Culture and Creativity in Multicultural Teams

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela K.-y. Leung ◽  
Brandon Koh ◽  
Sean T. H. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Processes ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Multicultural Teams ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Cultural Stereotypes ◽  
Skill Sets ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Cultural Perspectives ◽  
Cultural Experiences ◽  
Cultural Frames

The Complementary Model of Culture and Creativity (CMCC) puts into perspective how a culturally diverse team can become more creative than a monocultural team. The CMCC characterizes three bidimensional psychological processes that explain the effects of culture on creativity: (a) stereotyping versus destabilizing cultural norms, (b) fixating on one cultural mindset versus alternating between cultural frames, and (c) distancing from versus integrating cultures. Extant research suggested that teams with similar goals and values draw performance benefits from their ability to cooperate. However, research has also revealed that working with culturally dissimilar team members could lower tendency toward groupthink and diversify knowledge, skill sets, and social networks, which can facilitate the team’s creativity. Therefore, a question of growing importance to both researchers and practitioners alike is how to harness cultural diversity within creative teams to promote their creative performance while minimizing conflict. We examine this important question with the perspective offered by the CMCC. The processes delineated in the CMCC explain that multicultural teams offer the opportunities to broaden and diversify team members’ cultural experiences by destabilizing cultural stereotypes, switching between cultural frames, and integrating differing cultural perspectives, thereby generating discernible creative gains. It is challenging to effectively manage and maintain workforce diversity, but it is highly rewarding if these challenges are turned into opportunities to build an inclusive and equitable multicultural labor force. The CMCC illuminates the key mechanisms through which multicultural teams can trigger the knowledge creation and diffusion processes to instigate higher creativity among team members coming from diverse cultural backgrounds.

The Role of Virtual Multicultural Teams in Corporate Culture

2011 ◽  
pp. 62-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amira El Guindi ◽  
Sherif Kamel
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Multicultural Teams ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Global Organizations ◽  
Team Members ◽  
The World ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Multicultural Team

Information and communication technologies are impacting today’s organizations and businesses in many diverse ways. The implications are perceived at the individual, organizational, and national levels. The old accustomed-to boundaries of national economies and markets are giving way to globalization and newly emerging trends. Competition is increasing, and due to the forces of change, the world market will sweep aside the small market players to make way for global organizations that are capable of penetrating the world markets through a massive global outreach strategy. In that respect, there is a need to invest in innovative business models such as virtual multicultural teams that are capable of handling the pressures of growing competition while capitalizing on the evolution of information and communication technology. Global organizations need to operate through a very flexible structure that allows freedom and speed, and replaces the hierarchical models with structures that are flatter and adequate for stronger and more efficient communication. Such a structure will allow bottom-up decision making and self-management and will capitalize on the advantages of employing multicultural teams; the diversified capacities, knowledge and business perception of these teams will be conducive to more in-depth innovation and creativity. Virtual teams can provide an organization with a solid opportunity to compete, making it easier to adapt to different situations and reducing conflicts. This chapter reflects the results of a study conducted in Egypt that targeted the determination of the possibility of reducing multicultural team conflicts by establishing a corporate culture that could have a strong influence on team members using virtual teams. The study covered six organizations operating through virtual multicultural teams and describes the analysis of the findings that relate to the role of corporate culture, the management style, and conflict resolution, among other elements. Global organizations face the challenge of operating through global multicultural teams whose members—coming from different cultural backgrounds—often stumble into conflicts that influence the overall performance of the organization. The core issue of this study is the impact of multicultural team conflicts on the overall organizational performance. Therefore, the objective of the study was to examine the relationship between corporate culture and multicultural team conflicts and to determine whether it is possible to reduce multicultural team conflicts by building a corporate culture in which all individual cultures would fit and where the management plays a vital role in transmitting the corporate culture to different teams in order to help global organizations become more efficient using virtual multicultural teams.

Trust in Virtual Multicultural Teams

2008 ◽  
pp. 1292-1308
Author(s):  
Iris C. Fischlmayr ◽  
Werner Auer-Rizzi
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Multicultural Teams ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
Team Projects ◽  
Illustrative Case Study

This chapter analyses the phenomenon of trust with regard to its significance for virtual teams. Guided by the existing literature on trust, this chapter presents different kinds of trust and the development of trust over time. The challenges inherent to virtual multicultural teams, thus to working teams, which are geographically dispersed and communicate with the help of electronic media, raise the questions of their consequences on trust. As virtual teams are mostly used in companies operating in different countries all over the world, the different cultural backgrounds of the team members are taken into account as well. To give an example for the relevance of this issue in practice, an illustrative case study on experiences international business students have made during virtual team projects is presented.

