MULTICULTURAL TEAMS

"In a functioning international team every member will have a specific task, yet all of them work towards the same goal and support each other in reaching it. 'Team spirit is particularly strong in projects abroad, because generally everyone has to pull together"  says managing consultant Stefan Krämer. He has been managing international teams at Detecon since 2005


 In a Multicultural team is very important the synergy between the fibula that make the team because each of the individuals who are from different countries, where customs have been forged by their families and society in which they live, so it is important that the person who leads the team have the appropriate qualities to manage the knowledge of each of the members and likewise handle situations to avoid cultural clashes.

One of the main advantages that can be found within a multicultural team is the variety of skills and concepts that can be collected, and that the diversity of cultures can meet different perspectives. Furthermore, by these groups it is easier to solve problems in a creative and innovative way, because sometimes, depending on the origin of each indiviudos, can expose new ideas that are not fully aware of the others


Despite being common practice within companies and have big advantages as the variety in knowledge and strategy, it is important to have a strict control of its evolution, as the rules and regulations that stand in it, also They are not common to each of the members, so it is vital that the person who leads the team has enough touch to the successful completion of all the problems that may occur

WHO DO WE LIVE MULTICULTURAL RELATIONSHIPS

Today we see the great progress of multiculturalism and a clear example of this is the academic environment at our university, which are becoming more and more students coming from other countries not only by academics but also by the experiences in society, it helps to know us between cultures and learn to recognize how to act, so that every time negotiations and bilateral agreements between countries is becoming more, not only by negotiations and academic terms, but also by the importance of personal relationships, which in many cases is more important than the money itself 

SOURCES:

 International teams: Successful intercultural cooperation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 16, 2015, from http://www.alumniportal-deutschland.org/en/jobs-career/article/international-teams-successful-intercultural-cooperation.html

MOTIVATING ACROSS CULTURES

Now let's talk about motivation in cultures, but first it is important to solve a big puzzle; What is the cultural motivation?

To define cultural motivation is important to distinguish two concepts that have been questioned by ages, needs and goals or achievements, for motivation may issue based on the aspirations of the human behavior, those reasons may vary depending on culture the country and the living conditions of people, so while some cultures of third world countries the motivation can be focused on stand in the day to day and get basic resources for survival, in developed countries the motivation may be aspirational, based on luxury and self-realization.

Maslow´s Theory

To define the concept of cultural motivation, we may refer to Maslow's pyramid, which bases its theory on human needs, explaining that, when humans meet their most basic and essential needs, creates needs and desires for self-realization as a person.

A clear application of Maslow's theory can be seen reflected in the difference between the wishes of people in countries such as Ethiopia and the United States, where needs may be dictated by the economy and the purchasing power of its inhabitants. For this reason, while a resident of Ethiopia can always seek fulfillment of physiological needs, a person from the United States can aspire to needs framed in the step of recognition or self-realization.

McClelland Theory

Moreover we have the theory of McClelland who put aside the physiological needs and focuses more on behavior and attitudes among humans, mainly by defining three types of behavior; who they want to stand out in a group of people and demonstrate its success and victory, those who want to have an impact on other people and influence their behavior and those who want to belong to a social group and have contact with other human beings

Herzberg Theory

in third place we find the theory proposed by Herzberg, which frames the human motivation in the workplace and divides it into two factors; hygienic and motivational. The first refers to a subject that depends on the individual but on the company you work for, such as wages, social benefits, conditions of the workplace, among others, which, having no power to decide about them, avoid dissatisfaction but do not generate satisfaction. But on the other hand there is another motivational factor that is related to the satisfaction of office that the individual plays and tasks that is responsible, which are manageable for the individual functions and thus involve feelings related to personal growth, recognition within the organization and self-realization.

There are also theories X and Y that differentiate the behavior of employees within an organization, defining the X theory that means that the worker is pessimistic in the performance of their duties and responsibilities have always seeks to avoid, and for that reason to pressure, punish and reward to encourage their work. Theory Y, in contrast, emphasizes the worker as the main asset of the company and values within the organizational structure. He considers that the employee feels committed to the goals of the company and therefore always work motivated and satisfied.

