Role of Communication in A Cross Cultural Project Team

Running Head: Role of Communication in A Cross Cultural Project Team

 

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Abstract

In today’s global economy, the ability of an individual in a team project to effectively communicate across cultures as well as being culturally aware is more than just a nice skill to posses. As such, in this twenty first century, the aforementioned skills are vital competency parameters for employees in any project particularly in a cross cultural project team. One of the factors that have led to the growing diversity in the workforce is the aspect of globalization whose impact has been felt in almost every industry. This situation has raised concerns as to the ways in which individuals from strikingly different cultures may be coordinated to promote or alleviate personal and organizational goals in a cross cultural project.  It is a well known fact that most if not all individual behaviors and attitudes are habituated by cultural values, perceptions as well as assumptions of such an individual that are many at times instilled early in one’s life, and are often articulated  in the way we interact and behave. Actually, the influences of culture are so intuitive and  deep to the extent that individuals act upon them unconsciously in our day to day activities such as the way an individual employee deal with his or her superiors, the way a person talk and stand, as well as the way a person make a  decision or handle a conflict. Communication in a cross cultural project team is not restricted to studying other languages and cultures but also includes understanding the way in which other cultural core values as well as patterns influences the process of communication.  Consequently, attaining the necessary communication skills and ability to effectively work with local and multicultural teams is a necessity and not an option as it was some decades ago. Owing to the fact that the differences in various cultural influences are indeed intuitive and certainly deep, they can without a doubt lead to miscommunication as well as misunderstanding in a cross cultural project team. This condition can be very detrimental to any project in the sense that such misunderstandings based on cultural conflicts may break cross cultural project such as international mergers or even business deals that are very lucrative. The objective of the study is to highlight the importance of communication in promoting an effective cross cultural project team.

Introduction

In the recent years, it is not a secret any more that workplaces are swiftly becoming diverse, as the business environment spread out to different geographical locations where there are various and different  cultural values. The difficult part however, is the ability of employees in a cross cultural project team to be able to communicate effectively with various individuals within the team who speak a different language or uses different means to achieve a common goal due to cultural differences (Triandis and Rosita, 2000). In such instances the role of effective communication cannot be overemphasized. Consequently, the success of any cross cultural project team calls for more than just the ability of such a team to put forward the right services or products to meet the prevailing market demands (Belbin, 2000).  Such a project requires the right individuals having the right capacity and skills to adapt accordingly and to be culturally intelligent in an effort to work effectively in a cross cultural project team. To this end, effective cross cultural communication in this new world is a must. Communication in a cross cultural project team is not restricted to studying other languages and cultures but also includes understanding the way in which other cultural core values as well as patterns influences the process of communication (Imhof, 2003)..  Consequently, attaining the necessary communication skills and ability to effectively work with local and multicultural teams is a necessity and not an option as it was some decades ago (Gudykunst et al, 2005).There are a number of benefits that accrues with effective communication in cross cultural project team which include among others understanding cultural diversity, developing awareness of individual cultures, the team is able to develop tolerance towards each other. Study shows that about seventy five percent of cross cultural projects are disastrous (Hall, 2003). Experts are of the opinion that one of the key reasons that contribute to such failure is insufficient or poor communication. Strategic communication set up is extremely important as this tend to result to the right expectations of the team in the project (Trompenaars, 2005). In all, effective communication in a cross cultural project team is vital in the development of a strong cultural competence and good relationship among the team players that go beyond the business project in issue. Nonetheless, there is a very big possibility that Failure to observe effective communication in a cross cultural project team tends to result in missed opportunities, productivity losses, as well as conflicts that are unnecessary (Higgs & Ploch, 2005).

Literature review

According to Varner & Beamer, (2005) an effective communication in a  cross cultural project team assist individuals from various cultures to learn about each other’s customs, traditions, protocols, and culture for conducting business, and as such, the team players in the cross culture project mitigate the possibilities of inadvertently offending  an individual in the team. Communication therefore, ensures that the team in the cross cultural project is adequately equipped with the ability to effectively execute the project with minimal difficulties (Hall & Hall, 2004). Communication act as a bridge that link different cultural values and ensure that the team in the project work s together for purposes of achieving the goals of the project within the desired timeframe. Failure to observe effective communication in a cross cultural project team tends to result in missed opportunities, productivity losses, as well as conflicts that are unnecessary.  Effective communication in a cross cultural project team is vital in the development of a strong cultural competence and good relationship among the team players that go beyond the business project in issue (Earley, & Gardner, 2005).

