Communication Management and Diversity in a Global Marketing Campaign

This report analyzes the challenges of managing a diverse, global virtual team, focusing on the 'Kids Eats' marketing campaign for Sunshine 100. It addresses issues related to cross-cultural communication, time zone differences, and potential conflicts within the team. The report provides strategies for managing diversity, fostering cross-cultural communication competency, and preventing conflicts. These strategies include identifying potential issues, communicating diversity policies, acknowledging cultural differences, establishing team norms, distributing roles and responsibilities, and implementing secular communication systems. Furthermore, the report emphasizes the importance of listening skills, setting goals, encouraging team collaboration, avoiding criticism, and involving all members in decision-making to ensure a smooth and successful project execution. The report is intended for Jane Wilson, the Marketing Director, to help her navigate the complexities of leading a geographically dispersed and culturally diverse team, ensuring effective communication and project success.

Running head: COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT
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Name of the University:
Name of the Student:
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Email for Jane:...........................................................................................................................2
Managing Diversity:...................................................................................................................3
Cross Cultural Communication Competency in Team Interaction:...........................................3
Tasks to Avoid Future Conflicts within the Team:....................................................................4
References:.................................................................................................................................6

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Email for Jane:
Dear all,
I am extremely glad to inform you all that the first endeavour of our initiative of our
recent expansion, “Kids Eats”, will be conducted on Wednesday sharp at 12pm, that is,
7.30a.m in Mumbai, 6a.m. in Dubai, 10a.m. in Shanghai, 8p.m of Tuesday in Mumbai, and
3a.m. in London, and 7pm in New York. The interview will be held over the telephone call,
therefore, it is expected that all the individuals will be available for the call, at the mentioned
timings. Before making the call, all the members will be notified by a simple text or mail
from the HR team of the organization.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the strategies and the processes that will be
involved in order to expand over the Chinese market. In the first meeting we will be
discussing about everyone’s perspectives regarding the orientation. Also, the agenda for the
next meeting will also be discussed and decided. However, I would like to specify all of you,
in which particular language you would like to conduct the meeting and we can follow the
same. This will help us to avoid any kind of miscommunication and conflicting situation
while conducting the meeting.
I also wish to share my joy that I will be working with such a great team, with all
members being so experienced in their individual pursuits.
Looking forward for the interview tomorrow.
Thanking You,
Jane Wilson,
Marketing Team Leader

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Managing Diversity to Conduct the Project in a Smooth Process:
While deciding upon the strategies to meet and conduct the new venture that the
organization is taking initiative for, I have found to be in a dilemma to decide upon the ways
that she is supposed to include in order to manage the eight different people from six different
culture and language background. Therefore, in order to manage the all the six members from
six different cultural set up and world view, Jane can practice the following strategies,
Firstly, I have to identify the issues that might crop up within the organizational structure,
and within the communication structure while planning for the business conduct. The goal is
to increase the acceptability among the employees of the organisation (Rico et al. 2009). This
refers to initiating an inclusiveness and respectability among the members involved in the
organization.
Secondly, I must try to communicate the diversity policies through mails and other
structures in order to initiate the awareness among the employees. The handbook or the
protocol system or the amendments, which are practiced within the organizational structure
are to be shared among the members of the project (Horwitz, Bravington, and Silvis. 2006).
Also, I have also decided to initiate upon the finding the uniqueness and the specific
personal traits of the members, as that will help her to manage the organizational strategies,
employing this particular traits of the members, and this can prove to be profitable for the
organizational endeavour in the long run (Mach, and Baruch. 2015).
Cross Cultural Communication Competency in Team Interaction:
For Jane it is essential to identify that in order to conduct and manage the business it is
important to understand how to run a culturally diverse team. As the team members all
belong to different time zones, different world views, and different cultural backgrounds. It is
likely that all of them will have different orientation, different understanding and different

