Role of Cross Cultural Teamwork

Role of Cross Cultural Teamwork

Benefits

The benefits of forming international teams are quite immense since the team would be comprised of different cultural backgrounds. By having people from different cultural backgrounds, there would be emergence of various constructive ideas that can generate increased organizational effectiveness. Since each team member would be having a certain expertise, the team captain can look to assign the roles in accordance with the different competencies of the team members (Bhattacharyya, 2010). In addition, there would be many team members that would also have certain weaknesses and thus would need support from other team members.

Each employee that is part of the team would be having the perfect knowledge pertaining to the internal and external environment of the respective subsidiaries. The home country nationals or the employees belonging to the head office would not be having the appropriate information on the aspect of internal and external environments in the case of the subsidiaries and thus with the inclusion of employees working in subsidiaries, there would be an acquisition of vital information that can aid in informed decision making. In addition, any complication faced by the subsidiaries can be communicated by the employees working in the subsidiaries.

Problems

There would be many problems that can arise in the context of developing such a team since the different employees of the team belong to different cultures. Since the meetings would be held on teleconferencing, there is a possibility that all team members would not be comfortable with the use of this type of technology. There is a possibility that the team members would be more comfortable in interacting on a one on one basis. In addition, since employees belong to different cultures, there might be a clash of values and beliefs. Since the subsidiaries would be working in the context of diverse cultures, the employees working there would not go against their norms. Any activity that seeks to violate their beliefs and customs would not be taken positively and there might be massive emergence of different conflicts. Without addressing the different interests of all team members, there would be a significant clash of interest and thus it would not augur well for the team (Mayadas & Hultin, 2010).

Cultural Intelligence Factors

Collectivist

John should look to incorporate the elements of collectivist since a collectivist places a high degree of emphasis on the aspect of group goals and does not think of himself as being superior. The collectivist looks to ensure that the team members are striving all their efforts on the attainment of team goals and there is no selfish motive of the team members. John, by following the personality of a collectivist would convey a perception that the team is above personal motives and thus there should not be any sacrifice on this aspect. By placing personal motives above team goals, the team would suffer badly and it would not be able to accomplish its goals.

John, with the implementation of a collectivist ...