Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams Running head: VIRTUAL TEAMS
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Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams
Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams Abstract This paper focuses on how cultural differences between members of virtual teams may affect individuals or even teams from different locations and cultures, with different goals and experiences, to work as teams. The challenge of getting products to market quickly and efficiently in today’s global market has created an increase on demand for virtual teams.
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Advances in technology have also fueled the emergence of virtual teams. Virtual team members are physically separated by time, space or culture. The paper reviews existing perspectives on virtual teams, their organization and management. Understanding characteristics of virtual team members, how cultural differences impact virtual teams with regards to behavior, decisionmaking, and performance are important for successful virtual teams implementation.
Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams The challenge of getting products to market quickly and efficiently in today’s global market has created an increase on demand for virtual teams. Advances in technology have also
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fueled the emergence of virtual teams. Members of virtual teams come from different countries, communicate via various forms of communication technology, and rarely meet face-to-face. Communication delays, time zone differences, conflicts, increased production time, and specialized requirements for local markets are some of the obstacles that multinational organizations are usually trying to overcome by using virtual teams. There are also barriers in implementing and sustaining virtual teams, most of which are related to the characteristics of their members (Dafoulas & Macaulay, 2000).
The Essay on Cultural differences, cultural values and beliefs
Cultural differences, cultural values and beliefs. Q2: What would you discuss with Ruth? I would discuss about the importance of care workers. Ruth cannot handle all these patients’ issues alone. Q3: What would you change to meet Ruth’s needs? I would try to change her mentality about care workers. Care workers intention is caring and ensuring patient safety, but Ruth think they are ...
One of the major factors affecting the effectiveness of virtual teams is the difference in culture of team members. Individuals from different cultural backgrounds may have different beliefs, values, attitudes, and perceptions of priority. Various models of national culture exist to provide an understanding of cultural differences between collaborating teams or within the same team. As discussed herein, a framework is needed to understand how cultural differences impact virtual teams and their effects on behavior, decision-making, and performance. The following sections of this paper correspond to the structure of the current research in cultural differences with respect to understanding cultural differences in virtual teams and its individual members. First, the special characteristics of virtual teams are discussed and compared with the main differences of traditional teams. Second, an overview and critique of existing cultural models are identified with their main strengths and weaknesses. Third, a framework that provides support for decision-making and knowledge management while forming virtual teams and allocating roles between their members is described.
Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams Virtual Teams The impact of global competition has created a new kind of business organization
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structure-the virtual team. In the past, the conventional thought was that “teams” needed to meet face-to-face in order to discuss issues and to resolve problem. Advances in communication technologies allow virtual teams to work across geographical boundaries, languages and cultures in order to achieve goals. In most virtual teams, members are usually located in different geographical locations and across different time zones. Virtual teams may involve more than one organization, with different team members from different companies, or involve more than one department within the same organization, but are located in various different locations throughout the world, working together on the same project. While not fully endorsing the concept of virtual workplaces and abandoning the traditional face-to-face team concept of conducting business, Cascio (2000), a professor of management at the University of Colorado at Denver, identifies advantages and disadvantages of managing a virtual workplace based on advances in research on virtual teams. The reality is that virtual workplaces, in which employees operate remotely from each other and from managers, are becoming more and more common. Cascio (2000) defines virtual organizations as “multisite, multiorganizational”, and dynamic consisting of grouping of businesses, consultants, and contractors that have joined together to pursue common strategic objectives (p. 82).
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Team B was a small group of people with interchangeable skills who found themselves responsible for a common purpose and goal. Learning Teams can get more complicated projects done at a more rapid pace than an individual assigned project because decision-making is more effective in a team environment. Our team was some what complex. We were a successful group of people who were cooperating, ...
Citing numerous studies conducted on this topic, Cascio (2000) identified several benefits where companies have instituted virtual workplaces. For example, by implementing virtual teams Northern Telecom reduced its real estate expenses resulting in a saving of $2,000 per employee a year (Cascio, 2000, p. 82).
IBM reported a gain of 15 to 40 percent in increased productivity (Cascio, 2000, p. 82).
Hewlett-Packard reported higher profits and doubled its revenue per
Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams salesperson after moving its sales force to virtual team arrangements (Cascio, 2000, p. 82).
