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Reisigl, Gerd: "Critical" situations in multicultural teams: The role of emotions - "Kritische"
Situation in multikulturellen Teams: Die Rolle der Emotionen
Hamburg: Diplomica GmbH, 2005
Zugl.: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Magisterarbeit, 2004
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I
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
...Tired, but satisfied... that's how I'm feeling right now. My laptop is already showing
signs of wearing out, having already some cracks because of the continuous usage, opening
and closing it, however, my baby is still working. Yes it is done. The biggest paper I have
ever worked on comes with these words to its end.
This is the moment to think of the persons who helped me bringing my thesis to existence.
The person I want thank most of all is Sandra Fernandes, my Indian friend. She sacrificed a
lot of her time to check my spelling and bring my sometimes confuse thoughts in an
understandable English. Thank you very much Sandra!
The second person I'd like to thank is my mentor Prof. Christine Vallaster. Even though in
the beginning the communication via mail between Bonn and Innsbruck was not always
easy, the communication in the personally meetings was. Your high expectations of the
work put me sometimes to test, however, the work wouldn't be as good as it is right now
without you. Hope to have a drink with you when our article gets published.
Words of thanks are also being sent over the Atlantic Ocean, to my American friend Nick
Gahl, having been a great help during my work on the concept of this thesis. Thank you for
checking my English.
A special thank you goes to the employees of the two Departments of Welfare and Europe
Affairs, for participating in my research. A thank you goes hereby especially to Carmen
Verant who organised with enthusiasm the interviews. Thank you to the department chiefs
allowing their employees to participate and giving me the opportunity to conduct the study.
Furthermore I would like to thank Prof. Anna-Luisa
Haring for checking the Italian for the
interview guideline. Thanks are expressed also to Nicola Zanotelli and Emidio Zillante
for
helping me with special Italian expressions to become sure to grasp the right meaning. A
special thank you goes to all my friends who gave me from time to time inspiration
through their own experiences, having a coffee with me in my breaks and who had to act
every now and then as guinea pig for my research. Furthermore I would like to thank all
persons who assisted, helped, and inspired me to conclude this work.
And last but not least I would like to say thank you to my laptop, which did not abandon
me throughout the whole period over one and a half year and spared me with refusal to
work, viruses and data loss. THANK YOU ALL!
II
Table of Content
A)
INTRODUCTION ... 2
1. PROBLEM STATEMENT ... 2
2. RESEARCH AIM ... 2
3. STRUCTURE OF THESIS ... 3
B)
THEORETICAL REVIEW ... 4
1.
PERFORMANCE OF MULTICULTURAL TEAMS ... 4
1.1
Positive impact on performance ... 5
1.1.1
Positive cognitive outcomes and better manoeuvring in a global business world... 7
1.1.2
Success experience: Motivation and enhancement of team cohesion... 11
1.1.3
The role of positive emotion ... 14
1.2
Negative impact on performance ... 17
1.2.1
Low performance and conflict due to communicational problems and
misunderstandings... 23
1.2.2
The role of negative emotion ... 41
1.3
Summary ... 43
2. EMOTIONS: AN ATTEMPT FOR CLASSIFICATION ... 44
2.1
Definition of emotion ... 44
2.1.1
Emotion cognition... 50
2.1.2
Emotion social context... 57
2.1.3
Emotion cultural context... 62
2.2
Emotions and impact on individual and social behaviour... 70
2.2.1
Expectation of emotion... 70
2.2.2
Expression of emotion ... 76
2.3
Summary ... 81
III
C)
EMPIRICAL PART ... 82
1. RESEARCH ... 82
1.1
Research methodology... 84
1.1.1
Qualitative research ... 84
1.1.2
Advantages- disadvantages with regard to the research aim ... 85
1.2
Procedure... 89
1.2.1
Overview about the research sample: Team members... 90
1.2.2
Presentation of the qualitative and quantitative tools used in the study ... 91
1.2.3
Sequence of research... 96
1.2.4
Analysis... 97
1.3
Research results... 100
1.3.1
Results: anger antecedents-consequences... 101
1.3.1.1
RESULTS: PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUE ANGER ... 101
1.3.1.1.1
Antecedents of the emotion anger... 101
1.3.1.1.2
Behaviour which followed the emotion anger ... 103
1.3.1.1.3
Taking a different view point... ... 104
1.3.1.1.4
Influence of the single behaviour on the team as a whole... 106
1.3.1.1.5
Additional data... 108
1.3.1.2
RESULTS: INTERVIEWS - ANGER... 108
1.3.1.3
RESULTS: LIST - ANGER... 113
1.3.2
Results: happiness antecedents-consequences ... 116
1.3.2.1
RESULTS: PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUE - HAPPINESS ... 116
1.3.2.1.1
Antecedents of the emotion happiness ... 116
1.3.2.1.2
Behaviour/Reaction following the emotion happiness... 118
1.3.2.1.3
Taking a different view point... ... 119
1.3.2.1.4
Influence of the single behaviour on the team as a whole... 121
1.3.2.1.5
Additional data... 123
1.3.2.2
RESULTS: INTERVIEWS - HAPPINESS ... 123
1.3.2.3
RESULTS: LIST - HAPPINESS ... 127
1.3.3
Concrete results: commonness - differences ... 129
1.3.3.1
COMMONNESS ANTECEDENTS: ANGER ... 130
1.3.3.2
COMMONNESS ANTECEDENTS: HAPPINESS ... 130
1.3.3.3
COMMONNESS-BEHAVIOUR/CONSEQUENCES: ANGER ... 130
1.3.3.4
COMMONNESS-BEHAVIOUR/CONSEQUENCES: HAPPINESS... 131
1.3.3.5
DETECTED DIFFERENCES ... 131
1.3.3.6
OTHER INTERESTING THINGS... 133
2. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THEORY AND PRACTICE ... 135
3. DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ... 142
IV
4. ATTACHMENTS ... 144
ATTACHMENT 1: Standardised introduction (English version) ... 144
ATTACHMENT 2: Standardised introduction (German version)... 145
ATTACHMENT 3: Standardised introduction (Italian version) ... 146
ATTACHMENT 4: Pre-tested pictures University Saarbrücken... 147
ATTACHMENT 5: Questions asked in Part A) Projective Technique (German version) ... 148
ATTACHMENT 6: Questions asked in Part A) Projective Technique (Italian version)... 148
ATTACHMENT 7: Questions asked in Part B) Face to Face Interview (German version) ... 149
ATTACHMENT 8: Questions asked in Part B) Face to Face Interview (Italian version)... 150
ATTACHMENT 9: List (German version) ... 151
ATTACHMENT 10: List (Italian version) ... 152
ATTACHMENT 11: Form for answers (English version) ... 153
ATTACHMENT 12: Form for answers (German version)... 153
ATTACHMENT 13: Form for answers (Italian version) ... 154
ATTACHMENT 14: Categories Antecedents - ANGER ... 154
ATTACHMENT 15: Categories Antecedents - HAPPINESS... 155
ATTACHMENT 16: Categories Behaviour - ANGER ... 156
ATTACHMENT 17: Categories Behaviour - HAPPINESS... 158
ATTACHMENT 18: Breakdown results List ANGER ... 159
ATTACHMENT 19: Breakdown results List HAPPINESS... 159
ATTACHMENT 20: Map from South Tyrol Trentino Veneto... 160
5. REFERENCE LIST ... 161
V
Figures
FIGURE 1: Overview of the possible benefits multicultural teams can provide ... 10
FIGURE 2: "Success experience" and positive emotions... 14
FIGURE 3: Team Effectiveness... 21