Oftentimes, the term culture has been used to denote people life style in a particular community. Nonetheless, there is much more to the term culture which covers numerous behavioral as well as attitudinal aspects such as norms, beliefs, values and expectations. Due to the complexity involved in the understanding of culture particularly in right of cross culture project team, a number of studies have been undertaken to investigate the role of communication in the success or failure of a project that encompasses a cross cultural team (Connerley & Pedersen, 2005). Behavioral scientists in their studies have demonstrated that individuals who belong to the same culture have similarities in their behavior as well as thinking. In the same vein, different individuals from different cultures think differently and exhibit different behaviors.  These differences in culture can have an effect on the level of openness and trust in communication that an individual can realize with people from different cultures. It therefore goes without saying that in an effort to attain an effective cross culture project team, the role of communication cannot be underestimated (Govindarajan, & Gupta, 2001).

According to Adler and Graham, (2003) one of the factors that have led to the growing diversity in the workforce is the aspect of globalization whose impact has been felt in almost every industry. This situation has raised concerns as to the ways in which individuals from strikingly different cultures may be coordinated to promote or alleviate personal and organizational goals in a cross cultural project (Maddox, 1993).  To achieve productivity in across cultural project, a communication strategy must be developed which is able to foster the necessary working relationship. In his work Andersen, (2003) noted that the communication modes that alleviates the status of virtual groups are the same modes that may cause a lot of difficulty for such a group to interact effectively. The relevance of communication in cross cultural projects is increasingly gaining recognition in the global marketplace as it is today, where people from different countries and cultures for that matter are moving from one nation to another for business. Needless to say, in order to have a successful cross cultural project team, there is a need to understand other cultures by focusing on how other cultures communicate and understand one other (Brennan, & Braswell, 2005).

Understanding cultural diversity

One of the major roles of communication in a cross cultural project team is to enhance a deeper understanding of cultural diversity among the team players in the project. It is natural that due to the difference in the cultural context experienced in a cross cultural project team there are new challenges pertaining to communication that crop up in the workplace(Griffin, 2003).  An effective communication strategy in this case begins with understanding the fact that both the sender and the receiver of the message come from dissimilar backgrounds and cultures.  This understanding cultivates among the project team a level of skill and caution while communication in a cross cultural project team thus optimizing productivity.  Understanding cultural diversity does not therefore require the project team to learn individual languages and cultures of every team member but rather how best one can communicate with people from different cultures (Elron, 1997).

Communication in a cross cultural project team enables individuals from the team to develop awareness of individual cultures of different players in the project making it easy to achieve the goals and objective of the project. Study shows that effective communication in a cross cultural project team encourages people to learn and exchange basics about different cultures as well as effective ways in which to communicate effectively with a teammate from a different culture Barlett & Ghoshal, (2001) Communication in a cross cultural project team can therefore go a long way in developing the basic level of understanding among the team players. These basics are very important and at the same time very tricky areas in different cultures. Understanding the appropriate physical contact and greetings required by different cultures is one of the basic understandings that can be achieved through communication (Hofstede, 2001). Taking an example of greetings from United States and France, it is appropriate in the US business arena to kiss business associates, in France; it is an appropriate greeting to peck a business associate on each cheek. Other cultures may not as well recognize a handshake as an appropriate business greeting as it is widely accepted in the United States (Smith & Bond, 1999). Communication in a cross cultural project enhances the ability of the team to understand that individual reactions and behaviors are oftentimes driven by their culture and as such they may not be in agreement with another cultural behavior that may be considered appropriate or in appropriate (Dainton, & Zelley, 2005).

One on one communication in a cross cultural project team can go a long way in helping individuals the multicultural team to discuss their differences and personal needs without being embarrassed or perhaps feel that they are being put on the spot (Shockley, 2006). In such a setting therefore, there is a great need for members of such a team to exercise courtesy and patience and in the event there is uncertainty on how to handle a particular difference that may arise, it would be advisable to seek clarification  from other team members through communication(DeSanctis & Jiang, 2005).

