Essay on Recruitment
The essay was all about recruitment. It is a report for the chief executive on the proposal of the recruitment of a senior member for a cross-cultural team. The report includes a brief introduction to what cross-cultural is. It also tackles issues related to the process of recruiting, considerations to take into account, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of working with cross-cultural teams. On the conclusion, the report is summed up as to the basis of the Human Resource Management’s final decision regarding the recruitment.
Definition of Cross-Cultural
Culture is a very complicated subject encompassing an array of different aspects of everyday life including art, music, philosophy and customs. Cross cultural means comparing or dealing with two or more different cultures. Cross-cultural differences in a work context, therefore, take into account cultural issues such as a group’s belief systems, their everyday behaviour and their values. In other words, the issues that impact on their working style and working relationships. The group itself may be a specific ethnic or religious group or a particular nationality.
On Managing Diversity
Managing diversity is fast becoming the corporate watchword of the decade. It is not because corporations are becoming kinder and gentler with respect to culturally diverse groups. Rather, it is because of their need to survive. In order to achieve that, they have to recruit, train, and promote culturally diverse employees. In essence, this is nothing more than developing additional human resources.
The human resource approach focuses on the interplay between people and the organization, and recognizes that cultural diversity includes every employee. This was due to the fact that people are the most important resource in an organization. The challenge lies on their ability to apply the skills, insight, energy, and commitment of their resources for the betterment of their organization. Organizations exist to serve human needs. Organizations and people need each other. When the fit between the individual and organization is poor, one or both will suffer. If not, meaning they are in good terms (or the opposite of the previous condition), both benefit. Most important thing in effectively managing diversity is for the manager to understand the cultural beliefs and values of his organization. These beliefs and values coalesce in creating an environment that employees perceive as supportive or not supportive of diversity.
Benefits of Working with Cross-Cultural TeamsAnecdotal and research confirms that there are real benefits to groups of people from different cultural backgrounds working together. The specific nature of those benefits differs from one individual to the next, depending on personal circumstances and the organisation you work for. These benefits can be divided into three categories: benefits to you (as member), to the organization, and to the customers or the client.
Working with people from different backgrounds exposes you to a wider range of experiences and knowledge than you may have the opportunity to access in your home environment. This will help you to keep up to date with issues and progress at an international level. It also enhances your interpersonal skills and gives you a broader perspective of it. As more and more work teams nowadays cross national boundaries, having experience of working within an international context is becoming more and more important. Experience of working as part of an international team may be very useful to you in your future roles.
On the organization’s part, one of the benefits is ensuring that everyone remains focused on the same goals and perspectives through international communication. It also encourages individuals on sharing their knowledge. Their works are always up to date and of high quality because of their access to a wide range of information coming from different views around the world. Also, communication between the members helps in avoiding duplication and maximising economy of effort. Having people from different backgrounds working together on projects and reviewing each others’ work helps in minimising bias within the group. Research also shows that heterogeneous groups are more creative compared with homogenous groups. Heterogeneous groups tend to consider issues from a broader range of perspectives than homogenous groups did. In this way, it generates a wider range of ideas. Heterogeneous groups often question each other more than homogenous groups did. Frequent challenge of the status quo helps to guarantee the consideration of opportunities for improvement.
Finally, consumers benefit from all of the points indicated above. However, there a couple of additional benefits of international team working that are particularly relevant to consumers. Research has proven that international team working helps in increasing the flexibility and responsiveness of organizations. International teams should help in ensuring the focus of the organisation on the most appropriate issues at an international level, and that appropriate consideration is given to local needs and requirements. They also help to ensure that these issues are addressed and presented in a way that is relevant to people making choices on different issues. It also promotes the work of the organization at an international level that has a direct impact on dissemination of the organisation’s outputs. Not only is it likely to influence availability of information it is also likely to impact on the way in which information is presented.
Possible Problems
Dealing with people from diverse backgrounds is not always straightforward. It can frequently be the source of the complications that make those experiences so significant. But it does not necessarily make it any easier. Some of the key areas where problems are being encountered are on different value systems, preconceptions and stereotypes, individual decision-making and problem solving, communication, use of technology, and attitudes to time.
One of the ways in which cultures vary is in their fundamental value systems. It is through what they say and what they do that peoples’ values are being expressed. Therefore people working together from different cultural backgrounds may find that they approach and carry out tasks differently from each other. It is because of the differences in their cultural values.
Differences in style are often seen as problems to be solved (usually by encouraging everyone to work in the same way). Understanding differences in value systems facilitates our understanding on how and why individuals may behave differently compared to ourselves. This can help us work more effectively together and make the most of the benefits that those differences offer.
However, the biggest learning point one can achieve from reviewing research into value systems is a better understanding of one’s own personal values and how those values impact on your working style and working relationships.
Stereotypes are generalisations that help us to simplify, classify and make sense of the world. They happen when we conclude qualities about a person based on evidence of a single attribute. This is not applicable to all cases. Groups of people who we do not perceive to be like us and of whom we have limited experience are the ones who are most likely to be stereo-typed.
Difficulties start when it is used to prejudge in the absence of evidence. If this always happens, tendency is we only attend to information that supports our view and disregards those that goes against our stereotype.
The use of stereotypes in communicating with people can work like self-fulfilling prophecies. They lead us to act towards people in a way that brings out the trait we expect them to have.
