Unit 4: Managing multicultural teams

A multicultural team has members from different cultural backgrounds working towards a common goal; often virtual across countries.

Strategies (Brett, Behfar and Kern)

• Adaptation: acknowledge differences and work around them.
• Structural intervention: reorganise sub-groups to reduce friction.
• Managerial intervention: a leader sets norms early or steps in.
• Exit: remove a member when other options fail (last resort).

Practices for effective teams

• Set clear goals, roles and ground rules (meeting times, language, response times).
• Build trust early — face-to-face kick-off where possible.
• Encourage open communication; check understanding.
• Rotate meeting times across time zones.
• Celebrate diversity and develop cultural intelligence.
• Use technology well — shared platforms, video calls.

• Motivation theories (Maslow, Herzberg, McClelland) were developed in the USA and may not apply universally.
• Collectivist cultures: value group recognition, belonging, security; Maslow's social needs may rank higher than self-actualisation.
• Individualist cultures: value individual achievement, autonomy and personal rewards.
• High power distance: motivated by status, titles and approval from superiors.
• Feminine cultures: value work-life balance and relationships over pay.

Cultural differences in negotiation

• Goal: contract (USA) vs relationship (Japan, China, India).
• Attitude: win-lose vs win-win.
• Communication: direct vs indirect; meaning of silence.
• Time sensitivity: fast vs slow; deadlines vs patience.
• Emotionalism: high (Latin cultures) vs low (Japan, Germany).
• Form of agreement: detailed written contract vs general principles and trust.
• Team organisation: one leader vs consensus.

• Who decides: individual (USA) vs group (Japan, Sweden) vs senior authority (India, Arab countries).
• Speed: quick decisions in low uncertainty-avoidance cultures; slow, careful decisions in high UA cultures.
• Rationality vs intuition: data-driven vs relationship and intuition-based.
• Time horizon: short-term results vs long-term goals.

(Compromising is the fifth, midway style.)

• Individualistic cultures tend to use competing and direct confrontation; legal remedies.
• Collectivistic cultures prefer avoiding, accommodating or mediation through a respected third party to preserve harmony and face.
• Methods: negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration (e.g., ICC, Singapore International Arbitration Centre), litigation.
• Face-saving (Ting-Toomey): in Asian cultures, public criticism must be avoided; disputes are settled privately.

• Ethical relativism: what is right depends on the culture ("When in Rome, do as the Romans do").
• Ethical universalism (absolutism): some principles apply everywhere (human rights, no bribery).
• Integrative Social Contracts Theory (Donaldson and Dunfee): respect local norms within universal hypernorms.

Managing ethics across cultures

• A global code of conduct with local guidance.
• Ethics training and whistle-blowing channels.
• Supplier audits and certifications.
• Leaders modelling integrity.
• Follow UN Global Compact, OECD Guidelines for MNEs.