Diversity in teams

Revision as of 17:56, 18 February 2021

Abstract

Diversity has many definitions, one of them is "the fact of many different types of things or people being included in something". ^[1]. This article will highlight the different types of people being included in projects, programs and portfolios, and how it affects them.

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" ^[2]. 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. ^[2].

The factors mentioned above are 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 ^[3]. There are several ways and theories on how diversity affects teams, both positive and negative. It has the potential to disrupt team functioning, or on the flip side be the source of creativity and insight. ^[3] Awareness and knowledge about diversity and how to handle it are therefore crucial for a project, program or portfolio manager.

State of subject

The general view may be that diversity leads to greater creativity and quality of team performance, but majority of research shows that it creates social divisions, wich leads to negavitve performance outcomes.

Effects of diversity

The effects of diversity have traditionally been understood trough three different perspectives: ^[4]

1. Similarity-attraction. People are attracted to working with those with similar values, beliefs and attitudes. People can therefore have preferences on who they would like to work with, without having ever met them.

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.

Both the similarity-attraction perspective and self-and social categorization perspective tend to lead to the pessimistic view of diversity in teams. Since individuals will be attracted to working with those that are similar to themselves, more homogeneous teams will be more cohesive and the members more socially integrated. The information processing perspective does on the other hand offer a more positive view, as it lead to increased the amount of information within the group and creates an atmosphere that can improve the group-performance

Types of diversity

There are several types of diversity and they

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. ^[5] 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"^[6]. All though research suggests that there is no direct connection between cultural diversity and team performance, it still affects the teams in several ways. ^[7].

-Motivation and culture, Maslow's hierarchy of needs

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

Gender diversity

- More equality - Less homogenous groups

--Diversity and complexity/Connecting the dots. Diversity can increase the complexity of projects, programs and portfolios, both within the project teams working, but also with the stakeholders. This is especially connected to cultural and language diversity. Different cultures may do the same work different ways, and in a project, expectations for a certain type of work may not always align. For example, EHS(Environment, health and safety) in the construction industry can vary a lot from different parts of the world. In northern parts of the world, there are often way stricter rules, than further south. In different cultures, there are also different ways to communicate, which can make the project more complex.

 In larger projects where 

Diversity and uncertainty When diversity affects the communication, it leads to increased risk. To reduce risk good communication between the involved parties is important.

-- 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. ^[8]

Application

Limitation

Annotated bibliography

^[7] 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. ↑ Cambridge English Dictionary. DIVERSITY | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary. Available at : https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/diversity
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Geraldi, J., Thuesen, C., Oehmen, J., & Stingl, V. (2017). Doing Projects. A Nordic Flavour to Managing Projects: DS-handbook 185:2017. Dansk Standard.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} 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
4. ↑ 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
5. ↑ AXELOS. Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2 2017 Edition, Page 74, The Stationery Office Ltd, 2017.
6. ↑ 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
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} 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
8. ↑ The Standard for Program Management — Fourth Edition P.31. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, 2017. Accessed February 12, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central.