Intercultural Team Building

Internal business structures have been radically transformed over the past few decades. Changes in areas such as communication and transportation technology and shifts towards global interdependency have resulted in companies becoming increasingly international and therefore intercultural.

In addition, the need to 'go global' and to cut outgoings is demanding that companies combine protecting international interests whilst keeping down staff numbers. The solution in most cases has been the forming of intercultural teams.

As with all businesses, success depends upon effective cooperation and communication within teams. The intercultural dimension of today's teams however brings with it new challenges. Successful team building not only involves the traditional needs to harmonise personalities but also languages, cultures, ways of thinking, behaviours and motivations.

Intercultural teams have an inherent disadvantage. Cultural differences can lead to communication problems, unpredictability, low team cohesion, mistrust, stress and eventually poor results. However, intercultural teams can in fact be very positive entities. The combination of different perspectives, views and opinions can lead to an enhanced quality of analysis and decision making while team members develop new skills in global awareness and intercultural communication.

In reality this best case scenario is seldom witnessed. More often than not, intercultural teams do not fulfil their potential. The root cause for this is that when intercultural teams are formed, people with different frameworks of understanding are brought together and expected to naturally gel. Without a common framework of understanding, for example in matters such as status, decision making, communication etiquette, this is very difficult and thus necessitates outside help to commix the team.

Intercultural or cross cultural training is one method of helping to blend a team together. Through analysis of the cultures involved in a team, their particular approaches to communication and business and how the team interacts, intercultural team builders are able to find, suggest and use common ground to assist team members in building harmonious relationships.

Intercultural training sessions look at helping a team to realise their differences and similarities in areas such as status, hierarchy, decision making, conflict resolution, showing emotion and relationship building. These are then used to create mutually agreed upon structures of communication and interaction. From this basis, teams are then tutored how to recognise future communication difficulties and their cultural roots, empowering the team to become more self reliant. The end result is a more cohesive and productive team.

In conclusion, for intercultural teams to succeed, managers and HR personnel need to be attuned to the need for intercultural training to help cultivate harmonious relationships. Companies must be supportive, proactive and innovative if they wish to reap the potential benefits intercultural teams can offer. This goes beyond financing and creating technological links to bring together intercultural teams at surface level and going back to basics by fostering better interpersonal communication. If international businesses are to grow and prosper in this ever contracting world, intercultural synergy must be a priority.

Neil Payne is Managing Director of Kwintessential Ltd. For more information please visit http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cross-cultural/training.html

best cleaning company Highland Park ..
In The News:

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.
The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.
Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.
Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.
Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.
Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.
Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.
Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.
Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.
Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.
Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.
New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.
A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.
AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.
A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.
New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.
Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.
Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.
Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.
Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.
Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

You, Your Team, and Your Coach

The grand purpose of coaching is to help your managers,... Read More

Listening Between the Lines

Have you seen the tee-shirt with the slogan, "Talk to... Read More

Why Is Teamwork Training Important?

"When teamwork kicks in, nobody can beat you." Don Shula,... Read More

Do You Want to Get Others to Improve Their Performance? Then Expect the Best

Recently I decided to stretch my athletic abilities and add... Read More

Why It Pays to Out More Humor in the Workplace

1. Humor reduces stress levels and stress is the number... Read More

Motivation - The Benefits of Spending Time with Your Team

Benefit 1 - You get to understand them betterAlmost everyone... Read More

Top Ten Things About Team Building

People who lead the best teams realise early on that... Read More

Team Building Part 2: Honesty is the Key!

The second in a series of 2 articles giving a... Read More

Finding The Leader Within (Keys To Zen Leadership)

Most believe that leadership is an innate quality that some... Read More

Resolving Workplace Conflict: 4 Ways to a Win-Win Solution

The effects of conflict in the workplace are widespread and... Read More

Manage Expectations to Reduce Everyday Frustrations

Just today my partner Russ and I sat down to... Read More

3 Steps To Successfully Build A Team In Any Program

Any x by y matrix plan has one big risk...... Read More

Effective Team Building For Organizational Success

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common... Read More

People Are The Heart Of Your Organization

Do you let your people express their thoughts about the... Read More

Team Building Seminars: Why New Teams Struggle

With over 25 years of research and experience, we have... Read More

Team Work

So much has been written on this subject; Team Work,... Read More

Employee and Coworkers Gifts

Giving gifts to your co-workers or your employees can be... Read More

Build a Great Team - Ten Easy Ways to Start!

It's all about focusing on where the best value in... Read More

Leadership ? Do The Simple But Important Things

Why do we human beings complicate things? Is it that... Read More

Feedback - How to Make it Effective

Let's look at the detail of giving feedback. Whether you... Read More

Outdoor Team Development ? Harmless Fun or Serious Learning?

The Sales Director had organised a great conference; the venue... Read More

Top 7 Ways to Motivate Your Team

1. Involve them. Many employees want to be involved in... Read More

Working with Difficult People: 3 Questions to Help You Turn Your Tormentors into Teachers

The Dance of ConflictWhen faced with the prospect of meeting... Read More

Team Member Feedback: A Priceless Communication Tool

Feedback is such an important communication tool. Openness, honesty, candor,... Read More

Collaboration Software - Building an Office Without Walls

The rise of the internet has given businesses a new... Read More

high-end home cleaning Winnetka ..