Working in International Teams - Essay Example

? Working in international teams Working in international teams Introduction Globalization has had profound effects on how organizations conduct their day to day business. As a result of globalization, business boundaries have been broken down and become meaningless. Organizations can freely conduct their business in any part of the world. The usual nine-to-five day jobs have seemingly been dissolved into modern time frames where business activities are conducted across a span of varying time zones around the world (Devine, 2002). Colleagues in an organization can be working from different parts of the world in different time zones to accomplish the same objectives for the organization unlike before where colleagues had to be in one open room (Devine, 2002). This has led to new dynamics of work in modern and contemporary organizations. Another impact of globalization on businesses is the reliance on teamwork rather that individual performance in accomplishing organizational objectives. The contemporary organizational challenges demand a team approach in order to gather a wide range of views, skills and experiences and use them effectively to meet and tackle emerging issues (Devine, 2002). A team can be defined as a group of individuals working together collaboratively to accomplish a common purpose. The team is held together by the shared objectives, a common purpose and identity of each team member. Teams in organizations are formed to work on various projects that help the organization advance towards meeting its visions. Globalization has also led to the emergence of a new landscape in business operations. In the new business framework, technical brilliance alone is no longer enough for one to be successful in today’s international marketplace (Devine, 2002). Organizations today require their employees at all levels of the organization to comfortably interact freely with people from other cultures. Organizations require individuals to communicate and interact through a more global lens in order to give the organizations a competitive edge on the international scene. With most organizations opening up to the international market, there is a great demand for initiating projects that meet the international needs and demands of consumers. These international projects can be very rewarding to both organizations and their employees, but they are very challenging. Most organizations therefore rely on international teams to manage tasks that are of an international nature. Belonging to a team makes an individual feel being part of something much wider than themselves, and when the team is highly diversified with international culture, the team members feel part of the wider international community. The challenge of building and managing international teams has become evident over the years for managers and leaders in various professional fields. Team members also encounter challenges in working with each other to achieve a common objective and purpose given the wide differences that exist among them in terms of age, skills, experience, gender, race, ethnicity and most importantly culturally diverse opinions (Wheelan, 2010). Team members are under pressure to perform effectively with appropriate professional behavior in the context of the international business environment. Team members are required to work in multicultural teams posing very many challenges to the individual members and team leaders. The highly diversified multicultural environment comes with a lot of challenges ranging from communication difficulties to varying opinions based on one’s cultural background (Wheelan, 2010). Analysis and Thesis Statement Working in international teams is both a challenging and a rewarding endeavor. International teams are made up of individuals from various parts of the world who may either come to work together from the same location or may opt to work from the different parts where they are located. Different places around the world have different cultures which often impact on the behavior and attitudes of individuals. Culture has a huge impact on how individuals think and act and how they perceive and approach different issues (Wheelan, 2010). These differences often come to play in international teams, making communication and problem solving very difficult for the teams and their leaders. These challenges make it quite hard for international teams to work effectively and meet their objectives as expected. Despite the challenges noted above, working in international teams is very beneficial to both organizations and their employees. The organizations benefit a great deal from the diverse approaches that inform their international business strategy (Devine, 2002). The organization can use the diverse nature of its workforce as competitive advantage over other organizations as each of them strives to get a share of the international market. The employees on the other hand can benefit from the cultural exchanges with their colleagues thereby creating an understanding among themselves and their different cultures. The employees will be able to learn from each other and improve on their skills and make themselves competitive on the international arenas (Wheelan, 2010). The main objective of this report is to examine the dynamics of working in international teams. The report will endeavor to look at the nature of international teams and how one can fit in and work effectively well in an international team. The report will also explore the various ways in which team building can be successful in international teams. The report will also delve in to the multicultural aspect of international teams and examine different theoretical frameworks that can be used to guide and inform team work in international teams. Working In International Teams And Successful Team Building Working in international teams requires a lot of attention to be paid to five main issues namely communication, worldview, problem solving, authority and quality control. All these five elements of international teamwork have to be approached from the cross-cultural point of view in order to facilitate understanding of individuals from different cultures and to bring them on board to work for the benefit of the team. International teams are established to work on international projects that are in line with the overall objectives of the organization in the international market. Working in international teams requires one to be constantly aware of the cross cultural differences that exist among the team members. The members of the team come from different backgrounds with different ethos and worldviews that ought to be respected. Undermining any culture in an international set up is likely to fuel conflicts in the team and make the team dysfunctional. Individuals working in international teams need to have skills to ensure they communicate effectively to help the team achieve its objectives. Working in international teams also involves building strong relationships with other team members. Team members should bring their relationship skills in proper use and build meaningful professional relationships with others from different cultures (Devine, 2002). The team members should dissociate themselves from cultural stereotypes and prejudices against any particular community as this may also undermine the general functioning of the team Successful international teams require the members to be dedicated, understanding humble and most significantly compromising. The individual members ought to put the goals of the team ahead of any of their individual desires. This will help to create harmony in the team and create a common playing field where each person will feel they are appreciated despite their cultural background. In order for this to be achieved, the international teams need to foster their understanding through team building activities. Team building refers to a wide range of activities that teams engage themselves in I order to boost their general performance. Team building activities range from bonding session to complex activities involving participation of each member of the team in order to boost team work and understanding among members. Through team building, the team members will be able to generate an understanding among themselves and work better as a team. Through the team building sessions the members will be able to discover their own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of others in the team. This will be very vital in creating an understanding in the team, sharing responsibilities and compromising whenever need be. Working across Cultures in international teams Culture can be defined as the sum of all socially transmitted patterns of behavior, beliefs, arts institutions and other elements of human worm and