Team Building: Impact of Personal & Cultural Differences By Patrick Covington Instructor: Brian Stepp Organizational Communication Argosy University, Washington, DC Importance of Teamwork Holy Family Catholic School Retreived from: www. hfsgb. org/index. php… ition=4:4/ Teamwork is a concept set in motion to achieve success by a team or group (Sugarman, K, 2004). To be successful in accomplishing the team mission, every member of the team must contribute effectively for the concept to work. Working together as a team will increase the positive effective results, in what task the team is set out to accomplish.
It is also important that each member dedicate themselves to the group and understand each team member’s role in order to work together smoothly, and understand the cultural differences between members. Importance of Teamwork in the Work Place Teamwork building is imperative and is very important to have for any business or organization to be successful (Derek Stockley, 2007). Employers and employees are usually in a situation where teamwork is applied to accomplish a task to benefit the company (Binkley, 2007). Foundation is an important characteristic to have when utilizing the teamwork concept (Binkley, 2007).
Fest, D. (2008). Know more about carpet cleaning business. Retrieved Mar 15, 2010 from: www. davisfest. com/know-more… g-buiness For every employee and employer, that is part of a team, it is imperative that each member of the team knows each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This will allow each member to assess each other in a manner where each member of the team, is respected and can work together effectively. Teamwork is very essential (Binkley, 2007). It creates a more simplified and professional work environment for those who understand each other’s position, culture differences and work ethics.
It creates a complex work environment and limits the concept of teamwork if these important essentials are not established. Impact of Cultural and Personal Differences on Teambuilding Cultural and personal differences have a major impact, both positive and negative, on teambuilding. A team is usually diverse in which consist of different personalities, ages, religions, genders and with their own society norms or way of doing things (Sugarman, 2004). Managing cultural differences, when team building is involved is very complex.
When establishing a team, members of the group tend to linger, getting their own perception of each member of the team. This is considered a norm. We tend to ask ourselves questions about members of the group such as, “can I trust this person? “, “Will I be able to work effectively with this person? “, or “I do not like this person. ” When dealing with members in a team, we continue to educate ourselves on how we should conduct ourselves so that we do not offend others. A certain member of a group can perceive a blink of an eye as a, “I like you gesture. ” In teambuilding we do not know our teammates backgrounds or cultural beliefs off hand.
This is a sensitive issue that can be addressed in a positive way in which each member can share information about themselves to other members of the team. This requires for other members to be respectful and mindful of that individual at all times. There are plenty of disadvantages in teambuilding. To overcome these disadvantages, if it’s, business related, employers and employees need to understand the differences of cultural norms, be mindful and respect other members of the team, be able solve conflict amongst themselves when they arise, and limit the stereotypes that arises among members.
As businesses continue to prosper, teambuilding is a must and a key to success. Recommendations for COO Business. (2009). Business. Retrieved Mar 15, 2010 from: pixelbrush. ru/2009/05/03/business.. html I would recommend the COO to reiterate to all team members the goal or task that the company must accomplish. We have to realize the reality behind cultural differences within the team and eliminate the problem. The company can invest in cross-culture training for all employees if so necessary if it’s able with the company’s budget and does not affect the company’s schedule.
I would also set forth the advantages and disadvantages if we would go with a mono-culture workforce. It would decrease the problems within the team with diversity but it will also have a negative effect on production. The cross-cultural training will create advantages for the company and create a more stable work environment within the team and amongst employees and with fewer problems. The team continuously bicker about who’s strategies is better, to increase productivity for the company for the next oncoming quarter.
This creates conflict amongst the members of the team and they began to lose faith in the team and the task at hand. The negativity amongst members also creates conflict on a personal level where members are either becoming stereotypes and or sending negative messages through non-verbal cues. The work production amongst members of the team, are lacking due to these issues and they must be addressed quickly. The team is very culturally diverse which is a huge issue, and again the problem must be eliminated be to achieve the company’s main goal. References
Binkley, S. (2007). The importance of teamwork in the work place. Business ; finance: Retrieved Mar 15, 2010 from: http://www. associatedcontent. com/article/317564/the_importance_of_teamwork_in_the_workplace. html? cat=31 Sugarman, K. (2004). “Understanding the Importance of Teamwork”, Brian Mackenzie’s Succcessful Coaching. Retrieved Mar 15, 2010 from: http://www. brianmac. co. uk/articles/scni13a2. htm Stockley, D. (2010). The importance of teamwork. Retrieved Mar 15, 2010 from: http://derekstockley. com. au/news-07/090-importance-teamwork. html
