Chapter 8: Global Collaboration Flashcards
(26 cards)
What does the “fly zone” exercise teach us
It teaches us how to manage people in an organization
With many talented individuals working virtually and geographically dispersed on an independent task
What do the examples of Mars Climate Order and French Trains too wide to fit in station reach us?
That simple miscommunication can result in huge error and become very costly
eg. Spacecraft that was suppose to be fired into orbit eventually was lost in space cost over 125 million
So how to collaborate effectively in a global world (CMBUVE)
- Coordinate and divide Labour early on
- Make sure everyone is on the same ruler
- Be mindful of cultural differences
- Understand downside of different communication channels
- Verify your assumptions
- Embrace task conflict
How to increase coordination and planning?
The use of Gersick’s punctuated equilibrium model which plots performance against project timeline
we often see a midpoint crisis during the halfway point of the project.
By coordinating and planning we can move the midpoint crisis to the start and increase performance
What is the Impact of coordination and labor division on performance?
Division of labour
In a study of MBA students, a majority of groups reported engaging in division of labor activities (segmentation of work) SAVED 2.4MIN
Coordination of activities
However, only a minority of groups reported engaging in coordination activities (include creating a common language, clarify communication practices) SAVED 3.8 MIN
Conclusion: Groupps spend too little time focussing on coordination activities and too much time on the task at hand
So how to best coordinate
Can be done by creating team contract (formal) coordination meeting (less formal)
- Set out clear rules for engagement in new teams
Include goals, responsibilities, team interaction rules, managing motivation
Why isit important to make sure everyone is on the same page/ruler
- When standards are implicit and unclear to others
this can lead to conflict especially when people perceive that contribution standards have been violated
What is an appropriate email response time
Consulting:
Quick : 30min
Normal : 2 hours
Unacceptable : 24 hours
Academia:
Quick 24 Hours
Normal: 2 Days
Unacceptable: 1 week
Conclusion: in different fields, what is considered unacceptable could be considered normal/quick, need to clarify beforehand to avoid misunderstandings
Where do countries rank among average hours worked
- Mexico 2255
35 Germany 1363
more atas European countries (France Netherlands norway denmark) all rank lower
Paid vaccation and holidays where do countries rank?
Among OECD nations, Singapore does not offer many paid vacation (approximated 9 days of paid holidays and 10 days of paid vacation)
Important that these things are noted
What are some of the major cultural differences that matter for
managing people? (CPLDS)
- COmmunicating:
- Low context vs High context - Persuading
- Concept first vs application first - Leading
- Egalitarian vs Hierarchical - Disagreeing
Confrontational vs avoid confrontation - Scheduling
Linear Time vs Flexible TIme
Differences between Low Context Communication and High Context Communication
Low:
- Commuication is precise clear
- Message understood at face value
- Repetition is appreciated
Countries who have low context communication: (UAC)
US, Australia Canada
High:
- Communication sophisticated, nuanced
- Messages need to read between the lines
- Meaning is often implied and not plainly expressed
Countries who have high context communication: (JKI)
Japan Kora Indonesia
Differences between Concept first culture and Application first culture
Concept first culture:
- People develop theory first then present facts
- Build argument then move to conclusion
- Conceptual principles underly each situation are valued
Countries who have Concept first culture: (IFRS)
Italy France Russia Spain
Application First Culture:
- Start with statement then back it up
- Start with summary or bullet points
- Theoretical discussions avoided
Countries who have Application first culture: (UJC)
US japan Canada
How to present in different cultures (Persuading)
Concept first (Russia, Spain)
- Explain underlying reason before coming to conclusion
- Justify and develop assumptions
- Leave time for conceptual debate
- Provide reasons for why something works
Application first (US Japan)
- Straight to point
- Use concrete examples tools
- Spend less time on building concept
- Need less time for conceptual debate
- Provide practical examples
Differences between Egalitarian Leadership and Hierarchical Leadership
EL:
- Distance between boss and subordiinate is low
- Boss= facilitator among equals
- flat organisational structure
- Communication skip hierarchical lines
COuntries which follow EL:
(DNS)
Denmark Netherland Sweeden
HL:
- Ideal distance btw boss and subordinate is high
- Boss= strong director
- Hierarchical are fixed and steep
- Communication follow set hierarchical lines
COuntries which follow HL:
(JKN)
Japan Korea Nigeria
Is Egalitarian Leadership always a good thing
No not always!
Eg. Holocracy at Zappos
where zappos introduced holocracy in 2013, objective was for no more hierarchical structure
everybody became their own boss
NEGATIVE RESULT:
Many employees left company citing ambiguity and loss of control
Conclusion: Employees in US needed a bit of structure
Differences between Confrontational and Non-Confrontational
Confrontational:
Disagreement and debate is positive for the team
Open confrontation appropriate and will not hurt team spirit or relationship
Countries that adopt confrontationally:
- (IFGN)
Israel France Germany Netherlands
Avoid Confrontation:
-Disagreement and debate is negative for the team
-Open confrontation inappropriate and will break group harmony and impact relationship
COuntries that prefer no confrontation (IJT)
Indonesia Japan Thailand
Note: Singapore is in the middle for this
Noting Differences in behaviour (Japan US Brazil)
Number of Nos, Silent periods and Touching (Non Handshakes)
Brazil often very disagreeing, rarely quiet and have most number of touching
Differences between Linear Time and Flexible Time (Scheduling)
LT:
Projects in sequential fashion
Focus on deadlines and schedule, interruptions not accepted
Emphasis on promptness and good organization over flexibility
Countries that follow LT:
(GSJSD)
Germany Switzerland Japan Sweeden Denmark
Note: Singapore and US lean more to LT side
FT:
- projects approached in fluid fashion
- dealing with many things concurrently, interruptions accepted
- Focus on adaptability valued over organization
Countries that follow FT:
(CINS)
China India Saudi Arabia Nigeria
Combining all 5 factors together, what is an effective way to be mindful
Create your own culture map
Map out your own preferences vs what your counterpart prefer
For you to be aware of
What are pros and cons of text based communication
Pros: (CNMAC)
Cons: (MLDR)
pros:
conveinient no presence of reciepient multiple recipients attach file can use evidence of receipt
cons: Meaning gets lost lack of body language Difficult to communicate Reply takes time
What does illusion of transparency gotta do with this?
example showed how when trying to communicate series of statements which contain feelings of anger sadness
Senders tend to overestimate how accurately receivers understand their message
What communication channel to use? (TRG)
Depends on TASK, RELATIONSHIP, GROUP CHARACTERISTICS
Task features:
Urgent/Complex
Optimal Channel Selection:
Video>Phone>IM>email
Note: when simple channel does not really matter
Relationship:
Cooperative does not matter
Neutral/negative: Video>Phone>IM>email
In flyzone example, we see that those who did site visit benefited by making fewer errors and having more budget (despite cost of visit)
Why isit important to embrace task conflict?
- we see that often diversity fosters conflict
- when people differ in value diversity, may decrease satisfaction, intent to remain
