Multinational Project Teams Research Articles

Alike Yet Distinct: The Effect of Language Diversity on Interpersonal Relationships Within National and Multinational Project Teams

ABSTRACTThis study examines the impact of language diversity on interpersonal relationships in multinational and national/domestic teams in a multilingual country – India. Specifically, it explores whether and how the influence of language diversity differs in the two types of multilingual project teams. To this end, using direct observations and semi-structured interviews, we conducted a thematic analysis and found that native language-based faultlines and groups exist in both kinds of teams. However, such faultlines and language-based groups can disintegrate into smaller, regional dialect-based subgroups due to the emergence of dialect faultlines. Furthermore, evidence suggests that multilingual managers are more effective as boundary spanners in bridging the faultlines in multinational teams; at the same time, they need to be aware of the distinction between language differences and faultlines. This study provides the required distinction between language diversity and the role of multilingual managers in national and multinational teams in an understudied context, thereby contributing to the literature on language diversity.

An integrative model of emotional intelligence development of the Chinese secondary language personality in the context of modern management

The formation of skill of understanding the interlocutor’s emotions and correcting one’s own emotions with regard to a specific communication situation, the development of adaptive abilities of the individual through emotional interaction with others, as well as the ability to predict the resulting failures in various types of social activity, should be considered as mandatory conditions for ensuring the success of communication. To study a peculiar aspect of emotional intelligence formation, a research task was set: taking into account the ethno-psychological and cultural characteristics of the Chinese audience, to use the phenomenon of «double alienation» in order to create a role-playing situation that allows one to communicate from another person, removing the protective psycho-emotional mechanisms of the Chinese language personality; in other words, realizing a «compulsion to double alienation». An important place here is also given to a multi-level emotional and communicative reflection, directed both externally and internally. The hypothesis of the study is to investigate the possibility of using emotional intelligence by native Chinese speakers. At the centre of our task was the choice of certain forms of work and the construction of the educational process in a way that would contribute to the development of emotional intelligence of the secondary language personality of Chinese students. In order to prove or refute the research hypothesis put forward by us, we conducted a formative experiment that allowed us to test the methodological innovation and evaluate its impact on the parameter under study. The following interactive methods for developing emotional intelligence were chosen for the experiment: psychological role-playing game-discussion using the «Six Thinking Hats» technique developed by the famous British researcher Edward de Bono as a system for organizing thinking and describing tools for structuring group discussion. The technique helps to develop the emotional intelligence of a manager of a modern company with international activities and improve interaction in multinational project teams. Our experiment showed a non-random connection between the inclusion of a new method of «forcing to double alienation», which takes into account the ethno-psychological characteristics of participants, and the resulting effectiveness, which allowed us to choose it as the optimal one for the effective forming of the emotional intelligence of a secondary Chinese language personality.

Code-switching in newly formed multinational project teams

Based on an ethnographic-like case study comprising observations and interviews with members of three newly formed multinational project teams, our study explores the micro-processes of interactional teamwork and captures how the three teams develop strategies for managing the challenges of code-switching in their interactions. Findings from our study suggest that teams interpret the impact of code-switching challenges differently in spite of the fact that they are performing similar activities, suggesting that adopting (clearly defined) rules for managing interactions may not be as effective as the presence of other factors within the teams. Our findings extend theory on the use of a common working language in multinational teams and go beyond this by illustrating how individual teams establish practices for handling the challenges of code-switching and the effects of these on team interactions.

The Study of Culture impacts on Male Managers' Decision Making within Multinational Project Teams; Case Study: Zirsakht Telecommunication Co

The appropriate method for overcoming problems of new organizations is to provide knowledge based teams with optimum output. Making such teams needs experienced experts. Nowadays productive organizations are increasing and their developing depends on their globalization; therefore cultural differenced may cause great changes in the decision making process in these teams. The aim of the present study is to determine the influence of social culture on male managers’ decisionmaking styles within multinational project teams. For this reason; the number of 100 person of senior and midlevel managers working in the project teams from the two company of Iranian Zirsakht Co and Korean KT Co through Available Non-probabilistic sampling method. The influence of social culture on managers’ decision-making styles has been examined through Structural Equation Model by using the software known as AMOS version 23 in the two section of Evaluation model Structural section. Also SPSS version 23 was applied for comparing analysis results. The results of the recent study showed that social culture influences managers’ decision making styles at international project teams from the two Iranian and Korean nationalities.

Facilitating Professional Skills Through Student Engagement Activities for the Holistic Development of the Learner

This paper focuses on the professional skills required to transform the student in to a successful individual and competent professional. Graduates entering today's workplace face many challenges, especially how to learn and function in unfamiliar and unpredictable situations. Multi-skilled, multinational project teams, requiring collaboration, cooperation, flexibility and inter-cultural awareness, demand high levels of professional and interpersonal skills. Graduates must be able to service their own administrative needs and are routinely required to work longer hours than their predecessors. The professional skills should be gained over a period of time with self-learning and experience. Though many institutions have been conducting several activities to develop the professional skills in the students, the outcomes are not so effective and the gap is still noticeable. It should be a practice to the students through which they gain a lot of experience. To address this issue, several initiatives and activities are identified to make the students involve themselves and various professional skills needed for the student in their journey are depicted in the table.