FIGURE 4: Transmission model... 24
FIGURE 5: System/Process Model... 25
FIGURE 6: Styles of verbal communication ... 29
FIGURE 7: Tone of voice ... 31
FIGURE 8: Overview of potential sources of communicational misunderstanding ... 35
FIGURE 9: An attempt to illustrate the interdependence of communication, misunderstanding, conflict and
emotion ... 41
FIGURE 10: Emotion and cognition... 51
FIGURE 11: The interplay of expectation, observation and interpretation and the resulting behaviour ... 72
FIGURE 12: Feeling upset at work... 77
FIGURE 13: From antecedents till measurable responses ... 79
FIGURE 14: Degree of standardisation of interviews ... 86
FIGURE 15: Picture of angry woman and picture of angry man ... 92
FIGURE 16: Picture of happy woman and happy man ... 93
FIGURE 17: Selection-Ranking Form ... 96
FIGURE 18: Components of data analysis: Interactive model ... 97
FIGURE 19: Antecedent and behaviour/consequences ... 98
FIGURE 20: Formation of categories on the basis of the emotion HAPPINESS ... 99
FIGURE 21: Imaginable influence on the team as a whole, mentioned by German speaking team members
(Anger)... 106
FIGURE 22: Imaginable influence on the team as a whole, mentioned by Italian speaking team members
(Anger)... 107
FIGURE 23: Imaginable influence on the team as a whole mentioned by German speaking team members
(Happiness) ... 121
FIGURE 24: Imaginable influence on the team as a whole mentioned by Italian speaking team members
(Happiness) ... 122
FIGURE 25: "This is the part I always hate" ... 129
Tables
TABLE 1: Taxonomy of emotion theoretical authors ... 46
TABLE 2: Which emotions are basic emotions?... 63
TABLE 3: List of events expected eliciting the two emotion anger and happiness ... 95
TABLE 4: Ranking Antecedents: ANGER ... 115
TABLE 5: Ranking of Antecedents: HAPPINESS ... 128
VI
ABBREVIATIONS
cp.
...
compare
eds.
...
editors
e.g.
...
exempli gratia [lat. = for instance]
et al.
...
et alii [lat. = and others]
etc.
...
et
cetera
i.e.
...
id est [that is]
n.
d.
...
no
date
pp.
...
page
q.v.
...
quod vide [lat. = which see]
vol.
...
volume
vs.
...
versus
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1
MULTICULTURAL TEAM WORK ...
Insomma, il successo ci sarà, ci sarà più comprensione tra le persone e quindi
maggiore possibilità che da quest'incontro nascerà un lavoro proficuo, ecco...
Intervista, 2003, impiegata dell'Amministrazione della Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano
All in all, the success will come, there will be more comprehension between people
and therefore there will be more possibilities that out of this meeting profitable work
will develop, that's it...
Interview, 2003, employee of the Administration of the Autonomous Province of Bozen
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
2
A) INTRODUCTION
1. PROBLEM STATEMENT
Interest in "emotions" within organisation increased in the last years. However, research in
this field is scarce. In the discussion about emotions in organisation the increasing number
of multicultural teams is adding an additional variable: "culture", making research even
more complicate. Practitioners report that where culture meets conflicts accompanied by
negative emotions such as "anger" occur. However, also positive emotions like
"happiness" may occur, having a positive influence on motivation and enhance cohesion,
what may be considered as benefit in multicultural teams.
Although anger as well
happiness are considered as universally experienced emotion, there is some evidence that
the causes, expression, and the behaviour which follows anger and happiness are culturally
influenced. In multicultural teams the knowledge about the "antecedents" of these two
emotions and the following "behaviour" seems to be especially important as on one hand
misunderstandings and conflict connected with anger, may have serious social
consequences reducing performance or even resulting in contra productive behaviour
threatening the organisation, and on the other hand experience of success and good
communication, enhancing team collaboration, seems to be connected with happiness.
2. RESEARCH AIM
This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding with regards the culturally-
influenced antecedents of the two emotions anger and happiness as well as about the
resulting behavioural consequences in multicultural team settings.
The two research questions guiding this work are:
1. In which multicultural team situations do the emotions anger and happiness
arise?
2. Which are the antecedents, in team settings, of the two emotions and which is the
resulting behaviour respectively consequences that follows?
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
3
Ahead, the Theoretical Part should provide the reader a basic introduction about emotions
and the connected relevant factors like cognition, sociality and culture with regard to the
research questions. Offering a working definition of culture and emotion, the attempt to
illustrate the role of emotion in multicultural team settings as well the discussion about the
discrepancy of expectation and of expression regarding emotions throughout cultures,
should make the reader more sensible about a) the possible detected differences in
antecedents and behavioural consequences and b) their impact in multicultural teams.
3. STRUCTURE OF THESIS
In Chapter One a discussion about the two sides of multicultural team performance and
the connected role of emotion is presented. Communication and connected
misunderstandings get hereby special attention.
Chapter Two should bring the reader in the position to come to a better understanding
about the complex construct: "emotion" and its connection with cognition, sociality and
culture, to get a feeling about the importance emotions may play in multicultural teams.
The Empirical Part consists in the study conducted in a South Tyrolean (North Italy)
work environment, revealing as well great similarity in both antecedents and behavioural
consequences of the researched emotions anger and happiness; however, identifying fine
culturally-related differences based on different cultural emphasis on values.
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Positive impact on performance
4
B) THEORETICAL REVIEW
1. PERFORMANCE OF MULTICULTURAL TEAMS
"Developing the capacity to create and sustain global teams is the
business challenge of the twenty-first century. "
O'Hara-Devereaux and Johansen, 1994, pp. 103
Companies continue to recognize the important role of a well-functioning team in
manoeuvring successfully through times of increasing complexity. Empirical data as
provided by Gmünden and Högl (2001) reveal that teamwork helps to generate more
innovative solutions, necessary for today's competitive business. Further, the composition
of teams is becoming increasingly culturally diverse, foremost as a result of international
business and globalization. The results of research on cultural heterogeneity in groups,
suggests that diversity offers both a great opportunity for organizations as well as an
enormous challenge (Milliken and Martins, 1996). Research on the effectiveness of
culturally homogeneous vs. heterogeneous teams has provoked contradictory results.
