Multicultural vs. Homogeneous Senior Executive Teams

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Introduction

Achieving organizational success requires a combination of factors such as good leadership, diversity, a motivated workforce to the spirit of teamwork, and an inclusive workplace environment among others (Hewstone, Johnston, & Aird, 2002). An organization constitutes a number of departments, which have their own teams tasked with completing different tasks. One of the main challenges faced by organizational leaders in the contemporary world is identifying the most effective approach to developing an effective team. Studies have established that one of the main factors that influence success in an organization is the composition of various teams (Fisek, 2000). In this context, composition refers to the ability of organizational leaders to form teams with acceptable levels of diversity. An effective team should have individuals with diverse cultural backgrounds, personalities, fields of expertise, and work experience (Roberson & Pepper, 2001). The reason for this is that the composition of teams, especially those within executive positions influence a lot on the ability of an organization to achieve maximum output and viable results (Jones, 2012). There are two types of teams, namely homogeneous and heterogeneous that an organization can use to achieve its goals. A homogeneous team constitutes individuals with similarities in terms of their skills, viewpoints, motivations, educational background, ethnicity, and work experience (Hewstone et al., 2002). On the other hand, heterogeneous or multicultural teams constitute individuals with elements that are not of the same kind (Jones, 2012). These elements include the individual’s age, gender, ethnicity, cultural background, and life experiences. Although there a number of advantages and disadvantages associated with the two types of business teams, most researchers often disagree on the one that’s most effective in giving the desired results (Jones, 2012).

Multicultural teams

Studies have established that one of the elements that influence the success of senior management teams in an organization is their composition (Schneider & Smith, 2004). Organizational success is a complex feat that requires a combination of a wide variety of skills and expertise of the employees. Heterogeneous teams are characterized by a combination of individuals with a different set of skills, abilities, and cultural backgrounds (Fisek, 2000). It is important to include experts in a senior executive team in order to provide an opportunity to have varied viewpoints and a high level of creativity. One of the most important considerations taken when creating heterogeneous teams is the need to have an inclusive communication strategy that will ensure everyone understands ideas and information shared by members (Roberson & Pepper, 2001). This consideration focuses a lot on the different learning abilities of people. It is also important to consider the need to create balanced diversity in the team, as the minority members can easily feel isolated and eventually feel insecure about their overall influence on the activities of a team (McKenna, 2000). Studies have established that organizations that exploit the diversity in various teams increase their chances of having prolonged success in their respective markets (Thomas, 2012).

Advantages that global companies gain by using multicultural senior management teams

One of the elements that distinguish global companies from the local ones is the degree of cultural diversity in their workforce. Cultural diversity in global companies is essential in meeting recurrent demands of the highly dynamic global business environment (Roberson & Pepper, 2001). Due to factors such as globalization, there is an urgent need for global companies to have multicultural employees who can help them in exploiting numerous opportunities available in the international market (Vale, 2015). This can be achieved by recruiting and retaining culturally competent individuals. In addition, this can be achieved by training existing employees about the importance of adapting culturally competent business practices (McKenna, 2000). Experts argue that global companies with a culturally diverse workforce have a better chance of achieving prolonged success, market control, and remain competitive compared to those that hire individuals with a similar set of skills and life experiences (Schneider & Smith, 2004). Global companies enjoy a number of benefits by deploying multicultural senior management teams.

The first advantage is a competitive advantage in the market. Global companies that have culturally competent leaders often have a higher edge in the market because they are able to attract customers from different cultural backgrounds (Griffin & Moorhead, 2013). Studies on consumer behavior have established that people tend to prefer businesses that match their interests and needs. In addition, consumers are attracted to businesses with creative insights, products, and services. A global company can meet all these needs if it has employees who can relate easily with customers and suppliers in various countries (McKenna, 2000). This plays a crucial role in helping such companies remain highly competitive. The second advantage is that global companies have higher chances of attracting highly talented and skilled individuals into their workforce. Culturally competent executive leaders help to boost the reputation of a business among their target customers and potential employees (Oyama, 2011). Such organizations attract highly skilled individuals who help to inject more creativity into the workforce. Such individuals also have an easy time adapting to different cultures, an element that contributes to the competitive advantage in the market (Roberson & Pepper, 2001). The cultural sensitivity of senior executive teams for global companies helps to attract and retain customers.

Another advantage that global companies gain by using multicultural senior management teams is a feeling of equity within the workforce. Leadership experts argue that having individuals from different cultural backgrounds in leadership positions plays a crucial role in influencing positivity within the workforce (Vale, 2015). The reason for this is that employees feel that they have an equal opportunity to be promoted to senior positions, a factor that increases their motivation and morale to work (DuBrin, 2013). In addition, this helps to boost the ability of global companies to perform well in various markets, as they will have a good reputation of creating a workplace environment that promotes respect for other cultures (Oyama, 2011). Culturally competent members of the senior executive team help their organizations in achieving effective diversity management. Conflicts and miscommunication are common challenges in organizations that have employees from different cultural backgrounds (Griffin & Moorhead, 2013). However, this is not a big challenge to global organizations with multicultural leaders because they help in intervening in situations involving employees from different cultures. Multicultural leaders play a crucial role in helping foreign employees in settling fast because they have a clear understanding of the challenges associated with such situations (Schneider & Smith, 2004). Effective management of diversity in global companies plays a crucial role in influencing prolonged success.

