Diversity in teams

Revision as of 23:37, 14 February 2021

Abstract

People are critical to the success of projects, programs and portfolios and as stated in the DS Handbook 185 "Projects are made for people by people" ^[1]. Even though it sounds obvious, it is only in recent years that people and behaviours have been recognized and incorporated in project management as a profession. An important part of this is to see projects as a collaboration between people, each with their own identities, knowledge, interests, feelings, personalities and so on. These are all factors that will make people see and approach the task differently, and requires attention from the manager. It does not help to have the right processes and right systems if the team members do not work effectively together. This has in many ways changed the role of the manager from a technician, an analytical person that schedules meetings and updates budgets, to a leader that also needs to have social skills. Communication is now recognised as a project success factor, and around 80% of managers' time is spent on communication. ^[1].

The factors mentioned above are also all examples of different types of diversity that can exist in a team. In almost all sectors, whether it is government, business, science, health care, diverse groups are on the rise^[2]. There are several ways diversity can affect a team both positive and negative. It has the potential to disrupt team functioning, or on the flip side be the source of creativity and insight. Awareness and knowledge about diversity and how to handle it are therefore crucial for a project, program or portfolio manager.

- More equality

- Less homogenous groups

Types of diversity

Personality diversity

Knowledge of the different types of personalities and how they may influence is crucial for the manager to be able to establish balanced teams that work well together. ^[3] Project managers who know the natural roles of the team member can use that knowledge to build balanced and effective teams. This also leads to different preferences when it comes to types of work and team roles.

There are a number of ways of assessing these preferences (e.g. Belbin team role inventory).

Cultural Diversity

As the world gets globalized, projects become more international and project groups are formed across country borders. This leads to cultural diverse project teams. Cultural diversity is defined as "the existence of a variety of cultural or ethnic groups in a society"^[4]. All though research suggests that there is no direct connection between cultural diversity and team performance, it still affects the teams in several ways. ^[5].

-Motivation and culture:

- Communication and culture: 80 % of a managers time is spent on communication

Effects of diversity

How is connected to the key references - People - Complexity --Stakeholder complexity- Stakeholder complexity focuses on the program team itself and the diversity within the program team. p. 31 --- Diversity in teams is also connected to the complexity perspective, and particularly stakeholder complexity. Stakeholder complexity focuses on the program team itself, and the diversity within the team. ^[6]

People - communication State of subject

Effects of diversity

The effects of diversity have traditionally been understood trough three different perspectives: ^[7]

1. Similarity-attraction

People are attracted to working with those with similar values, beliefs and attitudes.

2.Self-and social categorization

People categorize themselves into specific groups, based on a race, gender, values, beliefs among others, and others as outsiders. This creates an atmosphere where the outsiders are judged more stereotypically, and there are different expectations for those in the same groups and the outsiders.

3.Information processing

Individuals in groups with cultural diversity have access too other individuals that have different backgrounds, networks, information and skills. This increases the amount of information within the group and creates an atmosphere that can improve the group-performance

Application

Limitation

Annotated bibliography

^[5] Large meta study, that tries to summarize previous research on the topic of cultural diversity. Taken from the report: "Our goals in this study were to take stock of and synthesize the findings from previous research, to reconcile conflicting perspectives and past results, and to propose an agenda for the next stage of research in this field."

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Geraldi, J., Thuesen, C., Oehmen, J., & Stingl, V. (2017). Doing Projects. A Nordic Flavour to Managing Projects: DS-handbook 185:2017. Dansk Standard.
2. ↑ Fernandes, Catarina R & Polzer, Jeffery T. Diversity in Groups. Available at:https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/Diversity_in_Groups_EmergingTrends_57796940-b049-43dc-b58b-832eccbcaa80.pdf
3. ↑ AXELOS. Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2 2017 Edition, Page 74, The Stationery Office Ltd, 2017.
4. ↑ Oxford Languages for Google. Cultural diversity definition. Available at: https://www.google.no/search?rls=com.microsoft%3Anb%3A%7Breferrer%3Asource%7D&sxsrf=ALeKk00Aga05cPg7KF2xXvAQudX3lPwCFQ%3A1613070110502&ei=Hn8lYISXHqXnrgTy7L6oAw&q=cultural+diversity+definition&oq=cultural+diversity+definition&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQDFAAWABgsCFoAHAAeACAAVWIAVWSAQExmAEAqgEHZ3dzLXdpesABAQ&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwiEnry3wuLuAhWls4sKHXK2DzUQ4dUDCA0
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Stahl, G., Maznevski, M., Voigt, A. et al. Unraveling the effects of cultural diversity in teams: A meta-analysis of research on multicultural work groups. J Int Bus Stud 41, 690–709 (2010). Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/46526123_Unraveling_the_effects_of_cultural_diversity_in_teams_A_meta-analysis_of_research_on_multicultural_work_groups
6. ↑ The Standard for Program Management — Fourth Edition. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, 2017. Accessed February 12, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central.
7. ↑ Mannix, Elizabeth & Neale, Margaret A (2005). What differences make a difference? Psychological Science in the Public Interest. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1529-1006.2005.00022.x?casa_token=qiXUEAO_nPIAAAAA:77IXwF62pgU5VFPWF6eW7mm2XyX56bgBE-cmFbnMJsl6NTVD1S2u9EEHZIry56F8RPzRaaAfDdyu