International Team Dynamics: Building and Managing Teams Effectively

This report provides an in-depth analysis of international team dynamics, emphasizing team building and cross-cultural collaboration. It explores the significance of team formation, the stages of team development, and essential elements for effective teamwork. The report highlights cultural aspects and their impact on collaboration, using models like Tuckman's Stages of Group Development, Belbin Team Roles, and Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions to understand collaborative working in diverse international teams. It covers the benefits of teamwork, the importance of trust, loyalty, and accountability, and the role of leadership in fostering a positive team environment. The report also examines cultural sensitivity, the impact of cultural differences on the workplace, and strategies for building mutual trust and respect within international teams. The report also examines practical examples of how businesses adapt to cultural differences, providing a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities in managing international teams.

Individual Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The report has emphasized on the working in the international teams. It has shed light on
the significance of formation of teams and the stages that assist in maintaining team-building.
Moreover, it has also described about the elements that are essential in working with others in a
team. There has been focus on understanding the cultural aspects that held a team and promote
collaboration to manage the work practices. This has also reflected upon the cross functionalities
between the people in context to cultural component while working in international teams.
Herein the collaborative nature has been discussed using theories such as Tuckman's Stages of
Group Development Theory and Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Model, while working in an
international from different ethnic backgrounds. Thus, it has successfully analysed theories to
know about the collaborative working nature.

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
Working in team and successful team building...........................................................................1
Working across cultures in international teams...........................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
International team is defined as that team which gets established, controlled and executed
under the legislative frameworks of more than two countries or nations. Such teams have laid the
foundation of optimum economic benefits in fostering the global movements at both individual
and organizational levels (McAndrews and Ha-Brookshire, 2016). It has led to an elevated level
of profitability and productivity because of the presence of multicultural employees working
together. This report is going to highlight the elements of working in international teams that is
formed by people who belong to different countries or ethnic groups. Herein the collaborative
nature is being discussed while working in an international from different ethnic backgrounds.
For the same, Tuckman's Stages of Group Development Theory, Belbin Team Roles and
Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Model are going to be considered to know about the conceptual
frameworks of working in international teams.
MAIN BODY
Working in team and successful team building
Working in team is important as it helps in attaining goals and objectives in time. A team
consists of different people that possess various traits and characteristics. Also, organisational
culture is developed through team building. Besides this, it is necessary to form an effective team
so that task can be done properly. In preset time businesses are highly focusing on developing
strong teams. This is because it has been useful in attaining goals. There are many benefits of
working in team but it depends on team building. If effective team is not built properly then it
highly affects team work (Doulougeri and Montgomery, 2019). The individual possess various
skills and knowledge. This is applied in team work so that tasks are completed. Furthermore, in
order to work in team goals and set and then roles are assigned to each team member. It enables
members to foster relationship between each other to work efficiently. Alongside it, there are
several elements of working in team that are trust, loyalty, accountability, etc. it all depends on
individual trait that how he or she is able to initiate task and lead a team.
A successful team is built only when there is strong team bonding between them. Also,
when each individual is accountable for his or her role. Along with it, when each member is
highly engaged in team work, this reflects how much he or she values team. When a team works
successfully it automatically enhances efficiency. But team work is not initiated then it leads to
conflicts. Thus, a leader has to ensure that roles are assigned properly. Also, there is proper
1