Andersen Consulting improved its customer service, and reported a 25% increase in time available for its consultants to meet with customer face-to-face (Cascio, 2000, p. 82).
John Brown Engineers & Constructors Ltd., the world’s third largest engineering and construction firm, with 21,000 employees around the world, gained access to global market by using virtual work arrangements, and was “able to cross national boundaries, to enhance its global competitiveness, and environmental benefits” (Cascio, 2000, p. 83).
While there are advantages to virtual workplaces, they may not be appropriate for all jobs. Some of the disadvantages of virtual teams may include lack of physical interaction,
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training, and communication. The synergies and verbal and nonverbal cues associated with faceto-face communication can be combined in trust. Unlike traditional teams, a higher level of trust is required in order for virtual teams to perform effectively and to avoid any delays or conflicts. Moreover, team members need to be sure that others on the team will fulfill their obligations and behave in a consistent, predictable manner (Cascio, 2000).
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"The cultural context in which human communication occurs is perhaps the most defining influence on human interaction. Culture provides the overall framework in which humans learn to organize their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in relation to their environment" (1). By going through the five dimensions of the cultural context of Brazil, a lot is revealed about the interesting culture, and ...
Thus, managers should choose team members carefully, and frame the team’s decision task appropriately while emphasizing clear, well-defined goals and the consequences of the team’s decision. Communication is also a major challenge because team members do not work at the same time or in the same location. Other factors that affect the performance and viability of virtual teams are cultural differences between team members/teams, distance between collaborating teams, duration/lifetime of the team, frequency of communication between members/teams, meetings taking place between members/team, role allocation framework followed for each team, dependencies between team tasks, location of team members and team formation practices, technology requirements, and time differences between teams (Dafoulas & Macaulay, 2001).
In traditional teams there are
Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams constant communication and meetings which occur daily in a formal or information basis. However, this is not possible for virtual teams due to the constraints as discussed above. When face-to-face meetings and direct interactions are constrained, technology is used to bridge communications between members. Cultural Differences
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Culture is a very sensitive topic to discuss, mainly because it deals with a generic concept or model of a person, personality or behavior (Schneider & Barsoux, 1997).
There are several types of culture that exist and are responsible for behavioral patterns of team members. Differences in these culture types affect the way that teams work and how their members interact. These culture types are categorized as national, organizational, professional, functional and team (Dafoulas & Macaulay, 2001).
National culture is defined as a mental programming of a person’s nationality (Hofstede, 1991).
It is also an inherited ethical habit consisting of an idea or value, or of a relationship (Fukuyama, 1995).
The Term Paper on Team Member Members Work Time
She is the person of compromise who attentively listen to the other opinions and ideas. "F" is a student from Toronto. She is a very active, organized and a person of "agendas." Much of her behavior reflects the strict and formal hierarchical corporate environment. She tend to be very official in her approach but the high level of formality seems to compromise the flexibility of the team and not ...
Organization or corporate culture relates to management styles, reviews, rewards, and communication styles used by employees. Corporate structure may be strong for the group but weak for individuals (Dafoulas & Macaulay, 2001).
Professional culture is established through formal education and is reinforced through ongoing training and professional associations or activities. Functional culture is made up of norms and habits associated with functional roles within the organization, and team culture emerges from bonding through common work experiences (Dafoulas & Macaulay, 2001).
Each individual can be a member of multiple cultures in any one or more combinations such as, one or more national/ethic cultures, one or more professional cultures or a combination of one or more functional culture, corporate culture, and team culture (Carmel, 1999).
Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams Managers in virtual teams should understand cultural differences of their team members and investigate how culture influences the internal arrangements of their teams. Such
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arrangements influence strategic planning and human resources management issues (Dafoulas & Macaulay, 2001).
Cultural variables, such as shared beliefs, values and attitudes, can greatly affect organizational processes. One approach is to develop a cultural profile for each country with which one does or is considering doing business. A cultural profile is developed by familiarizing cultural variables that are universal to most cultures (Dafoulas & Macaulay, 2001).
From these variables, specific cultural differences can be identified and implications in the workplace can be anticipated (Deresky, 1998).