A multicultural senior management team also helps global companies to expand their market with ease. Doing business in international markets is very dynamic and requires organizational leaders with a good cultural competence that will allow their businesses to enter various markets with ease (Roberson & Pepper, 2001). In most cases, culturally competent members of senior management teams in global companies have business partners in other countries, who can help them in carrying out a market analysis and determine the chances of their company performing well (McKenna, 2000). Other notable benefits include high customer loyalty due to good services.

Homogeneous teams

Homogeneous teams are also a common element in most organizations. They constitute employees of similar kind in terms of their ethnicity, gender, age, education background, and skills (Hogg & Terry, 2014). These kinds of teams are common in organizations that seek to promote equality and inclusive participation of every individual involved with crucial processes. These teams are very effective in influencing success because all members have the same level of participation, comprehending the information shared, and understanding. In addition, it is less cumbersome to choose the most effective communication strategy for homogeneous groups because people have a lot in common (Oyama, 2011). Homogeneous teams have created a lot of controversy in terms of whether they have a positive or negative impact on the level of organizational success. The main reason behind the development of this controversy is the fact that individuals in this kind of a team tend to develop a mutual attraction, which can have a negative or positive impact on their productivity (Thomas, 2012). Studies have established that the effectiveness of homogeneous groups depends a lot on the nature of the task undertaken (Hogg & Terry, 2014).

Advantages of using a homogeneous team of senior executives selected locally

There are a number of benefits associated with using a homogeneous team of senior executives selected from the local culture. One of the biggest advantages is that it helps to reduce cases of conflicts and misinformation (DuBrin, 2013). For all members in this kind of a team have a lot of similarities, sharing of information and managing conflicts is quite easy. Individuals in homogeneous teams understand the dynamics of other members, thus reducing the chances of misunderstandings developing out of simple things that can be avoided with ease (Roberson & Pepper, 2001). Although experts argue that conflicts between individuals also happen within homogeneous teams as much as it happens in heterogeneous ones, the main difference is the manner in which they are resolved (Schneider & Smith, 2004). Values shared between team members help to make the process of conflict management easier. Another advantage of using homogeneous teams is that they help to increase productivity through the speedy conclusion of tasks (Griffin & Moorhead, 2013). Due to the mutual feeling that develops between members of a homogeneous group, the level of cooperation and coordination during tasks is always very high (Thomas, 2012). Leadership experts argue that the similarity level of individuals in homogeneous teams helps to eliminate a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation related to any of the members (Hogg & Terry, 2014).

Homogeneous teams help organizations in increasing the level of ingenuity in the workforce. Studies have established that focus groups are one of the biggest assets that organizations can use in increasing the level of creativity (Schneider & Smith, 2004). Since all individuals in this kind of teams have the same qualities, this creates a very healthy environment for individual and organizational progress because members can compliment each others’ efforts. This works to the advantage of the organization because the motivation to work within the workforce is always high, thus influencing prolonged success (Thomas, 2012). Homogeneous teams also help to boost the reputation of an organization in terms of its ability to create an inclusive and cohesive workplace environment. This helps an organization in attracting highly skilled individuals into the workforce because of the attractive workplace environment (Thomas, 2012). Studies have established that the nature of an organizations’ workplace environment plays a pivotal role in determining the kind of individuals who will be interested in becoming part of the workforce (Griffin & Moorhead, 2013).

Ideal circumstances for recommending homogeneous and heterogeneous senior executive teams

Homogeneous and heterogeneous teams play a crucial role in influencing various processes within an organization. Although some organizational processes create a dilemma in terms of the influence made by the two teams, experts argue that there are certain circumstances in which both can have different influences. One of the most ideal circumstance that homogeneous senior management team would be effective is innovation management (Roberson & Pepper, 2001). According to leadership experts, the process of creating and implementing an innovation in an organization is very complex and requires careful consideration with regard to interplay of factors that characterize its propagation (Thomas, 2012). Such processes require a very cohesive team of individuals with a common goal and great level of understanding. The reason for this is that implementing an innovation entails a thorough analysis of organizational needs with regard to the proposed innovation (Schneider & Smith, 2004).

The process of coming up with a fresh idea and implementing it requires a team whose members compliments each other. Conflicts, misunderstandings, and prejudice are very rare in homogeneous teams, a factor that can contribute to the speedy and effective management of an innovation (Herman & Hulin, 2000). Innovation management is a team activity that requires individuals with similar qualities, as it reduces the chances of the process aborting. One element of innovation management that suits the use of homogeneous teams is the fact that individuals given the responsibility of running the process are often selected according to the way their qualities match the project dynamics (Roberson & Pepper, 2001). For example, if an organization wants to create a performance appraisal system, it will select the project team in a manner that will allow all members to have equal opportunities for contribution, reduce chances of conflicts, ensure all members view the process from a similar angle, members to compliment each other, and ensure cohesiveness (Oyama, 2011). All these are characteristics of homogeneous senior executive teams.