Which is the best way to motivate a person?

From my point of view, the best way to motivate a person to recognize their achievements and make him understand that makes active and vital part of the group which carries out its work, as this allows it to continue doing things with commitment and thus improve each again in their work performance, and when the group feels the motivation among the members thereof, this encourages a group that has conduct satisfaction and constant improvement within the team.

the leaders of each group are responsible for this to happen, stop it must know the team very well and know what your greatest needs as a person in society to satifacerlas, thus making the employee feel fulfilled, not only as workers but also as human beings.

VIRTUAL TEAMS

“Today’s financial woes have forced many companies to pick members of project teams from across various global locations and have them communicate virtually–by phone, e-mail and videoconference–thereby saving both time and money” –(Meyer, 2010)



One of the topics we saw last week in class of intercultural management was the importance of virtual teams nowadays.

lets start by defining:  what is a virtual team?

"A Virtual Team, also known as a Geographically Dispersed Team : is a group of individuals who work across time, space, and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technology. They have complementary skills and are committed to a common purpose, have interdependent performance goals, and share an approach to work for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. Geographically dispersed teams allow organizations to hire and retain the best people regardless of location." (Definition of virtual teams. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2015, from http://managementhelp.org/groups/virtual/defined.pd)

but.... why are they important? 

In them, we develop attitudes and skills for the resolution of conflicts through limited means, because all this takes place in a technological environment, which is limited only to connections on the Internet, where are separated geographically, and where time zones regularly are not the same which makes a little more complicated the communication.

The virtual teams are the future of business negotiations, in this way travel costs decrease and make faster th processes although a little bit impersonal this form of communication open access  to local and and international markets given the ease of access on the Internet without having to leave the office (computer) and for saying that the office is the computer, because then you do not have the need to meet any customer outside the Internet, it could work from home or from any place chosen, having everything within reach and easily.

But not everything is so simple, it also brings some disadvantages as I mentioned earlier the issue of hours, as not all clients or colleagues will be available at the same time, one of the problems  in my opinion would be the transfer of knowledge, since no one knows what the other person technology has and can be easily taxed and misused the information provided by this means.

according to: Definition of virtual teams. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2015, from http://managementhelp.org/groups/virtual/defined.pdf  

 another important benefits about why to hold a virtual team are:

-Best employees may be located anywhere in the world

-Workers demand personal flexibility. 

-A flexible organization is more competitive and responsive to the marketplace

-Workers tend to be more productive 

- less commuting and travel time. 

- The increasing globalization of trade and corporate activity. 

- The global workday is 24 vs. 8 hours

in a personnal experience i had already been part of a virtual team, i had a class where was necessary to do an activity called X-Culture project, that is a academic virtual team to give the oportunity to students to experence the real working envinment. 

chek this out to have a better idea!

HOW CAN WE GIVE A PROPER USE  TO THOSE VIRTUAL TEAMS?

we as a interntional negotiatiors and future managers need to be aware of the change in future negotiations that we are facing nowadays. and the answer is to be DIFFERENT and to walk further the others, managing technology.

According to Forbes Magazine, th witer Erin Meyer says that there are 4 types working with virtual teams 

1. You must lead differently:" co-located teams often benefit most from a leader who acts as a facilitator, virtual teams need a manager who provides clearly defined direction and removes all ambiguity from the process. " says Meyer

aplying this to my experience working with X-culture remember that there was always the need for someone to lead our tasks, someone to respond from our responsabilities

2. You must arrive at decisions differently."Teams don’t work the same everywhere. In the U.S., managers are trained to solicit input from a team, choose a direction quickly and make adjustments as the project moves forward. It works, but then so do other methods. In Sweden teams learn to make decisions through lengthy consensus building, which can span many meetings but eventually leads to strong buy-in and rapid implementation. In France the Descartes-inspired education system teaches that debate and confrontation are necessary elements of any decision-making process. And in Japan decisions tend to be made in informal one-on-one discussions before a formal group meeting."(Meyer-2010)

applying this to my past experience, i worked with people from, Dubai, Brazil,United States, Turkey, and Canada, even tough i wasnt very difficul to reach an agreement all of us had different opinions and actitudes towards the work we needed to develop, and the conversations we had were so interesting 

