The Strengths and Weaknesses of Diversity in Global Teams - Research Paper Example

? The Strengths and weaknesses of diversity in global teams The Strengths and weaknesses of diversity in global teams The current business world is getting more and more globalized as time goes on because of the revolutionary changes brought by globalization, liberalization and privatization. Majority of the prominent modern business organizations are keeping diverse workforces in their offices and manufacturing units to meet the requirements of a globalized business world. Since teamwork is encouraged by majority of the organizations, the formation of global teams is a common thing in organizational world. According to Magnus (2011), “Global teams are teams where members are globally dispersed, from different cultures, speak different languages and rarely meet face-to-face” (Magnus, 2011, p.35) Even though global teams bring many opportunities to an organization, it may develop lot of challenges also. Some researchers suggest that global teams increase creativity and innovation whereas many other are of the view that it may bring conflicts and poor performances. Global teams help organizations to utilize diverse skill sets in a fruitful manner; at the same time it can increase the conflicts within the team because of the cultural differences among the team members. Magnus (2011) pointed out that parameters such as “cultural diversity, geographical dispersion, means of communication (whether communication is face-to-face or virtual) and degree of language familiarity” etc can determine the success or failures of global teams (Magnus, 2011, p.36). This paper analyses the strengths and weaknesses of global teams in business world. Strengths of global teams “Sociologists have found in their research and their work with organizations that when global teams are managed effectively, they can take advantage of the diverse perspectives offered by their members to create unique performance advantages for the company” (Maznevski & DiStefano, 2000, p.185). It should be noted that the work culture, work climate, professional attitude and work philosophy in different countries could be different. For example, work philosophies and technologies in America and China are entirely different. While working as part of a global team, an American and Chinese can complement their knowledge each other so that the organization may benefit immensely. Microsoft, Apple, Google etc like many of the American companies are currently working in China. Same way plenty of Chinese companies are also functioning in America now. All these companies have global teams to manage their operations successfully at different parts of the world. Diverse knowledge, skillsets and capabilities will help these companies to adapt with the changing conditions. Badrinarayanan et al. (2011), mentioned that “sales organizations are increasingly adopting global sales teams to perform distributed work, meet customer needs, and achieve sales objectives” (Badrinarayanan et al., 2011, p.311). Since majority of the prominent organizations are currently operating cross culturally or internationally, their customer bases are extremely different. It is difficult for an American sales person to know the exact needs of an Indian or Chinese customer. On the other hand it is easy for an Indian or Chinese to know the requirements of local customers. Thus, Microsoft or Apple like American companies should appoint locals in their sales teams in these countries so that customers in these countries will get everything they expected from these American companies. In short, global sales teams can help an organization to customize their business strategies or sales strategies in overseas countries. For example, it is difficult for Benz or other automobile manufacturers to sell cars priced more than $ 100000 in Indian market. On the other hand, it is easy for them to sell cars priced less than $50000 in Indian market. It is easy for a local sales person to know such details and send such feedbacks to his company management. The management of global new product development (NPD) is a major concern for companies. To ensure success in this complex and competitive endeavor, companies must rely on global NPD teams that make use of the talents and knowledge available in different parts of the global organization. Thus, cohesive and well-functioning global NPD teams become a critical capability by which firms can effectively leverage this much more diverse set of perspectives, experiences, and cultural sensitivities for the global NPD effort (Salomo et al., 2010, p.955). Market trends are changing rapidly and organizations are struggling to keep in pace with these changes. For example, ordinary mobile phones are currently outdated and mobile companies have started to introduce smartphones like new products in the market. It is necessary for the new product development teams to know about the customer trends at various parts of the world for the successful development of new products. For example, Microsoft is currently developing Windows 8 operating system. It is reported that Windows 8 will have so many additional features like touchscreen commands to cater the needs of the changing world. Moreover, it is believed that Windows 8 can be used in tablet computers also. It should be noted that feedbacks from global teams helped Microsoft to develop such wonderful new products. Global teams are essential for the launching of new products at different parts of the world. According to Harvey & Griffith (2007), global teams are necessary to combine inputs managerial and transformation-based competencies effectively to launch new products (Harvey & Griffith, 2007, p.486). Even for the same product, different marketing strategies are necessary at different parts of the world because of the huge differences in markets of different countries. For example, Indian market is entirely different than American market because of