On the other hand, the circumstance that would suit the use of heterogeneous teams is change management. Studies have established that introducing change in an organization is one of the biggest challenges faced by organizational leaders (Vale, 2015). This is often a bigger challenge in organizations with a high level of diversity in terms of the age, ethnicity, religion, education background, or sexual orientation of employees (Early, 2013). Leadership experts argue that employees often resist proposed changes within the workplace for various reasons. In order to address such circumstances in an effective manner, organizations need multicultural or culturally competent leaders. This involves creating a management team comprising of individuals with different cultural background, religious beliefs, education levels, age, and life experiences (Thomas, 2012). The reason for having such a team of leaders is to ensure the ease of convincing employees from different cultures about the importance of introducing changes. It is important to note that changes are inevitable in an organization setting, thus it is normal for some employees show some form of resistance when the proposed adjustments contradict their beliefs or values (Thomas, 2012). However, an organization should always ensure that such concerns are well addressed through hiring multicultural leaders who can help mediate whenever such situations arise.

The diverse nature of heterogeneous teams makes this the most ideal option for solving such a situation. Leadership experts also argue that culturally competent leaders help to motivate employees to work harder and advocate for regular changes in an organization (Herman & Hulin, 2000). Their main motivation for doing this is to ensure that the culture of equity with regard to hiring diverse individuals is upheld. When employees have a culturally diverse leadership team, they often develop a positive attitude towards their colleagues (Oyama, 2011). For example, if an organization intends to change the code of dressing for its employees, the chances of having opposition from some employees are very high. Some may feel that the proposed changes will compromise their sexuality, religious beliefs, or capacity as role models (Vale, 2015). However, with culturally competent leaders it is easy to convince such individuals to accept the changes by first showing that they understand their concerns (Thomas, 2012). Second, they will easily convince them to accept the proposed changes because they will make their work more enjoyable, increase their marketability, or even increase their revenue by attracting more clients (Auld, 2014). Heterogeneous teams are the best option for addressing the challenge of change management in an organization.

Conclusion

Organizational teams are very important in terms of influencing prolonged success and market competitiveness. Organizational workforce constitutes individuals with different abilities, life experiences, competencies, age, and skills. Employees can be organized into two major types of teams, namely homogeneous and heterogeneous. Heterogeneous teams are characterized by a combination of individuals with different set of skills, abilities, cultural backgrounds, and work experience. Homogeneous teams constitute employees with similarities in terms of their ethnicity, gender, age, educational background, skills, or life experiences. An effective team should have diverse individuals. Global companies with a culturally diverse workforce have a better chance of achieving prolonged success, market control, and competitiveness in various markets. The similarity level of individuals in homogeneous teams helps to eliminate prejudice, conflicts, and misinformation.

References

Auld, C. (2014). Perceived organizational diversity and employee behavior. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 4(2), 23-34.

DuBrin, A.J. (2013). Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior: An Applied Perspective. New York: Elsevier.

Early, J. (2013). Interactive Group Therapy: Integrating, Interpersonal, Action-Oriented and Psychodynamic Approaches. New York: Routledge.

Fisek, M.H. (2000). Participation in heterogeneous and homogeneous groups: A theoretical integration. American Journal of Sociology, 97(1), 14-42.

Griffin, R., & Moorhead, G. (2013). Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations. New York: Cengage Learning.

Herman, J.B., & Hulin, C.L. (2000). Studying organizational attitudes from individual and organizational frames of reference. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 8(1), 84-108.

Hewstone, M., Johnston, L., & Aird, P. (2002). Cognitive models of stereotype change: Perceptions of homogeneous and heterogeneous groups. European Journal of Social Psychology, 22(3), 235-249.

Hogg, M.A., & Terry, D.J. (2014). Social Identity Processes in Organizational Contexts. California: Psychology Press.

Jones, L. (2012). Homogeneous Vs. Heterogeneous Teams. Web.

McKenna, E. F. (2000). Business Psychology and Organizational Behavior. New York: Psychology Press.

Oyama, S.T. (2011). Mechanisms in Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Catalysis. California: Elsevier.

Roberson, L., & Pepper, M.B. (2001). Designing effective diversity training: Influence of group composition and trainee experience. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22(8), 71-885.

Schneider, B., & Smith, D.B. (2004). Personality and Organizations. California: Psychology Press.

Thomas, K.M. (2012). Diversity Resistance in Organizations. California: Psychology Press.

Vale, S. (2015). What Advantages do Global Companies Gain by Deploying Multicultural Senior Management Teams? Web.

Click Here To Order Now!