Five ways to deal with a multi-ethnic team

The Economic Times

Byline: Rica Bhattacharyya

An increasing number of organisations are embracing cross-cultural diversity to leverage the understanding of a wide set of people in a complex business world. But this comes with its own set of challenges. Rica Bhattacharyya finds out how managers can best deal with such teams globally.

1. Respect Everyone

When others are articulating their ideas, it is important to disengage from your reaction, says S Raghunath, professor, corporate strategy and policy, IIM Bangalore. Leaders must make a conscious effort to avoid stereotypes linked to a particular culture and community, adds Jayesh Pandey, managing director, talent and organisation, Accenture.

2. Trust in the Diversity

The foremost advantage of a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic team is the diversity in background, and it is crucial for all team members to trust this. "Such a team can quickly realise that all team members have their own ways to solve the same problem," says Pandey. When synergised, the team can achieve results beyond individual capability, he adds.

3. Communicate Clearly

Constant communication is critical when leaders are working in virtual time where they cannot read the expressions, tone and demeanour of team members across the globe from a different context, says Pandey. The effort to understand each other's culture and perspective, and show curiosity about their lives and societal norms, will help leaders communicate effectively.

4. Socialise More

People from the same ethnic background tend to gravitate towards their social network, leading to differences of opinion with others. "There must be more socialising to appreciate the nuances and depth of each other's expertise," says Raghunath.

5. Know When To Lead

The mantra for building a successful multi-cultural team is to rally behind the person who is best suited for the job and works towards a shared purpose and goal, says Pandey.

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1. Why are multinationals increasingly relying on cross-cultural teams?

2. What advantages do such teams bring?

3. Discuss each of the five suggestions. How do these suggestions relate to material discussed in the chapter?

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Case Study – Golf Clubs Supply Chain

A golf club production company wants to ensure that all aspects of its production and distribution processes are operating at optimal efficiency. The company produces three types of clubs, a line for men, a line for women, and a line for juniors. The company has manufacturing plants in Charlotte, Phoenix, and Dallas. The plant in Dallas produces all three types of clubs, while the one in Charlotte produces only Men’s and Women’s lines and the one in Phoenix produces only Women’s and Junior’s lines. Each club requires varying amounts of raw materials, including titanium, aluminum, and wood. The process at each plant is the same, but the amount of materials in the various lines differs. Specifically:

These resources are limited and the estimated amount available at each plant is as follows:

The company is confident it can sell all of the clubs it can produce. Revenue from each type of club is the same, regardless of where the clubs are produced:

Once produced, clubs are shipped to distribution centers in Denver, Indianapolis and Newark. Each month, the distribution centers order the number of clubs of each type they would like to receive. The company’s policy is to ship at least 80% of the distribution center’s demand to it each month. Orders for each type of club for next month are:

The cost of shipping one unit of each type of club from each production plant to each distribution center is as follows:

Questions:

Create a spreadsheet model and solve it to determine an optimal production and shipping plan for the coming month, where your objective is to maximize profit.

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Market Controls

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