Leadership Management of Multicultural Team through Changes - Essay Example

Situation Background The company is currently in the process of introducing a new medical product that is going to revolutionize the treatment for diabetes patients worldwide. The product would allow glucose readings to be taken without any needles or skin pricks. This product would improve the quality of living of diabetes patients. For the company developing such a product would help the firm increase its revenues in the short and long term. It is imperative for the company to obtain patent protection for this product to ensure the competition does not imitate its product once it is released into the marketplace. A patent is an exclusive right granted by the government to an inventor to manufacture, use, or sell an invention for a certain number of years (Dictionary, 2014). A patent can provide a company up to 20 years of exclusivity in the marketplace. To complete this project the firm has formed team of six professionals. The composition of the team that is going to be working on the project is made up of people from different cultures. In the work environment of the 21st century it is common for firm to formulate multicultural teams. For companies multicultural teams present challenges, but the also present a unique opportunity. Three advantages of workforce diversity are increased adaptability, broader service range, and variety of viewpoints (Greenberg, 2009). Another advantage of forming a multicultural team is increased creativity. Diversity carries a special significance in todays workplace (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn, 2003). Despite the advantage of multicultural teams there are also often issues associated with its utilization. Issue identification The team that was formed to complete this project is composed of six members. Their names are John, Julie, Jinsoo, Tom, Darious, Harpreet. The six members are all from different cultural backgrounds. The different countries the members are from are United States, India, Iran, China, and South Korea. Even the two American members of the team are from different ethnicity. When a team is composed of a wide variety of cultural backgrounds often these cultures crash with each other and it causes the team to display inefficiencies that hurt the ability of the members of the group to comply with the requirements of a project. Problems such as not being able to meet the deadline can occur in such dysfunctional groups. “Just as likely as the positive affects of integrating people from diverse backgrounds are the inevitable cultural clashes that test the validity of the company ethics policies and the resolve of management to maintain a respectful workplace” (Gallup, 2014). Learning how to interact with people from other cultures requires practice and work. An important factor to diminish the effect of cultural crashes is the willingness of the parties involve to accept and respect each others culture. Cultural differences in the workplace can arise due to differences attributable to work styles, education or disability (Mayhew, 2014). There are several specific factors that have are affecting the effectiveness of the group. The effectiveness of a group influences the relationships among the members (Mbanotesonline, 2013). Darius and Tom have been in conflict for several weeks over how to approach the design of a critical piece of the product. These two members are having a hard time communicating well with each other which has caused friction. The inability of them to connect is affecting the decision making process. Decision making is very important when working with team; its proper implementation can enhance the leadership of the members (Businessballs, 2014). John and Julie are so disillusioned that they are job hunting, but each has unique skills that you do not wish to lose. It is important for companies to achieve a high employee retention rate. Some of the bad aspects of having a low employee retention rate is that it costs business owners time and productivity (Wsj, 2014). If the company is not able to retain these two important employees successful completion of the project is at risk. Jinsoo tends to isolate himself when there is conflict, which decreases his productivity. Jinsoos tendency to isolate himself to get away from conflict is a bit counterproductive. He has to get involved in all aspects of the project and should confront conflict head on. His attitudes are making the other members think he is not a team player. Tom believes that the rest of the team is cutting him out of the picture because of his age and lack of interest in using Google to create workspaces where everyone can brainstorm. These allegations by Tom should be taken very seriously since the expose the company to unnecessary risk. If things escalate Tom could allege that he is being discriminated against because of his age. In the United States the the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination based on age (Eeoc). This delicate situation must be deal in the professional manner to satisfy Toms needs and avoid a lawsuit. Overall the employees at this firm including the six team members feel a sense of betrayal and insecurity because the former manager and team leader was fired, but the members dont know that the reason that he was fired was because he was accepting bribes. The firm has to learn how to deal with ageism. “American society has been described as maintaining a stereotype and often negative perception of older adults” (Busse, 1968). Another issue that the team faces is that they have to complete the project within a six month deadline. The team has to avoid unexpected events to