3. You must build trust differently."Trust takes on a whole new meaning in virtual teams. When you meet your workmates by the water cooler or photocopier every day, you know instinctively who you can and cannot trust. In a geographically distributed team, trust is measured almost exclusively in terms of reliability." after few time of working with my virtual team, it was possible to apreciate who were the people from we could expect something or not, those who were always aware of the deadlines and those who were always asking  how was i going, in the other hand, there were those who never appeared no even to answer the greating 

4. You must communicate differently."The utmost key to global virtual team leading is, without doubt, communication. But when we communicate virtually, we often become less influential" (Meyer-2010)

SOURCES:

-Meyer, E. (2010, August 8). The Four Keys To Success With Virtual Teams. Retrieved May 12, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/2010/08/19/virtual-teams-meetings-leadership-managing-cooperation.html

-Definition of virtual teams. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2015, from http://managementhelp.org/groups/virtual/defined.pdf  

- Applications accepted for the 2015-2 season:. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2015, from http://www.x-culture.org/

GERMAN CULTURE

I have chosen this topic since i had the opportunity to research more deeply for my presentation, so now lets talk about this two cultures

countries like Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Nerthelands, and  Belgium , as we can see in the chart, those countries shared almost the same percentages in the hofstede cultural dymension, those ae also characterized for sharing the use of the same germanic language 
The official language of the country is German. More than 95 percent of the population speaks German as their first language, according to Angelo State University's Center for International Studies. Other languages spoken include Serbian in eastern Germany; North and West Frisian, spoken around the Rhine estuary; and Danish, primarily spoken in the area along the Danish border. Romani, which is an indigenous language, Turkish and Kurdish are also spoken 

According to Zimmerman Germany is at the center of Europe, not only geographically, but also in terms of politics and economics. The country is Europe's second most populous after Russia, with more than 81 million people, according to the World Factbook. The German economy is the largest on the continent and the fifth largest in the world. While German exerts its influence on the countries that border it — Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland and Poland — all of these cultures have, in varying degrees, had a hand in shaping today’s Germany.

RELIGION: Christianity is the predominant religion with the almost 70% of the population, followed by That number includes 24 million Catholics, according to CBS News. Muslims make up 3.7 percent of the population, according to Angelo State University, while 28.3 percent are unaffiliated or have a religion other than Christianity or Islam.

FOOD AND DRINKS  : Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage, and the country is known as the birthplace of a number of beer varieties,Bratwurst, a form of sausage, is closely associated with German food. Cabbage, beets, and turnips are commonly incorporated into meals, as they are native to the region, and potatoes and sauerkraut are also stars of German cuisine.

BEER AND SAUSAGE

  

BUSINESS AND CULTURE: The desire for orderliness spills over into the business life of Germans. Surprises and humor are not welcomed. Everything is carefully planned out and decided upon, with changes rarely occurring after an agreement is made, according to the German Business Culture Guide.

The desire for orderliness spills over into the business life of Germans. Surprises and humor are not welcomed. Everything is carefully planned out and decided upon, with changes rarely occurring after an agreement is made, according to the German Business Culture Guide.

Characteristics of German behavior 

Unfortunately, German people are often considered as rude, cold and humorless. This is quite a stereotype and whether it’s true or not you will discover yourself when living in Germany. Nevertheless, there are some personality traits many Germans have in common.

1. They are efficient  and disciplined: they work hard to always find a way to solve problems in almost every case , also their culture have create a lot of innovative invension that are worthy enought to our society like cars, german culture do not rest without solving even the smallest problem 

2.Their Sence of Hummor : have you ever met a german? do you still think they do not have a sense of hummor? yes, they have, maybe different from the rest type of hummor people have, but in thei own way they enjoy, they dislike sillynes and clownish type of hummor, they enjoy sinical and ironic class of hummor, always when you see a german laughing it is because he really liked the joke, they are not that serious people we imagine before knowing them

3.Well-Orgnised:germans are plannign lovers, they do like to have as much under control, but it does not mean that they are not spontaneous, they just have a plan B for any possible scenario,and like to have everything clean and tidy, they structure their day and schedule appointments exactly 