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perspective and further different ways of communication and managing business (Zornoza,
Orengo, and Peñarroja. 2009). Therefore, the following strategies can be employed by her,
 First, she herself first acknowledge and respect the cultural differences and therefore,
initiating an acceptance process among the team members (Mukherjee et al. 2012).
 Secondly, it is important to create a norm among and within the team, and further it is
essential to include a norm so that it helps the members to follow. Moreover, as
opined by Horwitz, Bravington, and Silvis, (2006), practice the norms accordingly as
it will help the members to increase their understanding, acceptance and respect
towards the other cultural members.
 Thirdly, the team members have to be provided with, individual and particular roles,
and responsibilities. Mukherjee et al. (2012) have stated that, distribution of role and
responsibilities will help her to avoid any conflicting situations related to role
dilemma among the employees. Also, it will provide each of the team members with a
particular direction.
 Lastly, Jane must also involve a secular communication system, whereby, all the team
members can follow their own perception and can share their own opinions and
viewpoints (Mach, and Baruch. 2015).
Tasks to Avoid Future Conflicts within the Team:
Employing certain strategies to avoid the future conflicts within the team, is very
important for Jane to employ, as it will help her avoid organizational conflicts, which is very
likely to happen as her team is a completely diversified team. Therefore, the strategies that
Jane is supposed to employ within the team are,
 Schellenberg, in his conflict resolution theory had found that increasing and initiating
listening skills will help the situation.

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 Setting proper goals and distributing the role requirements among the team members
(Purdy, and Manning. 2015).
 Encouraging and initiating team collaboration, by increasing the team cohesiveness,
team conscience. This will not only help the members to work together, but also it
will encourage diversity within the team conducts, which can prove to be very
profitable for the organization as a whole (Rico et al. 2009). Also, an increased team
cohesiveness will help the organization to understand diversity and improve their
personalities through a learning process form each other.
 She must also see to the fact that none of the members possess any kind of harsh
feelings regarding each other and do not involve or practice a criticising each other
(Maduka et al. 2018).
 Lastly, Jane encourage all the members to take part in the decision making process.
This will not only motivate the team members but also will increase their acceptance
power, and will also increase diversity within the business conduct. She must also
learn to embrace the conflicting situations, as it will help them to identify the
challenging situations so that she can be prepare for the future endeavours (Matveev,
and Nelson. 2004). Reduced tea cohesion can cause into a communication problem
among the group, which will affect the team production.

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References:
Horwitz, F.M., Bravington, D. and Silvis, U., 2006. The promise of virtual teams: identifying
key factors in effectiveness and failure. Journal of European Industrial Training, 30(6),
pp.472-494.
Mach, M. and Baruch, Y., 2015. Team performance in cross cultural project teams: The
moderated mediation role of consensus, heterogeneity, faultlines and trust. Cross Cultural
Management, 22(3), pp.464-486.
Maduka, N.S., Edwards, H., Greenwood, D., Osborne, A. and Babatunde, S.O., 2018.
Analysis of competencies for effective virtual team leadership in building successful
organisations. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 25(2), pp.696-712.
Matveev, A.V. and Nelson, P.E., 2004. Cross cultural communication competence and
multicultural team performance: Perceptions of American and Russian
managers. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 4(2), pp.253-270.
Mukherjee, D., Hanlon, S.C., Kedia, B.L. and Srivastava, P., 2012. Organizational
identification among global virtual team members: The role of individualism-collectivism
and uncertainty avoidance. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 19(4),
pp.526-545.
Purdy, M.W. and Manning, L.M., 2015. Listening in the multicultural workplace: A dialogue
of theory and practice. International Journal of Listening, 29(1), pp.1-11.
Rico, R., Alcover, C.M., Sánchez-Manzanares, M. and Gil, F., 2009. The joint relationships
of communication behaviors and task interdependence on trust building and change in virtual
project teams. Social science information, 48(2), pp.229-255.

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Zornoza, A., Orengo, V. and Peñarroja, V., 2009. Relational capital in virtual teams: the role
played by trust. Social Science Information, 48(2), pp.257-281.