When a member of one culture sends a message to a member of another culture, intercultural communication takes place, and the message contains the meaning intended by the encoder. However, when it reaches the receiver, it undergoes a transformation in which the influence of the decoder’s culture becomes a part of the meaning (Dafoulas & Macaulay, 2001).
In other words, when communicating across cultures, do not assume the understanding is automatic. For example, a global manager from Malaysia was upset that his boss said “no-brainer” in a recent conversation. The message encoded was he thought his boss was insulting him by calling him stupid. Goldsmith (2007) offered this perspective: Ultimately, it boils down to a few areas: cultural gaps, lack of trust in each other, failure to value each other’s skills, and the big one: We just don’t communicate effectively. . . . Global team members have a hard time understanding one another even when they’re all speaking the same language (p. 1).
The Essay on Cross Cultural Perspectives 5
Multi-national companies from the U.S. hold a great advantage by working in and with other countries and cultures to make their products accessible to a much broader community. When multi-nationals gains access into or with other companies/countries, it may be an assumption that because everyone inside the business is working for the same purpose, they are going to automatically communicate, think ...
Models of Cultural Differences
Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams There are several different theories and models of cultural differences. They are classified as either single dimension models that are based upon a single dimension or variable, or multiple dimension models that are based upon multiple dimensions or variables (Morden, 1999).
An example of a single dimension model is by Francis Fukuyama, a noted Rand
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Corporation scholar. Fukuyama identifies and compares low trust societies (China, Italy, France, Korea and Taiwan) that can organize workplaces on a more flexible and group oriented basis, with more responsibility delegated to lower levels of the organizations, and high trust societies (the U.S., Britain, Japan, and Germany), that by contrast must fence in and isolate workers with a series of bureaucratic rules (Fukuyama, 1995).
He also argues that a thriving society depends on a people’s habits, customs and ethics and is also shaped by religious and family traditions (Fukuyama, 1995).
Fukuyama states that, globally, we are all facing both a convergence of technological and communication interchange and a greater awareness of cultural differences (Fukuyama, 1995).
For example, not all cultures conduct or manage their business in the same way. Japan, for example, has a feudal structure with a very distinct shape and sense of obligation between worker and management, whereas, American culture is highly individualistic. However, under conditions of modernization, low trust societies tend to produce smaller family firms that make up the entrepreneurial core of their economies (Fukuyama, 1995).
Edward Hall’s model of cultural dimensions introduces four categories (time, space, friendship, and agreement) that are useful in communication research. Each culture has its own spoken language, and each language has its own time. Hall (1990) wrote that “when we take our own time system for granted and project it onto other cultures, we fail to read the hidden messages in the foreign time system and thereby deny ourselves vital feedback.” (p. 18).
The Essay on Cultural differences in communication with groups and teams
... -Things-You-Can-Do-to-Manage-Cultural-Differences-in-Virtual-Teams&id=2634314 Hulkkonen, J. , et al. (2010). Cultural Differences in Multinational Team Communication in an IT Service Organization. ... and even war at its worst amongst members with different cultural backgrounds. Another problem of communication is incompetence. Poor interpretation of instruction due ...
Based on interviews with German, French, and American executives together with extensive research,
Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams Hall (1990) provided the insights and advices on day-to-day transactions in international business including the following observation: In the United States and to some extent in Germany, on the other hand, the amount of lead time can be read as an index of the relative importance of the business to be conducted, as well as the status of the individuals concerned. Short lead time means that the business is of little importance; the longer the lead time, the greater the value of the proceedings (pp. 19-20).
For example, in Arab countries, two week may be too long, but, in countries such as Japan and the U.S., it will take at least two weeks just to set up the meeting (Hall, 1990).
Therefore, in order to communicate effectively, it is important to know how to read the messages associated with time in other cultures. The other dimensions of Hall’s model deal with space (visible physical boundary),
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friendship, and agreement. These boundaries are referred to as an individual’s personal space or territory (Hall, 1990).
Different cultures have different attitudes towards space. In some
cultures, space equates power. For example, in the United States a corner office suite is conventionally occupied by executives (Hall, 1990).
Friendship (interpersonal relationship) and agreement also vary considerably across culture. In some cultures the detailed written contract is essential to agreement, while in others a handshake is sufficient (Dafoulas & Macaulay, 2001).