following of procedure in doing task. Team work is built when member is able to work in
creative way. They are accountable for task and roles. Furthermore, they apply knowledge to
bring creativity in work. However, it is the responsibility of leader to develop a team that
consists of all elements of Belbin model. This is because it helps in ensuring that all of these
benefit in working in team. In order to develop an effective team there are many models and
theories of team building. They are used by organisation to build team. The theories are as
follows :-
Tuckman team development model- It is a model of team building in which there are different
stages of team that are interrelated to each other (Bravo Gallart and Team, 2018). The team is
developed for a specific task. The stages are described below :-
 Forming – It is the first stage where individual are busy in finding out why they are in
team. The roles and responsibilities are not clear. Members are introduced and excite to
know each other. Besides this, it is necessary for members to develop relation with each
other.
 Storming- At this stage members begin to develop relationship with each other. But they
do not know what they have to do and how. Moreover, member know about others are
aware of goals and objectives. It gives them insight about their roles within team.
Sometimes, conflicts may arise in assigning roles. Then, it becomes difficult for leader to
engage with them and deal with it.
 Norming- At this stage people works with each other and identifies strength and
weakness. They start helping each other and perform activities (Guler, Pike and
Kulygina, 2018). They take small decisions and develop process to work. Besides this,
tasks are delegated and members are committed to their tasks.
 Performing – In this stage focus is on completion of task and developing strong
relationship between members. Each member is having freedom to lead team. Alongside
it, personal relationship is developed within team. Members share personal issues and
problems.
2

Belbin model – It is a model which is used to design and identify personalities of team. It helps
in recognising individual behaviour while working with others (Belbin theory. 2016). In this
there are nine team roles defined which is as follows :-
Implementer – this person is responsible for implementing new ideas within team and executing
task. He or she contributes by bringing creativity in team. Basically, implementer is practical in
nature and task oriented.
Resource investigator – this person is responsible for building contacts outside the team and
identifying resources (Mays, Taktakishvili and Riley, 2018). He or she usually remain
enthusiastic and open minded. The person plays a vital role and contribute by bringing in new
ideas and opportunities into team. It helps in completing task in fulfilling needs of members.
Plant- The person is known for his or her creative thinking. By this innovative ideas are
executed into team which improves efficiency of members. The plant also helps in solving
complex problems and issues. In this way he or she contributes.
Monitor – The person always analyse things and find out root cause of problem. He or she
understand situation and solve it. The monitor contributes by giving accurate and proper
judgement. It enables in maintaining smooth flow of work and solving critical issues.
Shaper- This person is eager to initiate challenging tasks and ensuring that goals and objectives
are attained in given time. In this way shape of team is maintained and they move forward by
generating results.
Coordinator – As name depicts he or she is engaged with members to coordinate. The person
clarifies procedure and goals by effectively communicating with other. Sometimes, decisions are
taken and changes are made in procedure by coordinator
Complete finisher- The person identifies what things are going wrong and then correct it. Also,
he or she tries to maintain quality in team work (Zuofa and Ochieng, 2017).
Team worker- A team worker plays crucial role in team. The person tries to maintain balance
within team and helps in creating positive working environment. Also, strong relationship is
developed by them.
Specialist – A specialist is person who utilise knowledge and thinks outside the box.
Furthermore, the person provides knowledge on specific topic. So, through expertise knowledge
is applied in work and solving issues if it exists (Ahonen, Kinnunen and Saranto, 2017).
3

Basically, these two models are used in developing team. By this it is easy for business to
form teams. Moreover, the model also helps in monitoring team performance and it ensures that
member is working within team. It is easy for business to form team and assign roles to them.
Similarly, when team work in effective way it benefits the company to maintain culture and
follow its dimensions. Furthermore, the models are also applied at international level as it
contain specific framework through which team are developed and formed.
Working across cultures in international teams
Cultural aspects include the characteristics, behaviours, beliefs and objects in terms of
rules, values, language, tools and more. It is an indicator towards the socio-economic and ethical
implications of the people when they work together or collaborate for a common cause.
Primarily, with the rise of technological advancements and open economy, it has been
demonstrated that international teams are established (Voordouw, 2018). This not only promoted
the cross-cultural collaboration and support but also brought attention towards the cultural
awareness. Moreover, it also made people realise about the variables in both internal and external
forms, that has an influence on the values, working ethics and behavioural approaches. There is a
need to understand about the sensitivity element while dealing with people of different ethnic
individuals who are working in a team. For instance, an American employee who might feel
superior in developing countries like India or Egypt, however he must be able to respect and
empathise with their country's traditions to feel less threatened and more comfortable (Thébault,
Brocco and Canet, 2015).
In regard to this, Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Model comes in handy which infers
about the cross cultural communication and the values associated with the individual's behaviour.
It has also been showing dimensions of national cultures such as uncertainty avoidance,
individualism versus collectivism, power distance, masculinity versus femininity and are put
together to ensure comparative analysis on the basis of culture. This would help the multinational
companies in gaining an upper hand while expanding or exploring in other geographic location.
It has been elucidated that the culture is the source of conflicts at the workplace and might
hamper the environment (Sanger, Canahuire and Berry, 2018). There is an overview that tends to
minimize the cultural differences and focus on the constructive factors to build mutual trust and
respect among the members of an international team. It has systematically defined the
4