thought. Culture is an important aspect of the human life as it influences a lot on the perspectives of individuals, attitudes, behaviors and their general worldview. Individuals from different cultural backgrounds are therefore likely to have different ways of approaching issues and varying ways of looking at the world in general (Guirdham, 2005). What one culture accepts as normal may appear to be absurd in another culture. A cross-cultural or multicultural environment is one where there is a mix of different cultures. Globalization has been instrumental in enabling people from different cultures to freely mix and interact. Individuals in the workplace face challenges as the organizations cross beyond geographical borders and attract an international audience (Wheelan, 2010). The presence of a multi- cultural environment becomes a reality on the international scene. The workforce of most international organizations is highly diversified to reflect the different cultures, races and ethnicities on the international market. The employees are therefore expected to work across their different cultures in order to help the organization achieve its goals and objectives. Workers and professionals working in international teams are expected to use their cultural differences and diversity to enrich their thinking and ideas to have a positive outcome of their team’s objectives. Culture greatly affects the five main elements of international teams namely communication, problem solving, worldview, authority and quality control. Each person in a team is shaped differently by their culture with regard to these different elements. Great team work requires a lot of understanding among the team members in order to help the team meet its objectives regardless of the different cultural backgrounds. If an international team has quality communication and sensitivity among the members in understanding the varying worldviews among team members, the more the team is likely to improve on the other aspects of problem solving, quality control and flow of authority. The experience of working across culture can be analyzed by examining the five main elements of international teamwork. The first among them is communication. Individuals from different cultures communicate differently. Languages differ across the world and each culture uses a specific language to communicate. Working across cultures in international teams requires one to have an understanding of different languages in order to communicate effectively. In cases where the team members do not have a common language such as English, French or any other international business languages, the team members can use technology to translate the languages used in order to foster a common understanding. Culture also affects the other element of international teamwork, worldview. Worldview refers to one's perspective of the world and the different things in it (Hofstede, 1996). One’s worldview affects their outlook on life, problems challenges and the ability to overcome them. Working across cultures in international teams brings people of different worldviews together, who, despite their different approaches, they are expected to work in harmony in order to achieve a common objective. The team members need to achieve a common ground and a common worldview among them that will be used to guide their approach to the project at hand. This can be achieved through team building where individuals will be able to understand each other better and be in a position to determine how best they can work given their diverse nature of skills, knowledge and experience. Problem solving is also affected to a great extent by culture. Some cultures insist on a theoretical or mathematical approach to solving problems while other cultures prefer experimental approaches. When people from these diverse cultural backgrounds meet in a team, there is need to have greater understanding because these two approaches are very different and the team has to settle on one way of tackling the challenges they face. Different cultures also have different ways of maintaining and controlling quality. Some cultures insist on excellence and perfection while others are more lenient and relaxed. The different cultures also have different standards of quality and what is considered as the best. Each culture presents its own methods as being the only possible ways of handling issues (Ale, Ahmed and Taha, 2009). Working across cultures requires a higher level of understanding among the team members. The members have to work together to come to a consensus on the levels of quality expected from the team with regard to international expectations. When it comes to the aspect of authority and hierarchy, culture also plays a big part in how individuals understand leadership. The Eastern and Western structures of authority for instance are very different (Ale, Ahmed and Taha, 2009). This has affected how individuals from these places perceive authority. A team with people from different cultures will definitely have different perspectives on how people understand leadership and authority in the team. Given the different ways in which culture affects teamwork, working in a cross cultural environment can only be effective if team members shoe a higher sense of compromise and humility, where the benefit of the team is placed before individual goals and objectives. Theories in Practice Teamwork is a very important aspect of organizational performance. There are various studies that have been conducted by business researchers and organizational theorists to guide team work and create working models and frameworks for effective teams. These theories and models have been used for a long time by different groups and teams over the years to improve the general performance of their teams and help them meet their objectives s a group. One theory that has had a huge impact on international teams is the role theory developed by Dr. R. M. Belbin. Belbin identified the role theory as the most effective way of discovering the strengths and weaknesses of the behaviors of different individuals at the workplace (Kimble, 2000). These can then be used to inform how the team members share roles amongst themselves. Mr. Belbin stipulates in Role theory that after discovering the strengths and weaknesses of each member in the team, the whole team should focus on their strengths and try as much as possible to minimize their weaknesses in the course of their work (Kimble, 2000). In international teams, it is very important to have an understanding of the behavioral patterns of each member of the team given their different backgrounds. This should be the first step the team takes before embarking on sharing responsibilities and creating their working formula. Another influential theory of team work is Tuckman’s tam stages model theory. The theory, first developed in 1965 has risen to become one of the most influential theories on teams and team building. The theory is based on the principle that teams begin from an dysfunctional phase and develop with time to a fully functional unit. Tuckman identified four main stages through which teams pass as they develop. These are forming, norming, storming and performing (Forsyth, 2006). The teams start in the forming phase, and go in to the norming phase where the team strives to create its objectives and structure itself. The storming stage is where the teams become to shape up while the final stage of performing reflects the maturity of the team and its ability to deliver and meet its objectives. This theory can be used to guide international teams in their development by realizing that there will be difficult times in the beginning but the need to focus on the common goals and objectives so as to reach to the last stage of performing (Forsyth, 2006). Conclusion Teamwork is a very significant part of organizational performance. With more organizations targeting the international market, they are embracing diversity in their workforce. This has led to employment of individuals from different places around the world creating a culturally diverse workplace. As a result, individuals have become expected to interact with their colleagues from different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. International teams are made up of people from different nationalities who have been shaped by different cultures. The international teams work on various international projects to place the organization on the international map and give it a competitive edge in the industry. In order for the teams to function properly, team building should be used to create harmony and understanding among team members and help the team overcome the conflicts and challenges that may emerge to threaten the team’s performance. 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