Question

5. Chapter 2 Summary

Read the following scenario and then answer the questions about team and intercultural communication in the workplace.

Noreen is a creative manager overseeing a project with a team of six members. Noreen’s team is located in Tokyo, and most of the members have worked together before; however, they have a new addition to the team for this project. The new team member is from the company’s Atlanta offices.

What is the first step that Noreen should take as her team begins the project?

a)Noreen should send the team to conflict management classes to help establish norms.

b)Noreen should publish a list of policies and procedures for dealing with the new member.

c)Noreen should help the team members build relationships with the new member.

As the team works closely on its project, what guidelines should members follow in order to provide effective feedback that improves the work of the team and individuals? Check all that apply.

a)Speak for the team whenever possible.

b)Don’t exaggerate.

c)Use “you” statements.

d)Avoid labels.

Tim’s team is now ready to write a preliminary report to submit. The team has met and discussed the goals for the report. They have developed a schedule and plan for writing. What is the next step they should take in preparing the report?

a)Draft the report and then read each other’s sections to provide feedback.

b)Complete and submit the report after the chief editor has reviewed it.

c)Determine who will be the proofreader for the report.

Since this team is diverse, with members from different cultures, which cultural differences should members take into consideration as they collaborate and complete their written document? Check all that apply.

a)Religious affiliation

b)Beauty standards

c)Materialism

d)Uncertainty avoidance

e)Formality

As they finalize their status report, members of Luis’s team are asked to work in subgroups. Luis talks to Joseph about his subgroup assignment.

LUIS: Joseph, since you worked on the market research, I’d like you to work closely with Analisa on the final section of the report. She has worked on many similar projects, and I think you two will complement each other well.

JOSEPH: Sure. Analisa is the really old lady in the Santiago offices, right?

Which revision would be the most appropriate for Joseph’s statement?

a)Sure. Analisa is the elderly research expert in the Santiago offices, right?

b)Sure. Analisa is the senior citizen in the Santiago offices, right?

c)Sure. Analisa is the research expert in the Santiago offices, right?

Answer 1

1. Noreen should help the team members build a relationship with the new member.

Rationale: The previous members have already worked with each other and have developed a working relationship. There has been no conflict yet and sending the team to conflict management classes would be a waste of time. Similarly, establishing policies and procedures wouldn't strengthen team dynamics and in understanding the new member.

Therefore, working on improving the relationship between the team members will have a positive impact overall as it would prevent conflicts and also create a friendly atmosphere.

2. Don't exaggerate and Avoid labels

Rationale: The guidelines that would improve feedback are i.) the absence of exaggeration since the details of the project are accurate when the team members don't exaggerate ii.) Avoiding labels is an important guideline since blaming each other wouldn't mitigate problems or result in getting proper feedback.

Speaking for the team should not be a guideline since it is based on assumptions about the feelings of the team members and the feedback wouldn't be honest. Using 'you' statements is similar to blaming or pointing at someone and it doesn't aid in getting a proper feedback.

3. Draft the report and then read each other sections to provide feedback

Rationale: A preliminary report is a report that is used to measure the progress of a project and once the scheduling plan and structure are decided, the next step is to draft the report and analyze the progress to improve using the recommendations of the team members.

Complete and submit the report is the final step of the process in writing a preliminary report and skipping the stages wouldn't aid in preparing a good final report. The findings would also not be reviewed if we go ahead with this step.

Determining who will proofread the report is a step that would only take place after the first draft of the report.

4. Uncertainty avoidance and formality

Rationale: When a culturally diverse team collaborates and writes a report, the cultural differences that would play a role are uncertainty avoidance and formality. Uncertainty avoidance includes a lot of factors as there can be ambiguity between the members while collaborating and communicating that would make one feel uncomfortable.

Formality is another factor that would influence the communication between teams since it varies with culture. For example, Indians don't call their boss by their names instead use sir/ma'am to address them. This is not the same in the US and situations like this can cause problems in a culturally diverse team.

Religious affiliation, Beauty standards, and Materialism wouldn't affect the communication between the team members much while writing a report. The company policies against religious discrimination would take care of conflicts due to different belief systems.

5. Sure. Analisa is the research expert in the Santiago offices, right?

Rationale: Replacing the word 'really old lady' by elderly or senior citizens might not be appropriate because, in a culturally diverse team, you can't be sure who gets offended by the description. However, using the term research expert is specifically addressed to the individual who works in that role and it doesn't seem offensive to any culture as well. Therefore, it is the most appropriate revision for Joseph's statement.