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Managing multicultural teams.

Jeanne Brett1, Kristin Behfar, Mary C Kern

  • 1Dispute Resolution Research Center, Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, Evanston, Illinois, USA.

Harvard Business Review
|November 30, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Managing multicultural teams requires addressing communication, hierarchy, and decision-making differences. Successful strategies involve adaptation, structural or managerial intervention, or, as a last resort, exit, to leverage diverse perspectives effectively.

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Area of Science:

  • Organizational Behavior
  • International Business
  • Cross-Cultural Management

Background:

  • Multicultural teams offer significant advantages to global firms, such as market knowledge and continuous operations.
  • However, cultural differences can impede team effectiveness and lead to stalemates.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify common challenges in multicultural teams.
  • To explore effective strategies for managers to overcome culture-based barriers.

Main Methods:

  • In-depth interviews with managers and members of multicultural teams worldwide.
  • Analysis of research on dispute resolution and teamwork.

Main Results:

  • Four key problem categories identified: communication styles, accents/fluency, hierarchy/authority, and decision-making norms.
  • Four successful coping strategies: adaptation, structural intervention, managerial intervention, and exit.
  • Early intervention, inclusive engagement, and attributing issues to culture (not personality) are crucial for success.

Conclusions:

  • Pinpointing the root cause of culture-based problems is essential for selecting appropriate solutions.
  • The most effective teams proactively manage cultural differences, fostering creativity and reaping benefits.
  • Successful management of multicultural teams hinges on early, adaptive, and inclusive strategies.

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