Business Research Methodology Assignment: Team Management Challenges

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of the challenges faced in managing multinational teams within the context of business research methodology. The study begins by highlighting the increasing globalization and its impact on companies expanding into new geographical territories, emphasizing the need for effective management policies in diverse teams. The report identifies gaps in the existing literature, particularly concerning the potential solutions to challenges faced by global managers, and formulates research hypotheses to address these gaps. A qualitative research approach is adopted, including data collection methods like literature reviews and group discussions with participants from multinational companies. The research aims to identify alternatives for managing global teams, enhancing organizational productivity, and minimizing management challenges. The study also outlines the research design, sample size, data collection methods, and limitations. The report concludes by summarizing the research findings and emphasizing the importance of proactive management strategies to mitigate conflicts and improve productivity in cross-border team environments. The report also includes a detailed time schedule outlining the various stages of the research process, from problem identification to data analysis.

Running head: BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Business Research Methodology
Challenges of managing team in multinational companies
Assignment 2
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1
BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
The increased globalization has forced the firms to expand their markets beyond their
home countries and gain more number of customers (Baylis, Owens and Smith 2017). The
companies try to venture in new geographical territories and acquire new target markets for
increasing their revenue generation. The multi-cultural work teams are usually derived from
more than two geographical regions and they are regarded as the global virtual teams. They tend
to meet the customers’ expectations in the highly turbulent business environment (Beck 2015). In
such globally diverse teams, there needs to be highly effective management policies so that the
organization is able to meet its mission or goals.
This paper would identify the gaps in the literature review in the earlier assignment 1 by
the critical analysis of the literature review. The justification of the problems of the literature
review isbeing given and they would be explored with the help of formulation of the hypothesis.
A qualitative research would be undertaken so that the research questions can be answered. The
concluding part of the report would include the research limitations.
Project Objective
The primary objective of the project is to seek solutions for the issues that are faced in the
process of cross-border teams. This research aims to identify the number of alternatives that
would be available to the cross border managers when it comes to managing the global teams.
Project Scope
The scope of the project would include the actual guidelines that can be implemented
when there are challenges with the global team management. A mixed source of solutions aim to

2
BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
be provided and they would be aimed at enhancing the organizational productivity. The
multinational companies involve the location of offices in various parts of the world. Any
fictitious solution for smooth management of global teams is outside the scope of this project.
Literature Review
According to Boss,Bryant and Mancini (2016), the global teams are bound to have
conflicts in themselves and hence it is one of the duties of the managers to solve them quickly
and efficiently. It is important to develop coherent teams in which there is a shared identity. The
team members located in geographical diverse background should be imbibed a strong sense of
team and they should be reminded of the mission of the organization. As opposed by Gilson et
al. (2015), the teams should share same context and should understand the contextual
differences. They should understand that the global teams would be incompatible and hence
should align their work accordingly (Baylis, Owens and Smith 2017). They should pay more
attention to the priorities and make more cooperation among the team.
The findings of Malkamäki, Ikonen and Savolainen (2016) reveal that the unplanned,
systematic and transparent communication can greatly reduce the conflict of the cross-border
teams. There should be more casual interaction with the employees belonging to diverse
geographical locations and hence there should be more space for accommodating queries and
conflicts. It is important to foster team communication and enhance the work environment of the
organization (Baylis, Owens and Smith 2017). The organizational managers should strive to give
motivation to the employees so that they can perform better even if they are located in
geographically diverse locations.

3
BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Gaps in literature review
The literature review failed to identify the potential solutions for the different challenges
that are faced by the global managers. Though there is mention of the cultural trainings, but the
potential solutions have not been proposed. It is important to seek answers to the various
obstacles that come in the way of cross border team management.
Gap opportunities
The gaps identified in the literature review section needs to be discussed. As there is a
proliferation of the global companies, then there should be number of alternatives for managing
the global team management challenges. There are several new technological advancements that
can be implemented well by the managers (Baylis, Owens and Smith 2017). There are scopes for
creation of enhanced organizational culture in which the employees would be motivated to
interact with each other in a more positive manner.
Research Hypothesis
H0- There are several alternatives for managing the global team
H1- There are lack of suitable options for global team management
The null hypothesis and the alternate hypothesis is linked with the research questions
below-
Research Questions
The research questions for the identified gaps in literature review are stated below-
Primary Question

4
BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 How can the issues of global team functioning can be reduced?
Secondary Questions
 How the probable challenges faced by cross cultural teams are resolved?
 What are the solutions for the problems faced by global managers?
 How can the management challenges be minimized in the multinational companies?
Research Design
The research methodology is concerned with the step by step plan for the purpose of
conducting research. The primary mode of research would be qualitative research and it would
be a secondary mode. The various sources of data collection would be review of statistics,
research case studies, different journals, grounded theory and others.
Sample Size
There would be 6 multinational companies which would be selected. There would be five
groups that must be selected from each of the six companies. The individual groups would
comprise of ten participants only. The total sample size would be 300. A total of 10 academic
articles would be selected which would deal with the cross-cultural management challenges.
Data Collection Method
The data collection method would comprise of the review of articles and group
discussions. The group discussions would be done with participants from the selected 5
multinational companies who are managing global teams. The viewpoints of participants would
be noted and their possible solutions for cross cultural management is also noticed. The