Leadership Lessons from Managing Multinational Project Teams

The challenges of managing culturally diverse and globally dispersed project teams are examined in a field study of multinational product developments. Our objectives are to improve the understanding of the: (i) dynamics and interaction of culturally diverse project teams and (ii) influences of managerial leadership on performance. Special focus is on complex, technology-based, geographically dispersed project environments. The findings provide insight into the business processes, organizational conditions and managerial leadership style most conducive to high team performance in complex and culturally diverse project environments. The paper suggests a framework for assessing leadership effectiveness and makes recommendations for building high-performance multinational project teams.

The Challenges and Enhancing Opportunities of Global Project Management: Evidence from Chinese and Dutch Cross-Cultural Project Management

This study investigates the role of national and organisational culture in day-to-day activities of multinational project teams, specifically focusing on differences between Chinese and Dutch project managers. We rely on fieldwork observation and interviews with representatives from a diverse set of organizations in China and the Netherlands. Analyses focus on the impact of cultural differences on five project management processes – (1) project planning, (2) cost and quality management, (3) risk management, (4) scope management and project promises, and (5) communication. Although there are many differences observed in these five processes, research subjects report no significant impact of cross-cultural collaboration on project performance. We conclude that cross-cultural project teams can provide critical elements for an effective combination of different project management practices: people from various national and organisational cultures, enriched by different experiences and management theories, with a mix of skills. This study provides insights for those who work cross culturally (especially between western and eastern contexts) and is also a contribution to both the project management and cross-cultural management literatures.

Critical Viewpoints on the Management of Conflict in Multi-National Construction Projects

International construction markets are increasingly taking economic advantage of the global workforce. It is common on international projects to find multi-cultural project teams located in multiple countries. Conflict management is becoming ever more important due to the rapid changes that are common in the current construction business environment. Global change, cultural diversity within multi-national project teams, and complexity are a few of the reasons that managing conflict is a critical skill for project team leaders. Results of this research provide an overview and describe multi-national construction projects, in which construction industry participants play an important role regarding the organization and performance, through a review of the published literature. Critical viewpoints of the paper and literature survey outcomes point in the direction that understanding multi-national or multi-cultural performances within construction projects can be a serious tool for dispute avoidance between the parties involved. DOI 10.5592/otmcj.2014.2.6 Research paper

Changing Dynamics of Team Leadership in Global Project Environments

The dynamics and challenges of managing geographically dispersed project teams is examined in a field investigation of 72 multinational product developments, observed and studied between 2008 and 2012. The findings provide insight into the business processes and leadership style most conducive to cross-functional collaboration and effective project integration throughout the enterprise and its partners. The results show that many of the problems that surface on the technical side can be traced to social, psychological and organizational issues. In fact, people issues have the strongest impact on project performance. People are an intricate part of the work process. Issues affecting people, eventually impact the broader enterprise. On the positive side, the study shows that certain conditions, such as personal interest, pride and satisfaction with the work, professional work challenge, accomplishments and recognition, serve as catalysts toward unifying culturally diverse project teams and their work processes. These conditions act as bridging mechanisms between organizational goals and personal interests, between central control and local management norms, and between following a project plan and adaptive problem solving. However, working seamless across borders and cultures requires more than just issuing work orders, project summary plans or management guidelines. Emphasis must be on common values and goals to focus and unify the team. By recognizing the greater autonomy of all international partners as well as their cultural differences, management can build a true partnership among all the contributing organizations with strong linkages for communication, decision making and technology transfer that is sustainable over the project lifecycle. The paper suggests a framework for managerial actions and leadership for building high-performance multinational project teams.

Leading International Project Teams

The effects of transformational leadership are contingent on the complexity of the context in which the leadership is executed. This study examined transformational leadership in the context of international project teams and its relationship to team performance, work adjustment, and job satisfaction. The mediating influence of trust in the team was investigated. Data were collected from 286 international assignees in multinational project teams in an oil and gas corporation. Results revealed a positive relationship between transformational leadership and the outcomes. Trust in the team partially mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and team performance, and environmental dynamism moderated the direct effect between transformational leadership and team performance. Our results provide support for the applicability of transformational leader behaviors in contexts with varying degree of complexity.

Promoting group potency in project teams: The importance of group identification

AbstractWe examined the antecedents and consequences of group potency in 71 multinational project teams in the Greater China region. We extended the theoretical basis of group potency by employing group identification theory. Results showed that group identification was one of the key factors in developing group potency. Further, fostering the acceptance of group goals that are interdependent was important for increasing group identification. We discuss the implications of our findings for future research. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An empirical analysis of managers' adjustment to working in multi-national project teams in the pipeline and plant construction sector

This article empirically investigates the adjustment of managers to working in multi-national project teams in the pipeline and plant construction industry. The members of such teams come from diverse national backgrounds and there is no single culture dominating the team. While there has been a lot of research on multi-cultural teams, organizational socialization and expatriate issues, so far these areas have been investigated separately. This article contributes to research in these fields by developing and empirically testing a model containing a number of antecedents and consequences of the adjustment of individuals when working in multi-cultural project teams. The findings highlight the importance of cross-cultural sensitivity for individuals' adjustment in such teams, as well as the positive role of adjustment for individuals' satisfaction, commitment and intention to stay with the team.