MANAGING MULTICULTURAL TEAMS

creating interpersonal conflict, or both. In

Japan, a typical response to direct
Multicultural teams often generate frustrating confrontation is to isolate the norm violator.
management dilemmas. Cultural differences
can create substantial obstacles to effective Trouble with accents and fluency.
teamworkbut these may be subtle and
difficult to recognize until significant damage Although the language of international
has already been done. The challenge in business is English, misunderstandings or
managing multicultural teams effectively is deep frustration may occur because of
to recognize underlying cultural causes of nonnative speakers accents, lack of fluency,
conflict, and to intervene in ways that both or problems with translation or usage. These
get the team back on track and empower its may also influence perceptions of status or
members to deal with future challenges competence. No fluent team members may
themselves. The good news is that cultural well be the most expert on the team, but their
challenges are manageable if managers and difficulty communicating knowledge makes
team members choose the right strategy and it hard for the team to recognize and utilize
avoid
imposing
single-culture-based their expertise. If teammates become
approaches on multicultural situations.
frustrated or impatient with a lack of fluency,
interpersonal conflicts can arise. Nonnative
The Challenges
speakers may become less motivated to
contribute,
or
anxious
about
their
People tend to assume that challenges on performance evaluations and future career
multicultural teams arise from differing styles prospects.
of communication. But this is only one of the
four categories that can create barriers to a Differing attitudes toward hierarchy and
teams ultimate success. These categories are authority.
direct versus indirect communication; trouble
with accents and fluency; differing attitudes A challenge inherent in multicultural
toward hierarchy and authority; and teamwork is that by design, teams have a
conflicting norms for decision making.
rather flat structure. But team members from
some cultures, in which people are treated
Direct versus indirect communication.
differently according to their status in an
organization, are uncomfortable on flat
In cross-cultural negotiations, the non- teams.
Westerner can understand the direct
communications of the Westerner, but the Conflicting norms for decision making.
Westerner has difficulty understanding the
indirect communications of the non- Cultures differ enormously when it comes to
Westerner. The differences between direct decision makingparticularly, how quickly
and indirect communication can cause decisions should be made and how much
serious damage to relationships when team analysis is required beforehand. Not
projects run into problems. Communication surprisingly, U.S. managers like to make
challenges create barriers to effective decisions very quickly and with relatively
teamwork by reducing information sharing,

little analysis by comparison with managers 3. managerial intervention (setting norms

from other countries.
early or bringing in a higher-level
manager),
Four Strategies
4. exit (removing a team member when
The most successful teams and managers
other options have failed).
used four strategies for dealing with these
challenges:
There is no one right way to deal with a
particular kind of multicultural problem;
1. adaptation (acknowledging cultural gaps identifying the type of challenge is only the
openly and working around them)
first step. The more crucial step is assessing
the circumstancesor enabling situational
2. structural intervention (changing the conditionsunder which the team is
shape of the team)
working.