This Chapter should provide an overview about the possible positive - as well possible
negative impact multicultural teams can have on performance of a company's business
activity. Subsequently
,
it should shortly be revealed the connoting influence of emotions
on the functioning of the team and consequently on the success of the company. The focus
in this Chapter lies, however, on team performance, whereas in the second Chapter the aim
will be to come to a better understanding of emotion in a multicultural team context.
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Positive impact on performance
5
1.1 Positive impact on performance
Today's big business players like IBM, BMW, Procter Gamble, to mention some, have
recognized the potential of multicultural work teams.
Multicultural teams can be found
in different hierarchical, as well as, functional levels of
organisations and may differ in their temporary existence, according to their purpose.
Depending on the purpose, the type of the multicultural team varies from organisational
task teams
to project teams up to top management teams.
The steady increase of multicultural teams, however, can be observed throughout all
branches and business sizes. From a small software company, established by a Japanese,
a German and a Dutch, having their production facilities in Austria, working together with
an Italian web designer and selling their products through the Internet in the USA, South
Africa and Russia; - to a Norwegian soft drink producer, looking for new markets in East
Europe and China; - the "working unit" multicultural team comes into operation. Foreign
acquisitions and mergers, the location of organizational divisions in different parts of the
world, technology - making worldwide communication possible
-
and the unification of
countries (e.g. Germany) as well as continents (e.g. Europe) support the origin of
multicultural teams (Erez, 1994).
Multicultural teams seem to be a possible answer to the rapid speed and change of
competition with regard to the search of the most innovative strategies, the understanding
of diverse customer needs and consequently, the creation of cultural designed and also
global products.
Innovativeness refers hereby to a firm's tendency to engage in and support new ideas,
novelty, experimentation, and creativity that may lead to new products, services, or
technological processes (Lumpkin and Dess, 1996). The added amount of innovative
information provides an economic advantage (Oliver, 1990) and creates a multicultural
synergy.
Multicultural teams seems to provide a certain potential for
"New ideas" and
"creativity" not given in that form in homogeneous teams, being addressed more in depth
in the next section.
Before continuing to use and work with the term multicultural team it seems appropriate
to provide a working definition of the term.
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Positive impact on performance
6
Definition of multicultural team
A small work group
1
with a common goal, team spirit
2
and relatively intensive mutual
relationship, where members show a diversity of values, cognition structure,
communication and behaviour style (q.v. Kirchmeyer and Cohen, 1992).
In context with the definition of multicultural team, as well as the term will accompany the
reader through the thesis- the term culture should be defined.
Definition of culture
Culture can be defined in different ways, depending on what the focus is on. In this work
an anthropological viewpoint will be taken. Culture is hereby understood as a complex
system that embraces all of a society's "folkways" which may include knowledge, belief,
art, morals, law, custom (Taylor as cited in Vallaster, 2000, pp. 62), history, rituals,
symbols, language and any habits acquired by human beings as member of a society.
Harris (1975) defines in this context culture as the total socially acquired life-way or life-
style of a group of people, consisting of the patterned, repetitive ways of thinking, feeling
and acting that are characteristic of the members of a particular society or segment of
society.
1
R
eferring to Guzzo and Dickson (1996), who proposed the general definition of work group as distinct collection of
interdependent individuals who are part of a larger system and who perform tasks that affect others involved in the
system.
2
T
aking the definition, the two words "team spirit" may disturb the reader, as in some "multicultural teams" team spirit
is not observable. I consider team spirit, however, as important element of a team, as it expresses a certain degree of
community, cohesion and interaction of the persons who form the team. Out of this, "multicultural teams", where team
spirit is missing, are according to me no real teams, but rather a group of individuals, who pursue mainly their
individual or subgroup goals, missing commonality. In the thesis however, I will use the term team, referring to the
given definition of Guzzo and Dickson (1996) as this definition seems the most suitable referring to most literature
used.
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Positive cognitive outcomes and better manoeuvring in a global
business world
7
1.1.1 Positive cognitive outcomes and better manoeuvring in a
global business world
"The most universal quality is diversity."
(Montaigne, 1580)
Just as teams are becoming more culturally diverse, so are the sales markets, where
organizations are operating (Cox and Smolinski, 1994).
With the introduction of
multicultural teams, it is possible for companies to match the environmental complexity
with the internal complexity. Companies which do so are expected to have advantages
(Lawrence and Lorsch, 1969). The multicultural teams offer through their own diversity a
better understanding of the desires, the needs and the restraints, which are to be found in
the consumer markets. Research on consumer behaviour has consistently shown that socio-
cultural identities do affect buying behaviour (Redding, 1982). Resulting cultural
differences are highly relevant for planning successful marketing strategies for the future.
A report on Australian Business and Cultural Diversity (1993) revealed that the
interviewed firms, which perceived advantages of cultural diversity in their workforce,
cited the following specific benefits of their multicultural teams: a) The good work ethic
of minorities; b) greater productivity; c) better communication with diverse clients; d)
better access to export markets; e) better knowledge of overseas clients and cultural
differences; f) and diversity of skills and ideas.
Hereby cultural diversity was found to have positive cognitive outcomes on information
processing, perceiving and interpreting stimuli and decision making (Milliken and Martins,
1996).
Diversity seems to stimulate both new combinations of facts and new approaches to
develop ideas (Kirchmeyer and Cohen, 1992). In a study, McLeod and Lobel (1992) found
that teams that were heterogeneous with respect to the ethnic backgrounds of their
members produced higher quality ideas in a brainstorming task than more homogeneous
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Positive cognitive outcomes and better manoeuvring in a global
business world
8
groups did, although they did not necessarily produce more ideas or a greater number of
unique ideas. The ideas produced were, however, rated higher than those of the
homogeneous groups on both feasibility and overall effectiveness.
Also the results of other
studies suggest that cultural diversity may be positively associated with some group-level
cognitive outcomes such as the above mentioned quality of ideas (Milliken and Martins,
1996).
Through the manifold of perspectives, values, views and opinions in a multicultural team
more alternatives and more creative solutions to problems should be possible. This
assumption got further supported in some research studies: more diverse groups have the
potential to consider a greater range of perspectives and to generate more high-quality
solutions than less diverse groups (e.g. McLeod and Lobel, 1992; Watson, Kumar and
Michaelsen, 1993) when it comes to solving unstructured and complex tasks. In a series of
studies Nemeth (1986) shows that a higher amount of different views can stimulate
consideration of non-obvious alternatives in task teams, leading to better solutions.
High
quality solutions are a product of creativity, quality of ideas and a clear reasoning structure
taking into account all possible alternatives. Also Watson, Kumar and Michaelsen (1993)
illustrate that the inclusion of views and efforts of a diverse employee population enhances
creativity and cooperation among work groups. Kanter (1983) and other authors writing
about innovation, see diversity
3
as a key ingredient for creativity. Kanter notes that the
most innovative companies deliberately establish heterogeneous teams in order to "create a
marketplace of ideas, recognizing that a multiplicity of viewpoints needs to be brought to
bear on a problem". A few studies, however, have not found creativity to be higher in
diverse teams than in homogeneous teams (cp. Thornburg, 1991).
