L1

Managers must work with and through others in order to be effective. However, the most effective way to work with and through others really depends on the cultural norms of the parties involved to a great extent. People from different national cultures have different expectations for how a person should act.

Different Nationalities

Within Teams

•Different mother tongue languages and communication styles

•Different ways of looking at the world, taking in and processing information

•Different expectations about each other’s behavioral norms, such as emotional display, decision making, conflict resolution and leadership

Potential Consequences of The Meeting

of Cultures

The Down side

•Communication problems

•Coordination difficulties

•Discrimination

•In group/Out group stereotypes

•Cohesion/interpersonal attraction

•Cliques and coalitions

•Attitudes towards the organization

•Conflicts Violence

Global Virtual Teams

•A coordination mechanism used by multinational organizations to overcome distance and time barriers

•Use technology supported substantially more than face to face interactions

•Include members from different countries/cultures

Both cultural diversity and the distance/virtual technologies lead to lower familiarity and intimacy among team members

Cultural diversity and familiarity

“I think it is a matter of associations. When I say

something to someone from my own culture immediately we have a hundred common words and associations that I don’t need to explain.

When I say the same thing to someone from a different culture it takes a lot more effort.”

Virtual teams are task oriented.

We don’t have that much time left for politics, we need to work.

Intercultural communication

Rule 1: refrain from automatic interpretation/assumptions/ judgements

Rule 2: be ready to explain the obvious

Rule 3: listen and ask questions Rule 4: then exchange judgements

Rule 5: focus on solutions, not the problems