Essay on The effectiveness of multicultural teams

In the business world cultural differences play a very important role. They might enhance the effectiveness of multicultural teams, as well as prevent it. Consequently, of great importance is the ability of managers to use all of the various elements of the group performance, paying particular attention to the cultural diversity of team members, which can give additional competitive advantage. On the other hand, managers must learn to identify socio-cultural differences and manage them wisely, considering national culture as sources of new knowledge and as key factors in achieving competitive advantage.

Now a growing number of researchers study the problem of diversity (Jackson et al., p.55). The results of such studies show that the diversity of staff, its multicultural nature can improve the performance of the team, and, consequently, the efficiency of the organization.

The effectiveness of multicultural teams requires from its members a clear understanding of communication  processes within the group and across the organization as a whole. Therefore, we can conclude that the efficiency of a multicultural team is strongly influenced by the so-called cross-cultural competence, which its representatives may have or have not. The results of studies that claim that the effective operation of multicultural teams has a significant impact on the efficiency and success of organizations, makes the analysis of cross-cultural communication skills of its members particularly relevant.

It’s no secret that different people have different abilities to cross-cultural communication. However, studies have shown that even the ability to cross-cultural competence varies depending on the affiliation of people of a particular culture. Thus, it is necessary to answer the question of how the level of cross-cultural competence of members of multicultural teams affects the performance of these teams.

Multicultural teams are groups, which are focused on the implementation of a particular task and which consists of representatives from different cultures (Snow et al., p.12) Charles Snow believes that multicultural teams, as opposed to monocultural teams, are characterized by differences between its members in language, style of interpersonal interaction and a number of other factors. Such differences, in his opinion, could contribute to a balance (of unity and cohesion) or imbalance (subgroup dominance, the effect of exclusion, etc.) within the team, depending on how to manage them (Snow et al., p.12).

Early P.C. and Gibson C.B.(2002) determine multicultural team as a combination of two or more individuals from different cultures, which directly or indirectly interact with each other to achieve a common goal (Early & Gibson, 2002)

Companies that are successful in the global market and that plan international development, actively use multicultural teams, as they provide flexibility and responsiveness to external changes, and thus make more efficient use of human resources of the company, which increases competitiveness in general.

For example, we can speak about Coca-Cola company, which has earned a reputation as a leader both in social and  business areas. To build the company’s leadership in dealing with cultural diversity of its employees, CEO of Coca-Cola Doug Daft made such a decision: from 1994 to 2004 he tied the salaries of top managers, including his own, to the results, associated with effective work of multicultural teams. He decided to make senior managers accountable for improving the results of the company in the field of cultural diversity. To achieve even greater progress in this area, Daft has created a new position of Vice-President of the company responsible for the strategy of multiculturalism in the company, who was reporting directly to CEO.

Multicultural teams bring a lot of advantages, which include: the development of new ideas, perspectives,  new skills and competencies, etc. Various ethnic groups generate more interest and new ideas in the so-called “brainstorming.” Culturally diverse groups are more effective than mono groups in urgent situations, when it is necessary to quickly identify the problem and solve it. Mobilizing their strength and energy, representatives of multicultural teams can develop more original and creative decisions, ways out of crisis situations that arise in their daily work. Interaction with one another stimulates team members to create a new team culture. In contrast to the homogeneous or monocultural teams, multicultural teams do not have their general so-called identity and, therefore, develop their own culture with own rules, expectations, perceptions, etc.

Another example is the company DuPont. Multicultural team of the American corporation DuPont has increased the company’s revenues to $45 million having created new business, changing the methods of manufacture and marketing of decorative materials. Team members proposed to use the new colors that they knew from their own intercultural experience, and that really helped to attract more foreign customers.

Effective multicultural teams have a strong “hybrid culture” that is, the set of consistent rules and actions, expectations, as well as their own perception of how individuals behave within the group, share experiences and work, and mutual understanding of team members ensure effective communication and as a consequence, the effective work (Early et al., 2002).  Such teams create a “hybrid culture” based on their ability to generate and retain the four basic characteristics that were identified by Charles Snow:

1. Objectives. Defining a common goal enhances commitment of the team to this purpose, and also facilitates the understanding of their tasks and skills needed to perform these tasks.
2. Role expectations. It is important that team members should have role expectations and responsibilities to avoid interpersonal conflicts. If team members have a clear understanding of roles within the team, it’s much less likely that they would be in conflict with each other. If conflicts do arise, then the role structure provides a constructive basis for resolving them.
3. Clarity of rules and social interaction: The team members must clearly understand the rules of communicating with each other, ways to resolve conflicts. The rules that are accepted by team members are key guide lines in some situations.
4. Monitoring and reporting: The members of multicultural teams are often geographically dispersed, and sometimes there is a need for coordination of their work (Snow et al., 1996)

A new experience, confidence as a result of a common understanding, contribute to improving the efficiency of the team. However, multicultural teams are vulnerable in situations where the solution of problems which are outside the group.

