Revision as of 16:58, 12 February 2018

Abstract

Title of wiki not completely set. Might include MBI methodology something something

When a manager is working with a diverse team there will be some differences in cultural beliefs, values and assumptions in which he or she has to consider. The manager needs to be aware of what artifacts and basic assumptions that influences the team members, and which cultural issues may have an negative impact of a given project if it is not dealt with timely and with correct approach. ^[1]

Working with a multicultural team can empower creativity and innovation and has advantages in problem identification and generating alternatives for given problems; the team will only be effective, if they solve any given problems of internal integration.^[2] When talking about different cultures, one may not necessarily refer to national origins, but could also imply the different spheres of organizational cultures e.g. financial department, HR, R&D, marketing etc. One of the biggest issues a manager can encounter when working with a multicultural team is neglecting the cultural differences of the team members. Two team members, who have different national backgrounds may not have the same social relationship nor time perception; one may have a high emphasis on punctuality and specific deadlines whereas another may have a less strict perception of what is timely. It is therefore not only important that the manager is aware of the multicultural differences but the team members should also understand the cultural differences and learn how to bridge between the different cultures.

A diverse set of tools can be applied to understand and bridge between different cultures and one of them is MBI.^[3] This tool was invented by Maznevski and DiStefano, which was used to identify cultural differences and how to communicate and bridge between these differences. The key idea for this tool is to use the cultural differences in s synergic way, which should empower the quality of both decision making and idea generation for the team. ^[4]

MBI description

Cultural frameworks

One team member may perceive time as monochronic and therefore has a high emphasize on punctuality, whereas his team member view time

References

1. ↑ Project management institute (2013). A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), fifth edition.
2. ↑ Schneider et. al.(2014). Managing across cultures p. 210
3. ↑ Schneider et. al.(2014). Managing across cultures' p. 212'
4. ↑ Schneider et. al.(2014). Managing across cultures' p. 212-213'