4. Punctuallity: Germans are known by their punctuality but everything has their exception, not all of Germans are puctul as not all colombians are umpuctial, but the mayority of Germans try to follow the norm, unless there are some inconvinientes to get on time, such a traffic jams or somethig serious has happen , as a recomentadion always be 5 minutes earlier if you have a metting with a german in order to do not ofend them 

5.Traditionals: Once the germans get used to someting would be very hard to do not continue using it,as for example, they like to drive a mercedes, they will continue using that brand for the follow cars they buy, this is on the personal level, but the same happens in the cutural or interpersonal level, they like to keep their traditions alive, 

The German personality. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2015, from https://www.justlanded.com/english/Germany/Germany-Guide/Culture/The-German-personality


Zimmermann, B. (2015, January 23). German Culture: Facts, Customs and Traditions. Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.livescience.com/44007-german-culture.html

RELATIVISM VS UNIVERSALISM

Hello Everybody, in this case i will be talking about Relativism and Universalism which are an important topic understanding cultures in business.

Lets start defining:

RELATIVISM:  

Judging morality of an action on the legal and social standards of each society. “No cultures ethics are any better than any other’s” (Carl Rodrigues 2009).

Relativism is sometimes identified usually by its critics as the thesis that all points of view are equally valid. Relativism is the philosophical position that all points of view are equally valid and that all truth is relative to the individual. This means that all moral positions, all religious systems, all forms of art, all political movements, etc., are truths that are relative to individuals

There are 3 types of relativism:

1. Cognitive: States that all truth is relative. This would mean that no system of truth is more valid than another, and that there is no objective standard of truth. Naturally, this would negate the existence of a God of absolute truth.
2. Moral / Ethical: All morality is relative to the social group within which it is built.
3. According to the situation: The (right and wrong) ethics are dependent on the situation

In a society where we are all responsible for our deeds, who can tell us what's wrong or it's okay if our eyes are acting as we should? Judging people in concordance with our view is easy, we will always think that the other person is wrong when we believe have committed any unfair or irresponsible ... but injuzto for whom ??? The thread behavior of a person is based from his birthplace, his family, values that were imposed, even the people you relate daily

acts that for us could be terrorist attacks and multitudinales murderers for the person who is performing can be only an act of courage with your country and / or religion, this is an extreme case, but I hear about such simple cases as defined because for one culture is better conduxir the right side and the left side for others? These "good ways and bad" cosmically are not set in stone nor are derived from some absolute rules of conduct for something unknown. These are relative and rightly so, the end justifies the means, no matter what you do, if the way you're doing is fine for some, may be the worse for others
Another example of relativism unused acts which may be frowned upon is eg taste, anyone can quickly annoyed by a sound or a smell, that at the same moment another person may be fascinated in this sense it is true for one is not necessarily true for others


.

Now think of something ...  what my eyes see and recognize the color blue for someone else may be yellow or vice versa? will this be an example of relativism?

well, according to Relativism ¿¿Does anyone have the right to punish someone judging their actions or behaviors ??  To say that something is wrong, first, we have a standard by which to weigh what is okay and what is wrong and to make a judgment. If that standard of right and wrong it is based on relativism, then, is not, after all a standard. Relativism, standards of right and wrong are derived from social norms. Because society changes, the rules change, also changing what is good or bad. If they change, then how can anyone be rightly judged for something he did wrong if that could wrong in the future become something good

on the other hand tries to explain that Universalism esxist as a theory and a guide to do things differently from relativism.
.

Universalism:

"Universal Truth" is the philosophical doctrine that asserts the existence of certain principles that are universally undisputed, being true, and therefore must be supported by all individuals and cultural groups to guide their behavior and to distinguish the good deeds the bad.

on the religious level, each religion try to prove that their own beliefs are true, likewise as in the political side, each party tries to convince people of his power and thus extend and concentrate their power from imperialist policies. 