5
BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
moderator would throw an open topic for discussion which would try to seek solutions for
different challenges for cross cultural problems.
The scholarly articles would be selected from different online sources such as Google
Scholar. The journals and the books are selected based on the nature of solutions that are
provided by them when it comes to global team management. The opinions of authors are being
and recent technological developments have been considered.
Sampling
The stratified random samplingis deployed for collecting data from the participants. In
this process of sampling, the selected global firms are grouped into comparatively smaller groups
(Stehman 2014). The groups are the strata of stratified random sampling. The strata are
considered as the basic units of the shared qualities of the employees. The subsets of groups are
the MNC employees, who are put together to form a random sample.
Process of Qualitative Research
This research process has been done by following all the essential steps of qualitative
research. The following is the process used in this research-
 Identification of the research problem
 Review of the existing literature
 Specifying the research objectives
 Selection of sample size
 Application of data collection tools and collecting data
 Note the group dynamics
 Interpretation and analysis of data

6
BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Reliability and Validity
Reliability is concerned with the illustration of the sample size in the research and this
would be emphasized on employees of multinational employees (Bryman2015). The study has
future probability of conducting similar methods and hence this study is reliable.
The research is valid as the research fulfilled its given objectives. The research was able
to seek answer for the formulated research question. It was able to fulfill the objectives of
research.
Research Limitations
There have been instances when the research faced several hurdles. The limitations of the
research are enumerated below-
 It took lot of time to gather and collect the required data from the focused group
discussions.
 There were issues with confidentiality and anonymity while working with focused
groups.
 There were instances of personal biases which affected the quality of research
 It was often not accepted as a standard way of doing research
 There was lack of participation from several employees during the focused group
discussions

7
BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Time Schedule
Time (in weeks)
Week
1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6
Tasks
Identification of the research
problem
Review of the existing literature
Specifying research objectives
Selection of suitable sample size
Collection of data
Observation of group
Interpretation and analysis of
data
Tasks Start Date End Date
Identification of the research
problem
10/01/18 17/01/18
Review of the existing literature 18/01/18 24/01/18
Specifying research objectives 25/01/18 01/02/18
Selection of suitable sample size 02/02/18 09/02/18
Collection of data 10/02/18 17/02/18
Observation of group 18/02/18 24/02/18
Interpretation and analysis of
data
25/02/18 04/03/18
Conclusion

8
BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research aimed at understanding of the various solutions that can be undertaken by
the global managers for improving the conflicts rising in the global team management. It is
important to manage the problems of the global teams as they would lead to an increase in
organizational productivity. The managers should try to incorporate good initiatives which would
reduce the number of conflicts in cross border management.

9
BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
References
Baylis, J., Owens, P. and Smith, S. eds., 2017. The globalization of world politics: An
introduction to international relations. Oxford University Press.
Beck, U., 2015. What is globalization?. John Wiley & Sons.
Boss, P., Bryant, C.M. and Mancini, J.A., 2016. Family stress management: A contextual
approach. Sage Publications.
Bryman, A., 2015. Social research methods. Oxford university press.
Gilson, L.L., Maynard, M.T., Jones Young, N.C., Vartiainen, M. and Hakonen, M., 2015. Virtual
teams research: 10 years, 10 themes, and 10 opportunities. Journal of Management, 41(5),
pp.1313-1337.
Malkamäki, K., Ikonen, M. and Savolainen, T., 2016. 8. Process of trust building: a case study in
the management system context. Trust, Organizations and Social Interaction: Studying Trust as
Process within and between Organizations, p.146.
Stehman, S.V., 2014. Estimating area and map accuracy for stratified random sampling when the
strata are different from the map classes. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 35(13),
pp.4923-4939.

10
BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Appendix
1. Do you have an internal communication process?
2. Are you wasting time getting lost in translation?
3. Are you focusing on the deliverables or the process?
4. Can your remote team benefit from local, flexible workspace?
5. How many challenges are you facing in managing global teams?
6. Does everyone understand and support the team’s goals? If no, what can be done?
7. Do team members give and receive critical feedback in a constructive manner? If no,
what can be done?
8. Are team goals translated into clear tasks and deadlines? If no, what can be done?
9. Is the team creative in choosing communication technology that best meets the needs of
working in different circumstances? If no, what can be done?
10. Do different cultural groups on the team mix easily with each other? If no, what can be
done?