scholarly journals The Role of Culture in Creative Cognition

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela K.-Y. Leung ◽  
Brandon Koh
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
The State ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Psychological Processes ◽  
Cultural Experience ◽  
Creative Cognition ◽  
Cultural Perspectives ◽  
Cultural Experiences ◽  
Different Cultures

In this chapter, we propose the complementary model of culture and creativity (CMCC) to account for three pairs of contrasting forces that characterize the manners in which individuals manage their cultural experiences and that produce impacts on creative pursuits. We theorize three bidimensional psychological processes that explain the effects of culture on creativity: (a) stereotyping versus destabilizing cultural norms, (b) fixating on one cultural mindset versus alternating between cultural frames, and (c) distancing from versus integrating cultures. We contend that a broader and diversifying cultural experience offers an impetus to break down cultural confines, to oscillate between a variety of cultural perspectives, and to synthesize a multitude of ideas from different cultures, which can bring about discernible enduring benefits to creativity. We discuss the CMCC by putting it in the perspective of the state-of-the-art empirical findings on culture and creativity.

Trust in Virtual Multicultural Teams

2011 ◽  
pp. 100-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris C. Fischlmayr
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Multicultural Teams ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
Team Projects ◽  
Illustrative Case Study

This chapter analyses the phenomenon of trust with regard to its significance for virtual teams. Guided by the existing literature on trust, this chapter presents different kinds of trust and the development of trust over time. The challenges inherent to virtual multicultural teams, thus to working teams, which are geographically dispersed and communicate with the help of electronic media, raise the questions of their consequences on trust. As virtual teams are mostly used in companies operating in different countries all over the world, the different cultural backgrounds of the team members are taken into account as well. To give an example for the relevance of this issue in practice, an illustrative case study on experiences international business students have made during virtual team projects is presented.

Mitigating Chronic Diseases during Archaeological Fieldwork

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Klehm ◽  
Elisabeth Hildebrand ◽  
Maureen S. Meyers
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Group Leaders ◽  
Group Awareness ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Emergency Situations ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Preexisting Conditions

ABSTRACTChronic diseases and preexisting conditions shape daily life for many archaeologists both in and out of the field. Chronic issues, however, can be overlooked in safety planning, which more often focuses on emergency situations because they are considered mundane, or they are imperceptible to project directors and crews until a serious problem arises. This article focuses on asthma, diabetes, and depression as common medical conditions that impact otherwise healthy archaeologists during fieldwork, with the goal of raising awareness of these conditions in particular, and the need to be more attentive to chronic diseases in general. Archaeological fieldwork presents novel situations that put those with chronic diseases and preexisting conditions at risk: environmental hazards, remoteness from medical and social resources and networks, lack of group awareness, and varying cultural norms. As a result, if chronic diseases are not attended to properly in the field, they can lead to life-threatening situations. Managing the risk presented by these conditions requires a group culture where team members are aware of issues, as appropriate, and collaborate to mitigate them during fieldwork. Descriptions of how chronic diseases affect archaeologists in the field are followed by “best practice” recommendations for self-management and for group leaders.

Cultural Perspectives on Parenting

2021 ◽  
pp. 96-114
Author(s):  
Judi Mesman ◽  
Rosanneke A. G. Emmen
Keyword(s):  
Parenting Practices ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Culturally Appropriate ◽  
Appropriate Behavior ◽  
Cultural Perspectives ◽  
The World ◽  
Majority Groups

This chapter focuses on cultural influences on parenting, examining patterns across countries, but also within countries in different ethnic groups. Whereas forms vary, two broad functions of parenting practices can be consistently identified across cultural contexts: establishing a relational bond providing safety and security in infancy (commonly referred to as attachment), and transmitting culturally appropriate behavior, knowledge, and skills throughout the childhood years. The chapter then looks at the role of culture in ethnic minority parenting, which has unique features that are different from those in ethnic majority groups. It concludes by reflecting on the state of the research field of culture and parenting, and directions for the future. Given the high cultural diversity in many urban regions in the world where professionals deal with families from all over the world, and the frequent “export” of parenting interventions from the West to other parts of the world, the field would benefit enormously from investing in mixed-methods studies examining these processes in situations where cultures meet, and where it is not immediately clear which cultural norms should prevail.

