4.3. CHALLENGES SURROUNDING NATIONAL CULTURE

Once one has a clear understanding of the impact of national culture on team behavior, the next step is to see how to be more adaptive and accommodate a wider range of cultural preferences, seeing that other ways of behaving also have validity. Malcolm Higgs,^[] in an article designed to help teams overcome lack of performance or cohesion due to cultural differences, refers to the importance of building and managing cross-cultural awareness. The Difficulties with and Tips for Taking Advantage of Cultural Preferences chart beginning on page 198 presents opposite ends of each spectrum. Many national preferences are not as absolute as indicated in the chart. People can be asked to choose where they primarily see themselves on each dimension and to check out the information in the box that shows various difficulties one might encounter and gives tips on how to reconcile and capitalize on differences.

Consider your own preferences. Read the appropriate items to gain awareness of what behaviors may be difficult for you on a multinational team and note the tips that are offered.

Possessing different national cultural norms can have an extremely positive effect on a team's productivity and interpersonal relationships, but the team process must be managed and harnessed. Managers need to remind team members that national cultural differences are real, then build awareness of how these differences impact team members personally and how differences can be bridged.