Considering the wider critical base in multicultural teams, it may be expected that the
quality of reasoning also gets enhanced. The studies of Nemeth (1986), endorse this
assumption. In his findings, consistent counter arguments from the minority to the majority
opinion, was positively connected with higher quality of reasoning.
Watson and colleagues (1993) found that the above mentioned benefits occur only after a
diverse team has been together for a while. The results of their research suggest that the
diverse teams may have more difficulty working together initially and that these
difficulties lead to lower performance in comparison to more homogeneous teams. Over a
3
D
iversity regarding culture as well as regarding sex.
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Positive cognitive outcomes and better manoeuvring in a global
business world
9
period of time it was observed that the performance level was rising to the same level and
surpasses even the performance level from more homogeneous teams regarding creativity
and problem solutions.
Recapitulating it can be said, that multicultural diversity can represent a critical
competitive factor (Orlando, 1998) for companies in the 21
st
century. When applied in the
right manner and properly utilized, it can provide the advantage
successful companies will
have on their search for innovation and creativity.
FIGURE 1
on the next page should provide a graphical overview, summarising the before
mentioned possible benefits of multicultural teams and its possible positive impact on
business.
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Positive cognitive outcomes and better manoeuvring in a global
business world
10
FIGURE 1: Overview of the possible benefits multicultural teams can provide
Source: Own figure
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Success experience: Motivation and enhancement of team cohesion
11
1.1.2 Success experience: Motivation and enhancement of team cohesion
"In all human affairs there is always an end in view -of pleasure, or
honor, or advantage."
Polybius, 125 B.C.
A reached goal, the solution of an organisational problem, the successful running of an
innovative marketing campaign, increasing returns or even a small step like coming to an
agreement these can be perceived situations of success for a multicultural team. "Success
experiences" influences both, team members and the team as a whole.
Hereby, feeling of success can be seen as attainment of the goal, which the motivated
action of the individual and team targets. The success experience can become a
motivational source per se, as it is assumed teams try to reach the state of success and its
elements time and time again, having the tendency to avoid failure as it provides
disappointment (Heckhausen, 1980). To take an example from the sports world: Winning
teams sense the feeling of success when they win a game as motivational, trying to catch
the perceived success situation and the connected elements like, enjoying what they do,
being proud of their own performance and their results, growing self esteem, happiness
(Heckhausen, 1980), regard and admiration from the fans, different awards etc., on a
regular basis. Even failure may have motivational elements; it depends on the
interpretation of the situation. So interpretation influences emotion as well the future
motivation, independent of the objective reasons for success or failure (Zimbardo and
Gerrig, 1999). Zimbardo and Gerrig (1999, pp. 347), consider the conviction why one (in
this case a multicultural team and its members), was successful or not successful for three
reasons as important: Convictions lead to a) different interpretation of former performance
and of the common self esteem b) different emotions, aims and efforts in the current
situation and c) different motivation in the future which influences the future success of
the multicultural team.
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Success experience: Motivation and enhancement of team cohesion
12
"Success experience" may be observed from two different motivational perspectives - an
intrinsic and an extrinsic. Intrinsic means, in this work innate or within; hence intrinsic
motivation is the stimulation or drive stemming from within oneself.
4
Extrinsic elements
regarding team work are considered, as elements coming from outside like financial
reward, prestige,
acknowledgement (Born and Eiselin, 1996) avoidance of punishment, or
to please someone. Intrinsic elements, related to work teams, may be covering elements
with the ones mentioned in the example of sport teams, above: enjoying to work within the
team on the given problem, good working atmosphere (Zimbardo and Gerrig, 1999), being
proud of own performance, feeling happy about the gained results and growth of self
esteem.
Findings show that extrinsic motivation is not to consider as such effective as intrinsic
motivation (cp. Deckers, 2001),
as the focus may switch from the given task and the
endeavour to work out a good solution, to the simple receipt of the reward, received when
the job is done. Also regarding creativity, findings suggest that intrinsic elements of
motivation enhance the process of creativity in comparison to extrinsic elements, where
members are driven by some goals imposed by others (cp. Stenmark, n. d.).
So the feeling of success and the combined elements may act for a team member as well
for the whole team as motivational, influencing future success and strengthen relationship
of multicultural team members.
Experience of success may also have positive effects on team cohesion (cp. Isaacson,
2000).
Team cohesion refers to the degree, in which a team is forming a collective unity
(Steinmann and Schreyögg, 1997, pp. 525). Problems and challenges are to be met as a
team and solved in collaboration, "the team did it, together". With time and continuing
"success experiences", doubts, if existed, on the functioning of the multicultural team may
decrease or in the optimal case even disappear. Cultural differences still exist and may be
perceived, but used in a positive manner. Through enhancement of cohesion, thus, a
consolidated team level can be established, providing the right circumstance for
collaboration and performance.
Typically, cohesive teams are productive teams when performance goals are set high. It is
assumed that when more differences between team members exist, the more difficult it
may be to attain strong cohesiveness. Heterogeneous teams show that they do not reach the
4
http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~jimbo/RIBARY_Folder/whatis.htm
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Success experience: Motivation and enhancement of team cohesion
13
degree of cohesiveness homogeneous teams achieve (cp. Steinmann and Schreyögg, 1997,
pp. 525). Although this observation finds some support, a group with members from
culturally-diverse backgrounds may also become cohesive (cp. Mc Cain, 1996). These
multicultural cohesive teams may become high-performing teams as well, when the team
members establish and agree on performance goals (Mc Cain, 1996). When the goals are
attained and success experienced, commonness
-
based on the success of the team
-
is
attained. Let's assume the extreme case, that only differences exist (no commonness is
perceived by the team members); with the increasing success of the team, it could be
perceived as commonality and may have the potential to bring the team closer together -
becoming a positive event team member will remember and refer to in the future. So the
process as well as the output of the processes may be perceived as a success, act
motivational and enhance team cohesiveness. The more success a team experiences, the
higher the cohesion (Bird, 1977; Carron, 1982). Hence, success and cohesion can be seen
as circular: Success experience may lead to increased cohesion which leads to an increased
team performance and resulting in perceived feeling of success (q.v. Isaacson, 2000).
What is to consider as "success experience", indeed, may not always be easy to define. To
make an example, a member of a relationship-oriented culture (cp. Hofstede, 2001) may
perceive a period of mutual encouragement and social involvement as a "success
experience". Whereby, for a more individualistic (cp. Hofstede, 2001) team member such a
period may be perceived as the way to the goal, having the feeling of success when the
way is gone and the aim achieved.
What is considered as "success experience" may vary throughout culture and combined
with that
how to behave in- and handle such situations, as individual as well as a team (cp.
Briner, 1999).