advantages and also described about the disadvantages regarding the formation of teams at
international level to establish harmony and collaboration.
Nevertheless, it is clearly understandable that international teams are made up of people
with different nationalities or religions and must be given equal opportunities. This would pave
the path of mutual trust and help in building reliability to complete the tasks on schedule and
without any delays. However, this is a complicated procedure to be adopted at the workplace and
sometimes led to ineffectiveness. Thus, Hofstede's model supported in gaining insights about
dealing with the issues and challenges of an international team (Barmeyer and Haupt, 2016). It
shed light on the importance of team meetings in order to initiate the first step of knowing each
member of the team. This involves expressing viewpoints about the working styles and
communication channels. Along with this, it consists of sharing background details and basic
information such as qualification, hobbies, etc. Another way to use this model is implementation
of approaches, tools and techniques by the management of organizations to conduct the work or
tasks properly.
Moreover, the working across cultures has led to the development of multi disciplinary
teams. It is mostly based on understanding the cross cultural attributes to address the queries and
conflicts to know about the dynamics of individuals working in a team. For instance, McDonalds
expanded its operations in Pakistan and in accordance to its cultural and religious beliefs the
administration prohibited the pork and its related merchandising (A Megeirhi, Afsar and
Abubakar, 2018). This demonstrated the approach adopted to overcome the sensitivity issues
when expanding the operations of a fast food company and alongside, it also giving the respect
and support required to flourish the business. Nevertheless, it has focused on the understanding
about the cultural profiling of people and are gaining awareness in laying the foundation for
creating the hierarchical relationships. In addition to the above, it also consists of adopting robust
and integrated resources to maintain the environment and giving a platform to the professionals
for sustaining the competition.
Along with this, there is need to reduce the gaps in regard to communication and
cooperation when working on an international project. This is mostly done by cultivating the
surroundings in constructive ways where the focus is on minimising the conflicts and areas of
concerns that reflect upon the team dysfunctionality. Such approach has been executed through
channelising the international communication to make the individuals learn about the verbal and
5

the non verbal dimensions of the cultural element. For instance, an international team working
under the United Nations for social cause must hire the right people who have the
professionalism and working ethics to fulfil the tasks and responsibilities. However, it also aids
in international management through a system of negotiation deals that helped the companies to
enter new and developing markets for reaping the financial gains. Therefore, the purposes is to
be served by defining the protocols, practices and values to define the cultural oriented
approaches that maintain the corporate organizational culture.
To sum up, it must be demonstrated that the Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Model is
applicable while understanding the cultural aspects of working in international teams. For
instance, Chinese delegates work in more synchronization when expanding their business
operations in all over the world. It has also been seen that their language issues has never
hampered the working ethical standards and always posed as a cultural indicator to bridge the
gaps and break the awkwardness to promote harmony while working as a team any global levels.
There is wider execution with the help of combining the features of theories like Tuckman's
Stages of Group Development Theory and Belbin Team Roles to shed light on the collaboration
and team building spirit among each member of the selected team. Henceforth, this working in
international team is the ongoing trend which has minimized the lines between two countries and
generated economic, social and technological benefits to the society on the whole.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from above report that working is team is beneficial to attain goals and
objectives in specified time. Also, in team there are various individual who possess traits and
knowledge and apply in performing task. Generally, there are two models or theories of team
development used that is Tuckman and Belbin model. It consists of various stages through whch
team is developed. Also, working in international team requires proper culture, policies,
procedures, etc. to be followed. For this Hofstede's model is used which compares cultural
dimension between two countries. By this it is easy to analyze how culture and features of
individual varies.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is essential to maintain team work so that goals are accomplished on deadline. Also, it
enables in developing positive culture at workplace. For this there are some recommendations
that can be followed. They are as below :-
6