ensure compliance with the deadline (Artisantalent, 2014). The team is going to have to work under pressure and in a precise manner to optimize its work performance. Stakeholders Perspective The four main stakeholder groups are the customers, government, managerial staff, and most importantly the six members of the project team. Customers – The new drug for diabetes that the firm is developing is revolutionize the industry. The end state customers are the biggest winners of this innovative product. Their quality of life will improve once this drug hits the market. Government – The government has to approve the patent protection for this product. They will benefit from the success of the company because higher net income increases the taxes paid to the government. Managerial staff – The manager of the company has to oversee the efforts of the project team in order to ensure its success. Six members of the team – The team members have to put aside their differences for the benefit of the project. Learning how to work as a multicultural team is imperative. Alternative solutions A possible solution to fix the cultural differences that are negative affecting the group is for the company to provide cultural training to all six members of the group. Due to the deadline of six month that the team has to comply with the company has to incorporate a fast learning method to accelerate the training. The best technique to accomplish the task at hand is to use an online learning tool. The training would be complete in 14 days. The members would take one hour of training during work hours and an additional hour after work at their homes. Each employ would receive access to the training by connecting to the corporate website. A second alternative solution is to create a matrix of mini teams. “A matrix team as a team where individuals on the team report to more than one boss” (Global-integration, 2013). The six member team would be divided in three two man units. The members that get along better would be united. All three teams would be supervised by the project manager as well as other departmental managers which would now be included as advisers to oversee the management of the team. A third alternative solution is for the company to arrange a series of social events so that the workers can get know each outside of work. Organizing a friendly sporting event such as a gulf tournament is a great way for the members of the team to compete in fun manner. Other socializing events are movie night, team dinner, and a picnic. Optimal solution The root of the problems lies in the differences between the team members due to the different backgrounds. To solve that problem the optimal solution is to provide the two week online cultural training. This solution help solve the underlying problem of the members of the team not getting along well. Once the members of the team understand each others culture they will begin to communicate better and start working as a cohesive unit. The implementation time for the training is two weeks since the team does not have any time to waste. Conclusion The case study illustrated a situation in which a team of workers was not getting along due to cultural differences. The team had the responsibility of completing a medical project that was going to change the lives of diabetes patients in order improve their quality of living. Due to the imminent deadline the team had to click to get the job done in an efficient manner. The solution that was chosen resolve the situation was to offer the team cultural training using an online learning tool. References Artisantalent.com (2014). The Importance of Project Deadlines and How to Avoid Missing Them. Retrieved December 6, 2014 from http://artisantalent.com/the-importance-of-project-deadlines-and-how-to-avoid-missing-them/ Dictionary.com (2014). Patent. Retrieved December 5, 2014 from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/patent Businessballs.com (2014). Problem solving and decision making. Retrieved December 5, 2014 from http://www.businessballs.com/problemsolving.htm Busse (1968). Ageism: An Introduction. Retrieved December 5, 2014 from http://www2.webster.edu/~woolflm/ageism.html Eeoc.gov. Age Discrimination. Retrieved December 5, 2014 from http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/age.cfm Gallup, B. (2014). What are some of the culture clashes in the workplace. Retrieved December 5, 2014 from http://work.chron.com/culture-clashes-workplace-10038.html Global-integration.com (2013). What is a Matrix Team: A Definition. Retrieved December 5, 2014 from http://www.global-integration.com/matrix-management/matrix-teams/matrix-team-definition/ Greenberg, J. (2009). Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges, and Solutions. Retrieved December 5, 2014 from http://www.multiculturaladvantage.com/recruit/diversity/diversity-in-the-workplace-benefits-challenges-solutions.asp Mayhew, R. (2014). Examples of Cultural Differences in the Workplace. Retrieved December 6, 2014 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-cultural-differences-workplace-11494.html Mbanotesonline.com (2013). Group, Formal and Informal group, Importance of group values and norm Characteristics of an effective group. Retrieved December 6, 2014 from http://mbanotesonline.blogspot.com/2013/05/group-formal-and-informal-group.html Schermerhorn, J., Hunt, J., Osborn, R. (2003). Organizational Behavior (8th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons Wsj.com (2014). Employeee Retention – How to Retain Employees. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 5, 2014 from http://guides.wsj.com/small-business/hiring-and-managing-employees/how-to-retain-employees/ Read More