Also in the discussion about the collective feeling of success, one should bear in mind that
there may be differences regarding the attribution of success. The degree, to which success
is ascribed to individual or team capabilities, may vary from one to another culture.
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: The role of positive emotion
14
1.1.3 The role of positive emotion
..."I'm happy that we did it and I really start enjoying the work in this team...".
Tom is standing with his three colleagues outside the room where the meeting took place.
Thanks to the team, of which Tom has been a part for 6 months now, and its suggestions,
has helped the organisation increase sales by 24 per cent. Tom is excited and happy, feels
motivated. His heart is beating faster as usual, smiling and laughing, taping his colleagues
on the shoulders and inviting them for a drink.
FIGURE 2: "Success experience" and positive emotions
Source: Own figure
Such a scene could happen in the same or similar manner, everywhere in the world.
The event which occurred is relevant for Tom; he feels it is pleasant, so that some
experiential, behavioural and physiological response is elicited (Frijda, 1994)
5
. Different
positive emotions like happiness, pride, satisfaction, joy etc. (Mayer, 1993) may arise. To
5
Contribution in Ekman and Davidson (1994).
After the team
meeting...
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: The role of positive emotion
15
a large extent, these emotions are elicited by events that satisfy some motive or
demonstrate the successful exercise of one's capabilities (Frijda, 1994). Positive emotions
may hereby influence in a positive manner, important components of team work, like
motivation, team cohesiveness - relationship, communication, etc. (cp. Levenson,
1994)
6
. These elements have, in turn, an important impact on team performance. The
studies of Briner, 1999, indicated that emotion(s) did not directly influence group success
but rather influenced the actions or performance of group members, which in turn
influenced group effectiveness.
Emotions influence motivation and the behaviour and action which target the motive
(Izard, 1971; Zimbardo and Gerrigs, 1999; Deckers, 2001). Such motives can hereby be
defined as preferences for emotional experiences, which result in person-environment
transactions (Heckhausen, 1980; McClelland, 1987). So the above described situation of
Tom, feeling well in the team, enjoying working with the other team members, being
happy and satisfied when able to overcome a challenge, being acknowledged by the others,
works motivational. The probability of future success may increase, as the perceived
situation of well being is remembered in the future, and action is directed to the
achievement of the given task and its associated emotions. Out of this
,
it is assumed that
positive emotions are closely related to intrinsic motivation.
Hereby, I do not want to
eliminate negative emotions like anger, sadness, disappointment etc. as they may also be
intrinsically motivating (Bergknapp, 2002). According to Abele (1999), when experiencing
unpleasant emotions, the coping of emotions is a priority and handling of the given task
can serve the regulation of the mood. Out of this, the hypothesis results, that when being in
negative mood, the performance depends on how far the processing of the task serves the
improvement of the mood. In doing so, negative emotions can be motivational regarding
performance. Anger can therefore also be a source of motivation, although I presume that
such emotion has mainly a contra productive
7
aim as a motive. However, positive emotions
are considered to have generally a higher motivation potential (Abele, 1999).
Team cohesiveness may also be positively influenced by positive emotions. Team
members who feel comfortable in the social settings of the team, considering to be a part of
6
Contribution in Ekman and Davidson (1994).
7
I
t depends from which view the function of the emotion is seen. From the individual perspective the emotion can be
rather functional, whereas in the social settings it may be considered as dysfunctional (Averill, 1990).
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: The role of positive emotion
16
something special, accepted as person and finding acknowledgement for the own
performance, rather tend to stay in the team and putting effort for the team. They may feel
acknowledged, and self esteem may be enhanced. Therefore positive emotions might
encourage relationship between team members and their mutual support. In that sense:
emotions draw us toward some things and push us away from others (Levenson, 1994, pp.
125).
It is assumable that also communication may be positively influenced through closer
relationships being traced back to positive emotions between team members (potentially
established through collective success).
These are only some reflections about the function of positive emotions and their impact
on team performance relevant aspects. Aim of this part, is not to give an overview of all
the impacts of positive emotions, but rather put across the important impact
which positive
emotions have on different aspects of relevant issues when discussing efficiency of teams.
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Negative impact on performance
17
1.2 Negative impact on performance
Even though, multicultural teams offer the benefits to meet the challenges today's business
world imposes, the multicultural team itself provides a challenge for the company.
Companies which operate with multicultural teams, sometimes underestimate the
influence of culture. One example which shows the negative consequences of such an
underestimation is the Dutch airline KLM, announcing a Strategic Alliance with the Italian
airline Alitalia some years ago. When the President of KLM, was asked by a journalist if
he did not expect cultural problems, he was recorded as saying: No I don't, because Dutch
people like Italian food and Italians like Dutch football-players (q.v. Hofstede, 2001a).
The result of this unsophisticated view was the failure of the alliance. As the
underestimation of culture in the KLM - Alitalia case led to failure, underestimation of the
impact culture has in multicultural teams, may bring out a vast amount of
misunderstandings and problems affecting the team, as well the company, as a whole.
So the problems of Daimler Chrysler since their merger in 1998, can not only be traced
back to the economical awkward situation and the failed product choice (Lohmer, 2001),
but has furthermore a cultural aspect of failure (Der Spiegel, 2001).
This Section, 1.2 Negative impact on performance, should provide an overview of
potential hindrances, being possible reasons for negative impact on multicultural team
performance. Communicational misunderstandings and conflict will hereby be identified as
the most critical factors regarding the functioning or failure of a multicultural team.
Consequentially the role of the connected negative emotions will be discussed.
In the discussion about potential hindrances, these hindrances may not only be imbedded
within the team because of cultural diversity of team members, but may also be imposed
by the company itself employing multicultural teams.
To make this thought clearer, the organisations communication style, its internal
business operations embedded in the company's culture including unexpressed rules and
tacit proceedings could turn out as meander for team members of certain cultures. The way
of communication and the way to handle problems may be logical or at least
comprehensible for members of some cultures, representing, similar procedures and
methods of resolution, as they are used to. Other cultures, to which such procedures are
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Negative impact on performance
18
unfamiliar, may have some difficulties to get along in the organisation and hamper or even
impede full integration in the team. In this vein, members whose culture fit the
organisational system have an advantage as opposed to the ones confronted with a system
which may not be understood and considered as unpleasant, producing negative temper in
the affected persons.
Ignoring the cultural differences, would be a big mistake, lowering productivity in teams
(Adler, 1986) and weakening the company.
So for example members of different cultures
vary in their preference which leadership style to apply.
As a basic assumption deemed to
be that participative leadership works well in cultural situations, which are individualistic
and where there are low levels of distance between the leader and subordinates, - the
directive leadership fits the situation which is group oriented with major differences in the
power of the superior and the subordinates(cp. Oberhauser, 2000). In some
cultures
participation is considered as something self evident. Other cultures prefer a paternalistic
and authoritarian leadership style and are not accustomed to take an active part in the team.