 The team effectiveness can be maintained by evaluating each member performance and
then providing training to them. This can help in initiating new challenges and taking
complex task.
 A successful team can be built when each member is assigned roles in his or her
specialised area. It will lead to development of positive culture and accomplishing goals
on time.
 The team leader can continuous monitor and observe how team is working. It will be
useful in determining strength and weakness of individual. Along with it, smooth team
work can be maintained within team.
7

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
A Megeirhi, H., Afsar, B. and Abubakar, A.M., 2018. Does team psychological capital moderate
the relationship between authentic leadership and negative outcomes: an investigation in
the hospitality industry. Economic research-Ekonomskaistraživanja, 31(1), pp.927-945.
Ahonen, O., Kinnunen, U.M. and Saranto, K., 2017. Developing Digital Health and Welfare
Services in an International Multidisciplinary Student Team. MEDINFO 2017: Precision
Healthcare through Informatics.
Barmeyer, C. and Haupt, U., 2016. Future+: Intercultural Challenges and Success Factors in an
International Virtual Project Team. Intercultural Management: A Case-Based Approach
to Achieving Complementarity and Synergy, p.214.
Bravo Gallart, S. and Team, I.T.F., 2018. Diversity, Inclusion, and Mentoring: opportunities and
challenges of working with an international research collaboration. In APS Meeting
Abstracts.
Doulougeri, K. and Montgomery, A., 2019. 76 Multidisciplinary Team Working. Cambridge
Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine, p.343.
Guler, J., Pike, K.M. and Kulygina, M., 2018. Global Collaborative Team Performance for the
Revision of the International Classification of Diseases: A Case Study of the World
Health Organization Field Studies Coordination Group. International Journal of Clinical
and Health Psychology, 18(3), pp.189-200.
Mays, L., Taktakishvili, A. and Riley, P., 2018, July.CME Arrival Time and Impact Working
Team. In Solar Heliospheric and INterplanetary Environment (SHINE 2018),
Proceedings of the conference held 30 July-3 August, 2018 in Cocoa Beach, FL, id. 122.
McAndrews, L.E. and Ha-Brookshire, J.E., 2016. Working Together is Success: Examining
Cross-Functional Team Performance in the Global Apparel Supply Chain.
Sanger, P.A., Canahuire, R. and Berry, F., 2018, September.International Capstone Student
Projects Giving Real World, Global Team Experiences.In 2018 28th EAEEIE Annual
Conference (EAEEIE) (pp. 1-9).IEEE.
Thébault, E., Brocco, L. and Canet, E., 2015. International geomagnetic reference field: the 12th
generation. Earth, Planets and Space, 67(1), p.79.
Voordouw, J.J., 2018. Open Learning and Team-Working: A Perspective from the Youth
Organisations. In New Ideas in Environmental Education (pp. 93-110).Routledge.
Zuofa, T. and Ochieng, E.G., 2017.Working separately but together: appraising virtual project
team challenges. Team Performance Management: An International Journal, 23(5/6),
pp.227-242.
Online
Belbin theory. 2016. [online] Available through: < http://www.werkenmetteamrollen.nl/Werken-
met-Teamrollen/The-9-teamroles.asp#.XRW1TYgzaM8>
8