Geert Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions relate to universal aspects of social relationships (i.e., hierarchy, group orientation, gender roles, trust/risk taking) (Hofstede, 1991).
The results of his study came from an analysis of data of work-related values of international employees of IBM in the late 1960s. Hofstede concludes that high individualism is often connected to low context communication, and low individualism is often connected to high
Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams context communication (Hofstede, 1991).
Universal aspects of social relationships of the kind found in Hofstede’s model may also apply well to virtual teams, which are culturally different. What these models have in common is that they provide an understanding of all the different characteristics of individuals with different cultural background in any team concept.
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They also give us an understanding of how culture affects behavior of members of virtual teams and identify variables used which can impact how national culture may affect team performance and the results of virtual teams. Conflicts and Performances Caused by Cultural Differences Cultural differences between virtual team members may cause conflicts and affect performance, behavior and decision-making. As demonstrated above, a minor miscommunication could result in mutual insults through the different styles of communication. Time perceptions also lead to misunderstandings. Further, problems may also arise because of different attitudes towards hierarchy. For example, through research of current literature on the topic, and interviews with team leaders and members throughout PGS, a worldwide industrial gases, vacuum technologies and distribution services company, three key categories have been identified and are currently implemented by PGS, a company that serves two million customers in more than 50 countries, with over 43,000 employees: (1) team formation; (2) trust and collaboration; and (3) team communication (Goodbody, 2005).
Attention to these factors is helping PGS’s virtual teams perform more effectively and achieve their goals. In her article, Goodbody, a global change manager with The BOC Group, identified three key factors to help some virtual teams, including hers, to perform more effectively. These factors team formation, trust and collaboration, and team communication (Goodbody, 2005).
In team formation, it is important for all members to understand what each brings to the team. Characteristics required
Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams
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for a successful virtual team member includes communication or networking skills, comfort with use of technology, and the ability to self-manage. A team charter should be created to allow members to discuss, agree and document appropriate behaviors may be used to help build trust and collaboration between members (Goodbody, 2005).
Additionally, provide a supportive climate to encourage collaboration for members to share information freely, celebrate milestones reached and recognize and reward team members for achievements. Lastly, communication is the final development that will ensure the continued success of the virtual team. Team members must share information proactively. Although there is a plethora of potential cultural implications, cultural diversity can be beneficial to a team. When a culturally diverse team first forms, its members will need time to be able to adjust to the cultural differences among them. Then, as team members learn to interact with each other, despite their different backgrounds, performance differences should disappear (Watson, Kumar & Michaelsen, 1993).
There is the need to further research the effects of cultural diversity in virtual teams and more specifically the performances and outcome of virtual teams. As discussed in a research paper published in the Journal of Management, Luis Martins, Lucy Gilson, and Travis Maynard reviewed studies conducted on virtual teams in an effort to assess the state of the literature (Martins, et al, 2004).
They started with an examination of the definitions of virtual teams used. Then, they reviewed findings related to team inputs, processes and outcomes, and identify areas of agreement and inconsistency in the literature. Finally, they gave suggestions for future research, including methodological and theoretical considerations that are important to advancing the understanding of virtual teams.
Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams For their research, the authors used a total of 93 empirical articles in their review. Of
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these, 66 were lab studies, 13 used real teams, 14 were case studies, 47 appeared in management journals and 23 were published prior to 1995 (Martins, et al, 2004).
One study cited by Martins and his colleague found that more than 60% of professional employees work in virtual teams (VTs) in which members use technology to interact with one another across geographic, organizational, and other boundaries (Martins, et al, 2004).
They found that input variables represent the design and compositional characteristics of a team, i.e., personalities, knowledge, skills and abilities, group size, technology, task and history or experience that influence how teams operate and perform (Martins, et al, 2004).
They concluded that the inputs-processesoutcomes (I-P-O) model is the dominant model is most often used to study virtual teams. In one case study of six global VTs, they found that the bigger the team the more difficult it is for participants to interact effectively (Martins, et al, 2004).
In other studies, which examined team processes within a virtual environment, found that goal setting in virtual teams is positively associated with cohesion, commitment, collaboration, and decision quality. While another study found that although face-to-face groups demonstrated higher levels of agreement than did computer-mediated communication (CMC) groups or virtual teams, there were no differences between the two types of groups in the quality of decisions (Martins, et al, 2004).