the economic, political, cultural, legal and environmental differences between these two countries. Tiger Woods could be a good brand ambassador in American conditions whereas same thing cannot be said about him in Indian conditions. Sachin Tendulkar could be a good brand ambassador in Indian conditions. Global teams are capable of supplying such vital information to overseas organizations. Weaknesses of global teams “Most Global teams today have team members spread among several projects with competing priorities. Communication breakdown can wreak havoc on a project as team members struggle to effectively communicate and work with one another” (Daim et al., 2012, p.199). Language differences often affect effective communication between the members of the global team. Proper communication between the members of the team is essential for the success of team work. It should be noted that while working as part of a team, each team member may have some responsibilities connected to the project work in which the team is engaged in. The success and timely completion of the project depend on the performances of the individual members in the team. Since each work in a project is connected in some way, proper communication between the team members is vital in completing the project in time. In global teams, communication problems often delay things considerably. Grove & Hallowell (1998) pointed out that “The goals of a global team are attainable only after several meetings”(Grove & Hallowell, 1998). This is because of the fact that a single meeting may not clear all the doubts a global team member has. Only after different meetings, members of the global team may get proper ideas about their roles in the team. “It is difficult to develop approaches to work procedures and relationships that all members find practical and that no one finds intolerable”(Grove & Hallowell, 1998). The work cultures of different people are different. It is difficult for an Indian to work in an American team because of the differences in work culture and philosophy in India and America. An American may like to see the work done immediately after the instruction is issued whereas an Indian may postpone his responsibilities to another date. Such work attitudes may often create problems while working in global teams. According to Panteli and Tucker (2009), “The question: how is power exercised in global virtual teams and how can it effectively impact trust development and overall team performance in such distributed environments is extremely relevant” (Panteli and Tucker, 2009, p.113). The exercise of power by the team leader is necessary to the success of every team work and the case of global teams is also not different. However, a global team leader may struggle to utilize his power efficiently because of the possible consequences. An American team leader, who is trying to exercise power upon an Indian or Chinese team member, may not command trust or respect from them. Instead of building relationships, spoiling of relationship could be the outcome of such efforts. Brandl and Neyer (2009) present the above fact in another way. “In global virtual teams, managers from different cultures work together without ever spending time in each other’s countries. This makes country specific knowledge less relevant”(Brandl and Neyer, 2009, p.342). The usual issues that plague teams, such as how to resolve conflicts, how to communicate more effectively, how to motivate team members, and how to lead teams effectively, all become more complex with multi-cultural and/or virtual teams. Time-zone, language, and cultural differences, as well as pressures to meet local priorities and lack of face-to face contact can pull global teams in different directions (ITAP International, 2012). Settling or management of global team problems is extremely difficult compared to that in other teams. No two individuals are alike. The above fact becomes extremely relevant in the case of global team members. People from same cultures or country may have similar traits and attitudes. However same thing cannot be said about people coming from different parts of the world. The motivating factors could be different for different people. More money or salary may motivate an African team member whereas more recognition may motivate an American team member. In short, team leader should use customized motivating strategies while operating in a global team which is extremely difficult. According to Clear and MacDonell (2011), “globally distributed teamwork presents a complex context which demands new research approaches, beyond the limited set customarily applied” (Clear and MacDonell, 2011, p.994). Conventional management methods are not applicable in the case of global teams. In other words, existing management styles or strategies are incapable to deal with the problems associated with global team management. Conclusions Global teams bring lot of advantages and disadvantages to an organization. Global teams help organizations to exploit the knowledge and skillset of people all over the world. It helps companies to know the trends in the market instantly and to respond positively to such trends. At the same time, communication problems, differences in work culture, work philosophies, attitudes etc can cause huge damages to the functioning of a global team. Power exercising is another big problem in global team management. References Badrinarayanan, V., Madhavaram,S and Granot, E. (2011). Global Virtual Sales Teams (GVSTs ): A Conceptual Framework of the Influence of Intellectual and Social Capital on Effectiveness. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, vol. XXXI, no. 3 (summer 2011), pp. 311–324. DOI 10.2753/PSS0885-3134310308 Brandl, J. and Neyer, A.K. (2009). Applying cognitive adjustment Theory to cross-cultural training for global virtual Teams. Human Resource Management, May–June 2009, Vol. 48, No. 3, Pp. 341– 353. 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