Thursday, September 22, 2011
Multicultural Teams
To almost go along with my last blog, I think that multicultural groups are hard to classify as "teams". Continuing with Katzenbach and Smith's definition of team, after reading the article on multicultural teams it sort of contradicts the meaning of team. Cultural differences can create many issues and obstacles to effective teamwork. Yes, as they said, with good management, most of those obstacles can be overcome, but I feel like some are very hard to fix completely. The most trouble is with communication, which deals prominently with accents and fluency. You can have excellent management but if you can't understand the person you're suppose to be on a "team" with, there are obviously going to be some difficulties. Also, when dealing with different cultures, you're dealing with very different norms. When people have grown up and been taught to act a certain way, even if comes off to someone else as very rude and wrong, it isn't always easy to change their habits. Some habits, or ways of your culture, become a part of you. So with that said, I think it is hard for a group of multicultural people to really become a team because of the hardship they have become close and understanding each other. With the right people, management, and willingness though, they could become a well-established team with a little work and patience.
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As I was reading this article Lindy, I felt the same way as you do with multicultural teams. Language differences to me is definitely the biggest obstacle with working with people from different cultures. But as I kept reading I thought that multicultural teams could have a positive aspect to them. Instead of having all Americans on one team that are all from similar backgrounds and ideas of the "American ways", it might be good to change up the team and get other peoples opinions that are not American. They will have a different view on the US, and might be able to bring some new ideas up to the table when working in a team.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that people who have strong accents can affect how a multicultural team preforms. But after a while people can begin to understand what the person with the strong accent is saying. I have to say that some of my best professors had strong accents but after a while I was able to understand what they were saying.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that multicultural teams are hard to work with and that they have cultural differences that may hinder progress. Contrary to your post I also think that they bring something to the table that many normal groups do not. They may be able to give unique insight into a problem or issue. This may stem from the very multicultural aspect of the team. It could be something to look for when a multicultural team comes together.
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