Intercultural Management Competence:
E x a m p l e s ...
... for the development of Intercultural Management Competence for teams in turbulent environments:
A bid for an important international contract requires you to work closely with a partner company in South East Asia. You need to put a project team from both organizations together at short notice. You know from experience that a successful project depends on top quality from the very beginning. Although time is short, you decide to invest in a Kick-Off workshop tailored to your specific needs.
… or …
… or …
The project got off to a good start. However, due to work pressure, misunderstandings between team members in the parent company and those abroad have arisen. You are aware of the fact that conflicts and finger-pointing are on the increase. You know how difficult it is to expect the project team to find a solution to the problem in this stressful situation. Therefore, you decide to do a workshop with your project team to address this issue. The focus is on a frank, constructive, cooperative discussion of the present situation and possible solutions to the existing conflicts.
What do these situations have in common?
These situations have in common …
… that groups, especially diverse and intercultural groups, can develop into top performers when they are given appropriate preparation and support.
What a paradox! It is a fact that multicultural teams are bound to be successful due to their diversity. It is also a fact that this happens far too seldom. There are many reasons. Too little time is allotted to finding out what the decisive values and processes are.
We are convinced that trust in each other is the key element in reaching top level performance. At the same time, not enough attention is paid to establishing trust and developing an atmosphere in which agreement can be reached about “who we are”.
E x a m p l e s ...
... for the development of Intercultural Management Competence for teams in turbulent environments:
A bid for an important international contract requires you to work closely with a partner company in South East Asia. You need to put a project team from both organizations together at short notice. You know from experience that a successful project depends on top quality from the very beginning. Although time is short, you decide to invest in a Kick-Off workshop tailored to your specific needs.
… or …
You have successfully acquired the important contract abroad you bid for. Several international partner companies now need to be integrated into your project team. Due to costs and time pressure, there was no Kick-Off meeting. During the last project steering committee meeting the project leader informed those present that there would probably be a three months delay, the budget would be considerably exceeded and relationships with the customer were rapidly deteriorating. You, the Senior VP for the Division, ask yourself whether these problems are the result of the lack of trust and frequent conflicts between those involved in the project on the one hand and your foreign partners on the other hand. The question is, how can you resolve the differences between the project team, your partner companies and the customer? How can you get all the parties involved to work together towards the same goal?
… or …
The project got off to a good start. However, due to work pressure, misunderstandings between team members in the parent company and those abroad have arisen. You are aware of the fact that conflicts and finger-pointing are on the increase. You know how difficult it is to expect the project team to find a solution to the problem in this stressful situation. Therefore, you decide to do a workshop with your project team to address this issue. The focus is on a frank, constructive, cooperative discussion of the present situation and possible solutions to the existing conflicts.
What do these situations have in common?
These situations have in common …
… that groups, especially diverse and intercultural groups, can develop into top performers when they are given appropriate preparation and support.
What a paradox! It is a fact that multicultural teams are bound to be successful due to their diversity. It is also a fact that this happens far too seldom. There are many reasons. Too little time is allotted to finding out what the decisive values and processes are.
We are convinced that trust in each other is the key element in reaching top level performance. At the same time, not enough attention is paid to establishing trust and developing an atmosphere in which agreement can be reached about “who we are”.