Marital Satisfaction Among Taiwanese Young Married Couples: The Effects of Resources and Traditional Norms

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (14) ◽  
pp. 2015-2043
Author(s):  
Chin-Chun Yi ◽  
Wen-Hsu Lin ◽  
Josef Kuo-Hsun Ma
Keyword(s):  
Marital Satisfaction ◽  
Married Couple ◽  
Married Couples ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Resource Theory ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Cultural Perspectives ◽  
Traditional Norms

This study aims to illustrate the importance of cultural norms for marital satisfaction among young married Taiwanese couples. Data are taken from the Taiwan Youth Project, a longitudinal panel since the year of 2000, with 401 married couple data completed in 2015. Based on the resource theory and contextual cultural perspectives, results confirm that both resources and cultural factors produce significant effects on young couple’s marital satisfaction. As proposed, cultural norms have greater impact on wife’s marital satisfaction. The patrilocal coresidence between generations is especially harmful for wives with full-time job, while negative in-law relations reported by husbands produce more powerful negative influence on the couples. However, gender of the child does not attain expected significance. Findings suggest that both continuity and change of family dynamics is occurring in Taiwan. Future studies need to consider both cultural norms and individual resources in analyzing marital relations in changing East Asian societies.

scholarly journals Methodological Considerations for Qualitative Research with Immigrant Populations: Lessons from Two Studies

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Lu ◽  
Mary Gatua
Keyword(s):  
Informed Consent ◽  
Culturally Diverse ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Research Strategies ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Cultural Adaptations ◽  
Immigrant Populations ◽  
Culturally Diverse Populations ◽  
Methodological Considerations

Often, research strategies are guided by principles developed based on mainstream U.S. cultural norms. Immigrants, however, may differ in their cultural backgrounds and previous exposure to research. Commonly adopted research procedures, such as the informed consent process, may be culturally inappropriate for research with culturally diverse populations, and hence require cultural adaptations. Based on two qualitative studies, this paper describes the methodological issues encountered in the field when working with Chinese and Kenyan immigrants, and explains how these issues were resolved. Comparing and synthesizing experiences from the two studies, recommendations for methodological adaptations when working with immigrant populations are provided. Specifically, suggestions on how to prepare the research protocol, recruit participants, obtain informed consent, deal with unanticipated incidents during the research process, and choose the interview language(s) are discussed in depth.

scholarly journals The Festival Order – Music Stages of Power and Pleasure

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 129-143
Author(s):  
Miroslava Lukić-Krstanović
Keyword(s):  
Local Politics ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Political Strategies ◽  
Individual Group ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Music Festivals ◽  
Cultural Perspectives ◽  
Cultural Experiences ◽  
Novi Sad

Music festivals consist of a complex of interactions and social and cultural experiences. This paper analyzes music festivals in SE Europe in their function as a planetary prouction, combining regional cross-cultural perspectives and local politics. At the beginning of the 1990s music events in SE Europe (concerts, festivals, cultural happenings) were either a part of political conflict, antagonisms and economic crises, or they were included in the music world through the cultural contacts of global achievements – the music net and industry. Music festivals become the arena and scene of a contradictory reality in these places, being made up of individual, group interests, needs, establishment strategy and politics. To illustrate this phenomenon the paper presents the biggest festivals and spectacles in Serbia and SE Europe: EXIT festival (Novi Sad) attracted thousands of techno and rock lovers with the participation of many famous bands; and the folk trumpet playing festival (Guča), which each summer for several decades has been attracting thousands of lovers of ethno sound to a fair-carnival atmosphere. This ethnological research stresses complex property divisions – lifestyle, music genres, political strategies, scene movements and economic interests.

scholarly journals Teacher Interculturality in an English as a Second Language Elementary Pull-Out Program: Teacher as Broker in the School’s Community of Practice

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Durham
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
School Students ◽  
Ethnographic Interviews ◽  
Pull Out ◽  
Cultural Boundaries ◽  
Cultural Experiences

This case study investigated how one teacher, Lidia (a pseudonym), used her own cross-cultural experiences to socially and academically assist elementary school students who were crossing cultural boundaries of their own. This study used ethnographic interviews and classroom observations to explore Lidia’s experiences and struggles as she crossed cultural boundaries and built intercultural competence and how those experiences related to her teaching methods. Lidia used stories, multicultural images, and the students’ home languages so that her students could become confident in their multicultural and multilingual identities instead of solely assimilating. Teaching interculturally for Lidia meant empowering students to balance their home cultures while creating meaningful opportunities for them to practice English and school cultural norms. This study adds to literature on intercultural competence and communities of practice by exploring how interculturality may be advantageous in helping teachers work with diverse and international students by allowing them to act as brokers within the school’s community.

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