The authors concluded that the current state of research on virtual teams has been relatively limited in scope and offers few consistent findings, and that many aspects of virtual teams functioning remain unexamined (Martins, et al, 2004).
There is still a need for additional research. Much of the studies conducted on virtual teams thus far have been conducted in laboratory settings and using student teams working on short term tasks. Therefore, it is important for future research to move out of the laboratory settings and into the fields in order to advance the literature.
Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams In today’s global economy, it is virtually impossible for a multi-national corporation to exploit economies of global scale and scope without understanding and mastering the management of virtual teams, and how cultural differences impact behavior, decision-making and performance in virtual teams. Virtual workplaces are not appropriate for all jobs. Jobs in sales, marketing, project engineering, and consulting seem to be best suited for virtual workplaces, because such jobs are service and knowledge oriented, dynamic and evolve according to customer requirements (Cascio, 2000).
Advantages of virtual workplaces are that corporations can quickly hire new employees without paying relocation expenses; allow employees to be located anywhere in the world; allow firms to expand their potential labor markets regardless of their physical location; and team communications and work reports are available online to facilitate swift responses to the demands of a global market (Cascio, 2000).
Virtual teams and traditional face-to-face teams are plagued by many of the same problems-successful team formation, agreed upon goals, knowledge and skills of individual members, and lack of clarity regarding team objectives. But virtual teams face additional
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challenges resulting from differences in geography, time and organization (Martins, et al, 2004).
Virtual teams can succeed or fail due to members’ locations in different time zones and due to the use of asynchronous communication media such as e-mail that limit ability of team members to interact in “real-time” (Martins, et al, 2004).
E-mail is the most common technology utilized by members of virtual teams. Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts and Nancy Settle-Murphy developed the several guidelines to deliver the right message. First, set boundaries by agreeing as a team under what conditions e-mail is best, and when other communication channels may work better. Second, try to avoid the masses by resisting the temptation to send every e-mail to every person on the team. Third, standardize
Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams response time by setting deadlines for e-mail responses. Fourth, be clear, concise and
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informative by not using descriptive words to grab attention. Fifth, figure out what is important. Underline key words, use boldface type to highlight the main message. Sixth, think before sending because few opportunities are afforded to make amends if some is offended or get upset by the message. Finally, be sensitive to cultural differences. Make sure the content is clear, and avoid slang and jargon. To ensure the proper tone, use formal tone, especially with team members who may misunderstand your attempts at humor (Roberts & Murphy, 2007).
East Asian countries such as Korea and Japan, which are heavily influenced by the Confucius tradition of emphasizing respect in all forms of communication, provide a different type of patterns of e-mail use in management of virtual teams compared to Western countries (Lee, 2002).
In his research, Lee found that team members of a virtual team at a company in Korea do not often use e-mail over other means of communication when they communicate with their boss because of the fear of not showing respect for their boss. Lee (2002) wrote that “if one is perceived as someone who does not show the necessary signs of respect for seniors, it is likely that one will face a tough time in terms of promotion. In other words, in Confucian teachings, the nominal value of showing respect is much more significant than the practical value of getting things done” (p. 231).
On the other hand, virtual team members in the U.S. who report to their boss via e-mail do not feel that it is necessary to show signs of respect, nor that using e-mail is seen as a rude behavior, which might threaten one’s career (Lee, 2002).
Thus, following the global netiquette guide will help to resolve communication issues within different members of the team, and will ensure that e-mail communications are delivered with the right message (Roberts & Murphy, 2007).
Conclusion
Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams This paper discussed cultural differences and their effects on virtual teams. More specifically, it focused on the special characteristics common to virtual teams and how cultural
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differences can impact behavior, decision-making, and performance of virtual teams. Therefore, it is important to provide the means for understanding the effects of culture on team building. Based on several existing cultural models as discussed herein, a framework to use cultural dimensions in virtual teams is needed. Additionally, there are many factors to take into consideration as they relate to cultural differences in virtual teams. Sensitive issues such as discrimination, ethics and privacy may affect members of virtual teams differently. Thus, providing a framework to understand how cultural differences impact virtual teams and their effects on behavior, decision-making and performance is the key to success for virtual team implementation.
Cultural Differences in Virtual Teams Reference
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