Slick, M. (n.d.). ¿Qué es el relativismo? Retrieved April 1, 2015, from http://www.miapic.com/qué-es-el-relativismo

Concepto de universalismo. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2015, from http://deconceptos.com/ciencias-sociales/universalismo

CONFUCIANISM

In my seventh class, we talk about Confucianism, as we all know this is not a very popular topic to discuss in business meetings or less at family gatherings, let see which is the definition of Confucianism and broaden a little more theme

Confucianism: is the oldest school of Chinese thought, and takes its name from the celebrated philosopher Confucius, who was his prime disseminator

According To Berling Confucianism is Often Characterized as a system of social and ethical philosophy rather than a religion, In fact, Confucianism built on an ancient religious foundation to Establish the social values, Institutions, and transcendent ideals of traditional Chinese society
Confucianism is a philosophical belief system consisting of doctrines (or teachings) moral and religious preached by Confucius.

Confucianism has a huge importance to Chinese culture, because of this many behaviors emerge, which define their culture and therefore can be called as the backbone of culture, as well as to our religion, Confucianism is the spiritual leader Chinese culture, (without being described as deligion) and as every doctrine, some values ​​that stand as they appear:

Human quality or benevolence: Rén
Righteousness: Yi
Challenges: Li
Wisdom: Zhi

What are the caracteristics that can be shown in actions or behaviors of Confucianism?

They are people who are very concerned about social harmony, care of people as if they were taking care of his own family, based on the experience to improve the mistakes made, where according to the theory of Hofstede : how every society has some links to Maintain With Its own past while dealing With The Challenges of the present and future (LTO) And Also have too much respect for the elderly, accounting for wisdom and experience. giving a lot value to hierarchies

-there are two terms which are exposed by confucianism 

GUANXI: is a general Chinese term used to

 describe relationships that may result in the exchanges of favors or "connections" that are beneficial for the parties involved. Sounds like a simple way to create business right? The truth is this type of relationship can become somewhat time consuming and complex. 

for this culture social relations are very important, people often depends on your network connections to solve problems or achieve goals, in China the real goal is not get to know as much people but the quality of the people you meet and with this there is almost nothing impossible to achieve, relationships are very respected and valued within this culture but especially when they have direct contact, for example, are not known from an acquaintance, but rather that you are friends directly related and there is something that is very resemblance to our own culture is that when one of these relationships has transcended barriers of trust can be given the label of a true friendship 

MIANZI: represents a person’s reputation and feelings of prestige (both real and imagined) within their workplace, society, their family unit and among their friends The concept of “face” can be more deeply understood  if one recalls that China has traditionally been (and continues to be) a highly hierarchical society. The position a Chinese person occupies relative to others (e.g. a boss to an employee, or a father to a son) is typically thought to command a certain degree of respect and requires certain types of behavior 

The values of Chinese society based on human feelings and less on religion, which makes it a little different from our culture, because we are still very much governed by the acts ue whether or not they are permitted by religion and not by look at the person as though this is what our religion taught us, what we do is just to follow the religion. The mianzi define the position of a person in your social network, is your status

THE WATER SYMBOL

Though this worldview is recognized as one of the eleven main living religions, it has no standard symbol or icon representing its belief system. Quite often, though, this Chinese ideogram for water is utilized. It represents the 'source of life' in Chinese philosophy

Finally I should mention something very important and useful for all those who are trying to negotiate with China, should be aware and very present some basic rules of that culture as it is different from ours and we procupara not overlook this

Punctuality: the Chinese are quite intolerant to wait
Greeted: Always greet the person with highest rank first
Take some present to them? Do not forget deliver with both hands and bowing slightly

¿ What is the influence of confucianism in our culture?

as we saw earlier Confucianism is a doctrine based on the human being, behavior and potential of their own qualities, and we can see the latest content in our culture is like now everyone has been influenced a little by the spiritual and for managing the mind and suspensamientos in order to concentrate more on the I and the powers of himself, as does Chinese culture, Confucianism teaches that there must be harmony between human beings, that we do not have the relogion I have learned, then as conclucion I can say we are a follower indirectly Confucian culture where we want to achieve the balance of this culture I have.