Maintaining a simple and understandable level of communication can prove to be an effective means of handling cross cultural project team. Even though English language is widely accepted as an intercontinental language of business, one would be wrong to make an assumption that every individual in a cross cultural project team is capable of speaking good English (Samovar, & Porter, 2003). As a matter of fact, among the eight million people who speak English, only about half of them learned this language as their first dialect. For this reason those individuals who speak English as their second language are oftentimes more restricted unlike their native counterparts (Bennett, 2004).  Communication in a cross cultural project team can achieve optimum productivity if communication is kept simple, unambiguous and clear. Understanding what may be humorous in one culture and not the other may go a long way in achieving a successful cross cultural project team (Schneider & Jean, 1997).  Individuals in the team should avoid humor especially in instances where they are not sure whether or not the targeted person will understand it and may not take it offensively. Due to the fact that humor is disreputably cultural specific, one ought to be very careful while trading in humorous statements as many things or statement that may pass for humor in a given culture may be perceived as offensive in another culture (Gannon, 2004).

Effective communication in cross cultural project team ensures that professionals in business arena or members of the team are able to build formidable relationships and as such avoid insulting or offending fellow teammate. Communication in a cross cultural project team prevents members from making wild assumptions (Gesteland, 2005). Through the use of active listening practices such as paraphrasing, repeating, as well as asking for clarification, helps the team members to understand each other. The art of listening silently also encourages the communicator to pass across his point and this may enhance productivity in a cross culture project team (Conrad, & Poole, 2005).

Conclusion

Arguably, communication in a cross culture project team has gain more importance in the recent years than in any other interlude of human history. This can be supported by the fact that in the current global marketplace and indeed the future most if not all successful projects will be highly dependent on the ability of an individual to appropriately and effectively communicate across cultural boundaries (Gudykunst, & Lee, 2002). It is worth noting that communication in a cross cultural project team is not restricted to studying other languages and cultures but also includes understanding the way in which other cultural core values as well as patterns influences the process of communication.  Consequently, attaining the necessary communication skills and ability to effectively work with local and multicultural teams is a necessity and not an option as it was some decades ago. Therefore Bacon & Ghoshal, (1998) Believe that for purposes of creating the necessary environment for cross cultural working teams, sensitively responding to markets, clients, and customers demands it is crucial to learn how to communicate across cultural boundaries as this can alleviate those processes. The first step in cross cultural communication is the realization that different people from different cultures communicate their opinion in different ways (Mary, 2003).

Notably, the influences of culture are so intuitive and deep to the extent that individuals act upon them unconsciously in our day to day activities such as the way an individual employee deal with his or her superiors, the way a person talk and stand, as well as the way a person make a decision or handle a conflict (Ting, & Oetzel, 2001). As a matter of fact, individual behaviors and attitudes are greatly influenced  by cultural values, perceptions as well as assumptions of such an individual that are many at times instilled early in one’s life, and are often articulated  in the way we interact and behave. Communication in a cross cultural project team is to enhance a deeper understanding of cultural diversity among the team players in the project (Lewis, 2006). Communication in a cross cultural project team also encourages people to learn and exchange basics about different cultures as well as effective ways in which to communicate effectively with a teammate from a different culture. Such basic information may include understanding the appropriate physical contact and greetings approved or disapproved by different cultures is one of the basic understandings that can be achieved through communication (Phatak et al, 2005). To this end, Communication enhances the ability of the team to understand that individual reactions and behaviors are oftentimes driven by their culture and as such they may not be in agreement with another cultural behavior that may be considered appropriate or in appropriate (Katzenbach & Smith, 2003).

Communication act as a bridge that link different cultural values and ensure that the team in the project work s together for purposes of achieving the goals and objectives of the project within the desired timeframe. Optimum productivity may be achieved in any cross cultural project team if communication is kept simple, unambiguous and clear (Munter, 1995). This ensures that any cross culture project team or professionals in business are able to build formidable relationships and as such prevent members from making wild assumptions and avoid insulting or offending fellow teammate.  Communication assist individuals from various cultures to learn about each other’s customs, traditions, protocols, and culture for conducting business, and as such, the team players in the cross culture project mitigate the possibilities of inadvertently offending an individual in the team (Siira et al. 2004). Effective communication in a cross cultural project team is vital in the development of a strong cultural competence and good relationship among the team players that go beyond the business project in issue.  However, failure to observe effective communication in a cross cultural project team tends to result in missed opportunities, productivity losses, as well as conflicts that are unnecessary.

 

 

 

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