Differences in individuals’ value systems, educational backgrounds and work experience will all affect the way we approach problems and on decision-making. For example, some people like deciding on their own, whilst others prefer to involve a range of people and come up with an agreed solution. Differences in problem-solving and decision making style can easily lead to misunderstandings within teams. The important thing to remember is that different styles are appropriate in different situations. There is no one approach better than another. To be effective within any team, it is important for everyone to be not sticking to only one decision making and problem solving styles.
The geographical distances that often exist between international team members means that technology plays an important role in enabling individuals to communicate on a regular basis. But still, the usage of technology for communication purposes does have difficulties. Problems of incompatibility to technology or lack of access to appropriate technology can bring about problems like individuals not receiving all of the information they need for effective performance. Furthermore it can lead to misunderstandings. Examples of which are those fast communication methods that do not involve face-to-face contact, such as e-mail, etc. The reason behind this is that it restricts the opportunity for recipients to observe the expression and tone of the message, and for communicators to check understanding and ask questions.
Polychromic and monochromic behaviors are ways of classifying diverse attitudes towards dealing with time. A monochromic attitude results in trying to do only one task at a time. On the other hand, individuals who treat time with a polychromic attitude typically regard time as a naturally recurring phenomenon that can be used for many purposes at once.
The issue for international teams is that attitude towards time is thought to contrast between cultures. For a traditional Western, for example, monochromic time is their attitude towards time. It is therefore encouraged and reinforced across many westernized cultures and is even reflected in the language, with phrases such as ‘one step at a time’. While for the Latin-Americans, it is polychromic time attitude. Therefore, it is a norm for Latin American businesses to do several tasks at once. Problems can occur for international teams if different team members have different attitudes towards time. For example, someone with a monochromic attitude may feel that a colleague displaying polychromic behaviors seems disorganized, and may feel frustrated when that person seems reluctant to keep to a specific time for meetings.
Another critical issue is on effective communication. Also, it is in this area that individuals often sees difficulty the most There are numerous aspects of communication that can cause problems when it comes to working with people from different backgrounds. Two of the most common ones are on language and on non-verbal behaviours.
Language problems occur when all individuals within the team uses a variety of languages. In these kinds of situations, the team often chooses a common language that they can use for group communications. This is done for their ease of communication.
Gestures form a significant part of communication methods. However, not all gestures are universal. Non-verbal behaviours or so-called body language differed from one culture to another. For example, a high level of eye contact is considered a sign of attentiveness to some cultures. But for others, it is a sign of rudeness. These differences in body language can lead to misunderstandings between people of different cultural backgrounds.
It is possible to learn some of the key differences between cultures in terms of body language. It only takes a quite period of time. But the range of non-verbal behaviours we all use and the subtle differences between our behaviours makes it more difficult for us to produce a comprehensive list of all of the differences between cultures. Another problem is that much non-verbal behaviour is very subtle. We tend to only see, hear, feel and smell those things that have some meaning to us. We are likely to miss much of the non-verbal behaviour expressed within other cultures.
On Overcoming the Difficulties
The use of a variety of working styles of cross-cultural team members brings bonus to a team. It should not be seen as a disadvantage. All we need is to have an understanding of how these cross-cultural differences impact on our own work environment and how these can be managed. In that way, maximisation of its benefits can be achieved both for the individual and the group. The solutions to effective international team working are not difficult. The challenge is remembering to always apply them, even in times of great pressure.
First suggestion is to stop assuming things about an individual or a group. Instead, take time to get to know people and find out the correct information. We all hold preconceptions and stereotypes. Not allowing them to influence our behaviour is the most important thing to remember.
If you are not sure of a particular custom within a country, or on some things like whether the written document you have put together is going to be understood or not, then don’t be shy to ask for somebody’s help. Generally people welcome the opportunity to share their culture to others. Asking questions early on can save awkwardness later.
Equal treatment is not enough. You should also aim to treat people as individuals and as they would want to be treated (not necessarily the same as the way you would want to be treated).
Remembering all of the differences in customs and cultures is impossible. The important point is that you make an attempt on building better relationships with your international colleagues.
The benefit of any team is that everyone has its own unique set of different strengths and experiences. The assortment of these experiences is likely to be even larger in an international team. Take time on knowing all team members’ strengths and make the most of them.
Building relationships is a two-way process. Try to be open about sharing information about your own culture in order for them to better understand your background. This will narrow the gap on your cultural differences.
And lastly, avoid making instant judgements. We tend to make immediate evaluations based on our own culture, rather than trying to understand thoughts and feelings from the other person’s point of view. Avoid assuming that our own culture or way of life is the most natural.
Conclusion
When a certain task requires innovation, cross-cultural teams perform at their best level. It is because diverse point of views tends to be more creative compared to those in a single-culture team. However, its success or failure still depends on the way the teams are managed. The important things to be considered here are the recognition of differences and the avoidance of cultural differences.
Cultural dominance results from the ignoring of cultural differences. Unfortunately, cultural dominance exists in most companies and teams. It may be in a form of a vast majority of team members from one culture who impose their own style over the rest of the team. In this case, even the team representatives are the minority, the headquarters' standards and style tend to get imposed on the others. Very rarely do those teams equally represent the different cultures. So, is the effort to have successful cross-cultural teams worth it? Yes, it is because the excellence and innovations currently hunted by most companies are best found in culturally diverse teams.
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