A. Berling, J. (2015, January 1). Confucianism. Retrieved from http://www.asiasociety.org/confucianism?page=0,1

El Confucianismo. (n.d.). (7), 10-10. Retrieved from http://iluterana.cl/index/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/El-Confucianismo.pdf


Hofstede, G. (n.d.). What about China? Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://geert-hofstede.com/china.html

What is Guanxi? (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2015, from http://www.worldlearnerchinese.com/content/what-guanxi

Upton-McLaughlin, S. (1013, October 10). Mianzi – How to Make & Keep ‘Face’ in China. Retrieved April 1, 2015, from http://learnchinesebusiness.com/2013/04/21/mianzi-how-to-make-a-keep-face-in-china/

Bravo, G. (28, June 28). Confucio alimenta el 'sueño chino' - Salud - El Tiempo. Retrieved April 1, 2015, from http://www.eltiempo.com/estilo-de-vida/salud/reportaje-confucio-regresa-a-china/14183121

Toro, P. E. (Director) (1015, March 1). Confucioanismo, Cultura y Etiqueta en China . Lecture conducted from Pablo Echavarría Toro, Medellin.

MEASURING CULTURE

 Can the culture be measured??

the answer is yes, it can, thanks to our discussion in class i could realize that the culture can be measured by a certain specific topics that better describes how people belonged to a culture act and why the reason of their behavior … have you ever heard about the Hofstede Dimensions ?? if not let me explain you how him classify his theory to let us understand how culture can be measured and analyzed  

HOFSTEDE DIMENSIONS  

this guy is the inventor of the next 5 dimensions that helped everybody to measure the culture they live in, and even better the foreign ones. 

1. Power of distance (PDI):  this dimension basically explain the relationship between the employer and their employees, or the teacher and their students, any of the cases where is needed a distance to be respectful and to give orders to subordinates, knowing the existent distance, also can be defined the inequality that exist: (physical and mental characteristics, social status and prestige, wealth, power privileges)  

2. Individualism Vs Collectivism ( IDV): this one, stands in the way the people belonging to a culture prefer to work or to study, how they feel more comfortable to do their job if working alone or doing it  with more people, stands for a society in which people from birth onwards are integrated into cohesive groups or if their where born in a culture where you respond for your own job 

3. Uncertanty Avoidance (UAI): the extent to which a society, organization, or group relies on social norms, rules, and procedures to alleviate the unpredictability of future events"

4. Masculinity and Femininity (MAS): in this dimension he tried to explain how the roles between genders are different: Men are supposed to be assertive, strong, and hard worker,women are supposed to be modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life

in the other hand, Femininity stands with a society in which social gender roles are treated in the same way, men are women are supposed to be equal.  

5. Long Term Vs Short Term Orientation:explains how people worry about the time orientation , some are more likely to worry about future, and others about past. the extent to which the members of a culture feel treated by uncertain or unknown situations 

In this chart clearly represents the comparison between the Colombian culture, and the one from United States in every of the Hofstdes dimensions.

But Wait…. no just Hofstede created dimensions to measure the culture, well those are the most known ones but now lets see  others authors who also created some theories to measure culture.

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck: (Value Orientation Theory) 

these values are basically

-Description of Five Common Human Concerns and Three Possible Responses (based on Kohls, 1981)

Halls Dimensions of culture in communication:

-Space: ways of using personal space 

-Time: monochromic or polychronic 

-Context: high or low

-Info flow: structure and space of messages 

What is a POLICHRONIC Culture? 

According to (Hahn, 2008). Polychronic cultures are involved with many things at once, usually with varying levels of attention paid to each. For polychrons, time is continuous, moving from an infinite past through the present and into an infinite future; it has no particular structure. Polychrons prefer not to have detailed plans imposed on them but want to make their own plans and meet deadlines in their own way. Switching from one activity to another is both stimulating and productive and the most desirable way to work.

I would say that we as Colombias are clearly a Polichronic culture, we are used to do or to think in  many things at the same time, sometimes we can be distinguished as disorganized culture, but not as much as the others imagine, because pitifully colombian culture has been stereotyped during long time with a very bad image. 

SOURCES:

http://www.tlu.ee/~sirvir/IKM/Leadership%20Dimensions/uncertainty_avoidance.html

http://www.joe.org/joe/2001december/tt1.php

http://www.emergingleader.com/article41.shtml