INTERCULTURAL MANAGEMENT: mayo 2015

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)