Members of multicultural teams have different perceptions of the atmosphere in the group, of the situations they work in, as well as different perceptions of the motives and incentives for behavior, norms and rules of communication and interaction, stereotypes and various prejudices. The consequences of these differences are reflected in lower rates the effectiveness of the team, because there is a violation of social cohesion. Research on group cohesion and group performance show a positive correlation between these two factors. Cohesive teams quickly respond to changes and challenges are more flexible and therefore more effective. Individual skills of team members help to establish communication within the team, to unite in a common and efficient working unit. In the management of multicultural teams, cultural differences and cross-cultural conflicts are a common problems that requires solutions. Cultural differences can lead team members to conflicts, misunderstandings and poor performance.

We can define five most common problems:
1. Managing cultural diversity, differences and conflicts.
2. Management issues related to coordination and control.
3. An attempt to solve the problem of geographic dispersion of team members.
4. Optimization of communication.
5. Improving and maintaining of unity within the team.

Managers from different countries are likely to interpret and to solve such problems in different ways, there are different ways to see the strategic issues and different approaches to the implementation of group tasks, the assessment of strategic opportunities, strengths and weaknesses.

As for the cross-cultural competence, Christopher Early understands cross-cultural competence as an individual ability to adapt to new cultural environment (Early et al., 2002).

The ability of cross-cultural communication is the most important skill of a manager, which helps him to cope with the problems arising while working in a multicultural team. Managers working with multicultural teams should have experience in the field of cross-cultural interaction and communication in order to work effectively with people from different cultures.

In everyday life competence means the ability to perform a certain task effectively.  In multicultural environment, interaction with colleagues requires a high level of cross-cultural communication competence. Competent in cross-cultural communication team member is able to establish personal relationships with foreign partners through effective communication, both verbal and nonverbal. Competence in the field of cross-cultural interactions increases effectiveness and results of work, as members of a multicultural team with a high level of competence more easily can communicate, express their ideas and understand colleagues. It simplifies the process of decision-making and problem solving.

The main aspects that make up a cross-cultural communication competence include: cognitive aspect, motivational and behavioral aspects. That is, involves not only knowledge of the language and culture, but also behavioral skills such as empathy, charisma and managerial skills. The cognitive aspect involves individual’s ability to process information. A person with a high level of cross-cultural competence must not only assimilate the information, and extrapolate it to the potential situations that may arise in real life, to understand where and why the information can be useful. The cognitive aspect implies the ability to so-called metacognition and learning. Motivational aspect is closely linked with self-esteem of individuals and the knowledge of effectiveness in the work. If the motivation is weak, so the level of adaptation in a multicultural team will be low. The behavioral aspect implies adaptation, which is not just knowledge, but also a set of specific behavioral patterns – original responses to certain situations. So cross-cultural competence implies the ability to adapt behavior to specific situations, adjust it according to the specific cultural aspects. (Early et al., 2002)

Thus, considering all the above, the success of a multicultural team dependents on how well team members work with each other and how cross-cultural communication competence helps to overcome difficulties faced by a multicultural team.

What distinguishes a member of a team that has a high level of cross – cultural competence from the team member who has a low level of cross-cultural competence is the presence of a specific set of metacognitive models to receive, categorize, analyze the behavior of other team members. Cross-cultural competence gives them at least two advantages. First, it helps team members understand the behavior of their team, and, secondly, helps to achieve goals in spite of the difficulties while interacting with other cultures and subcultures.

In addition to general cultural norms, there are rules and regulations that are set by the team in the working process. The high level of cross-cultural competence means that a person is able to establish and define these standards and, therefore, to follow them. However, cross-cultural competence involves more than just blind following the rules and regulations, but it allows a person to use them to achieve a common goal. (Early et al., 2002)

If we talk about the composition of a multicultural team, it should be noted that it is desirable, but not absolutely necessary that all members of a multicultural team have a high level of cross-cultural competence. However, it should be noted that at least one person in a team must have a high level of cross-cultural competence to develop effective and correct decisions, and at least one person who could support him in the group discussions. Therefore, at least 2 members of a multicultural team must have high cross-cultural competence.

Thus, effective work of multicultural teams in global and transnational organizations is now one of the major issues which is studied by scholars in the field of cultural diversity in organizations. Understanding of how to manage the efficiency of culturally diverse teams is one of the key problems of modern organizational studies, as it helps to reduce the risks associated with access to global markets and effective operation on them, helps to improve mutual understanding between different cultures and to achieve the best results.