Culture
The term culture is defined in many ways. In our case, culture will mainly be defined for team building. All teams experience challenges in culture, logistics communication, and so on. Here i will use the example of iceberg to describe the challenge in culture for collaborative team building.
As with the icebergs that float on the ocean, it is not the obvious, visible differences that get even experienced people into difficulties when working with other cultures, but the nuances that lurk below the surface of most people’s conscious awareness. And cultural differences exist, not only in virtual teams like what we are right now, but also within the same locale, office, or social group. The structure of the iceberg is a common and apt analogy for describing culture:
Above the waterline: About 15% to 20% of culture is readily visible. These characteristics include things like language, ethnicity, dress, laws, art, architecture, and other attributes that fare immediately obvious when meeting a person from am particular culture or when you set foot in a particular locale that is representative of a culture.
At the waterline: about 5% of culture is on the edge of one’s awareness. These are things that might not be obvious until they are pointed out, but most people are conscious that they exist and can generally adapt their behavior appropriately. Examples include table manners, level of formality, personal space, hierarchy, and so on.
Under the surface: about75% to 80% of a culture lurks below the surface of most people’s awareness. These characteristics are the deeply ingrained attitudes, beliefs, prejudices, expectations, and so on that comprises an individual’s world view. In many cases, even people who are self-aware and thoughtful have difficulty articulating and explaining these attributes, precisely because they are so deeply ingrained.
In most situations, you get what you give. If you approach a situation with an open mind, a friendly attitude, and a genuine desire to understand and work with the other person, the other person will respond in kind. When inevitable misunderstandings occur, have a sense of humor about them and patiently work through the misunderstanding. Encourage your team to stretch beyond individual comfort zones and to learn about and accommodate cultural differences, while remembering that, at our core, we are more alike than different – we all want food, shelter, clean water, for our children to be better off than we are, and to leave the world better place than it was when we arrived.
Building a Team Culture
The challenge for managers of multicultural teams is to build an atmosphere of mutual respect, effective communication, and productivity despite differing worldviews and physical environments. In essence, as a manger or team leader, you must take a disparate group of people and culture, and develop a team culture that is an amalgamation of the best of each culture and strength that the individual team members bring with them. Manager can facilitate building a team culture by doing the following:
- Budget for periodic in-person meetings
If the project is going to last for months or is highly complex, budget for periodic in-person meetings for at least the functional leads.
- Facilitate an open discussion about team expectations
During the initial meeting, after some teambuilding time, ask team members what kind of team they want to be and what they want the work environment to be like. This helps identify what the team members expect from themselves, each other, and you.
- Encourage social interaction
People tend to be more productive when they feel a connection to their teammates. Fun, social interaction builds that connection and encourages proactive communication with the other team members. Such interactions can range from checking in at the beginning of a meeting to an off-site teambuilding event.
- Be proactive
The biggest complaint in post-project evaluations is communication. It is impossible to over-communicate. Follow conversations with an email summarizing agreements and action items, and ask the recipient to confirm his or her understanding. Identify potential challenges and opportunities, and plan as a team for the possibilities.
- Recognize both team and individual efforts
Recognizing a job well done is an important aspect of team leadership. It is important to provide recognition thoughtfully and carefully.
- Provide a centralized repository for project information
If you have team members in Asia, , Australia, North America or any other places that the whole team can’t not meet together, place project-related information on a intranet site or team blog, team wiki site where everyone can access it 24/7. Incorporate other collaboration technologies, such as instant messaging, online chat room.
- Be considerate
Incorporate national and religious holidays, as well as vacations, in your project planning. Promise only what you can comfortably provide, but always suggest alternatives if you are unable to meet a request.
References:
M.Katerine (kit) Brown, Brenda Huetture, and Char James-Tanny (2007), Managing Virtual Teams, Worldware Publishing, Plano.
Kurt Verweire and Lutgart Van Ben Berghe (2004), Integrated Performance Management, Sage Publication, London.
Image 1: http://benasur.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/iceberg22.jpg, accessed on 26th of March 2009
Image 2: http://www.healthyteams.com.au/userfiles/image/healthyteamfoundations.jpg, accessed on 26th of March 2009
Image 3: http://www.12manage.com/images/picture_deal_kennedy_culture_types.gif, accessed on 26th of March 2009
Management
As described by World Power Dictionary, management means the process of managing. It is the process of getting activities completed efficiently and effectively with and through other people. For our case, the term management will mainly focused on Project Management, Team Management, and Preformance Management.
- Management Functions:
Planning
Organising
Staffing
Directing
Coordinating
Reporting
Budgeting
A good management style is a blend of both efficiency and effectiveness. There is no point in acting efficiently if what you are doing will not have the desired effect.
Management techniques can be viewed as either bottom-up, top-down, or collaborative processes. As for our crysis project, collaborative process would suite best for our approaches toward better efficiency and team building.
References:
Kurt Verweire and Lutgart Van Ben Berghe (2004), Integrated Performance Management, Sage Publication, London.
Project management, http://managementhelp.org/, accessed on 27th of March 2009
Development of Management thought, http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/fis/courses/LIS1230/LIS1230sharma/history4.htm, accessed on 27th of March 2009
Tech Test For Exporting Model from 3D max 2008 to Crysis Sandbox 2