The bigger the discrepancy of expectation and custom and the actually participation is, so
much less a member of a different culture is able to integrate in a multicultural team
(Wetzel, 2000).
To mention a second marked difference in individualistic and collectivistic cultures,
regarding multicultural teams companies should be aware, is social loafing.
Social loafing
is the tendency of individuals to reduce effort when they are working in groups (Latané et
al., 1979).
For example in Western cultures, individuals are expected not to work as hard in
a team as they would individually (this may depend on the circumstances); whereas in
other cultures, like Chinese, Israeli, Japanese or Taiwanese, social loafing does not exist or
the performance in these cultures even increases when individuals work in a team (Aguinis
and Henle, 2003). Summarising it has to be said that there exist the possibility that
employees organised in teams in individualistic cultures hinder performance, while in
collectivistic cultures performance may improve (Aguinis and Henle, 2003).
The main source of misunderstandings and frictions, it is assumed, that the team provides
itself in the form of daily interaction between team members. Multicultural teams bring
their own problems of internal integration (Trickey, 2000) because of their diversity. So
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Negative impact on performance
19
findings suggest that in multicultural teams a higher turnover than in cultural
homogeneous teams is to observe (Milliken and Martins, 1996). Turnover is not to see in
all cases negatively; rather it provides a team with "fresh blood", new impulses and views,
enhancing team work. Indeed it turns to the opposite when the turnover exceeds a certain
frequency, resulting in additional financial burden for the company as the new team
members have to be instructed. Further, turnover may prohibit the emergence of a real
team feeling, as team members do not get to know their team mates well enough, thinking:
"Why should I invest my time to get others to know, as they will probably leave soon?" In
that way an increased turnover may prohibit the utilisation of the potential, multicultural
teams are expected to provide.
It is also to observe that individuals who are different from their teams in racial or ethnic
background tend to be less psychologically committed to their organisations, less inclined
to stay with the organisation, and more likely to be absent (Tsui et al., 1992). This
produces
additional costs for the company and may lead to prejudices regarding different
cultures or enhance already existing stereotypes, creating and foster negative emotions in
the team.
So team members enter the team already with a certain set of beliefs about other cultures
and may feel sympathy or antipathy for these cultures. In that way team members get
ascribed positive as well negative attributes, even though the team members of the other
cultures are still not known. These beliefs may get confirmed or disproved. It may be
assumed that in some cases, team members who get attributed certain values and standards
adapt themselves to this classification and in that way, the initial beliefs of the ascribing
culture aggravate. An example should make it clear: Spanish people are known to come
late to meetings, in the way
as they are expected to do so, they come really too late. On one
side this phenomenon can have some positive aspects: For example, Germans are
considered as precise. It is expected, that only the widely held opinion that Germans are
precise, makes them feel able to maintain and accomplish this belief. It becomes,
admittedly, dangerous when negative attributes get ascribed, and the team member may
feel committed to confirm these negative attributes.
Tsui et al. (1992), suggesting the possibility that the deep-seated prejudices some people
hold against people
who are different from themselves on race may be adding to
the difficulty of interaction for multicultural teams. These findings are consistent with the
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Negative impact on performance
20
idea that the more similar people are in background variables such as socioeconomic status
or attitudes, the more attracted they are likely to be to each other, at least initially (Kanter,
1977). One reason for this phenomenon is that people who are similar in backgrounds may
have similar values, share common life experiences and therefore, find the experience of
interacting with each other positively reinforcing (Milliken and Martins, 1996).
According to Hofstede (1997), after the first phase of curiosity when being in contact with
another culture occurs the typical reaction of ethnocentrism
8
. Their own small world, their
own culture, is considered as the only true one. The foreign is felt as unpleasant and it
comes to stereotype building. Stereotypes reduce the complexity and create order, by
ascribing cultures certain attributes, mostly negative ones (Wetzel, 2000). Integration is
becoming more difficult and interaction in the team is pre-burdened. Even worse it is,
when conflicts
9
between cultures in the outside world may be carried into the multicultural
team. An extreme example would be an Israeli and Palestinian who should work together
in one team. Resulting
conflicts about a business matter could easily jump to another level,
where more deep held prejudice and antipathy against the other culture come to the
surface, with the danger to involve the whole team. Especially in conflicts, people tend to
develop exaggerated negative images of the other involved team members. The others are
considered to be aggressive and self-serving while people view themselves in completely
positive ways. If one side assumes the other side is deceitful and aggressive, they will tend
to respond in a similar way - The opponent will then develop a similar image of the first
party, and the negative stereotypes will be confirmed (Conflict Research Consortium,
1998). Stereotypes may be growing worse, as escalation heightens emotions and tension,
reducing or shut down communication (Conflict Research Consortium, 1998).
Even though team members communicate, different cognition
10
, communication styles and
behaviour, based on their culture, makes communication source number one for
misunderstandings within the team. These misunderstandings, when not recognised,
8
T
hinking one's own culture and ways of doing are superior to others, judging other cultures and ways of doing inferior
to one's own. Barger, 2003 defines ethnocentrism as: Making false assumptions about other's ways based on our own
limited experience.
9
C
onflict is considered throughout this thesis as interpersonal conflict, with negative impact on the relationship of the
involved parties.
10
H
ow people perceive, select, interpret, remember and use information to make judgements and decisions
.
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Negative impact on performance
21
understood and managed, show their negative influence on the daily collaboration, and
ceteris paribus
on the team performance and company outcome.
Ting-Toomey (1985) describes three ways in which culture interferes with effective cross-
cultural understanding. First is what she calls "cognitive constraints". These are the
frames of reference or world views that provide a backdrop that all new information is
compared to or inserted into.
Second are "behaviour constraints". Each culture has its own rules about proper
behaviour which affect verbal and nonverbal communication. Whether one looks at the
other person in the eye-or not; whether one says what one means overtly or talks around
the issue; how close the people stand to each other when they are talking - all of these and
many more are rules, which differ from culture to culture. As `culture' provides rules of
behaviour in social interactions, human beings can produce interpretation errors and wrong
behaviour when coming in contact with a different culture (Kirchmeyer, 1993).
Ting-Toomey's (1985) third factor is emotional constraints. Different cultures regulate
the display of emotion differently. Some cultures get very emotional when they are
debating an issue. They yell, they cry, they exhibit their anger, fear, frustration, and other
feelings openly. Other cultures try to keep their emotions hidden, exhibiting or sharing
only the rational or factual aspects of the situation.
All of these differences may lead to communicational misunderstandings affecting the
team and the teamwork negatively.
FIGURE 3: Team Effectiveness
Source: Trickey, D. (2ooo).
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Negative impact on performance
22
Summarising it can be said, that multicultural teams are experienced to be highly effective
or highly ineffective when compared to culturally homogeneous teams (Trickey, 2ooo).
Therefore it seems to be important for organisations to understand sources of
misunderstandings in multicultural teams, to act in the right manner, bringing the own
multicultural teams to the right, "highly effective" area of the bell-shaped curve.
