity
Diversity Management is an instrument which describes
all measures that lead to the recognition of differences
and which makes sure that those differences are getting
highly valued.
Those measures should point out that diversity can have
a positive impact on the company.
Managing cultural diversity
• Task-related selection
• Recognition of differences
• A vision or superordinate goal
• Equal power
• Mutual respect
• Feedback
Managing cultural diversity
Task-related selection
To maximise team effectiveness, members should
be selected to homogeneous in ability levels and
heterogeneous in attitudes
Managing cultural diversity
Recognition of differences
Teams cannot begin to communicate
without first recognising and then
understanding and respecting cross-cultural
differences
Managing cultural diversity
A vision or superordinate goal
Members of diverse teams generally have more
trouble agreeing on their purpose and task than do
members of homogeneous teams
Managing cultural diversity
Equal Power
Team leaders should distribute power according
to each member‘s ability, not according to
relative cultural superiority
Managing cultural diversity
Mutual Respect
Mutual respect can be improved by selecting
members of equal ability and by making prior
accomplishments and task-related skills known
to all members
Managing cultural diversity
Feedback
Managers should give teams positive feedback both as individuals and as a team - early in the
team‘s life together
Positive external feedback (given by a manager
who is not in the team) generally helps the team
to viewing itself as a team
Managing cultural diversity
The MBI Model of Managing Cultural Diversity for
Personal and Team Effectiveness
Map
Bridge
Understand the
differences
Communicate
across
the differences
Integrate
Manage
the differences
Value
and
utilise
the
differences
Managing cultural diversity
COF - The Cultural Orientation
Map
Understand the
differences
Framework
1) Relation to nature
2) Relationships among people
3) Mode of human activity
4) Belief about basic human nature
5) Orientation to time
6) Use of space
Managing cultural diversity
Bridge
Communicate
across
the
differences
3 important skills to effective
communication in a cross-cultural
setting
1) Prepare
2) Decenter
3) Recenter
Managing cultural diversity
Integrate
Manage
the
differences
3 main integration skills
1) Building participation
2) Resolving conflicts
3) Building on ideas