Managing Multicultural Teams

Managing multicultural teams often tests the capability of a manager as he can make or break a situation. There are often cases when a manager creates more problems by intervening. Cultural differences are so subtle that it is difficult to track them until the damage has been done. The best way to avoid cultural differences is to adapt multicultural-based approach. There are several challenges, which a multicultural team experiences. Communication is one of the most important factors in connecting diverse teams. A team should understand the diverse background among its team members and use communication effectively. Secondly, the accent and fluency at times make things difficult to deal with. Also, the attitude towards the authority in different nationalities is diverse and one needs to take a holistic approach when answering to their seniors/mentors from diverse backgrounds. Lastly, the conflicts in the decision making also misbalances the harmony of the entire team

I believe that the four strategies discussed in the case in order to overcome the multicultural issues help resolve the desired circumstances to some extent. Although I do not dislike any of the strategy, I like one strategy more than the others i.e. Adaptation. In any such situation, an individual needs to understand his weaknesses and strengths and work on his weaknesses in order to become a better decision maker and more importantly a better human being. He needs to acknowledge his shortcomings i.e. the cultural gap and work towards it. This will help the person to grow positively in a diverse environment.

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