One possible attempt to do so seems to investigate communication problems and possible
misunderstandings in multicultural teams more in depth.
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Low performance and conflict due to communicational
problems and misunderstandings
23
1.2.1 Low performance and conflict due to communicational
problems and misunderstandings
"A pause in the wrong place, an intonation misunderstood, and a whole conversation
went awry."
Forster E. M., Passage to India, 1924, pp. 262
"A white teacher told of his experience with some Negro boys in southern USA. I
asked some boys the colour of the sky. No one could tell me. Then the father of one of
them came in, and I told him of the boys' ignorance. I repeated my question without
any success. He then grinned and asked his son, Tom, how sky stan? To which Tom
immediately replied, Blue. "
Allen, Ware and Garrison, 1867, pp. xxvii
Team members, who work together, interact, change information, make statements and
judgements, act and react. They do so through communication.
All communication has two parts: a sender and a receiver. The sender has a message s/he
intends to transmit, and s/he puts it in words (Encoding) which, to her/him, best reflect
what she/he is thinking. The message gets transmitted and received by the receiver, who
interprets (Decoding) the message and gives a feedback. If communication is successful, it
results in the transfer of meaning.
The above described communication process is shown, in the simple model, called
transmission model. This is because it is implied that the sender packages an idea into a
container of language and then transmits it to the receiver, much as one would toss a
football back and forth (Bowman, 2002).
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Low performance and conflict due to communicational
problems and misunderstandings
24
FIGURE 4: Transmission model
Source: http://www.hcob.wmich.edu/bis/faculty/bowman/c2bframe.html
The principal problem with the transmission model of the communication process is that it
creates the false impression that effective communication is simply a matter of
packaging ideas carefully - This is not the case (Bowman, 2002).
Communication is a process in which people translate their own meanings into verbal
symbols and nonverbal signs that they direct toward others with the intention of evoking
similar meanings in the mind of others (Frank and Brownell, 1989).
In a multicultural team communication is even more complicated. It is almost impossible
to send a message that does not have at least some cultural content, whether in the words
themselves (verbal), in the way it is said (paraverbal) or in the nonverbal signals. Even if
it would be possible to send a message without any cultural content, the culture of the
receiver, could give the message a different meaning or makes the receiver to interpret it in
a different way as intended by the sender. As Weaver (1996, pp. 231) brings it to the
point:"When we communicate, we send messages, not meanings. The meanings are in our
heads and messages merely elicit them. If we experience the world in a similar way, our
messages usually have similar or parallel meanings. If we experience the world differently,
our messages usually have different meanings."
The above illustrated transmission model, has therefore to be reworked as it does not
account for the fact that meaning is not actually transmitted. Meaning is instead created in
the mind of the receiver based only in part on the sender's message, as the System/Process
Model illustrates (Bowman, 2002).
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Low performance and conflict due to communicational
problems and misunderstandings
25
FIGURE 5: System/Process Model
Source: http://homepages.wmich.edu/~bowman/models.html
Meaning for the sender originates in sensory data--information gathered by seeing,
hearing, touching, smelling, or tasting. This data is filtered through the sender's
·
Beliefs
·
Values
·
Genetic and learned behavioral patterns
·
Current physical and emotional state
(Bowman, 2002).
I agree with Bowman relating the above mentioned four ,,filters". I would suggest,
however, adding cognition
11
as comprehensive concept, as it includes already the above
mentioned points (especially the first three), offering further a broader access to the factors
which influence and modify the information;
as the sensory data has to pass through the
culture dependent cognition system of the sender and the receiver, getting perceived,
selected and interpreted.
When the sender has decided on a meaning, he or she encodes a message, and selects a
channel for transmitting the message to a receiver or receivers. The message and the
channel become new sensory data for each receiver, who then uses his or her own filters
to determine meaning. For this reason, it is important to remember that the meaning of a
message is the response it elicits (Bowman, 2002).
11
R
eferring to the definition on page 52
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Low performance and conflict due to communicational
problems and misunderstandings
26
Around 70% of communication takes place on a nonverbal level, making it more difficult
and complicated to grasp the exact meaning of the message - in intercultural
communication this level is probably even higher (cp. Kooper, n. d.). Mehrabian (1968)
suggest the formula 7 38 - 55, whereby only seven per cent of the message is
communicated verbal, thirty eight per cent paraverbal and the rest, the fifty five percent of
communication, takes place on a nonverbal level.
In a multicultural team, in general, at least one of the team members is speaking not her/his
native language. It may be assumed that the language most common in multicultural teams
is English. (In the following it is referred to English as team language in multicultural
teams). Not all members of different cultures are able to speak the organisation - team
language on the same level. So a multicultural team will probably be composed by native
speakers, non native speakers able to speak in proper English and probably some other
team members, having difficulties with sound English. The latter, non proficient in
English, may not know all words and expressions in the team language, trying to find a
word, translated from their own language, which may have the same meaning in their
culture. Translated in English, this word or expression could turn to a totally different
meaning or simply make no sense because of the placement in the context. So for example
words or phrases a team member is familiar with in their own language, may be used in the
same fashion as in their own language and culture, in team conversation. However in the
new surroundings, there may be social other significant meanings attached to such phrases
of which the team member is unaware (Cushner and Brislin, 1996). Communication
problems may also arise because a complete translation from one language to another is
not possible. As example the German English word "Freund/friend" should illustrate
such a case. "For an American, native speaker, friend would be a person who the American
knows, may be only cursorily, e. g. the person was met at a Cocktail party. To be denoted
from an American as friend does therefore not involve the degree of intimacy and
reciprocal commitment, which are requirements for a friendship between Germans. The
German concept "Freund" has to be translated in the English language as a close friend or
a good friend. The "friend" in English, someone known only superficial, could rather be
compared with the concept "Bekannter" in German. How different the embedding of such
concepts in the culture specific behaviour and interpretation schemes are, shows the fact,
that the German concept, "guter Bekannter" who gets invited several times at home, is not
automatically a "Freund". (Bergemann and Sourisseaux, 1996, pp. 63).
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Low performance and conflict due to communicational
problems and misunderstandings
27
Even the non native speaker, speaking proper English will have difficulties, in
understanding sayings, comparisons and expressions as they are embedded in the culture of
the native speakers and therefore be misunderstood or not get in their full expressiveness.
There may even arise language misunderstandings between two "native speakers", e. g. an
American and a British team member, as cultural specifics influence expressions. One
example for such misunderstandings could be the baseball and football language that is
used by Americans in meetings. Without rudimentary knowledge of the games the
meanings may be difficult to grasp - To touch base, play ball, get a home run, coming from
left field, batting a thousand, has two strikes against him and of course the need to cover all
the bases are some of the colourful phrases in common usage (Cook, n. d.) The British may
use sporting language in a more measured way like fair play, a level playing field, giving
someone a sporting chance etc.
Hereby
,
it gets already clear, which potential of misunderstandings the verbal
communication contains. Language is an important factor in communication, but even
when the language barrier has been overcome there can be misunderstandings due to more
than 90 per cent of the paraverbal and nonverbal
12
communication.
Paralanguage is communication that goes beyond the specific spoken words. It includes
pitch, amplitude, rate, and voice quality of speech. Especially emotions are communicated
through paralanguage. Paralanguage shows that people convey their emotions not only in
what they say, but also in how they say it. Through paralanguage human beings are able to
underline the verbally said or express exactly the opposite of the verbally said when joking
or being sarcastic. On the other hand paralanguage may betray the real emotions and
thoughts human beings may try to overlap with the verbally said.
Two examples should illustrate the importance of paralanguage in communication: One
team member is saying to another team member: "That was really a top performance!" If
one does not get further information, it is impossible to say if this message is an honest
12
I
n this paper the paraverbal communication is handled independent from nonverbal language, although paraverbal
communication is considered as part of nonverbal language. Nonverbal language will be used synonym as "body
language".
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Low performance and conflict due to communicational
problems and misunderstandings
28
praise and the performance of the team member is considered as good, resulting in
happiness, satisfaction, pride etc. of the
sender of the message, or if the sender is criticising
the performance in an ironical way. When an observer hears the intonation and the sound
intensity in which way the above mentioned sentence is said, one may get a better
understanding about the meaning, which the sender really intends to express.
A second example should illustrate which influence different paraverbal elements may
have on the message: "The leaders words hey, I noticed you were taking an especially
long break this morning, could be interpreted as an attack if he said that in a disapproving
tone; while the comment might be seen as a minor reminder about office rules, if it was
said in a friendly way. If the employee had a problem requiring the long break, the
comment might have even been a friendly inquiry about what has happening and whether
the employee needed any help. Here, tone of voice as well as situational and relationship
factors would influence the interpretation of the message" (Conflict Research Consortium,
1998).
Paraverbal communication, indeed, is not applied throughout cultures in the same way. So
it is even possible that a paraverbal message in one culture may have the opposite meaning
in another culture. E. g. the declining intonation, with which in European languages a
sentence of conclusion gets articulated, is equivalent to the intonation of question
sentences in some south Indian languages (Gumperz, 1982).The degree of tone pitch
modulation, which distinguishes the normal language from "educated speakers" of British
English, is in other cultures social marked- it is perceived as affected and effeminate
(Loveday, 1981). Sound intensity is another example of possible misunderstandings in
paraverbal communication in multicultural teams. So sound intensity is used in some
African and Arabic countries as instrument to regulate the change of speaker; if more
speakers compete for the right to speak, this is slugged out through the sound level of voice
at the deployment of speech. Such a simultaneous vocal talk, outcast in European culture
against the process schema and indicate conflict or similar problems as the relationship
schema which underlies the interaction (Bergemann and Sourisseaux, 1996, pp. 65). But
even in Europe there may be differences, so raising voice in Northern Europe is interpreted
as anger, whereas in Southern Europe it can be considered as excitement (Kirch, 1979).
Further aspects of paralanguage are the time breaks during two talk contribution of a
speaker.
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Low performance and conflict due to communicational
problems and misunderstandings
29
So the silence, which dominates when members of oriental cultures, like Japanese, take
time to reflect on ideas or suggestions presented, before giving a reply, may be perceived
by western cultures as uncomfortable, making those members get fidgety (Kirch, 1979).
Most western cultures may probably misinterpret the situation or react in the wrong way,
saying something, to fill the perceived gap of silent. This could be interpreted by these
oriental cultures as disrespectful, impeding harmony. However, these breaks of silence and
the possible combined discomfort of western cultures is an often cited difference in cross
cultural research and in the meantime well known between the cultures. Although this is
the case, the knowledge alone of such differences, may not make disappear the discomfort,
felt by Europeans. As with all things not accustomed, one has to get used to.
From the above example one can learn that, there exist very different styles of verbal
communication.
FIGURE 6: Styles of verbal communication
Source:
Trompenaars, 1994, pp. 68
As one can read out from the figure, for the Anglo-Saxons, when A stops, B starts. It is not
polite to interrupt. The even more verbal Latins integrate slightly more than this; B will
frequently interrupt A and vice versa to show how interested each is in what the other is
saying (Trompenaars, 1994). The oriental style of communication (as shown above with
the example of Japanese) frightens the Westerner. The moment of silence is interpreted as
a failure to communicate (Trompenaars, 1994). Again, this is a misunderstanding.
CRITICAL MULTICULTURAL TEAM SITUATIONS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS
1. Performance of multicultural teams: Low performance and conflict due to communicational
problems and misunderstandings
30
An interesting case, probably not so well known in our regions
13
, regarding paraverbal
differences provides the concourse of the Australian and Chinese culture, whereas the
Australian culture could probably be substituted by any other Anglo- Saxon culture, or by
most other western cultures, leading to similar results. The impact, differences of
paralanguage, regarding politeness
14
, have, shown the misinterpretations described in the
article of Gao, (1998). There are different concepts of being polite. The word "please", for
example, quite common used in Australian, as well American culture, is seldom used in
Chinese linguistic environment. For Chinese people the usage of the expression "please" is
perceived as distant and formal, so in communication with someone they are close with,
less likely a Chinese would use "please". For an Australian the absence of the familiar
politeness, which is expressed verbal through this common word "please", may provide the
impression of impoliteness or even as lack of respect, evoking negative emotions. In
Australian culture "please" is one of the most used words, to strangers as well to friends
and family members. Whereas, for Chinese the non-usage of this kind of courtesy, is not
considered as rude or impolite, as the word is not often used in their culture. So for them it
is quite common to say: "I want..., give me..., and sit down!" which in an Australian
environment, as well as in most western parts would be considered as rude and lack of
manners. In fact Chinese people express politeness through functional words to soften the
tone of their speech. These functional words include particles such as "ya, la, ma" and so
on which do not have any semantic
15
meaning except to soften the tone of speaking. "Ni
zuo shenme" would be a formal or impolite way of saying "What do you do" or "What are
you doing" whereas "Ni zuo shenme ya" would be warmer and softer. So members of the
Chinese culture may have difficulties to add semantic words such as in "Can you tell me
what you are doing?"
The habit to speak loudly in public, Chinese people have, may enhance the impression of
impoliteness.
13
H
ereby the author refers to Europe.
14
H
owever, there are authors who found no differences in politeness. Compare for example Ambady, Nalini, Koo,
Jasook, Lee, Fiona and Rosenthal, Robert (1996); Holtgraves, Thomas and Yang, Jian (1990).
15
S
emantic means hereby significance of linguistic characters, words and sentences.
Ende der Leseprobe aus 182 Seiten
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Details
- Arbeit zitieren
- , 2004, "Critical" situations in multicultural teams: The role of emotions, Hamburg, Bedey Media GmbH, https://www.diplom.de/document/223762
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